Lauren

Life...

2010-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Apparently blogging is not one of my strong suits since I tend to go months at a time inbetween posts. Oh well. I'm pretty sure only a few people read this blog and those of you who do, probably already know what's going on in my life. BUT... for those random people out there that like to stumble upon other peoples blogs and read for no reason, here ya go!

As you know from my last blog, I am getting married (still! lol!) in October. And I wish it was already here! It's been super fun planning and dreaming about this day, but I just wish it was over with and I was already Mrs. Cody Wilson. (Did I mention how much I love him? He's wonderful... I could go on and on, but I'll save you an eye roll at all my gushing!) Anyway, we have almost everything planned already. It actually came together very quickly! I have my dress, all my bridesmaids have their dresses. We have a cake, photographer, church, reception place and our flowers picked. The only thing left is a few decorations, my bouquet, and the tuxes. We know what look we are going for with the tuxes, but just have to finalize the style. It's been really fun!

A couple of other changes have happened in our lives. I got a job promotion at work and am now a Service Manager at our Texas Blvd location. It's had it's ups and downs, but overall it's been a pretty good move. Cody also has left Wells and has gone back to work at Sprint. He's working a few more hours and has to work weekends, but overall he's a lot happier and he's making more money, so that's a bonus!

Other than wedding planning and job changes, not much else is going on. We live a pretty boring life! But it's our life and we love it!

I'm Getting MARRIED!!!

2010-04-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

So... apparently I need to update my blog!!!

Yes, the title of this blog is true. I am getting married! I guess I need to tell you all a little about Cody and our story and then the amazing engagement story!

I met Cody at work (we both work for Wells Fargo Bank) in the middle of February. Actually the day of my last post was the day that our friend April put a bug in his ear about me. We spent a couple of weeks talking at work and texting a little bit outside of work, but nothing really exciting was happening at that time. He was taking his time on this one! lol!! Well, I ended up going home to DSM for about 5 days in the middle of March. I was driving home on a Wed night and we were texting some and that was the night he asked me out for the first time. We made plans to go to dinner with some friends of his (Matt and Holly) and then maybe to a movie. We really hit it off that night and had a great time. That next Sunday, I went over to Matt and Holly's house and hung out with them all. When I got home that night, I got a text from Cody that said we needed to sit down and have a "real"phone conversation and find out for sure where things stood between us. So we made a phone date for Monday, March 22nd...

So, now it's Monday night and he calls... we proceeded to talk for 4 1/2 hours that night! And we talked about EVERYTHING! It was one of those defining conversations in my life where I knew by the end of the night, my life was going to change forever. We decided that night to make it "official" between us and pulled out the old "boyfriend/girlfriend" term. It was a pretty funny conversation at that point! But it was amazing. I knew that God hand was moving on both of us at this point. The next night, we talked for 3 hours and the following night we talked for 3 more hours. It was incredible!! He keeps telling me that the things we have in common are not just coincidences, they are evidence of God moving in our lives.

Well, fast forward to last Friday night (April 9th). We went to the Olive Garden just the two of us and the next thing I know, here comes Matt and Holly with a beautiful bouquet of red roses and balloons... and about 20 of our other friends! I knew the moment I saw everyone else that he was going to propose!! He stood me up and began to quote 1 Cor 13:4-8, 13 and then got down on his knee and said "Lauren Rene Bush, I love you with all of my heart. And it would do me a great honor if you would spend the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me?" AMAZING!!!!!! Of course I said yes and he stood up and put the ring on my finger! I was so excited because he even thought enough to have a friend video tape it for us. (If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post the video on here...) We put it on facebook, so anyone reading this probably has already seen it there. Anyway, it was such a great night and he couldn't have done a more amazing job.

We have a wedding date set for October 16th! So... bring on the wedding planning!! :)

Poor Chance...

2010-02-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I dropped my little puppy (who's not really a puppy anymore) off at the vet so he could get neutered. What a tramatic morning for him! Actually the trama started last night. I gave him a bath so he could be all clean for the dr. He HATES to take a bath, so that was a chore for him (and me!). And then I fed him his last meal around 8pm. This morning, he got up and didn't want to go outside, but I sent him out anyway. Normally when he comes in from outside, I feed him breakfast. Well, not today. And he knew it! Then when we got ready to leave, I had to put a leash on him. I never have him on a leash 'cause I have a fenced in backyard, so you can imagine how fun it was to try and wrangle with him on that leash when we went outside! Next came the lovely car ride... he's never ridden in a car before. That was fun! Actually, he did fairly well. Until it was time to get out of the car and go into the vet where there were so many people he didn't know, and all these other animals around. He didn't know what to think!! But then they took him off to surgery and I'm just trusting that all was well after that! At least for him anyway. I got in my car and almost started to cry. I felt so bad for him!!

The vet has already called and he's out of surgery and doing fine. I get to pick him up after 4 today, and I'm hoping he's going to be back to his normal self by then. I'll have to watch him over the next few days to make sure he doesn't overdo it, but he should be ok.

Whew! What a morning! I was thinking on the way to work this morning, that if this is how I feel when it's just my dog going in for a minor surgery, I can't imagine how I would be doing if I was taking my child in for surgery! I hope I never have to face that situation...

20 Years Ago...

2010-01-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't even believe it was 20 years ago today that my little brother Luke was born. He was the first boy in our family and we were so excited that he was here! But God chose to keep him here for only a few days. He passed away 3 days later on Jan 29.

I was just telling someone the other day about Luke and the day he was born. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was on a Friday and I was in the 5th grade. As with most Fridays in elementary school, it was spelling test day. We were sitting in class and Ms Gorham was giving us our spelling test when the school secretary walked in and gave her a small pink note. I didn't pay much attention to it, other than I was patiently waiting to hear from my dad about the baby being born. (Side note, when we woke up that morning, Gma Howard was there and Sue and Dad were at the hospital. It was a fun way to wake up!)Anyway, Ms Gorham kept on giving us the test and just walked by my desk and placed this pink note on my desk. At the bottom of the While You Were Out note were the most beautiful words I've ever read... IT'S A BOY!!!! I was so excited I started crying! Everyone started looking at me and Ms Gorham stopped the test and said, "Everything is ok, Lauren just found out she has a new baby brother!!" I was pretty cool!

I probably wont post anything about the day he died, because it's not something I want to think about. That, and I dont remember as much about that day.

So, Baby Luke, you may not be here on earth with us any more, but that doesn't mean you're not here with us. I love you and think about you often and what our life would be like if you were still here. I can't wait until I get to heaven and I get to see you again! You were the first brother I ever had and I love you very much!!

And for those of you reading this who have kids or younger brothers and sisters, give them a kiss and cherish your time with them.

Phoenix

2010-01-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Today I'm headed to Phoenix to spend some time with my mom and stepdad. I'm excited to go! Going to be a great time!! It's been cold here lately so I'm really glad to get to spend some time in warmer weather. I want to say a BIG thank you to Heather for taking care of the puppies while I'm gone. Thanks girl!!

By the way, for those of you who read this blog, but don't read my sisters, you need to check it out. There is a really GREAT pic of Jules on her blog when she opened her gift from Grandma Sue. I love it and I LOVE HER!!! www.chefstinsonfamily.blogspot.com Check it out!

50-Day Weight Loss Challenge is done...

2009-12-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

And the final count is... 29 pounds.! I'm pretty excited about it! Didn't quite hit exactly what I wanted to, but I'm pretty happy with that total. Still have about 45 more pounds to go to get exactly where I want to be. I'm giving myself until April 1st to reach that goal. I'll keep you all posted!

I'm also need to put some pictures up on here. I've got some cute ones of my nieces and Heather's kids! And of course, my puppies.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year!

Christmas and so many other things

2009-12-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

So, after the last couple days I'm very thankful that I have now moved south! Right now Des Moines is under about 14 inches of snow and have snow drifts up to 10 feet!!! They say it's one of the worst snow storms in about 20 years. Craziness!

But speaking of DSM, I was just there last week! I got to take a week off work and go home and it was a great trip! I left the Saturday after Thanksgiving and came home this past Sunday, so I was there for an entire week. Sat when I got into town, I headed straight to my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Denny's house for our Brown family Christmas. It was a great way to see everyone all at the same time... including my brother! That night was the only time that all 5 of us (including Drew) were together. So we got some great pictures taken. One of these days I'll put some pics up on this blog so everyone can see the things I'm talking about!

Sunday was a great day. I went to church at Berean in the morning and then to a small church in Mitchellville that my friend Andrew is now going to. I got to see a lot of my old friends and other people. Sunday night I went to my friend Torrie's house and spent some quality time with my Torrie and Dallas, Andrew, Jen, Mike and Taylor and Drake! I love those kids and was so happy to see them! Monday I ran some errands and then went to Adrian and Drew's to celebrate Drew's birthday. I got to see both sets of his parents and spend some time with my Grandpa Tonsi. Plus spend some time with my crazy little niece! She's so cute and I miss her a lot!

Tuesday put me, Dad, Sue, Courtney and Grandma Howard in the car to Mankato, MN to see Morgan play in his first jazz band concert as a college student. He had a solo in the song O Holy Night (which is my favorite Christmas song!) and did a WONDERFUL job! I was very proud of him! It was a fun little trip to take and to spend some time with everyone in the car. Wednesday I spent the morning at my friend Vanessa's, just catching up on life. She does day care in her home and it was fun to see how all her kiddos have grown. Wed night I went to youth at Berean. It was great to see some familiar faces and to see all the changes that have happened since I've moved. I had the chance after church to go to my friends Bill and Mary's house and hang out with them, Katie, James and Becky. I didn't leave until almost 2am on Thursday! I was tired and thankful for the ability to sleep in on Thursday!

Thursday afternoon I spent the afternoon shopping with Sue. Well, she shopped and I just hung out with her. It was a fun time just spending some one on one time with her. Thursday night I had dinner with my Aunt Sherry and it was great to catch up with her too. Up until Thursday, I had been staying at my parents house, but Thurs night I went to stay with my sister. Got to have some great cuddle time with Jules! I just love her!! Friday, Adrian and I did a little shopping and I went to get my hair done. My Aunt Netty is in cosmetology school, so I went to her and she did a GREAT job! I've gotten so many compliments on it since then! Friday night I went out with my friends to Cheesecake Factory. Fun times! I did buy a piece of cheesecake to eat on Saturday because Sat was my cheat day on my diet! It was yummy too!

On Saturday I spent the day cooking a meal for my family. We had our Christmas on Saturday night and had a lot of people over to my parents house. It was so much fun. I got some really great things from everyone, but the best part was just seeing everyone and spending time with them. We were supposed to have it at Adrian and Drew's but Drew and Julianna were pretty sick so we moved it to my parents. They didn't end up coming that night, so that was a bummer because I would have loved some more time with Jules, but they didn't need to make anyone else sick. It was a great night. I stayed at my parents on Sat night and left about 7:45 Sunday morning. And after 12 hours in the car, I made it home! I was happy to see my puppies! They missed me, I know they did. You can just ask them. Lol!

Anyway, that's pretty much the rundown of my trip! It was a wonderful time and I was able to spend quality time with several groups of people and got to rest some too. It did make me a little more homesick, but I know it's mainly because I hadn't been home in 5 months. So, I'm looking forward to my next trip home. Hopefully that will be sometime in the spring!

Thanks for reading my book! lol!

10 POUNDS!!!!!!!!

2009-11-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

I have lost 10 pounds on my diet so far!!!!!!!! Do you know how excited I am right now???? I'm beyond pumped! That's 10 pounds in two and a half weeks. It really does pay to stick it out!

Today has been a good day all around! I went to Sams Club this morning to get these twin Cabbage Patch dolls for my niece and ended up with an 8GB Ipod Nano for myself! It was only $135 and I have been wanting one FOREVER! It does video and has a radio and everything. I LOVE IT! It's a really pretty blue color too.

So, great and exciting day for me all around!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I love you all!!

Well...

2009-11-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

Not much to report! Things are good! I'm sticking to my diet and working out every other day. Right now I'm very inspired by Rebecca from this season of the Biggest Loser. She's from Des Moines and started out weighing 279 lbs. She got kicked off last night and after she came home, she continued her journey and ran the DSM half marathon! In 5 months she has lost 122 and now weighs 157 lbs! So, if she can do it, I can do it! I know 5 months is a short amount of time to lose weight and that she had the Biggest Loser trainers and probably works out for hours every day, but she made the choice to start. And so did I! So, thank you Rebecca for helping me achieve my weightloss goals! I'm totally rooting for you to be the at home winner! You can do it!

I hope these blog entries have helped inspire you or at the very least, caused you to think. You can do this! Trust me, if I can make the decision to eat right and healthy, then ANYONE can! God is giving me the strength to keep going and to achieve some discipline in my life. So, maybe this is the jump start you need in your life to start making healthy choices. It doesnt take much to see a difference. Maybe you just need to cut out fast food or pop or something, but whatever it is, do something! Get moving! You WILL see a difference!

Have a good one!

Day 4 and other updates...

2009-11-13T07:41:00.001-08:00

Well, today is Day 4 of the 50 Day Fat Loss Challenge, and I've been doing pretty well! You know, I'm actually learning that I like healthy food and it's not too much trouble to eat healthy. So, if you are interested in doing this, check out the 50 day Fat Loss Challenge blog in my previous post.

So, I can't believe that 2 weeks from now Thanksgiving will already be over with! But more importantly, 2 weeks from tomorrow I'm driving home for a week!! I'm so excited to see everyone. I haven't seen my beautiful niece (or anyone else for that matter!) since she turned 3 in June. I'm leaving early Saturday morning and am planning on being gone until the following Sunday. It's going to be a great trip! I've already got most of the week filled up.

Other than waiting to go home and sticking to my diet plan, not much else is going on. I'm getting ready to do a Christmas party for the kids at church. I think I'm going to call it "A Gaudy and Godly Christmas" and we are going to decorate the youth room in as much tacky Christmas stuff as we can find! Should be a fun time!

I hope all is well with all of you!

50-day Fat Loss Challenge

2009-11-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start a blog, huh? Well, I've taken the plunge and I'm jumping in with both feet. My friend Becki from back home sent me an invite yesterday on facebook to join her in a 50-day fat loss challenge. Do you believe that God drops exactly what you need in your lap when you need it the most? That's how I feel about this opportunity. I have been wanting to do something like this for a while and had no idea how to get started and how to stay motivated. That's where Becki comes in. I mean, she's a personal trainer and knows how to get healthy and stay that way. So, if she tells me to do it, I'm gonna do it!

The Challenge is for 50 days, so it does take me through the holidays and through my trip home. I'm just going to have to be careful and make sure not to go to overboard. She did give us off Thanksgiving and Christmas as free days, so that will help some.

Anyway, if any of you would like to join me in this little venture, please visit the blog at www.50dayfatlosschallenge.blogspot.com. There are some really great tips on there and who knows, maybe we'll all loose a little weight!

Take care!

update... only about 6 months later...

2009-11-03T12:18:00.001-08:00

Ok, so obviously I need to be better at all this blog stuff! lol!!

Things with me are good! I'm living in Atlanta, TX and working for Wells Fargo Bank in Texarkana, TX. I LOVE my job and the people I work with! They are great! I work with several Christian women who do a great job of encouraging me and lifting up my spirits. When I started at Wells Fargo, I started out as a regular teller and was here about 3 months when I received a promotion to a Lead Teller. I felt very fortunate to get the promotion and I truly believe Wells Fargo is a company that believes in promoting from within. I would love to be a Service Manager (the manager that oversees the tellers) some day and I know WF rewards those who work hard for them!

I also have a great little house in Atlanta that I love. My land lord is great! In fact, he stopped by on Sunday to get the rent check and told me he was knocking $100 off my rent for December because it was Christmas time. Who does that?? I also have 2 dogs that I love. One is Chloe and I got her in June. She is a cross between a pug and an Australian terrier. She's very sweet. I also have a puppy named Chance. We found him and 2 other puppies abandoned at our church. The first week went by and there were 3 and then the next week there were just 2 and the last week, all we could find was Chance. He was really sick and very small. I took him home and thanks to a lady in my church, nursed him back to health. Now 3 months later he's bigger than Chloe! I'm still not 100% sure what kind of dog he is, but I just know he's cute!! If I can, I'll try and post some pics of them both.

Not much else is going on. Church is going well. We are slowly growing our numbers. The youth group has had it's ups and downs with different school activities and things, but I think we are on our way up! We are looking forward to changing a lot of things in youth after the first of the year. New youth name, repainting of our youth room, new order of service, etc. I'm excited for the changes that are coming!

Well, that's about all that's currently going on in my life right now! So, see, you didn't really miss much over the last 6 months! Lol! But I do promise to be back sooner this time.

So it's official!!

2009-04-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

I start at Century Bank (soon to be Wells Fargo Bank) on Monday at 8:30 in the morning. I'm excited to get going! The next step will be a place of my own. I'm hoping to be in something by May 1st. That would be my goal. We'll start praying that happens. Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update! Love to all!!

Job Update

2009-04-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!! I'm so excited right now! I just had a great conversation with the lady from Century Bank! They are going to start me higher than normal for a teller, because of my experience. It's a total blessing from God! The job is also full time, so I will have benefits and vacation time. Right now I'll be a floater until they find out which branch needs me the most, then I'll be housed there. Who knows what might happen after I've been there a little bit due to the fact that the bank is going through a bank conversion. There may be other opportunities that come up sooner than normal because of that. So, I'm just really excited because I feel like the right people know my name in the company and the right things are happening. The next step is a criminal background check, which should only take 3-5 days so the latest I would start would be April 13th. I'm hoping it comes back in 3 days and I can start Wed or Thurs next week. That would be great! Once all this is confirmed and such, I'll be on the offical hunt for a house. Already several people at church have talked to me about places that are open. Everyone here is so supportive and so excited for me. I just love them!

Speaking of things going on here, God is doing great things! Last night in youth I got to teach the Bible study and we started practicing the drama we are doing Easter Sun morning. It's a simple drama, but I think they really like it. They did awesome, and I'm really proud of them! I had to do some recruiting because we dont have many guys that come, so my main guy is 21, but that's ok. We've been trying to get him to start coming on Wed nights too, so maybe this will be a way for him to get in the habit of doing that. Also, starting this Sunday I'm going to start teaching the youth Sunday school. I'm so excited about that! I just love these kids, and I think this will be one more way I can make a connection with them. So please be in prayer about that. I just want to make sure I'm connecting with them on a spiritual level as well as a friendship level. God's doing awesome things!

Anyway, that's the latest update. I'll let y'all know when I know about my first day of work! Praise God! Love to all!!

A job! And so many other blessings...

2009-03-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

I got a job today!! YEAH!!!! I'm going to be working at Century Bank in Texarkana. It will be a full time teller position for now, with awesome opportunity for advancement. In fact, the HR person told me today that if she had a supervisor position open, she would have offered it to me. We have a bank conversion happening in a couple weeks, so after all that settles, who knows what might be available. It's a great opportunity, and I'm super excited.

God has also been moving in our youth group. We had 5 in youth on Wed night and we are going to start our drama team this Wed. We are doing a simple drama for Easter Sunday morning. This Wed night I'll also be sharing in youth. Tommy and I are going to be switching on an off every week, so I'm excited about that. I may start teaching the youth Sunday school as well. It's a great church and the people are so amazing. The immediate connection I've had with all of them has been unbelievable. It's totally a God thing.

Speaking of that, I just want to say, that this whole process has been hard, but at the same time the most amazing experience of my life. I've learned so much about the blessings of God, that I can't even tell you. P Tommy preached a sermon on Sunday about taking risks and when you take a risk, it gives God the biggest chance to bless you. So, if you are thinking about taking a risk because you feel the Lord is prompting you to do something, do it! If you know it's God's will, take that step... or in some cases a leap of faith. It will totally be worth it! I miss you all at home and love you a lot, but I'm excited about what God is doing here in Queen City TX!!

It's been 11 days...

2009-03-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it's officially been 11 days since I became a resident of Queen City, TX... And I love it! It was an emotional couple of weeks before I made the move, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's where I'm supposed to be. The first Sunday I was here, I walked into church and everyone was excited to me and I was SO excited to see everyone again. Even though it had only been a few weeks since I'd seen them, it was still great to see everyone. That first Monday I was here, I had a "group" interview with Century Bank. It was very strange -- it was 2 people from Century Bank and 5 of us. We had to go around the table and stand up and talk about ourselves and why we wanted to work for Century, along with a couple of other questions they asked us. Today I had a 3rd interview with them, a much more traditional style interview and it went great!! The interview was actually for a teller position, but by the end of the conversation they were talking to me about possibly doing a personal banker position. So, that was exciting!!

Right now I'm staying with Tommy and Heather at their house. All my stuff is in a 10x10 storage unit... which is slightly depressing! Lol! But once I get a job secured (which I hope to hear back by the end of the week) I'll start the apartment hunt. More and more things are starting to become available now too. So, I'm excited about that too! Things are definitely starting to move forward. I'm just so glad to be here. No place has ever felt like home, except Des Moines, and I get that "home" feeling being here. It's awesome.

Anyway, not much else to report. Sorry I've not done better keeping up. I'm not very good at these kinds of things! But when I think about it and get a chance, I'll update again. Talk to y'all (lol!) later!!

One month later...

2009-02-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so first of all, I need to apologize for it being over a month since I've updated this thing. I forgot my password to sign it and it was a big mess trying to get it reset. Note to self: write these things down!! Anyway, so I have a lot to put on here!!

Moving date is still set for March 13th... 13 days from today!! Holy cow! I'm still not sure what I think about all that. I'm super excited to go, but still scared at the same time. But I know God is in control!!

I was in Texas just last week for about 9 days. I left on Valentines Day (since I had no other plans...) and drove straight through. I spent the week looking for jobs and a place to live. Job wise, a lot of places wanted me to apply online, including a bank called Woodforest National Bank. It's located in our Walmart in Altanta (the town right next to Queen City). I had an interview with them last Saturday and it went really well. So, now I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I'm hoping to hear something by Monday. The housing was a little more difficult. Everything is either low income and a bit scary, or brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $700-750 a month, which I suppose is a great price, but still way more than what I need. So, as of right now I'm still on the hunt. I have a place I need to call back. There is a lady in town that has rental properties and she has a great little 2 bed, 1 bath available. But she was leery of renting it to someone who wasn't moved down there yet. So, I'm going to call back to her closer to the 13th and see if it's still available. In the mean time, if I dont find anything, looks like Tommy and Heather will have a roommate for a little bit. But thats ok.

Also, I wanted to let everyone who reads this and is in the DSM area, that next Saturday March 7th from 1-4pm, I'm having a Going Away Party at Berean Assembly of God. It's a come and go as you please type of thing, but I would love to see as many people as I can before I go. So please come if you can. Berean is located on E University across from White Water. When you come, just go to the back parking lot and come in the south doors. It will be just to your left when you get in the door. Anyway, I hope you can all come!

Well, there's not much more to report. I'll keep everyone posted on any new updates, now that I can post things on here again!! Love to you all!

Super Baby

2009-01-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

And, along with all the pics of the house (see below!), Tommy also sent me a pic of one of my favorite super heros.... I love her!

Olivia "Super Baby!" Green

Pictures

2009-01-24T22:20:00.001-08:00

The bedroom

The bathroom... the other wall to the left has a blue built-in cabinet.

Galley style kitchen... backdoor leads to shared laundry room with the guy next door.

Living Room... Wall to the right has built in cabinets

Outside... I'd be the one on the left

Here are some pics of the apartment/house/duplex that Tommy and Heather went to look at on Friday. There were some good points: new carpet, new linoleum, new mini-blinds. Down side, there are train tracks in pretty much the back yard of the property. Tommy also said there were some questionable houses down the street from it. So, a lot to consider. I definately think I'm going to keep looking, but at least keep this one on the list! I sound like I'm on House Hunters!! Anyway, leave your comments on the pics if you like! Especially about the bright GREEN kitchen! Yes!!!

So much to say!!

2009-01-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! What a crazy couple of days! I really should have been blogging at the end of every day, but somehow I never got around to it. So, I think my last post was on Sat so I'll start with Sunday!

Sunday -- Big news at Berean... We voted in a new Sr Pastor. A man by the name of Paul Martin and his wife Ann. But also big things happening in Queen City! God did amazing things in the service on Sunday night in QC and Heather and I had a great talk about what God is doing and it just fired me up all the more! I think it really solidified my call to be a part of that church. They are wonderful people and I'm excited to be a part of what's going on there!

Monday -- Lets see... Worked and called about the apartment. Had to leave a message, but that was ok. I think I also got online and applied for a couple job. I dont remember... they all are running together at this point! OH! And I dropped my car off at the car place to see about getting it fixed! That was the big thing that happened that day! HA!

Tuesday -- Left my cell phone at home and that was really annoying. Adrian had some tests done (see www.chefstinsonfamily.blogspot.com for more info) and so I was waiting to hear from her. And I was supposed to hear about my car as well. So, had to go to my grandparents and finally figured out that there was more wrong with my car than they first thought. Apparently all of my tires are bad and so are my brakes. SO... was not thrilled about that! We still didnt know about the transmission yet, and I was worried about the cost. Even though God provided a blessing for me through someone amazing, it was still looking like it was going to cost a small fortune. Ended up the evening having 2 wonderful conversations, one with my friend Andrew and one with Heather. I love them both very much!

Today -- didn't work because of the car situation. But that was ok, because I got a TON of stuff done! Yesterday the apartment lady called and left a message (since my phone was at home) and so today I got to touch base with her. Its a large 1 bedroom apartment with new mini-blinds, carpet and vinyl. I only mention the mini-blinds because thats the amenity she lead with and I thought it was funny. It's got new mini-blinds...and by the way new carpet too. I found it humorous. Anyway, large fridge, washer and dryer on site and a single guy that lives around the corner. Hmmm..... I digress. I made arrangements for Heather to look at it on Friday afternoon, so I'm excited about that. The rent is $400 a month, which I didnt think was too bad. The deposit is also $400, but if this the apartment for me, I'm trusting God to provide. I also called on another property in Atlanta, TX area. It's a duplex with 2 bedrooms and I think 2 bathrooms. I had to leave a message and she called back tonight, but I was at church. I'm going to try and touch base with them tomorrow. Their deposit is $500 and I'm not sure what the rent is. I guess I'll be curious to see which ones has double doors...

I also applied for a job at a Credit Union and got an email back from their HR dept wanting to know more about me and my experience. It was kinda fun listing all the things I know about banking and what I did when I worked for FAB. I also checked into working for the Census Bureau, since that is coming up in 2010 (for those that did not know). I found out that they have a branch in Texarkana, so that would be awesome! I'm actually going to check and see if maybe I can get hired on here working part time until I move and then just transfer to the branch in Texarkana. We'll see.

Lastly, I got GREAT news about my car!! It's not the whole transmission, PRAISE THE LORD!! Apparently there is some computer thing in the transmission and they are 95% sure that's what is wrong. And that part is a much cheaper part to replace than rebuilding the whole transmission. And it will be done tomorrow. I'm excited to get my baby fixed and running great and ready for the big trip! Aside from the standard oil changes, I should be good to go for quite a while. My great friend Andrew is letting me borrow his car until tomorrow night, so I'm glad to be able to get to work tomorrow.

So, pretty eventful couple days. I also finalized my Feb trip. I'm leaving Friday Feb 13th after work and staying the night somewhere and then driving the rest of the way on Sat. Then I'll be there the whole next week and leave on Monday the 23rd. I really wanted to go to church 2 weeks in a row. And after that it'll just be a few more weeks and I'll be there permanently! I counted the other day and I believe that from today it's 51 days until I move. That's crazy! But VERY EXCITING!!!

Ok, I think this post is long enough! Thanks for sticking around to read the whole thing!

I always say I'm amazed....

2009-01-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

But I dont know why. I dont know why I should be amazed at what God can do in my life, because He's God, right?

So, I have some exciting news. First of all, I think I might have found an apartment!! Heather called me Thursday night and said they found an ad in their local paper for a 1-bedroom apartment with new carpet for $375 a month!! YEAH!!! I was so excited. I'm going to call the guy today and get all the deposit info and all that from him and let him know my situation. Heather and Tommy said they would go and look at it for me and take pics or whatever. So, I'm way excited about that!!

Secondly, the issue with my car may not be an issue any more. Someone close to me has offered to help me out with it and I couldnt be more blessed. Again, I just feel like the Lord is working in ways I never thought could happen. I'm so blessed. And one thing I know about the Lord is that when you are obedient and bless others, those things do not got unnoticed by Him and your blessings come full circle. I've seen it too many times in my life over the years. Its amazing!

Anyway, nothing yet on the job end, but God's got something there for me too! I'll keep you posted!!

Today...

2009-01-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today I sat at home because we didn't have school because it's 9 million degrees below zero outside. Ok, maybe not that cold, but cold enough for them to cancel all the area schools!! Crazy! So, trying to be productive, I got on Craigslist and Monster and applied for several jobs. Hopefully I will hear back from at least one of them. Most of them were for receptionist/administrative assistant positions. Heather is going to give me the name of a couple other people to contact as well. I think I'm going to send my resume to the Queen City School District as well. I do really enjoy working with the kids and they may have something for me.

I also found out something interesting the other day. My day of moving may be moved up a bit! Originally I had planned on moving on March 20th because I thought that was the first day of our Spring Break. Turns out, it's the LAST day of Spring Break! So, looks like March 13th is the new target date! I dont know for sure if that day will work since a lot will depend on finding a job and a place to stay. And whether or not Andrew can take the time off then. So, still a lot of things to figure out!

One last side note... please keep Berean in your prayers this weekend as we have a man coming on Sunday to candidate for Sr Pastor. We are all just praying that whatever is decided will be God's will for our church. Even though I'm moving on to the next chapter in my life and a new church, Berean will always be my home church and hold a special place in my heart. I just want what God wants. So, thanks and I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Thanks to everyone who has been keeping up on my blog! I love you all!

Not much to report

2009-01-11T13:38:00.001-08:00

Well, on the work/apt hunt, there's not much to report. I've talked to Heather who is going to put some feelers out there for me with some people at church. There is also a very large temp agency in the area that is always looking to place people, so I am going to send them my resume as well as many of those jobs turn into more permenant placements. I was going to just send my resume to the banks and the schools in the area, but then again, I kinda want to see what else might be out there. That's why I'm thinking a temp agency might be kind of fun! May open some doors that I never thought would!

God's still been working and opening doors and doing all the things in my life that God does. He's so good and so faithful and He's making this whole experience fun (now that I'm not totally freaked out any more!) I've gotten a chance the last couple days to talk to people about what I'm going to be doing and it's just really given me a refreshed sense of my purpose and call to TX. I get excited to talk about it with people and thinks about the vision God has given for Queen City Assembly of God! It's great!

I also went to Heartland Assembly of God this morning with my very good friend Andrew. I ran into a friend of mine from high school and it was fun to catch up with her. So, Tiffany, great to see you and thanks for your encouraging words today! I'm excited that God is doing so much in your life and your family's lives as well. God bless you! And I also got to reconnect with my friend Amy, who has been one of the most influential people in my life. She's an amazing woman of God and I'm so blessed to call her friend. I haven't seen her in several months and whenever we get together, it's like no time has past at all. She encourages me so much and I could listen to her share about the Lord all day. So, Amy, I love you! I can't wait to see where God takes you in this next chapter of your life. You are a beautiful woman of God and I'm blessed to call you friend!!

I hope today finds you loving Jesus and blessed by Him!

God is so good!

2009-01-08T21:50:00.001-08:00

That's all I want to say. God is so good and faithful to me, even when I dont feel like I've been faithful to Him. He's so amazing. Encouragement and direction can come when we least expect it and from the last place we expect it from.

Lord, I love you so much! I can't imagine what my life would look like right now if You were not in it. You have blessed me beyond my wildest dreams and I can't wait to spend eternity with You in Heaven. Like the song says... This world has nothing for me, I will follow You. Wherever that is. I love you!

Hmmm...

2009-01-07T20:04:00.001-08:00

How come its so easy sometimes to have an awesome night at church and then come home get comfortable, grab a snack and not think one thing about what happened at church? This happens for me a lot. And I know that is my fault. And tonight, I was about to let that same thing happen. But I'm not. I'm going to sit here and reflect a bit about what God did for me today/tonight. Because God's been so good to me all day.

Tonight we focused on prayer in youth. I wasn't sure at first how I thought it was going to go, especially since we had several first time visitors. I thought... these kids are going to think we are some kind of weird, holier-than-thou-type of youth group. But, you know what? God showed up. And for me it was a simple verse that made Him so much more real for me. I've heard these verses 1000 times and will probably hear them a million more times before I die, but tonight for some reason, God showed up in the midst of these verses. They are found in Phil 4:6&7. It says (NIV) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I've got myself so worried and freaked out about this whole moving thing, but tonight, I'm not worried. God promised me that I dont have to worry, but with a thankful heart, I'm to bring my requests to Him. And He'll give me such amazing peace that it will guard my heart and mind, and help me not to worry all the more. Just a sense of, Ok, God... it's all you. You work it out. You know the amount of money I need, You know the job I need, You know the place I need to live. And I dont have to be consumed by it. It was great!

I had another awesome experience today that I want to share with you all. I have a friend who's been reading my blog and she emailed me today and said that she hadn't really shared my blog or my situation with her hubby or her kids but her daughter... (her email to follow)

"...was getting her things ready to take a bath and said "mom, i had a dream last night that lauren, the one with short hair who worked at my school last year, she got a really beautiful apartment or something. it had two doors that opened like this.....and then she proceeded to tell me what it looked like. INTERESTING!>!>!>! "

Is that cool or what?!?!? It brought tears to my eyes because I believe the Lord used a small child to remind me that He's got it all figured out! I just can't wait until she comes to visit me and walks into my new place and says "Yep! This is what it looked like!!"

Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings!!

Trying not to freak out...

2009-01-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

So, I'm starting to get a little freaked out about moving. I guess this really is God's way of reminding me that I just really need to trust Him. I started pricing moving vans and just about fell out of my chair. So, I'm hoping that I can talk my friend Andrew (who has agreed to help me move, bless his heart!) into driving his truck and pulling a trailer. Surely that has to be cheaper than renting a truck, paying gas money AND trying to find a way to get him home. The other downer is that I really need to get my car fixed before I move and I'm afraid that's going to cost quite a bit. So I'm praying that something works out with that as well. Plus, I have to come up with all the deposits and all that on apartments. So, please keep all this in your prayers! I know it will be fine. I am looking for some additional work, if anyone out there needs some extra help with things! Just let me know!

Stay tuned more updates!

2009-01-05T10:40:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my blog!! Originally I wanted to send out a holiday letter to update everyone on my life, but never got around to it. Then I got to thinking... can I fit everything that is going on in my life into one small holiday letter? So, that's when I decided to create a blog instead. This way I can keep everyone up to date on my move and all of that.

So, with that being said, I suppose I should start with that news. I'm moving to Texas!! YEAH!!! I'm super excited about what God is leading me to do! My best friend Heather and her husband Tommy accepted a position as the Lead Pastor of Queen City Assembly of God Church in Queen City, TX. It's a small church in a small town in north-east TX and it's absolutly great! The people there are amazing and ready for God to do something great! Queen City is a small town with about 1600 people. It's right next door to Atlanta, TX, which is about 6500 people. Texarkana, TX/AR is about 20 minutes from us and it has all the comforts of a big city, including great shopping and great restaurants.

So, now that the New Year is here, I'm working on securing a job and a place to live. Today I'm sending out some resumes and am praying that something turns up! And I have a few places in mind to call for housing and am praying that something falls into place with that as well. So please pray with me that everything will happen as it should! I know God is in control and has all these things already lined up for me. I'm excited to see those things all come to pass.

So, stay tuned. Hopefully I will keep things posted on here as well! Maybe my new blog should be my New Years Resolution. Thanks for stopping by!