The Randomness

I am sitting in my mother and father in law's house as I write this blog. I'm curled up in Mama Gayle's comfy chair. I just finished watching Francis Chan talk about joy and the command to rejoice! I found myself examining my own life and how I respond to things. I felt humbled as I sat here and wept over the fact that my name is written in Heaven. When was the last time I rejoiced over that indescribably beautiful fact?

Well, I promised the second half of our life update. Many of you know that Will and I have relocated to Columbia, SC. Will is starting the master's program in clinical counseling at Columbia International University. This is actually his first day, and he's in class right now! I had the immense privilege of going to orientation with Will yesterday. We spend the whole day there learning about the school, the program and various other things. I was very impressed by what I heard, and it left me with a peace.

The following paragraphs will give you a little back story of how we found ourselves here...


Before leaving for Slovakia, we had been discussing what is next for us, and what God might want us to explore. We were having dinner with the Daddy Ron and Mama Gayle (Will's parents) in Columbia in early summer and discussing this very thing. We were aware that our current jobs didn't really have any potential for growth nor did we really feel we were doing things that were our passion? The idea of going back to school came up and Will voiced his interest in counseling. It had always held some appeal to him and we discussed CIU (Columbia International University). We were discussing that when our friend, Stephanie, walked up to our table...

She starts out by telling us what has been going on in her life. The first words out of her mouth are, "Yeah, I've been working at CIU and taking some counseling classes, which has been amazing!". Weird, huh? I mean we hadn't even mentioned what we had been talking about. That was our first nudge from God to pursue this thing.

Will started the application process slowly. It wasn't really until Slovakia or after that he really hit that process hard. He got his references in, wrote his essay and waited to hear back from them. All the while we are recovering from our trip to Slovakia, and the amazing time we had there. We had been praying about missions as a more full time thing, and we found ourselves quite torn. What did God want us to pursue at this time? Slovakia, seminary, some other form of school for Will or myself??

Well, in the midst of this confusion, Will had an interview at CIU on Wednesday (less than 2 weeks ago). We took an overnight trip to Columbia and Will spent the majority of Wednesday taking a personality test and interviewing, while I drove around in the rain and tried to entertain myself. The interview went remarkably well. The head of the counseling department met with Will and was blown away by what he saw in him. He thought he would make an excellent counselor and really wanted him to start fall classes. Mmmm....

We had a lot to discuss. While Will appeared to be a shoe-in, were we ready to make this commitment? Two and a half to three years of school and 2 years of a paid internship. Would the paid internship pay enough? We want to have kids...and don't really want to wait 5 years. We just weren't sure. So, on the drive home from Columbia, Will called our friend Kara, who went through the same program 6 years ago. She was incredibly encouraging, and we found out that you could have a family and live modestly off your intern salary. So that took the process from a five year one to a two and a half year process. So, can we really move to Columbia in less than 2 weeks, we find ourselves asking one another??

Upon returning to Alpharetta, we knew the last step in this was seeing where Will's boss stood on him leaving in a week. She said she didn't want to stand in the way of what God could do. She was completely encouraging and said that there were teachers who wanted more hours that could slide in. It's not natural for either of us to take such a "risk". Our faith was grown in leaps and bounds in the moment where we decided to go in the direction we felt God leading us. Doing what God tells you is never a risk, but as humans we see all of the things that aren't "perfect" about the situation. Because of the speedy nature of this thing, I didn't' have a job upon moving nor did we have a place of our own to live.

We called Will's parents and told them our plan and where we felt God leading us. They opened their home to us and have generously offered financial support. Both Will and I are completely overwhelmed by the love and support we feel.

So, I am on the job hunt, and I know that when God brings that job to us, it will be His perfect timing. I have resumes and applications out there, and I'm looking still. With the help of my beautiful Savior, I will rejoice in this time, knowing He has our best interest in mind.

I'm so completely thrilled for what God is going to do through this time here. Please pray for us. Prays for Will as he starts school again for the first time in 10 years. Pray for me as I look for a job. Pray that God will remain the center of everything we do and that in this time of change, He would remain the constant.



I know this was long, so I thank you for sticking with it. Love you all!

Sarah & Will (I know this is his heart as well)

I'm sitting in our loft after having been gone for 26 days. I can't believe one entire month out of a precious twelve has passed by so quickly. It has been an completely amazing month, however. I will try to recap as briefly as possible.

Will, myself and Katie (one of our amazing college girls) left the country on the 12th of July. We landed in Vienna bright and early on the 13th. Some friends of ours picked us up from the airport and drove us to Bratislava, SK, where Laura was impatiently waiting for our arrival. It was a glorious moment when we saw our Laura bounding from the street and leaping into our arms. Okay, she walked hurriedly and hugged us. It was still glorious! We were re-united with the rest of our team (who came over early to do another camp). We also met Laura's interns for the summer.

We made our way to camp that same day and the train ride was refreshing as we were able to spend quality time with Laura for a few hours (there were also 3 random Slovaks that were in our compartment that we spent some quality time with). Looking back, I'm so grateful for that bit of time we had with Laura because the rest of the trip was so busy and hectic that that was really the only solid time we had.



Onto camp...it was AMAZING! Completely different from last year's in terms of environment and accommodations, etc. Last year we were in a super nice hotel and this year we were roughin it in cabins. We had electricity only part of the day and night. It expired promptly at midnight and hot water wasn't a definite. There were even a multitude of bugs, but camp was AMAZING! Will and I were able to teach a class together. We had 7 incredible english speakers in our advanced class, and we truly enjoyed our mornings playing games and learning english together.










Two sweet girls accepted Christ as their savior and many other conversations were had as Christianity, family, and life were honestly discussed. I was able to share a story from my life one night. The topic was on failure. That was a humbling experience, and I've never really shared something in a group like that before. God spoke through me, and as a result, I was able to have some great talks with some girls at camp.

There are so many other stories I could share from camp. A hike that I was pretty sure I would die on, getting sick in the woods, climbing a tree, eating a sweet pasta with poppy seeds for lunch, holding my own in a football throwing circle with the boys, not holding my own in a frisbee throwing circle, playing raucous games of catch phrase with our class, watching Will kill a giant bee and Andrej inform us that we'd killed the mother ship, Will doing Arnold impressions at the request of our students. And so many more.

After camp we spent a few days in Vienna. Beautiful, gorgeous, elegant, everything you could imaging. We walked like fiends everywhere and treated ourselves to ice cream every night. We met up with two of our girls who were spending a few days there as well. We even saw Harry Potter in an english cinema!









We made it back safe and sound and jet lagged out of our minds. There is much more to catch you up on. I will save that for Part II of our update.

Until then, take care,
Sarah

Happy Monday wishes to all of you! I experienced a rather gloomy drive to work today. Misty and foggy accompanied my journey, but I am happy to say that as I sit here now, writing, I see a peek of sunlight. It's amazing what sun can do. God is beyond wise and creative.

Well, as I was getting ready this morning, I was thinking about our trip to the beach next week. I felt giddy rising up in my body over the fact that it was merely days away. It was then that it hit me, a blog idea!


A Giddy Me


I thought I would highlight the past two years and how Litchfield by the Sea has become a summer tradition.

So, two summers ago, Will and I were just dating, and I was meeting his family for the first time. I remember it was late when I got in, and Mama Gayle waited up past her bedtime to meet me. There they were...Will's parents who I'd heard so much about. They were so good to me. I felt more than welcomed, and I can honestly say that the love and kindness showed to me on that first visit hasn't decreased in the slightest. I still feel completely honored in their presence. I love you both. Oh, and happy belated birthday, Daddy Ron. :)

The week with the Troutmans was grand. We ate fantastic food, lounged by the pool and on the beach and even made our way to a beautiful garden. The beauty was short lived that day, however, as the heat gradually began to melt away our ability to reason and think.


Mama Gayle emerges from the Fountain at Brookgreen Gardens


Not only did I get to meet the parents, but I got to meet Will's other sister, Liz. I already knew Laura (hence the connection between Will and I in the first place), but it was such a blessing to meet Liz and fall in love with her on the first visit. She is an amazing woman of God, and I feel honored to call her my sister.


A Blonde me and my beautiful Liz


Last year, the newly married couple got to go to the beach yet again. I think it is time to say a huge thank you to Will's uncle, who graciously extends his beach condo to family. It is his generosity that allows Will and I to look forward to a week at the beach without the worries of saving for a hotel. Thank you, Uncle Jim from the bottom of our hearts!

Back to last year....we invited my brother and his wife (also newly married at the time) to vacation with us. Kristi (my other new sister), is from South Dakota, so she hasn't had much beach in her life. It was fun to watch her and Jason have a blast in the water. It was like watching two little kids, and I mean that in the most indeering way. Precious.

We played games, ate some yummy food, played a roller coaster of emotions game of putt-putt, etc. etc. I was on a wicked medication that made me equally as wicked at times. I think Jason and Kristi thought I was going to beat them with my club or drive the score keeping pencil into their temples, and Will was concerned for the dragon, the mascot and main atraction at this particular putt-putt locale. Thankfully nobody was harmed, and we can look back and laugh.



The Four of us Before I became Caveman



This year will bring the Burtons and Troutmans together once again for more beach time fun. Later in the week, Liz will join us. We're thrilled and can't wait for it!

We'll take some pictures and post them with details of the trip in a later blog.


Beautiful


Have supa dupa weeks everyone!

Manufacturing Blastotrons,
Sarah

I know, I know...it's been a while, but I believe my husband has supplied everyone with enough blogs this week to keep the masses satisfied. Well, I hope you all are starting out your summers splendidly. One more week and Will and I head to the beach. We are beyond thrilled!

Today, I would like some insight into the trend that is, "Life is Good" paraphernalia. This look that I see plastered on so many well meaning people baffles me. Like this guy here. He looks like he presents himself well, works out, etc., and he decided to go with this shirt for the day. Really??



I have some rad theories on what just might happen if you come in contact with something "Life is Good".

1. Do the images come to life and teach you miraculous truths? Like in the mug below, I imagine the dog dropping the marshmallow he is roasting and jumping out of the mug right into your lap. He then starts to blow your mind with earth shattering knowledge and before you know it, he has leapt back to his ceramic world and is roasting marshmallows. You never know when he'll return, so you keep dat mug, drink out of dat mug and hope one day that the wise canine will jump out of dat mug once again.



2. Theory #2 has to do with teleportation. I believe that there is a possibility that whenever you wear something "Life is Good", whether it be a hat, a shirt, slippers, a necklace, running shorts, you are magically teleported to that scene. I'll give you some examples form the pictures below. First is our tennis pro on the cap. He or she is obviously enjoying life to the fullest. When the hat is on your head for total of 3 hours, you feel a burning sensation in your temples and a flash of white light appears. You then become a cartoon character tennis champion, and you are battling it out with other characters from LIG (life is good).



Shirts are different, however. You've got to don those babies for a total of 8 hours before the magic begins. And you wouldn't believe how friendly the lobsters are when you cross over into their world. Look how happy he is!



3. There simply must be a 3rd theory to keep in line with Will's first blog of the week. If that makes no sense to you, you haven't read his blog on the #3....okay I'll stop touting and promoting the husband. Onto the the final theory. And that is the theory of protection. A lot of the LIG stuff isn't necessarily clothing but more decoration, such as a bumper sticker. I believe that when you stick one on your car, truck, scooter or even boogie board, you inpenitrable to accidents or angry drivers. There is a catch, however. LIG wants to be sure that you are true to them, so you must have said sticker plastered for a total of 2 years. I know...I know. That is a lot of commitment but look at the benefits.

Just imagine that in a moment of poor judgement, you cut someone off. They careen into a bridge and their car is in flames. But then you see then crawl from the fiery mass and through the smoke you see a thumbs up, and they simply smile and say, "Life is Good".

This rule doesn't apply with boogie boards, however. The water could cause them to peel. If they do fall off, just replace them for a year and you the power will be yours.






And there you have it, my friends. I have gone all out and taken things too far as I work my way back into the hearts of my faithful readers. I hope you have enjoyed this randomness and to those of you who are reading that own LIG threads or decor of any kind, rock on and share with me your love of it!

Hugs and high kicks to you all!!

Hey, hey, hey! Happy spring time to all!

Well, I hope in this blog, I will be able to keep my thoughts in order and not ramble. I just want to make sense and, in love, let my feelings be known. So, here goes....

Isn't Hollywood interesting. It's an amazing, fascinating, offending, captivating, distracting, immoral machine that never stops running. You never know what it's going to spit out next and just how shocking it might be.

I blogged a while ago about Spanglish and the message that was so contrary to scripture and God's view of marriage. Today, I'm not really pin-pointing any particular film but just the overall feel and level of immorality that reigns supreme in so much that's being made these days.

I don't think God ever intended for His children to be blindly led by the standards and values of Hollywood. And, God has been telling me lately that it really is okay to take offense and not be cool with a lot of what is deemed by the entertainment world as awesome.

God has been so good to Will and I in drawing us to Himself and giving us the desire to live holy lives and to truly be set apart. It's interesting, though, when you are truly seeking God and His will in your life, how satan will come against you so strong. He not only tries to get you in areas he knows you are weakest, but he starts to prey on you in other areas.

But, I find comofort in the following verse from Romans.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

There are so many distractions out there, both good and bad, and I've come to find out that even the good can get in the way of that closesness with Christ that He so desparately wants, and I so desparately need.

I hope this was an encouragement and thanks for keeping up with my ramblings!