Busy, Busy

I've been very lax over the last month with my blogging. We've had a ton of stuff going on that we are very excited about, so let me give you the updates.

Baby update:
I am a little over 17 weeks now, and my belly is starting to really poke out. I love it! Being that I used to really struggle with weight issues, it's amazing to see that my expanding belly makes me feel incredible...not fat! I have a doctor appointment on Monday, but we won't find out the sex until February 26. We can't wait to know.

New job (finally):
I started my new job on January 19. I'm working in the cardiovascular operating room, and I am so excited about it. When I first started as a nurse in the CCU, I asked to see an open heart surgery while I was on orientation, and they let me watch one. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen!! I knew from that day on that I wanted to work there someday. I just had no idea that God would allow me to work there already. God really did a miracle in getting me this job. I could go on and tell you the whole story, but I'll spare you for today. One of the really great things about this job is that I don't just circulate (meaning running around grabbing equipment), but I also get to scrub in with the doctor seeing everything firsthand. It's really intense. One day, I'll try and get some photos of the OR itself, so you can see how it's all set up. It's absolutely crazy!!

Anyway, that's the life update. I'm going to try to update this more often. God is amazing and has shared lots with me over the last few months. I want to share, but sometimes I just can't find all the words.

Have a great day!!

Today's QT

I read this in Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning this morning, and I just thought I'd share it with you.

"If the question were put to you, 'Do you honestly believe that God likes you?'--not loves you because theologically he must--how would you answer? God loves by necessity of his nature; without the eternal, interior generation of love, he would cease to be God. But if you could answer, 'The Father is very fond of me,' there would come a relaxedness, a serenity, and a compassionate attitude toward yourself that is a reflection of God's own tenderness. In Isaiah 49:15, God says: 'Does a woman forget her baby at her breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you'"

"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5

I don't really think I need to add to this. Anything I would add would only take away from what's being said...haha. But I'm going to think about what this really means today.

Life Updates...

I don't really know if anyone really cares, but here we go anyway:

1. Danny and I had a fabulous Christmas. It was so good to be able to celebrate with my family this year. I missed my mom last year. =(

2. New Years was great. We were able to go to Atlanta, GA with our College and Career home group. We went to the Aquarium, Danny and everyone else ice skated, and then we had a party at the Votaw house. It was great to celebrate with some new friends. Plus, while we were in Atlanta, I ran into one of my old childhood friends who is, by the way, 8 months preggers. Very exciting!! Very random!!

3. On Saturday, January 3rd, Danny and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. On Christmas day, we had officially been together for 7 years. I am truly married to the best guy in the whole world. I never thought 7 years ago that I would be able to love him more than I did then, but I do! I've never known a love (other than Christ's) that's more unconditional than with Danny.

4. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to check on everything with the baby. I'm not having an ultrasound, but I'll try to keep you posted on things with the little one. I've been using babycenter.com to track the progress and growth of the baby, and as of Friday, the baby was supposedly about the size of a lemon. I think that's kinda cool. I've gained all of 2 lbs, but I'm only 14 weeks. I'm anxious and excited about feeling the first flutters in there. I am also excited about finally being big enough that I look pregnant. (I know I may regret that statement later). I am just ready for it to be more tangible. Does that make sense?

Ok, that's all for now. Have a great week!!

Fröhliche Weihnachten!!

Well, Christmas is essentially over. It's usually at this time of the day that I get a little sad. All of the hype and anticipation are over. This year, as we were driving home from my mom's house, I had some time to reflect on my favorite part(s) of Christmas.

#1. My mom goes way out of her way to try and make Christmas special for everyone in some way. That's something I hope to pass along to my children someday.

#2. I love to watch others open their presents. I want to see the look on their faces when they get that one special Christmas wish.

#3. Danny and I started officially dating on Christmas day 7 years ago. We've made it a tradition to write each other a letter reflecting on the year and the things we've learned and the ways we've grown in our love for one another. More than any other gift, I look forward to this one from him the most. I have a drawer packed full of letters and notes from him that I'll cherish forever. My hope and prayer is that we will continue this Christmas tradition for the rest of our lives despite the hustle and bustle of children and other things.

Finally, I hope that everyone had an amazing Christmas. I hope that you are blessed in the coming year and that your faith in Christ will deepen and blossom.

1+1=3

It's been a bit of a secret until now (even though so many people knew...haha), but now the cat is completely out of the bag. We'll be having our first little baby around July 10th, and we are so extremely excited.

 

We had our first doctor visit December 3rd, and it was incredible!! I was so nervous. I don't really know why. A part of me was scared that there would be nothing there or something would be wrong, but at the first glimpse of our little baby, we were totally in love. We were able to see the heart beating. It was so fast...185bpm. We sat there and watched the baby move for a little while. It was kicking its little leg buds and moving its hands. I couldn't believe how much like a baby it already looked.

Here's the baby's first picture:

 

Why I Hate Cleaning...

Most of the people of my generation were addicted to the sitcom, Friends, on tv. Those of you who know Monica know that she is the stereotypical Type A personality and clean freak. I can truly identify with Monica the most except for in one area...CLEANING! While I am a serious Type A personality, when it comes to cleaning I cringe! I don't tend to be a complainer but here are the top reasons I hate cleaning:

1. I clean, and in two days, it's back to the way it was before I cleaned.

2. Cleaning, for the most part, is mindless activity. There's no life or death problem to try and figure out. I'm not stretching my brain in any way.

3. I think that time spent making my house emaculate could be better spent making my husband happy and spending quality time with him.

Ha! So now when I invite you over to our house, you will probably think we live in filth, and that's not the case at all. It's not that I don't clean, it's just that I'm not too happy about it...lol.

I leave you with this quote that I find incredibly satisfying:

"A clean house is a sign of a wasted life."

I Know, I Know...

I totally need to update this thing, but there's a lot going on right now that I'm not quite ready to talk about publically. So be patient, and check back often to see what we're up to.

Oh, one more thing: Congrats Chris, Beth, and Carrie on the birth of their daughter/sister, Hannah!! She looks just like Carrie when she was teenie tiny. We are super excited for you guys.

The Results Are In...

Barack Obama is set to be our next president!! While he may not have been my first choice, I am so proud to be an American right now. Whether you voted for Obama or not, you should be so proud of our democracy!! When I think about all of the oppression going on in other countries...people being murdered for making their voices heard, I cannot help but be so happy that my voice was heard (and I lived to tell about it).

I see that many Christians are really concerned about Obama becoming president, and I would just like to say (truly in love) that we cannot put our God in a box. God has been using people we wouldn't expect for centuries!! We have nothing to fear, because God has our past, present, and future in His awesome hands. I am truly looking forward to how God dumbfounds us all through Obama's presidency. I am looking forward to seeing Obama moving in such ways that could only be explained by him hearing the small whisper of God's voice. And I'm looking forward to God proving that He is good once again. Don't let fear and worry cloud your vision during the next four years! Watch and see!! God is going to do great things!!

Instead of berating Obama, let's start praying for him now as the leader of our country. My prayer is that we can come together as a country, and that this nation will change for the better despite who our president is.

I would love to hear your opinions on this subject.

Beth

Weekend Trip to the Mountains

So this past weekend, we went up to the N.C. mountains with the Tuckers. It was so much fun and oh, so relaxing. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

 

So many beautiful colors!

 

 

Worthy of a frame, I think

 

Kinda looks like an album cover

Facebook and Grace

Facebook is an amazing tool. With it, you can get in touch with people who once loved you, hated you, or just felt indifferent towards you. You can look in awe at people you that you went to high school with who have really made their lives great, who have overcome struggles, or who have failed miserably and may need a helping hand. It's honestly like a constant high school/college reunion!

Recently, I re-met an old friend on facebook who has been touched tremendously by the grace of God. She is an amazing woman of God, even though she may not know that yet, but she, like most of us, didn't come to know God the easy way. She rebelled against religion, church, and anything to do with Christianity, but God met her where she was and lifted her out of a life that was nothing but destructive. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her for the whole day today, and it was amazing to hear her testimony of grace. I feel blessed to know her!

One of the things I found really interesting in our meeting today was that she had, at one time, googled the word grace. The first website that pops up, if you want to do it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_grace. In this website grace is defined as:

"enabling power sufficient for progression. Grace divine is an indispensable gift from God for development, improvement, and character expansion. Without God's grace, there are certain limitations, weaknesses, flaws, impurities, and faults (i.e. carnality) humankind cannot overcome. Therefore, it is necessary to increase in God's grace for added perfection, completeness, and flawlessness."

The wikipedia entry goes on to say that grace is God's gift to humankind!! Ha! I love it!! Grace is a gift that you don't have to earn. As a matter of fact, there's nothing in this world you could do to earn the measure of grace given to us by our Father. Isn't it amazing that He loves us so much?! Well, it just makes me freakin' excited...that's all I have to say.

So my challenge is for everyone to think about and write out your testimony of grace. I've felt that I've needed to do this for long time, but I've never had the time. It would be a novel; I can tell you that with certainty. It will be interesting for us all to see what God has done for us...to be able to quantify it. Let me know your thoughts.

Beth

Wanted!!

Hey,
I'm looking for a great left handed acoustic guitar. Send me a message if you have one you're willing to sell or give away!! Thanks!!

Random Thoughts for the Week

1. If something ever happens to my husband, I'll never be able to watch television again. He's the only one who knows how he wired up our sound system.

2. Watching a friend go through hard times is rough, but knowing that someone is intentionally hurting them is torture.

3. Coffee should only be prepared using a coffee press. Everyone, throw out your coffee machines and make real coffee!!

4. I go to the greatest church on the planet, and I am lucky to be a part of what's going on there.

5. Everyone (well, maybe just women) should indulge themselves in reading a love story involving vampires and werewolves. It's just awesome! Thanks Twilight Series...I'm hooked.

6. Being employed is entirely overrated.

7. My husband is a stud!!

8. My cat makes me smile. She's cuddling with me as I type. How sweet!

9. I want to be used by God not because I want people to look at me and say, "Oh, look! She's being used by God." I want to be used, b/c there's a lot of work that needs to be done. It's not about me!!

10. I just ate a hot cheesecake brownie with Rocky Road ice cream on it, and it was almost better than sex.

Pure and Faultless Religion

James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

With everything that is going on economically in the world today, I am reminded of this verse. There are those who are sick and tired of paying for the health care and other costs of those who are less fortunate and those who are just too lazy to get a job. I understand this being part of the highly taxed middle class, but consider this verse. Our job as genuine Christians is to take care of those less fortunate than us. It is not an option. James says that it is the "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless..." Nothing else matters in this world other than us taking care of others...showing the love and mercy to others that was so freely given us.

"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" (Matthew 22:37-40)

So who is our neighbor? Our neighbors are ALL of those around us...good or bad...genuinely unfortunate or not...who need Christ. I firmly believe that if we show the love of Christ to everyone, whether they are taking advantage or not, Christ is glorified, and that is all I want to do. It is not my job to judge whether someone is worthy of my help or not. It is simply my job to help and wait for Christ to do His work. When we love without conditions (something the world doesn't expect) and give without regulations, His Word is brought forth, and His love is shown. Jesus loved me without conditions and regulations. Who am I to not love others the way He loves and takes care of me?

Sunday Refections-October 5, 2008

This Sunday's Communion message was, for me, exactly what I needed. During the message Pastor Mark said that there are 3 things that Communion encourages us to do. Those include:
1. To look within ourselves and examine our own lives
2. To look back at how God has delivered us from things in our lives
3. To look ahead to the time when we will see Him face to face.

Pastor Mark also asked us 3 questions related to these 3 concepts:
1. What do you see when you look within yourself?
2. What "God-memory" is most special to you?
3. What are you looking forward to with God?

It's the answer to the 3rd question that I wanted to talk about in this blog. When I was about 2-3 years old, my biological father committed suicide. I never got to know my real father, and that has truly affected me over the years. I ask myself questions like, "Why was I not worth him living?" This was a constant battle in my mind as I was growing up and even now, at times. I was adopted by my mom's next husband, but I never felt like I was good enough for him. I grew up feeling like a major burden in his life. So, for me, when I think about the answer to this 3rd question, my eyes fill with tears, because I can just picture it in my mind...when I see Him face to face. I picture myself running as fast as I can to Him, laughing the whole way, and He's running full-on towards me. Then He grabs me up and twirls me around, and we just laugh and play like this for hours. (Ha...you REALLY don't want to be behind me in line to meet Him. Prepare to wait). Then He speaks to me and tells me how much He's always loved me and cared about me. I sit there completely dumbfounded that it's even possible to feel such amazing love and grace. And then I fold my head into His chest, and I just stay there for a really long time listening to His heart beat...His arms engulf me without a hint of Him ever wanting to let go. I never want to move from this position. Just let me stay like this for all of eternity. I am with my Daddy...

God is so real and so full of love. When I think about all of the things we must endure in life, I think about how all of that will just fade away when we see Him face to face. All of the hurt, frustration, and anger that we carry around will melt at the very sight of Him. But the amazing thing is that we don't even have to wait that long to let all of these issues go. If we surrender to Christ right now, even in this very moment, He floods our hearts with His grace and mercy, and everything else just falls away. He is good and faithful. If we seek Him, He will not hide Himself from us. That's a promise that we can count on.

Update...

This week has been such a stressful week for me. Here's the situation: Before we decided to take an amazing assignment in Germany, I had such a great job. The call back part was a little difficult at times, but in all, it was a good job. I was financially well taken care of. I was able to schedule things in my life and therefore actually have a life. Not many nurses can brag about that. Yes, the doctors would occasionally fly off the handle, and you'd want to quit just because of the amount of emotional abuse you'd have to take from them on a daily basis. But I worked with a great group of people, and we really had a lot of fun.

So we take off and have such an amazing time in Germany. We are just so blessed. Meanwhile, my boss in the cath lab is doing all that she can to hold my job for me for the year I'm gone. I checked the job postings on the St. Francis website every month or so just to see if my position was still there. After 11 months in Germany, my position was still there, but I wasn't sure if I even wanted the job back. God was really speaking to my heart about some things. I just wasn't sure where He wanted me to be. After talking to the director of the cath lab about a month before I came home, I thought the position was, at any rate, still mine for the taking. Two weeks before leaving Germany, the position is still there. Three days before leaving Germany, the job is suddenly gone! I thought, "Ok, God has a way of closing doors and opening others. It's ok." I wasn't all that upset about it.

So now we come to this last week. I've had 4 interviews at 3 different hospitals and only one job in which I'm actually interested. The one job I'm interested in would be a HUGE HUGE HUGE (get the point) pay cut, but I don't do nursing just for the money. I'd rather be happy and have less money than miserable in a job that pays great. Anyway, so the nurse manager in the job that I really wanted absolutely loved me, and I thought that it was just a perfect fit for me. All week, I've been waiting to hear the definite, for sure, job offer, and I've only gotten the run-around. I am the ONLY person they've interviewed for this position, so I'm knew that there was something else going on. Finally, I get a clear answer...budget. Apparently, they posted this dream job without actually having the money in the budget to pay for it. Hmmm...not good, and yesterday it got even better (note sarcasm).

Yesterday, I had my fourth interview. I was set up on an interview in PACU, an area I know little about. The CV OR people set it up, because according to them, this is where the greatest need lies. Ok, I'm open minded, so I go to the interview. PACU seems like a really great area. The job seems like it's challenging and rewarding. So far, so good. Then I ask about hours, and they are stinking nuts...third shift call, working sometimes 8:30am-11pm, days off spent recovering from third shift call, working every other weekend, etc. So, I'm thinking this job doesn't provide much along the lines of being able to have a life. Then I have a meeting with the boss of the nurse manager of the CV OR. He wanted to clear things up with me and explain why the CV OR position is not actually available even tough it's been posted since July. He asks me if I am at all interested in the PACU position, and I told him that it was not a dream job like the CV OR. I went on to really try and sell it to this guy that I would be awesome in CV OR. I could tell he was disappointed that he could not pacify me with the PACU job. I asked him, straight up, if the position was completely off the table, and he told me that he'd really have to think about it. So, I left that meeting with no answers, and after 4 interviews this week, I still have no job.

I do, however, have an amazing amount of peace. I know that God has something for me. I know that He called me to be a nurse, and I know that He's called me to be a worship leader. He has the perfect job out there that will allow me to do both wholeheartedly, and I'll wait until He provides it. God really spoke to my heart over this last year in Germany. (It's amazing how much He talks to you when you're listening). I know that I'm not supposed to settle, and that I am supposed to wait for Him no matter what the cost. Right now, financially, the cost is pretty high, but I have to wait, obey, and trust that God will always provide.

So that's what I've been doing this week. What have you been up to? I'd love to hear your stories. What has God spoken in your heart?

Change of Focus

Since we aren't in Germany anymore, I can no longer tell you about the amazing places we get to see, so I've decided to change my blog up a bit to talk to you more about my relationship with Christ, my husband, and maybe Lilly, the cat. I am incredibly open to your ideas and opinions, so leave comments! Also, if you have a particular topic you'd like for me to discuss, bring it on. I love the opportunies to learn about things I may not know anything about! Email me your suggestions: mrsehl@gmail.com.

Beth

Job Hunting

So I've been looking for a job now for about 1.5 weeks. It is quite frustrating work! I came to this realization while I was in Germany that I was sick and tired of working ALL the time, and even when I wasn't working, if I was on call, I was still kinda working. Granted, the money is great, but life isn't all about that. I want to live!! So I've been searching for a fulfilling job that meets several qualifications.

1.) No weekends...haha...yeah right
2.) Day shift only...I did nights for a year, and I'll never do it again
3.) Something that is challenging and something from which I can really grow

Ok, so right now there's not a single nursing job in the Anderson/Greenville area that 100% meets those specifications...not even 85%...haha. It must be unreasonable to think that I can have a career, hopefully a family someday soon, and a reasonably fulfilling life. Hmmm...there's just gotta be more, you know?

Thoughts? Comment? Further Observations?

One Week Later...Reflections

Well, we've been home now for one week. (It was really strange to drive home from Atlanta and see all of the gigantic cars). We had a fabulous surprise party waiting for us at our house. Andrea Evans probably spent hours cleaning everything up for us. God bless her!! It was great to go home and everything be there almost exactly how we left it. We felt so loved having so many people there waiting on us. We are truly blessed individuals...no doubt.

So our first few days were quite nice actually. All the unpacking and organizing went very smoothly thanks to my husband...such a diligent guy.

I had band practice for the first time in a year. It was great to sing again. In all, leading worship was the hardest thing I had to give up this past year, and I think God has some great things in store.

I've been applying for various nursing positions. This morning, in fact, I've had three calls for interviews. That's pretty exciting. Maybe I'll have options! Pray for clarity.

It's nice to have all of our friends again. Kenny and Tiffany are literally a phone call away. Playing Wii boxing was freakin' awesome!!! Watching Kenny play Wii Boxing was priceless.

So here are my reflections from Sunday: I was so nervous singing. I was thinking maybe they remember me as something I'm not...haha. You always kind of inflate a person in your mind when they've been gone for a while. I was really humbled and thankful for the warm reception. It's hard coming back after not having sung in an entire year. I think there is a very warm chemistry between Jeff, Becky, and I, and I think that God is going to do amazing things. It was just incredible to see everyone again and to see all the new faces. Hope is a great church, and I can't imagine being anywhere else. It's a church that truly desires to reach its community and to fulfill the great commission. It's just awesome to be a part of such a ministry! Danny and I are both ready and willing to be contributors, as Pastor Mark talked about, and not consumers.

Question of the Day...9/11/2001

Where were you and what were you doing when the terrorist attacks occurred? What was your initial reaction?

I am going to answer this myself first. It was a huge turning point in my life, I think. I was living in the garage apartment at the Parkinson's house. I woke up, turned on the television to watch the news, and that's when I saw the first building in flames. I watched for several minutes in complete disbelief, and then when I thought it couldn't get any worse, a second plane crashed into the second building. I saw it on Live tv. I remember one reporter in the background had been debating whether it was an accident or a terrorist attack, but after that second one happened, she began to panic. Then I began to panic. I ran downstairs to try and wake up the Parkinsons. I really thought we were under attack or something. I remember thinking that life as I know it will never be the same, and I was right.

Seven years later, terrorism is still a major problem in the world, and it will probably always be. Not long after we moved here to Germany, there was an attempted terrorist attack at the Frankfurt Airport. They traced the terrorists back to the town of Ulm...about 1.5 hours away from where we live in Reutlingen. Recently, it was uncovered that these men had plans of attacking about 5 other German airports. These were all attempts to target Americans. One of these 5 airports is the one we are flying out of on Sunday. It's kinda scary, but my trust and faith is in Jesus. Ok, enough of that. What are your thoughts?

Why So Serious?

Ok, so my last few posts have been too serious, so I wanted to write you and tell you what's going on. We are in our last two weeks here in Germany. It's kinda surreal to us right now. We have been so blessed this year. We've had many opportunities to share our faith, and we've made so many life-long friends here. Now, we're already having to say goodbye to some of them...so sad. We do, however, have the best friends in the world to come home to, and we are SOOOOO excited about that. I can't wait to start singing again on the worship team, and we both are so excited about having our church family again. I'm not looking forward to the whole job hunting process, but apart from that, things couldn't be better.

Tomorrow the packers are coming to take away the majority of our things, and then we'll be living out of suitcases for the next 9 or so days. My mom and step-dad are picking us up at the airport, and Danny's family is going to meet us at our house when we get home. It's going to be so nice to sleep in my own bed, cook in my own kitchen with my own kitchen stuff...hehe, and chill on my own couch. We need to have a party when we get back, but I am not sure when we'll do it. We need to get settled first.

We also have to buy another car...yikes! I sold my little red machine before we left, and I think we are looking into buying a hybrid Ford Escape. We aren't sure, however, how available those cars are. If we weren't looking to start a family soon, I'd want one of those Smart cars. Have you seen them? They are so cute. Lots of people have them here in Germany, and they are incredibly convenient. You can park those things perpendicular in a parallel parking space. It's amazing!

I heard that hurricane Fay brought some rain to Anderson, and that the lake is a bit higher now. That's great, b/c we've gone a year without wakeboarding and that's just unacceptable. I am also hoping to get to the beach soon. We are so landlocked here, and it's no fun. Unfortunately, it looks like there are about 3 more hurricanes brewing in the Atlantic, so we may have to take in some people in our house rather than them taking us in. I MISS YOU, BETH,CHRIS, AND CARRIE!! You are welcome anytime at our house...lol.

Alright, enough of my rambling. We love you all so much, and we are looking forward to seeing you again really soon!!

Beth