journey anniversary: one.

{picture taken in nov.09 - half way through our first year}

1-2 by entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with Him, make us fit for Him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. and that's not all: we throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open His door to us. we find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

3-5 there's more to come: we continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. in alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! -romans 5.1-3 {the message}

i can't believe this is it...the first anniversary of driving into the big city, setting our eyes on the sky scrapers that outlined our new destination. we'll never forget bumping down I30 in our moving truck, the hubby and i, as the girls stayed behind with grammy and papa. we were making the first arrival to sit down and have our renter's meeting, to sign the papers, write the first check, and pick up our keys. once our meeting was over, we had some time to grab lunch. i'll never forget how hot it was that day as we walked to mcd's a block away. me, in my polka dot heels {hey, i wanted to make a cute first impression} sweating like a true beginner texan. i clenched my hubby's arm, pretending to be confident as i limped with blisters along new sidewalks, new territory. it was all so surreal. we had made it...and it was all just beginning.

with one year under our belt, i'd like to say we're veterans to this all; but in reality, we continue to learn on a daily basis what it means to live the 'seminary life'. as i boiled ramen noodles this afternoon, i thought about college life and how it's not much different. hubby works for insurance, we buy books in the fall, we scrounge the fridge for something to eat...but yet, we continually see, hear, feel, and taste the goodness of what God has brought us here to do. only by His grace can ramen noodles taste so darn good and only by His grace does He bring us through each month with more than we could imagine.