no shave November (by dave)

Several of us decided to partake in No Shave November.  I went for 10 days and had a nice beard going.

Of course it was only a matter of time before a.) I got sick of the scratching and b.) Stephanie couldn't stand to kiss me anymore while I had a beard.

So I decided it was time to shave.

As you can tell Stephanie thougt it would be fun to document the process!  And this is what happened...

Need I say anymore!

is it a flower? (by Dave)

Today for lunch I had a Satsuma orange in front of me, having never eaten one before I was curious.  I began to peel it back in my usual methodical way and then sat it down on my desk.  I took one look and saw this.

It almost looks like a flower doesn it?

Happy Halloween

I've got to admit that I really love carving pumkins, which doesn't necessarily mean I love Halloween.  I think I like the idea of getting my creative juices flowing and dreaming up a cool design to carve.  I also like the cool weather that gets me outside to enjoy my pumkin.  I had been urging Stephanie to go get some pumkins with me and we finally went last weekend.  Since it's been rather warm this week we waited until Wednesday to carve them.  I talked her into carving a cat, while I decided I would do a very scary face.  I thought she did a great job, and mine turned out better than I had expected.

Of course both of our pumpkins are now rotted and ready for the trash after the 80 degree weather we've had!

Bedroom upgrade (by Dave)

Last weekend we decided it was time for some new paint in our bedroom.  We also decided that the original trim needed to go as well, so we declared war on our room.  We aren't done with the project yet, but we hope to be this weekend.  Here are some photos of our progress thus far.



















We'll post some more photos next week and let you see how the trim looks and how my installation of crown molding goes!

Fun with words (by Dave)

I found a very fun website called Wordle the other day and decided to share my thoughts on marriage.  Click the picture to go an create your own wordle.  Just remember that if you want some words bigger than others then you need to type them multiple times.

Birthday fun - Ft. Worth style

I decided a trip to Ft. Worth was in order for Stephanie's birthday, so we headed out last Saturday for the zoo and then onto the symphony at Bass Hall that night. It was lots of fun!

Stephanie's new digs (by Dave)

This has been a long time coming, but we finally made it up to the Watermark offices this past Saturday to get Stephanie's new office (cubicle) cleaned up and organized.  We spent some time rearranging the furniture and making things more user friendly.

This was my first time to see her new desk as well, so now I can close my eyes and visualize where she's at when I'm thinking of her!

I'm so proud of her and her pursuit of this new job.  It will certainly require a new frame of mind as she won't be doing any accounting, but I am certain she'll do a great job.

My Handy Man

I thought that I knew what I was getting when I married Dave, but it just keeps getting better and better and I could not be more blessed than I am to have him as my husband.  One of the ways he blesses my life is through his giftedness as a "handy man".  People that have known Dave for some time definitely know this about him.  In fact, this last week at my new job, several guys asked me if Dave still did wood working and stuff...people know Dave as one of those guys.  I anticipate my life being full of projects that I can brag about my husband...to get us started...


Yesterday morning my car took a bit longer than it should to start and after work it took 2 times of turning the key to get her going.  Luckily it did start and I headed home.  Like I do everyday as soon as I get into the car, I called Dave to let him know I was on my way.  I told him about the car and he said just pull it into the garage half way...and within an hour of being home I had a new battery in my car and it was starting up good as new!!!  I feel like the luckiest wife in the world.  I love my handy man!


With in a few weeks of being married, Dave tackled my closet.   Check out the before and after photos below.  He did an amazing job and life is so much eaiser in the moring when I get up with my new closet!  I love my handy man!

 

A Perfect Moment with Stephanie (by Dave)

I was just reading a post by Michael Hyatt where he talks about a recent perfect moment. What is a perfect moment you might ask without jumping over to read his post, well in summary it's a term Eugene O'Kelly defines in his book Chasing Daylight as:


"an experience with others when time stands still. It is a time full of the present, when the past is left behind and the future is set aside. It is a special time of focused attention and heightened awareness. Interruptions and distractions are consciously excluded. Cell phones are off. Hearts are wide open. All that matters is this moment, the people I am with and the conversation we are having now."


So that I immediately began to think "do I have any perfect moments" I could share. Of course my mind jumped immediately to my first date with Stephanie! The entire day leading up to that evening was full of much anticipation and thoughts of what I was going to say, but once we finally met it was just like Eugene describes as a perfect moment - time stood still, we were both fully present and focused on each other. We were very aware and there were no distractions, our hearts were open and all that really mattered was what was happening between us and nothing else. It was amazing! We spent 3hrs talking about our lives and intently sharing.
I'll always remember that evening and the time we had and how time seemed to stand still.

Remember the Hydrangea...

A few weeks before we got married we saw some pretty pink hydrangea at Lowe's and got them for the front porch. It was my way of "moving in" before I could actually move in :) The funny thing about that is that once I did move in I quit going in the front door and started parking in the garage. And just a few weeks later they were no longer getting water and attention since I was not passing by each day. What's the saying...out of sight out of mind? So much for my green thumb.

Learning to embrace

For most of my life, my mind and heart have been filled with lies like “God forgot about me or got distracted when creating me”. As far as I can really think back, I remember thinking I wasn’t good at anything. After all I was never MVP on my little league teams, never received High Point on the swim team, I did not make the drill team in high school, I wasn’t going to be a good Architect so I changed my major to become a CPA, but I couldn’t pass the exam. And I am fairly certain I never got first prize in anything I entered (at least that I should have because I did it on my own).

About two years ago when I began Celebrate Recovery at Watermark, I started to really see how this thinking was keeping me down and only feeding bad choices and my unhappy life. But I still could not shake this thought process even though I began to experience God more and more and began having a daily walk with Him.

Fortunately, God does not give up and He keeps moving in our lives if we surrender. In just the last few weeks I have begun to see victory over this battle in my mind. And I can say that’s been my belief for way too long! What my thick head and heart and attitude for that matter have believed for all these years is just plain lies. Sure, are the statements about the things I did not accomplish true? Yes. But do those facts define me? Do they have to mean that I am not good at anything? Maybe in certain circles (like professional baseball players or Olympic swimmers) they do, but not under the realms of believing God! The truth to all those things above is that just because I am not the best, does not mean that I can take swimming or softball as a hobby or even participate just for fun. After all, if it was in God’s plan for me to be an Olympic athlete I am sure he would have made that happen.

So my question is: why is it that we so often struggle with what other people think about us? Why is it so hard to embrace who we are in Christ?

There is no doubt that over the last few years I have grown to understand more about myself and have been growing to a place where I can express what I am learning. But it was not until the last few weeks that I could even hear what God was saying was unique and beautiful about me. Now, I am beginning to see the ways that he created me and how those ways are like Him. As He intended - the more that we study His word and the more that we walk with Him, the more we begin to know are ourselves.

All I can say about that is there is abundant freedom in believing and embracing what our Father says about us!! Can I get an AMEN!
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

God’s Purpose or Mine?

Dave has been reading "My Upmost For His Highest" each morning by Oswald Chamberg. He shared one of the devotionals from this week with me and I wanted to pass it along.

He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . Mark 6:45


We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to
Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams
of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We
have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is
not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and
reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of
reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to
depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in
the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in
me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What
He desires for me is that I see "Him walking on the sea" with no shore, no success, nor
goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I
see "Him walking on the sea" (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is
glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in
the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to
concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If
we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time.
However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment
as it comes is precious.

Time for some Dixie lovin'

It's been way to long since our last post and since we started this blog back in December our beloved dog Dixie has not received any internet lovin', so I thought I would tackle those two topics.

So, who is Dixie?  Well, she's Stephanie's favorite pet!  Well almost...  Yes, Stephanie loves Dixie, she's just not used to having a dog for a pet.  Stephanie is cat lover first, Dave lover second, dog lover third!

Dixie is a black lab/australian shepherd mix.  I got her from my brother back in 2000 and we've had lots of fun chasing squirrels and rabbits and sharing 12hr road trips to Illinois together.  We are in the process of bringing Stephanie into this relationship and I think it's going pretty well!  Maybe you should ask Stephanie though ;-)

Dave: One Year Ago (by Dave)

One year ago today I was on a trail getting ready to exit the back country of the Grand Teton National Park.  My friend DK and I had just spent 3 nights hiking and camping the Teton Crest Trail.  It was an exiting hike, full of awesome mountains, lakes and animals.  We decided to cut our hike a day short and go visit Yellowstone National Park before heading back to Dallas.  I'm sure glad I did!

-



-

As I sat that night in my warm cozy bed to journal, I wrote down Psalm 27:14 - "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."  I knew God was moving in my life, he had provided a job and I would be starting in 2 weeks and I had met Stephanie and I was falling for her.  I didn't know how the next year would play out.  All I knew was that I needed to stay the course He had me on...

Today, I have been at my job almost one year, and I am married to Stephanie.  We are celebrating 7 weeks together and I still hear God saying those words to me.  As Stephanie and I learn to communicate and live together I am learning more about myself and the need to wait and trust in Him.

Psalm 28:7 - "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

There is always a reason to celebrate and sing!

Ice Cream

In a desperate attempt to keep from gaining marriage weight...we have decided to take up a few activities. This is much needed since my wife loves ice cream and is even willing to ditch her favorite flavor vanilla for my chocolate weakness just so that she is not eating it alone. With a regular diet of ice cream, the LBs are just around the corner. Our first step...a weekly bike ride around the neighborhood.

A recipe of Faith (by Dave)

This is combination of thoughts I've had over the last week or so and wanted to get them written down and share them because they are flowing from the heart. Thanks Stephanie for encouraging me through your own writings of the heart!

What is faith? Being sure of what you hope, or maybe being certain of what you cannot see? Why is it so hard for us to get our arms around faith. Maybe it's because we pursue something strongly with determination and then quickly let go of it when things don't turn out like we hoped or circustances change. For me faith is exactly what I stated at the start. In fact, I quoted Hebrews 11:1. For me, this short and breif statement of faith is what has driven many of the things I call successes in my life over the last 3-4 years. I say that because it has empowerd me to be a better leader, it has helped me to purse a woman and it has given me great confidence in the face of the tough world in which you and I live in. God's word also states in Hebrews 11:6 that, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." For me, faith is not apart from God, it comes through a relationship with Him. This relationship is what gives me feedback to the faith I am developing as I grow.

Some of you might have read in that verse that God will reward us for our faith.  Now some would like to say that this reward will come first and foremost in this life. But, I don't agree that God would intend that since he wants us all to be with him and share in these blessing with us. These rewards are meant for heaven and we must remain grounded in that so as to remain humble in this place he has us. But it's hard for me to understand that concept when I feel like God has rewarded my faith in Him through the pursuit of a woman by delivering a wonderful marriage to Stephanie. I don't know how to explain that I feel very blessed by Him in this life with a wife, when I'm not sure what that will look like in heaven. Do I think he has a handle on this, yes. Do I believe that commitment I made to Stephanie will remain in heaven, in some form or another, yes I do. I guess that's what faith is to me. I know that if I believe in the things God has designed, like marriage and heaven, then He'll take care of all the details and let me know what to do as I make my way. So for me, faith is a very intergral part in how I live life. Don't go get faith for rewards in this life, like a wife or a job, or whatever else you think you need, because I don't believe God will honor that sort of thinking. But, go get faith to find the answers you are seeking now in your current situation. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33-34, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

So how do you get faith. I wish I could tell you exactly how, but since He has created us all differently I can't say for sure. I do know that Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us an answer. It says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Growth in faith for me was and continues to be a continuous trusting in God in the presence of a wonderful church called Watermark and an amazing community of friends. During this time I was able to let go of looking to test my faith against the responses I would look for in the world and instead turn to this support structure and God for feedback. There is no doubt that God does use others to share His message with us. Don't try to live this life on your own. It's too hard and too stressful and you will fail. Invite God and others into what's going on and in time you will start to gain faith in yourself and the things "you hope for" and "cannot see".

Making Connections

Dave and I recently decided to read through the book of John together. Each Sunday we read a chapter and talk about it. I am sad to admit that I have never read through John before and that I have never really studied the life of Jesus. Kind of important don’t you think? I am just excited to be getting started now and with my husband (that is so fun to say!).

It was just about two years ago that I started to really dive into the Bible. I had done many “bible studies” before, but often found my self struggling for connection and interest. The first time I got really excited about what I learned from His word was when I was in a small community group and we began working through a book called Understanding the Bible in 30 Days. I was hooked, however still not disciplined to finish it all (maybe I should go back and start over). Anyway, for the first time I began to connect with the people of the Bible. I began to understand how much I was like them and how not so different their lives were from mine. It was amazing. Over the next year I would continue to study the Old Testament and learn about the Israelites. If you have been blessed as I have by their story, you can say with me “I am an Israelite.” I have been rescued by God, trusted Him fully and then turned away in disbelief. I have wondered in more than one “desert” for way too long only to discover that if I had just realized my sin and deep need for God, that perhaps the suffering would have been so much less. But I am stubborn and chose to not remember. Thankfully, I have community to remind me and my times of wondering are much shorter!

In our first two chapters of reading John I was so curious to learn more John the Baptist. I knew a bit about his ministry: that he baptized Jesus and that he was killed because of what he preached, but that was about it. I was still having trouble connecting. It was this past Sunday that I made the connection that John the Baptist was the son of Zachariah & Elizabeth (the older couple who couldn’t have kids and then did). And this meant John the Baptist was Jesus’ relative (not exactly sure how). Elizabeth is the relative that Mary visited when she was pregnant. It was on that visit when Elizabeth’s baby “leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41) upon Mary’s arrival. How cool is it that even in the womb, John the Baptist knew the Messiah! YES – I had made my connection!! All I can say is God is really into the details!
Oh wow, so this is why I write these posts...in this moment I am humbled to say and share with you that God revealed to me just now one way I am created in His image…I am detailed oriented.

Last night I was blessed to listen to a sweet friend share her story in front of hundreds of people. As she spoke, she shared about a community circle she was a part of that had learned to celebrate everything together, even the small stuff. For me, seeing my detailedness as a characteristic of Him is a small victory, well worth celebrating. Thank you Father for sticking by me, even when I doubt!

I've Forgotten

It’s June 9th today and tomorrow Dave and I will have been married a month! It goes by so fast. The wedding turned out just as we would have hoped with very few hang ups. Dave tells me to be proud of myself for all the hard work and how it turned out, but if you know me…that’s hard. I tend to pick at the things that were not just right instead of enjoying the beauty of it all. God, being our loving creator, knows this about me and thus blessed me with Dave who sees the beauty all around him. He notices the flowers, how green the trees are and when the birds start chirping again. He loves the creation we were given to be a part of and that’s good for me. I once mentioned to Dave that he always saw the glass as half full and he replied “not really, I’m just glad there is water in the glass”. That is joy. We want life to be happy, but God does not promise happiness, but joy. We are to be joyful because as believers our glasses will always have water in them…God. He’s always there, always cares, always listens, always loves, is always dependable, always trustworthy, and is all we need. John 4:14 says "but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Oh to realize and rest in the hope of eternal life each and every day. Is it possible for us to let go and let Him fill our glasses and keep them full? Do we doubt he is capable?

I’ve been discouraged lately with my lack of believing Him and my lack of letting go so that He can fill me. I still believe in Him, but I have been struggling to trust in His plan. I’ve been struggling to believe that if I would step out of my “comfort zone” (even that which is causing stress and pain) that He would hold my hand and not lead me astray. Like the Israelites that were rescued by God from the hands of captivity and almost immediately forgot, I sit here today nearly paralyzed by my own fear of failure having forgotten how faithful He was just a short while ago when I was in another “comfort zone” that kept me in depression and isolation. God rescued me. He parted the Red Sea in my life and rescued me from the captivity of guilt and shame. How could I forget?

At the end of my last post I quoted a dear friend..."Believe, it’s worth it". This past weekend my friend boldly shared her story with our church body. I am so proud of her. I know how she is so authentic in her life, yet I know it's very vulnerable to share your story with 3,000 people. As I would have expected, her story was titled Worth It. Her anthem is Life is a process! She reminds me of this often and like other things...I forget. I want to be "perfect" now. I want things to be "fixed now" and have “perfect” faith now. But life is a process and God intended it that way so that we would learn to depend whole heartedly on and in Him. There are so called successes and failures in life and growing pains associates with both. We must let go and believe God in the midst and not just once we think we have it all figured out. We need only to accept His Son once to receive eternal life, but we must drink of His water each and everyday so that we can receive the strength and faith He gives. Will we choose to believe that there is water for our thirst everyday?

Oh Lord, forgive me for forgetting. Thank you for your grace that I need each and every morning and give me a heart that believes you and loves you above all else! Help me to remember your faithfulness in my life and in the lives of those I share life with.

A Mighty Cleaning

We spent the last two Saturday's cleaning Dave's house and making it our home. It was exhausting, but very rewarding to sit back and see how far the house has come. If you were to ask his last two roommates, I am certain they would tell you that Dave is a clean guy. He had a cleaning rotation schedule that included dusting, vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen. Dave makes his bed everyday and keeps his room picked up. He also cares well for his yard; keeping it mowed and the leaves raked. From the outside and the inside surface, it seemed clean. No need for much more work. But if you were to look deep inside you would see all the traces of life (hard times and everyday activities) - from random splatters on the kitchen and living room shutters to the base boards covered in dust and dog hair. Life takes it tolls. But we cleaned and cleaned these last few weeks and it looks great! I am very thankful for the energy we were given to get so much done.

Through all this I was humbly reminded of life. How from the surface we often seem well maintained and groomed. We can have the appearance of keeping it all together and even if you were to look just inside, it might seem that way still. But if you had the privilege of digging deep in to someone's life, you would see all the effects of life. The effects of choices made, of messes left unattended, of people only passing through and so on...like the hands we used this weekend to scrub and wash clean, God dives into our lives to wash us clean. The beauty of His cleaning is that in the end we are as white as snow. Dave and I will never get our entire house as white as snow, but I bet we spend many years trying. There will always be something to clean, something that needs to be healed, and something that needs some loving attention to make it better than before. And we hope that people will enjoy the efforts we put in by coming to visit, but we realize many will not notice that the shutters are clean and the microwave vent is dust free. Thankfully, from experience I can say that when the Lord does a mighty work in our lives, others notice. It’s inviting, it’s welcoming and others want to know how to get it themselves. Not everyone will know the details of the cleaning, but it’s worth it. It takes work. Even though the house received the works of our hands alone, healing and change in our lives takes work on our part as well as God's. Work in our lives requires us to receive the work of His hands and ours at the same time. It is definitely worth all the efforts! Just like we feel when we sit down and enjoy our clean home, Our Father enjoys our cleansed heart through His partnership with us. And like the house, the work is never done. But joyful times are had in the midst, much like the small gathering of friends we had over to celebrate the upcoming events.

Through all this, I’m encouraged to keep pushing towards the goal to win the prize. And like Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Amen…keep pressing on. In the words of a dear, dear friend and mentor…“Believe, it’s worth it!”

8 Days...

The wedding is quickly approaching and I could not be more excited. People keep asking me if I am nervous and I must admit that I am not. Of course I might get there, but all I feel right now is such joy, excitement and peace for all that is ahead. I am looking forward to becoming Mrs. David Phillippe before my family, friends and The Lord. It is only by His grace that I will stand before such an amazing man in 8 days and say "I DO". We have an adventure ahead of us, no doubt. But with our eyes on Christ and him as the center of our lives, we have hope for a marriage that honors and glorifies The Lord.

"For faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we can not see." Heb 11:1

Hydrangeas

We thought the front porch could use some color, and Lowes had a sale on hydrangeas. Stephanie's new favorite color is hot pink, so we got one!

Moving Along

We moved nearly all my stuff into Dave's house this week. Just my bed and some cloths remain at my house for the last 3 weeks so that I can still live there until the wedding. It's fun to see my stuff become our stuff and Dave's house become our home. We are looking forward to getting it all settled and opening it up to family and friends.

30 days to go!

Wow, the last two months have flown by for us. Now the wedding is almost here and we are finishing up all the little details.

We had some engagement photos taken by Stephanie's friend Ari and I wanted share some. There will be more to come once she is finished developing them. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Dave

30 turned out to be a great year for Dave...he met me :)

Happy Birthday Sweetie! I love you!!

Sleeping bag beauty

We picked up a sleeping bag at REI recently and Stephanie decided to try it out when we got back to my place. I had to pry her out of it because it was late and she wanted to sleep in it!

You might have heard we had snow

Yes, Dallas got snow yesterday, I have proof. I stepped out of the office to head home and saw the biggest now flakes I've ever seen, and believe me, I've lived in upstate NY and know what big snow looks like. I wasn't 10 minutes into my drive before it stopped.







This shot was from my front yard this morning when I woke up. It didn't stay long as temperatures rose into the 40's today.

Time to Paint

Stephanie and I decided to paint what will be the new guest room...then we also decided to replace the trim modeling as well. We've got the paint almost complete, but the trim is still waiting for me.

Less than 100 days

We can't believe it's less that 100 days now until the wedding. We are making good progress on all the reservations that need to be made. I won't lie, it's been a little stressful keeping track of everything and making decisions. This weekend we finished our registries and I have posted links to each one on the "Registry" page. We are both excited to make "my" house into "OUR" house with new dinnerware, bedding and pictures on the walls. We also have some plans to paint some rooms and upgrade the master bath to accomodate two people.

Wedding info posted

I have setup a page with wedding locations. Just click the tab labeled "Wedding Info" in the upper right hand corner of this page. There is a map with all the hotels as well as the church and our house. You can use it just like Google Maps if you click "view larger map" underneath the map.

Dress

This weekend I purchased my dress! I am so excited and can't wait for Dave to see me :)

Laughter

One of the things I look forward to most about my future with Dave is all the laughter. Together we have discovered that I have three distinct laughs...deep belly laugh that is quite funny itself, my normal laugh, and the giggles (mostly when I am tired). Dave likes the belly laugh and says he makes it one of his goals each day to hear it. I must admit that many days he succeeds. I just love it!!

We set a date

It's official, we are getting married on May 10, 2008! We are working hard on choosing a vendor for flowers, photographer, the cake and much more. It's a fun, yet stressful time, but we are looking forward to all that is ahead of us.

We've reserved the church and reception venue

We are excited to say that we've reserved North Highlands Bible Church for our ceremony.


We have also reserved the ballroom at Maggiano's for the reception. It is a nice size for us and has hardwoods, so be ready to dance!