Thanksgiving

Well, life has been pretty crazy in the Wilson household. A lot of work, school, and then add in social activities. It has been a pretty crazy semester. For Thanksgiving we finally got to take a break and visit Carey's grandparents in Asheville, NC. I absolutely LOVE it there! The mountains are so beautiful. I love getting to spend time with the family as well. We don't get to get away for more than a day with Carey's job, so it was nice. Carey's parents also came up to spend the holiday with us as well. So we were able to spend time with all the family. It was a wonderful blessing. For those of you who like the pictures, here are a few!

Turkey and sweet potatoes! My fav! :)

Photo op! :)

This picture is my favorite! <3>

We are getting ready to host Christmas for my mom, dad, sister, and grandparents! I am very excited that we will get to have them in our home for Christmas this year. I just love Christmas!

Summer

Just in case you haven't noticed, I have not updated the blog all summer...so here is the update.

The Lord has really been teaching us a lot this summer. It has not been easy, but it has been a good time. Carey and I, with a group of people from our ministry at church under the leadership of our minister, read "Absolute Surrender" by Andrew Murray, "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges, and are about to start reading "The Complete Book of Discipleship" by Bill Hull.

First, if you haven't read these books, you need to. They are not easy books to get through at first because our flesh rises up and doesn't want to read them. At least for me it did. "Absolute Surrender" is now added to the list of books I must read every year along with "The Pursuit of Holiness." I have said many times that my life is in God's hands and I am living for Him. While reading this book, I realized that I was trying so hard to live for God that I was getting worn out. Because "I" was the problem. I never realized how prideful and selfish that I am until the Lord started revealing it to me in different areas of my life. Jesus is our example of how we are supposed to live and He surrendered Himself completely to the Father, even to the cross, so why do we feel we don't need to do the same? Because we don't want to! We don't want to be told we need to be nothing so Christ can be ALL because of our pride. But why would we want to live in our flesh which leads to death? Would you rather have death or life? Life is in Jesus after we deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Him. So why do so many of us want to stay stuck in the flesh and on the side of death? Sounds silly, right? But yet so many are okay with staying there!

A verse that has been on our hearts for the summer is when God says to "Be holy because I am holy." We tend to quickly glance over this verse if not ignore it all together. But this is a command from God that we are to live holy lives. Can we truly live holy lives? Paul said that it was no longer him who lived, but Christ who lived within him. Was Christ not holy? If the Holy Spirit is within us then we should desire to live a holy life. Our sins should grieve us because they grieve the heart of God. Instead of trying to justify our sins and make excuses for them, we should repent and be grieved over them. In our pride and selfishness we tend to believe that this is about us. This is not about us people! This is about God. We are here to glorify Him, not ourselves. As soon as this became apparent to me, my perspective on everything changed. I definitely do not have it all together because the Lord is still working in my life and showing me things.

I have seen the Lord provide a job for me in a teaching position I did not apply for and then led me to another job that was not listed at the time. I applied for a fourth grade position, interviewed for fifth grade, got hired to teach fifth grade, and then was moved to third grade. It is very evident in the whole situation that the whole thing was dictated by Him and through Him. There are many people trying to get a job in education here in Wake County and it seems near impossible to get a job here. But the Lord provided one for me. It amazes me still how He works and how He takes care of me. Carey and I are continually being provided for, even in the little things. We are very thankful and blessed for how the Lord has provided and how He is working in our lives.

First attempt at mobile blogging. :/ Hope this works.

Bargain Cooking

Bargain shopping does not mean that your food, or creativity, has to suffer. Ramen is not always the answer to cheap/affordable cooking! For example, tonight Carey and I had a wonderful meal that cost us less than $5! Sounds crazy right?? No, just smart shopping! :) Here is a picture of our meal:

The beef - Carey got this on sale for like $4, but we portioned it out for 3 different meals. Carey used half a bell pepper and half an onion for the sauce on top. Get those when they are on sale too!

The pasta: I used about 1/4 box of whole wheat pasta (and had a little left over for lunch tomorrow) which I got on sale with a coupon at Harris Teeter during triple coupon week. I used 1/4 can of diced tomatoes which we buy in bulk at BJ's because it is cheaper. Toss in some feta, which you can get a pound of at BJ's for $8!! We have been eating on this block for a while now and it is much cheaper to buy this big block than the individual ones at the grocery store. Mix in a few spices of your choice and BAM! A delicious, yet affordable meal. Oh and did I mention it was healthy?? :)

Spring is here!

Spring has finally arrived! Unfortunately the past few days have felt like summer, but still, winter is over and spring is here! :) Here in Wake Forest, we are enjoying the 80 degree weather and the beautiful life that is sprouting everywhere!

Spring has even made it to our home! :) Those gorgeous spring flowers were a surprise from my husband at work last week. I am so blessed to have such a loving, Godly man.

Carey has also gotten our porch ready for Spring! He recycled an old juice bottle into a bird feeder and we are enjoying watching the birds come and munch. We also bought some herb seeds so we could have our own little herb garden this summer. :) We are super excited!

This past weekend for Easter we drove to Asheville, NC to visit with Carey's Pawpaw and Grandmother Wilson. It was such a joy to spend the weekend with them and to love on them. Carey's parents drove up and spent a few days with us as well. It was nice to spend the holiday celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord with family. Now we are home again and Carey is back to the grind. I, on the other hand, am on Spring Break! :) I will be heading to Florida for a few days on Wednesday and am excited to see everyone.

Saturday Festivities

Carey had the day off of work so we got to spend the entire Saturday together! :) It was wonderful! We decided to check out the Raleigh Flea Market which was a blast! It was quite large, but it was fun! We then decided to stop by the Crabtree Valley mall to check it out. (It is 1 of the 4 here in Raleigh.) I have to say that never in my life have I seen such a big parking garage and so many entrances for a mall! Carey and I were a little overwhelmed trying to get in and park with all of the traffic. Then once inside, I was even more overwhelmed. There were so many people and so many stores! This could just be because I am definitely not use to big cities, but it was a lot for this small town girl. I think I will definitely stick to my quaint Triangle Town Center Mall. :) Unless I want to go to Eddie Bauer, then I will have to suck it up and make the crazy trip. ;) It's amazing how God is changing our thinking and shaping our minds while we are here. While walking around the mall, Colossians 3:1-4 kept coming up as I was looking at a TON of trendy things. Those trendy items that I would like to have, do not control me; my God does. Seeing the MANY people walk around the mall and pass by, it was so evident that they are the ones that are important and are who we should be focused on loving; not the stuff. Not to say that I don't like the cute and trendy things anymore, but those are not important anymore.

Just a few thoughts from my mind as we finish this busy day. Going to meet dear friends at the airport tonight! I'm so excited! I'm ready to hear the stories they will have to share!

Food for Thought

A few weeks ago at Revolution 7:14, our pastor spoke out of Colossians 3. Now, everyday these verses are brought to my mind and I pray the same for you.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." ~Colossians 3:1-4

Are your minds set on things that are above? Are they really? Think about it. Don't lie to yourself so that you will appear with Him in glory. I know I had to sit back and ask myself this question multiple times.

Update

So it has been awhile since I last posted! We have been busy here in the Wilson household! So here is our last three months! haha Hopefully I can continue to blog on a weekly basis to keep everyone informed.

In January, Carey and I had some very trying times. On Christmas Eve, we found out that we were going to be parents! We were very excited and couldn't believe the time had come. After our first visit at the doctor, we were given the go ahead to tell everyone, so we did. It was such an exciting time rejoicing with our friends and family and beginning to plan for a little one. At 8 weeks, we had our first ultrasound appointment to check on our baby and see how things were coming along. We then found out that I had a form of a miscarriage. This news was completely devastating after all the excitement. The doctors informed us that I needed to have a procedure done at the hospital (which I was not to keen about) 2 days later. With this first procedure there were some complications and we had to do the same procedure again a week later. At first, I was very bitter and a little angry wondering why this would happen to me, but thankfully God helped me see things differently. He gave me a peace about the whole situation and I know that He is in control and knows what is best. Not to say there are not days that I get upset still, but it is a wonderful feeling to know that He is in control and I am not.

February was Valentine's day and Carey's birthday month! :) For Valentine's Day, Carey entered in a contest at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to win us a free dinner on Valentine's Day. He had to write about our most romantic Valentine's dinner. There were only about 5 entries and we won!! We were blessed to get to eat at a very nice restaurant and pay nothing but the tip! We had a wonderful time and we're glad we got to experience that together.

Carey also turned a quarter of a century old this month! :) When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said all he wanted was a party with some friends. So that is what he got! We had tacos for dinner and had a great time of fellowship with friends. I also made my first cake with Mom's homemade icing for him! It was a little challenging, but I was pretty proud for my first one!

His blue and yellow cake he wanted. :)

The Birthday Boy!

This month we finally found a church! We are now attending and have joined Bayleaf Baptist Church. We absolutely love this group of people and how genuine they are in how much they love the Lord. It is so nice to finally find somewhere to get plugged in and be involved.

Posts will be more frequent now as the Lord is working so much in both of our lives, both separately and together. We will definitely want to share how He is working!