In Fear and Trepidation

I have said this phrase to many people since moving here to Tremont, "If you had asked us one year ago if we thought that we would ever be living in Tremont today, we would have said NEVER." I have to give all praise and glory to my Father God for bringing me and my family here... God led us and it all fell into place so perfectly- from Jake getting a job almost immediately, to us finding an awesome rental, to us finding a tenant for our house in Branson, etc.  Since moving here, we have been attending a wonderful church, which also happens to be my in-laws home church. We have been welcomed with open arms and the most sincere love.  We really want to be involved on a more intimate level, and so, Jake and I have decided to become members of NCF. In order to do so, however, we must stand before the congregation and give our individual testimonies. Ohhhh maaaaan... that is where fear and trepidation come into play. Tonight we were able to meet with one of the elders (I am going to call him "Mr.Elder") from the church and just kind of go over what we are going to say when we stand up... which will be sometime in November. I know that both Jake and I were nervous. Neither one of us like to stand before groups of people and speak, and we don't have a lot of experience with it. My hands were sweaty and I felt a little bit like I was going to throw up, my heart was racing and my mouth could not keep up with my brain. But reviewing everything with Mr.Elder really helped and I think that when we do actually have to stand up, it will go smoothly. I really need to refine what I am going to say though, because I sure do know how to babble on and on when put on the spot.

One thing that I was telling Mr.Elder tonight is that I really wish I would have taken off a year or so after high school before starting college. At 18, I did not have a CLUE what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I chose a major (International Studies-Missiology) where I was familiar with the topics and just assumed that because I was familiar with what it was about, then I would probably enjoy it. I did not! I can hardly remember a class that I even enjoyed... aside from several Bible classes that were GenEds. I have a substantial amount of guilt... thinking about wasting all that time and money on something I am never going to use or have any desire to use! Ugh. Makes me sick. But I know I can't dwell on the "if onlys" of life. If only I could go back to the year 2000, and not go to college, work for a year, and then go Le Courdon Bleu in Chicago! Now there- that would have been a dream fulfilled.

Totally changing the subject, my in-laws just drove in to our driveway in an almost brand-new 2009 Town and Country minivan. Woooohooooo! My mother-in-law has been looking for months for a minivan to cart around her growing brood of grandchildren. And finally, they found this amazing deal in Peoria tonight. Jake and I went outside and sat in the new van for a bit, while they showed us everything on the inside- dual DVD player, GPS, bluetooth capabilities, voice command, heated leather seats, etc. Amazing. Jake said "Ok, now I want to go on a vacation," and I replied "Yes, honey, we're going on vacation, but we're taking our dinky little Honda '97." Back to reality. When we came back inside, after turning a bit green ourselves, we said to each other "we'll have one even better than that one day!" We can only hope. :)

Tomorrow, which is Tuesday, is probably my favorite day of the week. I am involved in a women's Bible study at our church, and we are doing a Beth Moore study called "Here and Now... There and Then". It's on the book of Revelation. To be honest, I was not too thrilled about the first lesson, and was contemplating not going back again. But I am so glad I did, because I am amazed at everything I have learned in the last month. We watch a DVD for about an hour.15 min or so and then break off into smaller groups to discuss homework from the previous week and also pray a bit. It's fascinating, and I am eating it up! And I love my small group and just the opportunity to get to know the ladies in the church a bit more.

And to make tomorrow even better, there is a baby shower tomorrow night for my sister in law, Naomi. Her baby is due on November 14th, and we are all getting so excited to meet the little guy. I went and bought my gifts today and had so much fun picking them out. The thought of a new baby in life just seems to make things better and more exciting. Now that my in-laws have the new van, baby boy Anderson can make his appearance any time he wants!

And to end with, here is my Grandma Hook's recipe for Wassel Tea. I could use some right now.

1 qt. Cranberry Juice
3 c. water
1/4 c. red hots dissolved in water
3/4 c. orange juice
juice of 2 lemons
1 c. or less sugar (to your taste)
2 dashes of salt
Combine all ingredients in large pot. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drink hot or cold.