Can I ask you to pray with us?

Jared and I are praying hard. We have an opportunity to purchase an amazing, beautiful little house in Tremont that is going up for auction this Saturday, between 10a-12p. After going through the open house last weekend, it is so incredibly perfect for Jared & I. However, we do know that the Lord may have other plans for us, but we believe that this. could. be. it.

It could be our home for the next 10 years, if the Lord allows. The basement is perfect for an in-home studio for our photography business.

So, anyways, I write this to ask those of you who are reading this (if any lol) to partner with Jared and I in prayer this last week before the auction -- we would love your support!!

God is good. All the Time.

I fought it, yesterday. It was a day of many tears. You can plan and plan and plan and sometimes things still won't turn out the way you envisioned it to. I lost my potential job with Caterpillar. I had had my interview already, and things were looking so promising. I had to pass this certain assessment test as a standard procedure before being employed there-- I viewed it as nothing, as simple 45 question test where you knew the answer 90% of the time.  That is exactly how this test was. Simple questions about customer service that I was almost positive I answered correctly to the best of my ability. I raised my hand to show that I had completed the test. The test administrators went up to the front computer to gather my grade which I had the most confidence that I passed. An older lady came and got me to escort me to the door and tell me my grade. I remember trying to look at the sheet of paper in her hand, and much to my dismay and shock, I saw an "F" with a big circle around it. I failed. Somehow, someway, I failed. I don't know what I did wrong, what I answered wrong. I questioned the grade, it was checked again and indeed I failed. Not sure what to do, I began to walk out the door, knowing I couldn't walk back in for another year according to Caterpillar policy. I sat in my car and cried until I couldn't cry anymore, called Jared and cried more. This potential job was so detrimental to us starting out that with not having it, I wasn't sure what was going to get us through the first year... but my Jared reminded me of this: in the midst of all that I can't understand, I need to understand this: God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good. He alone makes my joy complete, he knows just what I need. He knows the bizarre reason I somehow failed that test -- and His hand is in it. To teach me not to have a prideful attitude? That was probably one of them, but also to trust Him, more and more and more. 

Nic & Jessica Beachy

This past Saturday, my beautiful sister got married. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather and God-honoring in all ways possible.

Love you two!

A Proud Proud Weekend

This weekend I had the awesome opportunity to support my future husband in one of society's greatest endeavors: the Chicago Marathon.

I don't think that the word "proud" could even come close to what I was feeling inside as I watched him come around the corner for the finish line. So, so SO happy, joyful, proud, jubilant I was. He did it. After all his training, all his shoe-buying, everything -- he did it.

He had his goal, set his heart and mind to do it, and did it-- in 4:04.

Oh was I praying and praying in the Spirit for him. God, give him strength. Give him strength to do this. The Lord honored our prayers.

Hmm, I've also come to this conclusion:

Someday, Lord-willing, I just might live in Chicago? :)

Good Morning!

Good morning. It is very much so just that. A beautiful morning. I'm sitting in my kitchen with the windows on all sides with the morning sun warming up my back. With coffee in hand, of course. Contemplating skipping my classes, in fact, I think I just made my decision to do so.

This week has been my "mid-life crisis" of my Fall 2010 semester. It's been full of copping out and giving in. I've completed 7 weeks of my senior year in college, and getting to the point where I want to just take a break from all my classes. So I did, but not officially of course.  I need refreshment. Hopefully this weekend will bring that --

Chicago!! Downtown... Fall. Perfect. My dear fiance is running the Chicago marathon this Sunday at 7:30am. Oh how I will be lifting him up in prayer. I'm excited to spend a weekend with him and enjoy the city. I haven't been in the heart of the city for awhile and it's been on my mind a lot. Every time I go up there I wonder if I could ever live there for a period of time. I think it would be great, but you know what? I've always had this fear in the back of my head: terrorists... bombing... being separated from Jared and not being able to find him. Sorry for the Debby downer, but it's true... but then this verse comes to mind, especially this morning:

" ¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
       two things have I heard:
       that you, O God, are strong,
 ¹² and that you, O Lord, are loving.
       Surely you will reward each person
       according to what he has done. "
Psalm 62:11&12

Nothing is out of the hands of my God.  Fear is crippling but oh to have faith that moves out of the shadow of fear and into the sunny rays of our loving God! This is a daily struggle for me to be honest. I'm a very fearful person... a doubting person. And I often doubt the sovereignty of God. I know that this brings me out of a place of trusting in and taking refuge in the Lord and trying to find solutions of my own willpower. It is SO frustrating that it is in my nature to do so. I just want to whole-heartedly trust the Lord is EVERYTHING and move out of fear into peace.

Hmm, that shall be my goal this upcoming week. Moving out of fear, into peace. Fear governs so many areas of my life. If I had no fear in death, what could I set myself out there to do for the Kingdom?

"No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is power of CHRST is ME
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus COMMANDs my DESTINY
No POWER of hell, NO scheme of MAN
can EVER pluck me from HIS Hand
Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the POWER of Christ I'll stand "
-In Christ Alone-

Amen. Soak on that.