What Makes a Home

The question of the year:

"Are you all moved in?"

My typical answer, "We've got everything unpacked and are getting settled."

But then I can't help but wonder "What does it mean to be settled?"

(Source: A Beautiful Mess)

 I've had quite a bit of practice answering this question, but I'm never all that satisfied with my answer. I mean, all my things are in our house, and I have almost everything where I want it to go. We eat, sleep, and play here. We are basically living in this house, but it takes more than all that for it to really be home-at least for me it does.

A home is all about the people that are in it. Not Jared and myself necessarily, but the experiences that happen with the people in our home.

I found a short quote one time, and it has been my desire for our home ever since:

Lord, help me to build the kind of home where all who enter find it impossible to keep from thinking of God.

From day 1 of our marriage, Jared and I have said that we want our home to be a place for people. We want our home to be a place where people can come and feel at home. Oftentimes this means picking up before people come over, but it doesn't mean it is spotless. It means taking the time to light a candle, but it doesn't mean having the most expensive candles. It means offering something to drink, even if the only option is water. It means sitting down and taking the time to hear someone else's story.

It takes time to build a home like this. We still have a lot to learn, but what I do know is that a beautiful home isn't about the decorations on the wall, or the food on the table. A beautiful home is about the conversations cultivated on the couches, the problems worked through over coffee, and the lessons learned over a slice of pizza. A beautiful home is found in taking the time to invite someone into your own life even in the midst of the crazy. It is found in being okay with allowing someone else to see you in all your imperfections.

I pray that we always take the time to make our home a place where all who enter find it impossible to keep from thinking of God.

(Source: The Inspired Room)

.love.
Adrienne

Farmers Markets, Drivers License and Golf Courses

First week in the new place! We both took a week before really starting work so we could get some stuff done, and kind of get settled in. We got all the essentials taken care of like car tag, drivers licenses, and changing the utilities over. We also got to do some fun things!

Our condo happens to sit right on one of the many golf courses over here. So our only real option for taking Gavin on a walk is to the cart path over to the closest park. Well, apparently there is an overabundance of squirrels here compared to Macon, and Gavin has noticed.

This is about a minute from our front door, he dragged me over to the tree after the squirrel went up. We are working on this:)

There is a rather large farmers market nearby that I got to visit on Saturday. It is just so beautiful here. I will try to remember to take more pictures next time. These were the only ones I got.

Also, this is happening:

(if you can't tell from the picture, we just finished our first crossfit workout....yes we are)

And a few more just for fun.

Gavin loves his bed. 

Dog park:)

We have gotten to hang out with some pretty cool people too. I am really looking forward to seeing friendships develop, and beginning to really get to know people both in and outside the church. I continue to pray for strength for both of us as we make this transition. Things are good, but change is always hard. The Lord is being so very gracious, and I know he will continue to do so. He has provided so far so how could I ever doubt him? 

You make known to me the path of life; 

in your presence there is fullness of joy; 

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

.love.
Adrienne

The First Weekend.

The morning after we drove in, some awesome people showed up to help us move into our sweet little two-bedroom condo. It took about an hour to figure out how to fit our couches in the living room, but don't worry- we did it.

And the dog kennel didn't have to go in the middle of the room after all:)

We did finally get all the boxes unpacked and almost all the things hung on the walls.

And we have a sweet little "workshop" off the deck:)

Jared's wonderful parents helped us get started on our unpacking while they were here. They were definitely a huge help!! Wish they could've been here for more exploring than unpacking-maybe next time! We did find some good ice cream and the dog park though:)

The Fincher Adventure has definitely taken a good turn. 

.love.

Adrienne

The Big Move!

A 26 ft Penske truck, 16 hours of driving, 2 days, and lots of people later we made it to Arkansas.

Leaving was definitely bittersweet, but it was also really cool to see our friends really be friends. Whether

they brought us food,

 

fit a lamp into the only box left, 

threw a chair in the truck,

stopped by for a hug,

wiped down baseboards,

or simply sent an encouraging text message,      

we truly felt loved.

And it all made climbing in that truck and driving away a little bit easier. If not easier, worth it.

It's weird looking back on it all now, but I just couldn't bring myself to write this post until now. I could say I didn't have time, but that was only part of it. It has taken a few weeks for everything to kind of set in. We are so excited to be here, and we are so looking forward to see what God is going to continue to do here. We have already seen him at work both in our own lives and in the lives of others. 

Gavin didn't love the move, but he did love sticking his head out the window:) 

Stick around for more updates soon!!

.love.
Adrienne

A Quick Trip Home

Last weekend we made a quick trip home to ol' Birmingham. Both of our families live in Birmingham so we're able to see all our people in one trip! We wanted to see everyone before we moved 9 hours away, ya know? Plus, I wanted to see one of my brothers before he is deployed again. This was my last chance to see him before he leaves.

On Thursday we kind of had a chill day which was nice after all the craziness of the past few weeks. We went on a little run with Jared's dad that afternoon. For those of you who do not know, we are training for a half-marathon that is in like a week, in Nashville. This was my first run in a while because I decided to go and strain a ligament in my foot a month before the race....frustrating- that's all I have to say about that.  So, we ran, then we ate dinner with his parents and then went to a late movie with Jared's little brother.

On Friday, my mom and I got lunch and went baby gift shopping together. One of my good friends was having her baby shower the next day and I needed to find a gift. Then we spent that evening at my parents house with the whole fam-both of my brothers, sister-in-law, the nephews and niece:) And I got to meet James' girlfriend-she's sweet! It was a fun night.

Saturday, I went to Morgan's baby shower that morning. It was so so good to see her and that sweet baby bump! She makes pregnant look real good:) It was also so good to see other dear friends who made it to the shower! I love showers & weddings that bring old friends together!! We got to talk about life and how Jesus is doing awesome things all over the place! I love it!

After the shower, it was time to head back to Mac-town, and that was our weekend! Only a couple more to go before the big move!

.Love.
Adrienne

Distraction-What is yours?

I read this today:

We spend countless hours comparing our things to the person next to us. We measure our family’s success by the wealth of our belongings. We work long hours in jobs to earn enough money so we can spend our lives purchasing the biggest homes, the fanciest cars, the trendiest fashions, the hottest toys, and the coolest technologies.
Meanwhile, we all know it’s not true. We know full-well happiness cannot be bought at a department store.(source)

The article goes on to talk about how our quest for more may ultimately be detrimental to our happiness. All the stuff actually distracts from the things that really make us happy. I've heard this said before, but this little article with the author's anecdote about playing baseball with his son stuck with me. 

I know that things are not important, but I still find myself wanting more things. I know things aren't meant to satisfy, yet I find myself trying to quench my needs with things. I know that things will leave me empty, but I still find myself filling my time with things.

Why?

I don't know that I know the answer for myself yet. I do know that I think this man from this article may be on to something. The more things we own, the more our things own us. The more things there are in front of me, the more likely I am to be distracted by them-its common sense. Take away the things, and the distractions begin to fade away. I should begin to be able to see the things, look for the things, and desire the things that I truly enjoy.

Like Jesus, and reading, and writing, and creating, and laughing, and enjoying my God's creation.

Those things bring me joy.

They bring even more joy when I do them with the people I love.

So maybe, as we pack up our house in the next few weeks I can begin to pinpoint areas of distraction...and maybe eliminate or minimize those distractions. And maybe, as we move across the country, I can begin to free myself from things so that I can see and enjoy life with the people God has right in front of me-my husband, my neighbors, my friends, my grocery store clerk, my barista at the coffee shop, my boss, and the list goes on.

What do you say? Let's finally be free from the distractions of 21st century America, so we can be free to be distracted by the eternal God of the universe.

.Love.
Adrienne

All the Things

All the things that seem to be happening right now-they are just life. But in my head, I tend to make  myself out to be a martyr of sorts each time something else goes wrong.

I read this post yesterday, and I cringed a little bit. The article ends with this paragraph:

When we’ve stared the question in the face — whose approval do you crave? — and done the serious heartwork of renouncing self and exalting Christ, we are free. Free from condemnation (Romans 8:1), free to be fully satisfied in Christ (Psalm 16:11), and free to wield whatever influence we have, however big or small, for the good of our neighbor and the glory of God.

This is my prayer for my life. To see things for what they are, and wield every opportunity-good or bad- "for the good of my neighbor and the glory of God".  I want to be free from the need to feel sorry for myself OR the need to make much of myself. I can take every punch that comes my way, and I can trust that God is still great and his purpose will remain. And I can take every praise that comes my way, and I can freely exalt Christ to the utmost because he is great and his purpose will remain. I pray that this is the story of my life in all the things.

.Love. 

Adrienne