I'm Striving for Perfection

"Be perfect even as your Heavenly Father which is in Heaven is Perfect." - Jesus

 It's amazing that this saying by the Lord can make many Christians SO uncomfortable.
If I even say, "I am striving to be perfect", I can guarantee that many who are believers in the Christ would look at me as if I was the black sheep of the flock. Perfect? NOBODY can be perfect! When we get to Heaven is another thing, but here in this world? Nobody is Perfect but God!

 No. Nobody will ever be God or can ever be exalted in the same manner as God, for He shares His Glory with no man... BUT (and I know this will make some shift in their seats uncomfortably and perhaps even offend), Jesus did command that we be LIKE Him... in perfection.

 Gulp!

 Be like Christ? The most perfect and upright being to ever walk this planet, and not only that, He said to be like the Head Boss of the Trinity, The Heavenly Father!!!!

 That was the original plan, did you know that?

 When God made Man what did He say, "Let us make Man in our own Image AND in our own likeness", that is NOT to say we are mini-gods (blasphemy!), it is to say to be LIKE Him in every way He says is possible, and Perfection has always been that possibility!

 I read scriptures such as, "Be ye holy even as I am Holy" (Lev 11:44; Lev 19:2; Lev 20:7; Amo 3:3, 1 Peter 1:16) and read on by because I was taught that was not possible, even though God Himself has COMMANDED it!

 Last night while having an invigorating time with my parents and husband over a hour and a half devotional (it could have taken 15 minutes, but my goodness, the Word of God is so Rich with nuggets of wisdom and mysteries waiting to be revealed, we couldn't leave it! It actually gave us physical goose bumps what we were unearthing from His Holy Words!) this nugget of Truth came to my thought, "There was a Man who was perfect on this Planet... His name is Job."...

 Job was a perfect and upright man who feared God and eschewed evil. - Job 1:1

 From what some scholars have said is that the book of Job was written before Moses' time (even Abraham's), so Job lived before the Book of the Law was ever written, meaning that Job didn't live by any "law" but yet he was a Perfect man!

It dawned on me, Job didn't have Christ as an example of perfection, nor did he have the Law or even the 10 Commandments to refer too in order to be perfect, so how can this mere mortal be what Christ has commanded us to be (and we have HIS Word and commandments in the Bible to follow and go too for guidance!)?

 The mystery of this is all there in Job 1:1!

He feared God.
He held God in the utmost Reverence ( Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.), and in that reverence he was Upright... He kept straight in the reverence he had for the Lord.

He eschewed evil. I loved the prime root to "eschewed"; To turn off, call back, decline, be past, pluck away, put away - down, remove, rebel, revolt, withdraw, be without.

Job was a rebel, and has a revolution against evil and anything that would contradict holiness and perfection in God!

Job 1:1 defines who Job was, but let's take a deeper look what God said to satan about Job:

Job 1:8

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

 I realized, how I long for the Lord to tell even Satan these same words about ME! Now realizing what I am missing has me aching to be Holy even as He is Holy! Oh! What a ways I have to GO... but I am going to be there, because how I love Jesus! And Jesus said, "If you love me you would obey what I command.".

 Being Holy as God is Holy brings about first Knowing Him (not just believing in Him, You have to get past the believing and into the knowing!), and knowing comes to Trust.

He Knows them who Trust in Him. - Nahum 1:7

I also began to see that in order to be Holy as He is, is to completely abide in Jesus. For He is the Vine and we are the branches, those who abide in Him and He in them will bring forth much fruit, for without Him we can do nothing.

 Abiding in Jesus means to be so intertwined in Him that you don't even realize who is who! Like a Husband and Wife become One flesh so our abiding in the Lord as His followers, we become so intertwined in Him that we decrease so that He increases within us! 

 There was a time just recently that I looked at reading the Bible as more of a chore, more like I was just reading a book and that was it. Until I humbled myself and said, "Lord... i'm struggling. Help me.", and how he helped me!!! 

 Dustin and I was listening to one of our favorite evangelist, Jesse Duplantis and he said this, "(taking up his bible) This is just a book to many, but the Bible is not a book... This is JESUS!", BOOM! Mind Blown!!!!

 Jesus IS the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, before Moses was "I AM", the Bible is JESUS who is LIFE... I mean, if this doesn't make those who claim to be followers of Jesus excited, then y'all need to get yourselves checked! 

Last night was an intense revelation of being Holy as He is Holy, and being perfect as our heavenly father is perfect and being intertwined in the Vine who is Christ and when I am deep in the Word of God I am deep in Christ Himself!

 C'mon my fellow Believers, STRIVE FOR PERFECTION! BE HOLY AS HE IS HOLY! BE SO LOST IN CHRIST THAT THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF YOU BUT ALL OF HIM IS FOUND IN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

 Last night the Lord gave me a vision. It was a picture of a diagram of the anatomy of our blood vessels. But in this body was not blood vessels but Vines, and a 'leaf ' was actually a follower of Jesus Christ, and the blood flow was the Word of God and the body that had these vines and branches (followers of Christ) was Jesus! 

 Oh! How we mustn't be "content" in our walk with the Lord, but that we abide in Him with vigor and zeal and strive for holiness and perfection because He commanded us and because we Love Him we must obey Him! Don't just go by what you are taught, dig into the Word of God, eat it up, drink up His wisdom... you will NEVER be the same!!!!

How a plumbing problem helped improve my character!

Amazing how something so incredibly inconvenient can teach a lesson in rejoicing in the Lord!

About a week ago the toilet in our rental home wouldn't flush. My husband tried fixing it but nothing was happening. Our landlord called a local plumber and they went to work.

 What we thought was a simple plumbing issue turned into a nightmare...

 Another plumber that came after they remodeled the home, did a cheap and botched up job that nobody would have noticed because no one was living in the home at the time, until we came along. The result of this plumbers job showed 3 weeks into our lease, the drainage wasn't going into the sewage (sometimes I did and sometimes it didn't) but it was spilling into the back of our basement! It wasn't horrible, but it could have been!

 The plumber and his assistant told us "You may not be able to have toilets if we can't fix this. It's really bad.", I almost lost it. Because this was an issue that wasn't resolved for a week, we were supposed to go to our Church's Christmas party we were looking forward too since we began to go about 2 weeks ago, but the plumbers weren't going to be finished on time, plus my parents were on their way and would be arriving in the morning. If we couldn't have the toilets fixed, we may have to go to a hotel and have our landlord setup an emergency portal potty and shower outside of our home, and it's extremely cold out!

I heard this from my husband, and just went into my bedroom and cried. I was stressed how bad it was, and we had to tell our church family that we wouldn't make it (we were supposed to bring a dish) and really, I wanted to accept my parents in our beautiful home with no problems!

So I gave myself a pity party. And how I pitied myself, i'm surprised I didn't play the song, "Nobody knows the troubles I feel! Nobody knows my sorrows..."!

So I texted my mom and told her all that was happening (they were on their way from California to Tennessee), and then I got a call from her phone, but it was my dad's voice I heard instead of my mom. Hearing my daddies voice made me lose it. He said, "So mija, what is going on?" I began to cry and whimper, "Daddy, i'm so stressed!"

 He compassionately said these words of wisdom that stopped my tears and said,

"Mija, I know you are stressed, and you have a right to be stressed and sad and angry and frustrated, but just because you have a "right" to react in a way that is called for, doesn't mean you should do it... You are a daughter of the King, and your reaction to things that are happening that may be inconvenient or hurtful must rise higher than the situation!
 Remember, Rejoice always and again I say rejoice, let your gentleness be known to all men (to your husband and these plumbers) that the Lord is at hand, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

 Then he lead us four in prayer and I felt a peace and sweet conviction that, my attitude needs to reflect my Spirit and character not my emotions or feelings.

 I came out of my self pity and said, "Thank you Lord! That this situation will not steal my Joy! But father, thank you for these 2 men who are working so hard to fix the situation, and bless our landlord with the finances to fix the job that was cruelly botched in the first place. Father, that my rejoicing in you will be evident to these two men and that I be gentle to all who enter my home that in every situation, You are in control!", I walked out of my bedroom with a sincere smile on my face and a peace just enveloped me.

 The assistant (who is a sweet young man in his early 20's) came into the house with a frustrated and soured face, apparently irritated at the fact that nothing was working, so I smiled at him coming in the house and said, "Young man, I want you to know how grateful at your hard work and working in such filth and yet doing your work with excellency... where would we be without you two men working so hard?", he literally stopped in his tracks and gave me an astonished look and stammered, "T-thank you, ma'am." and I said (because I remembered he loves peppermint candy canes I had hanging on our Christmas Tree and he sweetly asked the last time he came if he may have one!), "I remember how much you love candy canes, before you leave I want you to have as many candy canes as you can pick from our Tree, ok?",

 His eyes darted to the tree and back to me, and the most charming boyish grin unraveled on his lips and his eyes twinkled and he said with excitement, "Oh! Thank you, Ma'am!!!", after that I noticed his step was more chipper and there was a smile across his lips each time he came in the home, and he had an energy that kept him going strong!

 His boss came in with that same kind of frustration and said, "sigh, this is all a mess.", I then said, "Sir, Thank you for all you are doing, I sincerely admire you.", He looked at me completely astonished and said, "Why, thank you, ma'am!".

Each time these gentlemen came into the house, there was a new energy and smile on their faces, then the boss came into the home and exclaimed, "We Fixed It!"!!!!!

 Praise the Lord!!!!! They said they tried something they didn't think of and it worked and we have both bathrooms working beautifully!!!

 After they fixed it, the young man eyed the tree as if it was Christmas morning!!! He shyly went to the tree and said, "May I have 2?" I said, "Honey! You can have them ALL! Don't be polite, and grab all you want.", he sweetly said, "I'll just take 4 then, Ma'am... Thank you!".

 Daily I am striving to renew my carnal mind into the Mind of Christ, and when you think thoughts that are pure, good, holy, virtuous, etc... Your perspective changes.

 I had a "First World Problem" moment, there are people in third world countries that don't have adequate toilets and still dig drenches to use in the ground. These 2 men had to work in the filth that was exposed because of another lousy plumber's job, in the cold and at night, our landlord have to pay from out of his own pocket all that had to be done and the cleanup that has to happen as well... and Dustin and I got to sit here in the warmth and God forbid, wait to use a toilet! What a shame that came in my mind!

 I then realized, if I would have allowed self pity and stress take over, that would have penetrated the atmosphere of my home and my husband would have fed off of it and so would these plumbers and perhaps they wouldn't have a renewed energy to try that one thing they didn't think of to fix this problem!

 I realized as an Ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven, I am to be an example of Christ at ALL times, there is no time off! I am to be ready in season (good times) and out of season (bad/inconvenient times)... That when I rejoice in the Lord at all times, that Joy will be evidence of Christ in this Home and that my gentle spirit will reveal that the Lord is at hand!

 That they will leave and say, "That Home, such a peace that reigned there! The gentleness of the Lady of the Home was evident, and there was such a Joy penetrating the atmosphere... Yes, Christ reigns there!".

 For what kind of Christian would I be if I only had a godly attitude in the good times, but when things didn't go as planned I threw a fit? No! I had to rise above the situation!

 HaHa! I also realized, how absolutely ridiculous and a horrible example of God's evidence in my life that I stress out and allow that to rule my attitude, and when they are in the yard to see a sign I made that says, "Here Dwells (with an arrow pointing toward our home) Gentleness, Self Control, Faithfulness, Love, Compassion, Faith." and when they come in another small sign  on the wall next to the front door reads, "Above All, In this place reigns Jesus", and then ANOTHER sign that reads, "Bless this Home and all who enter."... .Hmmmmm... Imagine readings these "Christian" signs and coming to see the Lady of the Home in tears and stressed and boohooing because things aren't going as planned and having a sour attitude to beat it all!

 Oh Lord, Thank you for the wisdom of my daddy to graciously remind me who I am in Christ and to have a Queenly attitude and Christ like attitude at all times and that I planted a seed in the hearts of these men that in this Home truly reigns the King of Kings!!!!!

Our new Family!

Arriving to Tennessee we have been wondering what Church we were going to be attending.
We came from a powerful anointed Church in San Diego (Word of Life Worship Center with Pastor Tommy Miller, www.wordoflifewc.com) and we have grown and learned a lot on the service times we were able to make and also listening online.

 I remember a day we were driving up to Bass Pro Shops in California that Dustin asked, "What kind of Church should we be looking for when we get to Tennessee? A church we are used to attending or a house kind of church you grew up in?".

 There is a difference the way Dustin and I experienced Christianity growing up. He grew up Catholic (I'll leave his testimony for a later time, which is so powerful!), until he joined the Navy at 18 and was stationed in Hawaii he came to know Jesus as his personal Savior and King!

There he was taken under the wings of Potters House/Cornerstone church in Hawaii, and there he remained serving the church for 13 years. He has said that he knew he was meant to remain there for just a short season, but that the Lord was touching him to move on away from Hawaii for a time, but he never acted upon it. Thus he said that he was so focused on ministry and the serving that the Minister (Jesus) and the One who he serves was somewhere on the back burner. Church then became a routine and cycle to him. Praise God for Cornerstone because it was there Dustin encountered the King of Glory! But, he wasn't obedient to the Lord and more worried by what his fellow man thought about his moving more than just what the Lord wanted him to do. So he felt "stuck" spiritually.

 I grew up with Jesus as the focal point of our home! Oh, the sweet and powerful memories of my childhood!

 Every morning i'd wake up as a little girl and come down the stairs and see my mama on her couch with her "kitty" blanket wrapped around her legs comfortably, her feet resting on a stool (cos she's a petite woman that satan himself is terrified of, because of the Christ that is the giant within her!), and her little bible that is so worn out because it was constantly being opened and used with power!

 I'd peek at her curiously as i'd see her intently reading her word, mouthing each word as if she was proclaiming something so mysterious and so vivid I could almost see what she was reading!!!

Throughout the day my mami would be singing praises and worship and making up her own praise and worship (Singing new psalms! Amen!) and telling me, "Oh Elisa! Isn't Jesus beautiful????"!

 I'd watch her with intent curiosity and remembered asking her, "But mami... who is Jesus?", her eyes brightened and a beautiful smile came across her lips and she would sit me down next to her and say, "Let me tell you who Jesus is..." She told me about Jesus as if He was a best friend visiting the house and she was introducing me to Him and that I could literally reach out and physically touch him!

 I was in such awe I couldn't say anything! She told me, "You have to choose to accept Him into your heart, mija... to have a relationship with Jesus you need to allow Him to be your King!".

 One day we drove as a family to Ft. Worth, TX to the Believers Convention with Kenneth and Gloria Copeland (Mighty couple of God!), and I was in the Children's center and there I received Christ! I was so excited! I go running to my mami and said, "MAMA! TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! TODAY  I ASKED JESUS TO BE MY LORD AND I'M A NEW PERSON!" I understood everything!

 I was never raised in a "Church" (meaning a building or affiliation or denomination), because those who follow Christ know that the Church is the Body of Christ, fellow believers!

 My mama (and daddy who is also saved and who was lead to salvation by my mama's example. Pretty much my whole family and grandmother and uncle from my dad's side were all lead to Jesus by my mom!) has always desired to gather with fellow believers in a home and have house church. We never could find that, so guess what? We had our own Home Church!

 We would gather as a family and pray, worship, listen to scripture, talk about it and that was it! Yes, we didn't have nusery, or childrens school, ushers ministry, audio/video ministry, etc... Praise God for all of those! But, how we did it was so simple and yet so powerful!

 So now back to our drive to Bass Pro Shops and our conversation...

 I told him, " My Love, seek the Lord and where He wants us to fellowship." 

After coming to Tennessee less than a week, we were in a Starbucks (because we didn't have WIFI yet) and looking for churches. Dustin's heart was still in finding a church that had the family worshiping together (and not separating the family by age to different rooms.), he then found something only 10 minutes from us off the freeway but they gather on Saturday evenings.

We attended and it was not like anything we have experienced (and that I haven't experienced since my childhood!), there was a family dinner, where those who attended ate and fellowshipped and the Pastor came and introduced himself and told us the kind of group they were...

"If you are wanting something more structured with announcements, and 30 min. Worship and a sermon wrapped in a time limit then this is not the place for you. We don't have any ushers,or other ministry. We come for dinner and fellowship, Then at 7 we just allow the Holy Spirit to plan what we do next. There are times we will just worship and sing praises (his daughter is anointed to lead worship at the keyboard), and sometimes we will just share and preach/teach, and sometimes we will start with worship... do a teaching, then pray out and go home! Sometimes we will be lead to be in prayer all night, and we will stay till the early morning hours soaking in the presence of the Lord!"

Right there and then I knew... the Lord lead us here!

We had a precious time of Worship, so simple and yet so incredibly beautiful (there were only about 15 people there)! Then a young man shared his testimony and taught what the Lord gave him to teach.

Afterwards they prayed out and the Pastor asked if they could pray for us. Of course we said yes, and they sat us down and all surrounded us...

 I can't help but shake my head and giggle at our "natural" response to being prayed for. I was used to raising my hands and close my eyes and hear a chorus of loud prayer right off the bat! Which is wonderful, but that night I learned... I learned how to pray by FIRST waiting on the Lord to speak.

We both were used to doing it this way, so we had our hands up and eyes closed and nothing happened! Complete silence. I opened my eyes and they were all gazing upon us and right there and then I realized, no one was uttering a word until the Lord said something!

 I was in awe by that revelation and right when I lowered my hands down on my lap, one of the brothers standing behind Dustin spoke and said to him, "Brother, may I have your permission to speak something over you?". Dustin then said, "Sure!".

 We were used to what was spoken over us was always encouragement and blessings. But his was different...

 He then went onto say, "Brother, when I saw you come into this building all I saw was worry in you... You are worrying about something not happening aren't you?" When he said that, my mouth dropped open because it was I who was worried about something that was NOT happening and wondering, "Why me?".

 He then said, "The Lord has a Word over you and your wife. Stop worrying. Because it is coming."

 Tears came down as I realized this was really meant for me! But because my husband and I are one flesh, Dustin got to hear it as well!

 Then the Pastor (watching us both intently) focused his gaze on me, and I knew he was hearing the Lord speaking, he then said, "Sister, it is coming. In the timing of God which is perfect... it is coming. That desire you have been waiting on  and have even questioned God at times, is coming.". I completely lost it!!!

 Then the person on keyboard sang a prophetic song over me, "His Banner of Love is over you.".

 Then Pastor looked at Dustin and said, "Brother, may I be specific with you now? That farm that you've been desiring...it's coming. It's yours." Whoooooooaaaaaa! Glory!!!!

 We fellowshipped a bit more and went home. We were driving quietly and deep in thought and prayer. The next day we visited another church (in the same building) but deep down we knew where God wanted to place us. When we arrived I asked, "Are we still searching? Or have you come to a decision." Dustin then said, "Oh yes, I have decided that the Vineyard on Saturdays will be our family group.".

We finally found a group of believers who were like minded when it came to self sufficiency and many of them are crafters and desire to farm just like we do! 

When you allow the Lord to guide your every step... He only leads you to Hope!!!

Christmas Tree, Oh! Christmas Tree... that's the only part I know in the song.

Merry Christmas!

 You know, i've never really remembered having a "cold" Christmas. The cold I experienced in San Diego was a zip up hoodie with a tank top underneath and thin sweat pants with flip flops on. My cold was in the low 50's and maybe it'll hit to the mid 40's up in the mountains where I lived... that was FREEZING to a born and raised cali girl like me!

 So coming to Tennessee... hmmmm... just a tad bit different... ok maybe not "tad", more like a major difference!!!!

 My first priority when we found our beautiful home was to make it a home right away before we unpacked one thing from our boxes and suitcases and to make a Christmas tradition right away to make the most of the month of December (as we moved in day after Thanksgiving).

 After putting all of our belongings in our home, my beloved and I hopped in our Cherokee (leaving sadie back with her blankie covering the crate with the scent of our apartment back in Alpine and of the car so she wouldn't get so lonely and a yummy kong filled with peanut butter!) and went looking for Christmas Trees. 

 We really wanted to go cut down our own Tree, but we didn't know where to go or who to ask, so we decided for this year we would go to Costco or Home Depot and get a tree. 

 We went to Costco and it just didn't seem fun to me. They all looked exactly the same, they were all wrapped up tight so you had no idea how full they would be, so we decided to drive around and see if there was a tree lot somewhere.

Not less than 2 miles down the road was a tree lot full of rustic looking trees that looked fresh and ready to be taken home!

Our tree wrapped from the lot ready to go home!

 They were a bit more pricier but it was so worth it!

These trees were freshly cut right across the border in North Carolina from a local farm there, the young man there definitely looked and talked like he came from North Carolina! He was an absolute charm! He not only talked to us about the tree but we ended up staying almost an hour just chatting with him in the cold! 

 His character was so warm, and of course he talked with us about our like minded beliefs in politics and God (We are very Conservative and strong believers and followers of Jesus Christ!), and he helped direct us how to train sadie to hunt and retrieve fowl when Dustin goes hunting (and I wouldn't mind learning to hunt as well with him!). 

He talked fondly of his "girl", a 1970's GMC truck that was passed from his uncle down to him, and he said, "I don't care how much someone offers, that truck damn sure ain't for sale!"

Brought our tree back home! I love everything in this picture!!!

 I then proceeded to find a tree that had a nest nestled deep in the tree!!!!! It was an old nest but it looked so natural and rustic how could I say no? Haha! We could have ended up like Chevy Chase in National Lampoon Christmas Vacation where a squirrel comes running out! But no, we didn't have that happen, Sadie would have had a fun time chasing and taking that squirrel out (she's hunted and killed other things. She's a hunter all right!)! HaHa!

You can see Dustin's legs as he is trying to make the tree more straighter, and of course i'm just snapping away photos... It's not like he needed help or anything. Sigh, i'm such a wife! Heehee!

 Finding a tree at a home depot, walmart or costco may be cheaper and quicker, but nothing beats finding a small lot and talking to the people who work there and not only finding a beautiful fresh tree, but make a memory and a friendship even if it's brief! That lot has been in their family for over 30 years!

I think I know which lot will be the place we will be going too to find our tree. It was such a wonderful time we had!

Sadie completely confused by this dinosaur bone! Haha! She had a look that said, "Is ALL this for me???" Let's just say she devoured that thing!!! It kept her happy and out of our way for that evening!

No, Dustin isn't saluting the tree. Lol! He was just trimming the top and inspecting his work as the top of the tree was hitting ceiling.

Lights are on, the burlap is wrapped around, all we need to do is decorate with ornaments! The fireplace  was amazing! It crackled and warmed us up!

How can you not have egg nog in santa cups and popcorn in these festive tins while decorating?

Ya, you CAN NOT leave out the Peanut gang!

The very first ornament we put on the tree was our very first ornament together as a married couple we got back in Hawaii!

The star was the last and final touch!

A simple and sweet rustic Christmas we will finally be having! The Lord has been so good to us! When you honor Jesus and obey Him, He honors you right back!

Dustin sitting on the couch enjoying his home, he didn't know I took this photo! I am so flattered each time I see my husband enjoy the works of my hand in our home!

Sadie's first Christmas experience!

Christmas jazz playing softly, fireplace lit up, egg nog in hand, with christmas lights on, snuggled up in the arms of my beloved with Sadie napping at our feet... This is the best Christmas EVER!

 

There is no place like Home!

It was a cool morning, Friday, November 21. I put on my walking shoes and slipped into my comfy work clothes and walked into the living room tying my hair into a tight bun, I couldn't help but smile when I saw all the boxes and suitcases I started packing a month prior (with the help of my amazing husband), knowing in that 2 more days, we will be heading away from California to find a new Home in Tennessee!

Majority of our belongings ready to be packed away from our apartment in Alpine, CA!

With the help of my most loving Mother, we three went to work and filled up our 6x12 Uhaul. Dustin was so amazing, He organized that Uhaul like if he was playing Tetris! He stacked it so well, there was absolutely NO way anything would budge during the drive!

My mami with her son before we began our packing up the uhaul!

Locking our apartment door one last time! It was a lovely place to live in,but now for new and better things yet to come!

We had some amazing memories in our comfortable apartment and had an amazing view from our yard!

My parents living room in their house up the mountain where I grew up, met dustin online for the very first time here, got to meet him in person for the first time in this living room, told him that I loved him for the very first time in this living room, told my parents we got engaged (on this same land he proposed) in this living room, and I waited in this same room to walk out the front door and down to the EXACT Same spot he proposed to get married! In this room our whole relationship was done in!

That night after a long day of packing and some cleaning and last minute organizing we drove our cherokee hauling all our belongings with Sadie up to the Home I grew up in, in the mountains of Alpine! We wanted to spend one last weekend with our parents and enjoy it before we drove a very long 3 1/2 days to our destination!

It was a nostalgic kind of evening, the night air was very chilly, thus my parents turned on their Wood Stove in the living room to warm up the home, the familiar creaks of the hardwood floors brought a lot of comfort yet also brought an emotional lump in my throat I tried to laugh away with humor.

My parents wood stove warming up the whole house from the living room!

 I got to sleep in my childhood home with my husband our puppy one last time in the living room next to the crackling wood stove dreaming of new memories we will be having when we head on East!

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning (the 23rd), saying goodbye to my parents was a bit hard, especially for Dustin who grew to love them like his own (He and my dad were pretty close!), but I couldn't remain sad for very long, the excitement of going out to the "unknown" with my husband was just too much! We were about to embark on an adventure, just he and I, to a place we have never lived in or know much about... So away we went!

As we approached Yuma, AZ I had mixed feelings, I was in "awe" because passing the Yuma city line will be the furthest I have traveled with my husband, and this may be the very last time I go see my grandmother who is 100 years old.

 We entered into yuma and we drove to the nursing home where my sweet grandmother was staying, I walked in by myself and saw her sitting quietly in her wheelchair. I couldn't help but feel hot tears coming into my eyes, as she looked like a helpless, sweet little girl, and yet remembering  her always joyful attitude and constant laughter growing up was ringing in my mind!

Dustin and Sadie waiting for our trip to begin from Yuma, AZ!

 I talked to her for a little and she recognized me (to my surprise) and blessed me and my family on our trip and I kissed her goodbye. When I left I felt a peace, knowing that my godly sweet grandma's prayers will follow me and my husband and our little ones for years to come!

We had quite a trip! Sadie was an absolute dream! Sitting quietly or napping the whole time, and never once had an accident as we let her out each time we had to gas up, and almost every trucker, no matter how tough they looked, absolutely adored our sweet, gentle sadie! Telling us she was absolutely gorgeous and what a good hunting dog she will be if we start training her now (which Dustin is wanting to do very much so!), and how well behaved she is for just 7 months!

The princess on our bags and soft blankets, she was in pure bliss!

We traveled up through flagstaff, AZ which was beautiful no doubt, but was so extremely windy that (I was driving during that time), I was so nervous we would have to pull over and wait for the wind to die down because our uhaul trailer was having quite a time behind us being pushed around slightly! But by the grace of God we made it up to 8,000 ft in elevation just fine. Seeing snow on the ground driving through arizona and New Mexico was a beautiful sight! So quiet and serene, like what I was feeling inside!

high elevation in Flagstaff, AZ

Snow in New Mexico! It was beautiful!

This was entering Texas! Everything is bigger in Texas, so is their faith in Jesus! :)

  

                                                                                    We arrived in Tennessee day before Thanksgiving and had 2 appointments to look at rental homes. We were tired but excited at the prospect of renting a house and no longer and apartment!

 We prayed that the Lord blesses us with peace if we find the home meant for us, and if not that He will allow an unsettling over us if it is not the home. Prayer surely does move mountains!

The first home I was excited for because of the fireplace and living room. The area was a bit crowded and seemed a little claustrophobic, but the inside of the home was very charming! The only thing was, right when I met the landlord, a strong twisting unsettling happened in my gut, and I wasn't sure about the home no more. Dustin loved it! But I spoke with him privately and said, "Trust me, there is something about that landlord I don't like. He is nice, but... I just can't put a finger on it, there is something here that is not right.". So we said, "No" to this home.

The second home, the landlord was an absolute dream! But the inside of the home was something you can get lost in! There were 3 rooms but each room was connected by a door that went in one bathroom and out the other so you had to be sure to lock both bathroom doors before having privacy and it was just not very pretty! The landlord was very sweet about us saying no, and he even offered to bring Thanksgiving food over to our hotel so we wouldn't feel so left out!

 Thanksgiving came on by and we got to spend it with 2 dear friends of ours who live closeby.

Friday came and we had 3 appointments, though we only saw 2 homes, I was starting to feel nervous that we won't have the home of our dreams for a decent price and we will have to hurry and find something because our uhaul rental agreement was about to expire that day!

The first house we saw I thought it charming! It was a 1950s bungalow and there was quite a charm there and it was super close to where Dustin would be working! I was about to give Dustin the thumbs up when I was walking toward the kitchen by myself imagining how I would decorate when I heard the Lord speak to me and said, "Before you make a decision, go look at the other home. You will regret it if you don't.", when the Lord speaks, I have learned time and again to trust and obey right away without second guessing!

 So we told the landlord we would let him know if yes or no, and we went on to a home further away from where we were (about 20 miles), and right when we approached the area, I was in love!

Right when we pulled up, I took a picture right away. That was how sure I knew this was the Home the Lord blessed us with before I even got out of the car!!!

Our Sadie wondering where she is... you are home, Sadie Girl!

 As we pulled up to the home, I almost began to cry with the beauty of such a lovely home! The Landlord greeted us warmly and we had an amazing time looking around and I couldn't help but right away give my husband the thumbs up! That Home was EVERYTHING I told the Lord that I desired, from the number of rooms, to a HUGE backyard, to a big front yard with a rustic looking home on top of a small hill in order to have a higher look on everything surrounding us, I also desired hardwood floors only, an attached garage, a BIG fireplace, and an open kitchen to have room to move around in... Each and every thing I asked the Lord for, He provided in that home within the price we could easily afford!!!!

 We got the house that night and right away Dustin and I got down on our knees (literally) and thanked the Lord for His mercy and favor and goodness upon us... and thanked Him over and over for his guidance and protection on our journey to Tennessee and to our Home! We dedicated our Home to the Lord and invited Him to dwell and reign there and prayed over our home and plead the blood of Jesus in every corner of that home!

 The next day we unpacked our Uhaul (praise the Lord for our friend, James, who volunteered to help us unload the sofa, beds, and trunk so I wouldn't have to lift!), and before we unpacked one thing from our boxes we returned the uhaul and went and found a beautiful Christmas tree from a lot that farm all their trees in N. Carolina (not too far from the border of Tennessee), came home and made our house a home by decorating and lighting up the tree!

Our cherokee that wonderfully pulled this uhaul all the way from San Diego, CA to Tennessee!!!

Sadie approves of our new life!

 I can't believe it, I can't believe how far we have come since our wedding day 2 years ago to now... we started at a humble beginning now look how far the Lord has brought us and how much higher He is taking us! Thank you, Jesus... Your goodness is amazing to me!!!!!!

We stopped by North Little Rock, Arkansas

 

Taken by our dear friend, Aaron at the Old Mill, Little Rock, Arkansas