Wonderful friends

When I say we have wonderful friends, I mean we have WONDERFUL friends. Over the years, I've come to realize what a rare and precious thing are friends who you can depend on, grow with, and be challenged by. Over coffee with one of my friends this morning, this realization came on pretty strong. Jon and I are truly blessed to have the people we have in our lives for several reasons. First, they challenge us to be real and honest with them. And when we are, they still love us. I've had a few of those moments this week and am SO grateful for this fact! :) Second, they challenge us to try new things, while expecting the best. They support and encourage us to follow where the Lord is leading, regardless of the change that will come with it. They pray for God to open our eyes to His plan, and when He does, they are some of our biggest supporters. Third, they live life with us and open up their lives to us. Jon and I have friends at different stages of life...some are right behind us, some are right ahead of us, and some are alongside us. It's encouraging to see what God is doing in each of their lives, even at different ages and stages. Fourth, praise the Lord for accountability! I have seen God use this powerful tool of sharpening one another in each of our lives. Praise Him for loving us enough to place people in our lives that desire to see His character and image refined in us.

We praise the Lord for His bride, His body of believers that love and encourage us in ways that we couldn't have asked for or imagined! Thank you for speaking truth and love into our lives...it means more than you know!

Philippians 1:3-6, "Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you  heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." (The Message)

I got fangs/bangs

Allow me to just get this off my chest...I have been sucked into the hype that is the Twilight saga. And in case you're wondering, no, this isn't Jon writing this lovely update, but yours truly. HA. Just to be sure you understand how completely and totally I have jumped on that bandwagon, allow me to tell you that I am currently on the last 100 pages of the fourth book...a feat I accomplished in a mere 2 weeks, people! Yes, I am aware I need a life. That is why I am so anxious to finish this fourth book and return to the real world. I feel better already! :)

On a different note, I got a new haircut that includes bangs. Why am I telling you this? Because coming back from the holidays with new hair gets people commenting and I find myself answering the question, "What's different?" with, "I got bangs!" This sentence immediately takes me back to the Legally Blonde movie in which her friend exclaims the same thing. You know you remember! Good times! So, for those of you far away, let it be known that I am sporting bangs these days...WOO!

In other news, Jon is now considering more seriously a seminary in Boston called Gordon-Conwell. This is why we never bank on things NOT changing because they tend to change...a lot. Jon began looking more into this seminary before the break and has continued to see great potential for it to be the place that would challenge and grow him the most. We've discussed taking a trip up there soon, which I'm TOTALLY pumped about! I'm enjoying this whole mini-moon/vacation/looking at seminaries in far-away cities. It's also nice to have a better idea of where we might be relocating our lives! It's a win-win (or as Michael Scott would say, a win-win-win!).

Jon has started the internship at Grace Bible Church and is loving it. He even had the opportunity to give the devotion for our college leaders' meeting. He did such an awesome job! He encouraged us with the truth that Christ is the one who gives us our sufficiency...it is never something that comes from ourselves. It's always good to be reminded of that, especially when you get in the flow of things and the tendency is to depend a little too much on yourself. It seemed like a very timely encouragement and I was so proud that he is my husband!

I've also started working for a family four days a week. I pick up their 2 kids from school, take them home, and watch/play with them until their parents come home. It's been great getting out of the house. For those who don't know, I work from home. I LOVE it. However, I would totally be content staying inside all day...completely different from Jon. It's been good to have that little push to go outside and see the world for a few hours a day. :) 

Well, I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy the weekend...I know I will!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, the Yeagers are finally back to a normal routine after traveling the "Triangle" as Jon likes to call it...Dallas, San Antonio, and College Station. Jon and I had so much fun celebrating Christmas with our families. We are so blessed to be a part of two families that love the Lord so much and have lots of fun together!

Here's a rundown on what's been going on in our lives...Jon and I celebrated our first married Christmas together before we left for Dallas (I'm TOTALLY down with opening gifts a week before Christmas!). Jon got me the Pushing Daisies Season One and some gummy Sweettarts. Those of you who know me, know that I LOVE Sweettarts and the gummy kind are extremely tasty and hard to come by...you can only get them at Blockbuster! What a thoughtful hubby I have! I got Jon the Bourne Ultimatum and the game Risk. We've been quite the "gamers" these days...and I mean the board kind. 

After our little Christmas, Jon and I headed to Dallas to spend time with his family. We had a great time and definitely enjoyed getting to spend an extended amount of time there. We celebrated Christmas with his whole family on Christmas Eve and left for San Antonio on Christmas day. We "rendezvoused" with Luke, Aimee, and Austin on I-35 and arrived at my parents' house in time for Christmas dinner. Austin decided to be the joker for Christmas and spread ketchup all over his face for our viewing pleasure. After dinner, we opened gifts and spent time catching up. Jon and I got to be parents-for-a-day. Translation: we took care of Austin for a day. We watched Backyardigans, drank coffee/juice together, visited Outdoor World, tried to take a nap, shared goldfish, and played until our hearts content. We also celebrated my mom's birthday, which was super fun! We had a wonderful time in San Antonio and left feeling grateful for such wonderful families!

Jon and I spent New Year's Eve here in College Station playing Rockband and Guitar Hero with friends. I chose to ring in the new year asleep on a couch, waking up in time to hear, "3, 2, 1...Happy New Year," kiss Jon, and fall asleep for a little longer. I know, I felt old.

As we reflect on 2008 and all the fun it held (MARRIAGE!!), we are definitely grateful for what the Lord has done and look forward to what he will do in 2009. Something that we are especially excited about is reading through the Bible this year. I have always wanted to do it, so who better to read through the Bible with than your spouse? 

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pics from our holiday. We hope you enjoyed time with your families, but mostly that our hearts would continually be filled with gratitude for Christ coming to earth! 

Austin and I decided to play together in the

laundry basket...he wanted me to 

take a close up :)

And more pictures to come...blogger is being too slow for uploading pictures!