Updates!

Well, Jon and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary last Monday. It was a WONDERFUL day, complete with flowers, dinner at Square One, dessert, and a movie! For those of you who don't know, Square One is the name of the restaurant that Jon took me on our first date almost 3 years ago...crazy! It holds a special place in our hearts. I am so grateful he asked me on that first date! We thank the Lord for such a fun, wonderful marriage. What a blessing it is to have a clean slate and be given the opportunity to grow and learn with one another. Here is a picture of me with the flowers Jon bought me:

And here we are together!

In other news, Jon received his acceptance from Gordon-Conwell! I am so proud of my man! We'll be journeying up north for a few days come March...I can't wait! And speaking of Boston, Jon met a guy at the men's retreat that was from Boston. When asked, "How'd you like living in Boston?" he replied with, "Boston is such a great, fun city. The only thing I didn't like about it was the winters. They are long and cold and the snow just piles up. There's probably a good month you don't see the sun." My thought when I heard this...."A little sugar-coating would be nice!" I mean, who doesn't dream of winters complete with piled snow and depression-inducing lack of sun? He did say, however, that the winters make you appreciate the beautiful spring they have there. He said the city just comes alive. I'll be holding on to this key observation! With that said, we are still in the middle of our decision process, but have narrowed it down to 2 options. Please be praying for us to listen to the Spirit's leading in this important decision! We greatly appreciate it!

Other than that, things are the same here. I wish I had more to report. Hope you're enjoying this strange weather as much as I am. In the sixties one day and near eighty the next...gotta love Texas!

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!

God is great...and so is my "Wives Group!"

I think it's safe to say that I'm getting a little bit better at this whole blogging bit. I mean, three posts in one week...SERIOUSLY! This is quite an improvement!

For those of you who know me (which I assume is all of you since you're at this blog...), you know that there are big decisions coming up in the lives of the Yeagers. Jon is officially a GRADUATE...WHOOP! This means he will begin the internship at Grace Bible this January. We are PUMPED. It also means that December has come, and is going, and we will be needing to make decisions regarding next year very soon. For those of you who don't know us that well, our options consist of two known things (I say known because God could always throw in a third option...I'm just sayin'!). Those two things are to either continue the internship for another year or for Jon to begin seminary in the fall. Both options are great options and we've been praying through our consideration.

Every Monday night, I meet with a couple other newly married women led by our sweet friend, Shannon. Each of our husbands are involved in ministry and we discuss issues pertinent to our newly married lives. We have a WONDERFUL time! One of these sweet friends of mine encouraged me a couple weeks ago with a verse the Lord had encouraged her with. Isaiah 58:11 says, "And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." I was reading this verse this morning and was reminded and encouraged that the Lord never stops guiding us. It is a continual process. I was also reminded of the psalmist's words that tell us that He has searched out all of our paths and has recorded each of our days in His book, even though they have not been completed. What a relief it is to know that God is searching out our paths, considering every single option, because we can't, and guiding us to places that are refreshing and will suit us PERFECTLY. I was encouraged by the second portion of this verse because it reminds me that He will lead us to a place where we will thrive in His provision for us, being productive in what we do "like a watered garden." What a beautiful picture He has created for us!

I was also reminded of God's graciousness as He led the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt into the desert. He guided them by a cloud during the day and fire at night...not your typical leadership tool. But He was guiding them...continually. His guidance didn't stop when darkness was all around them. And from that scorched place, He led them to their Promised Land in HIS timing. Now I'm not saying that Jon and I will be wandering around for 40 years, wondering whether we should continue the internship or go to seminary (if this happens, Grace, please dismiss us!! HA!). But my prayer is that we will learn to trust Him more and more, looking for His hand in our lives as He guides us.

All this to say, I felt encouraged today about the decisions that are ahead of us. Why? Because I am confident in the Leader we are following and His ability to guide us. He is an everlasting God...He's been doing this kind of thing for YEARS! Pray that we will trust Him daily, have open hearts to His guidance, and obedient hearts that are eager to follow Him. 

Christmas at the Yeagers

Hello, all! I hope everyone is enjoying the nice cold weather! It actually feels like winter...at least for Texas. I thought I'd show you our newest addition to our house...drumroll, please. OUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! Here are a few of the wonderful and lovely decorations Jessica gave us as our wedding gift. And, yes, that is in fact a 7-foot tree!

In other news, it snowed here yesterday...pretty heavily! Here are some pictures:

My car:

Our Backyard:

And, for those who are wondering, I'm finally feeling better after having my tonsils removed. Thanks for the prayers! AND, Jon graduates tomorrow!! WOOHOO! So, I'm off to clean the house and prepare for all the fun graduation festivities. Have a great day!

Happy 4 Months, Jon!

Well, today is December 9, which means Jon and I have been married for 4 months! Can you believe it? I sure can't! I can't say this enough, but I have the most wonderful husband I could ever ask for. In honor of our 4 months, here are just 4 things I love about Jon:

• He loves the Lord and loves serving Him. Jon is dependent on his time with the Lord and it shows in the way he loves me. We have had the unique opportunity to dive right into ministry together and it has been wonderful. Jon is an excellent leader with a servant's heart!
• He is sensitive. There have been many times throughout our 4 months of marriage that this sensitive gal has shed some tears. Jon's response? "Just let it all out. Just let it all out." Isn't that so sweet?! 
• He is patient. Let's be honest...recovering from surgery is no easy thing. But Jon's patience and kindness has been extremely encouraging in my times of discouragement. He loves me through the hard times and lifts my spirits along the way.
• He loves me. AND IT SHOWS! Jon is creative in the way he shows his love for me. This week, it's been in the form of back rubs, grocery trips, medicine administrating (fancy term!), and refills on water and apple juice. I couldn't ask for anything better.

Thank you, Jon, for 4 wonderful months of marriage! I can't wait to see the ways the Lord grows us and uses us as a team to accomplish His purposes on this earth!