We're Moving!

No not houses..not yet at least. :)

Chad and I are moving to separate new blogs!! :)

For explanations as to why...Check 'em out!

Alyssa

Chad

See ya'll on the other side...

Time - not the kind in a bottle. (chad)

It was brought to Alyssa and I's attention that since we share a blog, it is rather difficult to identify who is actually writing each entry - so I figure I'll put my name in the title and that should clear things up.

That old adage, time flies when you're having fun, couldn't be any more true than right now. The newly assembled Duncan clan (later referred to as ACK (Alyssa, Chad, Kiwi)) has a myriad of events, mostly recurring, all week long. We were talking last night about how different our lives are from just a year ago, mainly how much "fuller" our time is and how important quality time has become. When we first started talking / dating, our time was relatively "free." I spent 5-6 nights a week in the woodshop, talked with Alyssa until late at night almost every night, and worked 50 hours a week. I had a few friends that I would hang out with and I wasn't involved with Meridian Point's Education Ministry, Safety and Security Ministry, or the Pre-school Team. Now I'm lucky to see the shop twice a month (which really makes productivity an issue). There are so many wonderful things going on that it just sometimes busy instead of being fun :/ . Between golf and volleyball, Adult Bible Courses (ABCs), dinner with friends, trying to get to the shop once a week, running around with all the church kids 2 Sundays a month....and the most important activity of all....spending time with my wife.....I think I need to take a step back, breathe deeply, and "relax and enjoy the ride."

Most people see the relaxed and stoic Chad - not the Chad who panics when thinking about buying a house or a car. Alyssa gets the privilege of seeing them both and she is so caring that I'm sure she assumes I can do everything and worry about nothing. I worry. Sometimes I worry more than I should. Being a provider and trying to balance all the spinning plates is difficult sometimes, but to be honest, I feel like I give it a pretty good run every day. God knows EXACTLY how much I can take before I crumble.

Moral of the story: Life is great, time is short, and God is in charge of everything.

Trust

"We've each come from a past that's as long as our arms. But look at all that we've overcome. Look where we are now. Just trust me."

Qualities it takes to overcome all my issues:

Patience
Grace
Kindness
Gentleness
Tenderness
Hope
Faith
Strength
Tough-Skinned

Is my husband all of these things?? No.
Is my husband everything I ever hoped for? No.
Is my husband everything I thought I didn't deserve? No.


HE'S MORE.



While I struggle to adjust to work schedules, a social calendar, making dinner, grocery shopping for two, cleaning house, giving him space so that when he gets home he can participate in some of his hobbies rather than just work and what I want to do...he wraps his arms around me and guides me along with the ease of a husband of 20 years. He knows I struggle with my work sometimes. He knows I am constantly trying to further my relationship with God but sometimes I still get angry, bitter, annoyed, and anxious. He sees me trying and praises me for it. He never complains when I don't cook dinner and when the house isn't spotless even though I've got the time. Instead he comes home and asks me how my day was and puts his own frustrations and headache aside to hear me ramble on for hours about all I did.

So when he asked me last night "Do you trust me?" when it came to a situation that I'd been struggling with...how could I look at that man in the eyes and say, "Yes but..." Of course I trust him. HE just had to remind me that by worrying, I wasn't.

So I turn to The Word this morning in an effort to rid myself of these "fears." My husband is not anyone I have ever dealt with before. He is not any of the atrocities that have been committed against me. He is my husband, my help-mate, my partner...He is the one person that knows my heart. So I have a wonderful husband and a merciful God. This wife has some work to do to show these two how thankful she is. Because I'm not doing a good job of it so far.

Finally!

After many days of applying for loans and getting denied again and again...a way became available to us that was a direct answer to prayer. I woke up one morning with an email from a friend asking to help out with our car situation. I was screaming and crying and shouting with joy so loudly that I'm sure the neighbors thought I was either dying or really excited. From the noises I was making, it could have been either one. :) Well, the ball got rolling a lot faster than I thought it would and yesterday we were able to go pick up my new car!!!! Now to start all the paperwork for re-titling, registration, and insurance. :) But the title has to be faxed here from Texas so I get to wait until next week to start it all. For now, I just get to enjoy it! :) Here's a little info on the new car: [Still undecided on the new car's name. My old car's name was Flomar and it just fit that little car so well. :) I'm thinking Toruk (like from Avatar) but am open to suggestions!]

Stats:

Year: 2004
Make: Saturn
Model: Ion 2 Quad Coupe
Transmission: Automatic
Color: White
Seating Capacity: 4 (as it's a coupe so the back seat has a center console where the middle seat would have been)
MPG: 35 (highway) 26 (city)
Modifications: Dark-tinted windows and an after-market exhaust

Pictures:

Love

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?...And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?"

If I told you that these words came to me as I was out walking Kiwi yesterday, wouldn't you think that I was on to something?! Or if I told you that a famous philosopher or poet thought these words up, wouldn't you say that what they said made sense? I mean, come on, think about it...to love your friends, now that is relatively easy (and I say relatively because sometimes your friends can have their "unlovable" moments.) To say that you love your mom or your dad or your sister or your brother, that is relatively easy as well. (Again I say relatively because this does not apply to all cases in which family members do despicable things to those they SHOULD love. This is a generalization, so work with me here.) To say you love that girl at school who always says your hair looks great or that guy who always has a smile and an uplifting word to pick you up when you're down...these are also relatively easy. Don't deny that you do it either, say you love them. I hear people ALL the time saying, "Oh! So-and-so! I love them! They are soooo sweet!" :) But think how easy it is to do something nice in return to these people when they are always so nice to you. Think how willing you would be to iron your husband's pants or run some soup over to a sick friend when they've always been nice to you. THAT, my friends, is easy.

What is not easy, is to do these same favors for your enemies. If that woman who was gossiping about you behind your back or that guy who was always trying to rat you out at work emailed you and asked you to work a shift for them so that they could take their kid to the doctor, wouldn't you be inclined to give them what they deserve?? They definitely DO NOT deserve kindness and not from you! But I speak for myself when I say that there were many times that I deserved a lot worse than what a I got dealt, whether it be from my parents, husband, a friend, or a sibling. Do you know what that's called? When you deserve something BAD and instead of getting dealt that something BAD you not only get forgiven for it but dealt something nice instead?? That's called GRACE. Think of how much more it says about you if instead of starting rumors about the woman that gossips about you, you approached her and invited her out for a coffee date sometime. THAT, my friends is NOT easy.

Jesus was the man who said the quote at the top of this blog. Don't you think he was on to something??

Obsessive Dog (and socks??)

Posted by Alyssa. [I put this here just for you Stephy!]


Our dog gets really lonely when we leave. What does she do to console herself you ask?? Simple. She does what any dog would do. She gets bills from our office, a sock from the laundry, and curls up on our bed surrounded by happy, familiar things that smell like her Mom and Dad.

Bizarre you say?? Uhhh yeah, I reply. We have a very odd dog. Yes, we do now close all the doors...I'm just wondering WHY she does this. Maybe it's because her parents are weird too. Maybe she's just modeling our odd behavior. But I promise, we definitely don't consider curling up with bills and socks romantic. Maybe, if we did our bills in just our socks, it would be??

Chad socks:



Me socks:



Go ahead and delete that mental picture now.

Amen

–interjection
1. it is so; so be it (used after a prayer, creed, or other formal statement to express solemn ratification or agreement).

–adverb
2. verily; truly.

–noun
3. an utterance of the interjection “amen.”
4. a musical setting for such an utterance.
5. an expression of concurrence or assent.

This is my idea for my first tattoo. Obviously I'm not talking about the entire dictionary.com definition of the word Amen but rather the Arabic writing of the word. I'm looking at getting it on my neck, but I'm still thinking. I want to be absolutely sure before it is permanently etched into my skin. But what better to have etched into my skin than the word which falls so freely from my lips. Amen God. Amen. It would be me saying YES to God. It would be my way of always reminding myself that I concur with God, I don't disagree or fight or rebel against Him. I agree. (Or at least that I should!!)