a SHOE commercial?

Has anyone else been really annoyed by the new Reebok advertising campaign?

The first commercial I saw with the camera focusing on the girls butt annoyed me but tonight I was enraged. The commercial starts with a woman's breasts. The camera is zoomed in and moving around the bra, so I am thinking okay Victoria's Secret, we get the point! Then I realize they are talking to each other about being jealous because this woman's butt gets all the attention. The commercial actually says, "Make your boobs jealous." Then it shows the woman's butt and she bends over....SICK!

I get uncomfortable watching those commercials with my husband. So that is why I am really annoyed. Annoyed enough to talk about it on my blog.

All I gotta say is....Reebok get some class!

Contentment

I had a great day today of catching up with friends in Oregon/Washington. My beautiful friend Lindsey in Vancouver is having a hard time transitioning from the Canyon into the busy crazy city life. I just happened to catch her when she really needed a pick-me-up and I did too.

Have you ever had one of those friends who you know God has placed in your life for a reason? Lindsey and I have decided that we are so much alike its scary. We are going through the exact same struggles right now. She feels cramped because she is living in someone else's basement. I am living in the loft at my parents. She is having a hard time believing God has a plan. I have been struggling with that for a month.

The other day Bryan and I were sitting down trying to sort out our lives and God's plan for it. It is crazy because Bryan is so darn happy all the time! He could care less that we are living with my parents and technically unemployed (though Bryan has been doing some construction stuff). How is he like that? I asked him how he never worries about anything. I mean ANYTHING.

He said (in a very loving way, i might add) "Elise you need to learn to be content."

In that moment I fell more in love with Bryan Goad because he is willing to say the hard things that I need to hear and I felt like that was Jesus nudging me and stretching my faith. The verse that came to mind is this:

Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

So I shared the same thing with Lindsey. We cried together about how hard it is for us to be this way. It doesn't come easy but we have to believe that God has a plan and is directing our steps. I am learning to be content in every situation.

I have food to eat, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. I have a loving husband and family. What more can I ask for?

How to survive unemployment...

1. Get dressed for the day even if you have nowhere to go

2. Try to find a routine to the day

3. Get out of the house and do something free (library, barnes and noble, etc.)

4. Do something you have always wanted to do but never had the time for

You may be wondering why I am writing this today. Today is a new day. No more moping around. No more sleeping past 9am. I got up at 7, made the family breakfast, and have now already spent an hour looking for a job. I am going to actually shower today and get dressed :)

The longer I sit around the more lazy I have become...

Today is a new day!!!!

The Life of the Unemployed...

Honestly, I was looking for a break. But now, I would give anything for a job that I love and a reason to put on real clothes. I have had enough of searching career builder, indeed, and craigslist. I am ready for the next step. Bryan and I are living with the Mitchell's up in the loft for now until we find something a bit more permanent. God has a sense of humor since I kept saying this is exactly what I didn't want to do. But we are enjoying it!

It has been great to relax and be with family. We love eating junk food and watching movies. We all got quite a few great laughs from The Proposal! What a good movie!

Anyone have any suggestions on places to live or jobs?

We are home....sort of!!!

Yesterday we set out on the road in Des Moines, Iowa at 9:30 AM and arrived in North Beach, Maryland at 7:00 AM this morning. It was a lot of time in the car but well...we set a budget of $1,000 to get home and we were really close. We didn't want to ruin it with the cost of another hotel. Worth it? I don't know!

We had quite an adventure leaving camp and driving east. First we stayed a few days in Portland with Marc and Sarah Howell- awesome people! It was so hard to say goodbye to them and their three adorable girls.

Saturday: Olympic National Park, Washington
Drove the loop around the park. It was beautiful weather and picture-perfect scenery. Note: for those Twilight fans, we drove through Forks, WA. Everything is Twilight in the whole town. Kind of ridiculous!
317 miles 7 hours 30 minutes

Sunday: Glacier National Park, Montana
Drove through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Loved this place- fall colors, lakes, mountains. Got to Glacier and was disappointed. Roads were closed because of the snow and it was really foggy. We decided to add it to the list of places to visit later. The plus side to bad weather was we got Huckleberry shakes- YUM! We got a hotel room in Great Falls, Montana because there was no way were camping in snow!
840 miles 17 hours 12 minutes

Monday: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; ended up in Bozeman, Montana
On our way to Yellowstone our check engine came on so we decided to stop in Bozeman, MT to make sure everything was okay. We were looking for a garage when we are hit from behind. Even though it was a little tap, there was a good amount of damage. I guess thats what happens when a Dodge Ram hits a Honda Accord. So here we are in Bozeman, its snowing, our check engine light is on, and we just got rear-ended. This is the part in the trip where we really lost our adventuresome spirit! At this point we just want to go home! We decided to stay in town and not head towards Yellowstone because of the weather and slick roads. Later we found out that the guy's insurance was going to pay the damages fully! Praise God!
201 miles 3 hours 32 minutes

Tuesday: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The drive to the park is awesome. Bryan fell in love with Montana- other than the fact that it was freezing in October. We got to the park safely and started exploring. We saw the paint pots, hot springs, geysers, and wildlife! We saw bison, elk, and a bald eagle. We waited on the benches for Old Faithful to go off and it was unbelievable. The whole park was like something you would see in outer space. We decided to drive through the night again to make it to Wyoming in the morning.
533 miles 11 hours 52 minutes

Wednesday: Mt. Rushmore Memorial, Crazy Horse, Badlands National Park
We did all of these things as quickly as humanly possible. We drove in, saw it, got the picture, and started on the road again. We saw bighorn sheep at Badlands- that was awesome.
702 miles 10 hours 50 minutes

Thursday/Friday: HOME!
The only thing we stopped for was gas, food, and to pee! We had to hit up things that reminded us of home so we ate at Panera and ChickFilA!
1,099 miles 17 hours 15 minutes

We are home safe and relaxing. We are staying at Bryan's parents and then heading to Salisbury tomorrow to see the family. The WHOLE family will be together for the first time in almost 2 years!

We have a lot of work to do since coming home. We are technically homeless though our families have opened their homes to us. We are jobless and not really even sure where to start. Its overwhelming looking online at jobs! We are excited because we feel we can go anywhere and do anything but that anything is hard to find! It all just kind of sunk in on our trip but we are going to enjoy the weekend with our families before getting to "work" finding jobs on Monday.
I will hopefully get to share pictures from our trip on here but I dont know when we will get our computer set up so please be patient. Thanks!

Patience

I know the Lord taught me patience and perseverance this year but now He is really asking me to walk out what I learned and it is HARD! Sadly, I was really prideful about leaving this year. I didn't want to be like the other past interns who didn't know where they were going so they just moved back home with family. Here Bryan and I are with less than 2 weeks and no jobs to speak of. I am not saying we are just being whimsical about it, Bryan has put out applications and resumes. Alas, the question that everyone is asking us is, "What are you going to do after this year is over?" I never thought I wouldn't have an answer!!! I say the polite thing, "We don't know but God knows and we know He has a plan!" I put a smile on my face and act like everything is okay.

But really! I am going to be honest here! Every day Bryan and I race to the phone and email to check. I have never checked phone messages and email messages with this much earnesty. I do believe that God has jobs for us picked out and that He will not leave us. But it is really difficult when you want ONE particular job and that place hasn't gotten back to you yet. I won't disclose everything considering we are really trying not to get our hopes up!

Through this whole thing of applying and waiting, I have fallen more in love with Bryan. I know why God picked Bryan for me. He knows how to be patient, whereas inwardly I am a mess. I remember back when Bryan and I were dating and I had a conversation with my dad about Bryan. I was worried about being so young and getting serious so fast. I remember my dad's words, "Guys like Bryan don't come around very often and you are going to miss out on a great man if you let this one go. He balances you out very well, Elise. Bryan is a rock and you will come to appreciate that." My dad is FULL of Godly wisdom and just real-life wisdom. At 19 when Bryan and I started dating, I didn't really even know myself very well so thinking about marriage was a little overwhelming. My dad's words calmed me and reassured me that God was handpicking the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I really have grown to appreciate the fact that Bryan is very even keel. I am not saying I will ever naturally be the way Bryan is but, God is working on me by having a real life example sleeping right next to me.

Anyways, if you are reading this and feel inclined to pray for us it would be helpful.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34

My Friend Katie

My friend Katie's story is sadly a common one. Katie grew up in a home where her mother had a faith and her father just went along with it. She grew up going to church so always believed in God. At fifteen years old she fell in love with a boy who was a christian. They got very serious and at 15 Katie lost her virginity. Her boyfriend made demands and since she loved him, she felt like she had to go along with it. One day she decided she had enough and that the physical aspects of their relationships had to stop. He proceded to pressure her making her feel used instead of loved.

She went to Young Life camp where she met Christian friends that invited her to a Bible study. She gave her heart and her life to Christ her Junior year of highschool and decided that she had to make the hardest decision and let her first love go. It was very hard for her but the guilt of their relationship became too much for her to handle. She finished highschool going to Young Life and being involved with church.

Katie got into a Christian college and played volleyball. A lot of the athletes only went to the school because of sports opportunities instead of their faith. After the first volleyball season the athletes were off their non-drinking contracts. They all decided to celebrate and Katie had her first drink...which turned into many. That night she was raped and left by all of her "friends". Because of the experience Katie continued to "numb" herself by drinking and trying drugs. She quickly deteriorated into the college party girl who drinks, smokes, and is used by guys. Katie tried to get out of her cycle by herself but quickly realized it was impossible. Two christian guys continued to befriend her, and finally confronted her about her problem. She broke down and knew she had allow God to come back into her heart and heal her from the inside out.

Katie made the decision to spend her first part of her summer at Washington Family Ranch since she gave her heart to Christ at this camp only a few years earlier. Katie came as a new creation in Christ and said, "My life has taken full circle, and my focus has been on Christ and his power to heal and love. I feel that is is my calling to do the same unto others." She came in June and I was able to get to know her. She had such a great experience that she came back in August to be on the Zip/Swing team. Katie is full of energy and love.

It became clear that Katie had a lot of areas in her life that God needed to heal. She decided to get baptized and wanted me to be a part of it. This was my first time baptizing anyone and it was an incredible thing to be a part of!

The question for Katie was, "What do you want to leave under the water?"

Her response: "The hurt that others have done to me and the hurt that I have done to myself. The fact that I felt raped and used by too many guys and that I found my value in others. I want to leave those things under the water so that I can restore my virginity and help others find the love that Christ has.