Andy and I made a very spontaneous decision over the weekend. It was something that we have always talked about, but have never really gotten to the point of doing. We got a puppy. He is an 8-week-old Golden Retriever named Tucker, and boy is he a handful!
The early morning potty breaks outside, cleaning up the little puppy puddles that end up on the floor if we don't catch it in time, and the added responsibility to care for a new member of our young family. We are hoping that this will bring Andy and I closer together as we care for Tucker as a team, and that it will give us some good practice for when we start having children.
Tucker is a playful, furry little bundle of joy and we are so glad to welcome him into our family. =)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Peacefully Waiting
The big news about Andy's acceptance to Princeton, great, awesome news, leaves us now, yet again, in a place of waiting. Waiting for the next step. Unable to take it yet, just waiting. We won't be able to move out to New Jersey until Andy starts classes which may be in July, or it may be in August, that we don't know yet. But now for the next few months we find ourselves in a spot again where we're just killing time until we can move forward.
As some of you may know I have a hard time being patient. I get anxious when I know there is something that I have to do, and I can't just do it and get it done. I don't like waiting.
So during these next few months I am praying for God to give me peace while we wait. To calm my anxiety and give me the ability to slow my mind as is races towards worry. I also ask for prayer from all of you, our friends and family, for peace and patience for myself and for Andy. We appreciate your love and support during this new chapter of our lives.
As some of you may know I have a hard time being patient. I get anxious when I know there is something that I have to do, and I can't just do it and get it done. I don't like waiting.
So during these next few months I am praying for God to give me peace while we wait. To calm my anxiety and give me the ability to slow my mind as is races towards worry. I also ask for prayer from all of you, our friends and family, for peace and patience for myself and for Andy. We appreciate your love and support during this new chapter of our lives.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Big Move
Andy has recently been accepted to Princeton Theological Seminary and starts his Masters work there in July with a summer language class. I am so proud of him for this outstanding accomplishment. This is something that he has been working towards for years, and it is so cool to see it come to be.
Along with all of the excitement, comes a lot of hard work. This will be our second move across multiple states within a year. It will be a lot of work, and will not be easy. We have a lot to do before we'll be ready to make another move, and it is going to be a stressful time over the next few months.
We ask for prayer and support from all our friends and family as we prepare to make this next big move. And we thank all of you for the support you have already shown us as we have come to this decision. We are very excited to be opening up another new chapter in our lives, and are looking forward to seeing what God has for us at Princeton.
Along with all of the excitement, comes a lot of hard work. This will be our second move across multiple states within a year. It will be a lot of work, and will not be easy. We have a lot to do before we'll be ready to make another move, and it is going to be a stressful time over the next few months.
We ask for prayer and support from all our friends and family as we prepare to make this next big move. And we thank all of you for the support you have already shown us as we have come to this decision. We are very excited to be opening up another new chapter in our lives, and are looking forward to seeing what God has for us at Princeton.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Reading Through Scripture Together
Andy and I have decided to read through the bible from now until we make the move out to Princeton. Oh by the way, Andy got accepted to Princeton so we are moving out to New Jersey in the fall. So we have decided to read through the entire bible, a few chapters each day, from now until August or September.
I have always wanted to read through the bible, but have never really known how. It's easier for me to process things if they are read out loud and talked about because I am an audible learner. So it's easier for me to understand things when I hear them spoken. So Andy and I take turns reading each chapter out loud to each other, then we talk about what we read.
I am excited to begin this journey through God's word with my husband. I feel like he has such a profound understanding of scripture and a great ability to interpret it, which will be so helpful for me to get to know the bible a little better. This will also be a great opportunity for Andy and I to spend a little quality time with each other and with God every day, which I think is so important to get into a rhythm of doing.
I have always wanted to read through the bible, but have never really known how. It's easier for me to process things if they are read out loud and talked about because I am an audible learner. So it's easier for me to understand things when I hear them spoken. So Andy and I take turns reading each chapter out loud to each other, then we talk about what we read.
I am excited to begin this journey through God's word with my husband. I feel like he has such a profound understanding of scripture and a great ability to interpret it, which will be so helpful for me to get to know the bible a little better. This will also be a great opportunity for Andy and I to spend a little quality time with each other and with God every day, which I think is so important to get into a rhythm of doing.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Blessing of Community
This weekend we had our good friends from Minnesota staying with us. It is always good to spend time with the people you love. Having Jen and Brandon come down here to visit has meant so much to Andy and me. Their friendship cannot and will not ever be replaced.
I think it is important to have people that you can spend time with in such close proximity. As some of you may know, Andy and I live in pretty tight quarters, not too tight, but smaller than we're used to. We have a 'Jack & Jill' bathroom that is shared between our 2 bedrooms, so it kind of forces us all to be extra aware of how much time we're spending in the bathroom. This is something Andy and I usually don't have to think about, but it is kinda fun being forced to be considerate of others with Jen and Brandon here this weekend. I think it shows the importance of community in that it teaches us to think of others, and focus less on ourselves.
It has been so great to have people to participate in conversation with us, to give insight, and to be supportive of us and each other. It is so great to have this blessing of community. It makes me think about how important it is to have people in our lives that we are comfortable with and who love us as much as we love them.
So far every morning, someone has made breakfast for everyone. Brandon makes a killer breakfast sandwich by the way. McDonalds better look out! It has been so much fun to share our lives with each other and live in constant community for the last 4 days. We are so blessed to have such good friends and to be able to live comfortably in community with them. I am so thankful. Love you Knudsvigs! Our lives would not be the same with out you!
I think it is important to have people that you can spend time with in such close proximity. As some of you may know, Andy and I live in pretty tight quarters, not too tight, but smaller than we're used to. We have a 'Jack & Jill' bathroom that is shared between our 2 bedrooms, so it kind of forces us all to be extra aware of how much time we're spending in the bathroom. This is something Andy and I usually don't have to think about, but it is kinda fun being forced to be considerate of others with Jen and Brandon here this weekend. I think it shows the importance of community in that it teaches us to think of others, and focus less on ourselves.
It has been so great to have people to participate in conversation with us, to give insight, and to be supportive of us and each other. It is so great to have this blessing of community. It makes me think about how important it is to have people in our lives that we are comfortable with and who love us as much as we love them.
So far every morning, someone has made breakfast for everyone. Brandon makes a killer breakfast sandwich by the way. McDonalds better look out! It has been so much fun to share our lives with each other and live in constant community for the last 4 days. We are so blessed to have such good friends and to be able to live comfortably in community with them. I am so thankful. Love you Knudsvigs! Our lives would not be the same with out you!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Difficult Decisions
Life can be difficult sometimes. We have to make decisions that might hurt other people, or may cause us to make sacrifices that are hard to make. I have a hard time with decision making. I want everyone to be happy. I feel the need to please other people at any cost to myself. This is not always good. In fact, this habit of mine to make decisions based on what I think other people want me to do or say, has really come back to bite me.
I need to learn how to be honest with people about how I feel right away, otherwise I make a decision that I may not be okay with because I think it's what the other person wants, which then causes me to harbor resentment for not getting what I want. This is my own fault. I need to work on saying how I really feel, even though I might feel like I would be letting someone down or not giving them what they want.
Andy and I have been trying to decide where we are going to end up over the next 3-6 years and what it will mean for Andy to continue with school and working towards his Ph.D. We have come to find more and more that the amount of stability and security that goes along with pursuing a Ph.D. is very slim. There is no guarantee that we will stay in the same place for more than a few years, no way to know for sure if Andy will be able to get a job anywhere near family and friends in the Mid-West, and no way to know how long we will live in the same place once he does get a job.
I guess I didn't really know how much moving around and uncertainty went along with the decision to get a Ph.D. I guess I didn't really know how important it is to me to have stability and security. I have been trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Do I sacrifice my desires to have stability, be close to family, buy a house, start having children, stay at a job for more than a year, and not feel like I'm going to lose it all and have to start over again in 3-5 years to follow my husband and support him? Or do I put the decision on him to give up what he has been working towards for the past few years and look for something else to do with his life that would provide me with the security and stability that I am looking for?
I am completely torn. I have no idea what to do. This whole time I have been thinking that I would be okay to move somewhere farther away from family so Andy could get his Masters of Divinity, with the idea that we would move back to the Mid-West when he was done in 2-3 years. But with the recent decision for Andy to continue on and get his Ph.D. adding another 3-4 years to his education, and pursuing a vocation that does not allow much security and would require the willingness to move wherever there is a job available, whenever there is a job available, I find myself less comfortable and almost unwilling to submit to a life style that forces me to continuously live in a state of transition. My instinct is to give up what I want for him to have what he wants, but then I don't want to resent him for making a decision that I told him I was okay with... When I don't know if I am.
So the question is, what decision do I make? Do I give up the things that are important to me for the sake of my husband, or do I ask my husband to give up what is important to him for my sake? All I can think to do right now is ask God for clarity and peace. I need His guidance more than ever. Please God give me the wisdom to discern what is right, and keep in mind those things most important to the ones I love, and those most important to me.
I need to learn how to be honest with people about how I feel right away, otherwise I make a decision that I may not be okay with because I think it's what the other person wants, which then causes me to harbor resentment for not getting what I want. This is my own fault. I need to work on saying how I really feel, even though I might feel like I would be letting someone down or not giving them what they want.
Andy and I have been trying to decide where we are going to end up over the next 3-6 years and what it will mean for Andy to continue with school and working towards his Ph.D. We have come to find more and more that the amount of stability and security that goes along with pursuing a Ph.D. is very slim. There is no guarantee that we will stay in the same place for more than a few years, no way to know for sure if Andy will be able to get a job anywhere near family and friends in the Mid-West, and no way to know how long we will live in the same place once he does get a job.
I guess I didn't really know how much moving around and uncertainty went along with the decision to get a Ph.D. I guess I didn't really know how important it is to me to have stability and security. I have been trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Do I sacrifice my desires to have stability, be close to family, buy a house, start having children, stay at a job for more than a year, and not feel like I'm going to lose it all and have to start over again in 3-5 years to follow my husband and support him? Or do I put the decision on him to give up what he has been working towards for the past few years and look for something else to do with his life that would provide me with the security and stability that I am looking for?
I am completely torn. I have no idea what to do. This whole time I have been thinking that I would be okay to move somewhere farther away from family so Andy could get his Masters of Divinity, with the idea that we would move back to the Mid-West when he was done in 2-3 years. But with the recent decision for Andy to continue on and get his Ph.D. adding another 3-4 years to his education, and pursuing a vocation that does not allow much security and would require the willingness to move wherever there is a job available, whenever there is a job available, I find myself less comfortable and almost unwilling to submit to a life style that forces me to continuously live in a state of transition. My instinct is to give up what I want for him to have what he wants, but then I don't want to resent him for making a decision that I told him I was okay with... When I don't know if I am.
So the question is, what decision do I make? Do I give up the things that are important to me for the sake of my husband, or do I ask my husband to give up what is important to him for my sake? All I can think to do right now is ask God for clarity and peace. I need His guidance more than ever. Please God give me the wisdom to discern what is right, and keep in mind those things most important to the ones I love, and those most important to me.
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