The Garcia Life

I can't believe July is already here. I'm at this weird place of waiting. I usually don't deal so well with these places of life, but I actually feel confident with where I am. I feel like I am blindly stepping out on faith, but I have a strong confidence that God's plan will prevail and reveal itself in His timing. I have quit my apartment job. I've been there for exactly 2 years. Hard to believe. It was bittersweet to leave. A piece of my heart is with those kids and the residents of that sweet community. But through some recent drama and a strong feeling of closure, I am sure this is the path that must be taken.

Monday I start my ECAP class. I am excited to actually have the chance to learn about teaching and gain some confidence in where I feel God is leading me. I know that right now I have a passion for kiddos, but it will be nice to have some solid knowledge to back that up so I can feel confident going on interviews and walking into a classroom.

The end of my three weeks class will mark our One Year Anniversary. Crazy. Beautiful. Ben and I are excited to be planning a trip down to Fredricksburg. I am excited to experience my very first Bed & Breakfast atmosphere, and we are both pumped to get away and have some time alone. It will be so nice to get some rest and have time to reflect upon the past year. The good.. the things we need to work on. Plus.. we get to enjoy some delicious wedding cake. Very excited about this.

God has been so gracious to us. Always providing. Giving us peace. We have started going to Fielder Road Baptist here in Arlington, and that has been such a blessing so far. We have been meeting the sweetest people, and are excited about the community we are finding there. We even met some couples that live in our apartment complex, so we found replacements for our friends that have left us. ;) That's not true... you guys can never be replaced, but I am looking forward to meeting some more people in the area. We shall see what great things God has in store for us there.

I feel like this is just a State of the Union address of the Garcia family. Maybe that is ok, because I feel that many of our friends may have missed on some of these new developments. I wish I had some witty banter, but this will have to do.

Until next time....

Trading it all for HIM.

It's already been 9 months since Ben and I got married. On the one hand, it seems like time has passed so quickly. On the other, it seems that we've been married forever. Time has a funny way of doing that.

It's been such an interesting time of learning, stretching, growing. I never realized how difficult it would be not really having stable jobs. Money stress is new to me, and at times, it's been too much for me to handle. But I know God is sovereign in all of this and has had his hand working through it all. The day after Ben proposed, my company let me know that they were going to cut my hours to a third of what I was working. What a sense of humor there, God. This year has been quite a journey of self-discovery, though. Taking a hard look at what I want out of life and how to get to a place of where we want to be. Realizing the dark things in my life that have been left unexposed until tested and tried. Learning to lean on my sweet husband and his faith that God always provides. And he has. God has proven faithful. Each month I am amazed to see that somehow, it all works out. There have been weeks where we have been working so much that we hardly see each other, and then weeks where we can't seem to catch any hours. I've learned that inconsistency is not something I easily deal with. I feel like we are just approaching the climax of everything. Stepping out on faith that God will provide a teaching job for me in the fall, and in the meantime, giving up a good portion of my income to make that happen. I just keep reminding myself that God is faithful and that he provides. And what's more... He is enough. Stuff doesn't satisfy. I don't need things to make me happy. He is beautiful to show me that all I have is given by him and we are to loosen our grip on the things he has graciously placed in our lives. I pray for this kind of faith. A sweet reminder that our life is not our own....

A beautiful thing to add.

I was at one of my three jobs the other day, and the manager of the apartments looked out the window and noticed a dad playing with his little girls on the playground. She told me that his girlfriend had died recently in a motorcycle accident, and following her death, her mother took his children from him. She tried to get child support from him and told people he did terrible things to his children. The manager went to court with him and he had just won his kids back on Friday. I felt like I was experiencing the end of a movie when all is finally well and a daddy gets to catch his little girl as she zooms down the slide.

beautiful.

little joys.

I am learning more and more to appreciate the little joys in life. Sweet kisses from my husband before we go to sleep. Mr. Bruce chasing his tail and acting all cute. An old man talking about the 'good ole' days. A daddy holding his daughters hand in the store. An afternoon nap. Sweet piano playing from My Love. Green lights. A good meal with friends. So much beauty lies in simple, everyday places. We just don't often take time to appreciate them.I constantly feel my heart tugging to enjoy these things. But there's another pull on my heart. It's so easy to settle for less and desire things above the joys God offers us. I want stuff. I want new clothes or new things for my house. To go out and consume, consume, consume. With less discretionary money than my college years, I am realizing more and more how I want to feel my heart with stuff to make me happy. The thing is, the newness always wears off and then I want new things. I pray that I can learn to find all of my joy in the experiences and beauty that God offers all around. So I leave you with some beauties that stir my heart.

snow. with my love(s).

touchdown dancing. in the cowboys endzone.

rollerskating.

and last, but certainly not least, these lovely ladies.