Category / Mr. Right

by Bethe

Summer Bucket List – Month One Completed

Before we get into my summer bucket list, I need to share with you what’s going on in my world right now. Today, May 29, I begin my 30-Day Paleo Challenge. I’m doing it with Mr. Right and my sweet mother-in-law. 
30 Days of no sugar. No chocolate. No bread. No potatoes. No cheese. No cereal. NO SUGAR!
Have I mentioned that I’ve never in my life gone more than a day without bread or sugar? That is, if you don’t count the days I’ve spent lying on my bathroom floor with the stomach flu. Otherwise, I’m a sugar-loving, bread-eating girl.
So say a little prayer for me. And maybe keep your distance as my body adjusts. It might not be pretty with two people in the same house going through sugar withdrawals together. For better or for worse, right?
Ahh, life as a grown-up. But I haven’t felt awesome lately – maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been on antibiotics non-stop for the past 17 months (my new normal after last year’s health issues). Or maybe it’s because I’ve been eating more indulgently since marrying my chef husband. But folks have promised that once you ween yourself off of the bread and sugar (and cheese… oh how I adore cheese), you start to feel really good. 
We’ll see. 
Besides, the real reason is because I popped the button off of my biggest pair of work pants. If I don’t do something I’m going to have to go shopping again. And that’s just silly.
But back to the bucket list – here’s an update on where I stand after my first month. Remember – I chose to begin summer on May 1 because soon it will be too hot to do most of my favorite outdoor activities. I’m pretty proud of the progress – and I have had a blast crossing things off. This is so much better than New Year’s Resolutions – maybe I need to start a new movement toward lists of fun things instead of lists like “Make my bed every day.” That’s so overrated. (Just kidding mom.)
First… my completed items:
Take a moonlit walk with Mr. Right on the beach
Wear shorts and heels 
I’ve done this several times but haven’t snagged a picture of it yet – I promise I’ll take one soon, for documentation purposes. Just be proud of me – every time I do this I feel kind of silly. And loud. But I’m starting to get used to the silliness and have been assured that the look is still age appropriate for this 30-ahem-something girl.
Learn to sew something new
I finally got around to making the ruffle pillow (there’s a great tutorial here) I’ve been swooning over for about a year. It took less than an hour and is now proudly displayed on our bed. I am obsessed with ruffles right now – at the rate I’m going, poor Mr. Right may end up living in a house that looks like a giant ruffle threw up. It’s a good thing he’s a patient man. And at least they’re not pink.
Host a dinner party

I was too busy enjoying my guests to get pictures of the folks who came to our dinner party – but here’s a picture of our table before they arrived. You can see my ruffle obsession has also attacked my table runner. We served Mr. Right’s famous Argentine soup (he spent a summer there in 2009), a big salad, and his famous pear and almond cream tarts.
I can’t think about those tarts right now… they’re not paleo-compatible. But oh man, are they good.

Dip my toes in the ocean

Do something spontaneous

We found a sign for an estate sale on the side of the road and decided to take a detour. We found all sorts of wonderful treasures – you can read about it here.
But we weren’t just spontaneous once. No, Mr. Right and I have been delightfully spontaneous for weeks now. Just Sunday night we decided at the very last minute to go see a late movie. I felt like I was 16 again. And just like when I was 16, I still made it home before curfew.

I love this picture because I kind of feel like a secret agent. And I was having a really good hair day. Can’t you tell in the super-dark photo we took right before the 3D movie began? Yeah, I thought so.
Imagine how good my hair will look after 30 days of no sugar. 

Get a mentor

Cook with vegetables from our garden
I should point out that only the tomatoes were grown in our garden – the rest were grown at the garden down the street called Target. That garden seems to flourish a lot more than my own. And since this pictures was taken, one of my tomato plants has been completely eaten by a caterpillar and another has been eaten by some bug that I’ve yet to catch in the act. I’m heartbroken over the untimely demise of my beloved vegetable garden. When I went to work this morning I still had several tomato plants left – along with some peppers, squash, and herbs that have yet to yield anything worth talking about – but who knows what I will find when I get home. 
Stupid, stupid, very hungry caterpillar indeed.
Get a pedicure 
I don’t have a picture of this, but know that it was absolute bliss. I went after a particularly crummy day and it was just what I needed. At least, it was the low-calorie version of what I REALLY needed – ice cream. But the pedicure was better for my waistline.
Oh my word – 12 hours without sugar and it’s all I can think about. Can you tell?

Eat a sno-cone
Gasp. More talk about sugar. We went last night with my in-laws as part of our “last supper” before Paleo. Confession – the sno cone run was AFTER we carb-loaded at dinner. Think twice-baked potatoes and giant rolls. We decided to go out big.


Finish writing Chapter 1 of my book 
I talked about that here. And I’ve been diligently adding it to it. Such a fun adventure.

Visit a state park

 Still left on my list:

Eat dinner on a patio
Have a picnic on Trinity Trail
Learn to bake a pie (this obviously won’t be happening in the next 30 days… maybe July)
Take a photography class
Ride my bike
Plan a secret date for Mr. Right (happening this Saturday)
Go to a museum
Hold my new nephew (he’s due in one week)
Go to a Rangers Game
Kiss Mr. Right while watching fireworks
Finish my husband’s quilt (almost done – I worked on it this weekend)
Pre-plan all my meals for one week
Marry off my dear friend Katie
Go to a festival
Dance with Mr. Right in the kitchen
Take a road trip
Make one of the recipes from my Pinterest board
Eat a candlelit dinner at home
Get a new dog
Have a fish fry (with chicken strips for me, since I don’t eat fish)
And there you have it – my summer continues.
by Bethe

Postcard from Marco Island

I just got back from a glorious four-day trip to the beach where I felt like a newlywed all over again. 
Mr. Right had a conference in Marco Island, Florida, and I happily hitched a ride with him and turned it into a mini vacation. Emphasis on the vacation – I did almost nothing but lie on the beach, lie by the pool, sip diet coke and soak up some new books. 
And write. Every morning I took my laptop down to the pool and hashed out pages of my new novel. Did I mention that I finally got the nerve to start the novel I’ve been day dreaming about for years? It’s absolutely terrifying and I’m not yet ready to divulge much about it, but it’s also exhilarating and a bit dangerous – in a good way – to finally sit down and pour out my thoughts onto paper and see where it all ends up. Who knows where that will be.
In the afternoons Mr. Right would join me (laptop-free this time) on the beach or by the pool for more sitting and doing absolutely nothing. I never just sit and do nothing at my house, so this made me over the moon happy. Besides, Mr. Right looks even dreamier while hanging out at the beach.

Two of our evenings were filled with conference obligations (which we enjoyed, the people there were a lot of fun), but one night we had all to ourselves, and Mr. Right cooked up a little plan to wow me right there in Florida. We got takeout Chinese food for dinner (he called it the “best bad chinese food” on the island), and we had a picnic on the dock of a yacht club, watching the sun set into the ocean as we dangled our feet in the water.
It was quite romantic.
And then we topped everything off with ice cream. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Our trip also allowed me to cross TWO items off my summer bucket list. 
1. Dip my toes in the ocean. This photo shows my toes in the sand, right next to the ocean. The picture of my toes in the ocean makes my toes look funny. And I’m a girl and I don’t want you to see my toes looking funny (I think it’s something about water reflecting light and making things look distorted? I should have listened in junior high science class.). So here are my toes in the sand. But trust me when I tell you that I not only dipped these toes in the Gulf, but I swam all the way to my shoulders. You see, I don’t like to get my hair wet. Even for special occasions like bucket lists.
2. Take a moonlit walk on the beach. We put this off to the last night there (because the other two nights we were in food comas from so much dessert), and on that night it rained. But I couldn’t let a little rain (and mild lightening… mama, I promise it was very mild) stop me, and so we took a moonlit walk on the beach, in the rain. It was like something straight out of the Notebook. It was also my favorite part of the whole trip – standing in the dark, barefoot on the beach, listening to the waves and kissing in the rain.
I wish I had gotten a photo of it, but it would have looked like this:
So instead I’ll leave you with this – an almost equally bad picture of us enjoying dessert, just the two of us, right before our rainy moonlit walk. The quality of the photo may be poor, but it’s a good reminder of a special date filled with big conversations and lot’s of chocolate cake.
by Bethe

Summer Bucket List – Visit a state park

We crossed off another item from the bucket list on Saturday… actually two. 
  1. Visit a state park
  2. Be spontaneous
Mr. Right planned another surprise date for me on Saturday – he said it would help me cross off one of the items on my bucket list, and refused to let me in on his secret until the night before (because a girl has to have time to plan her outfit). We spent the day hiking at Mineral Wells State Park.
He was so cute – he even got up extra early to pack a picnic lunch for us. After I woke up and made french toast, we hit the road for our mini adventure. I must say that I love simply being in the car with my man – he’s just so fun to be around. 
As we drove through Cool, Texas (ahh… the cool puns… there’s so many tempting ones) we saw a sign for an estate sale and decided to be spontaneous and check it out. Oh boy am I glad we did – it was like visiting a warehouse for Restoration Hardware or Anthropologie. There was a barn full of so many goodies I could barely stand it! 
We came home with a car full of loot, including yet another vintage cruiser bike (Mr. Right was lusting over those tall handlebars and they’ve already made it onto another one of his bikes), some old rusted buckets, various gears (which we’ll use for decoration purposes) and the most adorable little child’s outdoor chair I’ve ever seen. We plan to refinish that like we did my bathroom stool (which was originally my father-in-law’s high chair) and hopefully at some point we’ll have some kiddos to sit in it. Luckily we have plenty of time to get to that project…

After paying for our loot, we hit up Mineral Wells State Park for some hiking, rock climbing, kissing, picnic-ing, cliff jumping and basking in the sun. 
For the record, I think we were the only two hikers on Saturday who ate pork tender sandwiches and carried an entire bottle of chipotle sauce in our backpack. You know Mr. Right doesn’t do peanut butter picnics.

I’m quite proud of my cliff jumping action shots. I worked on my (farmers) tan while Mr. Right did the swimming. I don’t do cold water lake swimming, but I do have a fancy v-neck tanline that I’ll be taking with me on our beach vacation soon.

It was one of my favorite Saturdays ever with my husband – we just had a blast. And I’m thankful we didn’t see the very large water moccasin snake slither into the water right by where we were swimming until we were finished. That might have put a damper on the day.

We almost crossed off eat a sno cone from the list on our way home, but my sweet mother-in-law had freshly made cookies and sweet tea waiting for us at her house, which was on our way home, so we happily postponed that bucket list item to another day.

We finished the night by watching a movie and going to bed early – it was absolutely delightful.

by Bethe

My summer bucket list

I can barely remember what I had for lunch most days, so my beloved little blog is a particularly helpful way for me to remember God’s grace, his answered prayers, and the many adventures I’ve been blessed to live out over the past seven years (my goodness, how my life has changed since I was 24).

Last summer I introduced my first ever Summer Bucket List, and we had a blast crossing most of the items off the list. Most of the items not crossed off were due to the record heat we enjoyed during the WORLD’S HOTTEST SUMMER IN THE HISTORY OF FOREVER. When living on the surface of the sun, it’s difficult to do things like “Have a leisurely dinner on a restaurant patio,” but we took care of that as soon as fall hit and the temperatures went back to normal.

This year I’m getting a head start on the list so I can cross off some of my outdoor activities before the back of my legs start to melt into the leather seats in my car and my free time starts to revolve around nothing but swimming pools and ice cream.

Eat dinner on a patio
Have a picnic on Trinity Trail
Learn to bake a pie
Take a photography class
Take a moonlit walk with Mr. Right on the beach
Wear shorts and heels
Ride my bike

Plan a secret date for Mr. Right

Go to a museum
Hold my new nephew
Go to a Rangers Game
Kiss Mr. Right while watching fireworks
Learn to sew something new
Finish my husband’s quilt
Pre-plan all my meals for one week
Host a dinner party
Dip my toes in the ocean
Marry off my dear friend Katie
Do something spontaneous
Get a mentor
Go to a festival
Cook with vegetables from our garden
Get a pedicure
Dance with Mr. Right in the kitchen
Eat a sno-cone
Take a road trip
Make one of the recipes from my Pinterest board
Finish making the Christmas wreaths for my mantle
Eat a candlelit dinner at home
Finish writing Chapter 1 of my book

I sent my list to Mr. Right and asked if he wanted to add anything. His additions:
Get a new dog
Visit a state park
Have a fish fry (with chicken strips for me, since I don’t eat fish)

There are a few things on this list that make me a little nervous (like getting a new dog and finishing the half-written first chapter of the book I’ve wanted to write for the last few years). Others excite me, like trying new recipes, dipping my toes in the ocean or holding my nephew. A few are already in the works – I’ve signed up for a photography class, and we’re scheduled to host a dinner party very soon. And some, like planning a secret date for Mr. Right (oh how the tables have turned!) have got my creative juices flowing.

It’s going to be a very good summer, I can just feel it.

by Bethe

The Great Camping Trip of 2012

We have been wanting to go camping ever since we got married – I’m not the most outdoorsy girl out there, but I do love a weekend camping trip. There’s just something about sitting in a lawn chair, cooking dinner over an open fire, sleeping under the stars, and peeing behind a tree that just says FUN.
Oh wait, maybe not that last part. But seriously, I LOVE camping. Especially when the camping is so short I don’t have to shower in their facilities. In this case… an 18-hour campout, 45 minutes from our house.
It has taken us two years to find the perfect weekend with the perfect weather for our little adventure, but a few days ago Mr. Right sent me a text that said “How about a campout Friday night?” And the trip was on…
We headed out to Holiday Park at Lake Benbrook, just the two of us, Harley the Wonder Schnoodle, a tent, and a car full of stuff. Mr. Right took care of all of the details (he is such a catch, isn’t he?) and all I had to do was pack an overnight bag. 
We made our way to our little paradise in the woods (Campsite #97… totally worth the $14), quickly put up our tent, set up our gear, and breathed in the beautiful outdoor air.
And just then, a giant van pulled up, and out spilled an entire troop of junior high boy scouts, destined to take the two campsites right next to ours.
It was like my favorite movie, except boys. Eager, excited, extremely awkward boys experiencing their VERY FIRST CAMPOUT EVER! (insert squeals of excitement here) It was so funny to watch them skip around in pure glee over their weekend adventure with the dads.
While the boy scouts were enjoying their hotdogs and chips, my gourmet chef of a husband made us steak, grilled veggies and dessert wontons cooked in our cast iron skillet (filled with nutella and banana… they were outstanding). 
I’ve decided everything tastes better when cooked on an open fire. Especially when it’s cooked by your smoking hot husband. We basked in our cozy steak dinner and turned it into a really special date.
That night, thanks to our new air mattress and my trusty ear plugs (and who are we kidding… a hefty dose of Benadryl), I slept better than I usually do at home. 
The next morning Chef Right whipped up homemade french toast cooked in a cast iron skillet, and french press coffee for each of us (we even do “his” and “hers” coffee when we camp). Again… it was glorious.
Side note: I love how when you camp, it’s perfectly normal to have a roll of toilet paper next to all of your kitchen things. 
Since we were only about 15 minutes from my in-laws’ house, they met us for breakfast. They are so dear to us. 
We finished the camping trip by taking Harley the Wonder Schnoodle on a long walk around the lake, admiring the many spring wildflowers and enjoying the gorgeous weather.
After we packed up the car we decided to swing by to watch Mr. Right’s dad do some roping practice. His hobby is team roping, and I’d never seen him do it before. They’ve got a great set-up that includes a remote-controlled gate to release the cows. He even let me go on a quick ride on his prized horse Pokey. (Yes, I realize that hot pink polka dot running shorts are not exactly appropriate horse riding gear… you can also note that I’m still wearing the same shirt I wore the day before… gotta love camping.)

And then we headed back home for a hot shower and a two hour nap. Which is exactly how I like to end my camping trips.

Stay tuned, it’s a big week on the blog… I’ll tell you about the night when someone asked me, “How does it feel to be the only white person at this party?” And, I’ll debut pictures of my sister’s baby shower and THE baby quilt.

by Bethe

Our “new” buffet

My sweet in-laws gave us this dresser over a year ago – someone had given it to them, and we told them we’d love to refinish it and use it as a buffet for our dining room. The drawers are nice and wide and would be perfect to hold dishes and place mats and all of our fancy serving ware. 
And then this beautiful dresser sat in our garage for over a year. First I was sick, then we put our rent house on the market, then I hit my busy season with work, and next thing we knew, it was the dead of winter and much too cold to tackle a garage project.

But last weekend after lazily watching a Saturday morning movie with Mr. Right as we recovered from our California trip, I got a wild hair to work on the dresser.

It’s really a fabulous piece of furniture – look at those curves! This 300 pound solid wood beauty had lived in a little girl’s bedroom for many years and been well-loved. It was time for her to get a makeover. 
First, I sanded off the rough edges and scratches with our electric sander. Because of the primer we chose, we didn’t have to completely remove the finish, just make it smooth. 

We decided to use spray paint on this project, and I’m so glad we did – it was a total dream! Take it from a girl who has used a paint brush on all of my previous furniture projects – this was SO MUCH FASTER.
First, we used KILZ primer in white to prime it for painting. My only complaint is that it went on a little rougher than I would have liked.

While the primer was drying I ran to the grocery store then stopped by the local hardware store to pick up white high gloss spray paint. By the time I got home an hour later, the primer was dry and we were ready for round two – painting.

I used 2-3 coats of spray paint, which went on really smoothly. We had a few drips, but nothing we couldn’t fix. The whole thing took about 30 minutes, as opposed to several hours of painting with a brush. I will forever be a spray paint kind of girl.

We debated about what type of hardware we would buy (and since we had 12 drawers, we knew that was going to be pretty expensive), but my interior designer sister suggested we just spray paint the original hardware black since it’s still an interesting shape.  

And five minutes and one can of spray paint later, we had black hardware that looked brand-new.

Then came the hardest part – we had to let it dry overnight. I was so tempted to go ahead and move it into the house because I couldn’t wait to see how it would look in our dining room – but I was good and my patience was rewarded… everything dried perfectly.
The next day Mr. Right and I carried it into the dining room and I installed all of the hardware and then added padded white drawer liners to protect our dishes from sitting directly on the wood. Now our beloved buffet houses our china, chargers, place mats and other accessories, and I love it because everything has its own compartment. It’s a disorganized organized girl’s dream!

And of course, we left a little note to remember our project.

by Bethe

California dreamin

Northern California… what a glorious trip.
Here’s the background… Mr. Right’s seminary sends students during spring break to preach all over the country. We were lucky blessed enough to get a fabulous placement – the mountains of Northern California. Mr. Right preached four sermons (Sunday morning, Sunday night, Tuesday and Wednesday night) at a little Baptist church in Colfax, California – halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, up in the mountains but below the snow line.
I could move there. Not only was it beautiful, but the people were as nice as any Texans. It was so refreshing!
Most of the students who go on these preaching assignments tend to work VERY long days. Mr. Right offered, but our church took a different approach – they planned a few meals with members, took him to a concert with the youth and let him sit in on a men’s bible study, but other than that, when he wasn’t preaching, they encouraged us to enjoy a mini vacation just the two of us. It was rest for our weary souls – Mr. Right is still recovering from his trip to India, and a full load of grad school, plus a busy workload. On top of that, he now works during all church services, so he hasn’t sat through a worship service in three months. Add to that another stressful season at my job, and you’ll know why being able to relax and explore new places together–and worship together–was such a sweet blessing to us both.
(Note – pray for your pastors… and your pastors’ wives… they can always use your encouragement.)
But back to our trip:

1. I got to take part in a quilting bee at the cutest little quilt shop while Mr. Right helped with a men’s bible study. I wish my local store offered something like that – the ladies there were so fun and encouraging. I brought my yo-yo’s.

2. We ate lunch in an old house that used to be a 30-year-old sanitorium, and we saw Colfax’s largest personal rock collection.

3. It rained the entire time we were gone, so I instead of doing my hair, I went for the “I’m in California so I’m going to be a hippie” look. It made getting ready so much faster – maybe I’ll adopt the hippie look in Texas some day.

4. The rain didn’t keep us from exploring the little town and discovering the American River with its gorgeous old suspension bridge nestled between two mountains. We also found neat antique stores, resell shops, and I even bought a new dress at “Mountain Mama.” (Don’t be fooled by the name, it was super trendy).

5. Mr. Right brought it when he preached. I was one proud wife! Each night after he preached they had a good old-fashioned Baptist social, complete with pecan pie and peanut butter fudge. Those people can cook.

6. Thursday morning we rented a car and drove the three hours to San Francisco. Our host home showed us a fabulous detour that took us through Napa and Sonoma. It reminded me of my two trips to the hills of Tuscany, and gave me a hankering to go back with Mr. Right.

7. If you get carsick, I wouldn’t recommend driving through Mieur Woods to see the redwoods. We never get motion sick, and we were both dying by the time we finished – windiest road I’ve ever been on, and I’ve been on some doozies driving through Europe. But, the redwood trees were magical – trapped between the fog and the redwood trees they looked like something out of the movie Avatar.

8. A few years back I decided, on a wim, that I was going to run a half marathon in San Francisco. It sounded like a great adventure… until a very wise friend looked at me like I was crazy and said “Have you ever seen the hills in San Francisco?” I assumed they meant small hills… like they have in Fort Worth. Because, really, how big could these hills be?

I was very wrong. Those aren’t hills… they’re mountains.

9. San Francisco has the best food of anywhere I’ve ever visited. I ate crab cakes at Fisherman’s Warf. Lobster Lasagna at Annabelle’s (thanks Stephanie for the recommendation). A fried egg sandwich on homemade bread at Plow. And a latte from one of Anthony Bourdain‘s favorite spots – Blue Bottle Coffee.

Now you know why I started crossfit when I got home.

10. Mr. Right is the perfect travel partner for me. We just have so much fun together, and he doesn’t even judge me when I bring a bag that weighs 49.5 pounds, so heavy my handle broke. We laughed our way through much of the trip, and we relished having time away from homework and the responsibilities that come with being a grown up. What a treat.

On our way home, Mr. Right snapped this picture of the gorgeous sunset over Texas. In an effort for full disclosure, this was edited with Instagram, so while the original colors were vibrant, these are a bit played up. Still, it’s a good reminder of what a creative God we serve.
Soon we have another trip planned to the other side of the U.S. – Florida. I can’t wait.
by Bethe

It’s the equivalent of buying your wife a vacuum

Mr. Right knows me. Like, really knows me.

He bought me the perfect souvenir from India – gorgeous, high-end fabric so that I can include a little bit of India in some of my quilts!

I am in love. It’s super soft and different from fabrics you buy at the local JoAnn’s. It feels luxurious and exotic, and when I use this fabric, I can assure you that I’ll be KEEPING this quilt for myself. (I never keep quilts – ever. I think they’re made to be given away. But this one will be an exception.)

One of the other pastors traveling with my beloved husband was a little worried I might be offended by his gift. He told Mr. Right it was like buying me a vacuum for my birthday. Because he’s giving it to me something that I will then have to make something out of. So, in essence, he’s giving me a gift that will make me work.

Which is probably true… for most women. But not for me. No, for me, this was the sweetest thing he could have possibly gotten me. Fabric is expensive and I try to be frugal with my purchases, only buying what I need and always using coupons. So luxurious textiles from India… those I can’t wait to get my hands on! Plus quilting is my escape and something that brings me great joy.

Oh, and he got me this rose-colored wrap to wear with my little black dress. That was a good move too. I debuted it at a friend’s bachelorette party over the weekend.

by Bethe

He’s home

Well, my friends… my man is home. And life has gone back to normal, whatever normal is. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to spend all day Saturday home with him, watching movies and napping to the sound of the rain hitting our window. We had missed each other so much, and I just wanted to soak him in.
And I’m happy to report that the sweet smell of curry washed right off in the shower the first night he got home.
But there’s no rest for the weary – after one day off Mr. Right had to hit the ground running, working an 11-hour day on Sunday that included his once-a-month preaching gig at the local nursing home. He did so well, and afterward he looked at me with those tired eyes and said, “Did I make any sense at all?” My poor man was almost delirious. But yes, he made wonderful sense, thanks to the holy spirit and the two cups of black coffee he drank on the way there.
I’m still learning bits and pieces about his trip, but I thought I’d share two pictures he took of the beautiful people in India. My man’s not a photographer by trade but some of his pictures made me absolutely swoon with pride.
I love this first one, because you can see all of this woman’s life toils and memories written as wrinkles on her face. I think she is gorgeous.
This second one is a group of orphans that Mr. Right preached to… 1400 in all. I asked him if we could go back and adopt one or two… or four. Maybe someday. Pray for these children, as most are not Christians.

Thank you for praying along with me during this trip to India. What a blessing you are to me.
by Bethe

Insert popular 90s dance moves *here*

My man is headed home! He’s got almost two full days of travel… he hops on one of his two big international flights in two hours, and I get to see him TOMORROW! I’m so excited it’s all I can do not to do some silly 90s “whoop there it is” dance move to the Vanilla Ice soundtrack that’s playing in my head. Maybe I’ll burn some energy by doing the running man when I get home.

Thanks again for praying… we are so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who are such faithful prayer warriors. I can’t wait to hear all of the stories about the big things God did in India. Unfortunately communication was terrible in the last city they were in, so even when we spoke on the phone it was so garbled that I only understood about half of it, and email wasn’t even an option. I look forward to hearing more over the coming week. And I look forward to hugging Mr. Right’s neck.

What have I learned while he’s gone? To give up control. I decided the very first day that I have zero control over anything that happens on the other side of the planet, so I might as well not waste my precious time worrying.

My man visited a leper/HIV/TB colony.
My man flew in an airplane after his pilot and grounds crew got in a big fight over whether or not the plane was flyable. 
My man drove out to villages so remote they’ve never seen a white man before.
And the worst one – I never knew when I’d hear from him next. 


How would worrying have changed any of those situations?

Instead, I tried to blanket the team in prayer and then move on. Most days it worked well… occasionally I had a pity party, but that was more out of missing my man than worrying about him. My God, in all his sweetness, chose to give me supernatural peace in place of panic.

If only I could apply the same idea to life here. Control is just an illusion. I don’t have any more control over things in Fort Worth than I do in India, and yet I worry so needlessly over so many things here at home. I’m going to pray that God will continue to refine me to the point where I can blanket things in prayer, and then move on. Worrying causes way too much stress… and wrinkles. Why bother?