Moving Day

Today was day 2 of packing. Tomorrow is loading day. Our house will be vacant and we'll be down to one car. Yesterday the realization of moving began to hit me, and I've been a little emotional.

When something huge is going on all it takes for me to get emotional or upset is for something little to go wrong. On Monday my computer died, and the Apple store said it would cost $1300 to fix the problems. I did not handle that well. I definitely had a couple 'freak-out' moments. Today it was really little. The movers packed my pumpkin muffins I made this week for breakfast. First of all I wanted to eat them this morning. Second of all, when we unpack them in December, there's going to be a whole lot of stink and mold. It shouldn't have made me sad, but it did.

When I listen to my mind and emotions, I make bad choices. I cry and sometimes act like it's the end of the world, which is definitely not the case. When I listen to the spirit in me, I make good choices. I take my burdens to the cross, pray, and am grateful for what I've been given. "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Moving

Hey friends! We finally know when we're moving. The movers are coming next Wednesday and Thursday to pack up our house, and then on Friday, Oct. 1st, the movers are loading everything and moving our stuff to a storage unit in Seattle. We're going to go to Tuscaloosa that weekend so we can go to the Florida/Bama game. We'll come back on Sunday and leave for our Seattle road trip on Monday. And it will be a road trip! We're planning on taking 7-8 days to get there. We're planning on making a few stops along the way: Dallas, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and finally Seattle. I know it looks like a heart monitor graph, but we've never been to most of those places and figured it was better to do it now when it's at no cost for us than later when we had to pay on our own. I'll have to post pictures throughout our road trip. Someone, hold me accountable!

The whole process seemed move slowly until now. Everything is now moving very quickly! The reality hasn't hit yet, and it may not hit me until Wednesday. I'm hoping when reality hits, I will be excited rather than upset about leaving. Though I am sad about leaving friends and family, I know that we'll be back plenty to visit everyone.

Change

God has been teaching me a lot about change and how to adapt to it. God didn't intend for life to be lived comfortably. Jesus definitely didn't live a comfortable life, but thank God he didn't! If he lived a comfortable life, we would have no hope and no reason for living. I like comfort. I like coming home to my house, sitting on my couch, eating food I love, and spending time with people (and dogs) I love. But I want to do more with life than that. I want to have purpose, and just doing things I like to do day in and day out won't fulfill anyone.

This summer I was actively looking for a job, and nothing seemed to feel right. The school I worked at last year didn't work out. Fast forward a couple months, and I had an interview at another school system. Well, during this time we found out Chris's grandma had pancreatic cancer (beginning of July). It was stage 4 and really progressive. It was in her pancreas, lymph nodes, and liver when it was found. She died July 30th, the day of my interview. I didn't feel right going to the interview when I felt like Christopher needed support, but he and his family encouraged me to go, so I drove 3 hours from Montgomery to Decatur. The interview actually did go well, but can you say bad timing?! It seems like God closed every door for me in Huntsville, which I didn't understand for another week.

A week or so goes by and Christopher found out that his job will be ending in October. Boeing really worked hard for him though and found him some job openings in Huntsville and one in Seattle. We continually prayed and felt like God was leading us to Seattle. This was where we had to decide to listen to God or decide to live comfortably. It would have been so easy to say we're staying in Huntsville. We have a house, a church we love, amazing friends, and it's close to family and football.

After about a week of deliberation, Christopher accepted the Seattle job with Boeing. There are a lot of unanswered questions about the move and what's going to happen, but we're choosing to trust in the one who told us to go. He knew that Christopher would have his dream career at this time, working on commercial planes. He knew that we were leaving not only for career choices, but also to help others, particularly the 89% of people that aren't Christians. I heard Rick Warren say that in your later years, you'll regret the good you didn't do in life far more than the mistakes you made. We don't want to pass up an opportunity to show Christ's love to a city that doesn't see much of it. And I know things will be okay because we're doing what we're supposed to do. I admit that this has been very difficult. It's the toughest decision either of us have had to make. I've never really made any sacrifices to God, but now I'm sacrificing comfort for obedience. But amazingly, God has given me comfort throughout this time. I decided to study Paul's life, thinking it really wouldn't apply to me. I picked up a book I had but had never read called To Live Is Christ by Beth Moore. I couldn't have read it at a better time! God's timing is so perfect! There was a quote by Beth Moore that really spoke to me: "God will never take you anywhere he hasn't already prepared for your arrival."

God knew from the day that Christopher and I were born that we would end up obeying his call on our lives. Though we don't know what's going to happen, he's already prepared our arrival in Seattle. Now that is praiseworthy! Without our God we should fear to move; but when He tells us to go it would be dangerous to tarry (Charles Spurgeon). The only thing I should fear is God!

Matthew 6:28-30 is so comforting to hear. God is so good and so faithful. He is providing comfort throughout this transition already, and I know He will continue to do so. We're leaving the south for a time, but we'll be back plenty to visit. We will definitely miss everyone so much, but know that all of our family and friends are welcome to visit us anytime! We really appreciate all the prayers. Let us know how we can pray for you. You are such a blessing in our lives, and we are so grateful for every one of you!

"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers." Philemon 1:4

-Christie

Lately

Dear Whoever Is Reading This,

Sorry I'm so delinquent on blog postings. I can't believe the summer is almost over! This summer has been productive and lazy at the Elm household. The laziness comes only from me. We've done much needed projects around the house this summer, and all I can think after they're done is, "Why didn't we do this earlier?" We've painted, bought and assembled patio furniture, placed boards in attic to create more storage, organized and decluttered the house. I feel like a new woman! I'll have to post pictures of the house soon, but I have no storage on my computer so it may not be for a while.

God has also taught me a lot this summer. I've read a lot of books, but the two that have really been helpful are "So Long, Insecurity..." by Beth Moore and "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. Insecurity is something that either is always present or just crops up during our weakest moments, when we're most vulnerable. Insecurity has always had a grip on me, but in different forms. I used to be really insecure about my body image, then insecurity became circumstantial. When I was weak, I would become insecure about anything and everything. This book taught me that "I am clothed in strength and dignity, and I laugh without fear of the future. (Proverbs 31:25)" And I truly believe this about myself. A job doesn't change my worth; I am still clothed with strength and dignity. I did enjoy my summer because I laughed without fear of the future. Every person deserves to feel this way about themselves.

God also taught and inspired me through Francis Chan. The "Forgotten God" in his book is the Holy Spirit. I am guilty of frequently quenching the Holy Spirit. I'll feel Him leading me to do something or to not do something, and I'll ignore Him and do what I want to do. Think about how a butterfly becomes a new creation. It begins as a caterpillar, then one day, it takes a long nap and wakes up as a beautiful butterfly. It not only looks different, but it can fly and do new things. We should be the same when we become a Christian. We become a new creation, but too often, we don't look any different or act as if we can do anything new. When the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us, we should look and act differently. God can do a whole lot more than we can on our own, and if God is in us, we have newfound strength and are a brand new creation. We shouldn't act like those who don't have the Holy Spirit inside of us. I haven't been acting any different than non Christians. I need to follow where the Spirit leads me. Things are changing a lot in our lives right now (which I'll talk about later), and I need to follow the Spirit more than ever. I now have love, joy and peace like I've never had before because I'm obeying. Though our circumstances aren't ideal, no one can take my joy away from me.

-Christie

"Before the Morning"

We have had an amazing first year of marriage! We moved to Huntsville, began working, and bought a house within our first year.

I really take teaching for granted until I lose the opportunity. I love what I do, and I can't think of anything else I would enjoy more than teaching. It's also what I was born to do. God put a desire to love, care, and help children. Yesterday I received my pink slip, and my contract was not renewed. It was really really tough yesterday and really tough today. I'm hoping tomorrow will just be tough, and maybe on Sunday, I'll be alright. I know in the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal. There is a lot of other stuff going on with other people, and I should just be grateful for what I have. But I still need time to grieve, and I feel like God is okay with that. He wants me to deal with my feelings free of guilt and condemnation. I just wanted to share a song I heard on the radio today that really helped me...

"Do you wonder why you have to,

Feel the things that hurt you?
If there's a God who loves you,
Where is He now?

Or maybe there are things you can't see
And all those things are happening
To bring a better ending
Someday, somehow, you'll see, you'll see.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light
Press on and just fight the good fight
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.

My friend, you know how this all ends
And you know where you're going.
You just don't know how you'll get there
So say a prayer
And hold on, cause there's good who love God.
Life is not a snapshot, it might take a little time,
but you'll see the bigger picture.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light.
Press on, just fight the good fight.
Because the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.
Yeah, yeah, before the morning,
Yeah, yeah.

Once you feel the weight of glory,
All your pain will fade to memory.
Once you feel the weight of glory,
All your pain will fade to memory,
Memory, memory, yeah.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

Would you dare, would you dare to believe,
That you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
Can't compare to the joy that's coming.

Come on, you gotta wait for the light.
Press on, just fight the good fight.
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the hurt before the healing.

Oh, the pain that you've been feeling,
It's just the dark before the morning.
Yeah, yeah, before the morning
Yeah, yeah, before the morning."

- Josh Wilson

Thanks for your prayers!

- Christie

Sick Day

Today I am using the only sick day I have due to a fever among other things. So I thought, "Why not write on the blog that I have neglected?" So that's exactly what I'm doing. The few people that read this may be wondering what's going on with us. Nothing really exciting has happened, but I'll write about all the little details that have happened.

Well, since the last time I updated was in mid-November, I guess I can talk about Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, my 1st grade class did the cutest play ever! They sang songs, read poems, and performed jokes/skits. After the skit, we had a little feast with the parents back in the classroom. Almost half of my class checked out that day, leaving me with only 11 students...easy day!

For Thanksgiving, we went to Montgomery. We ate Thanksgiving breakfast there, a Barbarow/Elm tradition. Since we ate so early, we had plenty of time to make it to my parents' house in Alpharetta for an early dinner. It was a busy day, but a good one. The following day, we traveled to Auburn, which is thankfully only 2 hours away from Alpharetta. And we won, so it was a great holiday!

So after Thanksgiving was the SEC Championship. Another great game! Actually, it was probably the greatest game this year, according to how we played. Pasadena, here we come...

After that comes Christmas. Chris was going to go to Baltimore for a business trip the week of Christmas (Monday-Wednesday...Christmas was on a Friday), so I decided to go with him since I could. Also, my aunt and uncle live near Washington, D.C., so I thought I would go visit them for a couple days while Chris was working. Then came the blizzard. Our flights were canceled, and we stayed home. We traveled to Alpharetta on Tuesday or Wednesday (don't remember) to spend a while with our families. We stayed there until January 1st. We came back home to bring Mimi here so she could take care of our dogs while we were in Pasadena! On January 2nd, we went to Nathan and Steph's wedding!

Chris and I went back to work on Monday, January 4th. We left for L.A. on Wednesday. We were on separate flights because I decided to go about a week later than Chris, and I also didn't want to take a half day off of school. Well looking back in hindsight, I wish I did that. My flight left from Huntsville at 4:15. I made it to the airport in plenty of time. The problem was that I had a 45 minute layover in Chicago. We landed in Chicago earlier than expected, so I was thinking, "Everything is going well. I'm going to make my flight." Well then, the pilot comes on the loudspeaker saying that we would have to wait for a gate to open. We wait, and wait, and wait some more. Well now it's past the time for my flight to L.A. The flight attendant said that they weren't waiting on us, even though most of the people on the flight were on that flight to L.A. She told us to make other reservations. So the people next to me call to be put on a waiting list. They put my name on it too. 15 minutes go by, and the flight attendant comes on the loudspeaker saying that they are waiting on us. So everyone cheers, and I'm happy again. We finally get off the plane, and run to our gate. When I get there, the couple who put me on the waiting list was with me. The American Airlines people said that they only had space for 2 more people, and there were 3 of us. I still don't really understand why, except that they gave away my ticket to someone on standby. They said whoever was left would make the 8:55 flight to L.A. So I told the couple to go on ahead. It is about 7:30 p.m. now. Well, they get on, and they're getting my ticket printed, or so I thought. So I asked, "I'm definitely getting on the next flight, right?" The guy says, "Ma'am, I'm doing all I can. I said I would try to get you on that flight. If not, you'll be on the 8:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning." I said, "That's not what I heard." Then I start crying...uncontrollably. I call my dad (Chris is in the air now) and tell him what's going on. I was too hysterical to do anything sensible. He kept saying to calm down. While I was bawling, I heard the AA people whisper, "She's crying..." To shorten the story, the AA guy made a few calls, bumped the person flying standby on the 8:55 flight, and put me on it. I know why I was emotional-I was flying alone and thought I was stuck in Chicago overnight by myself-but I don't know why I was crying uncontrollably. So I get my ticket, check it, and walk to the gate. The AA people were following me and showing me where to go. I really didn't and don't care what they thought/think about me because I made it there. I'm definitely not happy with American Airlines because what they did to me wasn't right. I should have been able to get on my originally booked flight, but instead, they canceled my booking.

But it was a great trip! I had a lot of fun in L.A. I went to my first national championship, and we won it! Everyone asked me, "Did you see any celebrities?" Well yes, I did...Kirsten Dunst. We were at Intelligentsia Coffee in a trendy neighborhood. We ate lots of good food, had lots of coffee, did some sightseeing, and of course, shopped.

Now, we're back to the daily grind of things. We're still enjoying our jobs, making good friends, and getting involved in our new church. I'm so grateful to God for placing us in Huntsville/Madison. I've met so many wonderful, amazing people and look forward to everything else God has planned for us.

I guess it's back to resting for me, though I admit, I just did laundry and am tempted to clean the house...

-Christie

House Photos

I realized I never posted pictures of our home since we owned it. The pictures I posted were ones that were taken before purchasing and moving into the home, so here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Master Bedroom

Fireplace

Great Room

Kitchen

Another View of Kitchen

Master Bathroom

Hall Bathroom

1st Bedroom

Another View of 1st Bedroom

Backyard

Marlowe peeping out of the fence

Our Home

Our E Flag

Marlowe sleeping

Us

- Christie