A Holy Pursuit

As most of you know by now, Bryan and I will be moving to Columbus, Ohio next week. Bryan has accepted a position as a student ministries pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel Columbus. We have both been involved with Harvest for two or three years and have really loved it. Their philosophy of ministry, theological views, and preaching are so encouraging and Biblically sound. We have both been praying for this part of our lives for so long, and praying for this opportunity in Columbus for over six months. It's been a long time coming, but it was a journey of faith. As excited as I am about this move and the new ministry opportunities in Columbus I'm also nervous. I've never been married to a youth pastor. As much as I can imagine what it will be like I can't know for sure. For many years I have wanted to be married to a pastor. I'm not sure why, except that I had a really amazing woman in my life who happened to be my youth pastor's wife. Cami was always there to ...

Bryan is pretty much the opposite of everything on my "list" for a husband. You know, that list girls have growing up of all the qualities they think they want in their future husband. Yeah, I had that list, too. Bryan doesn't fit many of those specifications. Obviously, he has the important ones down like, being a committed Christian, ministry-mindedness, and a family man. However, in his personality he is much more outgoing, confrontational, and outspoken than I ever imagined. He is a lot like my mom and I always pictured marrying someone more like my dad. More the strong, silent type.  About eight months into our dating relationship I got to a point of really feeling torn. Should I break up with Bryan and continue pursuing someone that I thought would be more suited for me, or should I stick it out with Bryan, trusting that God brought him to me for a bigger purpose? I struggled with this question for a while. In my searching I sought much godly counsel and in the...

For so many years growing up I really wasn't a fan of the Fall season. I didn't like that it meant the end to two of my favorite seasons, Spring and Summer, and it was just a proverbial "hoop to jump through" to get to Christmas.  I'm not sure what exactly caused me to change my mind and feelings regarding Fall, but I think I owe a lot of it to my mom. Fall has always been one of her favorite seasons and she used to tell me all about how much she loved watching the leaves change in the woods from her bedroom window as a little girl. She's always one of the first people I hear comment about the changing color of the leaves. I guess she taught me to appreciate the beauty in Fall.  However, Fall happens to be the host season of many of my favorite things, including, but not limited to: caramel apples, hot apple cider, hay rides, and hoodies. With my newfound love of everything Fall (except for the irritating allergies), here's my bucket list for this...

For a couple weeks now I have gone up to the closest Planned Parenthood facility, which is only four blocks away, to sit and pray.  I chose to go on Saturday mornings which is one of the days this particular facility provides abortion services to their clients. I have only gone twice now, and the first time I had no idea what to expect.  So I just went.  I stood and prayed. I squatted and prayed. I sat and prayed.  After being there for just a few minutes a Planned Parenthood volunteer stepped outside wearing the bright yellow vest. I didn't feel very threatening, but apparently they thought I was. Enough to warrant a volunteer, anyway. That first day I sat and prayed for about 45 minutes. I wanted to stay longer, but I had other commitments. This past Saturday as I walked up to the Planned Parenthood building I was a little discouraged when I saw two individuals wearing the bright yellow vest. They had multiplied, Then as I began praying...

Here it is, folks. Our little home, sweet home. It is much smaller than our summer home, but it is the perfect space for us, at this point in our lives. So here's a little virtual, picture tour of our Chicago home.  This is the view from our front door. To the right is our bathroom, straight ahead is our bedroom, soft left is the living/dining room, and sharp left is the kitchen (just on the other side of the wall to the left). Here is Bryan and the living room. The dining room table is also in this space. The blinds were closed for lighting purposes for both Bryan and I, but we have a great view of the city! Here is our little kitchen! I'm loving all the red elements we've added so far (the Kitchen Aid mixer being a favorite!).  And finally, here is our bedroom, complete with beautiful quilt done by Bryan's aunts Debbie and Laura and their families, and with help from Grandma and Grandpa Nass. We love it so much! Oh, and you can also barel...

Alright folks, here it is. My top 12 memories of Summer 2012 12. Grill and Chills every Tuesday night 11. Teaching the Jr. High girls X-Tra Mile class 10. Jr. High Girls Spa Night 9. Watching Bryan model in the costume shop 8. Hiking at Palisades-Kepler with the High Schoolers 7. $1.00 Car Wash 6. Celebrating 4 th of July with Mom and Dad Nass 5. Marty and Kelly’s Wedding 4. My parents’ visit in early August 3. Learning how to work {well} with my husband 2. Lost Island Water Park trip with the Jr. Highers 1. Getting to know all the Crossroads Students And one honorable mention would be all of our cooking adventures... The picture pretty much says it all! Overall, it's been a wonderful summer! It's had its ups-and-downs because of being newly-weds in full-time ministry together, and other variables. But God has been faithful and the memories are wonderful! Spe...

Saturday was definitely a highlight of my summer. There are many times in which I look at my husband with awe and marvel at how he allows God to use him. Saturday was no exception. It began with a simple idea: a $1 car wash, which was followed by weeks of planning and preparation, complete with a video tutorial on how to properly wash a car. You may be thinking, “Great fundraising idea”, right? Wrong. Bryan wasn’t interested in making money, and neither was the church we are currently working for. Instead, Bryan wanted to use this car wash as a way to reach out to the neighborhood where the church is being relocated and share the Gospel with them. You may be wondering, “How does a $1 car wash accomplish those goals?” Well, as a vehicle pulls up to the car wash there is a student standing there to greet them with a wad of $1 bills. The unsuspecting driver then presents their dollar and expects the student to take it so they can drive forward. However, at this poi...

Bryan and I had been married for two months and 15 days when we made this goal. We were on our way to do some hiking on our day off in Minnesota and were just enjoying the drive and each other’s company when Bryan came up with a great idea. “Want to drive across the country sometime?” Marvelous. Yes. Best idea I’ve heard in a while! So from there our goal transformed into visiting all 50 states, potentially in our first ten years of marriage, but at least sometime. Also, once we visit a state we get a magnet of the state and a picture at the “Welcome to…” sign. For now we have five states on our magnet map, but before the year is over we will add at least one or two more, maybe three, if we get a chance.  Bryan and I have some more serious goals in our marriage, too, but the fun ones definitely have their place!

Here is an amazing recipe that Bryan and I tried recently and have made a number of times because it is so simple and wonderfully delicious! Herb Lime Chicken -Boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed -1 bottle lite Italian dressing -1 lime, halved and sliced -3 garlic cloves, minced -1/2 cup lime juice -Pinch of ground thyme Mix all marinade ingredients together (the last five) and set aside about 1/2 cup to use as chicken is on the grill. Put the chicken in a large plastic ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Put in fridge and allow to set for about 5-8 hours. Then grill about 5 min on each side of the chicken or until done. When Bryan grills this chicken it turns out so tender and juicy... We love it! And it is perfect with some green beans or a nice side salad. Enjoy!

A couple months ago I woke up early to go for a run before work. There was a beautiful sunrise, with not a cloud in the sky. The sun was literally the brightest I’ve ever seen it at that time of the morning, shining brilliantly all around me. I found myself amazed at how God chooses to show His glory and just basking in His brilliance. Then as I looked around at the scenery the Lord impressed upon my heart to look at my shadow. As I ran my shadow was a consistent area of darkness on my left side. This realization caused me to wonder if in my life I prefer to acknowledge God’s greatness and glory and forget about my sin issues. Are there problems in my life that I need to be addressing and taking care of the right way, but instead I choose to ignore them and focus on the good things? If so, shame on me. God’s glory and brilliance will not have its full effect in my life if I am trying to hide from or ignore my sin. It didn’t work for Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter three and i...

Before I was married I heard numerous times that marriage always reveals exactly how selfish one is. I tried to take that statement to heart, but it’s genuinely hard to comprehend until you’re in the situation. Now I totally get it. Bryan and I have been married for 42 days as I type this and I have been reminded countless times of what a selfish human being I am. We have gotten into numerous discussions in which we represent two very different opinions and I am constantly amazed that he doesn’t just see things the way I do and change his mind. Yeah, I pretty much always think I’m right. I want to clean the way I am accustomed to, and cook what I want to cook, and watch what I want to watch. We have been learning that when we entered into marriage we had certain desires and certain expectations. However, when we each expected different things I quickly realized how selfish I am. Bryan and I are much alike in our Theology and the things that we feel really matter, but there are so...

It’s been three weeks now since I entered into the covenant of marriage with my best friend and the love of my life. It’s been a whirlwind, to say the least. Most of the wedding details were essentially DIY, which I greatly enjoyed doing, but caused the time before the wedding, and even largely during, to pass insanely quickly. I had so much wonderful help that I cannot even begin to name everyone who played a part in the big day, but I also cannot continue without recognizing the wonderful parents the Lord has blessed me with. My dad was a constant encouragement and helped in whatever way he could. He was always checking on me and making sure I wasn’t too stressed out; and if I was he immediately sought a solution or at least played volleyball with me to get my mind off of everything else, momentarily. My mom is literally a supermom, in every sense of the word. She helped make my dress, she catered the wedding meal, she made and decorated the most beautiful, delicious cake I...

God is faithful. He always is, even when we don't open our eyes enough to see it. God has once again proven His faithfulness to us when we least deserve it, but definitely needed it! Bryan and I have seen God work in so many ways in the past few weeks and months and we are amazed; not that God is still working, after all, we've seen Him move throughout our whole lives, but amazed that He still chooses to bless us beyond belief. We are undeserving, selfish, sinful, weak, and poor. Yet, the Savior of the world decided to open a new door of opportunity for us.  Bryan has been seeking an internship in order to complete his academic requirements at Moody and while some doors had been closing, on Friday, February 3rd, both Bryan and I had interviews with a youth pastor and his wife from a church in Iowa. There were other qualified candidates interviewing for the same position, so we prayed. It seemed too good to be true, so we prayed harder. God knew what He was doing the whole time...

Soon after Bryan and I started talking about the possibility of marriage and praying about such a big decision, he suggested we adopt the passage of Proverbs 30:7-9, which states, “ Two things I ask of you;   deny them not to me   before I die:   Remove far from me falsehood and lying;   give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is   needful for me,   lest I be   full and   deny you   and say,   “Who is the LORD?”   or lest I be poor and steal   and profane the name of my God.” My amazing and godly fiancé was challenged and in turn challenged me, to work hard and be wise in our saving and spending. In addition, we were challenged to be more generous with what the Lord has blessed us with. We aren’t striving for riches and wealth in our lifetime (we’re both going into ministry, so that’s kind of a given). Sounds like a noble plan, right? Maybe; but we soon got a taste of the reality that we were p...