. . . a CoUpLe oF ThiNgS . . .

First things first . . . 

Please help us welcome

KINSLEY JOY MARIE RYE

Born on 9/12/13

7 # 8 oz

19" long

Precious daughter of Nick & Ashley Rye

and adored little sister to Presten, Daila, Maddie & Lila!

(Papa Rickey is surely smiling a BIG smile in Heaven today!)

Auntie "Konky" (a.k.a. Kajsa Jo) loving on Kinsley ♥

Auntie "Table" (a.k.a. Taya Jill) loving on Kinsley ♥

Secondly . . . the house is a WRECK . . . we pushed things from one end of the table to the other so we could eat supper tonight, the dishwasher is FULL (at least it's clean), the sink is full (they are dirty), the counters are covered (I think they are white) and I'm sitting here, sipping coffee, enjoying spending time with Rick, blogging and watching football & FIFA world cup soccer!!  :)  I am learning that PEOPLE are more important than things and that time spent with loved ones can't ever be gotten back - the messy house will still be there waiting for me tomorrow (though I wouldn't mind a housekeeper!)!

Third, and the post that has been rolling around in my brain all afternoon is this . . . 

Do you ever just KNOW that something is right?  I mean, really you just know that it is so totally a "God thing" that you really can't believe it?

Well, I recently had (or thought I had) one of those situations!  As I stated in my last post, I worked my last day at the hospital a week ago today.  Everyone has been asking what I/we plan to do "now" and I've been pretty honest that we're not really sure.  With Rick just finishing up with school (and starting again the same day he finishes!), we are looking at some options we have tossed around for awhile now.  We haven't received clear direction on any of them yet, so we are still seeking and praying.  In the meantime, what looked like an opportunity presented itself to me.  It looked like the PERFECT opportunity.  The timing seemed just "too good to be true".  The details seemed like they just "had to have" been orchestrated by God.  Others agreed with me that it sure seemed like a good thing.  I did keep in mind that sometimes the things that appear to be too good to be true, really are too good to be true.  So I prayed, diligently, that God would make my path clear.  I basically "told" God that I need him to write it in the sky for me, so I would KNOW what to do!  Today, I found out that for whatever reason, that "perfect" opportunity was not to be.  At first, my initial reaction was to be wounded.  Hurt that "I wasn't good enough".  Angry at who ever played a part in the decision.  Ready to display an "I'll show them" reaction.  And then, God reminded me that I asked Him to show me.  I asked in faith (just as I had asked for a tree), and the same as before, He again "gave me a tree".  Only this time, it was not exactly the tree I'd prayed for because I thought this was so "right".  Now, hours later, as I sit writing about it, I can say with assurance that this "no" WAS an answer to prayer.  A clear, concise, direct answer to prayer.  No part of the decision was left to my choice, all I had to do was graciously accept the answer I was given, or stew over the decision and make myself and all those around me miserable.  I think I'll chose the gracious route.  God has a bigger plan than I can see.  Like the song from Casting Crowns, "You're Already There" says (in part): 

"From where I'm standing
Lord it's so hard for me to see
Where this is going
And where You're leading me
I wish I knew how
All my fears and all my questions
Are gonna play out
In a world I can't control

When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You're already there
You're already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You're already there
You're already there

From where You're standing
Lord, You see a grand design
That You imagined
When You breathed me into life
And all the chaos
Comes together in Your hands
Like a masterpiece
Of Your picture perfect plan!"

In a world we can't control . . . where our future is a mystery (to us), it's already a memory to Him.  He has a picture perfect plan, that will come together like a masterpiece, if we can just be patient and trust that He IS already there, standing at the end of our life, waiting on the other side!  So while we wait for the answers tomorrow, next week, next month . . . HE'S ALREADY THERE!

I asked for a TREE . . .

“Ask, and it will be given to you" . . . Matthew 7:7

This blogging on two blogs sounded easier than it really is!!  You see, it would be very easy if I could separate my life into tidy little boxes (kind of like men can do in their minds!) . . . then there could be "life BEFORE 11/5/11 and life AFTER 11/5/11".  However, though there is a "before" and an "after", my life is intertwined in the before and after . . . 

So . . . when I posted THIS post on my other blog back in July 2012, I had no idea how much I'd look back to it even now.  On that day, I posted about how I had left my job at the school, taken a new job at the hospital and then found out that the new job was no longer "mine" . . . the post was titled "... don't sweat it ..."  Little did I know a short 14 months later, I'd have to remind myself of that yet again.  That original job fell through, but then I was presented with another, better job which is now done.  I received the notice of my lay-off last Thursday (which ended up being my last day as it was the beginning of a 5 day weekend for me).  So, here I am, again jobless.  And trying not to sweat it!  (and if you read back to the July 2012 post, you will see that the events I referred to happened on the 5th of the month (Rickey died on the 5th of the month) AND my lay-off last week . . . yep, it happened on the 5th)

Yesterday as I ran errands, I found myself driving past the cemetery and thinking (as driving past there usually gets me to doing) and I was worrying myself a little bit about "what" the future held when all of a sudden I "heard" 

. . .

"You asked for a tree . . . I gave you a tree, didn't I?  Trust Me AGAIN, my dear child.  . . . 'Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?' (Matthew 6:26 & 26)"

Ah . . . yes, a tree.  I asked for a tree.  And HE gave me a tree.  The tree pictured below:

When I went to the cemetery on that cold day in November, I went alone, to pick out a place to bury Rickey.  It still seemed surreal, but I recall very clearly praying as I drove, "Lord, I hate the cemetery.  I hate the new part of the cemetery, it's all open, there are no trees, no nothing, it seems so cold and barren, if there could just be a tree, any tree, Rickey LOVED being in the woods so much, he NEEDS a tree"(actually I needed that tree, Rickey had far more splendor at that time than all the trees on earth combined!).  When I arrived at the cemetery, I looked for the sexton and saw him, standing waiting for me, at the base of a PINE TREE!  He told me that there was a spot, right by where my parents had purchased plots that was a little walk-way, but it really served no purpose.  If I thought it was o.k., he could make it into 2 burial plots.  "If it was o.k."?  He was standing at the base of a PINE TREE . . . the tree I prayed for.  Yes, of course it was o.k.  No, it wasn't o.k., I wasn't supposed to be here, telling him where he could bury my Rickey.  But, as not o.k. as it was, it was still God's clear answer to my prayer, and my unspoken petition that He remind me that He was still watching over us.

So, again, the "before" and the "after" come together in that reminder that if I ask, in HIS name, HE does listen.  If He cares about the birds in the air, He surely cares even more about us!  As I shared this story with my good friend Molly, she put even more perspective on it, as she stated, He not only gave you "a" tree, He gave you THE tree . . . the tree He died on to give us all hope for eternity.  Oh, what a beautiful parallel, what a confirmation that I don't have to "sweat it" that HE is in control, of my prayers for a job, and direction, and clarity in what He wants for our future!  So as Rick finishes up his last few days of school and we try to discern what HIS way for us is and not what OUR way is for us, we will remember, He gave me "a" tree and He gave us "THE" tree!  We have nothing to fear, "If God is for us, who can be against us"?  Romans 8:31  

So, as we look to the next few weeks and months as we make some BIG decisions about God's direction in our lives, we'd love for you to cover us in prayer!  We'll share things as we have clarity on these decisions, for now, nothing is certain except that God is in CONTROL and nothing that touches our lives surprises Him and that He does have a plan for our lives!

After all, He gave us a tree!

WeLcOmE . . . i'M gLaD yOu are HERE!

Welcome to the home of my new blog . . . I pray that if you followed my other blog "Our Journey To A New Normal" you'll enjoy this one as well!  

I'll share here, "life as it happens" . . . sometimes deep, sometimes silly, and sometimes just plain old boring to the average reader, but just something that I want to remember in years to come, and if I don't write it down, I probably won't remember it!

So, with that being said . . . WELCOME . . . I'm glad you're here!