Pssssst...

I'm back!

Honestly, it feels like 6 months that I last wrote a post. And in truth, I have enough news for 6 months' worth of blogs. But I won't attempt to share them with you all in this 1 post. In fact, I don't even know where to begin. But I'll attempt to start an update with my favorite format...The List (even if each bullet is a bit long).


~I guess the biggest difference in my life (to me anyway) has been my living arrangements. Since I moved, I've been living with my grandmother in a town about 40 minutes from Big Town. It's definitely been an adjustment as she is 89 years old and keeps hours that are very different from mine. I'm up around 6:30 each morning while she sleeps until 8. And (you know me) I'm out till 10 or 11 every night while she goes to bed between 9 and 10. It hasn't been as terrible as I first thought it would be, although there was some major adjusting to do but I've found that as long as I'm calling her to keep her in the loop about where I am and what my plans are, it's really not all that bad. The main difference in her house and mine is that hers feels like a tropical Floridian vacation 95% of the time as she is cold-natured and keeps her thermostat set on 80. Normally, I wouldn't be bothered by this but in Texas heat (especially through the summer), it really doesn't cool down ever-even at night. So I suppose that for the next couple months, I'll have to endure it and be thankful I'm not going to hell.
UPDATE:Gma has now been leaving the air on at night. MIRACLES DO STILL HAPPEN!

~Wedding planning is taking a lot of my time. This weekend, I MUST get the invites in the mail. We had a few minor setbacks in getting them printed but they look great (in my opinion) & I'm very excited! Z & I also need to make some decisions about some things for the ceremony as well. 3 of 4 bridesmaids have ordered their dresses and that sure has made a difference. I went w/Z's sis, A on Wednesday to get fitted for hers while she was in town visiting. We had fun and I'm so fortunate to have such beautiful & FABULOUS ladies to share my special day!
UPDATE: We received our 1st official wedding gift on Wednesday! Some of my family's good friends from my hometown sent us 3 (THREE) pieces of Fiestaware! They are absolutely wonderful-the friends and the gifts! That moment was really surreal for me and Z but it was almost like the 1st official moment of REAL wedding festivities-and that makes us SUPER excited!

Be sure to keep up w/all the wedding glitz & glamour (ha) on our wedding website: www.zapandbap.blogspot.com.

~Since I last posted, a lot has happened with my job. I'm at a Farmers Insurance agency and actually like it pretty well. We moved at the end of May & boy was that an ordeal! We're not 100% settled but we're getting close. The new place is SO nice-very professional-and we are enjoying it quite a bit. 

~The fam is doing well-Mom and Dad will welcome the new pastor to their church Sunday with an all day "Welcome the Pastor" marathon event. Ok not really but it may as well be. Mom's still working a LOT and is doing SO GREAT at helping with the wedding. I don't know what I'd do without her-wedding & otherwise. Older bro & wife are doing good-just enjoying summer from what I hear and staying busy. Little bro is doing well-just moved into a new place in the same apt. complex with 2 friends instead of 1 so maybe rent will be cheaper. He's still at Best Buy and still helping me with all things techie. I'm so excited to see them all in July!

~There has been lots going on at church too-we are moving quickly on our new building and looking forward to being in it. I haven't done much for the children's ministry (not because I don't want to but because I am so pressed for time) and something had to give. But Z & I have been busy with the youth doing all kinds of things. We've:

-ridden rides at 6 Flags

-sang at Southwestern University in Waxahachie for Fine Arts competition where 1 of our kids was invited to Nationals

-seen the animals at the zoo

-swam at a pool party

-sold pizza cards & rose bushes for fundraisers

-and are washing cars tomorrow for more $$$

We've had a lot of fun and it's crazy how close you get to kids in just a few months. They definitely make me laugh and 1 even wrote a rap about me and Z which goes like this:

RAP TIME! by Haley Bridges

Bethany is a G
butt she smells like pee.
Zeb is her man,
she loves him cuz he smells like spam.
She is awesome,
& she loves possums.
I like that dress,
it makes her look the best.
OH YEEEH :)

And the best part is at the end, she signed it 'happy honaku'. Those girls crack me up! They are so much fun and are keeping us young. Overall, they are sweet kids and we love them!

Well, that's all of a recap I can give for now and wow, that was a lot. But there's surely more to come! Hope all of you are blessed & highly favored!

~B

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Big Town: Day 1

This Monday morning is quite different from my standard Monday morning. Usually, I am arriving home at 1 or 2 AM to sleep for a few hours and then rush into work. Or I awaken at 4:30am and drive from Big Town to Tiny Town, Texas to rush and get ready for work only to arrive 15 minutes late and totally exhausted from such a wild weekend. Then I spend the day miserable wishing for a huge cup of caffeine or my bed. Mainly, my bed.

But this morning, I awoke and got ready for the day and have spent the majority of my time at my church in Big Town. Yep, the official transition has begun. I'm staying in town this week and will be moving all my worldly possessions from Tiny Town to a storage unit in Big Town this Friday. I can't put into words how awkward today has been. While I appreciate the time off, I do not appreciate the lack of a paycheck. But the time had come. The time for me to leave and step out in faith. I had finished my work in Tiny Town and have been ready for a few weeks to make the move but the timing wasn't quite right.

Today is a new day, a new season, a new chapter. Today is the day I begin my life with Z in our new town working together and just being together. (That is still such a strange concept since we're so used to being at least 2 hours apart.) So today as I start my new life here, we start our new life together. We have so much to keep us busy but I look forward to being busy with him instead of apart from him.

This new chapter is already full of new people, new places, and new experiences. It will most assuredly be full of new words, new stories, and new feelings. And even through all the changes, the loss, and the gain I know this will definitely be one of the best chapters of my life!

Blessings,
Bethany
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

***BAP News Update***

Wow...I think this is the longest stint I've been without writing in a LONG time-and I can tell. For me, this is more than just a blog. It is a safe haven, a place where I can unload and unwind and share my thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Writing is my stress reliever just like coloring is used to be when I was younger. And since it's been so long, I have no idea where to start...

How about with my and Z's trip to NC? While we were there we...
~met w/the event planner at the conference center where we're getting married and got LOTS of ?s answered.
~met with a baker who makes AMAZING cakes and decided on ours (I got to design it myself-yay!). (And since I am addicted to cake, you KNOW it will be delish!)
~ate at Zaxby's.
~met my older bro for lunch.
~ate at Moe's for Z's 1st meal there.
~attended a wedding rehearsal.
~attended the rehearsal dinner in my hometown where we gave Z the 30 minute highlight tour which translates to "we showed him the whole town since it only takes 30 minutes for the grand tour".
~attended the wedding of one of my best friends in the world.
~ordered my wedding dress. *BIG smiles* :)
~made a quick stop at Hobby Lobby w/my parents.
~had Cinnabons TWICE.
~spent a lot of quality time w/my parents which I desperately needed.
~stayed up too late and got up too early for too many nights.

And upon our return we had a quick meal with his parents and arrived back in Tyler at 2am-on Daylight Savings Time weekend. Talk about not a fun Sunday. Those kids at Youth Bible Study got the Mr. Hyde of my personality that morning even though I tried to be as nice as possible. I slept so hard during my Sunday afternoon nap that I don't think I actually woke back up until about 1/2 way through our evening church service. But afterward, we took the kids bowling and ended up having a great time. As of today, my body still hasn't figured out the whole jet lag/daylight savings time so I'm still staying up WAY too late.

Work is getting increasingly harder-not in difficulty but because I desperately need to move. There is barely enough work for 1 person (and certainly not full-time at that) so to have 2 of us is really uncalled for. So I'm back to an interview blitz on Friday and am determined to find a job if it kills me. I am so beyond ready to be moved and living the next stage of my life-with Z, with the church, in a bigger town, establishing myself. I'm praying for God to do a quick work and am believing for Him to be faithful as He always is.

Wedding planning is coming along really well. As I mentioned before, my dress is ordered and we have a cake and have confirmed the location for the ceremony and reception. At first, there weren't any room available in the hotel at the center and so our guests were going to have to stay in other locations on the campus. But we got good news that the group that had reserved 96 rooms in the hotel had cancelled so there were now plenty of rooms for our event. This is wonderful not only so our guests can have really nice accommodations but also because the hotel is connected to the reception location (a brand new conference building). I am so excited about everything coming together. We've requested pricing for our menu so we'll see what can stay and what must go but I'm extremely excited about all of it! And I must thank my parents for being so supportive and standing behind me through all of this. They have truly shown 100% support of everything and I will be forever indebted to them (though I already am).

This post really wouldn't be complete without mentioning a very special person who has been the 1 factor of stability in my life for the past 8 months. Z, thank you for being my other half. Even though I am a complete person, you only enhance me and make me want to be better. I could never thank you enough for your devotion and support. You are my one true love, the only person who truly "gets" me and continues to put up with me. My gratitude is eternal and my love will last even longer. 'Thank you' could never begin to repay you for all you've done for me. I look forward with excitement to growing old with you by my side and hope you are always certain of my forever love for you. You are the other half of our 'Dynamic Duo', the man who I respect, admire and have given my heart to for all of eternity. Tu eres mi corazon y te amo siempre.

Blessings to you all!
~B
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

A Post About Nothing

There's not been that much to post about lately in Small Town, TX unless you count all the chaos that is my life. Still driving to Tyler on the weekends, directing a children's ministry, planning a wedding, job hunting, training a new girl at my current job and basically trying to maintain 2 lives-1 in Small Town & 1 in New Town.

Z and I went to mi abuela's (grandmother) house 2 weekends in a row around her birthday week. The 1st weekend he met my aunt and uncle and the 2nd he met their son and daughter. They were interesting weekends but went well. We played the game that never ends aka Phase 10 the 2nd visit and had quite a few good laughs. It was good to see family again but boy, were we busy!

Since Z and I started as the Youth & Children's Pastors at our church, he and I have both been extremely stressed. He is the only other full-time staff member besides our Senior Pastor (who is bi-vocational) so therefore he is the only person at the church all day every day. That much is fine but we are in the beginning stages of a building program and soon he will be managing workers and making sure the construction is getting done. In addition, I've been leaning on him heavily regarding children's ministry "stuff" and he has been a HUGE help. But he's had a lot of pressure as we've been working for the church, planning events, planning the wedding (which he's had a lot of input on), and all this while being away from family. Not to mention the hardest job of all-handling me. I've been on an emotional rollercoaster for the past few weeks as I struggle with exhaustion, stress with the wedding, and pressure on myself for a job, with the church, and just with life in general. So poor Z has had his hands full.

BUT everything is about to change with 1 little word: VACATION. We fly out super early Wednesday morning to visit NC for a few days so we can do cake tastings, an engagement photo shoot, meet with the event planner, I can try on dresses and attend my best friend's wedding. Wow-that will be a busy 4 days! But at least we're getting out of town for a bit by ourselves. It will be nice to not deal with work or church for at least a short time. And I'm excited to see my parents and get to spend time with them. It should be a fun and only semi-stressful trip.

So, until next time...I'm going to Carolina in my mind (& for real)!

Blessings,
B

Ok, this is getting scary...

Today's Christian Woman sends me an Encouraging Words Daily Devotional every morning. Today's devotion???

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Today's Verse from the New Living Translation

"Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? … Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. … No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." —Romans 8:32, 35, 37, 39 view in context

Encouragement for Today

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We must not look to circumstances for evidence of God's love or proof that he will take care of us. If God did not withhold the best he had to give us—the life of his Son—will he not also give us everything else, including his love and power? When circumstances are dire, don't look at them. Gaze at the cross of Christ and what he suffered there for you. Then his suffering—and victory—will swallow up your suffering. Paul says that "overwhelming victory" is ours. —Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

So I think God really is trying to tell me something. Whaddyathink?

Isn't it ironic???

Blessings,
B

P.S. Thanks to my amazing fiance for the idea of adding our wedding countdown to my page!