God Orders Our Stops As Well As Our Steps

Jonathan and I were talking last night about our whole situation and how frustrating things have been. Jonathan still does not have a job after four months of intense job searching. He applied for his limited license in Michigan about a month and a half ago and found out yesterday that he was rejected for it because he applied for the wrong one. Apparently, Michigan's licenses are screwed up and very different from Illinois'. So Jonathan now has to make some calls and go through the whole process all over again, which could take another couple months. I will be finished at my job the end of July, as they have hired a new person who begins July 24. Jonathan is not sure how much longer he will be needed on the job site he is at now doing construction. So, we are realizing that in a month, we could both be unemployed and without insurance. Yikes! But, as we talked, we realized that we don't have it bad, so to speak. We have our health, our family, friends, a roof over our heads, and a puppy who adores us. As Jonathan put it, we're just "uncomfortable" right now more than anything. It still is easy for us to get discouraged, though, and as Jonathan rolled over to finally go to sleep, I began to read my devotional for the day out of "Our Daily Bread". It was as if the passage had come straight from God's Hand. The author was talking about the two great fears of sailing at sea--a terrible wind or no wind at all. He wrote, "Sometimes life demands that we weather a storm. At other times it puts us to the test of tedium. We may feel stuck. What we want most is just out of reach. But whether we find ourselves in a crisis of circumstance or in a place where the spiritual wind has been taken out of our sails, we need to trust God for guidance. The Lord, who is sovereign over changing circumstances, will eventually guide us to our desired haven (Psalm 107:30)." I immediately roused Jonathan and read this to him. We both realized that while we are not experiencing a terrible storm, we are feeling stuck. Nothing is happening and there is absolutely not a darn thing we can do about it. But God is sovereign. The text ended with this short poem: "I will not fear the howling storms of doubt, Nor shudder when I feel I'm all alone; But I will trust my Savior as I shout: 'The Lord's my helper--He is on the throne!'". Amen.

Picture Update

So we finally got our pictures developed and on a cd so we can put them on our blog! We've had some good times lately. Over Memorial weekend we went to Big Long Lake in Indiana with the Moore family and did some serious tubing. Not only was I a little sore from the tubing, I was also nearly deaf from my sister screaming the entire time. :) I also threw in a picture of the flowers Jonathan got me for our anniversary. The picture does not do them justice. They were beautiful coral roses--I couldn't believe he remembered that coral was one of the colors in our wedding! We also went biking downtown with Andrew and Tanya, which was way fun. Except for the fact that the wind that day was about 30 mph and riding into it was next to impossible. I knew it was bad when a runner passed me! We also got to celebrate Peyton's first birthday June 15th! She loved her peanut butter sandwich cake we made for her. (Laugh all you want, we know we're dorks. Who else celebrates their dog's birthday?!). We hope you enjoy our pictures...

Graduation Pics

Here are some pictures from Jonathan's graduation. Doesn't he look so wise?

Yes, We're Still Here

Well, it's been a month and half since Jonathan graduated and not much has changed. Jonathan is working construction 40+ hours a week. This job is worse than when he was in school and had papers every night. He leaves at 5:30am and by the time I get home from work, we have just enough time to eat dinner, walk Peyton, and get in a game of dome hockey before Jonathan goes back to bed at 9. Usually Jonathan ends up taking a little cat nap after dinner, too, so our time together has been limited lately. :( My job is...well, it's what it always is. People at work keep seeing me and going, "What are you still doing here? I thought you were supposed to be long gone by now. Hahaha" and I think to myself, "Please, don't remind me." Anyway, we have had some activity on our house, so that's good. We actually had three different people come look at it over the weekend and we may have another one coming tonight or tomorrow. We're trying to keep a positive attitude without getting our hopes up. So, hopefully we will have some good news to post in the near future. In the meantime, we'll try to enjoy our jobs (woohoo, that's a good one!).

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane

Jonathan and I have been married three years today! These past three years have flown by and it has been so wonderful. I am married to the most amazing man. I happened to come across a CD that my cousin made for me with some pictures he took at our wedding. Today was the first day I had even looked at it! I thought I'd share some of the pictures with all of you. What a beautiful day that was...

"Eye" Know He Watches Over Me

Here's the update on my eyes: I went to the doctor yesterday and he did a different test. He put this yellow goop in my eyes I guess to dilate my pupils or whatever. He told me that my pressure was lower, which is good. He said that if I'm going to get glaucoma, I'm going to get it--I can't prevent it. And you can't take medication until you know for sure you have it. So he told me that I have to get retested within the next six months to make sure everything's still okay. If my pressure goes up again, I won't be able to tell, as there are no symptoms of it. Jonathan and I are very relieved that everything is fine for now. Thanks to everyone who so diligently prayed for this appointment. It is so comforting to know that we have such wonderful prayer warriors lifting us up.

Prayer Request

We'd like to ask for your prayers for a concern that's come up. I went to the eye doctor last week and he had some concern about the level of pressure in my eyes being too high. He asked me to come back today to retest it, which I did. He is still concerned and so I have to go back for a third test Thursday afternoon. He wants to do some other tests on Thursday, too. It looks like there's a good chance I may have glaucoma, which is a serious eye condition that can cause blindness. There is no cure for it and any damage that is already done to the optic nerve cannot be undone. It is a lifelong condition that is treated with medication or surgery. Needless to say, I am very anxious about the results of Thursday's tests. Jonathan and I appreciate all of your prayers during this time.

Jonathan Athearn, M.A.

It's official--Jonathan is graduated and now smarter than ever. :) Graduation was wonderful on Saturday. Our families were here and the weather was beautiful--we couldn't have asked for a better time. We had a hectic weekend, as we had to travel to Michigan Sunday and come back Monday evening. My interview at Bethany was yesterday. The interview itself went well and they seemed really interested in me. The only problem is, I don't think I'm interested in them! The job is not at all what I thought it was and they told me straight up how stressful it will be. Plus, they asked for at least a two year commitment, which I'm not willing to do. So, it looks like I won't be working there after all. Thanks for all of your prayers, though. God just made it clear very early on that this was not a job that I wanted. I've experienced a job that I don't enjoy and the last thing I want is another one like that. Just please keep praying that Jonathan can find something and that I will have the wisdom to know what to do. I can't decide if I should look for a part-time job in social work, or a job in a completely different field. I just don't know where He wants me and it's hard not to worry. Now that Jonathan is done with school, the only thing holding us back is selling our place! If we can just get that sold, we can move to Michigan and hopefully have an easier time of finding jobs. It's going to be a wild ride, that's for sure!

One More Day!

It's hard to believe that Jonathan graduates tomorrow. We are soooo excited and I know he's ready to be done. Thanks to all who have so faithfully prayed for Jonathan. All those papers, exams, and internships are finally done! Now we can look to forward to better things...like paying off those student loans. It doesn't get much better than that!

The Big 2-6

So Jonathan turned 26 last week and he's feeling a little old. We had a party for him and had all our friends over to celebrate him being that much closer to 30. :) Last year I earned the "Greatest Wife in the World" award by getting my husband a PS2 for his birthday. I think I may have outdone myself this year. As you can see, Jonathan got a dome hockey game, which he loves. He actually found it at a thrift store and called to ask me if he could buy it for his birthday. I gave in and agreed, under the assumption that wherever we move must have a basement because it is so freaking huge! The dome hockey has brought Jonathan and I closer together as we spend many a night playing game after game after game of it. And, much to Jonathan's dismay, I beat him 75% of the time! What can I say? I was the captain of the dome hockey team in high school. All in all I think Jonathan had a fabulous birthday! As a side note, we want to congratulate our friends Adam and Tonya on the birth of their first baby, Aiden, last Friday. He is such a cutie pie! Now the baby bug is REALLY strong for us--or for me at least! :)

Great News!

We finally have some news to share! I applied for a foster care case manager position at Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids and they have set up an interview with me!! It is scheduled for Monday, May 8 at 4pm. We really appreciate all of your prayers for this! I have heard wonderful things about this agency and I would love to get back into the foster care field. I really miss working with kids. We're so excited about this possibility!

I Don't Get It

Why isn't Jonathan getting any interviews? I mean, he's dressing the part of a professional counselor. I just don't get it....

Lets Go Fly A Kite

We had an enjoyable Easter weekend in Indiana with my family. It was good to get away and just relax for a few days. The weather on Friday was windy and warm--perfect for kite flying! We had a fun time doing that. Less than three weeks until graduation! We'll see what happens...

Where Do We Go Now?

Our question exactly. Does anyone even read this anymore? Oh well. :) So Jonathan graduates from Wheaton in less than a month now and we are feeling the pressure. No luck so far on a job for Jonathan (though he's applied at every possible place in southwest Michigan). So now I'm beginning to look for a job and see if I can have any luck. We still have not sold our place, though we have had a lot of people looking at it. Obviously, without jobs, we have no idea what area to look for a house in, so....things are getting a little stressful around here. Now Jonathan is trying to figure out what other states he will be licensed for in case we aren't successful in finding one in Michigan. Please just keep us in your prayers during this time. We are trying to remember that God is in control but it can be very difficult at times. But isn't that what life is all about? Learning and growing. And we are certainly experiencing that!! :)

It's Been A While

So, we know it's been a while since our last post. We've been keeping busy with various things. Jonathan had a productive day yesterday, sending out more resumes and applications and making more phone calls. Still no real leads yet, as far as any interviews or anything, but those will come in time. I officially notified my job that I will be leaving in early May (man, did that feel good!!). We haven't had any more offers on our condo yet. We are confident it will sell, though, at the right time and for the right price. God is good and He will provide.

Going Once, Going Twice...

Here's a little update on the condo. We've had two people come look at it and both seem very interested. The first guy called us about 10 minutes after he left and made us an offer. Unfortunately, his offer was WAY too low (as in, way less than what we bought it for two years ago!). He said he was still interested, though, and may give us a call back. The other guy who came gave us an offer on the spot that was not too bad. So, we're pretty excited. It's certainly not a done deal yet, but we'll see where it goes. Jonathan sent in another resume last week to a counseling place called New Life. He spoke with them on the phone this week and they sounded really interested. They should be calling him back next week and, maybe, Jonathan will get an interview set up! We appreciate everyone who is keeping us in their prayers during this stressful--but exciting--time!

For Sale

It's official! Our condo is on the market. Jonathan put the pictures of our place on-line today. If you want to check it out, go to www.forsalebyowner.com and look under the listings for Glendale Heights, IL. We are very excited to see how this goes! If you know anyone who's interested in a tiny (but cute!) place to live near Chicago, send them our way! :) More to come...

How Boring!

So, I thought our blog looked pretty boring with only one picture, so I'm basically just adding this post to put more pictures on. :) We've got some pictures of our Christmas party. Numbers were a little low this year, but we still had a blast. Jonathan stole the "Probe" game from Adam, who was (obviously) crushed. We still have yet to play Probe...just reading the back of the box is entertainment enough!



We've got a picture of Jonathan at the Red Wings game against Chicago--that was so cool! The Red Wings were down 2-0 with less than 40 seconds left in the game and came back to tie it. Then, in overtime, they shot the winning goal with .10 seconds left on the clock. Unbelieveable! You had to be there to truly appreciate the insanity of it all. (By the way, the picture was taken with about a minute left in the game, when the Red Wings were still behind--hence Jonathan's depressed face!). And we threw in another picture of Peyton because she's our baby and she's just so stinkin' cute!

Things Are Coming Along Well

I know it's been a while since our last post, but never fear! Jonathan had a very productive Valentine's Day and was able to send in a couple more resumes and make some important phone calls. He is well on his way to finding a job! All of the places he is calling are around southwest Michigan. He hasn't heard anything back yet from the other places, but that's okay. We are also in the process of preparing to put our condo up for sale! We are doing some research to figure out how to do it by owner rather than go through a realtor and have to pay all of those fees. Hopefully, Lord willing, our place will sell quickly, but not so fast that we have to get out before we're ready to! So things are coming along with us. We are really excited for this next step in our lives!

Another One Bites the Dust

Good news! Jonathan filled out another application today. He is sending in his resume along with the application to Pinerest, which is another Christian counseling agency in Michigan. Pray for guidance now because he is not sure where else to apply. Also, we may be putting our condo up for sale this month, so that is a huge thing as well! Only 93 more days until Jonathan's graduation! (I think I'm more excited than he is about it.)