Two.

This week as been a week like no other. From Jarrod being sick, to different opportunities and doors opening, the world is full of so many wonderful possibilities. I have been in a place where I wanted to know, what else is out there for the Bowman's? God has called 2 people to go and make a difference for the Kingdom of God.

I believe God didn't just call Jarrod and I to sit back and let our passions die. I believe when you get married, two worlds obviously collide. It's hard, but when you are both called, passionate about ministry, people and making a difference, our passions are so much deeper. A person can do anything, but when there is two, the world is at our finger tips.

We have learned and are learning that with our careers, we cant really say, we want to be here and there and all these different places... because when we do that, opportunities are limited. However, we like to take "The Blank Slate Approach". Meaning, God lead us. Allow us to trust so deep in his love, so we can listen. Where he leads us we are willing to follow.

"When you are called to a place, the calling will be affirmed in the other" -Dawn Meadows.

Greater things are coming..

CB.

If You Say GO!

I feel like I have been a blogging machine lately!! Today has been one of those days, where i am worn out, but thankful I had one of the most rewarding opportunities to invest in my students, and walk along side of one of my leaders tonight. I have been blessed with many ministry opportunities, that have challenged me, that have stretched me, but most of all ones that I look back and see just how much I have grown. Today was one of those days.

I feel like in the last year along, I have come a long way with my campus life/Skyline ministry. However, I still find myself thinking if I am in the right place, if I am doing enough, if I am called to be in OKC for the time being... all these things circle in my head each week.

I miss our families so much. I feel like one day, we will be able to experience life close to them. I keep reminding myself that God hasn't called us there yet.. that he is working an amazing masterpiece in mine and Jarrod's life. That he is saying, "This is where I NEED YOU!" I know he has a mission and a calling here and now for us, but i am so future minded, that I get caught up on where we will be within the next few years.

Tonight I heard a song that is a few years old, that spoke to me in a whole new way. It's called "If You Say Go" here are the lyrics:

If You say go, we will go
If You say wait, we will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can't be done
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
We'll gaze into the flames and look for You

I am learning to so content with where we are in life. It's a time to grow, to learn and to love. It's a time to dream and act. Its a time to either be depressed or find joy in life. If I go about each day wondering why things have changed, or wondering why I am not where I want to be, life is going to get dark. However, if i seek God in the here and now, and find his love and joy in my life currently, life is going to be so sweet that it is overwhelming. I am choosing to follow God. I am choosing to love the ones near and far, but most of all, I am choosing to serve him now.

If we need to wait, that is what we will do... If we need to move now, we will move our feet... If we need to do something challenging in order to trust Our God, we will. Knowing his ways are not our ways, and what he has in store for us is good and true, is comforting. I have a peace tonight that God is at work. He is doing amazing things, and all I need to do is trust, and follow.

Love radically,
CB.

Thank the Lord above for Pinterest && my Husband.

I have had a Pinterest account for almost a year now and I am admitting that it has taken me over.. AT TIMES! Over the past few weeks, I have been on there day after day to see what my friends pinned, what crafts I can do in my free time, but how I can dream about what we want our future house to look like with our little kiddos!

I love looking at different married women's ideas they have done with their husbands. I have gotten so many ideas lately, that I get so excited to add a new/creative piece to our marriage! Here are some ideas that have been so fun for Jarrod and I::

1. Nerf Gun Fight: An idea I saw is that when your hubby comes home from work, have a letter for him, and a nerf gun.. then warn him you have one too... we set some rules, but just laughing, and hiding from one another is just so much fun.. BEWARE, Jarrod got very competitive and hit me in the eye plenty of times!! :)

2. Memory Jar: Starting at the beginning of the year, if we had something funny, loving or just a wonderful memory together, we write it down and put it into a mason jar. So, on New Year's we will read our memories, and remember how we have grown in a whole year. :)

3. Each week, we ask ourselves 5 questions and write them down on our journal. We ask, how did you feel loved the past week?, what does your week look like? How can I encourage you next week? how can I pray for you? Each week, these questions have helped us understand one another, it has helped us grow, love more, but most of all, connect on a deeper level.

4. I did this cool little thing for him on Valentine's Day this year.. I had 12 envelopes and inside each one, I had a planned date that we would go on... Each month, was a date that related to that month or just a date that we never had the chance to do. It gives us something to look forward to as a couple!!

5. Tent Movie Night: Yes, we turned our living room into a huge tent made of sheets and blankets and camped out all night on our air mattress watching Disney Movies. It was so fun! :)

I have done a lot of other things that I found on Pinterest.. As much time and addicting as it can be, I have used it not to just make my eyes hurt and dream of things I might not ever have... I have used it to benefit my husband and I. I love looking a ways in which I can keep searching after his own heart, and vise versa. So, if you are married, dating, engaged, whatever it is, check out Pinterest and how you can keep having unique, fun adventures in your relationship!

Falling more inlove everyday,

CB.

3 years, baby,

Today marks 3 years that Jarrod and I have been together. I have loved every single second of being his girlfriend, fiance, and most important, his wife. Thanks babe for make the past 3 years so amazing. I love you.

a few thoughts from the MRS.

I am blessed to have the life that I do. Since being married for almost 8 months, I have realized just how beautiful life really is! I have learned that life is precious, that life is way to short to be mad about anything for too long. My life has been filled with so much joy in seeing what really matters in this life.

Since being so far away from both of our parents, we have needed to learn how to make our house, our home. I was telling Jarrod the other day that our apartment, finally feels like its ours. We have decorated as much as we can, we have made it cute, cozy but most of all, ours. It's such a great feeling.

With us being both future minded, we are dreaming and planning our lives together. We love looking at future homes together, we love dreaming what our little kiddos will look like, and who they will resemble. Where will we be in 5 years? in 10? in 20? it all seems so far away, but yet, it is so very close and our future is at the end of our finger tips. It amazes me, that in a few years I will become a mommy.. and he will be a daddy. I hope to raise our kiddos with so much love, support, joy and allow them to know how much Christ loves them. It just amazes me at how our lives have changed the last year in so many ways, but more so, how it will change in the years to come.

In the meantime, we will keep dreaming.. keep making our house our home.. and enjoy our loved ones, while we reflect on who we are and how much our parents and families have impact our lives.. Here is to the journey of being dreamers.

Check out the little Jarrod and Chelsie. ;)

For the record,
CB

What will YOUR word be?

Last year, I was challenged by my boss to pick a word and focus on it for 2011. My word last year was'TRUST'. 2011 was a year of firsts for me.. i moved to OKC my last semester of college, i graduated, i got married, i moved, i was learning how to live on my own with my husband and looking for jobs that would support the two of us. So, it was a year of worry, a year of new beginnings and a year of trusting in God knowing that he had and will always have a plan and take care of us all. With 2011, behind me, i can now look back and see how i did that year. Looking back, i know with everything inside of me, that i learned how to let go and trust God. Without him by my side, and putting people in my life, i would not have enjoyed 2011.. Whew..

Now, with that said, a few weeks ago, i decided to pick a word for 2012 that I would focus on, center all my goals around.. personal and professional, and a word that would allow God to work on me in such a way, that i will be transformed from the inside out.

That word is, JOY
Finding Joy in my marriage, my job, my students, family, friends, God...
Finding that Joy that only comes from God in every single situation in my life.
Allowing myself to feel and experience Joy so I can show others what God's JOY is all about.
With JOY, there is such an amazing freedom.
Being in the presence of God give us JOY and a PEACE and a LOVE for others and everything around us..

So JOY, I want to experience it to the fullest.

So what will YOUR word be for this new year?? What area will you focus on that will allow God to shape and mold you? Think about it..

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The JOY of the Lord is my strength,
Chels

From One Family to Another...

Last weekend, I had the chance to go see my family in Nashville. They obviously don't live there, they live in good ol' Nitro WV, but since I am in Oklahoma, we decided to go to Nashville to spend our Christmas together. It was a very fun and eventful weekend filled with lots of laughs and silly memories that I will have forever with my sister and parents as well. It did my soul well to see them and to get to spend that time with them, like everyone, we wish our time with our loved ones was a lot longer, but reality hits, we have to go our separate ways. It's my first Christmas in almost 23 years that I have not spent in Nitro.

Tomorrow I leave for Casper Wyoming to spend some time with Jarrod's family. We will be there for a few weeks because not only is it Christmas, my beautiful sis-in-law is getting married. :) i am so so excited for them and to finally have a brother in my life. :D I have never spent a Christmas with the Bowman's or as a BOWMAN! So, I am so looking forward to spending this first Christmas, not just with my hubby, but my new family as well. They have been so good to me, loving me and supporting both Jarrod and I. It is so nice and such a blessing to not just have parents who love me, but my in-laws who love me as well.

I seriously couldn't ask for much more. It gets hard at times being in a different part of the country than both the Hedrick's and Bowman's but it is so nice to feel their love no matter where we go in our lives. I want nothing more than to grow in love and life with my family. its so hard to be away from both of them, but i am reminded that when God calls us in ministry that sometimes means we are away from our families for a while.. not meaning we love them less or they love us less, meaning God is using Jarrod and I to make a difference and push back darkness where we currently are. Its hard to grasp sometimes, but the rewards of being in ministry make that time with family that much sweeter.

Merry Christmas my friends. May you feel loved by the ones you are surrounded by.
For the record,
Cb.

oh ps. Jarrod landed a job with Tate Publishing and I am so very proud of him. :)