Unemployment. Yes, I am being serious and no, I am not joking. I am sure that all six of you who read this little blog know that DJ was laid off in August. Let's be honest, the whole things was really all my fault. About a week earlier I had casually mentioned to DJ that it had been a really long time since we had been in a season where we really needed to trust in God; I was missing the nearness and peace and deepened trust that He brings in those seasons. Enter unemployment....You're welcome, DJ. But honestly, this season has been so good and so sweet. I truly believe that the Lord was preparing us for it and He gave us the peace and trust we needed to not only accept the news, but to meet it with excitement. Don't get me wrong; there are days of anxiety and fear and today happens to be one of them. But for the most part, we have looked back with gratitude on all the ways the Lord grew DJ in his last role, have found peace in who He is and what He promises in the unknown, and are looking ahead with excitement to see where He brings us next. The job search started off strong. DJ had three solid leads and received two job offers, both of which we decided to decline because they just weren't the right fits for our family in this season. Early on DJ had wondered if we would grow in trust and faith not because he was laid off, but because we would intentionally prolong unemployment and decline job offers all in blind faith that those weren't the things God had for us. And it is precisely there that we find ourselves. No leads this week. No interviews set up. Total uncertainty of what lies ahead. And yet, it is only because of the Lord that we can be in this season with such joy. In fact, I have a little too much of it. I am loving having DJ home. His presence here is just adored by all of us. Morning coffee dates? Built in help around the house all throughout the week? Father/Son dates? Naps for mom?! Yes please. Keep it coming. You know how when you were a kid, your parents would up your bedtime the week before school started to get you used to the school schedule? I swear I am going to have to kick DJ out of the house before he even gets a job so that I can get used to him being gone again. Otherwise I think his absence when he goes back to work will be a devastating blow. I just love him so much. Like, this much:
Fried Plantains. I love plantains. I have tried to make them several times in the past couple of years and I fail every time. Like burn them so bad they taste like rubber kind of fail. DJ's words, not mine. I don't know what the deal was, but I just could never get them right. But, guys! I tried again the other day and they were perfection. Here's what I did. I just put a fourth a cup of oil in the bottom of a skillet, stirred in some brown sugar, cut the plantains into one inch slices and sauteed them for just a few quick minutes on each side. Do it now. You won't regret it.
Hulu. I know, right? Where have we been the last lot of years? For the entirely of our marriage, me and DJ have binged watched shows on Netflix (except for Lost, which we watched on actual TV and was a total waste of my life). We've never had cable and we never wanted Hulu; why watch shows week to week when you can binge watch seasons at a time on Netflix?! Binge watching is a bit of a double edged sword though. Watching shows and movies is one our favorite things to do together, but it can also be a little bit of a time sucker and excuse for mindlessness when it comes to marriage, especially when you have littles and are flat out exhausted at the end of the day. And so, as of last week, I now love Hulu. We decided to do away with binge watching and just pick two shows to watch this season. Obviously we went with This Is Us and Designated Survivor... umm, hello, both are awesome. This means that instead of binging every night, we just have two nights a week that our shows come on and we can only watch one episode at a time. Ya'll, it feels like we are in the nineties again and I am a little bit loving the simplicity of it.
The First Fifteen. Have you guys heard of this?! It's a little bible study that I have grown to adore. You can subscribe here and a daily bible study will arrive in your inbox early each morning. It is short and sweet but full of deep truth. My favorite thing about it? It reminds me of God's personal love for me, Courtney, as an individual. The past five years of my faith have been more focused on God's love for and work among and use of the church body as a whole; how we were built for and thrive in community, how we are called to do life with and worship alongside the body of believers, how life with and among the church family is one of the primary ways that we mature in our faith and expand the people of God. Yes and amen to all of that. Those things are so very good and true. But I think that somewhere in all my exposure to that, I lost sight of the fact that God loves me. Like, me. All by myself. Courtney. He sees me, knows me, is mindful of me, and delights in me. How incredible is that? I just forgot. The First Fifteen has really helped me to remember and rest in God's intimate and personal love for me as his child. Incredible.
Waking up early. For the past few months I have started waking up at 6:00am and it has been such the best thing. I heard someone on The Happy Hour mention that the best advice they had ever received was to wake up for their kids instead of waking up to their kids. This is now the best advice I have ever received. Let's be honest... When the kids wake me up in the morning, it is just not a good day. It starts off on the wrong foot and I have a hard time bouncing back. But when I wake up at 6:00, I have time to work out, check email, drink my coffee and read my bible, and flat out do my own thing before they come bounding out of their rooms at 7:45 and let me just tell you, this "me time" is awesome. I love sleep, but sacrificing it to have some time alone without my little people is what I need to love them better throughout the day. Bring on the early mornings. I am loving it.
Kidless dinners! Okay, we actually just started this last night, but it was pretty great. So great that we are going to start doing it once a month. We put the kids down early, and then made dinner and ate it without them. By ourselves! Just the two of us! We made our favorite Indian dish (and yours too, I promise, go make it tonight) and watched Meet The Patels (super cute documentary) and all of it was just glorious. Especially the part about cooking in the kitchen with a glass of wine and jazz music and zero little people or toys or bikes in the kitchen for me to trip over. Glorious, I tell you.
And there you have it... some happy little things from me to you. What little things have you been loving lately?
