an open mind and a calm heart

i don't know why i titled this blog posting what i did because my mind has been purportedly closed and my heart has had its most riotous moments in the last six days. however, my true desire is to have an open mind to what God may have for us tomorrow, and calm heart that trusts him in whatever he is doing.



with our interviews last thursday, jed and i both entered the weekend with extreme hope and excitement that our transition time might soon be ending. i'm sure that it will end at some point in time; however, the last few days have not gone how we were expecting them to go. the waiting game is not for the faint of heart as i have mentioned before, and i felt more than anything my affinity for faintness this last week. as jed and i talk and pray through this, the silly solutions that my immaturity comes up with continues to amaze me. here is my list of what would solve my restlessness (excluding the obvious job and home thing):



- a pedicure
- shopping spree for our new apartment
- shopping spree for new wardrobe for new (impending) job
- a massage
- an interior decorating project
- endless pastries or cheesecake
- catered meals everyday
- a pug



and the list goes on. fortunately, my sane alter-ego kicks in way before i ever get close to any of these, and should she ever fail me the issue of not generating any income would for sure stand in the way of the ones that should cost any amount of money. i'm sure jed's list is way simpler than mine. i would guess it would look more like this: endless pastries, a job, and a new apartment in God's timing. he's focused like that. although, were it football season i would be inclined to add "a super bowl stint for the eagles," but that's another story...



i got a call back yesterday (thursday) to come back in for a second interview at polytechnic institute of nyu on tuesday of this week, and i am so thankful for continued movement with that possibility! jed has not received the offer that seemed all but promised to him at his last interview, but he did get an email from the hiring personnel that said they are still interviewing candidates and that they would get with him in due time. apparently none of these people realize that we're hangin' on a thread, hoping to get an apartment by april 1st! we had kinda set a deadline for ourselves that if jed didn't hear about an offer today, then it would more than likely be either the middle of the month or even may 1st before we could look again.



there are several questions in our minds right now with our current situation. we need wisdom and help from God in knowing what he would have us to do.



- should we store our belongings in sc or continue to pay monthly rent?
- when should we start looking for an apartment?
- how can we be the most useful as we continue to remain in transition?
- how can we glorify God the most?



we want to remain solid in our faith and confident in our God, so our most ardent prayer right now is to know God and love him and others while taking one day at a time. in the meantime, we still love the city and are thankful everyday for our friends and family who are putting up with us. God has given much richness in his word and through prayer, we just need moldable hearts to be open to that wealth.





above is a shot from jed's birthday last month. we ended up going into manhattan for an evening of shopping, turkish food (yum!!), cupcakes, and a slurpee. fun times in the city.

thanks everyone for your love and support with us while we're going through this adventure! it's a fun ride made even more exciting with each of your comments and prayers.

date night

after a few weeks of going through the job hunt, jed and i took time tonight to have a date night and explore a bit. we'd been in the neighborhood right above williamsburg a couple times before and had liked the predominately polish area, so we decided to visit tonight for some real polish food and culture. we were definitely not disappointed!

jed's heritage is a mixture of russian and polish decent, so we were both quite intrigued with the people and places lining the streets. the restaurant we'd been recommended to was called "polonia," which after eating there we decided means "little heaven" in polish. :)

we ordered from a lady that spoke polish to everyone else in the joint (except us) since most of her constituency was polish. she was really nice.

we ordered a stuffed chicken that she claimed was one of her top sellers and we soon found out why. it was covered in a thick sauce (not sure what i would compare the taste to) and stuffed with perfectly tender yet crisp mushrooms. the entree came with two sides so we chose the red cabbage salad and sauerkraut.



the red cabbage salad was unreal. wow.

one polish/russian dish that we have always loved is borscht. they didn't have the traditional red beet borscht tonight, but she did have a white ukranian borscht that we tried.

it was really tasty and had small pieces of kielbasa and some shredded veggies, as well as a somewhat surprising addition of half of a boiled egg!

the other traditional polish food that we love is pierogi, and we got a nice plate of meat pierogies, sauerkraut pierogies, and cheese and potatoes pierogies. ahhhh.... so good!

let me tell you, this was one happy guy.

hopefully, this enticing food blog will coax some of you to come see us once we get our apartment. maybe another time i'll blog about the pastry shop we visited afterwards. i just didn't want to overload your visual taste buds.

jed and i both had very good interviews this week that we are hoping will be eventual jobs for us. mine was with polytechnic institute of nyu and jed's was with berkeley college. we realize that it all continues to be in God's hands, but we are very hopeful to hear back from them early this week. thank you for continuing to pray!

no news is...no news

it's been awhile since i've updated on our brooklyn situation, so i think today is a good day for that. when i say our "brooklyn situation," i'm referring to the part of our lives where we're looking for jobs and eventually an apartment. jed and i both continue to have movement with our resumes as recruiters have been calling us and interviewing us, which is quite encouraging still. i had my first actual job interview on wednesday and i'm waiting to hear back from them on whether or not they will hire me. jed has a possible job opportunity from a connection with a friend here in new york, but it's still a newer opportunity that he hasn't had a chance to interview for yet. the opportunity that he had with sanford-brown institute (the one where he went through all four stages of the interview) is no longer a possibility. he was very close to being hired, and then they closed down the position he was interviewing for due to budget reasons, so we're believing that this is protection from God for something that may not have been best.

while both of these opportunities would be significant blessings to us immediately, we continually rest in our God who promises his best for his children right when the timing is best. we are still living with our friends, the craftons, which continues to be a huge means of grace to us. plus, we get the entertainment of a two-year-old at our fingertips! and let me tell you, the entertainment is nothing short of hilarious. another plus of being in the northeast is having two of jed's siblings nearby in eastern pennsylvania. we stayed with his sister for a little over a week before coming back to brooklyn last tuesday. we're very thankful to have such support from both friends and family!

we are so thankful to be in the city we love, and we continue to ask God for help and strength and wisdom for one day at a time. we'll try to get jobs as soon as possible so that we can then get an apartment so that then we can be set up for a continuous flow of guests. until then, thanks for praying.

greater things

our dear friend and fellow brooklyn addict, stephen o'bryan, has recently started a new blog to expose needs around the world, mention worthwhile information concerning current topics, and stir awareness about what God is so awesomely doing around the world through believers and unbelievers alike. check out his blog here and feel free to encourage him in this endeavor for Christ.

a lot of times we go through each day not really aware of what's around us, or worse yet taking for granted the common grace that we all receive through Christ, so we appreciate what stephen is doing and hopefully some of the zeal will rub off on us.

it's all good

today is day number thirteen in brooklyn, and it's day number thirteen of loving the city. each day we have grown more aware of why God would bring us here, and we continue to be thankful for the change even though it's been...well, change.

i've always silently preached at the stereotypical older person who can't bear even the most minute sign of change in life, and now i am humbled to realize that i fit somewhat into that category at the ripe age of twenty-seven. after living in one place for five and a half years, we grew so very comfortable and attached to the habits we lived and the comforts of familiar people around us. at the same time, we kept telling ourselves that our suburban life was over soon and we couldn't wait to get to the city.

and now it's day thirteen, and we're finding out what change means. 'round about day three or four, change was feeling quite odd. but day thirteen has brought about the true ease of change in all its splendor and glory. nothing has been unbearable about our move; our wonderful friends and city comforts have made the transition flawless, and we thank God for them. it only takes a small amount of time for new to become old, and because of the prayers and love of people i think that time frame was made smaller.

we are still without job and home, but we're trusting that he will give them to us in the right time. it's been deliciously cold for the past 13 days, and coupled with the decaf americanos and zucchini raspberry chocolate chip muffins, the move has been made easy. we're so thankful that God has helped us over the last thirteen days and that he's given us peace, comfort, help, and strength. we've needed it all!

saturday is jed's birthday, so we'll be heading out to see family in eastern pennsylvania for the next week to job hunt from outside the city and turn the celebrating into a week-long event. even though we've been here for just under two weeks, we've already mentioned this morning how it's going to be weird not being in the city we love.

thank you everyone for your prayers and love. keep praying! jobs are right around the corner...

craziness is good for the soul

i was hoping to get the next post done right away with pictures and all kinds of entertainment, but our laptop hasn't arrived yet so maybe next time. life since last wednesday has been so incredibly different than what our comfort zone has defined for us for the past 5.5 years! that's a good thing, considering that we really believe this is where we are supposed to be; but for habitual human beings that continually seek the most comfort, it's an odd time for us. we're learning that comfort isn't exactly the nirvana of life. although, we have so many family members and good friends who are attempting to make life as settled as it can be right now through their prayers and tangible gifts and love for us. what an awesome manifestation of God's grace to us so specifically! 

my last day at emediagroup was on wednesday, the 11th. thursday and friday were filled with packing up our home and readying all our belongings for the truck. financially and situationally, we decided it was best to keep all our things in our sc apartment until we can find work and an apartment up here. jed's dad has kindly offered to drive the truck up with our stuff, and many friends have offered to help pack the truck for us in our absence. what a blessing!

we arrived in brooklyn on valentine's day with way more luggage than many airlines allow (it took 8 bins for us to get through security) but without any extra fees. i'm sure we raised a small amount of suspicion, if not just providing a bit of jolly in some people's unhappy airport lives. we just tried to laugh as much as possible and soak in as much of the moment as we could. i'm not always one to live in the moment, and i wish i would more. i know that one day we'll look back on this time of unemployment and homelessness as a really neat time of change and grace in our lives. going through it though, it's best to take one moment at a time. 

we are staying with our dear urbanite friends dailey and michelle crafton until we can find jobs and an apartment. hopefully, that will only be a couple of weeks, but if not, others have offered to house us until we need it so we might be quite experienced vagabonds before long. jed has the final phase of an interview with sanford-brown institute today at 3pm. we're praying that this will be a great fit for him and that the interview process will soon be over, but we're resting in the fact that God's timing and wisdom is perfect for our situation. 

in reading over this, i realize that we may sound like the most insane people to step out on this tight rope without any tangible net under us, but let me reassure you. in the midst of craziness, we continually are looking back at all the events of the last 5.5 years of our marriage and we see each event as a direct arrow to this specific step. God has paved the way, he has given us strength for the moment, he has prepared not only us but those around us, and he has filled in where our hearts lack faith and strength and hope. the peace that he gives in each moment of doubt is strong, and the comfort he brings during this humanly crazy time is warm. we're praising him and our confidence is in his hand that will not let us go. 

on a lighter side, here are just a few observations in closing. 

 

*you're not cool unless you only shower about once every five days 

*car horns, car alarms, or sirens at all hours of the day or night should not actually be alarming

*public transportation rocks!

*whatever you can find to wear is fine to wear

*long johns are a must

*city life is so rad!

thanks for all your support, prayers, and love!

post-surgery, pre-move

much is floating through our minds these days. sadness in leaving all our greenville family and our first apartment. exhilaration for the new adventure ahead! uncertainty about what is next. security in God's protective and loving hand.


jed's surgery went well as far as the doctors accomplishing what they set out to accomplish in surgery. he ended up getting about four different procedures done on his back by the second best surgeon (out of several surgeons and doctors) at laser spine institute. we were amazed over and again at God's provision throughout the week with financial help, extremely useful education about jed's condition, comfortable accommodations, and even beautiful weather. we didn't realize this before we got there, but apparently there are only four facilities in the world that perform what was done on jed's back! we felt quite privileged to have had the opportunity to even go for this operation. God is so good! below is a post-op picture of a much-relieved wife and a significantly high husband. please continue to pray for jed's back. they won't know the total effectiveness of the surgery for about another 4-8 weeks while the nerves and discs take time to heal. it's crucial for him to rest and take it easy, but hello we're moving our lives in approximately 11 days! we just want to rest in God's great timing and continual love for us as his children. it's so remarkable!






we were able to relax a little bit in between trips to lsi and a regimen of ice, rest, sleep, walks, etc. it was a beautiful time of year to be there with clear blue skies and awesome sunsets. we made it to the sand once while we were there, and it was beautiful!





saturday afternoon was a bit monumental for us as well. after having grown out his "unemployment beard and hair" since right before thanksgiving, jed received his interview haircut and beard trim. he now looks more employable. one comment he recieved last week from his niece ellie was "uncle jed, you're very hairy" while she proceeded to brush his beard with a barbie brush. hopefully the next thing he hears is "you're hired!" thanks for praying with us.





thank you again to all of you who so lovingly pray and care for us. it's hard to swallow the amazement at how good he is to us through each of you.