Update on the last 6 months

JUNE 

-Middle School Choir trip to Arkansas. Jacob does an amazing job of leading these kids each week. He gets the opportunity to share the Gospel with them many times throughout the year and does a great job teaching them how to read music.

-We celebrated our 2 year anniversary! On the actual day in May we went to  the Fort Worth Zoo and walked around Sun Dance Square then we took a trip in June to Memphis. We went to Sun Studios (where Johnny Cash and Elvis  recorded music)

JULY

-We ran a 5k which started us on the track to train for a half marathon.

-We celebrated the 4^th of July by inviting couples over from our small group. We grilled lots of yummy food and wrote down things we were thankful for. (which was how we found out some of our friends were expecting!)

-We went to a wedding.

-W sweet couple from the choir invited us to sit in their suite at a Texas Rangers game. It was awesome.

-Our niece, Emmalynn Rae, was born on July 31^st. She weighed 3lbs and is pretty awesome =)

AUGUST

-We did a lot of relaxing and enjoying free time we knew would be coming to an end soon. (I read A LOT)

-BTCL started up for me August 23^rd and school started for Jacob on the 22^nd. 

SEPTEMBER

-School, Work, BTCL and Middle School Choir all started full force. Life started getting very busy!

-I went to a marriage conference our church put on. We are blessed to have the opportunity to learn so much where we are!

OCTOBER

-Middle School Choir sang at the Fall Festival.

-LOTS of school, work, and BTCL… not too much excitement.

NOVEMBER

-Jacob attended a Worship Conference in Frisco.

-We ran our first half marathon together!

-We got to visit Emmalynn, Lindsey and Derek in Little Rock over Thanksgiving!

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this semester. I made a paper chain this summer to count down how close we are to finishing seminary. Remember when we moved to Texas we had 3 years ahead of us and my last blog talks about how close we are to the 1 year count down. I am about to tear off another month and that means our countdown is down to 5 1/2 months! We continue to be blessed by God in every way. All the time, God is good.

The Simple Things

I thought about naming this post “Things I Love About Denton” but then I realized some things on my list aren’t restricted to Denton or even Texas for that matter they are just little things that I thank God for. The things in my life that I get to count as blessings because God loves me and shows me that in the little things daily. (Jacob also knows I like the little things and he is constantly trying to think of ways to love me in the little things. Just another way God has blessed me, but in a big way.)

-     Fiddler On The Roof… Last week Jacob and I got the opportunity to see this play at the local Denton Theater (or is it ‘theatre’) It was so much fun to watch a local show with people we knew performing. My favorite part though? Seeing all the people we knew in the audience! I love that we have a community of believers in Denton that we share life with.

-              -Wedding Shower…The same weekend we went to the play I attended a wedding shower. This is on my list for basically the same reason above. I think I knew all but a handful of people there and what a blessing it was for me to see God use us to bless the bride and her soon to be husband. We didn’t play any typical “wedding shower games” instead we enjoyed each other’s company, talked to others about what God is doing in our lives, and lastly we circled around the bride and spent time in prayer over her marriage and their future working for the Lord. What a sweet time!

-          SAMS Samples… Well I warned you in the title, this is about the little things. One of our favorite Saturday activities is to go SAMS and just walk around. But Saturday is like a bonus because you walk around and then get free samples! (Yes it is worth it to have a SAMS membership) I love being married to my best friend because it means I get to do everything with the person I love and it makes everything fun and enjoyable. Even things I am not fond of, like grocery shopping, I can be guaranteed a laugh if I am doing this WITH Jacob. He is for sure the best husband in the world. I still can’t believe how lucky I am that he chose me.

I think James 1:17 is an appropriate verse to leave you with because without my Heavenly Father I would not be able to enjoy the little things. =)

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (NASB)

Feels like home

     Before I even start let’s just talk about the fact that it has been almost a whole year since I have updated. I acknowledge it. And I choose to blame it on the fact that we don’t have kids… not much to update except for the ins and outs of work and school. (Okay and I blame it on my own procrastination.) 

     The title of this entry came to me, I am little embarrassed to admit since I am just now writing this, in the fall. I was out running errands one Saturday while Jacob was busy at the church (I think) and I found multiple places in our new town without the use of a GPS. We have lived in Texas almost 2 years but have only live in Denton since late July. Not long after that Jacob made a statement of how much more Denton feels like home than our previous town of Lewisville did. Denton has been such a blessing to us! We love our house, which is a blessing in itself from how we found it, to our wonderful landlords, to how close it is to the church. Being near our friends and church family has been another blessing. We love the fellowship we have found at Denton Bible and living close by has made a huge difference. It also has a smaller town feel that we both love. We know we are in God’s will and pray that we stay in it always. 

     I am thrilled to announce that Jacob will be graduating from Dallas Seminary next May!! We are a few short weeks away from the 1 year count down. I will also be graduating the same day from BTCL (Bible Training Center for Leaders). This class has been an amazing experience and I can’t wait to share what I am learning with others!

     I am writing these last sentences to hold myself accountable… I plan on writing at least once a month. At this point in our lives I want to keep this updated for Jacob and I to look back on years from now. In the future I think it will be more for keeping our families updated on our lives. 

Psalm 46: 10a “Be still and know that I am God.”

New Blog Title

Before I even started this blog I have been trying to think of a catchy blog title. I wanted something that you got almost right away. Maybe you don’t understand immediately but then it hits you, Oh now I get it! Don’t get me wrong, I love “The Ray Family” mostly because of what it symbolizes (the fact that we are embarking on an incredible journey together and starting a family of our very own.) I ask Jacob all the time to be thinking of something cute and that describes us but he doesn’t take it too seriously. Although I will give him props the runner up… “Music and Munchkins” I had been throwing out random things like “Rambunctious Rays” (haha) and something about “Songs and Kids” when he said the music and munchkins one…music for him, munchkins for me…so cute right? But we kept thinking and last night as I was reading, “A life Well Lived” by Tommy Nelson (a verse by verse explanation of the book of Ecclesiastes) I came to the verses I have under my title and one finally came to me… “A Cord of Three”. Perfect. I love the new title and feel it is such a great description of not just him and then me but instead a description of our lives together and how God is an intricate part of us. Jacob and I can’t have a great marriage without that third strand- the most important strand. What do you think?

Philippians 4:19

I feel like there are so many exciting things going on in our lives right now I hardly know where to start. Jacob has officially finished his second semester of seminary (Friday) and his summer classes started today. Some break huh? My mom, Don, Colby, and Harmony all came up for a long weekend, it was the first time mom, Don, and Harmony have been able to visit us in Texas so we were thrilled to share our new life with them! We kept them busy too; a Frisco Rough Riders game, a DTS commencement (where my husband ROCKED btw, singing in the choir, men’s ensemble, AND a solo- what a stud) at Prestonwood Baptist Church, A sermon by Dennis Raney, Half Price Books, The Village Church, Twisted Root Burger Co, a tour of the DTS campus, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Denton Bible Church, El Fenix, a tour of our NEW HOUSE (more on that later), Mooyah, Grapevine Mills Mall, and Rockfish Grill..whew. I think that covers it. Please ignore all the eating places injected in that list lol.

About our new house… What can I say except God is good. His provision is more than sufficient, he pours out His blessings on us over and above what we could ever ask for. We will be moving mid to late July to Denton, TX. Our church is located there which means we are quite a bit. This is our very first house- wow! I will probably talk more about it the closer we are to moving (after all, we have 2 months.)

This Thursday we are heading to San Antonio for our 1 year Anniversary Trip. We are staying on the Riverwalk and are looking forward to relaxing and walking around just enjoying each other. Hopefully I will have some pictures to show when we get back. Taking more pictures is one of my goals for Year 2 of marriage, didn’t do so hot at it Year 1. So until next time, and with any luck some pictures =)

Attempt # 2

Okay, so funny story. I actually started this blog a year ago. Seriously, a year ago. I vaguely remember something about my mom telling me to journal every day (yea right), or maybe once a week, and then starting to make a website. Well I am about 5 out of 10 on skills it takes to run a computer so it was taking me a long time and I guess I gave up.

As we were approaching the big “1 year of marriage” mark, I began to hear my mother’s voice again and truly deep down inside I WANTED to start a blog but I guess because of my personality type (‘Sanguine’, don’t ask me to pronounce it but feel free to look it up) It is hard for me to get things done when other people are around because I would rather socialize than stay on task! Ha! What a thought. By the way, don’t ask Jacob about me getting things done at home. It really IS because I would rather spend my time with him not just be in the room next to him.

So, for the second time I googled “blogs” and when I clicked on the link, up popped our picture and the title *NewlyWeds*….cute and original I know. But remember it was LAST May that I had started all this blog stuff. I had completely forgotten about my first failed attempt but the reminder gave me the determination I needed to get this thing going. (Please Lord, don’t let me fail now that it’s official.)

Here is the quick update on our lives in Texas:

· Jacob is finishing his second semester at Dallas Theological Seminary. I couldn’t be more proud of my husband. He is one of the hardest working men I know. (And that is saying A LOT coming from a family of Gipson men!)

· He is working as the music ministry intern at our church- Denton Bible Church. His main responsibility is the Middle School Choir (7^th & 8^th Graders). The kids love him and it is so much fun watching him interact with them. It’s always funny when a joke falls flat because he references something from the 90’s and they were just being born so the sponsor’s laugh while puzzled faces looked back at us. Super Nintendo what? Fresh Prince who?

· I work at Carpe Diem Private Preschool. My class is “Transition to Preschool” or as I like to call it “Potty Training Central for 2 year olds”. I love being surrounded by children every day, although it can be exhausting at times. I am learning so much, the Lord is showing me how to be more patient and even at the end of a long hard day I know every morning will bring a smile when I am greeted by little beaming faces shouting “Ms. Haley is here!” followed by something completely random that they needed to tell me right away!

This is a little longer than I anticipated it being but I hope you enjoyed the first of hopefully MANY posting! We love you guys and pray for all of you.