Names....

After months of looking up names and coming up with NEW names, and then, coming up with even NEWER names...Wil and I have COME together and decided a name for this baby boy growing inside me! I felt the need to blog how it came to being...

Before Wil and I found out we were pregnant, we had two boy names picked out that we liked. Then, when we found out we WERE pregnant, we brought in books to look for MORE names....BUT we always went back to those two names. One being Easton, and the other being Phillip. As time moved on, I realized I wanted to name our children after someone in our family, and Wil wanted to name our children "hunting" names. We both decided that we wouldn't "pick" a name until we found out if the baby was a BOY or GIRL. So the day came...when they told me it was a boy, I felt something inside of me that felt that Wil was to name this baby. So, when we got into the car, I told him that he could pick out the name. His choice. He looked at me and told me, "Let's name him Easton." And so...Easton it is.

Easton Paul Nolt...

Since then, I have fallen even MORE in love with this name. (and the baby growing inside of me!) But, I was kind of sad about the meaning of his name. FROM THE EAST or FROM THE EAST TOWN. But, in the last few weeks, God has shown me how special this name really is. God reminded me that the Wise Men were from the EAST. AND, they followed the star all the way to Baby Jesus. Just like those Wise Men, I'm to pray that my Easton, will ALWAYS follow the star...and always live for Jesus his whole life. Even if sometimes he doesn't know WHERE he is to go...just like I'm sure those Wise Men felt it was foolish some moments to be following a STAR for weeks at a time, I'm praying Easton will always follow Jesus all the days of his life. I also found it funny that where he will go to school and church is WEST of our house. AND, so, he is from the East....(kind of) in regards to the church.

I'm excited to meet this little guy. And can't wait to tell him about the Wise Men...and how they were from the East...and how they followed that star!

He's been faithful to me!

7 years ago, I graduated from North Central University. 6 quick months later, my 1st student loan was due. While writing out the check, I kind of got excited, I was living in the "real world" like an adult.

Soon, two months went by and paying the student loans were old. I remember sitting on my bed, at my Aunt Lois' house writing out my student loan check, and realizing I had about $14.00 dollars left in my account. Tears ran down my cheek as I realized that I had NO money. I cried, and cried, and cried. The stamp hardly got on the right spot due to my tears. Begging God, I prayed He'd send me money. I put my checkbook away (no need for it since 14.00 wasn't going to take you places) and still crying, I started to pray. Nothing changed. No money in the mail. No one handed me money at church the next Sunday. And slowly, the month rolled on by.

The next month came, and once again, I got out my checkbook to pay my loan. Again, just like the month before, I cried and cried when I realized I had 20.00 in my account. As I sat on my bed, I once again, cried out to God about my finances. I told Him everything...about how I had given my life to Him as a Christian School teacher and how I was making mere pennies compared to my friends in other schools. I also asked Him...IS THIS the way you are going to treat your child who has given her life to you? (I was quite worked up at this point!) AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID!

In a voice that was a peaceful as ever, He said, "Rachel, you are my child. You keep paying your bills and I will ALWAYS provide. You may not have millions in the bank, but you will always have a little portion left over. I've got everything under control. Next time you pay your loan you THANK ME that there is enough money to PAY IT!

Then, in a PS to God, I said, "Please God, help me pay them off by the time I'm 30!"

Drying my eyes, I got up...grabbed that bill and said aloud, "THANK YOU JESUS FOR ALWAYS PROVIDING!"

The years have gone by quickly. Some months quicker than others, and in those 7 years I've always had money to pay my loan. With GREAT JOY I'd write the check, because God had enough money in the bank.

TODAY was a day I'll never forget. Dec. 2nd, tonight, right before church, and 4 days before my 31 birthday, I paid off the rest of my loan. As I paid it online (life changes in 7 years!) I cried tears of JOY that not ONCE in my 7 years did God ever leave me. I NEVER thought my loans would be paid. OR, I'd be 80 before they were done...BUT, I did go back to that 24 year old girl, sitting on her bed crying out to her God about her finances. He heard me...and what an honor it is to serve HIM!

YES, I am proud that they are paid. BUT what I'm rejoicing over is God's faithfulness. It was such a hard lesson to REJOICE when the money was there...and to TRUST HIM for 7 years NOT KNOWING WHEN they would be paid off...BUT God always gives GOOD gifts to HIS children.

GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS!

Sitting here...waiting.

Today I jumped out of bed. (well...not REALLY jumped due to a growing belly...) but for me and the state of my belly...I jumped. BECAUSE, my baby sister and her husband are coming home TODAY! When I woke up I realized that it would be 12 hours before I saw them. 12. Not fun, but 12 it was.

I've been waiting ALL DAY and now...we are down to 3 hours. CAN.NOT.WAIT.

Lib and Ike will be seeing Tristan for the 1st time.
They alsi will be seeing my growing belly for the 1st time.

So many 1st and so many memories are going to be made this week!

I LOVE THANKSGIVING WEEK!

Why marriages fail...Isolation vs. oneness

Last night, I skipped the 1st session because it was a sad way to start off a blog. Today, I feel I need to go back and share with you all about why marriages fail.

Here we go!

Threat #1: Difficult adjustments.

Contrasting backgrounds:

Values: Not moral values, but values in general. The example they gave was the speaker's wife grew up in a Pastor's family. They valued relationships and their church. He grew up as a farmer turned contractor. They valued hard work and getting jobs done. So when they married, they both had different values and had to work through them. Another example: hand shakers vs. huggers. Wil and I laughed hard on this one cause his family HAND SHAKES and my family HUGS. Something we both had to get use to when meeting our families!

Others include: Vocations: Religion: Finances: Family History: Past relationships: Painful experiences
Differing expectations about marriage: Roles, expression of love, Sexual performance, Plans for the future...All of them can cause difficult adjustments!

When couples fail to make necessary adjustments to move toward oneness, the result is isolatoin.

Threat #2: Our culture's pattern:

Our culture's pattern is 50/50. You do your part, I'll do my part. This is designed to self-distruct because, ONE you focus on weaknesses of your spouse.

Threat #3:Inevitable difficulties:
There is a failure to anticipate the certainty of difficulties and problems.
There is a failure to respond properly to difficulties and problems.
DIFFICULTIES DO NOT MEAN SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOUR MARRIAGE!
The speaker told us he had 3 sons. One of his sons was married and now he and his wife have gotten a divorce. What a difficult thing for FAMILY LIFE speakers to GO THROUGH! Yet, even though it was a difficult thing, and I'm sure they were heart-broken that they couldn't help their son and daughter-in-law, they didn't let this difficult situation ruin their marriage.

WHEN COUPLES FAIL TO GRASP GOD'S PERSPECTIVE ON DIFFUCULTIES AND PROBLEMS, THE RESULT IS ISOLATION.

Threat #4: Extramarital affairs:
An E/A is an escape from reality or a search for fulfillment outside of marriage.
There are several different kinds of affairs:
Activities affairs: being too busy
Materialism affairs: riches OVER relationship
Career Affair: Your job comes before your wife or husband
Family Affair: You put your kids 1st, above your spouse
Fantasy affair: Sexual, Pornography, or romance novels (Wishing your spouse was like_____)
Love affair: which really is LUST!

We are seduced by our culture into believing that we deserve complete fulfillment and perfect happiness.

WHEN COUPLES ESCAPE TO EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS, THE RESULT IS ISOLATION.

Threat #5: Selfishness
We ALL tend to be self-centered and that is destructive to our relationships. Our culture today promotes and encourages selfishness. Selfishness robs our relationship of its romance. We then, being selfish, become critical of our spouse's weaknesses, mistakes, or failures to meet our expectations. Our selfish nature even seeks to justify our rejection of our spouse.

WHEN HUSBANDS AND WIVES ARE SELFISH THE RESULT IS ISOLATION.

What threat that has had the biggest impact on your marriage?
Difficult adjustments
Our culture's pattern
Inevitable Difficulties
Extramarital "affairs"
Selfishness

As I said, we started with this session and I will be QUITE honest, when they started with this session I was SO SAD they'd start with a "downer" and not something more uplifting. SO I kind of tuned out here and there. BUT, last night and today, reviewing my notes I LOVED this session so much more cause it gives me ideas of WHAT to LOOK for in my own marriage to make sure we are NOT falling into one of those threats!

My next W2R session...Unlocking the mystery of marriage!
See ya next time!

Weekend to Remember

This weekend my husband and I attended Weekend to Remember through Family Life out of Little Rock, AR. OH man, did we have a GRAND time. Let me set the stage...

A getaway, just the two of us, in a Marriott Hotel. Lovely. A weekend, DIRECT focus on our marriage? Where do I sign? I LIVE for these weekends. Love EVERYTHING about them. Open communication...start sharing. I couldn't wait!

Call me dorky, or a teacher, but I LOVE getting "homework" to do when it comes to communication. LOVE.IT.

Fast forward to two hours ago, (I promise we WILL GO back!) I went online to the weekend to remember site and even clicked on the "AFTER THE CONFERENCE" link to see what I really needed to do. Yes, I did. They told me to journal about what I've learned so it sinks in deeper. PERFECT. Bring on blogger...that way, others can read my thoughts on this weekend.

So here we go!

Going back, to Friday night...they started us out with WHY MARRIAGES FAIL. ISOLATION VS. ONENESS. Kind of a depressing start, but worth learning about.

The next session was about CAN WE TALK? Oh man, I think I smiled through the whole thing. Cause this was and is everything I'm about when it comes to my marriage. I feel LOVED when Wil and I have deep conversations.

Basicly, there are 6 different communication styles. (You may have more than one!) Try to find yourself and post which one are you!

LAND THE PLANE! Just trying to find the shortest path to the goal. Destination...is the goal!

ENJOY THE RIDE! Might as well relax adn enjoy the ride. The trip is what it's all about.

SHARING YOUR FEELINGS! They feel DEEPLY about what they communicate. Emotions are part of thinking.

JUST THE FACTS! Set aside emotions for logic, reason, and fact. Emotions interfere with good thinking.

THINKING OUT LOUD! They ask questions, make comments as soon as the thoughts occur...even when the other person happens to be talking at the time. Conversatoin is a group activity.

LET'S TAKE TURNS! Use the principle of justice and fair play to govern communication. First you talk, then I talk.

When it comes down to communication, you have two types...FACT and EMOTION.

What I learned through this is...Always respond to emotion WITH emotion, and fact with fact.

Meaning, if your spouse comes to you and starts talking FACT about something, RESPOND with FACT. If it's emotion they start with, respond with EMOTION. Not just, "Oh."

They did say, that most of us in marriage married the opposite of ourselves. For instance, Wil is a LAND THE PLANE communicator and I am a ENJOY THE RIDE communicator. I share more emotions...and he shares more fact. :)

So, WHEN that session was over, the FUN began! WE HAD a PROJECT! HOMEWORK for our marriage! OH man, living my dream! We had about 30 mins. to do our project. 1st we were NEAR each other, but had some individual questions to fill out and then, we had questions to ask our spouse and to talk about our dream for the weekend. Man, oh man, was this a dream time for me...BECAUSE, at the beginning of the session, they had us take 1 sec. to identify WHO was the TALKER in our relationship. (ME) They told us to have the TALKER to talk less and told the non talker to talk more. I LOVE IT!

The project was fun. I will say, that our 1st project was just kind of surfacey and facty. Basic. BUT, as the weekend went on...we got deeper and deeper.

After that, Friday night was over. Just like that. But what a great night it was!

Promise there will be more posts about Saturday and Sunday later. Right now, I just want to review my notes on Friday night and get the weekend's thoughts deep in my heart!

Blessed beyond measure!

Today I helped package 14 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Our Christian School raised money and brought gifts for 8 boxes...ONLY they went ABOVE and BEYOND 8and we had enough gifts for 14! I was so blessed by all the giving!

It also got me thinking about how blessed WE are. Here is a SHOEBOX...full of mostly Dollar General gifts and this is ALL they will get for Christmas. OR, it could be their ONLY gift for the year. My heart was sad...to think that I get "shoeboxes" full of things ALL THE TIME. I can run and get FOOD ANYTIME I want. Recently, I've needed clothes (due to a growing baby boy inside of me) AND, when I needed them, I went and got them. Trust me...they are bigger than a shoebox.

We can be so selfish and look at things we don't have. We can envy others and want to be in their place. Now, I realize that people struggle with money, and trust me, I lived off of a CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TEACHER'S paycheck for 7 years. I KNOW tight budgets...Yet, God blessed me. I'm rich...not in my bank account...but in life. My dad is still living all because my brother gave him a kidney. RICH! My sister, Libby and her husband, Isaac, got to a University that they BOTH ADORE. RICH! My sister, Beka and her husband, Zach, just became homeowners and have the SWEETEST baby boy, Tristan that I love so much. RICH! My mom is living her dream of being a wife, mother, and grandmother and now writing childrens' books...something she is amazing at. RICH! Wil and I FINALLY found each other. We have a baby on the way and fall more and more in love with each other daily. RICH!!

So, tonight, as I sit in my house all warm and feeling blessed, I'm reminded of ALL I HAVE to be THANKFUL FOR and I wanted to share with my friends.

What has God blessed you with this week?

It's a boy!!!!!!!!!!

The results are in...


So happy to welcome Baby Boy Nolt! Name soon to come!

Wil and I are so excited! I just want to go shopping and get everything we need! But, I'll wait!