A Surprising Bend in the Road

I received some surprising news at work on Friday. Last winter, we pitched to take on the entirety of one of our biggest accounts. (They had been using 5 other agencies in addition to us.) This would mean acquiring all 34 markets, instead of the 6 we had been working on. We lost the pitch to a large agency based in Los Angeles. However, they continued using us throughout the year. Last week they informed our agency that they decided to cut all ties now and move all work over to the winning agency. On Friday afternoon, my boss came in with someone from HR to let me know that we had officially lost the account and had to let me go. It was certainly a shock; I didn't see it coming at all. They also let another buyer go, someone who was partially retired from accounting, and a radio buyer who had basically left but still did work on the account for us. Also, all of the execs are taking pay cuts. I've spoken with the girls I shared an office with and they don't think the layoffs are over yet.

On Friday I was just angry, on Saturday I was apathetic, on Sunday I was depressed, and the last couple days I've been OK with it. It was strange yesterday not going to work, but to be honest, I'm enjoying the break! Work had me so wound up and stressed that a small vacation is really good for me. I already feel more at peace and back to my normal self.

I've wanted to leave DM for a while now, but I had of course expected that it would be on my terms. I wanted a new job but I loved the perks of working in media, and the girls I worked with had become good friends. Those two things kept me working for a company that I wanted to leave. I am grateful that God did what I couldn't bring myself to do. All in all, I'm feeling very upbeat and looking forward to starting something better.

Busy Times

August has been crazy busy. Not only the weekends, but weekdays as well. Weekend 1: Wedding and family vacation in Oregon. Weekend 2: ...I don't remember, but I know it was busy. Weekend 3: Camping at Alder Lake. We really enjoyed time outdoors and with friends, but between noisy teenagers and thunder at night and inconsiderate crows in the morning, we didn't sleep much. Weekend 4: BSF training Saturday morning then immediately off to the Oregon coast again for a family reunion. Weekend 5: PAX. Thanks to the Olympics I have also been up late nearly every weeknight. Women's gymnastics are my favorite events, and of course those don't broadcast until 11 or 11:30 at night. Sometimes I think the universe is conspiring against me.

I had a slight freakout last week that I haven't had in a long time. Jonathan's sister is expecting, and as I began to think about how she'll share her entire pregnancy with family and friends and everyone in Oregon will be watching her grow, it made me think of how Jonathan and I will be on our own up here when it's our turn. We have friends to share it with, but it's not the same as family. I thought about how when I go into labor, our family may not even get up here until after the baby is born. Jonathan is certainly enough for me and I am content with him. I don't NEED to be with my family, but I wish I could be. However, we know God wants us up here and I am looking for peace in that. I'm learning how to pray for God's will to be done, and consequently for His will to become my will. Jonathan has been very encouraging and speaking God's truth to me in the midst of my confliction. I believe God speaks through us to encourage and teach one another. Just another amazing aspect of what marriage brings

We listened to Mark Driscoll's first sermon in his series Praying Like Jesus ( listen here) on our way to the campgrounds. I wondered, how often do I pray for God to get me out, and how often do I pray for Him to get me through? As I listened I began to understand how I can pray for what my heart desires, while still asking that His will be done. I can't explain it nearly as well as Mark can, so I encourage you to click on the link and watch or listen to the sermon. It's a difficult sermon about Jesus' pain as he prayed in Gethsemane, but it's totally worth it.

Drumroll Please....

.....Jonathan was offered and accepted a new job!!! The application and interview process has taken a few weeks, but yesterday he accepted an offer from Seattle Genetics, a pharmaceutical company just up the street from where he works now. He's had a bit of cold feet, but mostly because it's going to be a change and he didn't get as high a position as he hoped. However, they offered him the same salary and a bigger annual bonus than he's getting now, plus a sign-on bonus.

That's really the only news we have right now. The rest is the same old story. Now that he has a new job lined up, we can begin planning the next step, which is buying a house. This won't happen immediately. We haven't figured out a timeline yet, but knowing that we can start that makes us pretty excited. While we're enjoying being in the moment, we also look forward to the future.

This weekend we're heading down to Oregon for a wedding and visiting his family, and a vacation at Seaside with my family. This trip was originally supposed to be for all the family to be together and take a break with Grandma. It's certainly taken a different course since April. Now, it's more a time for us to be together as a family and remember her, and enjoy each other's company without the fresh burden of Grandma's death. I LOVE the beach, and although it may be freezing (even in August), I'm excited to be there.

On a lighter note, I got a super cute pair of shoes today!

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love to shop. Clothes, shoes, bags, gifts, whatever; I love it. I was like a kid in a candy store last weekend when the Southcenter mall reopened, with the first H&M store ever in Washington. A brand new store with brand new clothes and accessories that I had never seen before. A legion of other people must have had the same idea, because it took for-EV-er to get through that store.

Next on my list:

HOT. Can't wait to wear these.

The Great Debate

The City is a social networking site for Mars Hill Church, comparable to Facebook or Myspace but without all the silly apps and advertising. Recently, pastor of the Bellevue campus (where Jonathan and I attend) was interviewed by the Seattle P.I. (article) . Upon reading the comments by others who read the article, I felt a rainbow of emotions coursing through me: anger, disbelief, sadness, indignation, pity... the list goes on. So many hateful comments by ignorant people who think they know everything about Mars Hill, based on what they read and hear from others.

I prayed for grace and the ability to love those who slandered Pastor Jesse and the church, took a deep breath, and began to type out my own comment. Now, I am a highly emotional person. I realize one of my faults is responding very emotionally, which usually leads to remorse. This time around, God surely gave me the sense and wisdom to respond lovingly and gently, using logic and Biblical references to explain where the haters are mistaken. (You can read my comments on page 4; my username is "redvox.")

I've been able to engage in a level-headed, intelligent debate with a few other commentators. I am so thrilled at the chance to be bold and defend Christ in a way that I hope will respect others and prove to them that not all Christians are judgmental, hateful, hypocritical lunatics. Unfortunately, that is the widespread stereotype.

Please pray for me, that I may continue this discussion and be a glimpse of hope for those who have discarded the idea of Jesus and what he represents. Pray that I may have wisdom and discernment, and divine words.

There's blog about the article (read it here) that I've also engaged in. Feel free to join in, but please be respectful even to those who hate Christians and all we represent.

CREEEEEEEPY

Last night was a little warm in our bedroom so we had one of our bedroom windows open. Tigerlily loves to sit on windowsills, especially when the window is open. She knows when our bedroom window is open and paws at the blinds to try and get inside them. It makes a lot of noise, so we'll open them halfway to give her access and keep her quiet. We are on the first floor, level with the street. The complex is built into a slope so our bedroom windows are level with the ground in the back of the building. (Our living room is in the front.) We feel safe having the blinds up a little bit because there is only a mossy path running behind our bedroom and virtually no access. There is never anyone back there, and the complex behind us is pretty well blocked by trees.

Back to last night. Jonathan was sleeping and I was awake reading with my lamp on. Tigerlily started growling and hissing, then did the weird breathing thing cats do when they're trying to be intimidating. She does that whenever another cat is outside, so I didn't pay attention to her. A little bit later I turned off my lamp and laid down to sleep. Then I heard a crackling sound outside. Probably just the cat going away. But that sounds awfully loud to be a cat... Animals don't break twigs that loudly, do they?? I froze in fear and tried to look outside but it was so dark I couldn't see a thing. I shivered a little as I heard the footsteps move from the ground to the left of the window, across the mossy path and down to the right. They grew more and more distant until I couldn't hear anything anymore.

I am positive that there wasn't a cat or dog or any other animal outside our window. It was a person. With my lamp on, someone could see in but I couldn't see out. I have no idea how long they could have been there, looking in our window. That's probably what the cat was freaking out about too. Also, this isn't the first time we've had our window open and the blinds up at night. How many other times has this happened?? Who is the person hanging around outside our bedroom, peeking in at us?? I am totally freaked out. I was wearing a tank top and shorts last night, nothing slutty, but still, that is really creepy.

Whirlwind

Whew... It's been a crazy busy week. About 5 or 6 weeks ago, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. It hadn't ruptured, but it would require treatment to stop it from rupturing. After several consultations, she had a procedure done last Wednesday. They threaded a catheter through an artery in her leg up to her brain and inserted about ten platinum coils into the area where the aneurysm is. Blood clots will form in between the coils and in time the blood cell lining will grow over the ends of the coils to block the artery entirely. The amazing thing is that the brain can totally adapt to an artery being cut off. Isn't it crazy how God made our bodies to function after something like that??

After the coils were put in she had a really rough few days. She wasn't able to sit up on her bed until Saturday mid-morning and got out of bed to walk a few hours after that. Miraculously, she made huge progress between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, when Jonathan and his dad discovered that she had improved so much overnight that she could be released from the hospital and come back home. It's been such a relief - both for her and for us - to have her out of the hospital and recovering at our apartment. (They live in Dundee, OR.) So many prayers have been answered, and although her recovery has been tough, there have been no complications with the coils, which was the most dangerous part of the whole thing.

I had to leave everyone here with Mom and go down to Portland for a wedding I was in on Saturday. It was a huge challenge to leave; I wanted to be at the hospital with everyone and spend time with Mom. I left Seattle early Friday afternoon and returned Saturday evening. God definitely challenges us sometimes and we must push ourselves to fulfill our obligations. I certainly felt weak at times and felt like God was overwhelming me, but of course He will never do that. Call it another lesson learned.

God's Handywork

One of my best friends gave birth to a beautiful daughter last week. It was a long, hard labor, but she was a trooper and made it through. Aubrey is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. How someone can see new life, the intricacy of how we are woven, and then not believe in a Creator is beyond me.

My heart is overwhelmed with joy by the presence of this precious baby girl in the world!