Well Hello! It's been so long since I've written last. Life gets so busy around Christmas time! After almost 7 long weeks, Ben left Alabama to come home this morning!! But, his truck broke down about 2 hours out, so his journey will be lengthened quite a bit.

Lame.

I bet he'll get in late tonight, though! In plenty of time for our anniversary on Sunday :) It's been a fun several weeks, full of wonderful friends and LOTS of craft projects to stay busy. But it's time for that boy to get home.

Since it's exam week number 2 here at U of H, the campus is mostly empty, and things are really relaxed at work! This has been a great blessing to me and my coworkers! It's been a good time to recuperate from the busyness, and begin processing what God has done, and what He continues to do. I'm grateful for breaks for that reason. Life is so crazy, it's good to stop and process every now and then. I'll give you a recap of what Ben and I have been up to in the last semester :)

Since earning his wings at Flight School, Ben has worked for his unit for the past several months. I'm so proud of him-- he is really hard worker, and very driven. I love that man! I've been helping at the BSM at U of H, working with students to put on different events to engage students who aren't followers of Jesus. In addition, I've gotten to meet with about a dozen precious young women regularly with the goal of discipling them/walking with them as they pursue God. This is by far my favorite part of this job. I really love each of these girls, and God has certainly used them to mold me and to draw me to Himself.
What else is new? We found a church a couple of months ago! I can't tell you how much our Sunday school class has meant to me as Ben and I have been apart. We feel really blessed to know such fun people, and we can't wait to get to know them more!

Until next time!
Julielle (and Ben)

It was SO GOOD to spend last week with Ben! We are excited for his course to be over in a few weeks! Christmas is soon, and I really can’t wait. I love fall and winter, and all that comes with those seasons. 

So, since we just spent time in the deep south of Alabama (arguably one of the best locations in the United States), it’s only fair to share with you one of the greatest highlights of our time together. 

Enter: McClelland’s Critters Zoo

One of our favorite things to do in life is to discover really random and entertaining places. It’s only normal to expect some southern greatness while in Enterprise, AL. This was no exception. 

When looking for something to do, Ben remembered a zoo that was highly recommended by our good friend Dillon Nutt.  It. Was. Awesome.  Thanks for liking cool and hilarious things, Dillon!

This wonderland is owned and operated by Aussies. How could it not be awesome? The fun couple who runs the zoo (which is in their yard) started it 17 years ago to help handicapped kids experience animals. Eventually they opened it up to the general public to help with expenses. This place is so fun, and hilarious. The next time you’re in  Banks, AL, check it out. You will not be disappointed.

Here are some gems from our experience.

                                                         First, my personal favorites:  eye contact with the animals...

                                                                                 The tiger didn't like eye contact.

                                                                                  The angry cow: priceless!

                                   This is the zoo owner, feeding a marshmallow to the black bear. With his mouth.

                                             And my personal favorite: I was fighting back the tears, can you tell?

                                                                                                  What a stud. :)

                                                                                          That's all for now!
                                                                                          Julielle and Ben :) 

Airport

Here I sit at the airport, headed to visit Ben! I can’t believe it’s already been 3 weeks apart, and we only have 4 more to go. God has proved Himself faithful over and over again, as He always does. It’s always a joy to me when I get to look back on life and see how God has used something to prepare me for something else, or how He’s continued some work He has started in me. In these past weeks, I have realized how very much God used Ben and my dating relationship to prepare us for our marriage. Because we were always long distance, always waiting until the next road trip or flight, this whole season of being apart is much easier. Thank the Lord!! 

Working at the University of Houston continues to be a rich learning experience. It’s so awesome that God does so much beautiful work in His children, and He longs for us to be a part of it- to walk alongside Him as He transforms people. I must say the most rich part of my job is getting to disciple several precious young women. I can’t wait to share stories from this on the blog. More later :)

-Julielle

From 10.30.11

Today was a sweet one. I feel that even in my selfishness and craving for time to do what I want, God spoke gently to me. I am being taught a lot (and slowly learning) about the value of time. I’m learning that the joy, growth and sustainability of love has much to do with time spent devoted to a relationship. This obviously applies to human relationships, so it makes sense that it would apply to the Maker of community, too! :) I love how God created us to be relational. Too often I focus my energy on human relationships, and put time devoted to God on the back burner. He is gently drawing me back to Himself, and reminding me of that. I want to spend this week making time to be with Him. 

This week, I’m taking time off to spend with Ben, as he is about to leave for a seven week training course. The time away from my job has been refreshing and restful! I miss the beautiful young women that I get to meet with weekly, but I’m excited to hear what God does in them while I’m gone. In my absence, I want to spend time daily making room to commune with God and be changed by Him. This has been a struggle for me as I want to be with Ben. Oh, how much I have yet to learn :) 

God is so loving in how He cares for us. Today we were driving and I saw a young boy (around 6 years old) who was seemingly paralyzed in some of the lower half of his body. He was dragging himself on a walker to his mother’s car. Once he got to the van, his mother picked him up in her arms and sat him to his seat. It moved my heart so much. This child had a huge physical disability, and his mother cared for him deeply. It struck me the tremendous opposition (specifically social) that awaits this precious child. It was so beautiful to see his mother sweep him into her arms. God does the very same with us. I want so much to fathom the beautiful picture of God knowing our disabilities, sins, insecurities, and brokenness, but choosing to carry us until the day that He fully heals us. He is the mighty Father. I pray that I will never forget that image. How beautiful our Lord is!

On a more trivial note- I’m weighing my commitment to Facebook! I feel like God has shown me some things that arise within me that Facebook provides the environment for. Two things in particular have stuck out to me. I’ll share these things because I feel like realizing them has given me some clarity- so please know that I don’t feel like these are universal issues. Facebook is a really fun resource. 

1. I love looking at people’s pictures and learning about their lives. While this is harmless, and a big part of Facebook, I find that it can produce a false sense of intimacy and closeness to people. 
2. More importantly, I’ve noticed that I can love and think on aspects of other people’s lives and ignore the beauty of my own. It has been so sweet to spend today letting the Lord remind me of the wonders in my life, my marriage, my home, etc., instead of fixating on other people’s lives. 

So- those are a couple of reasons why I’m going to spend much less time on Facebook- even though I love it! 

Until next time :)

Julielle

Hello!

Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. This is a new thing for me (Julielle), so I’m going to work at being faithful to keeping it updated! Our primary reason for starting this blog is to have an outlet to keep our friends and family updated on our lives. I began working as a Campus Missionary at the University of Houston in August, so I want to include the dear people who support me so that they know what I’m experiencing. We feel incredibly blessed to be surrounded by you all. I pray that you might be encouraged as we share what God teaches us! 

If any of you need prayer or encouragement, please let us know!

Julielle and Ben