Sedona!

Chase and I traveled up to Sedona for the day last Saturday! We left in the midmorning and drove to the beautiful town to hike up Bear Mountain. We knew it was a 5 mile hike round trip, but we had no idea how long that can seem when you are hiking virtually straight up! (ok... occasionally it was semi-flat...rarely though). At one point, after "phase one" as I refer to it, we saw a peak way off in the distance and concluded that there is "no way" that that could be the top because it was way too far away. But of course, that turned out to be the summit! I swear, the only reason why I am able to make it all the way up these hikes is because I never know where I'm climbing to, or where the summit is. So I just keep going until we reach the top. Although I straight up laid out on a rock a couple times because I was exhausted from climbing. The funny thing is, I was carrying nothing but myself. Chase wore a backpack loaded with water and a few snacks. It was extremely heavy (I tried it on...for a few steps...at the very end...on a flat ground). But we made it! Here are some pics:





6500 feet above sea level

hiking and other adventures

Arizona has been so beautiful to explore! Chase and I have started to hike a lot to see the wonderful views that the mountains here have to offer! Last weekend, we hiked up the McDowell Mountain range to a pass called Bell Pass. It was over a 7 mile hike round trip. It was so steep in some areas and was exhausting on the way back. The fun part is getting to the top and seeing the breathtaking views while relaxing. However, once that was finished, we had 3.5 miles to walk back. The last 2 miles where basically through the desert, and Chase and I hadn't rationed our water appropriately, even though we tried. We brought over four bottles! Now we know we need more, maybe one day we'll get one of those little backpacks that holds a gallon of water.

Tomorrow (or later today) we are driving up to Sedona for the day to hike in a canyon and see some red rock! Don't have much red rock in Phoenix. Eventually, we'd love to camp out a night. But that will take some gathering of resources. Right now, we only have a tent, although it is an awesome 4 person tent that we got as a wedding gift and we are DYING to use it! Some day!

Tonight we checked out the Arizona State Fair. It definitely was pretty similar to the Indiana state fair, except not as big, and less livestock...and a more diverse population. We tried to find interesting foods. Deep fried bacon with a side of gravy??? Definitely didn't try that, but what we did try I am almost too embarrassed to tell. We split a donut burger. Yes, you heard me. A cheeseburger (well bacon cheeseburger...for chase) with a krispy kreme donut for the bun. It was surprisingly not bad. Sweet and savory. All the fat kind of hurt my stomach though, and left me craving raw vegetables just to ward off the fear of a myocardial infarction. We arrived at the fair right before 6pm and got 1/2 price admission and some $1 food items. We are big savers and deal finders now! We both agreed that the atmosphere and ferris wheel ride were the highlights of our evening. Annnnnnnd we both really really enjoyed the monster truck rally that we spotted from atop the ferris wheel and decided to attend. It was my first...not sure about Chase. Then we saw old school RVs drive attempting to "demolish" one another. Interesting show. Definitely rounded out the evening for us!

Marriage Retreat

A couple weekends ago, Chase and I had the awesome opportunity to go to a wonderful marriage retreat up in Prescott Valley. We had a blast. There were 9 other couples there, and we got to share stories of times when God worked through tough times in our marriages in an informal atmosphere. Chase and I got to hear some really good things and it was neat to see other couples giving advice about mistakes that they had made or how they would have done things differently. We also got to know the couples in our Faith Forward Sunday morning class a lot better. The retreat was laid back and really focused on spending time together as a couple in prayer and talking about issues in our relationships.
On Saturday night, which was date night, Chase and I went to downtown Prescott and had a casual dinner at a local brewery. This town was so cute! It had all these little shops and "saloons" at every corner. All the retail was old western. And best of all, it was a normal October temperature! Now I do NOT miss cold weather. But it was nice to have a night to walk around when it was quite brisk outside (ok let's be real, I got pretty chilly). I brought these fall scented candles from Bath and Body works that I have been waiting to burn until the weather changed. It still hasn't changed in Phoenix, but thanks to Prescott, we got to burn them and get into Fall mode.

Eastern Carolina Barbecue!

Today Chase and I are trying a recipe for Eastern Carolina Barbecue! It is pulled pork with a vinegar based sauce. When it's done cooking, you add red pepper flakes and brown sugar, and some more vinegar! This is our favorite barbecue ever, so it's an exciting day at the MacFarland household!

UPDATE:
The pork came out really tender and delicious, but I definitely used way to much vinegar based sauce on my portion and couldn't eat most of it and had a little bit of a stomachache. The cole slaw diffused the vinegar a little bit though, and it was pretty good. When we try this recipe again, I will definitely make some changes and not use near as much vinegar.

near misses

A couple weeks ago as I was roaming the grocery store, I began to think about how, in a few distinct instances, my life (and Chase's life) would have changed forever had things kept going as they should have, or if the Lord Himself hadn't intervened in a specific moment. Almost like near misses. Like we can nearly miss the entire course of our lives changing in an instant.

The first and most striking instant in which God and His beautiful grace intervened for me was in high school. A month before my 17th birthday I was in a car accident that left a huge scar over my right eye. But the weird thing wasn't "just happening" to put on my seatbelt 30 seconds before the wreck even though we were only 2 miles from my house(I kid you not, the EXACT thought that casually went through my mind was 'well mom always says you never know what can happen'). No, the bigger miracle was the position of the cut on my forehead. It was very deep, through the fascia tissue, almost to the bone, and started above my right eye about my midforehead. The cut continued all the way down through my right eyebrow and even lower onto my eyelid. But then, it stopped! The cut stopped right before slicing my eyeball. That would be a miracle enough, but to even more astonishment, the cut picked up and continued exactly BELOW my right eye. Almost like the Lord's hand was covering my eyeball from harm. That cut should have sliced my eyeball, rendering my vision ineffective. I wouldn't have been able to play soccer anymore...just imagine me trying to save a shot with one eye...and therefore I wouldn't have been recruited to Ball State (for FOR SURE would not have gone there without soccer, only because at the time, it had a bad academic reputation, which is 100% completely false, I just went to a snobby school). Playing soccer at Ball state is how God drew me to the gospel of the Truth through the ministry of Athletes in Action. This truth of God's lavish grace and how he saved my sight (and used it to later save my soul) even when I wasn't a believer is enough to leave me speechless and in awe of His sovereignty over all things. To end the story I had like 50 small stitches, and then later had a reconstructive surgery perform in which they look a piece of skin from behind my ear and grafted it to my eyelid so it could function properly.


This photo was taken a few weeks after my reconstructive skin graft surgery in July of 2003 on vacation with my family. I couldn't ski, swim, tube, run, or workout of any kind. I read Harry Potter 5 all week. To the left side of the graft is the original scar. Below my eye is were the cut started back up again. It was smaller and only needed 6 stitches and by this time was almost fully healed. Today you can't even see the smaller scar below. My eyelid will always hang down a little, especially when I smile. Just look at our wedding pictures!

That was my best story of a near miss, I have a few more, but I thought Chase has a good one that directly affects my life too. It has to do with the reason we met. Chase was scheduled to go to the Athletes in Action Ultimate Training Camp (UTC) the 2nd week it was offered (I was going the first). This was because he was out in Seattle competing at the NCAA Regionals and was doing so well he was anticipating going to the NCAA national championships, which would have been the same week as UTC week one. Chase was leading his team at regionals and was about to qualify as an individual for nationals, when he saw one of his teammates on a hole he has already been on. He casually told his teammate to try hitting the ball to a certain side. His teammate told him to probably not say anything else because giving advice to a teammate is against the rules. Chase went to his coach and told him the story. His coach confirmed that it was indeed against the rules, but since Chase didn't know, he told Chase to just not do it again, but don't tell the officials. Chase considered what his coach said, but felt incredibly convicted by the Holy Spirit to tell the truth about his actions to the officials. The Predicament: Go to the NCAA National Championships, a feat that so few in the country ever achieve and ignore the Spirit? Or follow God and tell on yourself and lose your one shot in a lifetime at playing in the most prestigious college golf tournament? The officials awarded Chase's honestly with a 2 shot penalty, as the rules dictated.

Chase ended up missing the cut to compete at the NCAA National Championships as an individual by 2 shots. Had he not followed the Spirit, he would have been competing for a national championship. But since he was obedient, he was able to go to the first week of UTC and not only have one of the best weeks of his life, but one of the most life-changing weeks of his life as it was there at that camp that Chase was introduced to his future wife.

This photo was taken right after Chase introduced himself to me at camp. I only sat there because it was the only seat open near my friends. The photo was supposed to be of just me and my friends, but Angie felt bad and asked Chase to get in...I think he was delighted because he jumped right in! This picture makes me laugh because he literally just poked his head in.

God is just so good to us. He was good to me before I even knew Him or was obedient to Him. He was good to Chase by using His spirit to empower and direct Chase's steps in an incredibly difficult decision. This all comes down to His immeasurable love, and His infinite grace. How can we not praise and follow a Lord who is so good to us even when we can't see it just yet? He never had to prove Himself as good to us, it is in His very nature, but He loves us, and He wants to show us that love.

Season of Waiting

I meant to write last week but got a little busy! The weather here is finally cooling down a bit, and it is AMAZING! It feels so comfortable outside. The sun is warm on our skin, but not unbearingly hot. Lately we've had a cooler breeze because we've had some storms roll through. It even hailed (marble to golf ball sized hail) for like 5 minutes during an intense storm yesterday. It was pretty bizarre! Chase went out of the porch and got pelted with hail balls, and kept yelling that it hurt, but continued to stay on the porch...

I had an interview last week at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital for the Trauma/Surgical ICU. Good Samaritan was named one of America's Best Hospitals this year, is also a Magnet Status hospital, a level 1 trauma center, AND a teaching hospital. GAHHHH!! I want to work at this hospital so badly! The interview went well. I said some good things and could have said other things better. I talked to the nurse recruiter today, and the RN manager said the only thing holding me back was by lack of experience with high acuity patients, and she thought I might do better to start off on a step-down unit like the progressive care unit. The nurse recruiter forwarded my info to the PCU nurse recruiters. The ICU job isn't necessarily out of the picture, but they are interviewing other candidates. So there is still room for God to work, but I have been praying to follow His footsteps and be living in His will, and not my own. My best friend Jenn and I were just discussing how in our culture today, it is so easy to believe that Jesus is Lord or say that we believe it, but it is MUCH harder to follow Him and His will for us. He could call me out of nursing altogether. And I pray I would be obedient!!

Right now I am still on the lookout for jobs, especially PCU jobs at Good Samaritan. But I am still holding out and praying that God can still put me on the Trauma ICU if it is his will! It will be hard if I get the final word that I wasn't offered a position on the ICU because man oh man I wanted to work on that floor SO BADLY. I have such a desire for ICU nursing, and with this job, I would get to cross-train to the trauma room and also be a level 1 trauma ER nurse! But like I said, I'm trying to stay neutral about it, because from a worldly perspective, it doesn't look good.

It's weird to be in a season of waiting without knowing the future. I can't say I've ever been in a season quite like this. I always have had awesome things to look forward to, whether it was soccer, Chase visiting, graduating, marrying Chase, a honeymoon, a move. I am trying to not get caught up in the worldly perspective that says if I'm not being super productive every hour of the day, then I'm lazy and not being diligent. The Lord has already used this time of waiting to refine my heart and draw me closer to himself. I am learning so much, and I also have met some amazing women who love the Lord.

But in the back of my mind, I know that I need to bring in an income. Financially I need to have SOME kind of job by the end of October, or Chase will start looking for a second job, which is ridiculous. He shouldn't have two when I have none. I want to work and bring an income in so badly! I know God knows this need of ours. We want to be good stewards of whatever money He's gifted us with, and spend it how He calls us to. Easier said than done, right? Thank goodness for the Holy Spirit that empowers us to actually be able to follow God!

the desert run

This week has been completely different than the rest! For me, that is. Chase is doing the usual work. Actually he's been filling in for a service manager that recently resigned. Chase will become a service manager after his 18 month management trainee program. He is enjoying managing all the service techs and is really gaining their respect because he is always on top of things. He gets done what needs to be done, and he works hard. That's something I've always admired about Chase, is that he has a serious work-ethic. To the point that his first weekend of college EVER, he stayed in to read his econ book...BEFORE class EVEN STARTED!!! Ok - let's be real, that's a little ridiculous. I think I called him a geeeeeeeeeeeeeek for that. But in all seriousness, he's not afraid to put in the work because he knows that it pays off.

My week has been so wonderful because I've had the opportunity to volunteer at Just Moved Ministry. As the name explains, it's a ministry for women who have just moved. The woman, Susan Miller, who founded this ministry is leading the Tuesday morning class I go to at Scottsdale Bible called "Moving On After Moving In." I have met such wonderful and Godly women! They have embraced me as family already. That has really filled my days, and has been such a job. In the meantime, I am still applying for jobs.

Last night, Chase and I decided we needed to start running again if we want to actually run this 10k we keep telling ourselves that we are training for. We had taken about a week off of running. We decided to run to the Mayo Clinic, a hospital 2 miles away from our house. About .25 miles into our run to mayo clinic, the sidewalk on the road ends. Between our apartment building and the Mayo Clinic is literally nothing but desert and one two-lane road. We ended up running into the wind and sun THROUGH THE DESERT. And when I say through the desert, I mean like literally a desert (have I said that before?) with no buildings or civilization around for about a couple miles. Tumbleweed, little pathetic shrubs, and a whole bunch of flat sandy dirt. Into the wind, into the sun, and then it started to rain...which neither of us were mad about because the wind and rain droplets kept it cool, and not 110 degrees - which would have made for an impossible run.

We didn't stop until our hands touched the Mayo Clinic building. We went inside, got some water, and then proceeded to take a longer way back to our apartment (we walked) while exploring the desert around us. Because it wasn't as hot, and the sun was setting, it was actually quite beautiful! Also, the rain had stopped. We really enjoyed it and definitely saw God's beauty in a different way. If this is a taste of Arizona winters, I think I am going to LOVE this place Oct-March!