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!

Finding Community

As I mentioned earlier, Chase and I found a church out here called Scottsdale Bible Church. We were really drawn to the sound doctrine and people that seemed to truly live out their faith. The members here really seem ready and excited to pour into us. Every sunday, we go to a class for young married couples called Faith Forward. There are also some older "mentor" couples in the group. We have had a great time getting to know these couples. Many of the couples, even if they are only a few years older than us, have children. It's really neat to see them balance finances and glorify the Lord in the way that they raise and discipline their children. After Faith Forward, we go to a service called Eleven10 that has contemporary worship, followed by watching Pastor Jamie's sermon from the main auditorium over videocast. We have really enjoyed this!

This week, the bible studies started! AHHH Chase and I were so thankful! Finally we can meet people in a more social setting and get to know them more intimately. This was honestly an answered prayer. The cold-turkey transition we had moving out to Phoenix has been rough lately, especially on me. I have never been a home body! I thought I would go so far away from school, even though I only ended up going an hour away (hey, that's where I was recruited!). I've never really been "homesick" nor have I ever did the kind of thing where I talked to my parents every day. Maybe once every two weeks. BUT, this is the first time in my life I've ever been completely uprooted from community, without having another community in which I already automatically belonged (like going to college, where I already belonged to a team from Day 1). Chase has moved a lot in his life, with his parents, and then to UNC for school while his parents lived in Savannah, GA, then they moved to Tampa a few years later, and are now in Texas. This is all after he spent the first 13 years of his life at various residents in Southern California.

We both agree that it is tough to be in a different part of the country, where no one knows you or your family, and it's also hard to find things in common with people. I guess the best thing you could have in common with someone is a relationship with Jesus, and we have definitely found plenty of those people at Scottsdale Bible! On Sunday night, a bible study from Faith Forward started up, and Chase and I both enjoyed it. The study drove deep into scripture and really challenged us. Afterwards, the men and women split up to share prayer requests and pray together. This was the time I was looking forward to. I love hearing the hearts of women who love the Lord, they are honestly so beautiful and real. Chase said he enjoyed talking to the men, and really felt like he learned a lot just being in the presence of Godly men who are great leaders and husbands.

This morning, the church-wide women's bible studies started. I was so nervous walking into the auditorium by myself not knowing a soul! I knew that if I was in Zionsville or Indianapolis in a room full of strangers, it wouldn't have bugged me one bit because, I don't know, that's just home! So this was good for me, and definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone (one that I didn't know that existed, I have never been shy). After we did praise and worship with all the women as a whole, we split up into the individual bible studies that we registered for, I think there were like almost 12 different ones. I was advised by several women of Faith Forward to do the bible study called "Moving On after Moving In" and that it would really help me let go of my former life and start over in Arizona. I can already tell this is going to be great. I was the youngest woman in the room by at least a decade (probably younger gals are in the night class), but I didn't mind at all, in fact, I liked it because I would love an older Godly woman to mentor me!

The class is full of woman who had just moved to Phoenix/Scottsdale for whatever reason, and most were emotional about it, like me. At first our move was exciting! Then reality set in that I am in a community where no one knows me. It has slowly become depressing and discouraging, and feelings of worthlessness start creep in. It's not like Ball State, where I saw my name and picture in the paper after a great game, and had whole articles written about just me. It's not like Athletes in Action, where I found immense joy in meeting with young women to show them the hope that is found in Jesus Christ, or leading bible study and watching my girls grow in faith. It's not like Indianapolis, where I was a new nurse at an exciting downtown hospital with endless possibilities in sight. Or like Zionsville, where our neighbors of 15 years have watched me grow up and still ask, and really care about, details of my life.

All of those things I have to learn to let go of! I didn't know it would be this hard! But it is honestly such a good thing. There is absolutely nothing that I can have my identity in anymore except Christ! I remember when I was playing soccer in college, and how it was always such a challenge not to be prideful or place my identity in how good, or not good, of a goalkeeper I was! It was always a struggle to glorify God in my sport. I feel like He was constantly reminding me that it's not about me! And everything that I have, everything that I am, is because of His Grace! And then after soccer, it was hard not to put my identity into what kind of nurse I wanted to me. So I am thankful to be in this humbling position and I feel that God is teaching me a lot about increasing my faith by putting my identity in Him alone in this trying time of waiting.

Rather than just waiting for my life to start, I really think this class about Moving On after Moving In will help me become more active, and take a bigger role in starting my life out here by getting myself plugged into community and serving in the church, and then trusting that God will provide employment in the exact area and hospital that He wants me in.

IT WENT THROUGH HIS HANDS!

Chase LOVES UNC. LOOOOVEEEEESSSS Carolina. Wants our children to grow up as faithful, unwaivering carolina fans, and in carolina gear, still checks www.tarheelblue.com every day, etc. And I don't blame him. He was talented enough to play golf at one of the nation's best universities, in academics, and as everyone and their mom knows, in athletics. The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill is one of the top apparel selling colleges in the country, not to mention all those national championships.

However, recently, as in every day (while Chase is undoubtedly watching sportscenter), Chase mentions how upset he is about UNC football, and their ineligible players. Apparently they were supposed to be unreal this year (everyone knows UNC isn't usually known for their football teams), but the NCAA decided to come investigate the football team and found some noncompliance with NCAA rules. Chase, being a devout UNC fan, would really rather the NCAA didn't investigate and just let the players play and bring glory to UNC. I think that cheaters need to punished. I, too, had to comply with the NCAA for 5 years, and I did, AND I wrote MY OWN PAPERS.

Chase was GLUED to the TV watching the UNC/LSU game. I kind of hoped carolina would get slaughtered like the announcers predicted. But they didn't! They had a great come back, and almost won the game. HAD the game in their hands! And then they dropped TWO perfect passes in the endzone from 6 yards away! Chase was so distraught! I seriously could not believe what I was hearing, he was moaning "no, no, no". I, like a good wife, thought this was HILARIOUS! It's just football (not carolina basketball, for goodness sake!) and they were supposed to lose anyway. I wish I would have acted faster, but I was able to catch some of Chase's pouting on video. Here it is! (Don't worry - I asked his permission!)