Over Due

Things have continued to be incredibly busy around the Varden house. To see what has been occupying all of our time check out seetheneed.blogspot.com or click See the Need on the side bar.

Life Changing

I had every intention of updating last week about the wonderful weekend Keith and I had with all of our friends. I had a girls night, Keith had a guys night, and we finished the weekend up by spending an entire day at the Cooper's house watching football games. War Eagle! Like I said I had every intention, but did not succeed. My faith in the Lord was tested last week, and I must say that I am not sure I did very well. I had a very scary and not so promising conversation with doctor regarding some severe joint pain. She ended my visit by preparing me for the worst. Needless to say, I lost it! I cried the entire way home and poor Keith really had no idea what was going on. Being a nurse makes days like these very hard. The very moment my doctor mentioned the possibility of a chronic illness, I started reliving all the things I had learned in nursing school. I actually remembered a lot! I had prepared myself for the worst, forgetting that God was in control. It took 48 hours to process my lab results, and lots of prayer...they were all within normal limits! I did show signs of the beginning of an infection, but 7 days of antibiotics would knock that right out. The final verdict was a reaction to a medication that I was taking...much better than what was first placed at my feet.

What did I learn...I finally grasped something that I have been taught my entire life...it was life changing...God is in control. My life is in the hands of the Lord, yet my human nature thinks that I can take care of things on my own. While I was diagnosing myself with some disease, my God was taking care of me. I was "fearfully and wonderfully made," so why do I constantly feel the need to worry. We worry about money, jobs, stability, the clothes we where, the houses we live in, the cars we drive: this world revolves around worrying. As Christians, God has called us to hand our lives over to Him. I read in Mathew this morning about what Jesus said about worrying:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, or what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

I love this:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Mathew 6:25-33

Seek first his Kingdom. I am learning more and more about this verse. My life is not about this world...it is simply about a loving relationship with my God and bringing glory to Him through everything that I do. His love for me is so great, and His plan for me is perfect. Now I must let go and let Him take control.

Auburn Football

Keith, Me, and our dogs headed up to my brother's house on Saturday for a day of corn hole, hotdogs, and Auburn Football. Alabama was only on paperview, so Keith did not have a problem watching the game with me and about 12 other Auburn fans...he did stand strong and sported his BAMA shirt on gameday. The day itself was wonderful. Jonathan and Rachel set some tents up in their front yard, along with lots of Auburn gear. It was very warm, but there was a slight breeze to cool us off. Everyone played tons of corn hole and ate lots of awesome food. Auburn kicked off at 6 and so began one of the most stressful football games I have ever seen. Thanks to our defense Auburn beat Mississippi State 3-2 (yes Keith I know...it sounds more like a soccer score than a football score.) Next week Auburn plays LSU and Alabama plays Arkansas, so things should begin to get interesting. I have tons of pictures below that show how great the day was! Enjoy and God Bless!



War Eagle!



Rachel and Allison



JP's game face



Jonathan and Dad playing corn hole



My hubby and me



Jonathan and Carla working the grill



Keith and Price wrestling before the game



Kaitlyn in her cute Auburn shirt



Corn Hole!




War Eagle Dogs!

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we were able to celebrate Keith's parent's birthdays. His mother's birthday was Friday and his dad's birthday was yesterday. We celebrated with a trip to Flemmings. Keith and I had heard from numerous individuals that this resteraunt and the steaks were phenomenal, but I must say that I really did not think that it was that great. I am the kind of girl who believes that the best steaks are cooked at home on a charcoal grill, but nevertheless the evening was great. The dessert was the best. We had a Chocolate Lava Cake with vanilla ice cream and two candles...so good! Keith and I got to dress up and go out...which we do not do that often. Keith actually wore dress pants, a button down shirt, and DRESS SHOES (he usually wears flops). We looked good, but I did not get a picture. We celebrated one more time on Sunday. I cooked a small lunch and we had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Keith followed up the afternoon with a nice long nap, and I did homework! Overall, the birthday weekend was a success!



Happy Birthday!

House Divided

I have written before that Keith and I live in a house divided. Keith is an Alabama fan, and I am, wisely, an Auburn Fan. Keith has put forth a great effort this week to try and convert me to the other side, but I have not been shaken...WAR EAGLE! I am at home right now watching the Auburn-Southern Miss game and Keith is in Tuscaloosa with his dad preparing for the Alabama-Tulane game. Keith I hope you have a great time at the game, but you can forget about any conversion...I will forever bleed ORANGE and BLUE!

The Generation-Beach Style

We headed out last Tuesday night to our final beach trip of the Summer. Keith, Jess, Matt, April, Cooper, Autumn, and I left Birmingham around 7:30 Tuesday night and made it to Destin in a little over 4 hours...thanks to Tom Tom. Our annual Generation beach retreat was scheduled for Labor day weekend, but we all decided to head down a little early and enjoy some extra time on the beach. After checking in at Sand Destin, we arrived to our room around 12:00 a.m. As soon as we heard Matt laughing we knew that something was not right. The room was the size of some walk in closets. After some laughing and a little planning, Matt called the front desk and politely asked for a room that he could "at least turn a cart wheel in". The woman on the other line laughed a little a then gave us a great upgrade. We moved to a two bedroom condo with a sleeper sofa and extra floor space. We finally settled in around 1:30 and we were all exhausted and quite delirious. The next morning we woke up at a descent time, and Jess and I took a trip to Publix. After shopping and spilling spaghetti sauce all over the parking deck, we all headed down to the beach. It was gorgeous and there was hardly anyone else on the beach. It was glorious! We spent the entire day on the beach...which is amazing for Keith and me...we are not big fans of the beach or the ocean. We went to eat that night at the Crab Trap. The food was great and Keith some got great pictures of our college minister's family. We ended the night on the balcony playing a "friendly" game of spoons.

The next day started a little earlier. The guys woke up in great spirits because the first football game of the season was on television that evening. It was very difficult pulling them away from Sports Center, but we made it back to the beach. Keith and I spent a little more time at the pool on Thursday, and he and Matt headed out early to start setting up for the retreat. The girls headed back to the condo to begin preparing dinner. Stephen, David, and Garrett joined us for spaghetti and some of Autumn's incredible Strawberry Punch Cake. The guys enjoyed watching the game...most were shirtless. April and Brent left us to travel down the beach to meet up with some other friends, and Cody (Autumn's boyfriend) joined us at Sand Destin.

We packed up again Friday morning and moved into the houses we would be staying in over the weekend. Keith and I decided to stay in different houses for the retreat. Jessica and I stayed together in the cutest little beach house. We had turtles in the pond behind our house and plenty of room to move around. The rest of the weekend was wonderful. The retreat was amazing and the weather held up until Sunday. I was forced to endure a house full of Alabama fans for the Saturday night upset against Clemson. Alabama did win, but so did Auburn...WAR EAGLE. We had planned to stay until Labor day, but we all headed home Sunday evening to avoid the possible wrath of Gustav. Overall the entire week was great. The end of our Summer could not have been any better.



The group on the beach



My hubby and me



Spoons


Autumn dealing out the cards and Keith's handy camera work

The Fish Market, Bowling, and Jacksons

Here are some pictures from our last double date with Amy and Sean.




Amy and Me at the bowling alley



Amy and Sean



Keith bowling...he won both games!