So it has be awhile since I posted anything and as I was looking back at what I wrote I realized that most of it was complaints! First of all I want to ask your forgiveness for complaining. Complaining get me no where and it is not glorifying to God. It breeds a spirit of discontent that is hard to do away with. Therefore I want to give a list of good things about our move.
1. Tom had a job.
Because Tom is a carpenter and the way the economy is he doesn't always have work. Every job is a gift from God. We are very thankful for the times he has work because work is never a grantee for him.
2. We had somewhere to live.
Tom was able to find an apartment for us to live in while we were down there. This was a good thing because it saved us money. If he hadn't found an apartment we would have been living in a hotel.
3. Our apartment was bigger and cheaper then the one we had at home.
The apartment had an extra bedroom and we had a garage for storage and our rent was still $30 cheaper every month.
4. I got to come with Tom.
Now you might think "of course she came with him. Why wouldn't she?" Well I didn't go with Tom to Niagara and that was awful! If he could have saved some money by having me stay at home sharing a hotel room or apartment with one of his coworkers. But instead he chose to bring me with him. This is one of the things I am most thankful for. I married him because I loved him and I wanted to be with him.
5. We grew closer together as a couple.
When there is only you and your husband around and you don't have anyone you know in town you spend a lot of time together. I learned to trust him more and to rely on him as my husband as apposed to seeking out other's opinions on things. Instead of always trying to go hang out with my friends I learned to be content with just my husband as company. Because it was just us I had to actually make the effort to treat my husband with respect instead of just floating through our relationship assuming I would figure it out eventually.
6. I value the time I have with my friends and family more.
I always assumed that my family and most of my friends would always be around. I took them for granted and wasn't super concerned with making time for them.
7. I realized that Missio Dei Fellowship is not the only good church out there.
Ok, I didn't just assume it was but growing up in that church and having my dad be the pastor of it did make me biased. I also took Missio for granted. I just assumed we would always go to that church and that we wouldn't ever have to go find a new one. It is hard finding a new church! I didn't realize how dry and crackly you feel at the end of a sermon that said nothing after a week with no Christian contact. It was hard at first finding a church but when we found Highland Park Evangelical Free Church in Columbus, NE it was worth the wait. I am very thankful for our new church and I will be very sad to go home.
8. Norfolk is safe.
Kenosha isn't crime ridden or anything but there are some areas that you shouldn't hang out in at night. We lock our doors and lower level windows at night. In Norfolk you really don't have too. In all our exploring of the city neither Tom or I couldn't find "the bad part of town". When the weather got really nice we left all of our windows open at night. If you didn't know, our windows are level with the ground because we live in the basement. Anyone could have gotten in. We weren't concerned though. During the day I would leave the back door open to catch the breeze. We can take walks at night and I am not all jumpy waiting for bad guys to jump out at us. I wouldn't do any of this if I lived on the ground level of an apartment in Kenosha.
9. We learned to appreciate where God sent us.
I am not saying that I got this part down but I think I am growing a lot in this area and I think that if/when we move again I will have a much better attitude about it.
10. I saved a lot of money on gas.
When the city you live in is only 24,000 and the big thing you do every week is grocery shopping you don't much gas at all! When living in Kenosha I filled up once a week. Norfolk, once a month.
11. People are super polite.
When we first moved to Norfolk I would take a walk most days. Older people I didn't know would wave to me as I passed and traffic would stop even though it had the right away so that I could cross the street. Almost no one speeds, it is most common to be behind some one going 5-10mph under the speed limit. People stop at a yellow light instead of risk running a red one. people use their blinkers. Even Walmart customers are more aware of whats going on around them.
I know there is more but this is all I have right now. Living in Nebraska was a very good experience for us and I am thankful that we were able to have it.
