2009 December « A Dash of Nutmeg

He’s Gonna Marry Me! December 21, 2009

Filed under: Fancy That — megstar @ 6:24 am

On Friday evening December 18th Joshua Segraves asked me to marry him. I said yes, of course (and I squealed, of course). : )

Here’s how it happened:

Joshua asked me to dinner for Friday night, but didn’t tell me where we were going. We both went to the fitness center after work. I had brought a bunch of stuff to get ready and I curled my hair (quite the undertaking but he was taking me on a mysterious date).

We drove to the Bentonville square which is all done up in white lights. He told me that we were going to eat at Table Mesa which is one of our favorite restaurants. Josh parked on the far side from the restaurant, told me he had a present for me and sat me down on a bench with a wrapped gift. I could tell by the feel of it that it was a picture frame. So I slowly unwrapped it wrong side up to buy him some time since he’d gone to his car for a moment. He came back and I opened this:

On the matting he had written, “Marry Me” with the date and his signature. I practically yelled, “YES!” and when I looked up he was kneeling with the ring box opened. I squealed– loudly. Joshua laughed and said, “I haven’t asked you yet.” Me: “But it says right here!” He laughed again and said, “I love you. Will you marry me?” To which I again replied yes, laughing and held out my hand.

Once that was settled he sat down beside me on the bench and we kissed and laughed. Joshua told me how he had been running around for the past two days prepping. We enjoyed the lights and then realized that we were both really hungry so we headed over to the restaurant.

Just as we walked in the door who should we see but Derek and Kiplyn Horn. Derek is the pastor for the single’s ministry at our church, Fellowship Bible Church. So we went over and shared the good news.

Dinner was wonderful we had an appetizer, carnitas and cocktails. Derek and Kiplyn were very kind and had desserts sent over to our table. Joshua wanted to start planning right away so we talked wedding planning a bit over dinner.

To cap off the evening we headed to Borders for some Christmas shopping (I also picked up a Bride’s magazine, naturally). Then we met up with our friends the Barans and the Burtons. It was fun to share such a wonderful event with people who are so dear to me.

It looks to be a whirlwind engagement– I’ll keep you updated. I am very blessed!

Joshua: Thank you. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

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Let Me Sum Up December 14, 2009

Filed under: Uncategorized — megstar @ 10:45 pm

Some things I learned from being “laid off”:

God has it all taken care of and I need not fret. I started my new job the last day I received severance pay. I never had to live off of unemployment insurance, I have no gap in employment and I didn’t have to work anything out about my student loans– all bills paid in full on time. That was an amazing blessing and though I was prepared for things to be much more difficult– it worked out perfectly.

I know who I am, and I’m glad to be me. I spoke openly about my faith in interviews and how serving God by loving others is my motivation for work. And surprise! It was well-received.

I may not see very far ahead, but I can see where I’ve been and where I am. I did not realize two years ago what working at Samaritan Community Center would be for me– seminary, missions field practice and quirky family all rolled into one. I have changed and become more myself because of the experience. I can see now that my time there has prepared me for where I am now. And I have to grand scheme or 5-year plan to credit with this– it is all God’s providential hand guiding (and at times shoving)me to where He wants me. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

The “tactics” and resources I used in finding work:

1. I prayed. A lot. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

2.I made a list of places and people I should contact the very day I was laid off. May have been in shock at the time, but it proved useful.

3. I took some time to evaluate, mostly using this book: The Job Hunters Survival Guide

The Job-Hunter's Survival Guide: How to Find a Rewarding Job Even When "There Are No Jobs"

4. I made business personal. “Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.” I went door to door handing in applications, I called people, I sent resumes (last resort), I contacted friends, acquaintances and anyone I could think of to help me in my search. I used the knowledge I had about my field and community to find my niche.

5. I slept in. (It’s in that book) There have to be some positive angles to not having a job. I was a well-rested but hard-working unemployed woman.

Thank you all who prayed for me and encouraged me in my job search! You are a blessing! You may collect your hugs whenever I next see you.