Here's what's happening...

Since I have written on here I have officially moved in with my in-laws and gone out to see my wonderful hubby in beautiful San Diego, CA!!
Things are going well here, although this whole "not having my own place" is starting to be a little bit of a challenge for me. I get along with my in-laws great...no problems there...I'm just starting to feel like a nomad with no roots and no place to call my own. (if that makes any sense) But, this is only for a year and that is okay so I continue to push those thoughts out of my mind and just keep on keeping on! :)
I was training for a 4-mile race and ran that last weekend with a friend of mine. It was the first time I've ever trained for anything and really the first time I've ever kept up an actual workout for longer than 2 weeks, so I was really proud of being able to finish the race. I ran the race in 46:50, which is an 11:43 minute mile. Not too shabby considering when I first started running in May I could only run 5 minutes before I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest! I've also gone down a size and a half and am hoping to lose even more than that now that I'm hooked on running races!!!
Tim is doing well...they're training right now and are in the middle of nowhere so he's not able to call me often. Verizon is the worst carrier to have where they are, but the other Marines are nice enough to let him borrow their phones so he can talk to me. :) I very much appreciate that. Anyway, they're doing their training thing and Tim says it's been easier than he thought it was going to be....he can definitely tell people are praying, so keep it up!!!! :) I'm doing pretty well with this whole thing too. I've had a few meltdowns, but who doesn't have a meltdown now and then??!! Haha, but seriously. It's been alright and I've been keeping myself busy with lots of work and keeping up with working out, so that helps. Thank you all so much for praying and please continue to lift us up in prayer!! Especially Tim when he actually leaves to go overseas. You can never have too much prayer, right!
Gots-ta get going. I will update more later!! :)

Moving = STRESS

Well well well.....I'm in the final days of moving and I'm ALREADY exhausted!!! Good thing my mom is a super packer and has really kicked my butt into gear. She knows how to get a job done, fo' sho'!!!! The apartment is so empty and it's making me a little sad...I really liked living in that apartment, but alas....life must go on, right? I am really excited though...these next few months are JAM-PACKED full of places to go and people to see. It's going to be a little mini-adventure for me!!! Luckily, I have a job that has centers all over the US. So, if I travel to another state I can work at one of the centers there. JACKPOT. Vacation AND a paycheck at the end of vacation....can life get better? I submit that it CANNOT!!! ;)
One of my friend's agreed to watch Major for me for a year. I am SO thankful that I didn't have to give him up...he's such a little sweetie and my friend lives rather close, so I will be able to visit often and get my fix in! She's also a Marine wife and her husband is deploying with Tim, so it really couldn't have worked out better!!! I'm SO thankful for the way things have turned out.
Tim is doing well...they went to do training and it was so hot there that it fried his phone :( Luckily I got him a new phone for only about $10 (thank you, new-every-two program!) and he will be getting it soon so I can talk with him more often. He was telling me that he's probably lost about 10 pounds since being out there...I'm so proud of him and I'm sure he's feeling very encouraged by that. It's always a great feeling to see some results from all your hard work!! Anyway, Tim's doing really well...he said he can tell people have been praying for him and this time hasn't seemed as hard as last time. Thank you Jesus for that!!! SUCH an answer to prayer!
Oh! Little side note. I was getting ready to move my bed over to my in-law's today and it started raining a little. I paused really quick and just asked God if he could hold the rain off until my bed gets moved (we didn't have a tarp for it). About 5 minutes after that the rain stopped and about an hour later the sun was shining!!!! How sweet was that!?!!?! Who says we can't approach the throne of God for even LITTLE things??!?!?! That just made my WHOLE day...I felt so loved and just excited that He did that for me!
Anyway, things are going well and I'm excited for what's ahead. Here's to a scary, exciting, wonderful and bittersweet road ahead!!

Hey everyone! Lots of stuff happening at the Harrigan house!

Tim is getting ready to leave for training...that will likely be the last time I see him until he gets back from his deployment. We've been blessed, though....I've gotten to see him quite frequently over the past 2 months and I might try to go see him before he actually deploys. Who knows!!! There are a few things we could use prayer for:

~ Tim's physical fitness - he has a hard time running because he has flat feet. Pray that he will be able to improve on his running and he will be able to see progress made with is weight loss goals.

~ Safety - Pray that God would overwhelm him with his warring angels and the blood of Jesus. Pray for protection over his body, soul and mind. Pray that he would cling to Jesus and fall even more in love with Him every day.

~ My moving situation - I need motivation to pack! Pray that I would be able to downsize what we have and that people would be gracious enough to let us store some things at their places so we don't have to pay for a storage unit. Pray also that while living with my in-laws, I will learn humility and be able to transition well from having my own place, to not a lot of space.

~ Dog situation - We need to find our dog a home. Tim's parents are not wanting me to bring my dog, so pray that I can find a great home for Major and pray that it can be done before July 31st. Also, pray that we might be able to find someone willing to take care of Major for a year so we can eventually have him again...I would hate to give him up forever...he's such a great dog!!!

~ My school bills - Pray that while I am saving money living with Tim's parents, I will use that money to really chip away at my school bills. That's the whole reason I'm moving in with someone else...so pray that I am wise with our money and use it for the reasons Tim and I agreed on! :)

~ Strength! - This deployment is going to be a little harder than before because Tim and I are married now. Pray that I would use this time to better myself and learn how to be a better wife to Tim when he gets home. Pray that Tim would also have supernatural strength to stay awake and alert when he needs to, to always be looking for opportunities to witness and that he would stand strong in what he believes.

I'm excited for what lies ahead!! Although I think it will be challenging and lonely at times, it will be a great time to learn more about myself and really stretch and improve myself as a whole. So, here we go!!!! :)

K...so I guess I made my last post sound like Tim and I were dying or something. Whoops! That is NOT the case. We're doing just fine. Everything is picking up and getting busy. That's all.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we're doing great and things are going well....we could just use some prayer...extra protection, you know. You can never have too much prayer!

News

Wow..it's been a while since I've been on here. Things have been a little off lately and I'm not sure why. But, God is faithful and we are pressing on. Just this past weekend I got a tattoo:

I got this to remind me just how captivating I am to Christ. It symbolizes Christ as a lover and an intimate friend. I wanted to get something that symbolized what I believed, but I didn't want to get a cross or Jesus-fish because that's what everyone gets. So, I decided on this. I love it.

We just need prayer right now. Lots and lots of prayer for strength. It's going to be a busy/rough road ahead. Thanks all!

My mood swings

I have noticed in the past couple of weeks just how much my mood depends on whether or not I have spent time with Jesus. When I DON'T take time to be with Him, I can tell within a day. I'm more tired, my outlook on everything is negative and I'm really mouthy and short with people. I tend to think that I can just speak however I want to without thinking first (and that's usually what gets me in trouble most of the time!). I've noticed I'm especially bad with my husband. It saddens me to say that, but it's so true. (You know they say, "you always hurt the ones closest to you.") It's shameful to think about, but that is something I'm trying to work on. I'm trying to work on reversing that famous saying. I want to be EXTRA careful how I talk to the people I care about the most. Not that I don't care how I talk to other people, but I think if you care about someone, you should be more gentle and loving towards them...being more careful how you speak to them.
Anyway, I digress. My point is that when I take that time to spend with Jesus, my mood IMMEDIATELY changes. I mean, within seconds. It's amazing how it happens. I feel so much better about EVERYTHING and I actually remember to think before I speak, especially to my husband. I become the captivating woman I was created to be and everything else falls into place because I took a few moments to refocus my priorities and thoughts. I am thankful for that kind of power and the fact that I am so richly blessed regardless of whether I choose to spend that quality time or not. I am thankful for grace, but I'm even MORE thankful that my God longs for that alone time with me, so he can shower me with love and wrap me up in arms so He can just pour out truth into my soul. It's WONDERFUL.
Thank you Jesus, that you long for time with your children and desire to bless us, even when we are most undeserving. Thank you for your grace, your passion and your never-ending love for us. Praise be to the one who is able to do even more than we can ever imagine!!! AMEN!!!

Update

Things have been a little rough here lately...but we are blessed. God has provided for us in SO many different ways, and just recently we were IMMENSELY blessed when God provided food for us!! It was SO great!! He is to be praised!! :-)

So, Tim will probably be going back to Iraq....we have some plans for me, but we're not sure what I will do while he's gone. Either way, it's bittersweet, but will help us out as a family.

We just got our christmas tree up and we are putting the lights on today!! Yay for Christmas and a time of celebration with family.

That's about all for now....just a small update...have a great day everyone! :-)