Fear the frying pan

First post from the husband:

Marriage comes with a steep learning curve, plain and simple. I have been happily married for over a year and I wouldn’t change a second of it. I have a beautiful, loving, and caring wife who takes care of a child, me. (I estimate that my age of household maturity is around 13, but others would venture much higher because I have facial hair.) However, learning at that age, or any age after a year of marriage, can be a difficult task.

My father is a physics/chemistry teacher at the magnificent New Braunfels High School, and he tells all of his students different stories in order for them to easily remember certain concepts. This one in particular was entitled “Respect the Laws of Physics.” The cliff note version begins with my mom slaving over the hot stove in order to prepare a meal for my dad. Unsatisfied with the finished product, my father commented, as if a judge on Iron Chef America (not the Japanese Version), on the lack of flavor and presentation. Unbeknownst to him, my mother had been through a tough day and was not prepared for the criticism. Overflowing with righteous anger, she threw a frying pan at my father. Luckily only minimal damage was done, and the only relevance to physics was that heavy things thrown at you hurt.

As my father imparted this wisdom to me, I must have somehow forgotten its moral. No, Kristee has not yet hurled any blunt objects in my direction, but she should have. Kristee would bust it for an hour in the kitchen, and for some reason I would question the amount of sauce on the chicken. It was as if I was the fat judge telling Bobby Flay how to cook, and I can’t stand that guy. Thinking to myself, this is constructive criticism that is helping her tremendously. Realistically, she should have thrown a frying pan at me. I thank God I married a patient woman. She gave me the time to grow up and realize the bigger picture. She sacrifices so many things on a daily basis just to make my life a little bit easier.

At the beginning of our marriage my wife didn't like to cook, wonder why? Salads were her go to dish. As the year has progressed, she has blown me away with her cooking ability. Homemade brownies the other day, amazing! Each night she is trying something different, and I take credit for this new passion. My silence is truly golden. All in all, my wife is not afraid of the frying pan, and my diet no longer consists of a steady stream of muchacos from Taco Bueno.

Happy Bday Jody!

Guess what? Yesterday was this guy's birthday!!

Jody is my favorite person in the world, and the greatest husband. I can't believe we've been married for more than a year! It truly felt like love at first sight.... well second sight. I wanted to marry Jody within a week of getting to know him. Just ask Jordan or Ashley. I became the ACU girl I loved making fun of. I mean, who gets married right after college?? I cannot tell you how much JOY this boy has brought to my life. Everyday with him is fun, and everyday is something I look forward to. 

Jody, here are some things I absolutely love about you:

You are kind.
You love me.
You are so much fun to be around.
You believe in "us."
You value my opinions.
You care deeply.
You are consistent and prayerful.
You seek your wisdom from the Lord alone.
You are goofy and don't take life too seriously.
You love to dance (See picture below.)
You are going to make for an unbelievable dad someday.
You live each day striving to be the person God created you to be.

There is nobody in the world who makes me laugh harder than you (well, you and my dad.)

You are the biggest blessing in my life. Happy birthday Jody!!! 
I LOVE YOU!!!

Just a thought.

Searching for wisdom, and pursuing it in God's word. This is convicting....

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

:: James 1: 26 ::

... James is not playing around. "His religion is worthless." Ineffective. Meaningless. Rejected. Nothing. In other words, if we don't love people enough to watch what we say and how we say it... we are not truly following Christ. Christianity in our hearts and our lives is futile. 
I'm hoping these words resonate deeply in my own heart this week and praying that somehow I will learn to think before I speak. No matter what.

Bob D

Jody and I are blessed with pretty phenomenal people on both sides of our family. Men and women who are much wiser, not as dorky, and way more hilarious than we could ever be. Two of the people that bless us tremendously are my grandparents, Bob and Myrt Davidson. Grandad and Mimi. We got to spend the weekend with them in Graham, and were reminded how lucky we are to have them in our lives. They are over 80, have tons of energy and really are a blast to be around!

 Specifically, during this season of my life, I am blessed to see the rare and incredible love they have for each other. Their marriage is inspiring. I've never seen a man pursue a woman like my grandpa STILL pursues his wife. He holds her hand everywhere they go, opens doors for her, shows patience in every circumstance, encourages her, is very intentional in putting her desires above his own and is always bragging on what a phenomenal woman she is. He sits two inches from her side, holding her hand tight, and it tugs my heart deeply to see how they love each other year in and year out.

If any of my thousands of readers have ever met this man, they know he has A LOT of stories to tell. Stories of traveling the world, stories of his 5 kids, 12 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren, stories of sports, stories of mission and of Christ, stories of struggle and triumph, stories of preaching and of people he loves. He loves telling stories, and some of my favorite ones are about the love of his life. I mean, this man proposed to her through the mail from across the country, freaked out thinking she would say no, and tried to get the letter back from the post office! Luckily, after receiving the letter, she quickly made the long distance call from Abilene to New York to tell him yes and ease his mind. How great of a story is that?!

There is no doubt these two were plagued with struggle and tough times in their journey. When they were our age, they were living in a foreign country, unable to consistently communicate with their family or friends... I can't even imagine. They've never been 'prosperous' so to say, but it never mattered to them. The way these two love each other and the Lord is inspiring. They are historically content and have a passion for ministry that I so desire. Christ has a lot work to do in my heart and I have a lot of selfishness I need to let go. I'm going to try and serve my husband well this week. You can ask Jody how that goes...

Ash and Jor

Two of my favorite, I mean absolute FAVORITE girls had birthdays this past week.

These girls have brought so much happiness, laughter and joy into my life. Most of my favorite memories from college involve one of these two or both. Their personalities aren't exactly alike, but they are both absolute goof balls, who love life yet don't take the small things too seriously, who love to seize opportunities for a good time, but also love the occasion for a weekend long movie marathon ( as anti-social as this is, I LOVE it). These girls seek the Lord with honesty and integrity, challenge me in my walk, are loyal and trustworthy friends, look really good without make up (seek picture below), married AWESOME guys that I just adore, are terrible at anything involving karaoke (ok, that's just ashley), and make me laugh constantly when we're together. They were pretty much perfect roommates in college, and I wouldn't trade them for anybody... excpet Jody. I'm so blessed to call them best friends.

Ashley and Jordan, your friendship makes my life better for so many reasons. Don't know what I would do without you.
HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY YOU TWO!!!

Here goes...

We're the Walkers. This is our blog. It's only a blog. It's meant to capture our memories, record funny stories, discuss political rants perhaps if Jody is posting :), but more importantly we will write about the good times, the not so good times, and the ways we are being molded as we struggle to figure out, and live out, the Lord's desire for our lives.

Some of my good friends would be considered pro-bloggers (shoutout Elsie and Becca.) I also stalk some lucky women online whose blogs are hilarious and/or inspiring. Their blogs ALWAYS capture my attention and leave me with mixed feelings... 1.) wanting more and more of their words to pop up on my computer screen because it makes my heart happy and 2.) desperately jealous of their creativity skills and wishing I was more like them. Because of our boring, no... content lives, this blog for sure won't match up with any of these impressive ladies. We just don't have that much going on. But it's not meant for everybody, just those who wish to follow our lives. I'll do the best I can ok??

We plan to both contribute to this blog, and unlike many other things in my life, I will try to stick with this. Not that I would ever leave something unfinished (eh hem, like my shared, halfway painted bedroom in college.) Right Jordan?

I'm so excited to be a part of this little bloggy world! Ok, I'm going to go do something important...