closing

Today is the day!  We are closing on our house at 2:00pm!!  Wow!! So many emotions going on inside me and have been going on since we moved everything out this weekend!  It makes everything so real!  Brandon and I keep looking at each other and saying “This is REALLY HAPPENING! We are moving to Thailand! (deep breath in and then long exhale out)”  Here is our empty house

All moved out!

Brandon poured a lot of time, sweat, and labor into fixing this house up and he did an AMAZING  job!!  I love that I am married to such a talented handy man who can fix anything!   I wish we had digital images of before pictures of our house, but here are some pictures of the finished product!

Front of House

Living room

Hallway

Hallway Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Kitchen

Looking into the kitchen from the living room

Moving Out

This sign is in our front yard which is super exciting!!  Our house had a contract on it  after being on the market for 4 weeks!!  Marc Adkins  is an amazing realtor! God is so good!!  The closing date is set for this coming Wednesday September 30.  We were exciting to finally see this in our front yard two days ago!!  Please pray that everything moves along and that there aren’t any unforseen  issues that could hinder the closing on Wednesday.

SOLD!!

Our life kind of looks like this right now

BOXES EVERYWHERE!!

Throughout this process, Brandon and I have become so aware of the excess that we live in!  We have so much stuff…particularly me…way too many pairs of jeans, hoodies, shoes, hats, shirts!!!  AHHHH!  We are getting rid of so much and there is a lot of freedom that is coming from it.  I struggle with this more than Brandon does…I think most females do…but we are simplifying our lives…down to 2 suitcases each!  Yep, that is all we will take to Thailand with us…and that isn’t just two suitcases of just clothes, that is everything!!  Some things we will have to buy when we arrive in Thailand because it is cheaper to buy it there than pay to bring it with us.  We will keep some things in storage such as dishes and pots and pans and kitchen appliances, but everything else is getting sold or taken to goodwill!!!

I am excited about this new perspective and excited about the process of beginning to live in the freedom that is bringing us.  I heard this passage in Matthew 6 yesterday and was challenged by it and reminded of where we are in our lives right now.  My prayer for Brandon and I is that daily our eyes are fixed on Christ and his desire for people of every tribe, tongue, and nation to know Him personally and that our persuit is not worrying about the temporal, but the eternal (NOT EASY!)

Treasures in Heaven

 ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 ²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 ²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Do Not Worry

 ²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look 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? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

 ²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If 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? ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Anniversary Day

Brandon and I were able to enjoy a relaxing day together on our two year anniversary!!  This is what our day consisted of:

Sleeping in!!

Breakfast at Cracker Barrell @ noon!!

Movie…we saw Love Happens…and it was really good….Brandon actually liked it!

Picnic at Arrington Vineyards which was amazing!!

Dessert at Marble Slab Creamery!!

And off to bed early!!!

Picnic at Arrington Vineyards

Anniversary

Brandon and I were married 2 years ago tomorrow, September 22!!  I can’t believe it has been 2 years!!!  Wow…do I love this man and I am so honored to be his wife!!  Here are a few pictures of the past few years of our marriage.  Enjoy!

Engagement

Engagement New York

Another Favorite!

My Favorite!

Wedding Party

Brandon’s Birthday at Rock Island State Park

Christmas at Opryland Hotel

engagement at Virgin Falls

Our First Christmas

New Years Day hiking

Honeymoon at St. George Island

Kickball tournament day!!

One year anniversary

Our initials carved into a tree at Virgin Falls

A Home for Sadie

The most awesome dog ever!

To be quite honest, one of the hardest things in our process of getting ready to move has been the thought of having to find a new home for our amazing dog Sadie.  It’s funny…I haven’t struggled much with the thought of getting rid of material possessions or selling our house and vehicles, but Sadie….I struggle!!!  It’s almost as if I am giving away my child!  Since Brandon has traveled so much in the past year, she has been my companion.  She has even helped give me the courage to be brave enough to stay home by myself when Brandon is out of town. We would love to have her be able to join us on our journey to Thailand, however, she is a luxury that we can’t justify in taking with us   We need your help in finding a home for Sadie.  Here are a few of the many wonderful attributes of Sade:
1.  Just look at her face! She is so stinkin cute!!
2.  She is a rescue so we are not sure of the breeds of dog that she is
3.  Sadie is about a year old
4.  Weight between 50 and 55 lbs
5.  She is house and kennel trained
6.  She is very athletic.  i take her running with me and she loves it
7.  Frisbee is probably her favorite game…and yes she can catch them in the air
8.  She LOVES to swim!! not so much to take a bath, but she loves swimming in rivers, creeks, lakes…you name it she loves the water
9.  Extremely loyal
10. She is a good listener, most of the time, unless she is distracted but if you have a frisbee in your hand she is like puddy in you hand!!  She will do anything for that frisbee!

Sadie has been like another member of our family so we are looking for owners who have the time to committ to having a pet not just a dog that is hanging out in the backyard.  Particularly someone who is active and will play and be active with her…she needs exercise everyday.  We are also looking for someone who is planning on wanting a dog for a while so that she just isn’t passed on from owner to owner to owner. 

I feel like we should do an interview process!!  Not really, but we just want the right fit for her.  So I will leave you with a few more photos.  If you are interested in Sadie or know of anyone who might be interested in her please let us know.  You can email us at bchathcock@gmail.com.  Thanks!!

 

We are Moving to Bangkok, Thailand!!

Brandon and I have been married for almost two years now!!  Wow, how time flies!!  I have been working at Vanderbilt University for the past three years as an Activities and Aquatics Coordinator for the Student Recreation Center.  Brandon has been busy working hard and  traveling around the country doing project management for LifeWay Christian Bookstore and laying hardwood and tile on the side.  In his “spare time” he has been busy fixing up our fixer-upper house (which is finally fixed up!).

In January of this year, Brandon and I began to feel restlessness in our hearts that we couldn’t shake, like an itch that you can’t seem to scratch.  God began to place in us a desire to start preparing for something big that He was going to do in our lives and to be at a place where we could say yes with nothing holding us back.  We began to pray for direction and for God’s specific call for us as a married couple.   We began to feel an overwhelming desire to GO, specifically a desire to live in another country.   Little did we know that these desires being birthed in our hearts was the beginning of God setting in motion His plan and desire for us to serve Him in a unique way.  God has confirmed the next step He desires for us to take in making His name famous around the world and that is for us to take the truth of the Gospel to an area of the world that is considered “unreached.”

God has called us, through our church, to be on the front lines battling for the hearts of those who have never heard of the love of Jesus Christ and His redemption.  God has called us to Bangkok, Thailand!!  Thailand is a country that primarily practices Buddhism.  Less than .7% of the population knows Jesus Christ and more than 95% of the population has never even heard the Gospel!   God is doing some incredible things in our church, LifePoint Church, specifically in regards to our church’s role in taking the Gospel to the nations and we are so excited to be apart of this.  We are being sent by the church, to be the church, where there is no church.   Three other couples and two college students have answered God’s call in their life to GO to Thailand as part of our team as well.