Stuff Christians Like

sorry - meant to add this to the last post:

I've been a big fan of the blog "Stuff Christians Like"...if you haven't seen it or heard of it...check it out. He (Jon) has some great insight and humor in all things that we all might think about every now and then...

#338 is special.

Nisha and Joel

Last weekend we were privileged to partake in the wedding ceremony for Nisha and Joel Philip. Being a part of the bridal party was truly special...standing behind each of them was a blessing.

I personally have been able to watch both of them grow up since they both are my younger sister's age. For the past 20 something years these two have been a part of my life in one way or another. Each of them have played a significant part of our lives by just being around...always an encouragement in one way or another...even if we rarely verbalized it.

Since I have been so busy this entire summer with Agency internship and grad school, I have missed every single wedding or event in Chicago...except for this wedding. Being able to be with the community I grew up with and partake in this event was a great reminder of what we are moving back to. We really have missed the interaction, the familiarity, and the enjoyment of our friends and family.

Big time appreciation to Nate Mathai for reminding all of the guests that State Farm is really the Insurance and Financial services provider that the bridal party turns to!

Home sale update: The house is on the market! If you know of anyone moving to Bloomington (huh?), let them know we have the right one for them...

Caedmon's Call: One of the first Christian concerts I went to, aside from Youth Group trips to DC Talk and Newsboys was to Caedmon's Call. I still vividly remember Oommen, Sibi and I driving to Bourbonnais to Olivet Nazarene University on a whim to hear the group that sang "This World". It was such an intimate setting and we each were able to talk to Derek, Cliff and the rest of the group. Anyway, I just found out that they are coming to Decatur, IL (another Central Illinois town...home of ADM) this Sunday to the Decatur Celebration...a large street festival that will have a carnival, vendors of all sorts and food vendors (elephant ears, corn dogs, fried twinkies)! I missed their concert in Chicago this past Spring due to school (as usual), so this is really an awesome opportunity for us to get to see them in concert again...this time for free.

Selling a home...

Hello everyone - it's Susan.

So we're getting the house ready to list and cannot believe how much stuff we've accumulated! Our closets were full - - mostly of Izzy's baby stuff...and of course all those basketball jerseys and shoes that Jason just can't part with. :)

This is our 5th move in five years (including temporary moves in between purchasing our homes). I am definitely not a pack rat but am still amazed at just how much stuff we accumulate over time. I guess a lot of moves is a good way to keep de-cluttering. It is definitely NOT fun living in a fishbowl while the house is up for sale. Isabelle keeps asking where all her toys are. Don't worry, I left a few out for her to play with...I'm not that mean.

If anyone has any moving advice to share, I'm ready and willing to listen!

Please pray that the house sells quickly!

Update

As many of you already know, the Abraham family is moving back to Chicago! We are thrilled to be closer to all of you and a more regular part of your lives. This blog is intended to provide you more details about the months to come.

As you may already know, I am going to start a State Farm Agency in Chicago. Office location is not yet finalized, but I know that it will be in the north Chicago area or surrounding suburbs.

We’ll spare you all of the boring details, but will certainly let you know when a location is set and I'm ready to open the doors to the 'Jason Abraham State Farm Agency'. It's an exciting thing to think about! The conversations about this opportunity started our first year of marriage, almost seven years ago. Through a lot of prayer, walking by faith and asking God to open doors, it has been abundantly clear that a State Farm Agency was what God had in store for me. We are excited to start this new chapter in our lives.

You’ll be hearing more from me as I prepare to open my agency and will be checking in on your insurance and financial services needs. Stay tuned…

I'm also wrapping up my last class and will graduate with my MBA from Illinois State University in September. The timing of this and the agency opportunity worked out perfectly. Another answer to prayer.

God has truly been faithful to us as Susan will be able to keep her current job and telecommute from Chicago. She’ll have the ability to work from home and do some basic travel. While there will be a lot of juggling with Isabelle and her job duties, we are committed to making this work.

Isabelle is a bright, bubbly and energetic 2 ½ year old. She tries our patience constantly, keeps us laughing and is such a joy to everyone around her. Terrible two’s have certainly begun to kick in, but we just try to focus on the good days! We are enjoying our summer as best we can and have made visits to the local zoo, played miniature golf and ran through the sprinklers. Her favorite trip so far was to the local dairy farm where she saw how cheese was made, fed and pet the baby calves and met Oreo, the llama. Ahh, the things you can do in central Illinois!

We hope and pray that you are all well. Please keep us in your prayers over the next few months and keep checking out the blog!