This is the current book I am now reading for my personal time with the Lord, and it also happens
to be the marriage counseling book that Matt and I are doing before we tie the knot! I have dug deep into this book, there are so many underlined pages and stars next to so many paragraphs! This book is incredible, and I truly believe that going through this book before Matt and I get married will be so helpful when situations and problems arise in our marriage. And under the counsel of a young Godly married couple to give their advice will be so very helpful!
I am learning so much about me, and my role as Matt's wife, and whose life this really is; that our marriage is about reflecting and glorifying Christ. I need to remind myself and remember that when Matt has wronged me, or has done something that maybe I think I could never forgive him for; I need to remember the cross, and what Jesus has done for me there. His faithful forgiveness that He daily showers and gives to me, when I don't deserve it. Time and time again. Yet, after and continuing to forgive me Jesus STILL loves me so much, forgives me, and still will be faithful to me.
I am learning to love Matt everyday as Christ loves me. I continue to try to explain to people just how much I love Matt. I never can put into words just how much I love him, or how much he means to me. I love Matt beyond words, would do absolutely anything for that man. Then I think about this is how Christ is with me. He loves me even more than I love Matt, and even sent His only son to die for me, the sinner that I am, shows His love to me daily, forgives me, and shows mercy to me. Unbelievable.
Showing and extending mercy to Matt in everything. I want to not only apply these things from this book to Matt and our marriage, but to everyone that I come in contact with. I want to overflow with mercy for everyone, show great love to everyone -- love everyone with that love of Jesus. I want to be like Jesus, in my marriage, and in my everyday life. This has been my prayer for so long, and I will try to continue to pray this for me everyday of my life, until He returns for me.
Today is Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope you are all stuffing yourselves with amazing food, and are surrounded by the ones that you love so much! I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a blog post about the top 10 things I am thankful for right now. Of course there are way more things that I am thankful for, but for now I have decided to narrow it down to ten.
10. Peanut Butter M&M's. I love them, hands down the best candy.
9. Friends. The Lord has blessed me with so many incredible friends here in Racine, that I love spending time with, like random hang out times, and staying up way to late.
8.My Jobs. I am so blessed to have 2 amazing jobs that I love so, so much, and that are pretty flexible, and I can honestly say that I love going to work.
7. My Future Home. I was so incredibly blessed to visit my future home in GA this past week, and I am so excited about decorating it, and making it home. Matt did such an incredible job picking out a beautiful place to call OUR first home.
6.My Family. Their crazy, their weird. But they are my family and I love em!
5. The Holiday Season. I love the feeling of Christmas coming, the sales, the deals, and the late night store hours so I can shop whenever I feel like it
4. The Cross. The blood shed for me there, the forgiveness, the love. I am truly humbled.
3.Heaven. I am So SO SO excited to go and be with my Savior, to worship and glorify my Savior.
2. Matthew John Stevens. I am excited to soon call him my husband, my partner. He takes such good care of me, He loves me no matter what, he is always looking out for me, and he prays for me daily..I am honored
1.Jesus Christ. I want to be more like Him everyday of my life forever. I want my life to reflect Him in EVERY area. May my life glorify Him.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I just returned from my trip to Grovetown, GA; which will be in just a little less than 4 months will be my new home! It was a wonderful, amazing trip spent with my fiance that I love so very much, and I have come back even more in love with him than I already was. My heart just oozes love for him. I loved him so much before, but I love him a million times more now! I don't even know how thats possible, but I do.
Matt was able to take me around town so I could be at least a little familiar with things in the neighborhood, like the local Wal-Mart, the grocery store, and of course the mall! :) He even took me on base so I could be familiar sort of, with things there, what building he will be working in, and where the commisary and the exchange are. I was excited about moving down there before yet I was still very nervous and anxious about everything. But now that I have been down there and feel a bit better about everything, and seem to be at least a little familiar with stuff. I am very excited. Its a beautiful town, with nice southern folk, everyone so nice, and the weather isn't to bad either :)
Matt did and incredible job picking out a house for us to rent. It is absolutely beautiful. I love it. I am excited to make 562 Lory Lane our new home, and start decorating projects around the house, start cooking and baking for my husband, and eventually have guests and friends over to our home. I am excited to just live a married life with Matt, to be there with him all the time. To support him, love him. and just help him relax when he comes home from work on a stressful day. We were able to spend some really good quality time together. picking out curtains, enjoying meals together, shopping together, taking a walk together, and just enjoying a movie together. It was a wonderful time. I am so excited for what the Lord has in store for us. Only 3 weeks till we can be together again for the holidays! I hope it goes fast!
I thought I should update this blog since it has been awhile since I have updated on whats going on in my life.
Life has been going well, there are days when I wish I could rip all of my hair out, and then there are days when i just float. Part of these days of distress that I think I feel at times, being the fact that I have not seen Matt in almost 7 weeks, makes it hard. There are so many times that I wish he was here to go with me to appointments, help me with things, and just be the one to tell me to relax, even though he does that over the phone, I wish that he was here in person to tell me that, or even just get a great big hug from him at the end of a long day. But I look forward to seeing him in just over a week, when we can finally see each other again, and be us again. There is an end insight for this journey. I do know that. But to be honest, it still stinks, and I think that sometimes it makes it harder, when you are engaged, and we just can't be an engaged couple together. But I look forward to that day of us finally being together forever.
Life continues to go on with work, of both jobs, which will both be ending on the same day in February. On my days off from nannying, I make appointments for the wedding to meet with different vendors and such, which is tons easier when I am not dragging a 3 year old with me. Things are slowly but surely coming together for the wedding, I am so excited to see it all put into place, and for the ball to really start rolling on everything. I do manage to sleep every so often, and do fun things too, outside of wedding stuff. Like this weekend I am going to enjoy some time with some friends at a holiday parade and then just hang out for a bit afterwards. I am looking forward to that.
My personal time with the Lord has been good. I finished my book on Heaven which was incredible. Makes me even more; long to be with my Savior, to be without sin, to be in His presence forever, worshiping Him forever, O what a day that will be, Come Lord Jesus!!! I am now just waiting for my new book to come in that I am gonna be going through for our marriage counseling, and I am looking forward to what I will learn through all of that. My prayer continues to be that I would become more like Jesus, that I would become the wife that He wants me to be, that Matt would lead us in a Christ-like manor, that we would grow together, to serve, love and know Him deeper. Pray that with me too! Happy Tuesday.
Last night was my last night as a youth leader at Racine Bible Church; at least for now.
It was a very bittersweet night as I/we reflected over the last 5-6 years as I was in the
ministry. They had a little farewell for me with lots of cake, Nice kind words of eveidences
of grace in my life given by Michelle, Bethany, and my brothers. Such nice and encouraging
words, but all I want is Christ to be glorified in me, as I am just doing what He has called me to
do, and using my gifts for him, trying to show His attributes through me.
One of the leaders even made me a little scrapbook of memories through the years that I was
there, and most of the Middle School girls each wrote me a kind nice note of the impact that
I have had in their lives. It was also a worship night for the youth group, which I was glad that
was the way my last night ended. I love worship nights, Singing songs and worshipping the
one who gave it all for me, who deserves all the praise and glory. Then we wrapped up the night
with a time of prayer with our small groups. It was really nice. I am going to miss these girls, but
my prayer for each of them is that when I do come back to visit, I see them striving in the Lord,
knowing Him better, realizing the depths of their sin, and seeing the gift of grace that Christ offers;
and realizing the great work done for them on the cross. That is my hope, prayer, and desire for them.
I know that is the perfect time for me to leave the ministry, as I head into marriage and I get connected with other godly married women who will encourage me, and build me up, before
I head out and do this marriage thing. What a very blessed life I live. I am so grateful and thankful
for this journey of life that the Lord has brought me on, and the rich blessings of friendships that
were made through the youth ministry. My prayer is that the youth ministry at RBC will continue to flourish, that the Lord would bless it immensely, that the Lord will grant wisdom and strength to the leaders, and open the hearts and eyes of the youth. This is my prayer.
For the past week or so, I have been so amazed day after day at the free gift of forgiveness that Christ offers. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for me, the shed blood, for my sin, so that I may live eternally with Him. I am such an undeserving sinner of all the Christ gives me. Thank you Lord, I am unworthy to even come before such a Holy God. I am truly humbled....
"The LORD your God accept you. With what shall I come before the LORD, and how myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, then thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags. There is none righteous, no, not one. For all of sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by HIS GRACE! through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set fourth as propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,.....that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Accepted in the Beloved. You are complete in Him!"
2 Sam. 24:23; Mic. 6:6-8; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:10, 23-26; Eph. 1:6, Col. 2:10.
I got this idea of introducing my bridal party from my maid of honor who is also getting married, who did this on her blog, and I thought it would be a fabulous idea! So here is my bridal party and a little bit about each of them and why I chose them to stand up with me on this special day.
Roshelle Murray--Maid of Honor--Roshelle and I have been really good friends since high school, and has been my closest confidant through all of this. I can share everything with her, I tell her everything. In fact, I think I do tell her everything. She is my shoulder to cry on when Matt's gone, my sister, my relationship counselor, my twin, my advice guru, my fashion consultant, my best friend. What I love most about Roshelle is her love for the Lord, and how she wants her life to reflect Christ in all she does. Not only do we have a lot of memories together, we also have one more to share together. Getting engaged on the same day, just hours apart. We have become closer within the last year or so, because she understands all about this long distance stuff as she deals with it herself. Roshelle is such a great friend, always when it comes down to it, points me to the cross. Reminding me to pray and take it all to the Lord. That is why I love Roshelle. I am honored that she said yes to be my maid of honor.
Bethany LaPointe--Lets call her Yenta. Or the matchmaker. She is the one who introduced Matt and I. She thought we'd be perfect together. Who would have ever guessed that she was right? huh? Both Matt and I were hesitant to do this whole blind-date-set-up-thing, but we did it per Bethany who said, "trust me, its all gonna be fine." And well, look at us now. I am thankful for Bethany for that and for many other reasons. She is such a good friend, who encourages me in many ways, she loves the Lord so much, and just is so darn funny. And not to mention one of the best cooks in town. I love Bethany, Thank you for going to high school with Matt, and setting us up together. I can never say thank you enough.
Liz Nielsen--Liz and I have been friends the shortest amount of time, compared to the others in my party, but I feel like I have known Liz for forever. I love Liz, and she is like my big sister. I have seen her grow tremendously over the last year or so. She is one of the greatest people I know. I appreciate her more than she knows for letting me crash over at her and her husbands house more than once on a Friday or Saturday night because I was lonely and missed Matt. She even allows me to call her child..My baby. I love her daughter Charlize. She's practically my child ;) She and Ross have been amazing, and I am truly gonna miss her and Ross so much. Thank you Liz for being such a great friend.
Cortney Andersen--Cortney has known me since middle school. Both she and her husband Chad were my youth leaders in high school and we have become close ever since. They moved away for awhile, but when they came back its like they never left. Cortney was my accountability partner in high school, always making sure I kept up in the word, and was a Christ like example to all I knew. As I grew older it become more of a friendship, rather than just a leader-student relationship. Cortney has never been afraid to tell me just what she thinks of things, and I like that about her. I love Cortney, and so thankful that she provided me with a job that I love so much of watching her 3 beautiful children. I am gonna miss her and the kids, and maybe Chad ;) immensely when I am gone.
Kelly Schulz--I don't know even where to start with Kelly. Kelly has been such an amazing self-less friend through these last few years, always wanting to know about my life, and hardly ever talking about herself unless asked. She is somebody I wanna emulate my life after. Such a Godly wife and mother. Always quick to seek the Lord's guidance in everything, encouraging me with verses and Godly advice. Her submission and obedience to Steve is something that I hope I can pull from Kelly with Matt. I am thankful for Kelly and all her wisdom and encouragement. I love Kelly.
Heather Bergman--Heather and I have been friends since the womb. She and I are 23 days apart. Heather is such a smart and practical friend, who has taught me some crafty things over these years.. which I have failed miserably at, and then she just makes me a better one. She and I have so many fabulous memories together since her parents and my parents are such good friends. Heather and I did EVERYTHING together when we were in middle school and high school together. On Fridays we would watch TGIF on TV (remember that?? ;) and then talk about our crushes, guess which one of us would get married first, and what type of guy we would marry. Heather is now such an independent woman living on her own and working as a nurse. Heather and I still get together when its possible with our crazy lives and reminisce about old times. I have loved watching Heather grow closer to the Lord this year which makes my heart so happy, and pray that she continues to do so for many years to come! I love Heather.
Thank you ladies for agreeing to be part of my special day. I look forward to celebrating with you all.
