I've spent the past 40 days off of Facebook for personal use as my sacrifice for Lent.
Disclaimer: I totally used it for Tastefully Simple stuff and PWOC Bible study stuff. God and I worked it out. No biggie.
The idea was that I was giving up something that I rely on and waste a lot of time on to show God that I don't need it because He is all I need. Because, really, do I need Facebook in my life? Not really. I mean, sure there are times where it's convenient to have, especially now that we've become a society where everything is shared, announced, and updated in milliseconds on the social network. But by giving up Facebook and worshiping God by showing Him that He is more important than Facebook, He showed me a lot of things and opened a lot of new doors.
I spent the beginning of Lent hanging out with my sister and her fiance who came up to visit. Instead of sitting on the couch on my phone/laptop checking Facebook, I actually interacted with Mindy and Clay and enjoyed all of our time together, present in the moment. We cooked dinner together, had sister time, game night, and just truly enjoyed being together for the long weekend. For the first time in a while, I actually felt like I was present in the moment instead of distracted by my phone.
I also got to spend a weekend with my beautiful sisters in Christ in Washington DC at the Global Prayer Gathering for the International Justice Mission. I spent 3 days deep in God' presence as He opened my eyes and my heart to injustice going on all over the world. From forced labor to sex slavery, so many of God's children are stuck in the dark, and it was incredible to be surrounded by 1200 other believers lifting up these mission workers and enslaved people together in His name. God called me to get out of my comfort zone and showed me some areas of my life He's calling to, but that's for another blog post. He also answered a long-standing prayer for more Godly women to build friendships with, which was amazing.
I had the opportunity to reunite with two of my absolute best friends from Ohio during this 40 days, and to just enjoy being together for the first time in almost 2 years! We laughed, we reminisced, we ate junk food, and we enjoyed every minute of our time together. It gave me a chance to show them around Drum and Syracuse, to introduce them to some of my Army family up here, and to finally share this chapter of my life with them. I absolutely loved having them here, and was so sad when they had to leave, but it was such a blessing that God worked out that they could be up here for almost 5 whole days with me!
God also opened a new door in terms of a job for the summer. I've been praying and very worried about what I would do when the school year ended and I couldn't sub anymore. With graduation coming in August and my loans coming out of deferment, I knew I needed something and I just kept praying that God would provide. Boy did He ever! A friend in PWOC introduced me to one of her wonderful neighbors and her 4-year-old son. She was in desperate need of full-time childcare for her son in their house, and after a 2-hour interview we realized that so many of our thoughts on children and development are on the same page. I start at the end of this month spending Monday through Friday with this sweet little boy who just needs some boundaries and love, and God has truly come through more than I could have ever hoped in terms of providing for our finances.
Lent also saw the end of another grad school semester, the completion (and passing) of my Master's thesis paper, and some more weight loss - woo hoo!
But the best part about Lent this year? That I have developed a deeper and strengthened relationship with God. As we're into Easter weekend at this point, the sacrifice and love that Christ showed to all of us has never been more apparent to me, and I'm so thankful for His grace and mercies, which I don't deserve but which are always enough!
So happy Easter to you and your family. May you spend tomorrow surrounded with people you love, celebrating God's love however you see fit. No matter what you do, though, don't forget to take a moment to sit in peace, surrounded by His presence, and thank Him for His undeserved but immeasurable love.
He is risen!
Showing posts with label celebrate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label celebrate. Show all posts
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wedding and Honeymoon Goodies!
Okay, so I've been promising this post for about a week now, and I feel like I finally have time to sit down and write. Just a warning: with all the details, this is kind of a long post. Feel free to jump to the pictures if the details don't interest you. Don't worry, my feelings won't be hurt, I promise! :)
It's official--I'm a Mrs. And I'm pretty much loving it! Although, I don't think the whole "we're actually married" thing has really sunk in. Last week, I was talking to the mother of one of my students and I said "yeah and my husband--" and I totally had to stop and think for a minute! "Husband" came out naturally, but it caught me off-guard at how naturally it came out. It was one of those "who just said that? Wait, that was me?!" moments haha! But being married has been wonderful. I know we're in the "honeymoon" phase, but the love that we feel for each other is immeasurable, and it's been so much fun being the new, silly married couple.
So here's how the day went:
My sister and all her wonderful cosmetologistness (yes, I just made that word up) helped me get ready by doing my hair and helping with my makeup, and she could not have done a more incredible job. I looked and felt like an absolute princess! We'd tested out my hair a few weeks before, just to see if the style I wanted would work with my blusher/birdcage veil, and it looked fabulous during the practice run, but it was seriously amazing for the wedding. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling very nervous most of the morning. I helped my mom do the finishing touches on the great room where we would be having the ceremony, took some "artsy" photos of the rings, flowers, etc., and even did some laundry! Who does that on their wedding day?! This girl right here...
In case you forgot, we had the wedding in my parents beautiful 2-story livingroom (the great room), and while I'd never pictured getting married at my parents' house, it could not have been more perfect!
So about an hour before the wedding was supposed to start, I was still running around the house prepping things while my mother chased me around yelling "go to your room, people will be here soon!!" Then she banished me to the bedroom to watch TV until she and my sister came to help me get dressed. So what did I do? Um...watched My Fair Wedding and ate cheese crackers. Yup. I didn't actually start feeling nervous until I was in my dress, wearing my veil, holding my bouquet, and waiting for my daddy to come get me. Cue the instant "ohmygoshi'mgonnavomit" feeling!
The ceremony was perfect. A long-time friend's father who is a pastor married us, surrounded by our parents, grandparents, best man, and maid of honor. It was intimate, and that made it so much more special. But the best part of the whole thing? The look in my soon to be husband's eyes when we finally got to look at each other. Just thinking about it still makes me melt. If there was ever a time I questioned his love for me, in that exact instant I knew I would NEVER question it again. I cried a little during the vows, but surprisingly I held it together really well! And to top it off, it snowed on our wedding day! Not a big, wet, gross Ohio snow, but the light and fluffy kind that just made it magical.
After the ceremony and lots of pictures, we went outside where my parents surprised us with a stretch limo to take to the restaurant we went to! The restaurant was delicious, too, and they were so amazing with the service there. First of all, the restaurant was gorgeous and the food was incredible! If you ever get a chance to check out Bravo! Cucina Italiana, I totally recommend it. They were even kind enough to take our cake that we brought with us, plate it and prepare it for cake-cutting, and boxed it back up for us after. While we were there, a random couple came up to us to congratulate us and gave us $100!! Just totally out of the blue, they said they were local pastors that loved to see new married couples and that they felt called to bless us. It was crazy!
After dinner, we got changed and headed off to Cleveland for the weekend for our honeymoon. My parents got us 2 nights at one of the classy hotels in downtown, and our plan was to stay until Sunday afternoon since we both had to work Monday afternoon/evening. We had plans to grab a late dinner/wine tasting Friday night, but by the time we got there we were already exhausted so we checked in, unpacked, and passed out. Saturday was spent at the Great Lakes Science Center (so much fun!) and then we had dinner at Brasa downtown, which is probably the single most incredible restaurant we've ever been to. It deserves its own blog post--it was seriously that good. After dinner, we called the hotel to have the shuttle come pick us up...45 minutes later, they still weren't there. At this point, we were a little bitter about the fact that they forgot to pick us up, but when the driver finally got there, he felt so bad that he comped us an extra night at the hotel! We got an extra night of our honeymoon for free! It was wonderful, and it gave us a chance to try out one more restaurant, do some walking around town, and have dinner with our best man Tony and his new wife Jen.
Overall, it was the single most perfect weekend we could have possibly dreamed of. We are so thankful to my parents for all the work they put into it, and to our friends and family for being there to celebrate one of the most important days with us!
Okay, okay, enough with the details. On to the pics!!
It's official--I'm a Mrs. And I'm pretty much loving it! Although, I don't think the whole "we're actually married" thing has really sunk in. Last week, I was talking to the mother of one of my students and I said "yeah and my husband--" and I totally had to stop and think for a minute! "Husband" came out naturally, but it caught me off-guard at how naturally it came out. It was one of those "who just said that? Wait, that was me?!" moments haha! But being married has been wonderful. I know we're in the "honeymoon" phase, but the love that we feel for each other is immeasurable, and it's been so much fun being the new, silly married couple.
So here's how the day went:
My sister and all her wonderful cosmetologistness (yes, I just made that word up) helped me get ready by doing my hair and helping with my makeup, and she could not have done a more incredible job. I looked and felt like an absolute princess! We'd tested out my hair a few weeks before, just to see if the style I wanted would work with my blusher/birdcage veil, and it looked fabulous during the practice run, but it was seriously amazing for the wedding. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling very nervous most of the morning. I helped my mom do the finishing touches on the great room where we would be having the ceremony, took some "artsy" photos of the rings, flowers, etc., and even did some laundry! Who does that on their wedding day?! This girl right here...
In case you forgot, we had the wedding in my parents beautiful 2-story livingroom (the great room), and while I'd never pictured getting married at my parents' house, it could not have been more perfect!
So about an hour before the wedding was supposed to start, I was still running around the house prepping things while my mother chased me around yelling "go to your room, people will be here soon!!" Then she banished me to the bedroom to watch TV until she and my sister came to help me get dressed. So what did I do? Um...watched My Fair Wedding and ate cheese crackers. Yup. I didn't actually start feeling nervous until I was in my dress, wearing my veil, holding my bouquet, and waiting for my daddy to come get me. Cue the instant "ohmygoshi'mgonnavomit" feeling!
The ceremony was perfect. A long-time friend's father who is a pastor married us, surrounded by our parents, grandparents, best man, and maid of honor. It was intimate, and that made it so much more special. But the best part of the whole thing? The look in my soon to be husband's eyes when we finally got to look at each other. Just thinking about it still makes me melt. If there was ever a time I questioned his love for me, in that exact instant I knew I would NEVER question it again. I cried a little during the vows, but surprisingly I held it together really well! And to top it off, it snowed on our wedding day! Not a big, wet, gross Ohio snow, but the light and fluffy kind that just made it magical.
After the ceremony and lots of pictures, we went outside where my parents surprised us with a stretch limo to take to the restaurant we went to! The restaurant was delicious, too, and they were so amazing with the service there. First of all, the restaurant was gorgeous and the food was incredible! If you ever get a chance to check out Bravo! Cucina Italiana, I totally recommend it. They were even kind enough to take our cake that we brought with us, plate it and prepare it for cake-cutting, and boxed it back up for us after. While we were there, a random couple came up to us to congratulate us and gave us $100!! Just totally out of the blue, they said they were local pastors that loved to see new married couples and that they felt called to bless us. It was crazy!
After dinner, we got changed and headed off to Cleveland for the weekend for our honeymoon. My parents got us 2 nights at one of the classy hotels in downtown, and our plan was to stay until Sunday afternoon since we both had to work Monday afternoon/evening. We had plans to grab a late dinner/wine tasting Friday night, but by the time we got there we were already exhausted so we checked in, unpacked, and passed out. Saturday was spent at the Great Lakes Science Center (so much fun!) and then we had dinner at Brasa downtown, which is probably the single most incredible restaurant we've ever been to. It deserves its own blog post--it was seriously that good. After dinner, we called the hotel to have the shuttle come pick us up...45 minutes later, they still weren't there. At this point, we were a little bitter about the fact that they forgot to pick us up, but when the driver finally got there, he felt so bad that he comped us an extra night at the hotel! We got an extra night of our honeymoon for free! It was wonderful, and it gave us a chance to try out one more restaurant, do some walking around town, and have dinner with our best man Tony and his new wife Jen.
Overall, it was the single most perfect weekend we could have possibly dreamed of. We are so thankful to my parents for all the work they put into it, and to our friends and family for being there to celebrate one of the most important days with us!
Okay, okay, enough with the details. On to the pics!!
Mindy helping me get into my dress - the best Maid of Honor I could ask for!
Me and my momma before the wedding
Taking pictures to pass the time while I wait for my daddy
My daddy giving me away! This also made me a little teary
With my parents after the ceremony
With his mom and John after the ceremony
Mindy, my maid of honor, and Tony, his best man
With Carter, our little nephew/Godson/ring bearer
The cake at the restaurant--I can't believe he actually smashed it! (Wait...yes I can...)
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