Come on New Year!

In just three more sleeps, I'll be bringing in the new year with my wonderful fiance!   I'm so excited about 2011.  I'm getting married! (If you didn't already know).  It's an exciting time in my life, and I do have a count down going till July 23rd!  Not much longer.....  

Christmas is now over, and I have lots of new stuff.  Which includes, but is not limited to, a Cricket Cutting Machine, Converse, PhotoShop and clothes.  Michael and I also received this super cool game ottoman that his Mom and Sister made (they are very crafty folks).  We also now have a beautiful bedspread, candles, candle stick holders and this really neat bathroom shelf thing. I can't wait till we can place all of these things in our new home in 2011.

However, besides being really excited about getting married in 2011.  I have also come up with some goals for the new year.  The first being to spend more time with God.  I think this is an ongoing "resolution" that most Christian struggle with.  I have found myself out of a routine, and longing for my relationship with God to become stronger.  I want to be a Godly Woman, one who is not complete in the gifts accumulated from Christmas or her future husband, but is complete through her relationship with Christ.  So that is number one.  Number two is to exercise. Not only do I have to look good in a wedding dress in less than 7 months, but I have found that working out clears my mind and allow me to focus on Gods Word better.  Number three is to eat better.  I'm cutting down on the caffeine and french fries.  Number four is to learn how to coupon!  

I know none of my resolutions are original, and I will struggle and fail at all of these at some point this year, but I will strive to improve myself.

Ohhhh.......and number five is to blog more about my readings.  So if you're a blog reader out there hold me accountable and ask me what I'm reading, and when I'm going to blog next.  It will help me tons!

Thanksgiving

It's funny, how I am so blessed, yet I forget to thank God for the things I have.  For instance, just this weekend I was able to wake up, put on nice clothes, drive a nice car over to my amazing friends house to indulge in some amazing cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Then, I was able to drive in my air conditioned car to the outlets in Gaffney and meet my wonderful Mom.   While shopping, my Mom bought for me two new outfits and took me out to lunch and dinner.  During our shopping time, I walked around in good shoes and called and text a few of my friends on my "Smart" phone.  Sitting and contemplating on those things I have, makes me realize that I am so wealthy.

According to America, I may not be wealthy because I don't make tons of money.  However, in comparison to the rest of the world I am so rich in not only materialistic things, but in personal things as well.  I am thankful for these things.  I pray that I will honor God in the things that he has given to me.

In lue of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for God, friends, family and the fleeting possessions that God has given me to give away.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, the water, the sky, the plants, the sun, the moon, the stars, the animals and then man.  Crazy huh?  I wonder what it was like breathing Earth into existence.    It's so beautiful that our creator created us.  Here I am, thousands of years latter typing on my Computer, and in the moment that God had created the heavens and the Earth, he had me in mind.  He had me in mind to complete part of his long story.  I know that God will never need me, but it's awesome to think that he wants me to be a part of the "bigger" story.


I hope to do crazy thing for God in my life.  I don't know what those things are, but I'm looking forward to completing those crazy thing with my soon to be partner in life aka crime, Michael!  However, as for right now, I'm in a pretty cool position as a unmarried woman to do some neat things for God in the city I am in.  I have a little over eight months in this city of Rock Hill, SC, and I can't wait to look back to see what God does.

I'm Engaged :-)

I'm engaged to the most amazing man in the whole wide world.  He is absolutely perfect for me.  Just this weekend, he cooked me dinner, filled up my gas tank, bought one of my best friends and me dinner and got me a very beautiful bouquet or flowers.   I'm so excited to be married to him in precisely 248 days!

Right After the Proposal

I'm so thankful to be marrying a Man who is after God's heart.  Looking back at our "dating" period in our relationship, it is so cool to see how he pursued me and how I responded.  Michael liked me for a long time before we started dating, but patiently waited to pursue me on God's timing.  He continually waited on God's timing to ask me to marry him too, and I loved to way her proposed!


He asked me, "Will you partner with me and be my wife in spreading the gospel to the nations for the kingdom."  I am so glad that Michael is my best friend and will soon be my teammate and husband to spread God's word.


God has such amazing plans for us that even if he told us we wouldn't believe him.  I'm so excited to share my life with the Man God created for me.

The Book of John

I'm sitting outside in a camping chair on the cozy balcony off the small, second story apartment that my roommate and I have.  The rain has just stopped falling, and I can hear the gutters draining and the sound of traffic in the background.  I just finished reading the Book of John.


I think I started reading John because my wonderful, best friend and boyfriend really likes the book and has been talking about it lately.  I love finding little ways to be apart of his world since we live far from one another.  So, as I started reading the book, I started making notes and thinking about ways I could have deep theological discussions about the book.


After reading John over again, I am amazed that God would send his Son to die for me.  I just finished reading about the resurrection, and I would have loved to been there when Jesus came out from the tomb.  Just the shock and awe that would come from that experience makes the hair on my arms stand up.


Another thing I love about John is the way it ends.  John 21:25 "There are many other things Jesus did.  If everyone of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not be big enough for all the books that would be written."


That is just amazing :-)

Growing Up

Sunday night I was helping out with a church event, and a woman sitting at the table with me asked "what grade are you in."  She was shocked when I smiled and responded, "I'm 22, and I've already graduated college."


It didn't shock me that she was shocked because most people who see me think I'm still in high school, and I usually don't give it another though after I tell them how old I really am.  However, this time, after I told this woman my age, I was thinking in my head, "gosh....I am growing up."


I mean I really am growing up.  I'm making life decisions right now that will shape the rest of my life.  For instance, where am I going to live in a year, am I going to finish my graduate degree, is there a job out there in public relations, will I be married?  It's just crazy!


But what is even more crazy is how God has shaped me into the woman I am today.  My favorite verse in the bible is Habakkuk 1:5, "The Lord replied, Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do!  For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it."


I love this verse because even if someone would have told me a few years ago that I would be leading a high school bible study, working at a church and making a difference in young peoples life at the age of 22, I would have thought they were crazy.


But here I am, hoping that I don't get in the way of God's plan for my life, and I'm so excited to see where he is soon going to take me as I embark on a new chapter.