Today we Celebrate!!!

One year ago today I got to marry the man of my dreams and it has been an incredible year! One year has taught me that marriage is hard and wonderful and eye opening. Sometimes in the middle of a fight (gasp, yes we fight sometimes) I think how is he so unselfish and how am i so selfish? How is he so Christlike and how did i get so lucky. One year has taught me what forgiveness and compromise and love looks like.

One year has taught me that The Lord really does use marriage to make us more Holy. I watch Garrett wake up at 6am on Sundays to play the drums for 3 services at our church and then a day of practice for the next week and then mid week play for 2 more services. I watch as he loves it and looks forward to it, even when he's sick or tired or didn't get much sleep and my love for him grows and my love for the Lord grows too.  I listen as he talks about other ways he wants to serve in church on the days he isn't playing the drums and sometimes I think he's crazy but I learn from his servants heart. I am surprised how much i want to keep our home cozy and comfortable for him and even more surprised when I come home with grand plans to clean and cook a great dinner only to find that Garrett has done it all, taking care to do the chores I dislike the most. 

One year has taught me that I want to be more servant hearted. One year has taught me that love is so much more than I realized it was. Love is forgiving and forgetting, Love is adventure, Love is choosing to love when times are hard and rejoicing in Love when times are easy. Love is Holy and cleansing and inspires you to be better, work harder, love is choosing to relax even when there's a lot to do and Love is looking out for the needs of another over those of yourself. 

POEM: Heart Choices

Blood flows so preciously to those who are in need.
It ebbs away in great dismay from those whose wounds aren't healing.

The center of our choices beats with rhythmic drumming,
connected to a soul who knows that Christ is coming!

What treasures do we have-- but Heart!?
A start, A stop, a life between.

Who will you give it to and what will it mean?

The Testimony of Timeliness

All things belong to the Lord, the things we own and the things we do are His, we are His and the people around us are His. It is vital to remember this when thinking about Time and how we spend it. 

In college I remember being late to everything, it seamed like a normal way to function but it's not. It merely means that I was being lazy and I wasn't treating the Lord's time with respect. I even had a job that said it was okay to be late and so I was late at least a few times a week. I remember when the Lord laid it on my heart not to be late anymore and to my amazement my bosses noticed my timeliness and I got a raise for it! 

At work your timeliness is a testimony. It's not only your bosses time that you're respecting or a friends time that you're respecting...it is in actuality the Lord's Time that you are either treating with care or abandon. This week at work I've been practicing the testimony of timeliness and getting to work much earlier than I have to. The result has been great! I have time to make a cup of coffee at work and then sit and chat with co-workers before the day starts which is helping me connect. I personally love to sleep in but this is the Lord's time and has been such a great way to spend the morning. 

As a Christian your life is a picture of who the Lord is. Practice timeliness with friends, with your spouse and family, with work and church and in everyplace that timeliness is a testimony! Pretty soon you will be showing everyone that you (a Christian) are reliable and that's a great way to show them who the Lord is.

Timeliness is a Testimony! Don't be Late! 

Ps. Making friends at work has been interesting and I'll blog about that next week!

Transitions

This year has been a year of transitions. I've gone from single and independent, to married and part of a team, from motherless to gaining the most incredible mother in law, from living with five best friend girl roommates to living with a man (my incredible husband)!  The transition I'm writing about today is the transition from nearly full time involvement in a dynamic college minisistry to stepping away from that ministry and starting a new job.

Choosing to step away from the fellowship and ministry I was involved in was incredible hard. I love the people who have become my best friends and I love the work they are doing 'reconciling students to Christ'. Being involved in this ministry was a beautiful season in my life and one that taught me countless valuable life lessons.  Each year students involved in college ministry will graduate and move on to new jobs, new cities and start their own year of transitions, I'm hoping that this new blog series will give you a look into what that feels and looks like and how to make it count for the kingdom!

Friendships: When I decided to transition out of this great fellowship, I was afraid that I'd loose friends or feel unconnected with them because I was no longer sharing in the ministry they are a part of but here's a lesson I learned a long time ago; You are as connected as you want to be. True, you won't see those same friends everyday and yes you are going to loose some connection to them but you can pick up the phone and call them, send an email or ask them out for coffee. Work to keep friendships! Keep in mind that people are busy, especially the ones in ministry, so don't demand someones time but love them any way you can and always be an encourager! Pray for your friends often, even if you don't get to see them often.

Work life: Tomorrow morning I start a new job and I am going to make my time there count for the kingdom! I've been praying for my new coworkers for weeks now and bought a handy pack of gum (I don't even chew gum!) to offer to my new coworkers to strike up conversations and get to know them. I'm nervous and excited to not only start a new job but make new friends and eventually start a small group. I.m not sure what this is going to look like but I'll keep you updated!