Hello February

I can not believe it is February already! That means we are only 6 months away from the wedding!!!!! Yay and yikes at the same time! My checklist on The Knot says I still have 455 items to do...HAHA seriously!

Since it is now the Month of Valentines Day, I have decided to begin celebrating! On each post I will include a picture, and something you might not know about my prince and I :)

for example,

My prince was my date to my first ever school dance :)
we were so little!

messy

how was your weekend? mine was...messy!

warning: this story is very personal, humbling, and a little icky. 


So Friday night I got home from work and just wanted to relax. I was catching up on some blogs, and waiting for my prince to get off work himself. Well, I had to go to the bathroom (nothing too unusual...) so I went! Now this next part is a little blurry probably from the trauma that was caused. ha. When I went to flush the toilet I realized it was clogged. ok no big deal this happens all the time right? wellllllll I started to plunge, but instead of going down, the toilet water began to rise...and rise...and rise...and RISE. Something was terribly wrong. THE TOILET THEN BEGAN TO OVERFLOW. And I mean oooooooverrrrrflooowwwww. YES. The toilet has been a little broken for awhile, but it has never ever ever caused something like this. I didn't know what to do so I tried flushing and plunging again. BAD IDEA. Now the poopy toilet water was flooding the bathroom. seriously...flooding the bathroom! ICKY ICKY ICKY. I was literally standing in my own poop. I know you probably are very grossed out by now but I wanted you to know the desperation I was in. The toilet finally stopped running, and I began to clean up the HUGE UGLY MESS. I was so eager to be clean! yikes. That is my story...one I will never forget!

Now let me tell you what came to my mind while I was in this MESSY situation.

Gross. Disgusting. Horrible. Smelly. Why. Sick. Ugh. Annoying. Nasty. Dirty. Sin. 


As I was feeling helpless and dirty, I heard God say to me...
This is like your sin. When we sin (disobey God) it is like we are standing in poopy toilet water. God wants to get us away from this mess and cleanse us, but sometimes we think it is more fun to stand in our poop. seriously how silly do we sound!?

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23


Our sin separates us from God. As long as we choose to live for ourself and this world, we are stuck in our own mess. The good news is that "...While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8


God saw us in our mess, standing in our toilet water, and He sent His son to cleanse us! We simply have to accept His cleansing! I don't know about you, but I never want to experience an overflowing toilet again. 


"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

control

Today I went into a ditch. I was on my way to work around 6:30 a.m....as I was exiting the highway onto a ramp...I hit some ice and lost control. I ended up allll the way in the ditch completely stuck (and super close to hitting a wall)! Thankfully I have an amazing dad who came to my rescue after I woke him up with a phonecall. He let me take his car to work while he waited on the side of the road for a towtruck! Thank you daddy I love you!! As I was then running late for work, I kept thinking why did this happen? There must be a reason or some kind of lesson? What is God trying to teach me?

When I was driving I thought that I had control of my car. I had no idea a little bit of ice could leave me completely trapped in a ditch...but it did.

What am I trying to control in my life? Is it my time, money, appearance, or sins? I may go a long time feeling in control of these things, but all it takes is a little bit of ice...

The only constant, absolute thing in this life is God. We may end up in the ditch sometimes, but if we are willing to let go of trying to control, then He is willing to take control and pull us out!

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
      do not depend on your own understanding.
 Seek his will in all you do,      and he will show you which path to take."  
Proverbs 3:5-6
                                                                                              


 "We can make our plans,      but the Lord determines our steps."         
Proverbs 16:9




"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" 
1 Corinthians 10:12 




"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
John 10:10

unpredictable

Whats up Wednesday?! :)

Today has been an interesting day so far...

I woke up late

I cut myself pretty bad while shaving my legs...who knows why I was shaving my legs when I was running late and going to wear pants...but I did.

I went to work on my day off to do an observation for my class observing and assessing young children.

I somehow missed my turn and desperately need gas in my car.

But now I am at Panera! I am eating garden vegatable soup and drinking coffee out of a lovely green mug. When I am done talking to you I am going to dive into homework for a couple hours before class.

My revelation today is that life is unpredictable. How often do our days go exactly how we planned or imagined they would go? ...not very often! Instead of letting life get to us, let's embrace the little things in life that make our days interesting!

I must admit...I love American Idol :) I have watched it almost every year since the beginning! Since the new season started I have been thinking about previous singers who did well on the show! One that just came to my mind is Mandisa. She was on American idol a couple years ago and publicly professed her faith in Christ on the show! You go girl!

I love this song she sings...it is a great reminder especially when days don't go how we planned!

busy busy!

Boy am I tired! Today was a busy busy day...I worked 8:30 to noon, and then I had classes from 1 to 9:30! Therefore, you are getting a weekend recap on almost Tuesday! This past weekend was quite busy also. Allow me to show you :) 

I helped babysit cute dogs and cuter nieces!

Celebrated Ria's birthday!! 

yummmy baked potato bar! delish! 

Church! This is on a wall in our awesome youth room!

My prince and I had the youth build bridges out of toothpicks and starbursts! It was a competition to see which team's bridge could hold the most weight without falling/breaking...quite entertaining :)

I am SO proud of my prince! God has taught us so much in the past couple months about stepping out in faith and trusting Him. Being a youth pastor is not ever going to be easy, but God is always faithful and so ready to use those who are humble and willing!

Check out the new blog for our youth group...Momemtum! :) 

thankful

This weekend is going to include some of my favorites...

mmmmm Panera

sleeping in!

spending time with my prince <3

and also some of my not-so-favorites...

COLD weather :(

It never ends...

Most importantly, I am choosing to be thankful this weekend. Every breath we take is a gift that we don't deserve! Don't let those not-so-favorite things of yours distract you from those little treasures in life... 

In the spirit of Friendly Friday I want to share some links with you of some newer blogs that happen to be friends of mine! Check out this blog (a friend who happens to be one of my prince's groomsmen :)) and also this lovely blog (one of my bridesmaids :))! Share some Love!!

father of love

hello friends! I know I already blogged today, but I heard this song on the radio on my way home from class tonight. It really spoke to me, and I wanted to share it with you!

"O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you. In this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands toyou in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy." Psalm 63: 1-5

purpose

This morning I watched a ten minute video from the awake conference. I was reminded of the great purpose and mission I have as a follower of Christ. 


So many people struggle with finding their "place in this world", or their purpose. I have often wondered why it isn't always clear what I am supposed to do with my life....actually it is clear! Jesus says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations..." Matthew 28:19 
This is our great commision, yet too often we loose sight of this in the business of life!


I was also reminded that our mission must be driven by these three things:
hunger
urgency
oppurtunity


Are we really hungry for God and His truth? Do we realize that life is SO short? Do we forget that we have an opportunity to literally change lives? 


Love God and Love others. What else really matters? 

dress!

It's official! Meet the bridesmaid dress...

My goal was to find something unique that the girls could possibly wear again.

This "special edition" dress from Davids Bridal is perfect! :) 

This is our inspiration for the groomsmen! The difference is that they would wear the teal color tie to match the bridesmaid dress! 

Next we are starting to think about registries! Any tips? :) 

recap!

what a filled, but wonderful weekend! I'm sure your expecting a recap...so here you go! :) pictures are my favorite way to tell stories! 

my beautiful friend Laura came to Minnesota for the weekend!

we loved the {em-pou-er} conference!! God loves his children dearly and is contantly making us who He wants us to be! We simply need to let Him!

lovely ladies! (the one in the middle is our wedding photographyer...it was so fun to be able to meet her)! 

bloggers unite! :)

I also took some family pictures of this cute family! 

Sunday was a very busy day. It began and ended with church, but inbetween there was a trip to David's Bridal....and I picked out a bridesmaid dress! I am very excited and will show a picture tomorrow! :) 

No work or school today! Right now I am off to get my hair done, meet my prince for lunch, do some reading (homework), and hopefully just relax! Blessings on your Monday! 

shoutout!

I have a quick shoutout for this lovely Saturday!! 

today is a very special day...my beautiful friend's birthday :) 

meet ANA!

Ana has been my friend since we were little and is also one of my bridesmaids for the big day! We have many many memories and I love her to death! 

Happy Birthday Ana! You are loved! 

weekend!

...I am so happy it's Friday (deja vu?)! 

My weekend includes: 

 Attending em-pou-er! Curious? :) check out the link! 

homework...?

hopefully getting my hair trimmed and highlighted (much overdue)! 

an extra day...YIPEEEEEE. Monday I have no classes and the day off of work! Now the question is how should I spend this day??  

this is me excited for a long weekend :)

Also this weekend I plan on searching for bridesmaid dresses! This is my current roadblock. I really would like cheap, adorable dresses that the girls could wear again...am I setting my bar too high? Any advice? :)

OOOOH and I can't forget blog hopping! This is one of my favorite things about Fridays...new friends! 

Lastly (promise :)) some encouragement! Even though we can't soak in the warmth of the sun...we can soak in the love of the SON! 

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 

winter blues

hmmmm is anyone else getting a little tired of winter? I especially don't like the slush and lack of sunshine! I have dedicated this post to all of the other seasons...oh how I miss them!

tank-tops and sunglasses!

flip flops and lakes!

outside sports!

sunshine!

flowers!

reading outside and barefeet!

ice cream cones!

swinging in the sand!

Oh how I take these days for granted...who is with me?

awakening

Well Hello! It's been a few days since I have blogged...mostly because I have been struggling with time management. Monday was my first day of classes, and I feel stressed out already...so many textbooks to read...YIKES. 


Monday I also began a 21 day journey called Awakening! Check it out! 

There are so many distractions in life that keep us from spending time with our Creator. Sometimes even good things (like food, school, or blogging (gasp!)) can become too important in our lives and begin to hinder our relationship with God. 


Sometimes I wonder why I don't feel God, or hear His voice. I begin to think that He is far away, and that He doesn't really want to use me. However, God is never far away. If I don't hear God's voice, it is often because of the distractions or clutter I have allowed to build up in my own life. God desperately wants for us to be close to Him, but He also wants our full attention. This is what I have been learning and struggling through the past couple days. I am so thankful that God never gives up on us! 

"Then Jesus said to the disciples, "if any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life." Matthew 16:24

boat pictures!

The weekend is coming to an end, and I start classes again tomorrow! Mondays are my busy days...I will have classes from 1:00 to 9:30! Yikes!

I had told you that Saturday I was going to look at a reception site...well we loved the boat in Stillwater! Here are some pictures!

this is the Jubilee II...picture it on a warm July night :)

there are three levels and lots of deck space! 

this is the second level...all the windows open up! 

the dance floor :) 

they say we can set it up and decorate however we want! 

we are super duper excited!