1 Year Together

It is AMAZING to me to think we have been married for a year! Sometimes I feel it was just yesterday- and sometimes I feel like we've always been married :)

(This post is a few days late since we were celebrating and I didn't have time to blog on the real day) :)

On our sixth month anniversary, I posted about my top ten favorite things about being married. This time, I thought I'd write about my five favorite things I've learned *while* being married.

1. I remember a sweet friend telling me once, "You'll never know how sinful you really are until you get married." At the time, I was completely puzzled about what she meant. Boy Howdy, now I understand :) Being married is like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself as you truly are- I think a lot like the way God sees us. It has truly helped me grow in my walk with the Lord EXPONENTIALLY!

2. That things will not always turn out the way you wanted them to- and that's OKAY! In fact, that's GOOD. Looking back, I would have thought our lives one year into marriage would look completely different from how they look now. But Praise be to God for His Perfect Plans. And thanks be to God for teaching me contentment, and helping me realize *my* way isn't the best way.

3. How being young and being married is one of the best gifts the Lord has given me. So many people questioned and told us we were too young. My favorite reply to that, of course, was "My grandmother had been married for 6 years and already had 4 babies with another on the way by now. The way I look at it, I'm way behind." I was joking... mostly... but I loved to watch people's faces when I said it :)

4. How much more a supportive and loving family means to you. I've called my momma probably a billion times in the past year, with questions ranging from, "How in the world do I get x stain out of y fabric?" to "Now how exactly do I make this pie?". All the silly things I really thought I knew before I got married... that I apparently didn't know. I think while you live at home, you don't really appreciate all the little things.

5. That love can grow and change in ways completely unexpected. I love my husband in so many different ways now- not just the silly girlish love that is desperate for his attention (of course, that's still around sometimes!), but also a steady kind of love- a kind of love I believe can only come from the Lord. The kind where you would lay down your life for one another, and I don't mean in the dramatic "Romeo and Juliet" kind of way. I mean the daily, silly, sometimes ridiculous way. Like laying down desires and needs to make room for the other's way. The same sweet someone who once told me how I'd see my own sin better when I was married also once spoke to me about living for the Lord. I remember her saying, a lot of people would say they would die for the Lord. The kind where someone holds a gun to your head and asks you if you are a Christian. But how many people can LIVE for the Lord? The kind of life where you daily lay down your needs, your desires, and your wants. It's a lot harder to die every single minute. And that's how I see true married love. It may sound completely ridiculous, but dying to your need to fold tee shirts a certain way can be hard. Dying to your need to wash the dishes a certain way can be hard. Silly? Yes. But I don't think anyone but a happily married couple can understand how much those little things mean.

Thank you to everyone who remembered our anniversary even though I didn't post about it. It *truly* warmed my heart.

We read our vows again to celebrate- and to remember. It was very convicting to remember all the things I vowed before God. May He give us, in His Everlasting Mercy, many more happy years together, and many more things learned.

GROOM

I, Colin, covenant before God and man, to you Lauren Christine to
be your loving husband, and to lead you, to protect you, and provide for you in devotion to the Lord.

I vow to love you as my wife as Christ loved the church, to lay down my life for you, to wash you with the water of the word, to love you as my own body and to nourish and cherish you as the Lord does the church; to render unto you the affection due you, knowing that I do not have authority over my own body but you do, to dwell with you according to knowledge, giving honor unto you and living together with you as heirs together of the grace of life.

You alone will be my delight as the wife of my youth where divorce is neither a threat nor an option. I will fight for you and for our family. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow; in times of failure and in times of triumph till death do us part. I pledge to you my life as a loyal and faithful husband.

BRIDE

I, Lauren Christine, covenant before God and man, to you Colin, to be your loving wife, and to obey you, be faithful unto you, and care for you in devotion to the Lord.
Just as the Church is subject to Christ in all things, so will I be unto you in everything. I will live first for God, and then for you. I vow to always build up our household and seek to crown you by nobility in my character. I will discretely and chastely keep our home, working with eager hands, and always seeking to bring you good, not harm, all the days of my life.
If the Lord so chooses to bless us, it will be my delight to be the fruitful bearer of your children, and I will help you teach them the commandments of the Lord as we talk of them in our house, as we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. Wherever you go, I will go. I will not separate myself from you. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge, your people will be my people, and your God, my God. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph, till death do us part. I pledge to you my life as your loyal, obedient, and faithful wife.

True Forgiveness

Pastor James McDonald wrote about it. The clip on the post is true- and scary. I think most of what we hear about God in the media is *so* not biblical. May we always be ready to give an answer for the Hope we have.

Some Scripture on Children

1. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." -Psalm 127: 3-5

2. "And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also." -Genesis 38: 8-10

3. "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel." -Psalm 128

4. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." -Genesis 1:28

5. "But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck." -Luke 23: 28-29

6. "Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth." -Malachi 2: 14-15

7. "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." -Matthew 18: 10

8. "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." -1 Timothy 5: 14

9. "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." -1 Timothy 2: 15

10. "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." -Genesis 9:1, and again 9:7

11. "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." -Genesis 24: 60

12. "Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished." -Jeremiah 29: 6

I apologize for the lack of posts this week- I had a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a week. We thought I was pregnant- and then it turned out not to be. As such, I was definitely not in the mood for any crafting, or posting really. I was quite sad, but the Lord is faithful, and I take comfort in His Word and promises.
I was very happy to help hold a new baby after church today, and honestly that is the best "balm for the soul" in the world to me.
On a happier note- I think I'll be starting on.... *drum roll* Christmas projects! Needless to say, tomorrow will involve a visit to Hobby Lobby :)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5b

"But remember, my young female friends, and the lesson cannot be too deeply impressed upon your mind, that the seeds of a woman's lifelong excellences must be sewn in the springtime of existence. The flowers of womanly excellence, which you would wish to grow in your future character, must be previously and carefully selected, and be contemplated, anticipated, in all their full blown beauty and their richest fragrance, even while you are yet in youth."

John Angell James, "Female Piety" 1853

(image courtesy of AllPosters)

This week's Memory Scripture :)

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"
Luke 11: 9-13

Surely?? :)

I saw this linked off of Girl Talk:



Well, Now. That's certainly a way to be convicted (in the *sweetest* way possible!) about memorizing scripture! If she can do it... well, I'd venture to say, I have no excuse. :)

I think the Praise Moves DVD is a wonderful way to work out! It is filled with scripture, and... well... I could only do about half of it. Which means, its a great workout :) Lol. I finished the polka dotted peasant top- and spent the afternoon baking cookies. I would love to post pictures, but alas, my husband currently has our camera! So there is my "review" of Praise Moves! :)

to Yoga... or Not to Yoga

That was the question. After learning more about it, my husband and I decided for a big "NO" on me going to a Yoga class, because of its roots and links to false religions. The other week I attended a class here in town, and I was deeply disturbed by some of the goings on there. So what's a girl to do for fun, fitness, and flexibility? :)



Christianbook.com had the lowest price I could find, and today I received in the mail. I plan on trying it out tonight. I am very excited about this! Each move is based on scripture, and I loved the introduction to the DVD. Although I don't appreciate some of the clothing worn, it is miles and miles above (in the modesty department) any secular workout DVD. I'll let you know how it goes!