I have not written on my blog in such a long time. I am sort of ashamed because this is my passion and I have not been able to enjoy the things I love as much lately because of the constant busyness of my life. This thanksgiving is super exciting for the Urbizo household but at the same time I share a bit of emptiness in my heart. Scott and I are cooking our first thanksgiving tomorrow for 12 people! We spent all day today preparing the sweet potato casserole, squash casserole, brining the turkey, baking the pecan pie, and chocolate pound cake AND I am proud to say everything is homemade! After 4 hours cooking away, I couldn't stand my itch to decorate for Christmas any longer. So, my patient husband went to the storage room and dug out all 12 boxes of Christmas decorations. We hung all the wreaths, the garland, and even made it to the Christmas tree farm to pick up our tree. Needless to say my house looks like I am torn between thanksgiving and Christmas. I have my turkey decorations right next to my tree decorations. In the mix of all the hustle and bustle today I probably called my mom about 25 times. I never realized how much went into preparing a meal. Honestly I thought How hard could it really be? Well let me tell you something IT IS HARD! I am unbelievably tired and my muscles are even sore! No one told me cooking was a workout! I could have skipped my morning run!
I am so thankful though to have my mother to call on when I need help. I tell her all the time I hope the good Lord will take us together because I don't think I could get by with daily living without her. I am very thankful that I have a wonderful, patient husband that even though I make life very difficult sometimes he just smiles and knows how to deal with my insanity. I told him last week that one day if we can ever afford it I would love to have a house with 3-4 dining rooms because I want to be able to invite all the homeless over for dinner on the Holidays. Most people would think I am crazy but he knows me well enough to know I am being serious! So with those calm brown eyes he looked at me and said we will have to pray about that one dear! I am very thankful for my Dad, who just 6 weeks ago had a total knee replacement and is here visiting me this week. He is the epitome of the IRON MAN! He is already back into working out again and he even went hiking with us this past week. I am very thankful for my little 13 year old sister. There is nothing like a bond between two sisters. Finally, this past year she is getting to the point where she wants to talk to me and tell me she loves me! For that I am very thankful. I am thankful for all my in-laws (including sisters and brothers) who make me laugh every time we are together and who love me for me! I am thankful for all my friends, and my small group family! Last but most importantly I am thankful that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for my sins and that he loves me unconditionally for all my flaws that the human eye can't look past.
As we head into the Holiday season I pray that you all remember what this season is truly about and share in the memories with your family. I encourage you to give to someone who is in need and not to focus on just you.
I have a great story of this in my own life of how material things just fade away. I had begged Scott for about a week for this green table that cost about $150.00. To most of you this probably does not seem like much but for our one income family it is a lot to spend at one time. Scott realized how much I really WANTED this table and surprised me one day when he got home from work with it! I was so excited. I put it into its place and decorated it a bit. I couldn't get my eyes off of it for the rest of the night. BUT you know what? The next day when life started to happen again I forgot about that little green table. The void it had filled the night before had diminished and I was now thinking of the next THING that would look good in our house. Material things will never satisfy that empty feeling in your heart. It took me awhile to learn this but only God can fill that void. I began to pray that God would take the material thoughts out of my mind and sure enough I started paying more attention to my relationships that God was providing around me and less to the material things of this world. The truth is we can't take anything in our houses, none of our cars, and none of our clothes with us when we go to heaven. You will recognize the people you have loved here on earth. SO with this thanksgiving spend more time with the people you love and less time with the things you love. Happy Thanksgiving!
2 little ones plus my hubby & I = 1 big happy family just trying to do life all while loving our God fully each and every day!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
God Meets All of Our Needs
I am the Chaplin for our sorority Kappa Epsilon at school. With that comes writing or sending devotionals weekly. I figured since I am super busy with school and haven't been able to write in a while I would share with you what I write as well:) Hope you enjoy!
I encourage you to listen to the song "How he Loves" by David Crowder Band. I know after a day like today I always need a reminder that "this test, this grade, and this class" are not going to matter when I am in heaven. It is important to follow God's will for your life but that doesn't mean that the path will always be easy. If it was easy ALL the time we would stray from God and pay attention to more worldly things that do not matter. He challenges us from time to time but the GREATEST thing about God is that even though he throws obstacles in our path he constantly is pursuing our hearts and he will never give us ANYTHING he knows we can't handle. We might think at that specific point in time where we are facing struggle that our world is collapsing but I promise as long as you trust in him HE will provide. There has never been a time in my life where God hasn't provided for me fully. Even though, I have been unsure of his ability in many circumstances in my life he never lets me down AND when I try to go about things the way I would have them I generally ALWAYS fail.
For instance, this summer after about 2 months of being married Scott and I quickly realized that supporting two people was alot more challenging than supporting just one. I was very fortunate to have my parents help until the day we were married. So quickly I realized how expensive life was and I grew a new appreciation for all the years my family supported me. We were fine in the summer living off my income and his income but when I started back school we knew it was going to be tough. Well, silly me decided not to borrow any money to live off of for school. I prayed one day and felt like God was telling me to trust in him. I remember thinking, "Ok God you want me to trust you? I'll trust you alright! Just make sure you provide that money!" I am sure he probably was laughing at me that day. Sure enough, it became reality for us when I started back school. The first week of school Scott and I both had to get cavities filled (He had 5 and I only had 1 haha), Scott got diagnosed with GI problems which included getting a very expensive test done, Scott's car needed new tires, and by the end of the day we had NO money for groceries. I remember getting on my knees praying to God asking for his help and once again he told me to trust in him. Well, that very next week we received a check in the mail for 2,000 dollars.It was totally God answering our prayers.
I realize there are bigger issues in some of your lives but nothing is too big for God. He can handle anything. He might not answer your prayers in the time that you would prefer but I promise you he will answer them when the time is right!
I encourage you to listen to the song "How he Loves" by David Crowder Band. I know after a day like today I always need a reminder that "this test, this grade, and this class" are not going to matter when I am in heaven. It is important to follow God's will for your life but that doesn't mean that the path will always be easy. If it was easy ALL the time we would stray from God and pay attention to more worldly things that do not matter. He challenges us from time to time but the GREATEST thing about God is that even though he throws obstacles in our path he constantly is pursuing our hearts and he will never give us ANYTHING he knows we can't handle. We might think at that specific point in time where we are facing struggle that our world is collapsing but I promise as long as you trust in him HE will provide. There has never been a time in my life where God hasn't provided for me fully. Even though, I have been unsure of his ability in many circumstances in my life he never lets me down AND when I try to go about things the way I would have them I generally ALWAYS fail.
For instance, this summer after about 2 months of being married Scott and I quickly realized that supporting two people was alot more challenging than supporting just one. I was very fortunate to have my parents help until the day we were married. So quickly I realized how expensive life was and I grew a new appreciation for all the years my family supported me. We were fine in the summer living off my income and his income but when I started back school we knew it was going to be tough. Well, silly me decided not to borrow any money to live off of for school. I prayed one day and felt like God was telling me to trust in him. I remember thinking, "Ok God you want me to trust you? I'll trust you alright! Just make sure you provide that money!" I am sure he probably was laughing at me that day. Sure enough, it became reality for us when I started back school. The first week of school Scott and I both had to get cavities filled (He had 5 and I only had 1 haha), Scott got diagnosed with GI problems which included getting a very expensive test done, Scott's car needed new tires, and by the end of the day we had NO money for groceries. I remember getting on my knees praying to God asking for his help and once again he told me to trust in him. Well, that very next week we received a check in the mail for 2,000 dollars.It was totally God answering our prayers.
I realize there are bigger issues in some of your lives but nothing is too big for God. He can handle anything. He might not answer your prayers in the time that you would prefer but I promise you he will answer them when the time is right!
Friday, June 25, 2010
What have I been called to do?
I believe that even as we become adults we still struggle with this question. I prayed along time ago that God would show me his plan for my life. At that time in my life I was trying to decide what to major in for college. I knew I wanted to help people and I absolutely loved medicine. God kept opening the doors for pharmacy school so that is the direction I headed. Over the past year God has stirred something very new into my life. I knew at the age of 5 that God gave me a unique heart and until recently I did not know how he was going to use my god given talents. My heart goes something like this. I LOVE people. Almost too much. I never meet a stranger. I am generally the pursuer in relationships because I care about other people and their needs before my own a lot of the times. Now most people would say this is not a good thing AND if you would have asked me a year ago I would have told you that I needed to change this about myself. Now I am thankful for it.
Today was one of the best days of my life besides our wedding day. I finally get it! I was listening to Andy Stanley's sermon on Jonah and the shade tree. Below is the passage that goes with the sermon:
1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, "God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That's why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
4God said, "What do you have to be angry about?"
5But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.
6God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.
7-8But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: "I'm better off dead!"
9Then God said to Jonah, "What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?"
Jonah said, "Plenty of right. It's made me angry enough to die!"
10-11God said, "What's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don't yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?"
God sent a storm, a fish, a shade tree, a worm, and then the wind. Jonah is absolutely miserable. Verse 9 Is it right for you to be angry about the shade tree? The Lord said you have been concerned about this shade tree though you did not tend to it or make it grow. Verse 11 Should I not have concern for the city of Nineveh....
This is the end of the book Jonah. God was saying Jonah you are concerned about all the wrong STUFF. God is concerned about this generation of people and Jonah was concerned about HIMSELF.
We as humans get so caught up in the things that matter least in the world. For instance, when we had no rain last year we complained that our yards looked awful and then when God gave us rain we complained about our yard again!
I am guilty of this. I get angry about the dishes in the sink, towels on the floor, and shoes left in the middle of the floor. I get frustrated when things don't go my way. Sometimes I am very selfish and like Jonah my life and my religion become only about ME and GOD.
When I dig deep though I realize God gave me this heart that loves people of this world so much because there are people out there that come to Jesus through the love other people show them and the work of Christ in their life. I want to help in whatever way possible. I am concerned about this upcoming generation. I understand God is concerned about this generation of people and when I step back from the worldly aspects of my life I become not so concerned about me anymore. The sin of Jonah was the HIS religion was all about him. He gets to die and go to heaven. God please protect my family, please help my kids turn out right, please help my job etc. It is not simply surrendering to Gods personal and moral will of God but surrendering to Gods purpose in the world.
I have known for sometime now that I am called to ministry I just never knew what my calling was going to be. I will still become a pharmacist but I will do ministry where God places me. Today, as the sky started to rumble and turn many different shades of blue I realized where God wanted my heart.
My heart is with middle school and high school women fighting for their purity and relationship with the Lord. Many of you know my story but my story is a story of redemption. I want to feed into young women and this next generation because I fear for them.
As I finished my walk back home the sky let loose. It started pouring down rain and it was as though God was crying because I finally listened to my heart and what he was telling me.
Today was one of the best days of my life besides our wedding day. I finally get it! I was listening to Andy Stanley's sermon on Jonah and the shade tree. Below is the passage that goes with the sermon:
1-2 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, "God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That's why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
4God said, "What do you have to be angry about?"
5But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.
6God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.
7-8But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah's head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: "I'm better off dead!"
9Then God said to Jonah, "What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?"
Jonah said, "Plenty of right. It's made me angry enough to die!"
10-11God said, "What's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don't yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?"
God sent a storm, a fish, a shade tree, a worm, and then the wind. Jonah is absolutely miserable. Verse 9 Is it right for you to be angry about the shade tree? The Lord said you have been concerned about this shade tree though you did not tend to it or make it grow. Verse 11 Should I not have concern for the city of Nineveh....
This is the end of the book Jonah. God was saying Jonah you are concerned about all the wrong STUFF. God is concerned about this generation of people and Jonah was concerned about HIMSELF.
We as humans get so caught up in the things that matter least in the world. For instance, when we had no rain last year we complained that our yards looked awful and then when God gave us rain we complained about our yard again!
I am guilty of this. I get angry about the dishes in the sink, towels on the floor, and shoes left in the middle of the floor. I get frustrated when things don't go my way. Sometimes I am very selfish and like Jonah my life and my religion become only about ME and GOD.
When I dig deep though I realize God gave me this heart that loves people of this world so much because there are people out there that come to Jesus through the love other people show them and the work of Christ in their life. I want to help in whatever way possible. I am concerned about this upcoming generation. I understand God is concerned about this generation of people and when I step back from the worldly aspects of my life I become not so concerned about me anymore. The sin of Jonah was the HIS religion was all about him. He gets to die and go to heaven. God please protect my family, please help my kids turn out right, please help my job etc. It is not simply surrendering to Gods personal and moral will of God but surrendering to Gods purpose in the world.
I have known for sometime now that I am called to ministry I just never knew what my calling was going to be. I will still become a pharmacist but I will do ministry where God places me. Today, as the sky started to rumble and turn many different shades of blue I realized where God wanted my heart.
My heart is with middle school and high school women fighting for their purity and relationship with the Lord. Many of you know my story but my story is a story of redemption. I want to feed into young women and this next generation because I fear for them.
As I finished my walk back home the sky let loose. It started pouring down rain and it was as though God was crying because I finally listened to my heart and what he was telling me.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
How Sweet It Is...The McMurray/McMillin Wedding Weekend
This past weekend my dear friend Mary Ellen married her prince charming Drew. It was such a wonderful wedding. I wish I had pictures but we forgot our camera because we left Atlanta at 5am on Friday morning. We were going to go and just buy one but time did not allow that. The weekend started with the rehearsal at the church and then a yummy lunch at the Puffy Muffin in Nashville. It was so nice to catch up with some friends from college and just celebrate our Mary Ellen. Then, we had the rehearsal dinner at the neatest place in downtown Nashville called Cellar One. The McMillin's put on a great dinner and the theme was Mexican. All the tables were brightly colored and we were served margaritas and sangria. The food was awesome. We had the privilege of sitting next to the couple that hosted Mary in New Zealand and a couple that mentored Mary Ellen through college. Mary Ellen and Drew have touched so many peoples lives and as the night went on we all joined in sharing our stories of them and toasted their future marriage. It is far and few between that you meet a friend like Mary Ellen. God put her in my life almost 6 years ago and she has been constant and loyal in my life ever since. We would get up in Auburn and run every morning. Even our freshman year we would do this but at this point in our lives we were so homesick. We would run to this church everyday, cry, and just pray. We saw each other through heartbreaks and lifted each other up when need be. The thing we have most in common besides running though is we both love the Lord. Mary Ellen is a wonderful prayer partner. Even in the hard times we knew that God's plan for us would ultimately prevail and he would provide for us the best husbands he saw best fit for us. Well, this came true for me shortly after my move to Atlanta. I met my Scott and 8 months later we were engaged to be married. Within that engagement month I met Mary Ellen for dinner halfway in Newnan Georgia. She was about to leave for New Zealand and she had this glow about her like I had never seen before. She then proceeded to tell me she met this man but she just didn't know because she was about to go across country for 6 months but she knew something was special. I left that night and called Scott to tell him Mary Ellen had found her husband:) She didn't know that at the time but true love on a person is so evident when they find it. After that night, Scott and I began to pray for their relationship that I knew one day would become a marriage. Their relationship continued while Mary Ellen was in New Zealand through Skype. So cool! And when she got back all it took was a few short months for them to become engaged. I remember when I got that phone call. My heart pretty much stopped because my good friend who deserved the best had now found her prince. It was such an exciting time for both of us and as the time went on we just shared in each other's wedding details and plans. We got married a month apart and honestly it was the best thing ever! We were able to share joy, frustrations, and love with each other. She was so happy for me and I could hardly contain my excitement for her.
Okay, now that I shared my story about our friendship I will skip to the wedding day. It was just perfect. Mary Ellen was the most beautiful, stunning bride I have ever seen. Her dress was lace, she had a long train, and a beautiful lace veil. She looked like she was straight out of a magazine. The colors were navy blue and green. It was so lovely and organic looking. We had the privilege of peering through the windows while Mary Ellen and Drew had their first sight. This is highly recommended by all brides that I talk to by the way:) It was the sweetest moment. The ceremony was great too! They had a bag pipe play during the ceremony. Wow, it was amazing! The reception was so fun too! We had great food, great dancing, and a great band.
We wish them a happy happy honeymoon! We love you guys:)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Really?
Last night after I got off of work I ran to the church to help out with something and then headed down to Decatur. If you have never been to Decatur, you should go! It is such a fun, neat place for a date night or just a night out with the girls. I met my friend Kelly down there at her condo. Which by the way is the coolest place I have ever seen. She is such a good decorator and I felt like I was in the country/modern NYC. The best feel ever, really the best of both worlds. We sat for a while and just talked. She is so wise and has so much to share about the Lord. We then walked to this little restaurant called Ponce I believe. We sat there for about 3 hours just sharing our stories and our walk with God. It was so cool because it is rare that you meet someone that cares enough to listen to your story and then be able to walk through it again is the most incredible feeling. It is just so wonderful to have a friend who is just so organic and real. It is hard to find those kind of people in this world today and I am very grateful for her friendship.
Well, the night was going so well. We were just praising our Lord and having the best time! Then on my way home I got lost. By this point it was like 11:15. I realized I was probably in the worst part of town and I got scared. Then my gas light came on. I just said to myself, Oh great God really...right now? I have never been so scared for my life. I stopped at this gas station that wasn't even well lit and as fast as I could I put $5.00 in my gas tank. Nothing else could have gone wrong. Well, it did:) I dropped my GPS in the floor board and reached to get it. As I reached I took my car with it and swerved. I corrected myself and I thought I was okay. Then I saw the flashing blue lights in my rear view mirror. Ugh! Talk about scared...now I was scared. For some odd reason, the only thing I could think of was Pastor Kevin Queen telling the story about late one night after leaving church he got pulled over. He was nervous because he thought that maybe the many red bulls he had would make the police officer think something else of him. Well, just like Pastor Kevin I started reviewing anything I had to drink or eat that night. I had 1 glass of wine at 6:30 and then about 6 glasses of water at dinner. I had a steak sandwich and some orzo pasta. Then I started freaking myself out by thinking what if they cooked the steak in alcohol!? The police officer came up to my door and shined the light in my face. At this point I was crying. I have never been pulled over much less gotten a ticket. I gave him my license and told him I was really lost and I did not know how to get back to where I was trying to go. HE LAUGHED AT ME! and then gave me directions back to the highway. I was so shaken up I could not even sleep last night! Moral of the story I guess is don't ever reach for your GPS while driving!
Well, the night was going so well. We were just praising our Lord and having the best time! Then on my way home I got lost. By this point it was like 11:15. I realized I was probably in the worst part of town and I got scared. Then my gas light came on. I just said to myself, Oh great God really...right now? I have never been so scared for my life. I stopped at this gas station that wasn't even well lit and as fast as I could I put $5.00 in my gas tank. Nothing else could have gone wrong. Well, it did:) I dropped my GPS in the floor board and reached to get it. As I reached I took my car with it and swerved. I corrected myself and I thought I was okay. Then I saw the flashing blue lights in my rear view mirror. Ugh! Talk about scared...now I was scared. For some odd reason, the only thing I could think of was Pastor Kevin Queen telling the story about late one night after leaving church he got pulled over. He was nervous because he thought that maybe the many red bulls he had would make the police officer think something else of him. Well, just like Pastor Kevin I started reviewing anything I had to drink or eat that night. I had 1 glass of wine at 6:30 and then about 6 glasses of water at dinner. I had a steak sandwich and some orzo pasta. Then I started freaking myself out by thinking what if they cooked the steak in alcohol!? The police officer came up to my door and shined the light in my face. At this point I was crying. I have never been pulled over much less gotten a ticket. I gave him my license and told him I was really lost and I did not know how to get back to where I was trying to go. HE LAUGHED AT ME! and then gave me directions back to the highway. I was so shaken up I could not even sleep last night! Moral of the story I guess is don't ever reach for your GPS while driving!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Three weeks into our married life...
The only word that comes to mind to describe our wedding day is "perfect". You put months and months; and in our case 18 long months into planning this one day. In a blink of an eye though it is gone. On the day of our wedding I woke up early to find the most magnificent wedding gift of all;
Running shoes with MRS. URBIZO imprinted on them. For those of you who know me I love to run! Running brings me peace, and it is where I have my best conversations with God. So, on my wedding day at 7am my good friend Mary Ellen and I went off to talk and exercise. It was the best thing I did for myself on our wedding day. I had a chance to be away from mostly everyone, cry a little, pray, and just prepare myself for the day.The day is a little bit of a blur to me but the parts I do remember stand out in my head so clearly. The next memory I have is when I saw Scott for the first time. Yes, I saw my groom before I walked down the aisle and it was one of the best decisions I made. Scott faced towards the church and I walked down the aisle with his back towards me. Words can't even describe this moment. As I inched closer, I told him he could turn around. When he turned around it was like all of my nervousness hit the floor and I could be calm now that I saw my future husband. We had a good 30 minutes just the two of us. We talked about our days, cried ALOT, and prayed together. It was the best moment of my life.
Then, came our vows. We chose to write our own vows when we first got engaged. Since I am the prepared one I had mine written or at least almost done in August of 2009. Haha Scott on the other hand didn't do his until the week before. That stressed me out a bit. But once again in the moment I just did not care.
Our first dance when we got to the reception as so special. We took dance lessons at All About Ballroom:) Kathy taught us how to fox traught, hustle, swing, and many more dances. We were pros:) Scott actually loved the lessons. It was such a good way to draw closer to each other and believe or not my Cuban husband is a pretty good dancer. We danced to Old and in Love and our friend Craig Simmons sang for us.
When I get more pictures I will post them. The last thing that was so good was our cake. I said before that all I care about is the cake. I LOVE CAKE! Well, God was extremely good to us. So many people were dancing that some people forgot to get cake. We had so much left over that I ate a slice every night for a week:) Amazing!Three weeks into married life...We are having so much fun! It is so nice to be able to wake up next to your best friend every single day. God has blessed us and we are so thankful for that. I struggled with missing my family at first. God knew that and he provided for me greatly. Not only do I have a husband we is always there for me but my small group friends have become our family as well. I can not wait to see all God's plans for Scott and I. We would really like to go to Africa or a country in need to serve in the next few years. We ask for your prayers and that God leads us to a place where he could use us most.
Monday, May 24, 2010
We are never going to stop Honeymoonin!
I am going to write a little backwards because we will not get our wedding pictures for a couple weeks. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect...I just never thought one day could be so much fun. The best part is that at the end of the day I left with my soul mate that I could not call my husband. We headed to the W hotel in Atlanta where we were greeted with lovely rose petals all over the place and a chilled bottle of champagne. I immediately felt nauseous and had a mini breakdown. My sweet husband was so patient and fed me wedding cake and left overs from the wedding. We had the best wedding night ever! Then at 4:30am our alarm went off to head to the airport. We went to sleep at 2:30 so we were pretty much walking zombies. We got to the Atlanta airport and got upgraded to first class. Everything was going so wonderful. We got to Sandals Grande Ochos Rios and taken to our room. The room was beautiful but it lacked the big bathtub I had pictured in my head. We let Sandals know that and they were more than willing to accommodate us. We were given the Romeo and Juliet Suite. I was stunned. I found myself just thanking God because he was already providing so greatly in our marriage; not just with stuff but with good quality time together and great conversations. The week went great. We asked for carrot cake one day and our butler had one made for us! We hiked Dunns River Falls one day. It was so challenging but so fun. Well, the week came to a sad end but we were ready to get back to our new house together and start our lives. We couldn't get home though without God throwing a few marriage tests at us. When we arrived at the Jamaica we were surprised that our seats were given up without our permission to a family. We were so upset because Delta did not even ask us. After much talking they finally put us back together. Oh well this was just the start of the day. We proceeded into customs with our carry-on bags in hand. We were told we needed to take our rum we were bringing back for our dads through customs. We made it to customs with 50 minutes to spare. We were told by this very rude man that we could not take the rum through customs. We did not have time to go back so we decided to just leave the rum behind. We were both bummed because we knew ours dads really wanted some rum. Out of frustration we starting to bicker in line. Since Scott and I have loud voices it seemed as though we were yelling at each other. At this point everyone was starring at us. Finally as we made it through security Scott spotted a store that sold rum. Come to find out it was a 1/3 of the price we bargained for in town. We bought three more bottles, got it packaged and headed onto our airplane. The flight was the only thing real good thing about our day. We reached Atlanta and proceeded through customs once again. We were greeted by yet another rude lady. We got to our bags picked them up and then checked them again to pick them up on the other side of the airport. Only one more step to go and we would be home free. We waited in the security line for 1 hour and we finally were about to make it through when a lovely rude TSA employee said, "Sir, that alcohol can't make it through security." So Scott was so frustrated he walked back to the check baggage and checked the rum in our carry on. We made it to the final baggage claim and got our bags. We waited another 30 minutes for the rum bag. As it scooted its way down the claim I picked it up to find the smell of rum. One of the bottles had broken in the bag all over our soveniours and birth certificates. AHHHHHH was all we could say and THE RUM WASN'T EVEN FOR US! Moral of the story don't bring home rum from jamaica for your dads on your honeymoon.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
10 more days!!
Sorry I have not written in a while. School has picked up and I have been so busy. I am almost done though! Friday is my last day and it is my last final. I could not be happier!
Well, we are only 10 days away. I can not believe it. I am beyond excited and just can not wait to marry my best friend. I have a few things left to do but almost everything is done. It is such a good feeling to not have to do too many last minute things.
I mainly just wanted to share something with you from Scott's really good family friend. She shared this on facebook and it brought me to tears. I have been trying to figure out exactly how to be a great wife. I know I won't always meet all of Scott's needs or expectations but I know if we are always fighting for eachother and not against eachother we will have a healthy marriage. And of course most importantly as long as God is in the center he will carry us through any struggle we come across.
I hope you enjoy this. The lady who wrote it had a huge impact on Scott's life. She is a wonderful lady who has a huge heart for God. She titled it The Secrets to staying married: The happy part is earned not granted:
1. Never ever lose sight of God. The minute one of the two of you stop chasing Him is the moment you open the door to trouble to join your marriage. The first one to disconnect from their quiet time with God is the one who will lose their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and start bringing chaos and confusion into the marriage. Please take note: selfishness, worry, anger, lust, always seem like a good idea when the Spirit of God is not there to remind us of the torment of those lies.
2. The filter –Every decision you make in a marriage will not affect only you. The truth is that every harsh word or selfish deed will stay upon your children’s children in some way. Knowing that ahead of time helps to secure the filter over the mouth and mind. Know this know - if you aren’t mature enough to hold your tongue, then you’re not mature enough to marry no matter how old you are.
3. The Power of Choice- The power of choice is always within your grasp. You choose to forgive. You choose to be happy. You choose to give positive feedback. You choose to go the other mile. You choose to be gracious. You choose to love. You choose to remember and rehearse why you fell in love with them in the first place.
4.The power of Love-Love is not just a feeling. Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.Love doesn’t strut,Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others,Isn’t always “me first,”Doesn’t fly off the handle,Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always,Always looks for the best,Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end
5. The power of Integrity- Integrity is not just for when things are going well. We seem to have no problem with this value until our partner stops showing it and then that seems to be our get out of jail free card for losing our own. That would not be the definition of integrity.
integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness : he is known to be a man of integrity.
6. The power of your vows - To state this bluntly I stood before God and promised till death do us part, not till I am tired of his stupidity or he is tired of mine. Stupid/selfishness tries to butt into every marriage and it takes the one who remembers their vows the most in those moments to fight for the love that is possible, the future that God dreams of, and the legacy we leave behind, even the reputation of God.
7. The power of His promises.- God is faithful to redeem every relationship that turns to him for support. There are times I didn’t believe in my spouse but I was believing in the power of God for my spouse. Happy is never really reached before hardship, anything before that just the fun and infatuation stage. Marriage is won when we choose to die to our rights and believe God for our spouse. Happy is born on the other side of disillusionment and sometimes betrayal.
God is faithful.
8. Now the fun stuff.- Kiss often, Talk all the time, Have great sex as often as possible. Be creative when you can. Never stop touching each other. Never stop appreciating. Eat great meals together. Share high up and high down. Share everything. Keep no secrets.Think of each other through out the day. Do that thing (what ever that special thing he or she loves) often. My man brings me coffee in bed anytime I am in there longer than he is. : ) My thing.Pray often and together. This is a huge bonding practice.Play well together.Have fun and never ever stop laughing. Always remember how they like to receive love (love language) and speak to them in their love language often.
Well, we are only 10 days away. I can not believe it. I am beyond excited and just can not wait to marry my best friend. I have a few things left to do but almost everything is done. It is such a good feeling to not have to do too many last minute things.
I mainly just wanted to share something with you from Scott's really good family friend. She shared this on facebook and it brought me to tears. I have been trying to figure out exactly how to be a great wife. I know I won't always meet all of Scott's needs or expectations but I know if we are always fighting for eachother and not against eachother we will have a healthy marriage. And of course most importantly as long as God is in the center he will carry us through any struggle we come across.
I hope you enjoy this. The lady who wrote it had a huge impact on Scott's life. She is a wonderful lady who has a huge heart for God. She titled it The Secrets to staying married: The happy part is earned not granted:
1. Never ever lose sight of God. The minute one of the two of you stop chasing Him is the moment you open the door to trouble to join your marriage. The first one to disconnect from their quiet time with God is the one who will lose their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and start bringing chaos and confusion into the marriage. Please take note: selfishness, worry, anger, lust, always seem like a good idea when the Spirit of God is not there to remind us of the torment of those lies.
2. The filter –Every decision you make in a marriage will not affect only you. The truth is that every harsh word or selfish deed will stay upon your children’s children in some way. Knowing that ahead of time helps to secure the filter over the mouth and mind. Know this know - if you aren’t mature enough to hold your tongue, then you’re not mature enough to marry no matter how old you are.
3. The Power of Choice- The power of choice is always within your grasp. You choose to forgive. You choose to be happy. You choose to give positive feedback. You choose to go the other mile. You choose to be gracious. You choose to love. You choose to remember and rehearse why you fell in love with them in the first place.
4.The power of Love-Love is not just a feeling. Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.Love doesn’t strut,Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others,Isn’t always “me first,”Doesn’t fly off the handle,Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always,Always looks for the best,Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end
5. The power of Integrity- Integrity is not just for when things are going well. We seem to have no problem with this value until our partner stops showing it and then that seems to be our get out of jail free card for losing our own. That would not be the definition of integrity.
integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness : he is known to be a man of integrity.
6. The power of your vows - To state this bluntly I stood before God and promised till death do us part, not till I am tired of his stupidity or he is tired of mine. Stupid/selfishness tries to butt into every marriage and it takes the one who remembers their vows the most in those moments to fight for the love that is possible, the future that God dreams of, and the legacy we leave behind, even the reputation of God.
7. The power of His promises.- God is faithful to redeem every relationship that turns to him for support. There are times I didn’t believe in my spouse but I was believing in the power of God for my spouse. Happy is never really reached before hardship, anything before that just the fun and infatuation stage. Marriage is won when we choose to die to our rights and believe God for our spouse. Happy is born on the other side of disillusionment and sometimes betrayal.
God is faithful.
8. Now the fun stuff.- Kiss often, Talk all the time, Have great sex as often as possible. Be creative when you can. Never stop touching each other. Never stop appreciating. Eat great meals together. Share high up and high down. Share everything. Keep no secrets.Think of each other through out the day. Do that thing (what ever that special thing he or she loves) often. My man brings me coffee in bed anytime I am in there longer than he is. : ) My thing.Pray often and together. This is a huge bonding practice.Play well together.Have fun and never ever stop laughing. Always remember how they like to receive love (love language) and speak to them in their love language often.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Who are my vendors?
I get this question so much from brides to be so I thought I would write a helpful blog to let you know who I am using to pull off our big day. I have been blessed beyond belief and the most wonderful people are playing a part in our wedding. I would recommend any of them to you in a heart beat.
First and foremost, my wedding planner is Denise Myers. She is amazing and can take absolutely any idea you have in your head and turn it into the most magnificent wedding. She is also my florist, and I have never seen anyone do flowers like this girl can! Her website is www.trusoweddings.com.
My photographer is Mary Anne Morgan. I love her pictures so much! She was a must have for Scott, and actually the only thing he really asked for was for Mary Anne to do our pictures. She is able to read your personalities and put them into pictures. She spends so much time editing and making sure everything is perfect. Her website is www.maryannemorganphotos.com.
Our videographer is Keith from Apollo Productions. He did my sister-in-law's wedding in December and we loved his work so much we hired him. His website is www.apolloproductions.com.
Our reception will take place at the Carl House and the inhouse Chef there will be handling all of our catering. The Chef is amazing and I have never tasted food so good. I will be a bride that eats on my wedding day for sure!
Our wedding favors are being made by CupKates. I found her through church and she creates the most wonderful desserts. Her website is http://cupkatesforyou.blogspot.com/
I am sure I am forgetting something but I will post again!
First and foremost, my wedding planner is Denise Myers. She is amazing and can take absolutely any idea you have in your head and turn it into the most magnificent wedding. She is also my florist, and I have never seen anyone do flowers like this girl can! Her website is www.trusoweddings.com.
My photographer is Mary Anne Morgan. I love her pictures so much! She was a must have for Scott, and actually the only thing he really asked for was for Mary Anne to do our pictures. She is able to read your personalities and put them into pictures. She spends so much time editing and making sure everything is perfect. Her website is www.maryannemorganphotos.com.
Our videographer is Keith from Apollo Productions. He did my sister-in-law's wedding in December and we loved his work so much we hired him. His website is www.apolloproductions.com.
Our reception will take place at the Carl House and the inhouse Chef there will be handling all of our catering. The Chef is amazing and I have never tasted food so good. I will be a bride that eats on my wedding day for sure!
Our wedding favors are being made by CupKates. I found her through church and she creates the most wonderful desserts. Her website is http://cupkatesforyou.blogspot.com/
I am sure I am forgetting something but I will post again!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Beautiful Sunrise
Driving home from boot camp this morning I was surprised by the most beautiful sunrise. It was 7am and even though I was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Atlanta Traffic it was so peaceful. The sunrise took me back to when I was a child. I used to wake up so early and I loved opening my window to see the sun. I used to ask my mom why the sun was so beautiful in the morning. She told me it was Jesus smiling over me and saying hi. I thought of that this morning and just thought maybe my mom was right. It is not every morning that we have a beautiful sunrise because God wants us to appreciate his beauty. If he gave us one every morning we would grow to get used to it and not appreciate it as much. I believe God is providing us with an image of his love for us. He wants you to know he is still there watching over you. My prayer for you today is that you can see God in the beauty of the world. Whether it be through nature, other people, or a specific city this is my prayer. Hope you have a good day!
Here is a devotional from intouch.org
Childlike Faith
On our own, we are unable to choose salvation. God’s Spirit must first convict us of our spiritual need. Specifically, He nudges—that is, He almost places a discomfort within our hearts—and reveals sin. This imperfection in our lives creates the need for a Savior to redeem us.
Do you ever wonder, then, how young children can be saved? Can they truly grasp the depth of their sin and their need for redemption? In most cases, probably not. Yet both my son and daughter genuinely received Jesus at the tender age of five.
Thankfully, almighty God is a gentle Father who meets us right where we are. Preschoolers can understand the basics of right and wrong—and the difference between obedience and defiance. The Lord can place within a young heart the desire to obey and follow Christ. Then, as that little one learns at home or church, God gives him a yearning and sense of need for Jesus. It is a simple longing without the deep, more complex understanding of an adult.
In many ways, however, the unencumbered faith that children have is what He desires of us, but with more understanding and gratitude, of course. What a gift! If we were expected to understand spiritual matters in great depth prior to salvation, none of us would qualify for the gift.
The lifelong process of spiritual maturation begins the moment a person is saved. Prayer and Scripture are essential, as is the role of other Christians. Each of us should be teaching those less mature—especially children—about Jesus. God uses believers to reveal young ones’ need for the Savior.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I can't believe we are one month away!
Today marks the one month away point for our wedding! I just can't believe we are almost there! Scott is beginning to get more and more nervous. I think it is finally starting to set in. I have finished my vows FINALLY! I started writing them last summer, and have now just become content with the way they sound. It is so easy to write to the one you love but it is so hard to keep them short. I started with about 5 pages and now I am down to a page and a half. haha Scott on the other hand is the last minute kind of person. I know he has started but who knows when he will finish. I also got Scott's wedding present. We decided to get each other gifts from the heart. I can't tell you what his is but lets just say I think it will make him emotional! I am so proud of it because Scott says I am more analytical than creative. Well, do I have news for him! I pulled out my creative side.
My wedding planner finished our menus! She is so talented in so many ways. I just tell her what I like and she makes it happen. It is almost as though she reads my mind! Tomorrow night Scott and I start dance lessons again! We wanted to do them closer to the wedding so Scott would remember the moves! We are so excited, so hopefully we will have a surprise for you all for our first dance. On Saturday night, our friends Craig and Kristen are coming over for dinner and maybe some Taboo! Craig is singing our first song with his guitar! On Saturday he is going to sing for us and we will attempt to dance to make sure we have some kind of rhythm!
As this week comes to a close, I wanted to leave you with a great devotional my sweet friend Laura sent to me this morning. She is actually my prayer partner and she has become an ultimate blessing on my life. Two years ago when I was moving up here I needed a place to live. Well, pretty much out of nowhere Laura and I ended up facebooking eachother because she went to school at Mercer's pharmacy school too. She had an extra room and wanted to know if I would live with her. I was a little hesitant at first but God kept on pushing me. We have become so close and I have gotten to watch her grow in her spiritual journey as she has also watched me grow in mine. I am a strong believer that God gives you all of these friendships. He has provided some wonderful girls to me over these past two years out of nowhere! Even just the other day I met a girl named Lauren who is getting married June 12th through my trainer. We ended up being alot alike so we decided to run after bootcamp on Wednesday. We ran for 45 minutes and in those minutes we both shared our testimonies! It was like out of nowhere but it was so wonderful! I found myself praying for her when I got home and I had just really met her. It was like we had known each other forever! God is awesome! Okay sorry now the devotional!
If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done. Matthew 6:14-15 (TEV)
In your life, you will be hurt by others; sometimes intentionally; sometimes unintentionally. How you handle that hurt determines your happiness.
When you bottle up hurt in your life and hold onto it - that is called resentment. If somebody hurt you years ago and you're still holding onto it, it will poison your life. For your own health and happiness, you must learn to forgive.
The Bible says forgive and be forgiven. In fact, Jesus says "if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done." (Matthew 6:15, TEV) They're inter-related.
It reminds me of the story - when someone told John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, "I just can't forgive that person! They hurt me too badly." Wesley's response was, "Then I hope you never sin."
For your own sake, let go of the past. If somebody hurt you, let go of it, release them. That's one of the values of prayer. It helps you unload. Forgiveness is the only way to get rid of the past. Forgive them and let it go. Get on with life. Forgiveness erases the videotape of that hurt memory that keeps playing over and over in your mind.
In my own marriage, the times I've felt closest to Kay, the times of most intimacy and oneness, have been times after a major blow-up. We've worked the thing through; we've both confessed to each other and asked forgiveness; and then we pray together. The oneness that comes out of that kind of experience just can't be explained.
When we let go of our hurts and forgive others we are reflecting the grace of our heavenly Father, who forgave us and continues to forgive us. It means we've given God our love; we've given God our lives; and, in doing that, we worship God.
My wedding planner finished our menus! She is so talented in so many ways. I just tell her what I like and she makes it happen. It is almost as though she reads my mind! Tomorrow night Scott and I start dance lessons again! We wanted to do them closer to the wedding so Scott would remember the moves! We are so excited, so hopefully we will have a surprise for you all for our first dance. On Saturday night, our friends Craig and Kristen are coming over for dinner and maybe some Taboo! Craig is singing our first song with his guitar! On Saturday he is going to sing for us and we will attempt to dance to make sure we have some kind of rhythm!
As this week comes to a close, I wanted to leave you with a great devotional my sweet friend Laura sent to me this morning. She is actually my prayer partner and she has become an ultimate blessing on my life. Two years ago when I was moving up here I needed a place to live. Well, pretty much out of nowhere Laura and I ended up facebooking eachother because she went to school at Mercer's pharmacy school too. She had an extra room and wanted to know if I would live with her. I was a little hesitant at first but God kept on pushing me. We have become so close and I have gotten to watch her grow in her spiritual journey as she has also watched me grow in mine. I am a strong believer that God gives you all of these friendships. He has provided some wonderful girls to me over these past two years out of nowhere! Even just the other day I met a girl named Lauren who is getting married June 12th through my trainer. We ended up being alot alike so we decided to run after bootcamp on Wednesday. We ran for 45 minutes and in those minutes we both shared our testimonies! It was like out of nowhere but it was so wonderful! I found myself praying for her when I got home and I had just really met her. It was like we had known each other forever! God is awesome! Okay sorry now the devotional!
If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done. Matthew 6:14-15 (TEV)
In your life, you will be hurt by others; sometimes intentionally; sometimes unintentionally. How you handle that hurt determines your happiness.
When you bottle up hurt in your life and hold onto it - that is called resentment. If somebody hurt you years ago and you're still holding onto it, it will poison your life. For your own health and happiness, you must learn to forgive.
The Bible says forgive and be forgiven. In fact, Jesus says "if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done." (Matthew 6:15, TEV) They're inter-related.
It reminds me of the story - when someone told John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, "I just can't forgive that person! They hurt me too badly." Wesley's response was, "Then I hope you never sin."
For your own sake, let go of the past. If somebody hurt you, let go of it, release them. That's one of the values of prayer. It helps you unload. Forgiveness is the only way to get rid of the past. Forgive them and let it go. Get on with life. Forgiveness erases the videotape of that hurt memory that keeps playing over and over in your mind.
In my own marriage, the times I've felt closest to Kay, the times of most intimacy and oneness, have been times after a major blow-up. We've worked the thing through; we've both confessed to each other and asked forgiveness; and then we pray together. The oneness that comes out of that kind of experience just can't be explained.
When we let go of our hurts and forgive others we are reflecting the grace of our heavenly Father, who forgave us and continues to forgive us. It means we've given God our love; we've given God our lives; and, in doing that, we worship God.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Why these struggles God?
I have been reminded lately of just how much my God loves me. As a little girl you always dream of your big wedding day being perfect and wonderful. You think that the whole planning process will be smooth sailing and everything will go just the way you planned. Well, I found this to be false very quickly after getting engaged. Our engagement has been full of struggles and obstacles. It all started about an hour after we got engaged when many people I loved showed no excitement for me at all. I have learned now that I should have just ignored it but at the time my heart was too insecure to do that. It became a heart issue for me and I clinged to it for a long time. Then, two weeks after our engagement I got a phone call that my mom was in the hospital. She was put in the hospital for a blood clot and come to find out she had 10 pulmonary embolisms. That means she had 10 blood clots in her lungs, which is a very bad thing. My whole world changed right then and there. I never thought that I could possibly lose my mom at such a young age. The thought of not having her at my wedding made me so sad. She stayed in the hospital two weeks and then left. We were told she lacked protein C and Factor V Leiden. She now has to take Coumadin for the rest of her life. I found myself being so mad at God asking Why us God, we have been so faithful . God quickly answered my question by getting my mom more involved in church than ever before. She will tell you now that God rocked our world for a reason and that this struggle only happened to draw her closer to him. In Hebrews 9:14 it says How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. This is a constant reminder that Jesus died for our sins and God loves us so much that he sent his son to die for our sins. If God did not give us struggles and life was always perfect we as humans would stray. God uses struggles to draw us closer to him and he will not give you any struggle that you and him can't handle together. Sometimes he is trying to teach us something, show us his love, remind us of something, or just simply show you he is still here. It is in times of hurt and pain that the most people come to God because they have tried every other alternative and in the end only God is the answer. So even though this wedding process has been extremely stressful and I have been hurt many times, I am constantly reminded that God is awesome and great! Every struggle he gives me only draws me near to him. And the best news is that in eternity all of these struggles will fade! Amen!
When I am having a bad day or just feeling beat up by the world I sing to myself this song:
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
When I am having a bad day or just feeling beat up by the world I sing to myself this song:
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Monday, April 12, 2010
What a wonderful weekend:)
Our weekend started on Friday with my dad and his fiance coming into town. We went out to eat at Bonefish! Yummy! And saw the movie Date Night. Then on Saturday we went to see my grandmother to take her around to visit assisted living places. This was kind of stressful but it made my heart happy to know she would be in a safe place. She is 88 years old and has more faith than anyone I know. We also took her to get a dress for the rehearsal dinner. We are so excited that she will be able to come to all of our wedding festivities. I did not realize how much patience it took to spend a day with an 88 year old. It is super challenging and almost like babysitting. I had to dress her, make sure she did not spill any food on her, and push her in a wheelchair. Whew! By the end of the day, I crashed!
Sunday we went to an awesome church service at 12stone and the pastor that is going to marry us did the sermon. Then later that afternoon we met with him. His name is Kevin Queen and he has so much wisdom and knowledge about Jesus. It was so fun because he asked us to start at the very beginning of our relationship and tell our story. We don't get to do this much so it was great that someone wanted to actually listen to us! haha He then asked us questions about eachother and what we admired about eachother. It made us stop and think about our feelings for one another. It was nice to get a little refresher of how much we meant to eachother.
Well, we are 33 days from the wedding. I just can not believe it. Pretty much everything is finished, now we just have to sit back and wait for the big day! I hope you all have a wonderful day.
Here is a devotional from InTouch! Hope you enjoy this and your day:
Sunday we went to an awesome church service at 12stone and the pastor that is going to marry us did the sermon. Then later that afternoon we met with him. His name is Kevin Queen and he has so much wisdom and knowledge about Jesus. It was so fun because he asked us to start at the very beginning of our relationship and tell our story. We don't get to do this much so it was great that someone wanted to actually listen to us! haha He then asked us questions about eachother and what we admired about eachother. It made us stop and think about our feelings for one another. It was nice to get a little refresher of how much we meant to eachother.
Well, we are 33 days from the wedding. I just can not believe it. Pretty much everything is finished, now we just have to sit back and wait for the big day! I hope you all have a wonderful day.
Here is a devotional from InTouch! Hope you enjoy this and your day:
Grace is God’s undeserved goodness and kindness toward us without regard to our merit or worth. It is freely bestowed on all who believe the good news that Jesus is the the Son of God, and He died for their sins.
Although grace is free, it isn’t cheap—the Lord paid a high price to obtain this blessing for us. He left the wealth of heaven to come to earth so that He could redeem us and give us the riches of His celestial home. Think of what that meant in terms of Jesus’ earthly life:
The One who is Creator and Owner of all things lived on earth without possessions. He was born in a borrowed stable, had no place to lay His head during the years of His itinerant ministry, and borrowed not only a donkey for entering Jerusalem but also an upper room for the last supper. Even the tomb was not His own.
Christ also laid aside the glory He had with the Father. Although He never ceased being God while on the earth, His radiant divinity was veiled with human flesh. Being born as a helpless baby, Jesus gave up the use of His omniscience and went through all the stages of human growth and development. The Son of God descended from reigning on the Father’s throne to washing the dirty feet of His disciples.
Christ became poor but lost nothing. Jesus regained the glory of heaven and brought us along. In following Him, believers likewise lose nothing and gain everything. We die to self and gain our souls; give away riches and receive heavenly treasures; and humble ourselves to be exalted in God’s timeTuesday, April 6, 2010
Whew! What a day....
Today was a very long day! I thought it would never end. It started with class at 10am.We had our first Cardio III exam at 1pm and it lasted until 4pm. Then I came home to study until 6pm. The girls from my sorority threw the brides a shower. It was so fun but it proved tonight that I am so over the wedding and ready to just be married! The weeks keep getting shorter and shorter. I never get to see Scott and that really stinks! I feel like we live states apart but really he only lives 40 miles away. Our lives are so busy and it is hard to find time in our weeks to make the drive. On an exciting note though, our future home got new carpet today! I can not wait to see it. Scott sent me pictures throughout the day but I can not wait to see it in real person.
Yesterday, Scott and I had our first "marriage" type argument. I was almost in tears and my sweet roommate was laughing at me. She thought it was funny because what we were fighting about was married people problems. Once I calmed down, I laughed with her and then cried some more. Haha all these emotions!
I remember sitting in church a few months back and the pastor saying that the number one problem in marriages is money. I found it hard to believe at the time because I thought money was just money. Nothing materialistic could ruin a marriage is what I thought. Well, yesterday our first married fight was about money! Ha! I did not realize how differently we handled money. We have sat down before to have this conversation and I thought we agreed! Scott and I both have been working through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Universtiy but I realized yesterday he has taken it a little more serious than me. I took to the defense when he told me the way he wanted our finances. I felt like he wasn't listening to me or even trying to see if my idea worked too! After thinking for a few hours we both talked again, and I have to say HE WAS RIGHT!
A lesson learned yesterday for us both was that fighting over money is not something we ever want in our marriage. God will provide one way or another as long as we follow him. We need to be responsible with our money but it does not need to be something we argue over or worry about.
We hope you have a great day!
Yesterday, Scott and I had our first "marriage" type argument. I was almost in tears and my sweet roommate was laughing at me. She thought it was funny because what we were fighting about was married people problems. Once I calmed down, I laughed with her and then cried some more. Haha all these emotions!
I remember sitting in church a few months back and the pastor saying that the number one problem in marriages is money. I found it hard to believe at the time because I thought money was just money. Nothing materialistic could ruin a marriage is what I thought. Well, yesterday our first married fight was about money! Ha! I did not realize how differently we handled money. We have sat down before to have this conversation and I thought we agreed! Scott and I both have been working through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Universtiy but I realized yesterday he has taken it a little more serious than me. I took to the defense when he told me the way he wanted our finances. I felt like he wasn't listening to me or even trying to see if my idea worked too! After thinking for a few hours we both talked again, and I have to say HE WAS RIGHT!
A lesson learned yesterday for us both was that fighting over money is not something we ever want in our marriage. God will provide one way or another as long as we follow him. We need to be responsible with our money but it does not need to be something we argue over or worry about.
We hope you have a great day!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday
I love Good Friday! Today, my school gave us the day off! It is a much needed day off but I will be spending it studying. Around 3 Scott and I are going to meet our friends Jamie and Trey at the Good Friday Event at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio, Kristian Standfill, and Christy Nockels will be there! We can not wait!
Good Friday reminds me of how much Jesus loves me. Today, Jesus was hung on a cross with his hands and feet nailed to the cross. They say it is the most excruciating pain anyone could ever feel. When I think about this day I think of what Jesus' Blood Can Do. I read the devotional below and wanted to share it:
Good Friday reminds me of how much Jesus loves me. Today, Jesus was hung on a cross with his hands and feet nailed to the cross. They say it is the most excruciating pain anyone could ever feel. When I think about this day I think of what Jesus' Blood Can Do. I read the devotional below and wanted to share it:
Jesus’ shed blood redeems believers. This means that we are purchased from a life of slavery to sin. Furthermore, we receive forgiveness—the wrongs of our past, present, and future are totally washed away. For the rest of eternity, God views His children through the “veil” of Christ’s blood, which makes them pure and holy. Everyone who trusts in Jesus is declared no longer guilty and brought into relationship with God. This unalterable change in status from sinner to saint happens the moment a person receives Christ as Savior.
The final word, sanctified, describes the life-long maturing process that begins when a person trusts in the Savior. A saint is set apart from the rest of humanity for the purpose of making him Christ-like. Through discipleship, testing, and teaching, God “drains out” our old self and pumps the life of Jesus into our heart and life.
Hope you enjoyed this!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Our Wedding Colors
I get this question a lot from people. So I have decided to give the rationale behind our wedding colors! Our color scheme is latte brown, soft blue, soft yellow, and soft green. I love brown! Everything Scott and I own for our future house is brown! He lives in the house now and we have painted all the walls brown too! I am thinking maybe one day I will branch out but for now I am stuck on brown! Blue is Scott's favorite color and Yellow is my favorite color.
I loved Green too so my wonderful wedding planner Denise Myers from TruSo Weddings found a way to incorporate it into the mix! You can visit her website at www.trusoweddings.com The picture at the very top just shows the yellow and blue we are focusing on. I had to incorporate the latte brown so we decided to make the bridesmaid's dress brown! The picture of the dress is the bridesmaid dresses I chose.We decided on using blue, green, and white hydrangeas, light yellow roses, light yellow tulips, light yellow carnations, and daisy's for our flowers. I told my wedding planner the picture I had in my head and she put it all together for me. She is amazing! Here is the look of the flowers but with some yellow added in.
Our wedding ceremony will be held at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Bethlehem, Georgia. We searched for a while for a church and one day Scott called me to tell me he found the perfect church. We went and looked at it about 3 weeks after getting engaged. We knew as soon as we pulled up we had found our church! It is beautiful. We are just praying for good weather and pretty clouds for pictures!
Our reception will be held at the Carl House. My sister in law Payton and brother in law Mike got married there almost 5 years ago so it is a special place for us. She had told me about it so we decided to go look. Scott immediately wanted to go with the Carl House. I wanted to be indecisive for a while and make sure this was the best option for us. It took me three months but I finally realized no where else we looked compared to the Carl House for us.
The Future Urbizo's are now Blogging!
After years of reading all my friends blogs, I am taking the plunge and starting one of our own. We have so many exciting events about to happen in our life that I wanted to share with our closest friends. Our relationship proves that if you trust God and give him control; God will bless you tremendously and the best part is he loves you unconditionally. We have been incredibly blessed with great love, family, and friends. We are about to step onto the journey of marriage on May 15! I can not believe it is finally here ! We are now 45 days away! It is becoming a reality that I am about to marry my best friend and one true love.
Well, I thought I would give you a wedding update but first I want to share with you a fun story. We had our first relaxing weekend this past weekend. This was a first for us since January because of my school, wedding showers, and other friends weddings. Scott got to pick the date on Saturday. Of course he picked a hike in the woods at Fort Yargo. For those of you who don't know me, I am scared to death of bears and coyotes so this was an adventure for me. When we got to the visitor center for our passes I asked the receptionist if the park was safe. She looked at me with a strange look and replied, "Oh yes, the bikers on the trails yield to all of our hikers so don't worry you won't get run over." Scott looked at her with a grin because he knew he was about to make me look silly. He told her I was scared of bears and coyotes. She laughed at me! And replied, "Honey, there are no bears in South Georgia." I was pretty embarrassed! haha Needless to say, I won't be making my fear known in South Georgia anymore.
To make a long story short, we got lost in the woods that day! We were on a 12 mile trail with just Scott, me, and nature. We had no food or water. For a while, I felt helpless and scared. One because I had not eaten all day and two even though the lady said there were no bears I was convinced one would wander down from North Georgia just to say hello to me that day. My sweet fiance though remained really calm, joking and laughing, and led us back to our car safely. It was almost as though God got us lost. We needed some quality time reflecting and praying. God gave us 4 good hours of this and once again showed me if I trust him he will keep me safe.
This past Sunday Scott and I met with our photographer, wedding planner, florist, and DJ. It was 7 hours of wedding planning! It was stressful and overwhelming for me. I can not imagine what it was for Scott. It was funny though because I was going to go by myself and that morning after church Scott asked me if he was invited. I said OF COURSE, I honestly did not think he would want to go talk about flowers, picture poses, napkins, place settings, and etc. Much to my surprise he really did want to go! For all you guys reading though, he did bring his blackberry so he could watch the games on his phone! I can never take that man away from his sports!
We are getting so close. It is really amazing that our 18 month engagement is coming to an end. It has been extremely hard planning a wedding for 18 months and being in school. I try to not let my mind wander too much but the excitement sometimes overwhelms me.
Scott and I learned so much over these past 18 months. God has provided for us greatly in all aspects of life. We have formed many new friendships and we feel extremely fortunate to have these people in our lives. For me, I have conquered a flaw that hindered my relationship with Scott and God for a while.
Like many women, I battled my inner core of insecurity for a long time. It was not until some hard conversations with God and some self revelation that I realized I was the only one hurting myself by being insecure. I always put other people before myself because I believed if everyone else was happy I would be happy too! I was easily offended, easily hurt, and easily let down. I watched as other people suffered with this as well and my heart broke for them. It is not a fun thing to deal with as a woman. I found it hard to trust people and let people in. I found so many people I thought highly of lying to me. I did not understand how people who had a relationship with Jesus could lie about things that were so small. I would let it ruin my days. Then, as I began to hold a grudge God stopped me and reminded me once again that Jesus Christ died for my sins and he died for other peoples sins too. There sins are no greater than my sins so rather than dwell on them hurting me I needed to focus on me. Sometimes you just need a good reminder. I learned to love regardless of no matter what the circumstance.
My insecurity decided to show up a lot with this wedding stuff. I hear from so many women that Weddings Make People Crazy! I never believed it but I do see it now. Every girl dreams of their big day being perfect. I had this picture of it in my mind and it always seemed my ideas up to someone elses did not match up. People I was close to made my ideas feel so small. Finally, I have broken free. I have realized that it doesn't matter what other people think, it only matters what God thinks of me. So, for you women who feel insecure I would recommend reading the book "So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore. She is awesome and she puts everything in perspective for you. Believe it or not, everyone suffers with some form of insecurity! Well, that being said I hoped my little testimony helps you in some way!
Hope you enjoy reading our blog as we step into marriage together!
Well, I thought I would give you a wedding update but first I want to share with you a fun story. We had our first relaxing weekend this past weekend. This was a first for us since January because of my school, wedding showers, and other friends weddings. Scott got to pick the date on Saturday. Of course he picked a hike in the woods at Fort Yargo. For those of you who don't know me, I am scared to death of bears and coyotes so this was an adventure for me. When we got to the visitor center for our passes I asked the receptionist if the park was safe. She looked at me with a strange look and replied, "Oh yes, the bikers on the trails yield to all of our hikers so don't worry you won't get run over." Scott looked at her with a grin because he knew he was about to make me look silly. He told her I was scared of bears and coyotes. She laughed at me! And replied, "Honey, there are no bears in South Georgia." I was pretty embarrassed! haha Needless to say, I won't be making my fear known in South Georgia anymore.
To make a long story short, we got lost in the woods that day! We were on a 12 mile trail with just Scott, me, and nature. We had no food or water. For a while, I felt helpless and scared. One because I had not eaten all day and two even though the lady said there were no bears I was convinced one would wander down from North Georgia just to say hello to me that day. My sweet fiance though remained really calm, joking and laughing, and led us back to our car safely. It was almost as though God got us lost. We needed some quality time reflecting and praying. God gave us 4 good hours of this and once again showed me if I trust him he will keep me safe.
This past Sunday Scott and I met with our photographer, wedding planner, florist, and DJ. It was 7 hours of wedding planning! It was stressful and overwhelming for me. I can not imagine what it was for Scott. It was funny though because I was going to go by myself and that morning after church Scott asked me if he was invited. I said OF COURSE, I honestly did not think he would want to go talk about flowers, picture poses, napkins, place settings, and etc. Much to my surprise he really did want to go! For all you guys reading though, he did bring his blackberry so he could watch the games on his phone! I can never take that man away from his sports!
We are getting so close. It is really amazing that our 18 month engagement is coming to an end. It has been extremely hard planning a wedding for 18 months and being in school. I try to not let my mind wander too much but the excitement sometimes overwhelms me.
Scott and I learned so much over these past 18 months. God has provided for us greatly in all aspects of life. We have formed many new friendships and we feel extremely fortunate to have these people in our lives. For me, I have conquered a flaw that hindered my relationship with Scott and God for a while.
Like many women, I battled my inner core of insecurity for a long time. It was not until some hard conversations with God and some self revelation that I realized I was the only one hurting myself by being insecure. I always put other people before myself because I believed if everyone else was happy I would be happy too! I was easily offended, easily hurt, and easily let down. I watched as other people suffered with this as well and my heart broke for them. It is not a fun thing to deal with as a woman. I found it hard to trust people and let people in. I found so many people I thought highly of lying to me. I did not understand how people who had a relationship with Jesus could lie about things that were so small. I would let it ruin my days. Then, as I began to hold a grudge God stopped me and reminded me once again that Jesus Christ died for my sins and he died for other peoples sins too. There sins are no greater than my sins so rather than dwell on them hurting me I needed to focus on me. Sometimes you just need a good reminder. I learned to love regardless of no matter what the circumstance.
My insecurity decided to show up a lot with this wedding stuff. I hear from so many women that Weddings Make People Crazy! I never believed it but I do see it now. Every girl dreams of their big day being perfect. I had this picture of it in my mind and it always seemed my ideas up to someone elses did not match up. People I was close to made my ideas feel so small. Finally, I have broken free. I have realized that it doesn't matter what other people think, it only matters what God thinks of me. So, for you women who feel insecure I would recommend reading the book "So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore. She is awesome and she puts everything in perspective for you. Believe it or not, everyone suffers with some form of insecurity! Well, that being said I hoped my little testimony helps you in some way!
Hope you enjoy reading our blog as we step into marriage together!
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