There are only 25 days until the big day!
When I looked at the countdown application on my phone, I was shocked to see how soon the date was approaching. Last Friday we closed on our house after a whirlwind of a week. We feel so blessed to have all the help we have had. Both of our parents have been there with us, dawn til dusk painting, scrubbing, and working on all the small projects a new house comes with. When we think back to all the stress we have had to build up to this it is crazy to think its all coming together.
I have enjoyed all of the great RSVP’s we have received with fun advice and great songs for us to play with our DJ. We have so much to do still, but I think its all part of the experience and doing things together. Ian has done a great job of helping support me and take on tasks when I feel like I have so much on my plate.
We also have been participating in a bible study based off of the book Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. We are so excited to be a part of this, especially at this time in our life. A lot of our young married friends attend as well, and it has been such a great thing to be able to share and grow together with people who support us and are there for us.
I wanted to leave you with a verse from Ephesians 5 that has been meaningful to us in this time, and that I hope will minister to your family as well.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
I pray that God would purify Ian and I through our future marriage and that we would both work to sanctify and lift each other up as Ephesians 5 commands.
Ian carrying me over the threshold of our new house
Ian definitely needs some credit for this post. Let me explain why….
We have been house hunting for about 4 months now. It has been pretty awful, as most of you who own a house already know the stresses with it. In our searching there was a house that I particularly liked. It was way better than the starter houses we had been looking at, and was in a community of people that we loved very dearly. It had all the bones that I needed to make a dream house become reality.
About a month into house hunting, I told Ian that he was going to have to take over the process. Between school, work, wedding planning, and spending time with him, I was at a stress maximum and the house hunting just added too it. He graciously told me that “He had it under control,” and I believed and trusted him. I never helped or gave input but every now and then I would send him a text that said, “Im ready to have a house with you.” We had both talked frequently about how much we wanted the one I mentioned earlier, but I was under the impression it was out of our price range and if it didn’t drop, there was no hope for it. About three days before Christmas, Ian and I were at lunch and he told me he wanted to give me my Christmas present early. His hands were shaking and he seemed way more nervous than the day he proposed. After we had finished eating, he blindfolded me and drove me around for about 30 minutes. I was car sick at this point, but still very eager to see what he had in store for me. Finally we reached our destination and he led me out of the car pulled my blindfold off and whispered “Merry Christmas” in my ear. We were in front of THE house. The house I had wanted. He had gone behind my back and secretly put an offer on it and the bank had accepted! Lord willing, we will close February 7, and will be proud owners of a beautiful house in Seven Hills.
Here are some pictures of the house before we put any work into it.
Sorry for the terrible focus. I was a little excited when I took these:)
Cant wait to slowly but surely decorate it all. Pictures soon to come:)
I have a confession.
I would like to say that I volunteer year round and give myself back to those who need it in the community, but I don’t. Yes I pray and I feel concerned, but with my youth and ability I started to think ‘Why am I not doing more?’ I recently had the opportunity to work with a few friends and family at a homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta. Though my job only came down to handing out some thermal hats and gloves, something still sparked inside of me.
Ian and I have been looking to do more. We love our church, Four Points, and have been able to get plugged in through worship and young adults, but, there is a community in which we live that has work to be done in it. We have both lived and grown up in Cobb County, and now that we are looking for our own house, we also have been drawn here and feel that the community has opportunity to be saturated with the gospel and showered with gifts of grace and love.
2 Corinthians 9 says…
“ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
What a glorious gift God has given me! How on earth can I live not constantly giving with the grace that has been bestowed upon me. More importantly than giving tangible things… I do not want to make any one angry, but I feel the church is missing out on our mission to feed our neighbors with the gospel. With whatever we do, the name of the Lord must be known. Giving is a way to show God’s indescribable gift.
So here is where I need your help….
I need to know what you think the community needs. Whether its clothing, food, family activities, christian events. ANYTHING that you feel would benefit the community. Send me an email, tweet me, post a comment to our blog. We would love to share with the organizations that we are involved in and how they can benefit others the most.
Since V and I got engaged, we’ve had the honor of being on a few blogs and photography websites.
We’re humbled that people have been interested in our story.
Below are the sites we’ve been on the past few months.
We’ve also included our proposal and engagement shoot links from our awesome photographers who have helped share in these moments.
Blogs
Photography Shoots
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