75 days until I am (finally) married. People have given me lots of advice in the time we have been engaged - "Don't stress, at the end of the day, the important part is that you are married." "The details don't matter, so don't stress." "Have fun, wedding planning is a blast."
But really? I hate wedding planning, lol. If I had my wish, I would have eloped the day after we got engaged and thrown a big reception for everyone. I tell Chris all the time that we should just elope, lol. At this point, it wouldn't make much sense. So, Mom, don't worry. We won't be running off.
I've tried to spend my time being productive - not just planning my wedding, but preparing to be a wife (um, sorry, baby, that doesn't include cooking really awesome meals). I've been reading what the Bible says about being a godly wife. Because really, the wedding is the beginning. The end of all that planning, but the beginning of two people becoming one. And I think a lot of time, people focus on all that planning and not on the life afterwards. That's just my opinion ;)
But seriously, I hope these next 75 days go by quickly. For obvious reasons and because I'm ready for my baby to be home all the time and I know he is ready to be done with the constant traveling!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Rambles
I try not to complain about my job when there are so many people who do not have a job. But today, I am so frustrated. People are mad about things coming up they have absolutely no control over and taking it out on other people. This is resulting in other issues being blown out of proportion and being upset at other coworkers, who are simply trying to do their job.
When I first started here, I was so excited to leave the bank. So. Excited. No more customer service (and the risk of getting robbed declined as well :) ). No more incentives in trying to open accounts. I enjoyed what I did here...and still to a certain extent do. I enjoy seeing what I order and spend a lot of my time trying to find the best price, etc., put together for the final product and I LOVE seeing it ship out the door for its intended use.
But, let's be honest for 2.2 seconds, after the first few months, I was / am rarely challenged. God gave me this brain to use. I LOVE to think and solve problems (which is why I enjoy IT so much). I felt I was wasting my smarts on Facebook, Twitter, reading the news, etc. So, I started my MBA. It was SO good to be challenged. The first class totally kicked my butt and I've had to make up for it ever since, thankfully I'm where I need to be. I love learning about another country's culture, policies, even basic finance and accounting principles. I've become a better writer than I ever was in high school or college. A skill that will always benefit me. I used to hate writing and now? I love it. In fact, it got me an A in my last MBA class.
Anyway, where did that all come from? Oh yeah, I rarely feel challenged. I get these urges to quit. Start my own business. DO SOMETHING WITH MY LIFE (insert the dramatics). I feel discouraged, I think. Like, why am I doing something I don't want to do? But I have to remind myself that even on these frustrating days, I am doing something with my life. Just because I'm not there yet, doesn't mean I will never get there. Just because I don't have my dream job, doesn't mean I will never get there. I just have to keep taking baby steps.
When I first started here, I was so excited to leave the bank. So. Excited. No more customer service (and the risk of getting robbed declined as well :) ). No more incentives in trying to open accounts. I enjoyed what I did here...and still to a certain extent do. I enjoy seeing what I order and spend a lot of my time trying to find the best price, etc., put together for the final product and I LOVE seeing it ship out the door for its intended use.
But, let's be honest for 2.2 seconds, after the first few months, I was / am rarely challenged. God gave me this brain to use. I LOVE to think and solve problems (which is why I enjoy IT so much). I felt I was wasting my smarts on Facebook, Twitter, reading the news, etc. So, I started my MBA. It was SO good to be challenged. The first class totally kicked my butt and I've had to make up for it ever since, thankfully I'm where I need to be. I love learning about another country's culture, policies, even basic finance and accounting principles. I've become a better writer than I ever was in high school or college. A skill that will always benefit me. I used to hate writing and now? I love it. In fact, it got me an A in my last MBA class.
Anyway, where did that all come from? Oh yeah, I rarely feel challenged. I get these urges to quit. Start my own business. DO SOMETHING WITH MY LIFE (insert the dramatics). I feel discouraged, I think. Like, why am I doing something I don't want to do? But I have to remind myself that even on these frustrating days, I am doing something with my life. Just because I'm not there yet, doesn't mean I will never get there. Just because I don't have my dream job, doesn't mean I will never get there. I just have to keep taking baby steps.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Our Story
Chris and I met June 30, 2012 - on my front porch.
My hairstylist, Connie, texted me one Saturday morning about a month before, asking for a picture of me. I thought since it was early Saturday morning (and she usually has a client), I thought she was going to show someone a picture of my haircut. I texted her a picture - not the best picture I had of myself, but it wasn't awful either.
A little bit of time went by and Connie texted me again. This time, she asked for my permission to give my number to a "nice young man" whom she has known for a long time. My first reaction was NO! No way on earth would I ever be set up with someone. But I pestered her with questions, "How old was he?" "What did he look like?" "What did he do?" "Was he a stalker?" Finally, I conceded and this guy got my number.
To be honest, as my week went on, I forgot about it. All of a sudden, it's Thursday night. I'm driving to eat dinner with my good pal, Sus, as we do most Thursday nights. My phone goes off and it was an unfamiliar number. I wanted to crawl in a hole! What had I done!!!??? I hadn't really communicated with a boy since my ex and I broke up. What if he didn't like me? Rejection was not something I thought I could handle!!! So much went through my mind in a split second, *breathe Angela* I said. And I texted him back ;)
Chris was very nice. We texted for a little while and I found out he knew my dad from playing tennis. A week or so later, we talked on the phone for the first time as he was driving down to Mobile for a tennis tournament. We talked again on the phone as he was driving back to GA (where he currently works).
A week later, June 30, we went on our first date. He picked me up at my house. I always play the piano when I'm nervous. Go figure I was ready early (I think that's the only time since I've been ready early) and I played and played the piano forever it felt like. My first thought when I opened the door was "Wow." (a good wow) We drove to Huntsville to eat at Rosie's (good Mexican food). I don't remember the drive being awkward or anything - we seemed to have plenty to chat about. Our waiter was weird and we had a good laugh about that. He took me to a movie and afterwards, we went downtown Huntsville to listen to some live music.
Fast forward nine wonderful months of getting to know each other, becoming each other's best friend, and falling in love.
As I mentioned, Chris is currently working in GA on a project. So, he's home on the weekends. Well, this past week, he came home Thursday night (unbeknownst to me). Friday, he took my mom and my dad out to eat, where he asked permission to marry me. We went to a Good Friday service held at a local church. Chris' parents came to the service and came over afterwards. We were all eating and talking, etc. Somewhere along the way, I had picked up Chris had come back to Alabama Thursday night. I didn't think too much of it since I thought his oldest sister was already at his other sister's house in Prattville and he went to visit them.
All that evening, Chris had been trying to think of a way to get me to come out to the front porch (where we first met). But I kept saying, it's too cold outside, I don't want to, are you trying to make me angry?? (I laugh so hard thinking about it now) Well, Chris' parents left and my parents started getting ready for bed. Around midnight, Chris said he needed to go. So, I walked him out like always.
March 30 was our 9 month anniversary. Chris finally, after me not cooperating, decided to wait until midnight and ask me then.
After wishing me happy nine months and being very sweet, he says there is one more thing he needs to ask me. He got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I was basically in shock. I asked him if he was serious! He said he was and I said yes! He put the ring on my finger :) I even did a little happy dance.
My hairstylist, Connie, texted me one Saturday morning about a month before, asking for a picture of me. I thought since it was early Saturday morning (and she usually has a client), I thought she was going to show someone a picture of my haircut. I texted her a picture - not the best picture I had of myself, but it wasn't awful either.
A little bit of time went by and Connie texted me again. This time, she asked for my permission to give my number to a "nice young man" whom she has known for a long time. My first reaction was NO! No way on earth would I ever be set up with someone. But I pestered her with questions, "How old was he?" "What did he look like?" "What did he do?" "Was he a stalker?" Finally, I conceded and this guy got my number.
To be honest, as my week went on, I forgot about it. All of a sudden, it's Thursday night. I'm driving to eat dinner with my good pal, Sus, as we do most Thursday nights. My phone goes off and it was an unfamiliar number. I wanted to crawl in a hole! What had I done!!!??? I hadn't really communicated with a boy since my ex and I broke up. What if he didn't like me? Rejection was not something I thought I could handle!!! So much went through my mind in a split second, *breathe Angela* I said. And I texted him back ;)
Chris was very nice. We texted for a little while and I found out he knew my dad from playing tennis. A week or so later, we talked on the phone for the first time as he was driving down to Mobile for a tennis tournament. We talked again on the phone as he was driving back to GA (where he currently works).
A week later, June 30, we went on our first date. He picked me up at my house. I always play the piano when I'm nervous. Go figure I was ready early (I think that's the only time since I've been ready early) and I played and played the piano forever it felt like. My first thought when I opened the door was "Wow." (a good wow) We drove to Huntsville to eat at Rosie's (good Mexican food). I don't remember the drive being awkward or anything - we seemed to have plenty to chat about. Our waiter was weird and we had a good laugh about that. He took me to a movie and afterwards, we went downtown Huntsville to listen to some live music.
Fast forward nine wonderful months of getting to know each other, becoming each other's best friend, and falling in love.
As I mentioned, Chris is currently working in GA on a project. So, he's home on the weekends. Well, this past week, he came home Thursday night (unbeknownst to me). Friday, he took my mom and my dad out to eat, where he asked permission to marry me. We went to a Good Friday service held at a local church. Chris' parents came to the service and came over afterwards. We were all eating and talking, etc. Somewhere along the way, I had picked up Chris had come back to Alabama Thursday night. I didn't think too much of it since I thought his oldest sister was already at his other sister's house in Prattville and he went to visit them.
All that evening, Chris had been trying to think of a way to get me to come out to the front porch (where we first met). But I kept saying, it's too cold outside, I don't want to, are you trying to make me angry?? (I laugh so hard thinking about it now) Well, Chris' parents left and my parents started getting ready for bed. Around midnight, Chris said he needed to go. So, I walked him out like always.
March 30 was our 9 month anniversary. Chris finally, after me not cooperating, decided to wait until midnight and ask me then.
After wishing me happy nine months and being very sweet, he says there is one more thing he needs to ask me. He got down on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I was basically in shock. I asked him if he was serious! He said he was and I said yes! He put the ring on my finger :) I even did a little happy dance.
Friday, March 29, 2013
It's Friday, but Sunday is Coming
Christmas and Easter are two of my favorite times of year. We couldn't have one without the other.
I love Christmas so much because we celebrate the birth of Christ. It's where His human life started. If Christ had not been born, He would not have died on the cross. Christ becoming man is so important - it allowed Him to be the Redeemer (Heb. 2:11-17), it allowed Him to be the High Priest (Heb. 2:17), His humanity makes Him the last Adam (I Cor. 15:45-47; read these verses - they are great!), His humanity links Him to the line of David and the throne of Israel (love this!), and because He was born human - He truly understood temptation, pain, happiness and all human emotions. Yet, He remained sinless through it all. It made Him the perfect sacrifice.
Which is why we celebrate Easter.
Christ's death, burial and, hallelujah! His resurrection!
I can't imagine what those days leading up to Christ's death must have felt like - the betrayal, and the beatings and the knowledge of what was to come. He did all that for me, and for you and for the world. That's a lot of love. Too much for me to try to comprehend with my human mind.
But thank goodness, our story doesn't stop with His death! Our story continues, doesn't it? Sunday morning happened. Christ claimed the victory over death, He showed that you can be redeemed from your sins (1 Cor. 15:17), and He showed we are ruled by a LIVING King! If Christ had stayed dead, we would be no different than many other religions in the world today, but Christ is alive and seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
I am so thankful for the meaning of Christmas and Easter. More importantly, I am so thankful Christ came to earth to save it. I'm so glad I know that my home is in Heaven!
The youtube video below was posted by some friends on Facebook. It's so good. It goes through what Jesus went through on the cross and hope of what is to come - it's a little over 3 minutes long. I hope you like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YByT6wfdhJs
I love Christmas so much because we celebrate the birth of Christ. It's where His human life started. If Christ had not been born, He would not have died on the cross. Christ becoming man is so important - it allowed Him to be the Redeemer (Heb. 2:11-17), it allowed Him to be the High Priest (Heb. 2:17), His humanity makes Him the last Adam (I Cor. 15:45-47; read these verses - they are great!), His humanity links Him to the line of David and the throne of Israel (love this!), and because He was born human - He truly understood temptation, pain, happiness and all human emotions. Yet, He remained sinless through it all. It made Him the perfect sacrifice.
Which is why we celebrate Easter.
Christ's death, burial and, hallelujah! His resurrection!
I can't imagine what those days leading up to Christ's death must have felt like - the betrayal, and the beatings and the knowledge of what was to come. He did all that for me, and for you and for the world. That's a lot of love. Too much for me to try to comprehend with my human mind.
But thank goodness, our story doesn't stop with His death! Our story continues, doesn't it? Sunday morning happened. Christ claimed the victory over death, He showed that you can be redeemed from your sins (1 Cor. 15:17), and He showed we are ruled by a LIVING King! If Christ had stayed dead, we would be no different than many other religions in the world today, but Christ is alive and seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
I am so thankful for the meaning of Christmas and Easter. More importantly, I am so thankful Christ came to earth to save it. I'm so glad I know that my home is in Heaven!
The youtube video below was posted by some friends on Facebook. It's so good. It goes through what Jesus went through on the cross and hope of what is to come - it's a little over 3 minutes long. I hope you like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YByT6wfdhJs
Thursday, February 7, 2013
"Bow the Knee"
Having basically...a rough week, month, two months? Too many questions, not enough answers. Feeling very displaced right now. I'm not happy where I'm at. I feel like there's so much more out there for me. I feel like God wants so much more of me than what He's getting. I just am at a loss right now. I feel held back, like I can't go forward. I feel "stuck." I know I am in a waiting period right now.
I want to find a different job, but need to wait. It's not the best timing due to school and other things going on. I want to move away, but need to wait on school. Maybe I should quit school, eh? :) No, I won't do that. I enjoy it too much and it'll be worth it in the end.
I never have liked waiting. I think I've cried more the past few weeks since...well, it's been a while. I just hate feeling "stuck." But, really, I'm not stuck. God is trying to teach me how to be content.
My friend sang this song in church recently and it's constantly on my mind. I know the Lord had her sing it for a reason. Glad I happened to be in town that weekend :)
I want to find a different job, but need to wait. It's not the best timing due to school and other things going on. I want to move away, but need to wait on school. Maybe I should quit school, eh? :) No, I won't do that. I enjoy it too much and it'll be worth it in the end.
I never have liked waiting. I think I've cried more the past few weeks since...well, it's been a while. I just hate feeling "stuck." But, really, I'm not stuck. God is trying to teach me how to be content.
My friend sang this song in church recently and it's constantly on my mind. I know the Lord had her sing it for a reason. Glad I happened to be in town that weekend :)
Bow the Knee
There are moments on our journey following the Lord
Where God illumines ev’ry step we take.
There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,
As we try to understand each move He makes.
When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.
Where God illumines ev’ry step we take.
There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,
As we try to understand each move He makes.
When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.
Chorus:
Bow the knee;
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
Bow the knee;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.
And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,
In the presence of the King, bow the knee.
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
Bow the knee;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.
And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,
In the presence of the King, bow the knee.
There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall,
The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.
And there seems to be no reason for the suffering we feel;
We are tempted to believe God does not know.
When the storms arise, don’t forget we live by faith and not by sight.
The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.
And there seems to be no reason for the suffering we feel;
We are tempted to believe God does not know.
When the storms arise, don’t forget we live by faith and not by sight.
Chorus.
I'm so glad God is there when "the answer goes beyond what you can see."
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
"I Sin Differently Than You."
I agree that sin (no matter how big or small) keeps us apart from God - we've all sinned (Rom. 3:23). Like I just said, that sin keeps us apart from God (Rom. 6:23). In order to live a life with Christ, we need to ask Christ to forgive us of our sins - realizing this is something we cannot do ourselves, we must be completely emptied of ourselves and Christ is the only way to reach Heaven. It takes complete trust in Christ (Rom. 3:25, John 3:16, Rom. 5:8, John 14:6). Once we realize we are sinners, believe Christ died for us, and ask Him to forgive our sins, we are born again! He has forgiven our sins.
That was free information :)
I also agree that judging people is wrong. People take judging to an extreme level. They see only what they want to see without trying to understand what a person is thinking. Though, confronting a person when they are sinning should be done in a loving, Biblical way and done according to the principles laid out in the Bible (Matt. 18:15-17, Gal. 6:1-2, Titus 3:10 - there are many!)
However, after seeing this picture posted on Pinterest and reading all these comments...I want to take a minute and just encourage my friends and whoever else might be reading this. Just because we sin differently...don't let that be an excuse to stay where you are spiritually. The Bible is all the time talking about how we should be more like Christ.
1 John 2:6
Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
I Peter 2:21
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.
Romans 8:2-8
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
These are just a few verses that you can find on how we should be more like Christ. We should always be trying to attain Christ-likeness. Trying to gain victory in our sin! The awesome thing is that He has already promised us victory (1 Cor. 15:57), we just have to claim it!
Happy 2013 - I know a little late :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)