Since you asked: a few of our wedding pics

Brent and I were married on September 3rd, 2006. It has been a blast since :) Here are some of our photos, with one of them that he framed (see prior post).

Dad walking me down the aisle

During the ceremony

Just married!

First Dance

Just praisin' my man!

I feel compelled to praise my husband today for the wonderful man he is. Not only has he had to serve as the pseudo-contractor while trying to work from home, but in the last week he orchestrated the purchase of a car for me :) Lest you think we have oodles of money to throw around especially on a new car, please think again; my current car is 17 years old and has almost 250,000 miles on it, and we needed a more viable replacement. It's my dream car still, a 2003 Honda Accord. Enough about the car though, back to my husband.

He's been such a sweetheart because he had to take time off of work today to get the license plate and registration for it, the keys programmed, and the insurance application. Not only that, he just surprised me at work by dropping it off so I could drive it home :) What a guy! I am so blessed to have a godly man who is constantly surprising me with kindness.

He has also been patient with me during this entire renovation process. Trust me ladies, when your kitchen is uprooted from beneath you, you'll be more than flustered. He has taken this in stride and has done everything in his power to ease my apparent "suffering."

One last thing, I forgot to tell you what he gave me for Valentine's. He surprised me with three frames mounted above our headboard in the bedroom. The middle and largest one is my bridal portrait. The left one is a picture from our first dance that show only his hands around the back of my waist. The right one is from the same pose, only this time you see my hands wrapped around the back of his neck. What's more romantic is that he had the vows we said to each other placed under both of the photos. :) (I will reprint those on a future post). He is so thoughtful and no one I've ever met compares with him! God has been so good to me by blessing me with Brent.

"I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine." Song of Solomon 6:3

Kitchen Remodeling Update #2

Work on our kitchen was supposed to begin yesterday. It didn't. The contractor called and said he would come today. He did. And thankfully my dad was able to housesit all day while they worked. We are a day behind schedule, but it's somewhat of a loss because everything (cabinets and major appliances) will be delivered tomorrow. Things could be a lot worse...anyone seen "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks?

Last week for laughs we watched that movie. I can still hear the contractor in the movie reply the alleged completion date, "Two weeks!" Of course the running joke was that he continually said that several months into the project. Enjoy one of my favorite scenes from the movie :)

391 years of marriage and still going...

I read an interesting article off of Foxnews.com yesterday that discussed a family where the siblings have racked up a total of 391 years of marriage between them! I don't think Hallmark has crafted an anniversary card for that amount of years. Along with enjoying a rare positive news article, I began smiling as the siblings detailed their "secrets" to a long lasting union:

• "attribute their marital success in large part to the moral example set by their late parents" (The father was a Christian minister and they were wedded for 58 years).


• "the belief that marriage is for life"


• [On their parents' marriage]"They always showed respect for each other, which made us know that was part of marriage. There wasn't a lot of verbal advice. You just watched them and knew how it was done."

My favorite portion came later in the article by a history professor:

• "Coontz, who has studied marriage trends for 25 years, said many marriages that began in the 1950s ended as more women entered the work force in subsequent decades. That wasn't an issue for the Estes siblings; all the wives were homemakers." (Emphasis mine).

Interesting, eh? I would love to explore the reasons and possibilities behind this issue. I know it's silly, but every time I read something that points out how Biblical principles are put into action and work, I think "Yep. God knew what He was doing." Well, of course He does! But the modern feminism movement wouldn't allow you to even go visit that idea in your mind. There are countless articles, blogs, sites, etc. that detail the plague of modern feminism, so I won't go there, at least for this post. I have a great e-book entitled "The Feminist Mistake" by Mary Kassian which I'm looking forward to reading; and no doubt I'll post about its content in the future.

So I'm curious to know and I'll have to think back myself, out of the housewives you know or have known, what did the longevity of their marriages look like? And yes, I do realize that it's not always quantity but quality that counts, but I'm just curious. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Kitchen Remodeling Update

I apologize for the delay in between posts. Nothing has really grabbed my attention as of late. The kitchen is pretty much in the same state I last told you about. However, we have regained a bit of our den/floor space back since Habitat ReStore came and collected our stove and all the cabinets. It is much more open again and looks less junky :)

The great fantastic news is that the contractor and crew will be coming on Monday (!) to begin work. And get this, the guy estimated that it would take only 2 days (?!) to complete. Yes, I know our kitchen is small, but I'd be very surprised if it took only 2 days given the amount of work that needs to be done (electrical, plumbing, sheetrocking, etc.). Once the crew is finished, our cabinet installation team will be coming. Heck I don't care if it takes a week. I am just relieved since I had prepared myself that we wouldn't have a kitchen until mid March. I might instead have a brand new one by next weekend!!! Hallelujah!

I've caught myself while at work daydreaming of what our kitchen will look like. In all honesty, I have a concept of what it will look like, only because I did not design it or pick out the cabinets, appliances, or countertops. Yes, you read that right. My husband chose all of it. He has great taste generally speaking. That minor discrepancy did not come to light until I mentioned it to my sister. I can remember her shrieking, "What?! How were you not involved in choosing your kitchen? It's the woman's domain!" Even though I wish I could've been the designer of our kitchen, for some odd reason, it didn't really bother me. Mainly because I trust my husband. He picked out brand new appliances and everything else so why should I need to worry? He's an avid watcher of anything HGtv so there again, he knows what nice kitchens look like.

I have gotten to choose some of the fun details of the kitchen like the hardware and the pendant lights. Both are gorgeous. The hardware is very modern, stainless steel, and sleek. I also chose a cute fork handle that will be on the silverware drawer. I figured everyone always asks "Where's the silverware?" Now all they'll have to do is look for the fork handle. :)

I also chose bin pulls for the rest of the drawers. The pendant lights I chose are two bold colored Tiffany shades that will be over the main bar/countertop area. I like the eclectic combination of modern and vintage. It suits me :) I am just so excited to see it come together! And I'm looking forward to posting pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Kitchen Remodeling

I probably should have been taking photos of the demolition so far of our kitchen or lack thereof. The former avid scrapbooker in me is kicking herself. I promise I'll try to remember to take some photos and definitely post some before & afters.

In the meantime, use your imagination:

• all cabinets have been pried off of the walls
• sheetrock dust has an unbelievable knack for going in every room of the house despite where the work is actually occuring
• the fridge is in our den now
• there is a huge pile of doors, nails, baseboards, sheetrock, studs lying beside the couch
• I've been dustbusting constantly, fearful of splinters and rabid dust bunnies
• our entire pantry is either a) on the utility table b) under the utility table c) lying on the guest bed d) residing in the guest bedroom closet
• the light switch panels are dangling by their wires only
• there will be no oven/stove come Monday (!!!)
• our downstairs neighbor probably hates us by now and most likely won't be talking to us once this remodel is finished

I've actually been adjusting pretty well considering. Please pray for patience, contentment, and adaptation. God willing, the entire kitchen remodel will be completed in early March. I am honestly not looking forward to all of the restaurant meals we will be eating; because of cost and nutrition. I'm hoping that my electric griddle will come in handy... hibachi chicken anyone? And can I get an Amen for the inventor of the microwave?

Loving the Lost

Earlier this week during my Bible study I came across this quote,

"We are given small windows of opportunity to show God's love in tangible ways."

Jesus' mission on earth was to redeem the lost, the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners. If you're a Christian today, you were once lost too. So how come as Christians we find it so hard to relate to lost people? Maybe because the very word relate depends upon the fact that we develop relationships?! Right there's a clue. And I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I figure if we're not in relationships with lost people, we sure won't be able to relate to them easily. And lest you forget, we do have a common thread: we are all image-bearers of the one true God.

Jesus had the uncanny ability of living in this world, yet He was not of it. He didn't care who He was hanging out with; the sinners, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the lepers, etc. So why should I? He developed relationships with them. He invested Himself into their lives while on earth, yea unto His death even!

Might I propose some insight as to why Jesus was able to accomplish both? Everything Jesus did was intentional. Intentional is defined as "being characterized by conscious design or purpose;
done or made or performed with purpose and intent." Never on earth has there been a man of such purpose. And while hanging out with these sordid types, His conversations were thought-provoking to say the least. He talked about God, sin, eternity, love, hope. I wish I had the ability to see through peoples' facades like Jesus did. He played no games, He cut to the core and dismantled the beliefs and values that people were clinging to by asking simple questions. Yet He did so with love and humility.

I'll admit it. I am stuck in the proverbial Christian bubble. It's a nice place where you know your friends share the same beliefs. You can let your hair down. You can blast your Christian music. The only time I am around or should I say in the vicinity of lost people is at work, my condo community, and while doing errands; a pretty limited scope of interaction. Yet all the more reason to really do something about it and be intentional with loving the lost and sharing the Gospel.

I've been reading the book "Revolution in World Missions" by K.P. Yohannan and some chapters have been extremely convicting. I'd say the one that hit me the most discussed how Christians have begun to equate helping/serving/relief work as evangelism. Yes, we do need to show God's love to others by doing all of the aforementioned things, but we are missing an extremely crucial element if we are not telling them of the Gospel. By taking care of only someone's physical needs and not spiritual needs as well, we are doing them a disservice. Likewise, vice versa. We must show God's love to others by serving them and by sharing the story of His Son.

A great illustration of this is found in James 2:14-16, "What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?"

Loving the lost requires that we take risks by developing relationships and that we truly love them. While fully recognizing their spiritual condition we should not let that determine or affect how we love them. We don't love them any less than we would our own flesh and blood! We needn't worry about that imaginary white elephant in the room.

Heart-check:

• Am I honestly concerned for lost people? Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its need for peace. When was the last time I was that moved or actually cried over someone who is lost?
• Am I accepting active responsibility for ministering to them? Or is that just for super spiritual people to do?

Get real:

• When was the last time I really shared the Gospel with someone I know is lost?
• Am I willing to get messy and develop a real relationship with them?
• What is hindering me from doing so? Embarassment? Pride? Apathy? Fear?
• When I'm talking to a lost person am I exuding humility? Am I speaking Christianese? Jesus was able to be humble and speak an everyday vernacular with the common folk.

Just do it a.k.a. because-I'm-commanded-to-do-so!:

• What ways can I show tangible ways of God's love to someone specifically in my life? (Read James 2 for insight)
• Share the Gospel and live life with lost people (1 Thessalonians 2:8)