Making changes...

I have realized in these past few days that there are things that need changing in my life. I see things in different light now. God has really opened my eyes and taught me so many things this week. I am ready to change. I am ready to do what he says.

Here are two verses that have impacted me this week:

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." (1 Timothy 6:6-9)

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy...So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace for you have made your sisters appear righteous." (Ezekiel 16:49, 52)

It is so tempting to fall into the materialistic mindset of our culture. Even the church is materialistic! We make a big deal about things that actually matter very little. Why do we spend millions on our buildings? What is the point? It would be very easy to get legalistic here. Things are not inherently bad. It's wonderful that my church can house so many people...but what are we doing with most of our money? What is our focus? Is it us? Is it me? God's word says that we/ I should be content with merely food and clothing. Wanting more that we need is a horrible trap that takes our focus off of God and onto ourselves. I am guilty of it! Man, the verse in Ezekiel really struck me. Here I sit in Barnes and Noble, about to go buy groceries. I have to admit that I am the epitome of that verse. I find that in my heart I have pride, I have excess of food and prosperous ease in my life...AND I don't aid the poor and needy, not even in my own city. I need to change.

As I have been thinking about what I could do to live out the verse in 1 Timothy, several things have popped into my mind:

1. I can sell my wedding dress to raise money for missions. It is very nice and I could get a pretty penny from selling it.
2. I can cut back on the "extra" groceries that I buy. (I don't really need snack food, like granola bars and such.) I can also buy less types of cereal. Do I really need 3 different kinds? I could also stop putting creamer in my coffee. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE coffee with creamer in the morning. It would be so hard for me to give up!
3. I can choose not to buy clothing unless I have an absolute need, including shoes and jewelry.
4. I could also go through my closet and take out some things to give away to someone in need. How many purses to I need anyway?
5. I can volunteer at Momma Tina's Mission House, serving food once a week to the homeless and needy.

Those are just a few that I have thought of today. I'm excited to see where God leads us as we seek to radically obey him! It's not really sacrifice when I look at Christ...it's a privilege!

Radical

While Jonathan has been away at camp, I've been reading Radical by David Platt. I have also been listening to some of the podcasts from The Church at Brook Hill, where he pastors. Here are some of my thoughts on what I've been learning/ reading:

There are millions of people in the world that live and die in poverty. "We are not inconvenienced by extreme poverty because those stricken by it are not only poor, but powerless. Millions of them die quietly in relative obscurity, while we comfortably ignore them in our affluence and pretend that they don’t even exist. Can I believe the gospel and turn a deaf ear to the starving and unreached?" (from the podcast The Secret Church: The Gospel, Possesions and Prosperity Part 1)

On the whole, we as Christians give 2% of our income to the church and 2% of that to overseas missions. One statistic read that out of every $100 we earn, we give 5 cents to missions overseas. We spend more money than that on our pets!

My eyes are being opened that this is a problem in our hearts, in my heart! It's not like I haven't been exposed to the poverty of the world. I've seen it. I've been to India, the Philippines, and Mexico. I've heard them say "You Americans are so rich. Why don't you share?" I thought to myself then, "No I'm not wealthy, at least not compared to many people that I know." But the truth of the matter is that if I have clean water, food, shelter and good health, I am incredibly rich! So many people in the world do not have anything close to what I am blessed to have at my fingertips everyday in the US. I don't even think twice about these things! At times I am gripped with compassion, but I get caught up in "my world" here in America and quickly lose my motivation to make a diffence in the lives of the poor and needy.

I took this picture in India last year. These people lived right next to the missionary's house, and this isn't even the worst of the living conditions that I saw there. Somehow this family was able to send the oldest boy to school. So many other children are not so lucky.

The question remains: how can I live in such affluence while so many had no food, water, clothes or shelter…even my own brothers and sisters in Christ? Why do I waste money on things I don’t need? Do I need more clothes? Can’t I live without the little “extras” that I like to have? I am ashamed to say that I have such a materialistic mind-set. Much of what I have written about on this blog has been about me, my things, what I want or what I have. This should not be so. It goes against the true meaning of being a Christian. I am meant to exhibit the glory of God, not to make much of myself.

The fact is that the Bible says more about money than faith and prayer, heaven and hell combined! There are 2300 verses about it! The Bible is too clear…what it says is not necessarily easy though. So now I am at a cross-road. Am I willing to obey God’s word even if it cost me dearly, even if it goes against everything I've learned from my affluent culture? Am I willing to be radical for Christ? Am I willing to give up my selfish desires for how to spend my money in order to reach a poor and dying world for Christ?

I pray God will show me where to go from here. "What if the reason we have breath is because we have been saved for a global mission? And what if anything less than passionate involvement in global mission is actually selling God short by frustrating the very purpose for which he created us." (excerpt from Radical) The cost of staying in the bubble of my culture's affluence is very great. If I stay here, I will waste my life and the people I should be reaching may go unreached. I have made my faith comfortable, but Jesus calls us to RADICAL faith. He said "take up your cross and follow me." Jesus is someone worth losing everything for, worth giving up everything for. He gives all. He asks all. I have a Master that demands radical obedience and a mission that warrents radical urgency. How can I sit here and waste my life? I say I believe in him. Will I act on what he says? Will I risk it all for his glory?

We are called as Christians to proclaim the glory of God to the ends of the earth. Will I?

Home Alone

All alone. All week. I don't really like the sound of that. Unfortunately, that is where I find myself starting this Monday. My hubby is going to Daytona for HS camp, and most of my friends are either out of town or busy all week. Boo. I am not a fan of being alone, especially at night. However, I am choosing to make the most of all this "me time."

For starters I bought two books that I've been wanting to read. The first is Radical by David Platt.

I've heard that it is very spiritually challenging. The last book I finished was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is not a practical book to say the least. (Which by the way, the series was very good! I had to catch up on some of the pop culture that I missed when I was younger.)

The next book is Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I read his book Crazy Love not too long ago, and it was amazing. His new book is about the Holy Spirit. I'm very much looking forward to this book!

I have also determined to deep clean while my husband is gone. There are a few things I've put off for several weeks, such as mopping. Sounds fun huh? At least it will keep me busy.

Last but not least, I am planning on watching The Blind Side. I heard that it is a really inspiring movie.

I might possibly go and get a mani/pedi. I've only ever had two, but it is very relaxing. Who knows, maybe I will just have a blast at home by myself. (I'm trying to be optimistic, although to little avail.)

Dinner for Four

Right now I have a very whetted appetite! You know why? I'm having my very first dinner party (as a newly-wed), that's why! I am beyond ecstatic! I love to cook, but a lot of nights I just whip up something fast because we are so busy. I started talking about having a dinner party even before we got back from the honeymoon. Needless to say, I've been thinking about what I should cook all day! So many delectable ideas have been running through my head. After much ado, I resolved to go with a healthy option for the main meal and something sinfully decadent for dessert. Hopefully everything will turn out as delicious as I am imagining.

Since there will be men in attendance (including my husband), there must be meat. I am perfectly fine without eating meat at meal times, but my hubby likes it so I make it. Thus, tomorrow night we will be having:

Pork tenderloin

Roasted herb potatoes

Fresh green beans with sea salt

And Jonathan's favorite: Sister Schubert's Yeast Rolls

For dessert, we are either having:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Or Apple Crisp with Caramel Sauce

As of right now I am leaning towards the apple crisp. I adore anything with caramel! I really can't wait to start cooking. I will have to share some cooking secrets for this meal after we see how it turns out!

How to plan a wedding under 5K

Well ladies and gents, I must confess that I am a bit sad that all of our wedding festivities are over. I wish I could go back and re-live every moment. As much as I tried to savor every moment and take in everything, I feel like it those days flew by incredibly fast. Can anyone relate? So tonight I thought it would be fun to recap some of the wedding-planning process and how we accomplished everything.

First of all, I have a confession. Jonathan and I talked about getting married about six months before our October engagement. That's really when the planning started. My sister will attest that I spent lots of time on the computer researching ceremony sites, colors, and much more. Once we actually got engaged I had a good idea of the look I wanted in my head.

One of the hardest decisions to make was where to have the wedding. After going over all the pros and cons in my head a thousand times and talking to Jonathan and my family, we finally decided on having it at Jonathan's home church. It is a beautiful church and the location alone saved us tons of money.

Here were some other money savers:

Church: we had both our ceremony and reception at the same place...which meant only one rental fee! Major savings here!

Dress: I started saving for my dress the May before we got engaged. I didn't shop around a whole lot. I actually went with the first dress I tried on. It wasn't thousands of dollars, but not dirt cheap either. I knew I wanted to save up for it myself and therefore not worry about how much of my parents' money I was spending on one item.

Flowers: I had to be a little creative here. My favorite flowers are hydrangeas, which also happen to be quite pricey. I definitely didn't want a fake bouquet, so I had the florist do the wedding party's flowers and that was it.

 

Ceremony decor: since I opted out of flowers for decoration I found an elegant (and cheaper) alternative - candles! After Christmas sales were great for this! I also created my own pew markers with some tulle, ribbon and vintage broaches. The effect was pretty and cost effective!

Reception decor: I definitely took a risk here. I knew my centerpieces would be very minimal if I went the traditional flower route. It took a while to come up with a creative alternative, but it finally came to me - books! I found lots of great vintage books (each under $3), spray painted $1.50 glass vases, and ordered 18 online for $20! I also kept an eye out for sales at Micheal's and Joann's and found all the flowers for either %50 or %75 off. The candles on every table were a gift from my aunt, and that was all I needed to complete the look! (I must admit that I could have done a lot more if I had more cash. I certainly wasn't short on ideas, but I had to just be OK with what I could do myself. If you don't have a lot to spend, don't try to do more than you can afford. If you have less that 5K don't try to go for a 30K look. It's just not going to work. Be creative instead.)

Photo booth: I really wanted to have one of these at my reception! However, I didn't want to rent a booth or make this huge monstrosity that I'd never use again. Solution: a piano, vintage hats and bow ties and creative friends to put it all together and make it fabulous!

Reception food: this was a major kicker! I highly recommend doing a dessert buffet. We saved so much money by doing this! I'm pretty sure we only spent around $600 on food for over 250 people! How great is that!

Programs: I did them myself. I didn't really want to, but I was last on my list of priorities. I had lots of ideas for creative designs, but it would have cost more than I could afford to have a pro do them for me. I had to prioritize what was most important and they were not top of the list.

Invitations: I found a design I liked online and ordered them, printed the addresses myself. Was it a major pain in the butt? Yes. But was money saved? Yes.

So there you have it. I'm sure there were a few more minute things, but I can't remember anymore.

Call me Suzie Homemaker

I have been spending the past few Saturdays setting up our little town house. It has been so fun finding creative ways to decorate without spending much money. My family has been asking how things were coming along, so I though I might as well put up some pictures!

This is our little kitchen...and I mean that quite literally! There isn't much space at all, but I am working with it nonetheless.

Testing out my cooking skills in my cute apron from Emily Wright!

This is our downstairs bathroom. I love the "B" towels and they were only $1.50!

Our dining room...We got the table for free, but unfortunately it also came with an awful piano that is now on our back porch. (Long story)

Our bedroom! I found the bedspread for half off at Dillard's!

Our bed with a sweet note that my husband left me!

Couches, side table, lamp...all given to us!

We love our couches that my aunt and uncle were so gracious to give us!

The view of the whole living room.

I found that mirror for $5 at an antique store. It needs repainting, but what a steal!

So this is our home, for now at least!

The search is on!

Knowing that me and the mr. are going to be moving (possibly frequently) in the next several years, I didn't register for many nice things. However, so many people were so generous in giving us such lovely serving items like platters, beautiful flat wear, crystal, china, and other ornate serving items. That being the case, I have to have some where to put them! So now the search is on for some type of hutch. This is kind of what I am envisioning:


I have looked at several furniture places to no avail. Do all of them have to cost over $600 bucks? I don't really want to spend more than $300. We aren't settled here, and I HATE the idea of spending all of our wedding money on something we don't really need. I'd much rather put it in our car fund! Does anyone know where I might find such an item for my dining room at a decent price?

Newly-wed goals

I was thinking about my life today. There are several things that I want to strive for in the coming months. Some are serious and some not so serious. Things are changing!

Home:

1. Learn how to cook meat well (my last attempt at steak didn't turn out as well as I would have liked)
2. Try a new recipe once every 10 days
3. Find healthy go-to meals for the Mr. and myself
4. Finish sorting out all of our wedding things that are stacked in our spare room
5. Thank you notes. Blah, blah, blah! (Not that I don't really want to write some...it's just that there are SO MANY to do. Hundreds. I'm not kidding. HUNDREDS! The mere thought of starting the process is daunting!)

Fitness:

1. Start my running routine again (I stopped my daily habbit soon after we got engaged)
2. Go on a bike ride every once in a while (which means getting a bike :)
3. Drink more water

Faith:

1. Spending more time in the Word in the mornings
2. Pray for my husband and our marriage every day
3. Pray for the ministries around me
4. Seek out more ministry opportunities
5. Become an encourager
6. Pray for the opportunity to go overseas again soon!

Friends:

1. Make some new friends in Dothan! (Lots of my good friends don't live close to me anymore. Sad day)
2. Throw a fabulous diner party complete with three courses
3. Have a fun game night
4. Have a "girl's lunch" once every couple weeks

I also want to read some more good books if anyone know of some! Well, I'm sure there are more things that I will think of later, but that's all for now folks!

Mi nobre es...Blair!

So...

My new last name is Blair!

This is all so exciting. We had an abosolutely amazing honeymoon, and now we are getting settled in our town home. I am working on decorating and Jonathan is fixing us up with the electronics that every newly-wed couple needs. I love coming home knowing that my husband will be there soon. I love good night kisses and waking up next to my best friend - for life! But you know what I love even more? I love the man I married, and I am so excited about learning how to be the best wife I possibly can.

Yay for being Mr. and Mrs!

Brimming :)

Oh my goodness! I can't believe our wedding is 11 days away! The days are passing so quickly that I hardly have time to catch my breath! It's good to have a moment to sit down and think for a while. This past weekend I went home for the last time as a single woman. I can hardly believe it. On that 3 1/2 hour drive I reminisced about the past 2 years and some odd months of my life. I love to think back on those times. All I can say is that God has been so faithful to me and my heart is brimming with joy. I read this verse the other day and I can honestly say that this rings true in my life:

"Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

A long time ago I started praying that I would only fall in love once, and that it'd be with the man I was going to marry. I had seen so many people with broken hearts and I didn't want to be one of them. I prayed this for years...

Then I met Jonathan.

Several months later, I could tell I was falling for him. I couldn't help it. He was just so wonderful. Everything I found out about him made me like him more. Our goals and passions were so alike and I began to think, "This could be it! He might be the one I've been waiting for!"

Over two years later, I am going to marry my first love...the man who was my first boyfriend, the first one to hold my hand, my first kiss...Was I promised that it would turn out this way? No. For reasons beyond my knowledge, the Lord chose to honor my prayer and has given me my heart's desire. He has done exceedingly and abundantly above all that I hoped and prayed for all those years. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness for the blessing that I have received by having this man in my life. He is my hero, my head, my best friend, and my first and only love. I cannot wait to stand before him on May 22nd and promise to give my whole self to him for the rest of my life.

Now my desire is to faithfully love and serve this one I have been given as unto my Savior, and to be a crown that brings him honor all his days.

"O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,

I will praise Your name,

For you have done wonderful things."

~Isaiah 25:1