Reflection of the last 12 months

A year ago today Michael and I spent a lovely day just hanging out and enjoying the company of one another.  We went out to supper with coupons and then headed over to Jason and Claire's for a game night.  Instead of a game night I was met with a romantic room and a dreamy proposal.  I cannot believe it was a year ago! 

Michael is an amazing young man and I love him so much.  He surprised me and came down last weekend for a visit.  It was wonderful to see him and to just spend some time hanging out both with my family and just as the two of us.  Charley also had prom this weekend so here is a picture of the two of us with her :) 

I found it appropriate today to do some reflection on the last year of our relationship.  High points, low points, growth, etc.  And here is what I have to share:

• This has been a year of A LOT of time apart.  I do not kid when I say A LOT.  We were together for the months of (most of) May, September, October, November, and most of December.  Yes, 5 months with a smattering of weekend visits and two wonderful longer periods: our family vacation and spring break.  It has really taught us to treasure the time we have together and to make the most of it.  For example, this weekend we literally did not do much other than enjoy spending time with one another and those present.  No wedding planning was done and we left the house twice (a date and church).  The rest of our time was spent relaxing, playing games, etc.  It has been quite difficult to have so much time apart, but it has been very good for growth as well.  I am so thankful both for the summer at camp and my semester at home and truly would not want to do it any other way despite the difficulty of being away from him.  We have 47 more days of engagement, 39 or so that will be apart--hallelujah we are reaching the end!  :)  
• This has also been a time filled with planning.  It began with wedding planning...setting a date, choosing people to work with, colors, budget, honeymoon, etc...etc...etc... Needless to say, after a year I am pretty much over it :)  Which is good because there isn't much left to do.  We really only have logistics, confirmations, making a few more things, and a few minor details left and that feels awesome!  In the last several months our thoughts have switched more to future planning--living space, jobs, budget, cars, etc.  This is what we are more excited about right now especially as things fall into place.  Finally, I like to know when things are going to happen so at the beginning of each of our long separations I sat down with a calendar and tried to figure out which weekends would work for us to see each other and what would be best to do during those times.  It has been both good and exhausting :)  Praise the Lord that neither of us are so set in stone on these things that we have worried too much about any of this.  What a waste of energy that would be!  
• It has been a year with several big events!  Two of our dear friends got married in May, Michael bought a car over the summer, we spent our final semester at college together, I graduated and got a part-time job at home, Michael's nephew (August) was born in February, Michael has been working on his last semester of college, Michael got a full-time job at the place he has had his internship at which will begin June 1, and we signed a lease on a townhouse!  Big and exciting stuff! 
• There has been a lot of growth for us individually, but also as a couple.  I can honestly say that I love him more today than I did a year ago.  I think our way of handling conflict has changed a little bit.  Do we still have dramatic arguments?  Umm of course...but I think we tend to not get hung up on our arguments for as long.  We talk about it for a while, get it all out there, and then choose to forgive and move on.  Such a blessing to have a godly man who chooses to forgive me because he too has been forgiven a greater debt by Christ!  How beautiful :)  
• It has been a year filled with advice and marriage counseling.  What a joy it is to receive support from other couples!  We have also thoroughly enjoyed our marriage counseling and I am sad that it is coming to an end.  It has been good to take an honest look at our strengths and weaknesses as a couple, topics of marriage/life, etc.  It has opened our eyes to many things, and has made us all the more excited to join hands with one another under covenant between ourselves and God on June 16.  By his grace we (choose to) love one another and walk this life together seeking to bring glory to him as a unit.  So thankful for this time of marriage preparation!  Praise the Lord!

Those are just a few of the big things I came up with in my reflection.  It has been a big and full year and as ready as I am to be done with this period of engagement and physical 'apartness', I know that God has given us this time to strengthen us and teach us both individually and as a couple and I am content to rest in his perfect timing.  I love that my God is over all, in all and through all.  Hallelujah!

Our Humble Abode

Just over a week ago Michael began looking for a place for us to live after we get married.  He found several apartments, and last weekend when I was up visiting him we went and saw 6 of the options he had found.  Saturday we were not terribly wowed by the three we looked at.  One was nice, but too expensive and further south than we would like to be in relation to Michael's job and the other two just weren't quite what we wanted to spend money on.  Sunday we were a little more excited about two of our options, but again one was further south and the other one was nice, but we were unsure of whether we wanted it or not.  Through this last week Michael has been looking online and visiting different places, and it seemed like every other day was things looking good and then things looking less good.  We were really striving to be in prayer about it and hand it over to God because we knew He would provide us with a space to live.  And He most certainly did! 

Wednesday night as Michael was searching a townhouse became available in a suburb very close to his job location.  He set up a time to meet with the renter on Thursday, met with him, and called me immediately afterwards filling me in on all of it.  We looked at pictures online, talked about our options, shared our thoughts with our families and then decided to go for it.  It is most seriously the complete package for us.  We had hoped to spend a little less than we will be spending, but from what we looked at this past week, this townhouse is not very far off from what we would have been paying for an "incomplete package".  On Friday Michael turned in our application and then spoke with the renter who told him to go ahead and come over  and sign the lease.  So as of yesterday afternoon, Michael and I officially became renters!  We are so so so very excited :) 

Here are a few pictures of the home God has provided for us: (this of course is how it looks now with the current tenant living in it)

A little courtyard area between our single car garage and living space :)

The back view complete with a small deck and patio--how fun!

It's a split level so this is what you see when you walk in. 

Isn't this lovely? :)

 On the first level we have the kitchen, dining, and living room. 

A peak at the kitchen which is connected to the dining room.  Through the door you can see the beginning of the living room!

Dining :)   

The front of the living room.

This is the back of the living room.

And on the lower level we have two bedrooms, a bathroom, and LAUNDRY!  

One view of one of the bedrooms

Same bedroom, different view :)

The bathroom...it also has a little vanity, but I forgot to download that picture. 

Laundry!

I am so very thankful to not only have this figured out, but to have such a wonderful space for Michael and me to start our married lift at.  God is an awesome provider in all things and in all times and He never ceases to amaze me in his blessings.  I pray that we may use this space for his glory. 

Some of My Heart Lately

There have been several things that have been on my heart lately and I thought I would share a few of them. 

First, one of the most influential portions of my last few months has been a Beth Moore Bible study I did with my mom and a handful of other women at the church.  What a blessing that study was!  It was wonderful to be able to not only learn from Beth Moore in the study, but also from the other women in the study!  Praise the Lord for fellowship!  My favorite part of the study was just how it opened my eyes to more of who Jesus is.  Man, I love him.  What an awesome savior!  I could share countless examples of how great He is and of the new things I saw/learned about him in this study, but I will just share one for now.  To begin I just need to lay out two things.  First, Jesus was both fully God and fully man and as God He was (and is) omniscient.  There are several examples throughout the Gospels of him listening in on the thoughts of others and then sharing a lesson with them.  Secondly, the Gospels share that Judas' heart was not fully invested in Christ before he chose to betray him.  He is more concerned with himself and money.  Now consider this: Christ knew Judas wasn't invested and that he would be  the betrayer, and yet treated him no differently than the other disciples because when Jesus told the 12 that one of them would betray him they had no idea who it would be.  How cool to see Christ's love for even his betrayer! 

Something else that has been on my heart lately relates to the song "The First Place".  Oh my goodness, it might be one of my very favorite songs right now.  What a delightful worship song!  The second verse has really touched me lately, it goes: "Victor, over sin and death you triumphed.  Firstborn, you've shown us life beyond the grave.  Bridegroom, we long for you in expectation.  Jesus, your church rejoices to proclaim..."  Now while I love Jesus conquering death and showing us life beyond the grave (Hallelujah!) I have been especially touched and convicted by the third sentence about longing for a bridegroom.  As Michael and I have been apart this semester I have found myself missing him more and more and eagerly anticipating the day when He will be my bridegroom and we will get to finally be together.  I had my first substantial breakdown over this waiting process last week.  My breakdown had nothing to do with being discontent with where I am or anything like that (I LOVE LIVING AT HOME) I just simply miss him.  A lot.  Then I compare those feelings for my longing for Christ as my spiritual and eternal bridegroom, the only one who can make me whole and I am ashamed to lose sight of him at times in my sinfulness.  However, I can fully proclaim that I eagerly await his return.  I am excited to meet my savior face to face; may my life be a pleasing aroma to him.  Oh just dwelling on those words makes me want to throw my arms up in the air, not say a word, and let my loving and thankful tears roll down my face.  Hallelujah, what a savior!  Hallelujah, what a friend!  Saving, helping, keeping loving, He is with me to the end! 

Mmm God is good!  All the time.  He never changes and nothing can change Him.  His plans will not and cannot be thwarted.  He is over all, in all, and through all.  I listened to a two minute portion of John Piper's sermon from last week (I think it was from last week) and here is the link to it ( http://dsr.gd/HzOxxq ).  I encourage you to take two minutes and listen to it.  How encouraging to know that God can go in our lives where no one else can go!  Ah, the comfort and peace of being in his loving arms.  Seriously, take two minutes and listen to it. 

There are several other things I could share, but I will just list one more thing, well person really, who is my dear friend, Lizzie.  I met Lizzie my second summer counseling at camp.  She was got to know Lori first and then we all began hanging out together.  We worked 3 summers together and made several memories both during camp and other occasions when we would get together during the school year.  The four of us (Lizzie, Lori, Tina, and I) enjoy getting warm beverages, eating out, shopping, talking, laughing, etc. with one another.  She is a delight to know and she is a guest book attendant at my wedding.  A few things I love most about Lizzie are her fun sense of humor, her easy smile, her excitement for life, her faith, and her joyful attitude despite circumstances.  Lizzie has had a bit of a rough second half of the semester with mono (among other things) and she is such a trooper.  I have really been striving to pray for her as she finishes this last stretch of schooling.  I am excited for her to finish both so she can be done and so the two of us can get together more easily before I get married. 

Out to eat on a weekend!

The end of a summer at camp

Caramel Apples at the state fair :)

A visit from a friend

This last weekend my friend Roz came down for a visit.  This was something we had talked about doing for a while now and I was so thankful she could make it down!  She got here Friday and left after lunch on Sunday.  During her time here we watched a few movies, made some bars from and Ina Garten recipe, visited Orange Leaf, I showed her around my town, we went to the musical at my church, talked, etc.  It was a fun time :) 

I met Roz at college and we were suite-mates for a year and a half.  She is going to be one of my guest book attendants at my wedding as long as she can get a job and doesn't end up needing to move to Arizona with her parents.  Here are a few things I love about Roz: 

• Her calm demeanor.
• Her 'Roz' mannerisms--phrases she uses, her tone of voice, laugh, etc.
• She is a good companion--easy to talk to, fun to be around, loyal, etc. 

There are other things I could list here, but these are the top three and as you can see two of them have an 'etc.' attached.  She is a delight and has been a blessing for the last almost two years and I thank God for her.

We did take pictures this weekend, but they are all on her camera so here is what I've got  :)

Myself, Roz, and Brittany at a coffee shop in Northwestern IA last fall

Tina, Roz, and I last fall

All the roommates from last year  (myself, Tina, Roz, Brittany, and Kristen)

Doing our nails--a favorite of ours :)

Kristen, Roz, and I trying on some glasses  :)