11/20/11

November 20: Today I am thankful for our church, Southside Fellowship. Michael and I have been blessed beyond measure to find this treasure amongst the hundreds of different churches in the Greenville area. We spent a long time looking for churches, going to a different one each week, and we discovered Southside through close friends of ours. We went one Sunday back in April and haven't stopped going since! We have started to become active in serving and getting to know others in the church. It is the largest church we've ever attended, but we wouldn't trade it for anything else. Although I believe this church is amazing, it is really the  God we serve that is amazing, and His body is just displaying the gospel.

11/19/11

November 19: Today I am thankful for the gift of encouragement that people who have been placed in my life have! Today was a wonderful day! It started off with getting up and going to orientation for a 4 week workout program with my friend, Dana! I told her not too long ago that I've started to gain weight since I've been out of school and it really needed to stop! Then shortly after that, living social had a deal for a four-week women's bootcamp in the Upstate, and Dana encouraged me to join her! I felt like it was the perfect thing I needed and it will be going on right around the Thanksgiving and Christmas, the time that I usually like to eat a lot :)

Orientation went well today. We learned more about the program, and the workout plan, but what I'm most excited about is the nutrition plan! I've always heard that it's much better for you to eat 4-6 small meals a day rather than 3 big meals, but I never knew what food groups you should concentrate more on or the specifics about how it worked. Performance QSA detailed it all out for us today! I don't think it will be as difficult for me as it could be for others, because I work from home right now, so it's very easy to control when and what we eat. Michael is going to join me in the nutrition plan as well! He is such a good sport.

Immediately after orientation, Dana and I headed over to our friend's house to make Christmas Cards with her! Hilary is very talented and crafty! She signed up with Stampin' Up and got a lot of really cool things, so today she showed Dana and I how to make the cards that she made! They are so cute, and very easy to make. I was really impressed with the tools that they had, and can't wait to order some of the same stuff we used today. I just have to figure out what all I want....there's so much! Hilary has definitely been an encouragement to me. She is very kind and sweet! Michael and I went over to their house for dinner the other night and had a blast with them! It was very fun hanging out with another couple, and Michael and I are looking forward to doing it again.

Finally, but certainly not least, Michael has been a big encouragement to me. Especially with this new workout/nutrition plan, he has really looked for ways to encourage me and help me. The program allows either a 24 hour where you don't have to follow the plan, or 2 reward meals a week. Michael decided to "reward" me with an ice cream date tonight! I love Bruster's Ice Cream, and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Ice cream is my absolute favorite flavor!!!! Sadly, they were out of it tonight, but I don't discriminate against ice cream :)


Today was wonderful and I thank God for the encouraging people He has connected me with!

11/18/11

November 18: Today I am thankful for marriage! Today is our 5 month anniversary, and time has definitely flown by us! Most people ask me how marriage is, and my usual response is "Wonderful!", and it has been wonderful although we've had our struggles. I'm looking forward to growing old with Michael and growing with him in our relationship with God.

11/17/11

November 17: Today I am thankful for God's provision in meeting our daily needs such as food and a place to sleep. I have been looking for a job since Michael and I got married in order to pay off my student loans that are coming due very soon, but I have not found a full time position yet. However, God has blessed us with a spacious 2 bedroom apartment-probably one of the largest, yet cheapest around. God has also blessed Michael's company, and he is continuously busy with work, sometimes too much of it! Nonetheless, I am thankful that God has provided and in even more ways than these few examples!

11/16/11

November 16: Today I am thankful for storms. Since I was little I've always liked watching thunderstorms and found them truly awesome and scary all at the same time! I have also come to appreciate other types of storms in my life. I know that storms come so I can grow. I learned something very revealing about myself recently. In 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, Paul talks about being an aroma. As a Christian, I carry the aroma of Christ and to some that is a very sweet aroma, whereas to others like the enemy, it is the worst smell in their life, the smell of death itself. Taking this thought further with the gospel, what smells bad to me in the Christian life? Is it suffering or pain that smells bad to me? Or does suffering for the cause of Christ and furtherance of the gospel smell sweet to me? It is a very challenging thought, one which I'm still working through to figure out where comfortableness has set in and the gospel has taken a side seat in my life. My prayer is that the Lord would show me areas in my life that smell bad to Him, to change my perspective, and radiate joy in the storms of life so it may smell sweet to others and God be glorified.

11/15/11

November 15: Today I am thankful for grace. Grace has been modeled throughout my life by various people. However, it wasn't until recently that I really understood what exactly grace is and how grace can be extended to others in practical ways. Ultimately, because of the grace that I have received through Christ, I have the ability to show Christ to others by extending that same grace to them: the grace I never once deserved, and the grace that I can never earn. I have been earnestly seeking ways in which to show others grace, whether it be a small thing or dealing with much harder things in life, but I can tell you this: extending grace to others has been fulfilling and opened doors that I never thought possible. It is so very freeing, and I praise God for that.

11/10/11-11/14/11

November 10: Today I am thankful for friendships!!! Especially, the friendships I have made recently and in college. I was able to spend time with my roomie just catching up at Starbucks, and it was marvelous getting to see her and here what God is doing in her life! I cherish my friendship with her :)

November 11: Today I am thankful for opportunities to serve. I helped serve at Southside Fellowship's International Thanksgiving Dinner. The Lord worked in wonderful ways, and for many of the students it was their first Thanksgiving Ever!!! They were all so kind and grateful, and many connections were able to be made. My friend, Dana, spent the summer in France and was able to connect with a girl from France. She has such a sweet spirit, and I can't wait to see how the Lord will use this opportunity for Dana to display the gospel in her life.

November 12: Today I am thankful for my comfy bed!! Last night was the AWANA T&T Allnighter, in which we played games and had food and a lot of fun at the church, and then we slept on the floor. I believe Michael and I were the only leaders without air mattresses, and I now know why! Nevertheless, the experience made me very thankful for my nice soft bed!

November 13: Today I am thankful for community groups! We are now finally in one!!! We have been taking a class at Southside in order to become members as well as join a community group where we can connect with people on a deeper level and speak into their lives as well as open ourselves up for them to speak into ours! The whole experience has been wonderful getting to know other people at Southside, but we are REALLY looking forward to getting to know the people in our small group!

November 14: Today I am thankful for good health, not only for myself, but also for those who are close to me. Praise the Lord for His goodness!

11/9/11

November 9: Today I am thankful for photography and how it gives me the ability to capture specific moments or things in time to forever be looked back on, bringing memories of times in the past or glorious things to be held in the future. Today, I decided it was perfect lighting to take photographs of the foliage in our apartment complex. I got some great shots! I was very excited to look at them on my computer, and see exactly how they turned out. What I love most about the shots I got is that it reminds me of the beauty that God created here on earth and how that is barely a sliver of what is to come and all the more glorious! How comforting it is to know that the God who created the universe, the leaves on the trees, and set the world in motion cares about what happens in my daily life! I'm looking forward to what beauty lies ahead in Glory, and the awesome thing is I won't need a camera to capture the moments.

11/8/11

November 8: Today I am thankful for coupons!! Haha, yes I said coupons, and I know you may think that is silly that I am thankful for that, but just listen for a moment. For the past few months, Michael and I have been receiving the Sunday newspaper for it's coupons and occasional good reading. For a while, I was looking through all the coupons I had organized by expiration date but that soon became too much to deal with. So now I have a database that I have created and update every week with the new coupons that come in. I organize them all by dates, categories, and if I've used them or not. So far, I have been able to keep our grocery bill down at least $5-10 sometimes more!! It is important to be a good steward of what you are giving, and there are many things that I can get for free with coupons! Does this whole couponing thing really mean I'm growing up now? Nonetheless, I am thankful for opportunities to save money and investing it elsewhere :)

11/7/11

November 7: Today I am thankful for the Lord's creation and how He reveals His Power, Works, and Awesomeness in it. Flowers bring a smile to my face, and these were brought to me tonight by Michael, just because :)

11/6/11

November 6: Today I am thankful for the wonderful extra hour of sleep I got, and chose to celebrate the goodness by taking a 4 hour nap this afternoon! Guess I was more tired than I thought!

11/5/11

November 5: Today I am thankful for a husband who can fix cars!!! We have had many problems with Sasha (my Jeep). She can't seem to hold her fluids anymore....first it was the fuel line, then the power steering line, and now the coolant. Michael is outside fixing her up right now though! He got the coolant hose off and is now putting on the new one with the clamps, and hopefully all goes well so Sasha will feel better! I guess it would be like having hot flashes without coolant in her! I can't imagine!

Thankful November

With this month holding one of my most favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, I will be posting at least one thing that I am thankful for each day.


November 1: I am thankful for my salvation and hope I have through Christ.

November 2: I am thankful for my husband, Michael. Marriage has been quite an adventure thus far, and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

November 3: I am thankful for job opportunities! Michael received a job offer today that was quite unexpected, but very flattering. An opportunity to work at our church has also come up, and we are still in the process of figuring out if I'm "in the right seat on the bus".

November 4: Today, I am thankful for specifically the women God has placed in my life, including family, close friends, and new friends. Friendship is a special gift that I take for granted far to often.

Playing Catch Up!

Wow!!! Has it really been a year since I've last posted on here? I can't believe how time has flown and how much has changed in my life. My last post was entitled "I'm engaged" and now I'M MARRIED! I got married on June 18th this past summer, and it was one of the most special days in my life. Everything went very well, and there were no problems or mess ups. I have mostly my wonderful friends to thank for that! It was great to have them be a part of our day.

I also GRADUATED! It felt wonderful to be done with school! Little did I know how much I was really going to miss it. Just a few months ago, I would have thought that anyone who misses school was sick, but it's true...I really do miss it and being around a lot of people all the time. After graduation, I moved back home for a while and continued to plan for the wedding. Then after we got married, I moved with Michael to Greenville, SC. We've had our little adventures living in an apartment with bugs, crazy power bills, and starting our lives together. Some things have been a harder adjustment that I would ever like to admit to people, but I'm learning.

Currently, I am on the job hunt! I have been helping Michael with MediaSource as the Business Administrator and photographer for the company. His business has been doing very well, and we are praising the Lord for His goodness to us. I have an opportunity to work at the church that we are attending, and I plan on pursuing that until God shows me otherwise. It is not ideal because it's only part time, but if this is what the Lord has for me, then it's what I want. I'm also looking at this as a ministry instead of a job. It's funny, because I went into business thinking that it would be easy to get a job, but that has not been the case thus far!

The Lord has been teaching me to accept his plan for my life AND his timing. Through this process I have discovered that I am a terribly impatient person thinking that I know what's best for myself. I do not, and have come to this conclusion many times when my thinking goes back to those thoughts. I know that the Lord has great plans for my life, and I want to be used by Him to carry out His will.