My Husband-to-Be Rocks!

My sweet husband-to-be was out in the sun for almost 3 hours yesterday. He got so sunburned on his face. But since he was in uniform, the top of his head and top half of his forehead were fortunate enough to be shaded from the sun. UNfortunately, that part of his head is his normal color. From there down to his neck is BRIGHT RED! He has been in a lot of pain because it. That and standing for almost 3 hours.

I feel so bad for him.



Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 12

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Day 12
Pray that your husband will yield his sexual drive to the Lord and practice self control. Pray that your sexual intimacy together will be fresh, positive, and a reflection of selfless love.


Proverbs 5:15
Drink water from your own well—
share your love only with your wife.


Proverbs 5:18
Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth.


1 Corinthians 7:3
The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.


Song of Solomon 7:10
I am my lover’s,
and he claims me as his own.

Much Love,

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

So I just tried this recipe that I found on Ali's blog. I didn't have the vanilla, but I added an egg. And chocolate chips. YUM!!!

I didn't take a picture of it before, but here's my leftovers!!




Chocolate Cake in a Mug
3 TBS all-purpose flour
2 tsp cocoa
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBS sugar
2 tsp veg. oil
2 TBS water
1/4 tsp vanilla
mug
frosting

In a small bowl, sift first 4 ingredients together. Then add last 4 ingredients and mix well. Spray the inside of mug with cooking spray; add cake batter. Put in microwave for 2 minutes. Top with frosting, a homemade chocolate glaze, or chocolate syrup.



Just enough chocolate glaze (make this while your cake is cooling)

3tblsp granulated sugar
1 tblsp butter
2 tbsp cocoa
dash salt
few drops of vanilla or almond

microwave 20-30 seconds until melted. Pour over your cake and let cool. YUM!


Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 11

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Day 11
Pray that your husband will have a humble, teachable spirit and a servant’s heart before the Lord. Pray that he will listen to God and desire to do His will.

Proverbs 15:33
Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom;
humility precedes honor.

Ephesians 6:6
Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.



Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 10

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Day 10
Pray that your husband will cultivate strong integrity, and not compromise his convictions. Pray that his testimony will be genuine, that he will be honest in his business dealings, and will never do anything that he needs to hide from others.

Proverbs 20:7
The godly walk with integrity;
blessed are their children who follow them.

1 Timothy 1:5
The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.

1 Timothy 3:7
Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

Ephesians 6:10-12
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.


Much Love,

Renovations

So, I've been adding/moving/removing things on my blog. I've been looking at hundreds of other blogs to get ideas. There are some really amazing blogs out there!! I'm not sure how long it will take me to be done with mine, but I will definitely let everyone know when I'm done. Hope you enjoy watching the transformation!

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 9

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Day 9
Pray that your husband handle finances wisely, will have discernment concerning budgeting and investments, and will be a good steward of his money in regard to giving to the Lord’s work. Pray that money will not become a source of discord in your family.

Proverbs 23:4-5Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.Be wise enough to know when to quit.In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,for it will sprout wingsand fly away like an eagle.

Romans 12:13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Hebrews 13:5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you.I will never abandon you.”


Much Love,

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

This is awesome.



Much Love,

Pain

I am hurting so bad. I have headaches a lot. My back is so tense. My left foot has a stress fracture and hurts sooo bad when I walk. I've had chronic back pain since I was 15! I just want to have a day when nothing hurts.

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 8

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Day 8
Pray that your husband will work hard to provide for your family, to the best of his ability. Pray that the character qualities necessary for a successful career and ministry will be a growing part of his character—persistence, decisiveness, strength, an analytical mind, organizational skills, positive relationships with people, determination, etc.


Romans 12:11
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.


1 Corinthians 15:58
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Much Love,

BlogHer

I just saw the dates for the BlogHer conference for next year. Exactly one week before my wedding. SO I won't be going.

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 7

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Day 7
Pray that your husband will safeguard his heart against inappropriate relationships with the opposite sex. Pray that his heart will be pure and undivided in his commitment to you.


Proverbs 6:23-26
For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to life.
It will keep you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
Don’t lust for her beauty.
Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,
but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.


Romans 13:14
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 6

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Day 6
Pray that your husband will love righteousness and hate wickedness, especially the evils of the culture. Pray that he will recognize and avoid wickedness in his own life, and if necessary, take a clear, strong stand against evil.


Proverbs 27:12
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.


John 17:15
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.


1 Corinthians 10:12-13
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 5

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Day 5
Pray that your husband will be faithful to his wedding vows. Pray that he will have a desire to cultivate your relationship as a sign of his loyalty and commitment to you, and as a picture of Christ’s love for the Church.


Proverbs 20:6
Many will say they are loyal friends,
but who can find one who is truly reliable?


Genesis 2:24
This explains why a man leaves
his father and mother and is joined
to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Much Love,

Blog Hop '09

I found this Blog Hop on Robin's blog. I'm looking forward to getting to know some new people!

I'm supposed to write about myself. I'm never good at this kind of thing! LOL! I'm just a regular gal. I'm (unofficially) engaged to the love of my life. He's not perfect, but neither am I!

I've been blogging for several years, but I'm kinda new to the blog "scene". (Ya know, the community of bloggers!)

Here are a few random things about me:
* I'm 24.
* I've lived in Nashville my whole life until a month ago.
* I love to take pictures to scrapbook, make jewelry, paint ceramics, etc.
* I'm getting married August 14th, 2010!
* I'm going to be a stepmom
* I have a few best friends, but they are the forever kind. They know who they are!
* I am extremely close to my family.
* I love to sing.
* I love Jesus and strive to know Him more.

Those are just a few things. I am a very complicated person, but once you get to know me, you can't help but love me! Hehe. I can't wait to meet some new people, so please comment!!

Much Love,

Bake Me a Wish!

So, Barely Domestic Mama is doing a giveaway from Bake Me a Wish. Check it out!!

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be: Day 4

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Day 4
Pray that your husband will grow in leadership skills in your relationship—protecting and providing for you. Pray that he will lead you wisely and love you sacrificially, so that God will be glorified in your marriage.


Ephesians 5:25-29 (New Living Translation)
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.


Colossians 3:19 (New Living Translation)
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

Much Love,

Tell Me About It Thursday

So, I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to share about my early years. It's kinda hard for me to just randomly think of stories. But if I get to talking about stuff, then it just kinda rolls. LOL!

Anyways. I've decided to share a story about when I was a baby. See, I was a very particular baby. I HAD to be rocked to sleep every night. My mom couldn't just lay me in my crib and expect me to go to sleep. OH NO! She had to rock me to sleep. Well, one night, I was screaming bloody murder as she was rocking me to sleep. She was exhausted because I wouldn't shut up. And she needed to go to the bathroom. So she put me in my crib, still screaming bloody murder, and she went to the bathroom. By this point she was crying. Well, I was mad. I climbed OUT of my crib. During that process, I got my leg stuck in the bars as I fell to the floor. I couldn't cry any louder, because I was already screaming as loud as I could.

When my dad came home, he found me on the floor, screaming as loud as I could. He found my mom in the bathroom crying. He didn't know what was going on. So we finally calmed down and my mom was rocking me again. I kept reaching down toward my leg. She called my doctor and he said that if it was still bothering me the next morning to bring me in. It was. Long story short, I ended up fracturing my leg. I had a cast up to my waist. And apparently I wore it off before it was supposed to be taken off.

Now, Obviously I don't remember this. But my mom has told me this story many many times! Hehe. Love you Mommy!!!

Much Love,

Patience

Patience (pā-shəns) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

Sometimes I just wish I could teach people how to be patient. Like those drivers who don't have enough patience to wait their turn and race around you when you're at a traffic light that just turned green. Or those people who can't wait 2 seconds for an answer to a question. The list goes on.

I've learned to not pray for patience. With God's sense of humor, he tends to take that request and give you more opportunities to use your patience.

Sometimes I think that people need to just look up the correct definition of a word or action. Because they think they are doing one thing or acting one way, when they are in fact doing the exact opposite.

(I will NOT name names in this post! But I'm sure they know who they are!)

Proverbs 19:11 says "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."

So why is it that we have so many problems with being patient? We have this need for instant gratification. Fast food, microwaves, speeding, downloading songs/movies, etc, etc, etc. Why can't we wait? What is so wrong with being patient in this world?

Just random thoughts.

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be

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Day 3
Pray that your husband will be humble and quick to agree with God about his sin. Pray that his heart will be tender toward the voice of the Lord.


Psalm 51:2-4 (New Living Translation>
Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
and your judgment against me is just.


Micah 6:8 (New Living Translation)
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

Much Love,

BOOKS!

I'm totally frustrated. I have a box. Somewhere. Probably in my storage unit.

In this box, are my books. Some of them that I have started to read. But then I moved. So they got packed up. And now I don't know where they are.

Anywho.

Some of you have mentioned that you wanted to see the previously mentioned pictures of my rings. Hehe.

So here they are!







I seriously took like 20 pictures of them, but it took forever to get clear pictures. So I ended up with like THREE good ones! LOL! What do you think?!

Much Love,

31 Days of Praying for my Husband-to-Be

KatyLin is doing this as part of the My Husband Rocks Fridays movement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Introduction from the Revive Our Hearts website
by Nancy Leigh DeMoss


“She does him good . . .” (Proverbs 31:12a)

Bless your husband by praying for him! The Apostle Paul instructed all Christians to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18). This includes wives’ responsibility and privilege to pray for their husbands. Earnest prayer for your husband is good for him, for you and the spiritual health of your home (Proverbs 31:11-12).

Satan desires to destroy your husband, especially his character and his leadership in your relationship. Trust God through prayer as you daily surrender your husband and marriage to the Lord’s wise, loving care.





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Day 1
Pray that your husband will grow spiritually and consider his accountability before the Lord. Pray that he will guard his heart by developing spiritual disciplines—Bible reading and study, prayer, meditation, scripture memorization, etc.



2 Peter 3:18 (New Living Translation)
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.



Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.


~~~~~*~~~~~

Day 2 (today)

Pray that your husband’s relationship with God and His Word will bear fruit in his life. Pray that he will be a man of wisdom and understanding, fearing the Lord.


Proverbs 3:7
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.


Proverbs 9:10
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.


Psalm 112:1
Praise the Lord!
How joyful are those who fear the Lord
and delight in obeying his commands.

BIG NEWS!!!

Hello Ladies! For those of you who know (or don't!), I am getting married next August. Well, Matthew wanted me to pick out my own ring because he knows how picky I am. We had been looking at rings for a while, and every ring I tried on just didn't look right on my finger or it wasn't princess cut. I have ALWAYS wanted a princess cut ring. I thought I wanted a princess cut solitare, but when I tried one on, it looked horrible, made my finger look fat, just didn't look right.

So I started looking at 3 stone rings, solitares with small side stones rings, etc. Even tried some with very elaborate settings, (ie: the prongs holding the large stone had teeny tiny stones on the sides!).

I have a point. I promise.

What is my point, you ask?

WE GOT MY RINGS TODAY!!!

A friend of mine told me her husband was doing contract work at a pawn shop. (He's a jeweler.) She told me that I should go look at what they had at the pawn shop. Even if I found a stone that I liked, he could put it in a different setting if I wanted. So I went to look. I honestly wasn't expecting to find ANYTHING. But I did! I found the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen. It's a 3 stone, princess cut ring in PLATINUM! That's right ladies! The middle stone sits higher than the side stones. The detail on the side of the prongs is really pretty. They criss cross. I'm not 100% sure of the total carat weight of the diamonds, but I think it's close to 1 carat total.

I also found the wedding band that goes with the engagement ring. It is a platinum band that has 3 round stones and 2 baguettes alternating. They are very small so the band fits very close to the engagement ring, which is exactly what I wanted.

Now, normally, each of these rings would retail for over $1200. I was trying to find something affordable that would look good on my hand. Up until this point I had no such luck. Everything was over $3000!

Who can guess how much we got my rings for?!


$350!!! TOTAL!!!


YAY!!! I love good deals. Especially when it comes to jewelry. So we got to pick my rings up today. They have to be sized. They only fit to my knuckle!! LOL! But my friend's husband (the jeweler) is going to size it for me. Right now, I'm wearing them by my knuckle. Hehe. They're SOOOOO pretty!

Now, I won't have them for long. Matthew is going to keep them until he officially proposes. He wants to ask my dad for permission to marry me before he proposes. And he has been waiting to do that until we had the rings. Even though my parents and most of my friends already know we're getting married. We haven't made any official announcements or anything. We just decided to start planning so I can get everything done that I want to. I plan on making a lot of stuff.

I'm rambling now. I't s 1am. I'm tired. I will post pictures as soon as I can. I can't get good ones on my phone.

Much Love,

My Husband-to-Be Rocks!

So, I'm not married, but I am getting married on August 14, 2010. To one of the most amazing men I have ever met.

I found the "My Husband Rocks Fridays" through my friend Katie. (She's AMAZING, by the way!) So I wanted to join in on the fun!

My husband-to-be, Matthew, is so wonderful to me. He helps with dishes, laundry, cooking, etc, etc, etc. But the best thing he does around the house is take the trash out. I have not done that once since I moved in! I am so thankful for that! When I was younger, living at home, that was my chore (among others). Gather up all the trash in the house, put it in the big trash can in the garage, and then take it ALL the way to the end of our really long driveway. I HATED IT!!! Now, I don't even have to worry about it. He just does it. I only have to ask him once and he does it!

There are so many things that I love about this man, but I am going to save them for other posts! I can't give away all my secrets just yet!! :)

Much Love,

Satan's hand...

The only thing I can say is, Satan must have his hand on this child.

Let me start at the beginning. Most of you probably don't know, so I'll tell you. Matthew has 3 daughters. The oldest two, 17 and 14, are his ex wife's kids from her 1st marriage. He married her when the girls were ages 2 and 4. So he is "Daddy" to them. The youngest is 11 and she is his biological daughter. I haven't met 17, but 14 and 11 came here for a week during spring break and now they are here for the summer. They have been here for almost a month.

So 11 is such a sweetheart. She loves to cuddle, loves to help out, loves to do creative stuff, etc. She always goes with Matthew and I when we want to go do something fun. She is polite. She does things when she is told (for the most part LOL!) She's just an all around great kid.

14 on the other hand.... Well, she pretty much hates me. She does not respect anyone. She doesn't follow any rules or guidelines. When anyone tells her to do something she talks back or flat out says no. She talks bad about me and Matthew to her friends on the phone, IN FRONT of us. She yells at all of us for no reason. She hits 11 for no reason. The list goes on and on.

Well, ever since she got here, we've basically been butting heads. Matthew and I decided to set rules for the girls. For example, 2 hours on the computer at a time (because they have to share). Bedtime is midnight because Matthew has to get up early every day for PT and needs quiet. Put your dishes in the dishwasher when you're done with them, etc. Pretty reasonable, right? Well 14 acts as if she's been put in prison because she doesn't HAVE rules at home.

Long story short, she doesn't respect me or follow my rules because I'm "new". So for the last couple of weeks I haven't been disciplining her, or really even talking to her so that we don't butt heads. She hasn't gone anywhere with us for a few weeks either.

So tonight I took the girls to Outback (Matthew works there part time), so they could #1 eat out because they are ALWAYS asking, and #2 so they could see Daddy. It was great for about 5 minutes. Then 14 started being a smart ass about everything. She was loud, she was eating like a pig (not the amount, but the way she was eating), she kicked 11 in the shins, etc. I was getting irritated. At one point they were being so loud that I jokingly said "I can't take ya'll anywhere. I'm gonna tie you to the roof of the car on the way home!" (Come on! You know you've joked about that too!) Well, Miss Smart Ass says "You know I can put you in jail for that!"

OH MY GOSH!!!

We get in the car. After a couple of minutes, as I was singing to the music, she says "Hey 11, know what I've noticed? A lot of FAT people have good singing voices." I continue to stare at the road and hum. Then she goes "Sarah, I wasn't talking about you." Really! If you weren't, you wouldn't have even said it. (I've been overweight my whole life, but I'm at my highest weight right now and I'm very sensitive about it. She KNEW it would bother me! She's 14, not stupid!)

I AM SO MAD!!! She does stuff to purposefully make me mad. Or just flat out hurt me. I honestly think she's trying to break me and Matthew up. She knows we're getting married though.

All I wanted to do was cry, but I wasn't about to let her see that.

One night, we got into this huge thing. She had been bugging me all day. I finally just snapped. I ended up getting mad at Matthew AND 14. Well, he got onto her for being such a butthead to me. He talked to her for like 2 hours. I couldn't hear most of the conversation but he later told me that she said she wasn't going to come back here as long as he's with me. Which of course makes me feel like crap. Well, he told me that he was ok with that. For one thing, he can't get her to behave. The 2 of them butt heads more than she and I do. Another thing, he doesn't have any legal claim to her. She can't live with him, she doesn't even have to visit him. He's just glad that his biological daughter loves me.

So yeah. I'm upset. I'm sitting in my room. By myself. Again. In my own home. It sucks.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers. And any advice.

Much Love,

Found a giveaway!

I found this great blog with a Starbucks card Giveaway!!

I'm very excited! I hope I can win!!!

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!

Everytime we decide to do something outside, it RAINS! This is so annoying! Two days in a row now! Ugh. We're not staying home though! Hehe. We're going to Matthew's office to look up images for making stamps. We're going to plant some letterboxes in Clarksville because there is only one set here. I'm excited.

Although, now, we need gas and the power is out everywhere. So of course all the gas stations have no power. Now we may not even have power at his office because its out on the main road. Here's prayin people!

Much Love,

Journal Jar: Day 1

I'm still not sure how I'm going to do this. It will probably change over time. But here's my first post from my Journal in a Jar ideas.

Do you have a teddy bear, now, or as a child? Describe him or her.

I have a stuffed dog. Named Big Doggie. Original, I know. I got him for my first Christmas.



He has always "protected" me from things, like thunderstorms. Comforted me after breakups. Listened to every word I've said, without talking back. He is such a good friend. I have always, and will always, love my Big Doggie.

Doesn't he have the cutest face?!



Much Love,

UGH!

Sometimes he makes me so mad. I'm showing him pictures of this house that I think is gorgeous. It's a Victorian mansion built in 1928. It needs to be fixed up on the outside, but the inside has been remodeled and is gorgeous. So I'm going through the pictures on the website and the second one shows the back yard and he immediately says "I think that looks horrible."

COME ON! Do you always have to see the bad in things? Try and look for the GOOD things in life!

But WHATEVER!!!

Much Love,

Journal in a Jar

My mom made this very creative gift for some co-workers for Christmas last year. It's called Journal in a Jar. She found the template from OrganizedChristmas.com. I've been asking for her to make me one.

I love to blog/write in a journal, but I tend to have trouble thinking of interesting things to say. So I was looking at my blank blog post and I thought "I have the journal jar things saved on my computer, so I can just use them for my blog!" I am determined to start doing that. I may have to come up with a good system for it being random, because the random ideas are all on pages, so there's like 10 to a page or something. I don't want to just go look and pick one. I want it to be like picking one from a jar.

If anyone else wants to do this, I'd love to read what you post!!

Much Love,