Joy...

I was looking around facebook today perusing through the recommended friends that I might know and I came across a young man that I went to high school with. I clicked on his profile because though his name was familiar, I didn’t have a clue who he was from the picture posted. Well, he had some other pictures on there of him and his family and before too long, despite the shaggy beard and long hair, I started to recognize him.

I didn’t befriend him. I didn’t know him well in school…he was one of those “know of” people. But something in his pictures struck me.

Joy.

The pictures of him and his wife, him and his children and even shots of just him, radiated joy.

I was reminded how precious life is. How short our time here on this earth with our loved ones really is.

A stranger, for all practical purposes, in a handful of facebook photos, spoke into my life about the sanctity and sacredness of all the things we have been given responsibilty over this side of heaven.

For those of us that are blessed with partners in this life, we have been given divine responsibility in tending to another’s heart. To care for an nurture an adult, probably completely different from ourselves, in all ways physical, emotional and spiritual.

And for those of us that are parents, we are ordained to train up and lovingly guide our children. We’re beyond blessed to nurse wounds, to wipe away tears, to give piggy back rides, protect, cuddle and live as an example for these little hearts.

But so often, somewhere in there, with the demands of life and heartache and disfunctional upbringings, we lose the joy that is meant…that is necessary in these relationships.

Our marriages are our legacy.

Our babies are our gifts.

And it is up to us to not only conduct these bonds with Joy, but to create Joy for those we are bonding with.

I’ve always imagined traveling far and wide with my family, but because I fall into the “oh, we can’t do that until the kids are older” category I limit myself in what I think we’re capable of doing or not doing. This is a tiny example and kids don’t need cross-country excursions to taste joy, but I find that I place these limitations across the board of my life in a lot of what I do. I become stingy. Disgruntled. And before too long, I won’t even consider going to the park after a rain just to let my girl jump in puddles.

It’s the little things. Smiles and laughter. A little dirt and a lot of fun, literally and figuratively.

And it’s been entrusted to me to create joy in a number of shapes and forms through grace and through love.

I confess to letting things get to me and allowing them to rear their ugly heads when interacting with my husband and daughter. The two people who bring the most peace to my existence, the most happiness to my soul, I take out the bulk of my frustrations on. I sometimes lack joy.

So, in turn, I commit to smiling more. And letting the calm of God’s presence settle over my heart. I commit to kissing my husband and holding tightly to him as if today might be my last. And I commit to being a parent first to my children, but being their friends as well...a woman who they cling to now as their mommy, but will one day cling to as the woman who raised them in faith, strived to make life and learning fun, who would die for them and ultimately the woman who taught them to pass on this same joy it’s taking me a lifetime to learn.

Dear Jesus,

I praise you that you have thought it wise to give so graciously to me my husband and children. They are great and precious responsibities, ones I too often take lightly. But my prayer is that You will give me the wisdom and the strength to be the wife and mother you would have me to be. I yern to love like you love. To parent as you parent. And to walk in joy as you have said I can do through the joy of You…though I will face trial, never once allowing the enemy to snare my steps. Lord, I love you and I thank you so much for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me. Help me to know how to best bring forth fruit from Your havest in my life. You are an amazing God.

I love you.

Amen.



Prayer...

Hubby and I were talking about prayer this morning.

Well, actually, we were talking about leadership and prayer.

Leadership is his thing...prayer is mine.

We both have equal amounts of passion for our desired topic, but I also think we lack understanding in why the other subject is so near to our spouse's heart.  Jon has definite thoughts, opinions and views of Scriptural leadership that I just don't get.  He can find it in ANY verse of the Bible.  I, on the other hand, have an entirely different perspective on prayer (and grace) than Jon does, and I can find THAT in ANY verse in the Bible.

It's where our differences bring us together and hopefully grow us in our faith with one another.

So....

this post is for Jon, my beloved.

Honey, prayer to me is...

An act of love.  

One that brings you closer to not only your Heavenly Father, but to those around you.  It is something that strengthens marriages.  It bonds family ties.

It mends indiscretions.

It heals wounds and it pieces together broken hearts.

It creates in us an ability to be vulnerable and let our guards come down.

It is a time when we can pray on someone's behalf, but also when we can humble ourselves to God's mighty grace and love so we can experience intercession in our lives from others as well.

It's about communication...but even more so it's about surrender.

It's a matter of the heart.

It's personal, yet it's communal.  It can be enjoyed by one and by the masses...separately and at the same

time.

Prayer is God's gift to us.  To show us He is there and active in our lives.

Prayer is our gift to God.  To show Him that we are listening.

No one prayer is of more or less importance then another.  For they are all honest petitions placed at Christ's feet, for Him to meet in His will and His way.

Prayers are heard.

They are felt.

They are experienced.

And they are answered...

though not necessarily on our terms, but always with our best interest in mind.

And Jon, I'm blessed to call you my partner in prayer.  It is my honor to pray with and for you and our family.

I love you.

 I'm sharing this as part of the Mom's 30-minute Blog Challenge over at SteadyMom
&
Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Check it out!

And while I'm at it...

Would you leave me a comment to let me know how I can be praying for you today?

Blessings friends,

Have contempt for contempt...

I'll come right out and say it...

I like to argue.

No, not really.  

But I've been told that I do.

Actually, I just like to be right....

and coincidentally, since I'm the domestic leader of my home, what I say goes!!

Momma IS always right.

Does this sound familiar?

Oh boy...does this resonate with me!  I don't like to argue.  Really, I don't.  Yet my mouth gets in my way more often then not.  Especially at home.  And with the ones I love the most.

I have to note here that my husband is a patient and very quiet spirit.  

He has to be to put up with me...

and stay!

Praise Jesus, He blessed me with such a man.

 

Mommy's get tired.  We get burned out.  We carry the weight of the world and every emotion in it on our shoulders.  With work and chores and meals and cleaning and laundry and teaching and raising and baths and discipline and dishes....

So when daddy gets home

"Take the kids.  They're all yours.  I'm taking a bath.  Don't bother me."

"And while you're at it...unload the dish washer, take out the trash, walk the dog and don't even so much as complain about it because if you had had the day I've had..."

Again, I ask, does this sound familiar?

 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

~Ephesians 4:29

So often I totally overlook the day that my husband has had because I'm only focused on the day I'VE had.  And in the moment he comes home, the day that I've had is all that matters in my mind.

That's how being right (being selfish) can land me in an argument.

That's how my totally stressful, overworked day, can turn into crap really quick.

For what?

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

~Titus 2:3-5

The truth is you may not enjoy arguing per se, but when you just have to get that point across, or cut that ugly glance, or have that last word or boss, that's what you're doing...you're stirring an argument.

I'm reading a book and it's theme is so simple, but is so hard for us humans to master in a lot of ways.

"Have contempt for contempt."

con·tempt(per dictionary.com) is : 1) the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. 2) the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.

This is a challenge.

But I'm inviting you along with me to have contempt for...

attitude, being right, feeling sorry, nagging.

I'm encouraging you to have contempt for...

the contempt our behavior may create in our husbands and children towards us.

It's a two way street you know.

A vicious cycle if we allow it to be.

Because life is a blessing.  Marriage is a rich union ordained by God and you are your husband's partner for life.  There is no greater gift then children and they learn by our actions.

And we honor God when we are living in obedience to Him as well as to our families.

Dear Jesus,

My morning was a relatively peaceful one, Lord.  Thank you for that.  But so many mornings or days or evenings are not.  Dear God, that is of my own doing.  It is of my own indiscretions and my prayer is that no matter the day or what's going on in it, that you will stir my heart with this message, Lord.  Please remind me to have contempt for contempt.  To cling to you in everything.  To be a blessing to my dear husband and precious children.  And no matter the day's emotional climate, to be thankful for ALL that you have allowed me to live out and experience.

I love you.

I'm sharing this as part of Motivate Me Mondays over at Fifth Street Palace

as well as 

Make Your Home Sing Mondays over at Mom's the Word.

Check them out!

Would you help me get to 100 followers??
My goal is to reach that (or more) by May 17th!!

I think we can do it!

And to give you a little extra incentive, on that day ALL of my followers will be entered in a really super, Fantabulous Giveway (details later so stay tuned)!! It might include something pretty and kitchen-y :)!!

 Be a blessing today,

Sacred Marriage...

I have this vision of what marriage should be.

I went into my own marriage with this very vision.

Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that two sinners were entering into an eternal union, therefore things probably wouldn't turn out exactly as I thought they would.

That's not to say there aren't joys in marriage.  

There certainly are.

But we have to work for them.

We have to wake up each and every morning and make a choice.

A choice to love.

A choice to be selfless.

A choice to keep our sarcasm to ourselves.

A choice to squash the need to always be right.

A choice to not worry about the little things.

I often feel I fail miserably at making these choices...

inevitably choosing wrong everytime.

I started reading a book last night that said something astounding...

a rogue idea really.

An epic sort of statement considering the world we live in.

"If you want to be free to serve Jesus, there's no question- stay single.  Marriage takes a lot of time.  But if you want to become more like Jesus, I can't imagine any better thing to do than to get married.  Being married forces you to face some character issues you'd never have to face otherwise."

~Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage to Make us Holy more than Happy

By Gary Thomas

Interesting.

A little scary.

But so hopeful.

Won't you be motivated today in striving to be more like Jesus?  Not just in your marriage, but in all that you do?  It's a challenge, now doubt, but what in this life isn't?

At least we can know we have a good and graceful Savior walking with us every step of the way.  Guiding us in how to live and love, just like Him.

(I'm sharing this as part of Motivate Me Monday over at Fifth Street Palace.  Check it out!)

Blessings friends,

Right where He wants Me...

We all go through things in our lives that leave us feeling...

hopeless, lonely, uninspired and hurt.

It's inevitable seeing as we live in a fallen world.

Life doesn't always go OUR way.

It's sucks, I know...but that's just how the cards fall.

As Christians, we can have faith that despite all this, there is a loving God in control.

And He has our best interests in mind.

It's a difficult concept to understand.

It's an even more difficult practice to put into play...

Faith in those really unruly times of life.

We all know faith is easiest displayed when things are going the way we want them to.

Not so much when they're not.

I've been having days like this as of late.

Days where all I want to know is why...

Why am I me?

Why am I Jon's wife?

I'll never question why I'm Emma's mother...

But why, of all the things God has called me to, do they so rarely go according to how I think they should go?

It's has caused me great strife.

I get mad because I feel like a failure.

I'm upset because I don't feel loved {like I want to be loved}.

I feel lost because parenting, no matter how beautiful, is hard.

I lose sleep over things that most people probably don't even care about.

And half of the time I feel like I'm crazy because of all it.

Times like this, due to the noise I create on my own...

I don't hear God.

And to me, He feels a million miles away.

In my deepest time of need.

It's not that He's not there...I just don't hear Him.

More so, I block Him out.

Have you ever read Sarah Young's Jesus Calling?

I haven't, not in it's entirety.  I just got it recently, having heard really great things about it.

It's a little devotional book that reads as if Jesus is speaking directly to you.

The day I bought it was a day I was having a really hard time...with everything.

Do you play games with God?

"I'll do this...if YOU do that?"

"We can play by Your rules, so long as they line up with mine..."

and so on and so on.

Or am I the only one that does this?

So I get this book on this really bad day and immediately I start to bargain.

I challange God.

"God, you know, You seem like you could care less right now that I'm hurting as bad as I am...how about You prove me wrong.  Give me an answer...SOMETHING...to let me know you're still there and you do in fact care!"

I opened to the appropriate date in my new devotional and this is what it read...

This is the day that I have made.  Rejoice and be glad in it.  Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life.  Be careful not to complain about anything, not even the weather, since I am the Author of your circumstances.  The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them.  This act of faith frees you from resentment and frees Me to work My ways into the situation, so that good emerges from it.

To find joy in this day, you must live within its boundaries.  I knew what I was doing when I divided time into twenty-four -hour segments.  I understand human frailty, and I know that you can bear the weight of only one day at a time.  Do not worry about tomorrow or get stuck in the past.  There is abundant life in My Presence today.

~Scripture references Psalm 118:24 and Philippians 3:12-14

I said, "Go ahead God...show me whatcha got!"

And then I got sucker punched in the gut...I got the proverbial baseball bat to the head...I hit the brick wall of God.  The truth hurt and I bargained for more than I could handle.

He said, "Okay, you want the truth...here it is!"

He showed me that He is all I need.  Anything else that I'm under the impression of needing is meaningless.  And that means sacrifice on my part.  Laying down my hurt, my indiscretions, my worries at His feet and knowing that Jesus has died for all of it.  When He created this world, He knew about this day in my life...better still, when He hung on that cross, my broken heart on this very day, is what kept Him there.

And the same is true for you and the yuck in your life.

That's pretty uncomfortable isn't it...knowing that all our junk is no match for God Almighty.  In fact, we should even be thankful for our junk...because Jesus has taken care of it all!! What amazing news!

Dear Jesus, forgive me for questioning Your love for me.  Was it not that love that sent You to Calvary?  Lord, teach my heart to rely only on You, expecting not my way, but Your way for it is best.

I praise you that when I ask for truth, You supply it, no matter how difficult it is to hear.  And I thank you that when I challenge your intentions, You force the submission and repentance of my heart.  All out of adoration for me.  

God, no matter my woes, may you be glorified in everything.  Thank you simply for giving me life.

I love you.

Amen

(I'm sharing this as part of Motivate Me Monday over at The Fifth Street Palace.  Check it out!)

Blessings,

 

 

New Year's Resolutions...sort of, but not really.

I remember this time last year when I posted about New Year's Resolutions.  I had actually resolved not to make resolutions (mainly because I never keep them), but I still had this whole long list of things I hoped to accomplish throughout the year.  As did I the year before as well.  And in some respects I think I can say I held true to most of them, but there are always those couple of ones for me that I miss the mark on year in, year out.  This is normal right?

So this year, 2010, I've decided to take a different approach.  I'm not making resolutions.  Nor am I setting goals (or blogging about them at least).  It goes without saying that there are plenty of things I hope to do or learn or accomplish this year, but having a list seems to always leave me a bit disappointed if everything doesn't get to be checked off come December 31st.  Why do that?

Instead, I'm going with what I feel like is my personal theme for this year.  It will encompass everything I do, be it in my parenting, my marriage, my family/friend relationships.  It will dictate my actions from how I live...wholly.  The way I eat, my body image, the exercise I do.  I will be guided by this theme in how and what I blog about, the work I do, the activities outside of my home that I become a part of.  It will produce in me joy and contentment and love and wisdom.

This whole concept will resonate throughout my entire life and being. 

I've felt God leading me in this direction for at least the last couple of weeks.  But of course I'm known for not listening very well.  I have a horribly bad habit of thinking my way is better...even when God is concerned.  But even as this first day of 2010 is almost over, God's quiet yet emphatic whispers to me have been revealed and reiterated to the utmost extent.  Which is another reason why I know that this year...my year...will be about one thing and one thing only.

OBEDIENCE

Today I have been faced with trials.  Not even 24 hours into the New Year and already I want to take off my many hats and run for the hills.  I think at one point I even questioned why anyone would want to "do" this Christian stuff...it's too hard.  But fortunately God was speaking to me through a dear friend when she shared 1 Peter 4: 8 with me.  It says, "Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins."

I can get mad and I can get frustrated and I can feel lost and like a failure.  I'm going to mess up, as are the ones around me.  I'm going to not meet some of my goals and I'm going to feel like giving up.  I'm going to have really awesome days and then I'm going to have really poopie days, too.  But in the midst of all of that junk, there is love.  A love that has covered me and all my mess, therefore I too must love in the same way I have been loved by Jesus.

My call to obedience is first and foremost to God and all that entails as a Christ follower.  I'm bad at it and changes need to be made.  I all too often get in my own way, but if this year and all the rest of my years are to be fruitful ones, I must start now.

Dear Jesus, I have timidly walked with you these last few years.  I have been reluctant to fully submit to your Mighty will, Lord and I have felt it.  I have felt it in my bones...the need for a foundation, a support, far greater than what I ever thought I could and tried to give myself.  God I have blatantly ignored your guidance and I have scoffed at your calling on my life.  I have been afraid to follow Your will because it's just not easy.  What I had to learn the hard way was my way is by no means a cake walk either.  Dear Lord, I want this year to be the year of all years...a new decade in which you make me a new me.  As the Psalmist prayed Lord, "Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Secondly, my call to obedience is in my home, with my family and my husband as the leader of it all.

I'll be perfectly honest with you...I don't jump up and down with glee at this one.  It is something I am convicted about and know with all my heart has taken not just the back burner, but no burner at all and now is the time to let God work.  It's not in my hands to be the wife and the mother and the homemaker I'm meant to be...without Jesus dwelling here in this space amongst us.  He still has a lot of work to do on me in this respect.  I'm a "strong, independent woman" (whatever that means) and the people and relationships I cherish most have suffered because of it.  So...I say again...(it helps when I go back and read this again at various intervals throughout the year)...

Secondly, my call to obedience is in my home, with my family and my husband as the leader of it all.

Lord I suck at being the wife and mother you have commanded me to be, Dear Jesus.  I can't do any of this without you and I pray you will soften my heart, quiet me tongue, ease my impatience and shape me Dear God into the woman I so long to be.  A woman that is wise and committed and eager to make her home and her family one that only honors you.  God, help me to be the woman who is praised by both her children and her husband.  Even more so, Lord, help me to be that woman so that my children and husband are even more blessed by Your love through me.

I have no idea what's in store for this year.  But I know God has some remarkable plans in the works for my life for sure.  It all makes me excited and giddy, but nervous and sick to my stomach as well.  It's like those first few moments before you get on that super scary, exhilarating roller coaster ride.  You think you might wet your pants before you get past the little metal spin gates...all those various feelings of fear and adrenaline rummaging around in you.  Then you get on and hit that first drop and you're screaming and white-knuckling the safety bar.  Your head is pounding back and forth and if you're wearing earrings, they have caused permanent indentations on your neck behind your earlobes from all the bouncing around.  You think you might just die if you plummet to the earth at 90 miles and hour one more time, but then whole ride is over in seconds.  And most of the time you get right back in line and do it all over again.

That's my hope for 2010 and all this obedience theme stuff that I'm confidant is supposed to take place in my life.  It's going to be the thrill ride of all thrill rides and as jello-y as my knees are right now going into this...

I know I won't be able to contain myself when it's time to get back on next year!

 So....

What's your theme for this year?

 

Be blessed, friends.  Be blessed.

Date Night

I often see these types of pictures, from magazine covers over history or even as stock images in frames for purchase, and I'm always left with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I begin to analyze what was taking place when the photo was snapped. See their embrace? Could they get any closer? And his hand at the small of her back, fingers spread out. He wasn't merely holding her, he was gripping her and pulling her into him as if it might be the last time he ever gets to love his dear one. Then the woman, with her head turned almost at the mercy of his kiss, she flings her arms around his neck praying she never has to let go. What was going through their minds as the picture was being taken; what was the photographer thinking as he (or she) was taking the picture? It fascinates me so because whatever the case, be it in this picture or ones similar to it, the love and passion between the two subjects is evident. Nothing is more beautiful than the blatancy of this; the type of love people instantly notice and admire.

Hubby and I had a date night the other night. It had been a really long time since we had had the opportunity to go out, just the two of us. And it was really nice. I was almost nervous and giddy like it was out first date or something. It was a much needed outing and I felt 16 again! We both kind of went above and beyond in the primping department, wanting to look nice for the other one. We held hands and laughed! We went to an arcade!! Seriously, we probably looked like one of those couples that everyone snickers at! But that's ok, we were having a blast with one another. I felt so young and in love, I almost wanted to document the night. I wish there had been a photographer (like at prom) at the arcade because we sooooooo would have been hitting that up! The way he looked at me, the way I clutched his arm. Maybe we could look at that picture years from now and see the "blatant love" in our eyes as well.

We're so fortunate to have friends that reminded us that we needed to take this sort of time for one another every so often. They watched Emma for us while we were out, too. Were it not for them, we probably would have gone forever without dedicating this sort of time and attention to our relationship.

That's sad isn't it?

We go and go and go, giving our all to everyone and everything day in and day out. Meanwhile, we're forgetting to grow and nurture the bond and intimacy with our beloved spouse. We just let love pass us by in the hustle and bustle of life. We get comfortable. And that doesn't mean we love any less, we just don't make it first priority anymore.

I have to concentrate everyday on how blessed I am to have the husband I do. God chose Jon for me, I am certain. And in knowing that, it is only natural that I should be "dating" him everyday. We have to strive for and work towards the essensce of "photo love" like above!

By the way, the couple in the picture are my grandparents. Kelly and Comena right around 1935. This picture was taken just because. No special occassion. None needed. They were always taking pictures like this and I can vouch that this is what they're love looked like well into old age. Papa was crazy about Nannie and Nannie adored Papa.

Everyday.

New Link

You'll notice to the left there is a new button titled The 1 Cor. 7:5 Challenge. Like the one right here.

I'll leave looking up the scripture to you, but in short it's a challege to uphold our end of the bargain concerning, uh, "relations" with our hubbies.

Just click on the button to be linked to all the details. Please feel free to participate; it should be fun!

Best of Luck!!

Love

I love a great love story- who doesn't right?

I'll read a book or watch a movie and get so caught up with the characters adoration for one another; I'll wonder if that sort of love is even possible in real life. I'll compare it to my relationship with my husband and sometimes I'll be thankful for what I have...and sometimes I won't. How dangerous it is to live vicariously through fictional love- it can get your mind and heart into a lot of trouble.

This has been something I've been thinking about for a while, so it came as no surprise to me I was able to relate it to this past Sunday's sermon (even though it had little or nothing to do with the topic in my brain).

Preacher was talking about how everything changes when Jesus comes to town. And he kept shouting, "GOOD NEWS!" after every point or story. The foundation of his sermon was rooted in John chapter 5 where the woman with the bleeding disorder had so much faith that she simply touched Jesus' robe so as to be healed. His point of the story was to show, not only the significance of cultural times and what it meant to a bleeding female, or the magnitude of her faith and what it took to actually reach out and touch Jesus, but more importantly the events that led up to her coming to this paticular gathering in order to be healed. Word had spread rampant and Jesus was in town- things were happening, changing---GOOD NEWS!!! He spoke of revival breaking out in our current day because people had faith and Jesus was allowed to work!

That made me think of my own personal love story.

For far too long, I have coveted the marriages of my friends and even those with in the book/movie realm. Instead of focusing on the issue at hand and trying to illustrate love in my own life, I would, well daydream and then brood.

But, in a manner of speaking, I had kicked Jesus out of my marital town. I wanted to handle it on my own, I could handle it on my own, or so I thought. And how ridiculous was that because I wasn't handling it, I was wishing my husband were more like Joe Schmoe on TV- HAH!

Anyway, as I sat there in church, I realized that if left to my own devices, I would be the bleeding woman, suffering for years if I allowed this to continue. I had to have enough faith that ONLY Jesus could create in me a new love for my husband. ONLY Jesus could grow the passion in me that I had lost for my husband. ONLY Jesus could allow me to see Himself through my husband's eyes. But I had to give in and relinquish all control. Despite my flaws and total undeserving self, I had to fall to my knees and reach out to touch His robe.

On a deeper level, I knew too, that if I didn't make Jesus MY one true love, my knight in shining armor, my sun and air, then I would never be able to find the sort of earthly love I so longed for. He has blessed me with my husband and I should consider him a gift, but he is still human. Yet still, ONLY Jesus can fulfil my every need, but He is gracious and loving enough to have provided me with my husband on this side of heaven.

As I thought about these things, I held Jon's hand (nothing out of the ordinary). But instead of feeling just the palm of his hand against mine, I felt a man. My man, made in Christ's image. A good man, with a heart and feelings and needs. I traced the veins on his arm with my opposite hand, brushing his arm hair as I did it. I looked down and noticed definition in his muscle even though his arm was relaxed. My heart began to rush. I looked up at his face, him intent on the sermon, and admired his jawline, strong. I appreciated his eyes, tender.

Jesus was falling me in love with Jon all over again, right there, in the middle of church!

After that, I felt giddy.

And from that moment I made a vow to myself... As human as I am and as much effort it is going to take, I must let Jesus be the focus and foundation of my marriage, but first and foremost my life. And as I continue to do that, I can have the love story I want. Each day I have to look at Jon as a precious present from the heart of God and then treat him as so.

My goal is to ask myself each day- What is one thing that will make Jon happy today? And then do it! Afterall, this is his love story, too.