She has returned...

Have no fear, for I am back! Its been a crazyyyyy couple of months, but they have been the best few months of my life. Dan and I are all moved to Reidsville, but we still have a lot to unpack. I love love love our new little apartment. Its spacious and cozy all at the same time. Its ridiculous all you have to do just to settle when you move. DMV, Social Security Office, Insurance Companies, Job Searching, sheesh! Insanity! But, its all coming together. Hopefully.


Thanks to everybody for all the prayers, warm thoughts, and well wishes! We love all of you.

Worth more than diamonds, worth more than rubies!

^{EPILOGUE: A WIFE OF NOBEL CHARACTER}

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find? 

       She is worth far more than rubies.

 ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her 

       and lacks nothing of value.

 ¹² She brings him good, not harm, 

       all the days of her life.

 ¹³ She selects wool and flax 

       and works with eager hands.

 ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, 

       bringing her food from afar.

 ¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark; 

       she provides food for her family 

       and portions for her servant girls.

 ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; 

       out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

 ¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously; 

       her arms are strong for her tasks.

 ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, 

       and her lamp does not go out at night.

 ¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff 

       and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

 ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor 

       and extends her hands to the needy.

 ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household; 

       for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

 ²² She makes coverings for her bed; 

       she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

 ²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate, 

       where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

 ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, 

       and supplies the merchants with sashes.

 ²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity; 

       she can laugh at the days to come.

 ²⁶ She speaks with wisdom, 

       and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

 ²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household 

       and does not eat the bread of idleness.

 ²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed; 

       her husband also, and he praises her:

 ²⁹ "Many women do noble things, 

       but you surpass them all."

 ³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 

       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

 ³¹ Give her the reward she has earned, 

       and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

                               -Proverbs 31:10-31 (NIV)

HYMN TO A GOOD WIFE

 ^10-31 A good woman is hard to find, 

   and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve, 

   and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously 

   all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, 

   and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places 

   and brings back exotic surprises.

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast 

   for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it, 

   then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, 

   rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work, 

   is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, 

   diligent in homemaking.

She's quick to assist anyone in need, 

   reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn't worry about her family when it snows; 

   their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing, 

   and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected 

   when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them, 

   brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant, 

   and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, 

   and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, 

   and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her; 

   her husband joins in with words of praise:

"Many women have done wonderful things, 

   but you've outclassed them all!"

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. 

   The woman to be admired and praised 

   is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves! 

   Festoon her life with praises!

              -Proverbs 31:10-31

     How great is it that there is biblical instruction out there for us (soon-to-be) wives! We are more precious than rubies and diamonds! Every time I read this, I feel so blessed to be a woman, especially a woman of God, daughter to the King! Is it wrong to say that this is how He feels about us? These are His "instructions," His "guidelines," if you will, of what a nobel wife is to do. I get that. But, what if this was God's profile on match.com? As if, this is what He was, and is, looking for in a mate? I'm going to be bold, and go out on a limb here and say that that's exactly what these verses are. We are, after all, his bridegroom. This is what our Heavenly Father wants from us! This is the woman He wants, and expects, me to be! He wants us to bring Him (and our husbands) good, not harm. He has full confidence in us. He wants us to speak with wisdom, and give faithful instruction. He has full confidence in us! When we tend to our husbands, our children, our homes, our churches, we give our Father everything He has ever wanted a wife to be. The covenant of marriage is one that bonds man to woman, husband to wife, in a promise of Unconditional Love. The same Unconditional, Agape Love that our God has for us. We are to love our Beloved's as Christ loved the church. Christ died for the church, the body of Christ. In that same love, Christ didn't just die for the church, he died for the rest of the world. Unconditional Love. And this is how we are to love our husbands. I am so incredibly in love with the man that I will soon call my husband, and I'm so grateful to God that He answered my many prayers for Daniel, but honestly, loving another person the same way the Jesus loves us is hard. But so worth it. I pray everyday that I will be the wife God has asked for in Proverbs 31. I know I can be, He has full confidence in me! 

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed; 

       her husband also, and he praises her:

 ²⁹ "Many women do noble things, 

       but you surpass them all."

He has full confidence in me!

When Words Aren't Enough

There are days when sometimes I feel like all I ever do is talk. Words and phrases flow from my lips without any thought behind them. My mouth becomes a babbling brook of thoughtless prose. It's like I'll be giving my sister a compliment on the super cute sweater she just bought from Old Navy, and in my mind all I can hear is "I can wear that to dinner next Friday! It's perfect; not too casual, not too dressy..." An empty sentence of compliance is all I have to offer, because of my own selfish gain. It happens to the best of us. We just blurt out whatever appealing words are at the tips of our tongues, regardless of meaning. It's the same way in our relationship with God. We wake up everyday, given this new gift of life and we go about our business, maybe we'll say a quick prayer as we drive to work, but its never more than a few words of "thanks." What good are these words without thought or action behind them! Or we got to church every Sunday, sit front row, and listen to Scott preach the beautiful Word, and we nod our heads when a word like "grace" or "mercy" or "faith" pops into the sermon. I don't think all of us really grasp that "grace" and "mercy" and "thanks" and "faith" aren't nouns. They're verbs. Verb. A word that represents an action or a state of being. As Christians, sometimes we fall into this trap where we get caught up in the words we feel we have to say to sound, well for lack of a better term, "Christian." Our prayers become more mumbo jumbo than meaningful. We forget that what it means to BE grace, to BE mercy, to BE thanks, to BE faith. We fall the shortest when it comes to BEING faith. Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." For me, that's an awesome definition of faith, but that's just it. Its only a definition. With this faith that we have in our unseen Savior we have to take it and act upon it. In Galatians, we are reminded of the freedom we have been given through Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that our chains may be broken, setting us free from our own, selfish undying ways. Paul writes in Galatians 5: 5-6 "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope...the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." James asks us what good is our faith without any deeds? We've all heard the proverbial cliche "if you're going to talk the talk, you're going to have to walk the walk." But its true. No longer can we just sit around, acting Casual Christian. We have to get out of our front row seats and become part of the show. We have to dig deeper, sing louder, work harder, get dirtier, all in action for the glory of God. Because sooner or later, we all come to realize that words are never enough.




I wrote this just about a year ago. It rings more true today, than ever. 

More than just a day off

Sorry that I have failed to keep up with my blog, lately. It's been such a crazy time, and there has been so much on my heart that I wanted to share, but couldn't. And now, I finally can.

DISCLAIMER: This has NOTHING to do with the state of our relationship. I love Daniel with my whole heart, and the wedding is more than for sure on in December. 

To skip all the gory details, Dan and I have resigned from our position, well his position as Youth Minister. Despite what many people think, or hear, or say-this is not a rash decision. We have prayed, and prayed, and sought wise council, prayed some more and tried to "work this out" the best we could, in every angle that we could, for months now. As we have made this decision together, we feel that it is time for us to move on. We resign with sad, sad hearts. But, as a new, young family, we have to do what is best for us. We have been so bruised and broken (spiritually, mentally, physically) that we are not adequately equipped to serve in a leadership position at this time. We love each other, we love our students, we love our leaders, and we love our church family unconditionally. Unconditionally. There just comes a time when you have to say "enough is enough. I need to get myself right, before I can lead others." With resigning, we leave with no other opportunity to accept. Clearly, we feel this strongly about our decision that we must leave our position with only 4 months left before our wedding. I stand behind my husband to be, fully, in this decision and can only ask for prayers for our next step.

The part that saddens me most about leaving is that we are spiritually broken. I mean, I've only been "in the ministry" for a year and a half now, but I can see how minister are so easily broken. There are no harsh words in this for our former church, none what so ever. This happens all the time, in many churches, all over the world. What do I mean by "this?" I mean ministers ministering to the church and its people, but not being ministered to. What most people don't see in ministry is that its more than a Sunday morning job. Its more that just being in the office Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. We don't get to come home and turn it off. Sorry, but that just doesn't happen. On good days, we have students and sponsors at our house just hanging out, playing video games, and eating good food. On bad days, we are talking to students and families that have a lot more going on when we realize. And stuff like that, the good and the bad stays with you for awhile. That being said, us ministers are people too. What if we have a bad day? What if we are struggling with something? When do we get to worship? When do we get to sit down, and listen to and appreciate a good sermon. To be honest with you, Dan and I don't get to worship, together or alone ever on Sundays just because we are so busy. Sunday is no sabbath for a minister. Don't get me wrong. We do what we do to bring all glory and honor to God, for Christ's Kingdom, and there is no one we would rather be working for. We humbly and whole-heartedly serve and awesome, amazing God. But we don't get fulfilled. Too often in churches we see ministers being burnt out from serving. Shouldn't that throw up a red flag here? A persons relationship with God is personal, but it takes a community to really get that relationship thriving. Even as ministers, we need a break, we need a sabbath, we need a community to surround us, and lift us up, and give us words of wisdom, and time to heal and pray and learn and love in a way that will keep our ministry healthy. And I'm not just talking about a day off. I'm talking some real, solid Jesus time, among other people (since we are JUST PEOPLE TOO) to build strong relational ties with God, with our spouses, and with each other. Its so vital.

Prayers for Dan and I this week as we get closer and closer to the best and most important day of our life! We have so much change coming, and its all positive. Dan had his interview at Papa John's today (classy, I know, but we gotta do something!) and we think it went really really well. We also have a few other big things happening within the next couple weeks so please please please pray hard on those!

My "30 things"

You think it would be easy to come up with 30 things about yourself. There are the obvious ones: hair color (blonde), eye color (blue), height (yea, right). The list could go on. But I wanted this to mean more than just the trivial information anyone can get out of you. I went just a little deeper. It was harder than I thought it would be. In the end, it actually turned out to be really cool. 

What are 30 things about you? You just might learn something new :)

1. I am marrying the most incredible man in December.

2. I am learning daily what it means to be a Godly wife, and a Youth Minister's wife, at the same time.

3. I currently got accepted into USF St. Petersburg Campus.

4. My major is Elementary Education.

5. My sister, Andrea, and I are best friends.

6. My most prized possession is my engagement ring, and soon to be wedding ring.

7. I'm addicted to coffee. And chocolate.

8. I should be on a diet for my wedding, but I'm not.

9. I need more wholesome, Christian, age-appropriate relationships. I love our students, but I need some grown up time.

10. I work at Chick-fil-A.

11. I can't wait to have a professional career. Or a stay-at-home mom. In due time.

12. Big changes are happening in our lives soon.

13. I'm organized when I choose to be.

14. I enjoy my afternoon naps.

15. I love my parents to no end.

16. I really look up to my future in-laws. They are awesome.

17. When Dan and I have kids (in like 10 years), we both want to have a little baby girl.

18. I miss college. I'm kinda excited to go back.

19. And then again, not so much.

20. I hope to be a positive influence to my fiance, and other people, everyday. Positivity is key.

21. I love my Mac.

22. Blue is my favorite color. Dan's is green. And we still want to have a baby girl. Haha

23. My favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 11:1

24. While that verse speaks of faith, I think you can apply it to love too.

25. I love being in love. 

26. I can't wait to be married. People keep telling me that I'm settling down, and my life is getting boring, but I think our lives are just about to start. 

27. I am not an animal lover.

28. In fact, I quite do not like animals at all.

29. One day, I want to live in a shack on the beach. Or in the mountains.

30. I am who I am, and I'm learning just who that is. 

6 days and counting...

Its been an entire week since I've even been able to begin to think about blogging again. We've had such a busy week with all our students, its really ridiculous. BUT we love all of you!

This week we are getting ready to head to CIY MOVE. This is a huge event. An easy one, but still huge. This week will change these kids lives. Well, there's and mine. I love CIY. I've been every single year since I could go. And I'm so excited that I get to go again this year, but from a different perspective. I get to be "the youth minister's wife!" I love that I get to see what a week like this can and will do to kids. I mean, I've experienced it, I've lived it, but now I get to see what it did to me. I get to see the life change from an outside perspective. I love our students so much, every single one of them, and I'm really excited to see what they bring to the table next week.


This week I pray for the hearts of all the students and sponsors that are heading on this trip, that they may seek the Lord in all the right places, and that they would hear His voice calling you to follow Him, with a full and blesses heart.

There's No Greater Power than the Unconditional Love of Christ

There's no greater power than the unconditional love of Christ. That's what my baby preached on yesterday. He was amazing, as usual, and yes, I am a little biased. I love him so much, and I simply cannot wait to be his wife. 


But I'm not here to rave about my awesome hubby-to-be, even if I could do that all day. I'm here to delve a little deeper into his sermon, and how it spoke to a situation we are personally struggling with. He used the story of the adulterous woman from John 8. 



 ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" ⁶They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
 ⁹At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
 ¹¹"No one, sir," she said.
      "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

-John 8:1-11

Dan's "big picture" was this: Do I throw rocks? We all can relate to the woman, bruised, beaten, broken-hearted, ridiculed, etc. We've all been chewed up and spat out by things of this world, and we feel the rocks and judgements that are being thrown at us. But have we ever considered that we throw rocks, too? Whether by word or action or deed, we have all "pointed the finger" at another, saying that they're wrong in their ways. Every single one of us has picked up a rock and thrown it at a brother or sister in Christ.


SO WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THIS? We show unconditional love to all around us. I know, I know. This is easier said than done. Its hard to love someone who is different from us, its hard to love someone who has done us wrong, but we need to LOVE!


For there is NO GREATER POWER than the unconditional love of Christ.


I'm not preaching to the choir here. I live this everyday. We are ministers. We have to deal with people of all shapes and sizes, 24/7-inside and outside of the church. We are teaching ourselves a valuable lesson. One that I am graciously learning with a humble heart. Today, I pray that God will open my heart to love other people, so that I may be a shining example of the great power of Christ's unconditional love.