A Year of Marriage

I cannot believe that it has officially been one year since the day I said 'I Do' to the most incredible man on the entire earth. The last 365 days have flown by, full of unforgettable memories, laughs, tears and hugs. I have learned so many things about Joshua and about marriage over the course of a year that I narrowed down to a few major lessons.

1. Communication is Key
Before I got married, I thought Joshua and I had this figured out. We had focused on our communication for quite awhile through our dating years so I thought that we would have it down by the time we were married, but I have never been so wrong. It's so easy to think that the other person knows exactly what you're thinking at any given moment. With that mindset, you find that they upset you a lot more because you figure they're doing it on purpose since they should know exactly what's going on in your mind. 9 times out of 10, they don't know what your expectations are or what you're thinking, and they don't mean to upset you. The more you communicate what's on your mind, the more likely things are to work out. A great example of this happened just last week. Joshua had left his clothes on the floor one day and I decided to bring it up to him. I didn't want him to think I was angry so I decided to go with a sarcastic approach so that it would seem less serious and so that he didn't feel like I was trying to attack him. Little did I know, Joshua does not respond well to sarcasm. He didn't tell me this until just a few days ago, but it was so important that he sat me down to tell me that. If he hadn't told me, I would've probably continued to approach him sarcastically, making him more upset. Though I wasn't trying to make him upset, I did. By sitting down and talking about it, he understood my expectations as far as clothes being on the floor, and I learned how to best talk with him about things like clothes on the floor and beyond.

2. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Let the little things go. At the end of a long day, tired and worn out, it's easy to let something insignificant come between both of you. Unless it is something that has been going on for quite some time and needs to be talked about, it isn't worth the fight. I learned to ask myself if this was a problem that I was still going to be upset over tomorrow. If not, let it go and move on. If I still thought it needed to be brought up, it was more effective to wait until the next morning when I wasn't in a bad mood and I could discuss something without becoming angry. However, as a general rule, I learned that getting angry over small things just wasn't worth it.

3. Be Their Support System
I have had some crazy ideas , goals and dreams over the course of a year. I think I have had three different ideas for a career after college, considered quitting college probably seven different times, wanted to try different jobs other than Starbucks, and have had quite a few hobbies start up and fall through over a year. However, throughout it all, Joshua was right there cheering me on, supporting me, and offering to help with these goals and dreams in any way possible. He probably knew in the back of his mind that half of these ideas would never work out, but he still supported all of them and that meant the world to me.
Being the person to stand beside them no matter the situation is key. Whether it be the best days, the worst days, the most realistic goals, or the craziest dreams, being their #1 supporter is so important. I can't tell you how many times I got frustrated and wanted to quit classes and Joshua said to me "If you want to quit, I will support you. I believe in you and I know you could finish school if you wanted to, but I support you know matter what you decide" and that was exactly what I needed from him.

4. You Cannot Find Fulfillment in Them
Especially during the first couple of months, it felt like Joshua was everything I could possibly need and more. As time went on I realized more and more that Joshua is not perfect (though he is as close to perfect as a person can get) and neither am I. Fulfillment can only be found in Jesus. Purpose can only be found in Jesus. I found that when I looked for those things in Joshua, I was let down because he is only human. My marriage is an image of the love Christ has for me, not an earthly replacement of it. Finding fulfillment and purpose in Christ allows me to experience Joshua's love for me more fully and love Joshua more fully.

I still have so much to learn and I can't wait for all of the experiences that will teach me new lessons to make me a better wife and have a more God-honoring marriage. I could brag about Joshua forever because he has made it so easy to be a wife. People told us that the first year is the hardest (which is kind of frustrating, like setting us up for disaster, though I see why they might want to warn us) but Joshua made it such an easy year. Though a lot of things were far from perfect, though many days ended in tears and many mornings started with them, Joshua made each day easy because of how hard he worked to make our marriage better everyday. I am so incredibly thankful for him and his dedication to Christ, to me and to our marriage.
Marriage is far from easy, but it's what you make of it. If you give into anger and sin, your marriage will reflect it. If you make an effort everyday to love each other, encourage one another and be kind to one another, marriage is fun and wonderful. I'm obviously no expert on marriage yet but I've learned this this much so far. This year has been incredible and I can't wait for so many more of them.

The Wedding Series: DIY/Decor

The best part about my wedding day was seeing all of the final pieces come together, all the little details that I spent time working on over the course of the last five months. Beyond the dress, the venue and the food were all the best parts of the wedding that really put the whole day together.

Having a wedding on a budget meant DIY decorations galore. I wanted to spend as little money on the decorations as possible while still sticking to my theme and having décor that I really loved.

1. Family Tree

I knew right away that I wanted to somehow incorporate the people that came before us. This was especially important to me because my husband and I came from different parts of the country, meaning our family and friends had never really met before. Incorporating our family history allowed our guests to get to know where we came from.

I bought a bunch of frames from thrift stores and filled them with pictures of our parents, their parents and their parent's parents. I nailed them up to the trees that led down to the ceremony area. This way it showed the generations that came before the one we were celebrating today, plus it gave the guests something to look at and enjoy while they made their way down the trail to the ceremony.

The sign brought the whole idea together and was designed by a super creative and talented friend of mine,  Katelyn Kozak. Pro-tip #1: Use the talents and services of your friends and family. They often cost less and do an even better job. Plus, it gives them a chance to advertise the things they can do.

I loved how this turned out and it cost me a total of $20!

2. Cake Topper

I touched on this in my post about the cake but just to cover it again, I paid about $100 total for my cake. I had it made my a grocery store bakery for $75, added my own strawberries and fake flowers, and made my own cake topper.

The letters were made on pieces of cardstock that I cut out in a <> shape and folded over a piece of string. I used tape on the insides to ensure that they didn't slide down the string. The string was then tied between two pieces of wire to hold it up. It took minutes to make and looked so cute on top of the cake. Mine said "Mr. & Mrs." but you could make it say whatever you'd like. You could even make multiple banners for multiple layers of the cake!

3. Lining the Sidewalk

This was a last minute idea that my mom and I had while walking through Hobby Lobby. I'm so glad I decided to add these in because it added a small, dainty detail that cost me almost nothing. I bought dowels from Hobby Lobby and used 4" by 4" sheets of paper that matched my theme from a little cardstock pack. I simply used a stencil to trace and cut out hearts, put two horizontal slits in each one, and put them on the dowel. I made six of these that lined the sidewalk that led to the Family Tree. These cost me less than $10 to make.

4. Flowers

Featuring my beautiful niece. With the help of my mom and my aunt, I made all of the flower bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids. The bouquets featured larger white flowers and baby's breathe. Using floral tape and wire, we created these gorgeous flowers. While this was still one of the more expensive DIY's, it was still way cheaper than buying fresh flowers or even having bouquets designed by a florist. The total cost was around $100, give or take. Pro-tip #2: If you are going to buy fake flowers, wait until there is a sale on florals to buy the things you need since you won't have to make your bouquets at any specific time throughout the wedding planning process.

*all photos in The Wedding Series courtesy of Laura Nicole Photography

KC: Memorial Day

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
MEMORIAL DAY
5/30/16

If you find yourself in KC in the future, these places are definitely worth seeing. Crown Center is mainly a shopping area but the little pizza shop had some of the best pizza I have ever tasted. If you're going to be here over the lunch hour, make sure to stop there. The aquarium across the street is about $20 per person, but it is worth every penny. It was so beautiful there and I highly recommend checking it out! Lastly, Union Station was my favorite stop. Being there for Memorial Day was a real treat because of the special tributes to veterans set up where you first walk in, but it is always a stunning place to see.
This was our first full weekend here in KC. We are in love with everything this city has to offer and can't wait for all the adventures to be had!

I Asked the Lord to Teach Me to Trust Him and He Took Me Seriously

At the beginning of the year I posted a blog about my "resolution", for lack of a better word, for the year of 2016. I decided that I was going to learn to trust God and asked Him to teach me. Near the end of 2015 I realized my complete lack of trust in my Heavenly Father. My stomach turned at the thought of how many times I tried to take care of things myself instead of letting Him put the pieces together. Despite knowing that He always had my best interest in mind,  I acted as if He couldn't possibly know what He was doing and pushed Him away only to be left in tears wondering why things weren't working out.

This year was going to be different. I started off the year by asking Him to make me put my trust in Him, to make me stop relying on myself and start relying on Him through the hard stuff. I knew He would do it, but I didn't know He would take me so seriously. Of course, thinking about it now as I type this, He obviously knew I would need something extreme to happen in order to get it through my stubborn head.

Thus began the year of 2016. January flew by without a hitch, but February hit us like a ton of bricks. Joshua lost his job that month. That was something completely foreign to me. No one I knew had ever lost a job, at least not to my knowledge, so I was lost on what to do, who to call or where to go. The second part of that problem was that I was only working part-time because I was still in school, and I wasn't able to get any more hours than I already had. For about two months we were living off of my 25 hours per week income where I made less per hour than Joshua had at his previous job. To top it off, we had several car issues that needed to be fixed immediately because it made it unsafe to drive. The cost of that was just over $400. Just before all of this happened, our puppy was sick and needed care that added up to almost $300. Those two major expenses combined with a handful of others, combined with the loss of our major income made for a huge financial burden.

All of this came within two weeks of each other. Joshua and I both held it together for as long as we could, but eventually all the tears came out. After a month or so, it got to the point where we had nothing left and I realized that this was my teaching moment. It took me a month to put it all together in my head but I finally understood that this was God taking my 2016 request seriously. He was teaching me to trust Him and rely on Him only. Each day we prayed, spent as little money as possible, paid the bills, applied for jobs, and left the rest up to Him. We took care of the things we were able to take care of and gave the rest to God. This daily cycle seemed never-ending and was emotionally exhausting.

After a couple of weeks, Joshua got an interview for an assistant manager position. We were both overly confident that he would get the job and all would be okay again. I don't know what Joshua was thinking that day, but I know I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. I thought to myself, "see, we've got it all taken care of! We're going to be just fine." A day or two after the interview, Joshua got the call that they went with someone else for the position. It was as if God was saying, "Nope, you haven't learned anything yet, so we're going to keep trying until you understand." God is funny isn't He?

Finally, after worrying for weeks, Joshua and I agreed that we needed to stop worrying, because worrying does not fix anything, We decided that we needed to remain faithful to God and He would take care of everything else. Not long after, we were presented with the option of a job that would provide everything we needed and more financially, but we would have to relocate. Not knowing whether it was right or not, we prayed and asked Him to show us what to do. Joshua applied for the job, not really expecting to get it, and we moved on. We decided that no matter what happened, we were going to be okay with it as long as God was honored in the end.

Around the beginning of April, we got the call that offered Joshua a position for the job he didn't think he would ever get. We were overjoyed but didn't want to rush into anything that wasn't right for us. We took a couple of days to pray about it, asking family and church family to pray for us too. Finally, with an overwhelming sense of peace and confidence, Joshua accepted the position and we are currently in the process of moving to Kansas City. This change is going to be scary but wonderful. God has put all the pieces together perfectly in order for the move to be successful and for Joshua and I to stay at peace. Everything is ready for the move, and we know that God is going to use this time to teach us even more about trusting Him, glorifying Him even in the darkest times, and bringing honor to His name even when (and especially when) we don't want to.

I was sitting in a coffee shop a few weeks ago, feeling anxious about all the details that needed to come together in less than a month, and I randomly opened my Bible to Matthew 6. Here we are told that God cares for even the birds and the lilies, and that He cares for us so much more. I realized that in those couple of months of having nothing left, we were never unable to pay a bill, were never in debt to anyone, and never owed the bank a single cent. Even when all I could see was the areas that were "lacking" in my life, God was holding me, taking care of the details. I cried thinking about my foolishness. How could I ever doubt Him when He has proven to be faithful to me every single day?

I'm not laying it all out like this for anyone to feel sorry for me or to think that I'm trying to make it sound worse than it really was. I don't tell you this story in hopes of looking praiseworthy for all that I did to make it out of the rut. I'm telling this story with all of the details for anyone who may find themselves in the same boat, struggling to trust God. Though it took me 20 years to finally get some sort of grasp on the fact that I can't do it alone, I'm so glad He is taking the time to teach me. Tell you what, it is so much more satisfying to watch things come together when you let God handle it than when you try to do it by yourself. God tells us in scripture that He will provide for our every need (even when what we think we needs and what God thinks we need are often two different things, but that's another post for another time). In Matthew chapter 6 it says that we shouldn't worry about the things of tomorrow, but rather fix our eyes on His Kingdom, living for His glory and not for our own comfort.

I know this is just the beginning of learning to trust God, that I will encounter many more struggles throughout my lifetime and that my life won't be perfect from here on out. God used the first few months of this year to equip me for even bigger trials in the future and for that reason, I am so grateful for the struggle we had to go through in order to be ready for when those trials come.

If you think about it, pray for Joshua and I as we make the move to Kansas City in just a couple of weeks. Pray that we will constantly be reminded of what we have already learned so far about trust, and that God will be glorified everyday throughout our time there. I hope that this will serve as an encouragement to anyone who is currently in a trial period. I urge you to not be angry with God as you go through it. My pastor, Mike Augsburger, had been preaching on Peter, talking about allowing the darkest times in our life to be a teaching period. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn and grow closer to God. Stay hopeful, knowing that God promises to take care of you and see you out on the other side.

The Wedding Series: The Food and Cake

One of the questions I get asked most when talking about my wedding is whether or not I had food. There is a misconception that food is too expensive when it comes to having a wedding for as little money as possible. But I really wanted to have a meal at my wedding because there is nothing that brings people together more than food. During the planning stages, I could already picture my guests talking and getting to know one another around a table of delicious food, and I knew that I needed to find an inexpensive way to have a meal at my wedding.

I knew right away that catering was out. It's way too expensive. So, I began thinking of meals that wouldn't take too long to prep, but would still be something that at least most of my guests would enjoy. I settled on pasta, salad and bread. The pasta was set up against a wall in the room where people walked up to get it, and the salad and bread was kept at the tables.

One of the greatest things about your wedding day is that people around you want to help out in any way possible. Some women at my church that I have known and loved for years prepared and served the food at my wedding. Now, I paid them, but there are probably people in your life that would be willing to help in this area of your wedding day free of charge. Don't be afraid to ask, and if they do want to be paid for their work, it's guaranteed to be cheaper than a catering company, and the food will most likely taste better. :)

If your reception is later in the day, the food might be able to be prepared at home and transported to the reception area. It can be kept warm in dishes like the ones pictured above. Utilize your reception space if you can. If your venue has a kitchen and will allow you to use it, you can prepare or at least keep your food there until the time of the reception. Rallying together some family and friends to help make food for your day will save you a lot of money, and, like I said before, the food will be delicious. Choose food that can be made cheaply and easily, like pasta or some kind of baked dish.

My other food concern was the cake. I had my cake made by a bakery in a grocery chain here in the Midwest. I found some inspiration on Pinterest and they made it for less than $100. The main goal here was to get a cake for cheap and decorate it on my own.

The bakery made the actual cake, and I added on strawberries and Baby's Breath on my own, which would have cost about another $30 for them to add on. Not only did this save me money to use for something else, but I was able to make my cake look exactly how I wanted.
 
As for my guests, I wanted to do something a little different. Another idea I found on Pinterest (Pinterest will be your best wedding planning friend if you can't tell already) was a pie bar for the guests. I loved this idea because I could have all different kinds of pie to suit every guest. Plus, it was something I had never seen at a wedding before. My mom, grandma and aunt made all the pies the day before the wedding. This saved a lot of money on buying extra cake or cupcakes from the bakery. From what some of my guests told me, the pie as a hit and so was the food.  

If having food is still too much for your budget, or it isn't an important aspect of your reception for you, you can always just stick with desserts! You could have some kind of food bar that matches your theme. For example, if you have a wedding in the fall or winter, you could have a s'mores bar, a wedding in the summer could have an ice cream sundae bar or a popcorn bar. This way, you still have food that people will love and remember, but won't cost you a bunch of money. If you plan your wedding at a time of day that isn't around meal time, you don't have to worry about feeding them anyway!

However, if you're like I was, food is an important part of your big day. If that's you, using these tips will help you save money and keep your wedding under $2,000. I loved being able to have dinner at my wedding, and I loved that it didn't cost me very much to make it happen.

What Our Culture Won't Tell You About Porn

This post is written by a friend who has personally struggled with the issue of pornography. I asked her to write about this because she has such a heart and passion for people who have struggled or are currently struggling with the lie that is pornography. This is an issue that needs to be talked about more, especially among young women as it is stereotypically seen as a problem only men deal with.

 

I’m 17 years old, a junior in high school, enjoying a sleepover with my best friend. Girl talk leads to serious talk, which leads to her opening her computer. That night was my first exposure to pornography, and I’m sad to say it was far from my last. Thus began my struggle.

That’s why I’m writing this article, that’s why I care so much, it’s because I’m not looking at this struggle from somewhere on the other side of the playing field. I’m not disconnected from this battlefield. I don’t preach to you as someone inexperienced with the temptation. I’m here, fighting with you. Fighting for my purity and for my mind. I’m the reason I can promise you this isn’t just a guy’s issue anymore. I’m the reason I know that more people that you comprehend struggle with porn. Our motivations may be different than guys, but the struggle is the same. 

There are some things I want you to know, some costs I want you to count before you watch pornography. You can chalk this whole article up to my religious background, but I can tell you I’ve suffered non-religious consequences. 

1-- Porn is addicting. Once you start, you will not want to stop. Like other addictions it gives you an outlet for your pain, your boredom, or whatever else leads you into destructive behaviors. Before you know it, every time you feel a negative emotion you will be drawn to porn. 

2-- Your self-image will be damaged. You can’t stare at perfect women having perfect orgasms and expect it not to take a toll on how you see yourself. Watching porn is an open door to you not only objectifying other women, but objectifying yourself. You will see your every imperfection and you will forget to have grace for yourself. It will hurt, and some days it will make it hard for you to leave the house. If you’re watching porn, I can almost guarantee you struggle with body image. It feeds on your sense of worthlessness and threatens to consume you. 

2b-- Social anxiety will arise. Anxiety you never had before, and it’s closely tied with your growing insecurity. You’re afraid people will know or find out what you’re doing behind closed doors. You’ll analyze other women, you’ll barely be able to express yourself around them. You’ll become a shadow of who you know you can be, 

3-- Your tastes will develop and shock you. Porn by nature is a gateway, as you watch it, you’ll have to watch more to get the same high. It will have to be new and different to satisfy. Until the point that you shock yourself at what you watch. You’ll be ashamed, but desperate for a sense of relief. As you try to quit because you’re disgusted with yourself your stress will double, like an addict going through withdraw. 

This is a fight we as women cannot ignore any longer. I promise if you aren’t watching porn, someone close to you is deep in the struggle. Let us not close our eyes anymore and marginalize ourselves from the problem. It’s real and it’s here. I heard a quote once from a college professor that said “You’re only as sick as your darkest secrets” as long as you hide in the dark this addiction will always be on the verge of consuming you. It will drive you farther and farther until you barely recognize yourself. I urge you to find help, find someone you trust, and don’t allow this to steal your joy any longer. There is peace and healing to be found. Chase after the light!

Fight!

 

If you would like information about the author, please feel free to email me at m.mccaughey2@hotmail.com

 

If you would like more information about the effects and dangers of pornography use, please visit Fight the New Drug

 

The Wedding Series: Wedding Party Attire

Part of saving money on a wedding is saving money for the other people involved, particularly, your bridesmaids and groomsmen.  “Proper” wedding etiquette says that your bridesmaids and groomsmen will pay for their own dresses and tuxes. However, if you are paying for all or part of their wedding day attire it can be helpful to save money in this area. If they do end up paying for it themselves, they will really appreciate being able to spend less money on their wedding day attire. 

Something that was really important to me in planning my wedding was creating a very laidback atmosphere, both for the guests and for the wedding party. I didn’t want it to be too formal, and I found that staying away from fancy actually saved me money.  Places like David’s Bridal are expensive and generic. Your bridesmaids are likely to be all different sizes and finding one dress that looks good on all of them can be nearly impossible. Because of that, I let my bridesmaids choose their own dresses from whatever place they wanted. I gave them a few guidelines; it should be somewhere on the pink/blush/nude color spectrum and should be about knee length. Other than that, they were free to choose a dress that they liked and that fit them well. The only thing that matched was our nude colored flats from Target, which most of my bridesmaids already owned anyway.

For the men, Joshua picked out a pair of navy pants from Gap that he wanted all of the boys to get which cost $60. He also picked out a bow tie and suspenders that only cost $10. Otherwise, he asked them to wear a white dress shirt and brown shoes which were things most of the boys already owned.

 

I loved this because everyone matched, but they all had something different from everyone else, giving each person their own special touch. Not only would this have saved us money if we were buying the attire for them, but it saved them money and allowed them to purchase things they actually liked and that fit them well. If there is one tip that I would pass onto a bride and groom choosing their wedding party attire, it would be to forget the tuxes. They’re expensive and difficult to fit correctly to each person in your party. And, they don’t even get to keep it at the end of the day! Not to mention how much of a hassle it is to pick up and return tuxes from a rental place. Let your party invest in something that they can keep for longer than one day!

Brides, you can still make a day out of it! Take all of your bridesmaids out to go pick out their dresses together. All of my bridesmaids looked beautiful, and the groomsmen looked so handsome! I was so unbelievably happy with how their outfits turned out! Not only did I end up loving how they looked, but my wedding party also appreciated being able to, for the most part, choose their own clothes. You will not regret letting your wedding party have a say in what they wear for your big day. Not only will it make the wedding planning process easier for you, but also for the bridesmaids and groomsmen!

The Wedding Series: The Dress

Now for the most exciting part of the wedding planning process: THE DRESS.



I've heard of people spending upwards of $5,000 for a dress that they'll only wear for one day, and to me that sounds insane. It is possible to have a beautiful dress on a $2,000 budget!

I found my dress on eBay. Yes, I said eBay. The seller that I bought from custom made my dress to my exact measurements and I received my dress only two weeks after ordering. The best part is that it only cost me...$160!

The seller that I bought from on eBay is "stuck.sh", in case you are interested in that seller specifically. My dress is not listed anymore, but there a few others to still choose from. However, this is not the only seller you can buy from. Before running over to David's Bridal, look through dresses on eBay or Craigslist. You can be as specific or general as you want as you search and can filter the search by your dress size. I found quite a few that I loved after just a few minutes of searching before I settled on the one I wore.

Mine shipped from China and still got to my home in two weeks and fit like a glove, so don't let that scare you away from a dress you love! If you still feel uneasy about that there are plenty of people that are selling within the US. Just make sure to check that option on the side bar when you're doing your search. Also, read the ratings and reviews of the seller you want to buy from. That will give you a good idea of what to expect from your purchase.

Try narrowing it down to two dresses and buying both! That way you'll have a second option just in case one falls through or doesn't fit you well enough. You can return the one you liked less than the other, as long as the seller allows it, and it saves you the stresses of trying to find another dress last minute.

Listed below are just a few of the options that you may come across when searching for dresses on eBay!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2015-White-Ivory-Wedding-Dresses-Bridal-Gown-Custom-Size-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-/151656386465?hash=item234f6ccfa1:g:y34AAOSwEeFVNcV6

http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-Ivory-lace-Bridal-Gown-Wedding-Dress-Custom-Size-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-/272139030693?hash=item3f5cc010a5:g:PhMAAOSwa-dWhfEM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ivory-White-Bridal-Gowns-Chiffon-Wedding-Dresses-Custom-Size-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-/161623482267?hash=item25a1829f9b:g:CTgAAOSwI-BWJvPM



And that is only the beginning! Check local websites for people who are selling dresses in your area. Look around at antique shops and thrift shops. If you find a dress you love and it's too big, alterations will still be significantly cheaper than buying a dress at a big name store. Getting the perfect dress on a budget definitely calls for more patience and creativity that buying a dress at any price, but is well worth it in the end.

When You Forget to Love All of You

I am the absolute worst when it comes to comparing myself to other people. I look at their hair, their faces, their talents and abilities, their possessions, and tell myself that I’m not good enough because my life isn’t identical to theirs. I’ll love my body until someone posts a picture of themselves on Instagram and suddenly I can’t stand to look in the mirror. I’ll love my college major until I see someone being so successful in theirs and I’ll want to give up. I’ll feel like my life is on track until I hear stories about someone else’s and mine suddenly feels dull and I find myself wanting what they have. It sounds ridiculous as I read that part out loud, but I can’t be the only one who’s ever felt like this.

Luckily for us, one awesome attribute about God is His creativity. He has created each of us different from one another, no one being made “less” than the other. With that being said, it is wrong for us to dislike who were created to be. We are created with a purpose, one that we may not even see yet. Each individual has been given a unique purpose, and to crave someone else’s downplays what God has in store for you.

I need to learn to fully love and appreciate the beauty and the talents of others without downplaying my own. This has been an issue that I have been struggling with and dealing with for quite a long time, but especially these last few months. It has had a negative effect on my ability to serve the Lord. I find that when I don’t like myself, I don’t want to like God either. Reading my Bible is the last thing I want to do when I feel like I don’t compare to everyone around me. But this is dangerous because it’s impossible for me to ask God to use me how He sees fit when I don’t like where He has me right now. Learning to love who God made me to be while also appreciating His other creations is a work in progress, but is essential to my life here on earth. I cannot fully serve God until I love everything He has made me to be.

It’s so easy to forget your worth, but we are worth more than we can understand in the eyes of our Savior. What a beautiful truth to know.  

The Wedding Series: Venue

Obviously a wedding isn’t going to happen without a place to host it.

Let’s talk venue! I knew right away that I wanted to have a wedding outside. I knew I wanted it to be somewhere with a lot of trees, preferably a clearing in the woods somewhere. And I found just that.

My reception was held at an outdoor chapel in the woods at a church camp. There was a wooden stage with wooden benches, and the scenery was beautiful. The whole setting was breathtaking. The ceremony ended at about five in the afternoon, just as the sun was setting through the trees. The reception was held in the lodge at the top of the hill that led down to the ceremony. Inside were wooden walls and a big fireplace inside a dimly lit room filled with candles. Outside the lodge, the guests were able to walk around trails going through the woods while the sun set. And all of this cost me less than $200.

 

Now, I definitely got lucky with such an amazing venue for such a small amount of money, but there are some ways for anyone living anywhere to get a venue that they love and still save money.

Look at church camps. Many church camps will have an outdoor chapel, which will work for most of the year. If you’re having your wedding during the colder months, most camps have a lodge or indoor chapel of some kind. Church camp prices will run lower than a lot of other places, too.

Another option is a friend or family member’s backyard. The setting is intimate and beautiful, and will most likely cost you little to nothing. I held my reception in a separate building, but you could hold both in the same general area. Even renting a tent or canopy is cheaper than most venues.

The greatest thing about having a wedding outside is that the setting will serve as decoration, saving you even more money. For the ceremony, we decorated the stage with an arch and some greenery, but besides that the woods served as the most beautiful part of the décor. An outdoor wedding also makes for the most beautiful pictures. The setting also allows you to make your wedding as casual or as formal as you would like it to be, as you don’t have to fit your wedding to any sort of décor that already exists inside a building.

It’s not difficult to save money when looking for a venue. Don’t settle for the most expensive, most popular place. Be creative and open-minded. After all, the day will be wonderful and perfect no matter where you have it!

A Day in Kansas City

Last Wednesday, Joshua and I got to explore Kansas City as part of my Christmas present. We had tickets to see Josh Garrels and John Mark McMillan in concert, but we walked around downtown before the concert started. We came across this coffee shop called Quay. I had heard nothing but good things about this place and for good reason; their lattes were to die for. Best coffee I have ever had, hands down. The people there were great, and the atmosphere was calming. If you ever have a chance to go down to Kansas City, check out this coffee shop.                                               <--- And look how stinking cute he is.

We went antiquing at the coolest antique shop I have ever seen. There were three levels plus a basement full of everything you could ever think of. We walked around for an hour and still hadn't even made it to the top floor.
And we decided on this trip that we are going to start collecting vintage cameras.

And finally, the best part of the whole trip. We saw Josh Garrels and John Mark McMillan live at Uptown Theatre. Before the show started, VIP ticket holders got to do a Q&A with the two of them. I learned so much about them as performers, as people, and as followers of Jesus. It was so cool to not only see them perform, but also to be completely transparent with us about all different aspects of their lives.

Following the Q&A was the best live performance I have ever seen. I didn't know it was possible, but both artists sounded even better live than they do on their albums. Josh Garrels played "Heaven's Knife", the song that Joshua and I danced to at our wedding, which was a really cool moment for Joshua and me.

After about three hours of music, the concert started coming to a close with McMillan coming out into the crowd and all of us singing along to an acoustic version of "How He Loves". Most people don't know, but that song was actually written by McMillan, and not by David Crowder. This trip was one of my favorites that we have taken together thus far, and by far my favorite concert. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to the music of either of these two artists, I highly recommend you take the time to do so.