• Marriage,  Wedding

    5 Months

    October 22, 2016

    Today Tommy and I have been married for five months. I can hardly believe it’s been that long. It feels like just yesterday when we stood in front of all of our friends and family and promised each other forever. It has been a dream since that day but also not how I expected it in the least.

    God has done a lot of work in my heart since being married. He has revealed to me things about myself that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. One of those things was that I didn’t really believe that He was good. After getting married I had this fear that something terrible was going to happen to me. It was very subtle at first but over the months it became more and more obvious. And it wasn’t until God healed me of this anxiety that I even fully understood what I was even believing.

    I believed that I didn’t deserve to have good things happen to me. I grew up in a pretty broken home where it kind of felt like bad things happening were the norm. I think I just got used to this feeling and learned to expect it. So here I am now, the day after I get married and thinking this can’t last. It has to blow up eventually because that’s what always happens.

    But God has been ever so gentle with me and has taught me that this just isn’t true. Bad things don’t always have to happen. He desires to see His children happy and while I’m still learning this, I feel like I’ve had tremendous growth in the past week or so. I no longer feel like I have to walk around being afraid of what is going to happen next. I can cherish where I am knowing that God is here with me and brought me to this place. He loves me and He also loves you. He desires to see His children delight in Him but also in the good gifts that He gives.

    I just want to leave you guys with our wedding vows. We picked ones that our church had and personalized them a bit. They are very special because it signifies that we will promise to love each other through the good and the bad, and to ultimately follow God as the goal of our lives. But we get to do it together now. How awesome is marriage.

     I, Tommy, take you, Ashley, to be my wedded wife. I love you and know that this love is from God. Because of this, I want to be your husband so that we might serve Christ together. Through all of the uncertainties and trials of the present and future, I promise to be faithful to you and love you. I promise to guide and protect you as Christ does his church, as long as we both shall live. God’s Word gives us the perfect example of this love in Christ’s death for the Church. I shall try always, with God’s help, to show you this same kind of love, for I know that in His sight we will both be one.

     

    I, Ashley, take you, Tommy, to be my wedded husband. I love you. I prayed that God would lead me to his choice. I praise Him that tonight His will is being fulfilled. Through the pressures of the present and uncertainties of the future I promise my faithfulness, to follow you through all of life’s experiences as you follow God, that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ and our home be a praise to Him.

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  • Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Marriage

    Let’s Have Coffee || Vol. 2

    September 12, 2016

    If we were having coffee I would tell you that I can’t get enough of it lately. I wish I could drink it all day long. I’ve even bought decaf coffee to switch over to when I’ve had too much caffeine. I’d also ask how many cups you normally drink a day because I’m still deciding what’s okay for me to drink.

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you all about how I felt like God was being so silent in my life but then unleashed so many blessings in about a weeks time. I’ve been struggling with my relationship with Him since getting married but finally have felt the fuel to the fire being relit and it makes me so so happy. How do you get out of those types of seasons?

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you that for the first time ever I’m actually a little bit excited for summer to be over. I realized this year that fall is always a time of passion for me. I think it’s just the cooler air in the mornings and evenings but it makes me so excited for the start of a new season and being able to re-start all the things I’ve failed in the previous season – like eating health and working out.

    If we were having coffee I’d ask you how you stick to your workout schedule. I need all the tips because it seems no matter how hard I try I just cannot stick to a consistent schedule and I’m tired of making excuses and saying I’ll start really being serious about it later. I feel like it will never happen if I don’t start now. So please tell me all the tips. I need them.

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you that I still am trying to find the time for all of the things that I like to do since being married. I am starting little by little to find the right times to do things like blogging. How was the transition period for you if you’re married?

    Linking up with Amber @ Mr Thomas and Me.

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  • Life,  Marriage

    Home Tour!

    September 8, 2016

    I am so excited about today’s topic. I have been wanting to do a home tour since we moved into our apartment but I never felt that it was ready. I still don’t but it’s come a long way since we moved in so I thought nows as good a time as ever so… Welcome to our home!

    living-room

    If you walked in this is what you would see. Most of the decorations I’ve used actually came from our wedding and a lot of them are homemade so they are really sweet reminders for me.

    living-room-3living-room-2

    I am still in love with that coffee cart and am so glad we bought. Also pictured is my desk that I (try to) spend my mornings reading my bible and journaling but don’t always make it.

    kitchen-2

    This would be our kitchen. It’s not very big but it’s just what we need.

    kitchen-table

    And lastly, our dining room. We bought that table when we moved in and we absolutely love it. It’s so cute and the perfect addition to our little space and it fits our style so well. The cards hanging above it are from our wedding and the banner is also decoration from our wedding. Oh and those are my wedding flowers. Did I mention that all the decorations in the apartment are from the wedding? 😉

    So this is our home and my favorite part is who I spend it with. A huge shout out to my husband for helping me straighten up so I can take these pictures- you’re the best 🙂

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  • Faith,  Life,  Marriage

    All About Me

    September 1, 2016

    Oh hello there. I wanted to get back into blogging so what better way than to do (read: attempt) the Blog-tember Challenge! Bailey Jean at Brave Love Blog has been hosting the #blogtemberchallenge for the past 3 years – talk about dedication. I wish I could be that disciplined. Anyways the point of the challenge is to blog every day in September. I attempted last year, but definitely didn’t touch even close to every day. Let’s see how I do this year!

    Today’s prompt is simple – introductions. So hello again, I’m Ashley Zinhobl. That’s my brandy new last name – yep I’m a newlywed. Being married is so much fun and I am learning so much. We got married on May 22 and my life is so incredibly different that I don’t even recognize it but it’s definitely a good thing.

    Speaking of different I also switched jobs in March when I got laid off of my first real job. I took a temp job after that and I foresee a post about what it’s like in the temping world in the near future. I am also just about to accept another job (but shh don’t tell anyone yet) as a Document Imaging Specialist. This is what I did at my first job and LOVED it but more on that later.

    Hmm what else to tell you.. I am a Christian and try (but fail) to live my life like Jesus did. That is actually what the point of my blog is and why it’s named Set My Heart On You. I pray that I grow closer and closer to God and that He will transform my desires into His more and more. My desire for this space is simple. It’s to share about my every day life and struggles and things that God is teaching me through those to hopefully help you to see how good He is or to help you along with your struggles as well.

    But anyways that’s the important stuff. Gotta go now, I’m off to finish packing because my husband and my family are headed to the beach for the next 5 days. (My favorite place ever.) Can’t wait to spend all the time relaxing, reading, and tanning on the beach. But don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow with prompt two! (Or so we hope 😉 ).

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  • Life,  Marriage

    What Have You Been Up To?

    August 11, 2016

    Hi friends. I’ve been thinking a lot about wanting to write a post for the past couple of weeks but watching Netflix or sleeping normally win. I guess since it’s been a while I’ll do sort of a “life update” post.

    I mentioned that I was struggling with anxiety in my last post and since then it has gotten SO much better. I did a lot of reading and growing and realized that I need to (try) my best to let go of control of my life and just let God do what is best for me. (Not like I can stop him anyway lol.) I just try to remind myself that He IS good and that He has brought me this far and cares about me so I do not have to worry. I’ve been consistently reading my bible the past two weeks also and this probably has helped with this a ton.

    I started reading She’s Got Issues and I can already tell that it’s going to be amazing. I have already grown from just reading one chapter. I have learned a lot about myself. If you don’t already know, I am currently working at a temp job and it has been really trying me. I’ve been expected to do A LOT and am not getting compensated for doing any extra and it’s probably all just for them to let me go at the end of the project. I was working up to 47 hours a week sometimes, trying to gain approval and in turn have them hire me permanently AKA controlling the situation. I also think this had a lot to do with my anxiety as well. I was over working myself. This book helped me realize that I needed to let go and let God control the situation and after two weeks of not doing any overtime and still feeling very stressed out from the work demands, I have decided to look somewhere else where I am permanent and have room to grow in the company and have my hard work pay off. Your prayers would be much appreciated. 🙂

    Also, my cousin and her boyfriend came to church with us this past Sunday and it was awesome. Her boyfriend has never really gone to a church like we go too and it as really excited to bring him there. My cousin also hasn’t been to church in a while either so I was so happy. I’m praying that the things that they heard will take root and grow.

    I think I am finally “used to” being married. I can’t believe that it hasn’t even been three months yet though. I sort of feel like we’ve been married for at least a year. We’ve gotten to know each other so well and it has gotten a lot smoother than when we were first married lol. It definitely takes time to get to know how someone is when you live with them. For example, sometimes since I am an introvert I just need some me time. I get home from work after Tommy so there isn’t any time when I am just in the house alone. Tommy had to get used to the few times when I would just not want to talk or wanted to read and realize that I wasn’t mad or upset with him but really just didn’t have anything to say at that time. It’s really new living with someone and can be challenging at times but if you keep in mind that this person is yours forever and you have the privilege of living and serving them for the rest of your life then it puts things into perspective when they leave their clothes on the floor again. You can see those things as an opportunity to love and it helps so much.

    Welp this post has been pointless but I hope you guys have like hearing about my boring life these past two weeks. What have you been up to?

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  • Faith,  Marriage

    Lost At Sea

    July 8, 2016

    This is the part of marriage and moving out and starting a new life that nobody warned me about. I was one of those naive enough to believe that it’s mostly just happy things when you get married. And I don’t mean happy things as in bad things never happen to you because I read enough to know that that is just not true. But what I mean is I thought the general state of my life would just be happy because now I’m married and my old problems were gone.

    And don’t get me wrong here there is much truth to that too, but I just didn’t expect the other side to it. Ever since getting married and moving out I just feel a sense of not recognizing my life and feeling very lost. I think some of it might come from literally not knowing what’s coming next. I’ve reached a huge milestone and don’t see the next huge milestone (babies) coming anytime in the near future. But I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear about not knowing what’s next and not being able to just sit and enjoy where I’m at.

    I also think part of this is because there so much excitement and planning that go into being engaged that it’s a huge leap after getting married for everything to just go back to being normal again. (Someone please tell me what I’m supposed to do with all this time because I still do not know!) I’m a huge type A person and love having goals to meet and I thrive when there’s a lot of pressure to get things done. So since we we’re engaged for just less than 6 months, while I was still looking for a job, almost all of my life while being engaged was just pressure and making sure everything got done. And even though there was some crazy stress to that that I have never experienced before, there still was some normalcy to it because even before that there was a lot to do.

    Just 6 months before we got engaged I was going to school full time and working full time so again I was used to having a lot going on. Part of me really does enjoy that. And don’t get me wrong I really do love where I’m at now – being married and living with Tommy has been hands down the most exciting and fun thing that has happened to me. But it is has also been a huge adjustment that I just didn’t realize I would have to make. Who would have thought that finally having a stable home would cause someone anxiety lol? I’m still working through all of these strange new feelings and I think part of it might be that I’m afraid to lose what I have because it is so different and I really do love it so much.

    I’m learning to trust God at this new stage of my life and really lean into Him and believe that He is good always. There is no reason to believe that God would take this all away from me because He is the one who has blessed me with it in the first place. I want to be more diligent about spending time with God, reading His word and praying because I have been slacking a lot with this and I also think that this might be part of where the anxiety is coming from as well.

    What about you? Does anyone else know what I am talking about or has experienced this as well? Please tell me I am not alone.

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