• Faith,  Marriage

    I Prayed For These Moments

    February 6, 2017

    Happy Monday! I hope you guys had a nice and relaxing weekend. I wanted to write a post that was inspired by this quote:

    I wanted to write this post because some days I forget how amazing it is that God really did answer my prayers. Some days I forget how desperately I wanted this life. Some days I forget all the tears and pain that led me here. I wanted to be a bit vulnerable and try my best to let you in on how my life used to be, because I know that by posting only positive things, it can be easy to display the wrong message to my readers. I don’t write about how blessed and happy and grateful I am for my marriage and the way my life is because it’s perfect or because it’s the reason behind my joy. I write about these things because I am grateful to God for this life, and I never want to forget that, or to display anything otherwise on this blog.

    I prayed for these moments and it was a hard, tough road to get me to where I am today.

    Because on that day I sat in my car back in 2012, crying in my driveway because I couldn’t understand what God was doing, because all I wanted was someone to love and God wasn’t allowing that then. I couldn’t see it back then, but all those prayers would be answered and it would lead me to this:

    A life where all those tears are way outnumbered by all the laughs shared with my best friend, all the laughs because of silly things he does, like falling asleep in the most bizarre ways.

    Because on the day that I moved out of my mother’s home at 18, wondering why life had to be this way, it led me here to this:

    My heart leaping with joy at just the sight of a tiny, little, one bedroom apartment because it is a place to call my own.

    Because on those days that I spent growing up, wondering why my family was so different, wondering why my dad wasn’t around or why we didn’t have the money to do things like the other kids did, it led me here to this:

    To a man who works so hard to provide for his family, even if that means his only family right now is me. To a man who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, will provide and be there for his kids when that day comes.

    Because on those many nights that I ate dinner by myself, feeling desperately alone, and wondering why God wouldn’t answer my prayer for a family to eat dinner with, it led me here to this:

    A man who I know will be my forever dinner date, who I know is in it for the long haul.

    Because through all the breakups and the tears and heartache that followed, through all of the confusion and the what ifs, they let me here to this:

    To a man who will do anything to put a smile on my face. To someone I know that God hand-picked for me because of his commitment to do what is right and to love me the way that God commanded. I couldn’t see it then but God was protecting me and saving me for a guy who was worth it.

    Because on the nights where I sat literally crying out to God, not understanding why he wouldn’t take the pain away, led me here to this:

    A life that I wouldn’t trade for the world and a faith so much stronger because of the hard times. I have the confidence of knowing that I did not rush ahead of God and that this is his best for me. I have confidence that all those tears cried were seen and all those prayers prayed were heard. Back then I couldn’t see it, because the pain and heartbreak and confusion were so blinding, but that pain had a purpose and taught me to appreciate just how much of a gift this life truly is.

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  • Faith,  Marriage

    How To Pray For Your Husband

    January 31, 2017

    As I’ve mentioned in my January Goals, I am working on completing the Wife After God: Drawing Closer to God & Your Husband (aff.) devotional this month. It has been a huge encouragement to me and I think I will probably do a complete book review on the whole book once I’m finished. But what I wanted to share with you guys today is just from one of the chapters, praying for your husband. And honestly, you can pray these things for your husband even if you haven’t met him yet! Or if you are just dating someone too. I hope it will encourage you like it has encouraged me.

    Thank God For Your Husband

    Pray and just thank God for gifting your husband to you. Try to always see your husband as a gift from God. Pray specifically why you are thankful for him. Thank God for your husband’s heart, his health, and for his love for you.

    Pray For His Walk With God

    Pray that God will give your husband an increased desire to know him. Pray for your husband to experience extraordinary intimacy with God. Pray for him to learn more about God’s ways. Also that your husband will have a desire to spend consistent time in God’s word.

    Pray For His Leadership

    Pray that your husband will follow God’s lead wherever he may call you as a couple. Pray that God’s will for your relationship is clear to your husband. Pray that he will have the courage to lead you well. Also pray that your heart will be in line with your husband’s and Gods and you will be able to be submissive to where your husband is leading.

    Pray For Protection

    I pray this for Tommy almost every day. He works in a place that is dangerous and can very easily be hurt so I always pray that he will be protected and safe. Also pray for his protection from the enemy. Ask God to cover your husband in Jesus’ name that he will not be exposed to the evils of this world.

    Pray For Temptation

    Pray that your husband will be protected from tempting situations. Pray that he will be a man who doesn’t fall for what the world says is okay. This world is a hard place for a man when it comes to the sexual culture that is around us. Pray for a sound mind and heart against sin.

    Pray For God’s Blessing

    Pray that God will bless your husband. Ask God how you can bless your husband specifically. Pray that God himself will fill your husband’s heart with joy. This is a good time to pray for specific things that you know your husband might be struggling with. I know that Tommy desires a close Christian friend so I will pray that God will bless him with one. God says that whatever we pray for, if it is in the will of God, that he will answer it. He also says that we have not because we do not ask. Take full advantage of being a child of God, and on behalf of your husband, petition God for your husband’s blessings. God will delight in answering these prayers.

    Pray For Encouragement

    Pray that you will be an encouragement to your husband. Pray that you notice and focus on the good attributes that your husband has. Pray for God to help you not dwell on any area of weakness in your husband’s life. Pray that God will put other people around your husband to encourage him. Also pray that God himself will encourage your husband.

    Pray For His Weaknesses

    Pray for your husband’s weaknesses, that he will rely on God and not himself. Pray that God will strengthen him. Pray for God to help him improve in these areas and that they will not be a foothold for the devil.

    Pray For Wisdom

    This is another specific area that God tells us to ask him for. Pray that God will give your husband wisdom, wisdom to understand God’s word, wisdom in his specific field of work, and wisdom to make good choices.

    Lastly Pray For Your Role As His Wife

    Pray that you will display the fruits of the spirit to your husband. Pray that you will quickly forgive your husband when he wrongs you. Pray that you will always see your husband in a positive light. Also pray for God’s protection over your marriage.

    It is an absolute joy that we get to bring our husband’s before the Lord and pray for them. Let’s always remember how much of a blessing this is to be able to do this and thank God for the opportunity. It is important to pray for our husbands daily. Let’s commit to doing this together. I think it will make a huge difference in our marriages.

     

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  • Faith,  Marriage

    Life Update: God Cares About The Small Things Too!

    July 29, 2015

    Disclaimer: This is super long and way more personal than my prior posts. I hope you guys will enjoy learning more about my life and what God is doing in it. I’d love to hear about yours as well! Leave a comment with your blog website and I’d love to check it out 🙂

    God is SO good guys! My main reason for documenting this is because I really want to be able to clearly remember how God showed up and answered my prayers in such an amazing way. My hopes is that it encourages you too and helps you to remember that God is always here with us and cares so so much about us.

    So let me let you to what’s currently going on in my life a little bit. As I’ve written about in an older post, I have been dating Tommy for quite some time now – tomorrow is actually our 9 month anniversary! Tommy and I by no means have a perfect relationship, we have our struggles just as everybody else does but I know that this is the man that God has made for me to marry. He is the most thoughtful and caring guy I have ever known. He loves Jesus, most importantly, which is what makes our relationship so great.

    Tommy and I have gotten to the point where we know that we want to marry each other but we are trying to figure out the details and getting ready for that point. Obviously this means that we would both need to be financially able to live on our own. I am most likely going to have to find a new job within the next six months or so because my bank has been pending a merger for about 3 years now (lol) so if/when that goes through I will be let go. I just graduated from college in May though and am not too worried about finding something, just because I know that God will provide and take care of me.

    Tommy happens to be two years younger than I am and he has not exactly figured out which direction he wants to go in when it comes to jobs. His dad is a welder and for a while his plan was to learn from his dad and become a welder also. This path however is a little uncertain because his dad would have to be able to get him a job at the quarry that he works at and we weren’t sure that this was 100% going to be able to happen. Tommy also has an interest in business and has been debating continuing his education and getting a business degree. (Did you catch that?? He’s hands on (wanting to be a welder) and also super smart when it comes to managing money… am I a lucky girl or what?!)

    But this has been tough for me because I can be quite an impatient person sometimes and always one to want to be in control of things. Both Tommy and I have felt that our relationship is at the point where we want to take the next step (& get engaged!!) but we obviously need to make a mature decision and make sure that we can provide for ourselves once we’re married. So to the impatient part lol I have realized that if Tommy chooses to continue with his education that we will most likely have to wait until he graduates before we are able to get married, which could be about 2-3 years. I’m not going to lie I went through a time where I was really struggling with this. I admit that I don’t want to wait that long, and I had a time where I was really unhappy thinking about him doing this. But I also really wanted to be able to support him no matter what he chose to do and I wanted him to make the right decision for himself. I spent a lot of time praying and telling God how I was feeling about it and I can honestly say that He gave me the grace to trust that His plan was way better than mine and be 100% okay with whatever Tommy chose to do, even if that meant that we had to wait 2 or 3 years to get married.

    Now to the exciting part… God seems to really have answered Tommy and I’s prayers in a crazy way. Right when we felt that working with his dad was not really an option anymore, God brought this option back and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Tommy’s dad is planning to try to get him learning more about welding throughout the rest of this year and hopefully get him in at the quarry sometime early next year! When Tommy told me about this I couldn’t believe it, I’ve never had God surprise me in such a way and it really shows me how much he actually cares about the details of our lives. If Tommy gets the job with his dad, we will be able to get married, and he will also probably have enough time to go back to school to learn business as well. It’s a win all around and so amazing.

    Although I do recognize that God could change his plans again, and it is possible for Tommy to not get the job with his dad, I still am insanely grateful for the hope that He has given us that this is the path that He is leading us down. I’m so excited to see what He has in store for us, even if things do change and Tommy and I aren’t able to get married for 2-3 years. I just am so grateful to have such an amazing man in my life and a God who loves us so much that He takes the time to care about the small details and leads us down the correct path.

    If you managed to read all of this and make it this far, you’re the best!! This was super long haha but something I felt I really wanted to share. Would you mind just praying for Tommy and I – that we would keep following down God’s path for us? Thanks so much guys!

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  • Faith

    If God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours Why Does He Allow Bad Things To Happen To Us?

    June 27, 2015

    I just want to start out by saying that I’m really excited about starting this blog. I have been going back and forth with the idea of having it be a blog page or a devotional page but I think I decided with a mixture of both.

    “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:9

    This verse is an interesting one because it is probably one that we read really quickly and be like okay got it, I already know I don’t understand God’s ways because well.. He is God. He created everything and I didn’t – that’s an easy one. But I wonder how much more we would get from verses if we just sat down and took the time to really ponder each one of them.

    My pastor said something a few weeks ago that really stuck with me that ties in with this verse. He said:

    When a dog sees his owner leave the house, he can’t comprehend what or where his owner is going or doing. The owner is more advanced in his or her thinking than the dog is therefore the dog cannot comprehend the depths of his owner’s actions.

    When we really think about this it reminds us that there are just going to be things that God does or allows that we just do not have the ability to understand. We have to remember that God literally created everything we see from nothing.. absolutely nothing. We as humans have the ability to recreate things but never create anything from nothing. We always have to start out with supplies in order to create something. The ability to create from nothing is reserved for God alone and something that we just do not have the brain to understand.

    So when something so awful happens in our lives that we just cannot understand, maybe instead of trying to understand why, we can just rest in the fact that God’s ways are greater and more importantly that God is love.

    Jesus came to the earth to die for us, because he so loved us that he couldn’t stand the idea of us being separated from him. Let’s rest in that rather than our current circumstances if they are difficult. Remember that God’s ways are never easy and sometimes beyond our comprehension but one thing we do know is that He loves us more than anything.

    When we remember what God has done for us it helps us to realize that God really does love us and does not want to see us hurt. He promises that “All things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

    And trust me, I know this can be a lot easier said than done. I do not want to come off sounding ignorant or insensitive to anyone or their situations. I have been through some hard times too but I do know that God is greater than anything we’re going through. If you’re going through something difficult, I do not know why God allowed it but I do know that it is possible to glorify God through anything. Let’s pray for his help to do it.

    Pray: Jesus, sometimes our circumstances are too hard for us to even comprehend. Help us to remember that your ways are higher than ours and help us not to dwell on finding an answer to why they may have happened. Rather, help us to look to the cross and be reminded of what you did for us and help us to rest in your love instead.

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