Recruiting a Resurrection

So, as I have migrated all of my blogs from my beloved Bloglines to Google Reader (so far, a relatively easy transition), I have glanced through some blogs of some friends, some well-known bloggers, some people I choose to stalk, and some people I don’t really know how they got on my list…and I noticed something. Well, a few things. I decided not to transfer over many blogs that I either: a. noticed they hardly ever blog or b. noticed that I am hardly ever interested in what they have to blog about. However, there were two that I transferred over in desperate hopes that one day their blogs will be resurrected.

Seriously. Jen Shinn and Jamie Friesen. Get on it. I’m begging you.

Jamie, my so-called, self-proclaimed ‘Joy Giver’ – let me tell you the amount of joy that blog of yours brought to this life of mine. And the sadness that overcame me when I saw you haven’t blogged in nearly two years. Really?! How did that endeavor become so easily swept under the rug. Go back and read your posts. Humor me. You know you want to recount those memories and where’s a more perfect place to do so than on a public forum that yours truly has access to?!

And JP. Come on! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED reading about your life happenings through the lens of your blog. It was a great way to feel connected, to feel like a fly on the wall in that life of yours. We expressed it at R&R, but I would like to reiterate that us little youngins really look up to you wiser, more mature crew! It was great to feel like we got to experience a piece of your life!

I know the inclination to leave comments on posts has died down (particularly with the easy access of viewing sites through bloglines – catching up on blogs is the perfect lunch break activity, which leaves hardly any time for comments) which might cause motivation to dwindle. But, that does not mean that my desire to read them has! So, I’d like to rally the FCA crew to come and encourage our lovely ladies to resurrect their blogs that were oh so humorous and oh so impactful!

I believe as Believers, we are supposed to call people out in certain situations and with a certain spirit. So, out of the Spirit of love and all things good, I would like to personally request one on behalf of all bloggers near and far. I would also like to direct you to James 4:17. Do this good! 🙂

Anybody? Anybody?

Happy One Month Anniversary

So we’re at the one month mark today (we already celebrated four weeks on Monday…I guess now we just go to celebrating months…then years….etc.). Here’s a few things I’ve learned so far:

1. I’d much rather stay in bed snuggling with my husband than wake up early (or on time, for that matter) to go to work – the snooze button has never been quite so appealing (pretty sure he’s not so fond of it…but oh well!)

2. It’s so fun to come home each day to the same person…or to have the same person come home to you each day. And by fun I mean challenging, exciting, humbling, rewarding, etc.

3. It never gets old to look through wedding pictures or too overwhelming to have them in almost every frame in your home. Really.

4. Getting your name officially changed is quite the process. So far my job, my email address and my bank are updated – only my Social Security, Driver’s license, every credit card, magazine, etc. left to go. Perhaps I’ll be done by next August.

5. Being a teacher works as an advantage when getting used to your new name – in this profession, you hear your last name way more often than most other jobs

6. My husband and I have a different opinion of clean. Apparently there are certain times of the month when I can be a real stickler (he might think of some other words to describe me) about how clean our home is.

7. Thankfully I received this advice from married women before I got married – but it’s truth has rang true time and time again this past month. I am responsible for my relationship with Christ – not my husband, not his leadership, not his devotionals, etc. Yes, he can guide me and lead me and love me – but it ultimately comes down to me pursuing Jesus to make sure I am continually transformed. And transformation I need!

8. Visiting friends and family is fun as a couple. It’s a very big change for me to take someone else into account for all of my traveling plans and for all of my friends. We’ve been able to enjoy dinner guests, bananagrams, scrabble, a wedding, road trips, maintaining friendships with the roommates (sometimes I think he misses them and the dogs more than me), building friendships with old friends and family and visiting my sister in the city.

9. It is much easier to sleep with the background noise of an oscillating fan and an occasional street noise than a blaring freight train. And praise the Lord for a husband who doesn’t snore!

10. Each day is an adventure. We’ve actually had a pretty challenging first month with some stuff going on (outside of our marriage) and it builds a feeling of safety and comfort to be able to charter the unknown waters together. It can also build a little bit of stress…but we’ve both been very intentional about continuing to choose to trust that the Lord is sovereign. After all, He had told me this was going to be worth fighting for…and that we’re doing! Together!

Us at the ‘Back to School Party’ the Youth Group had – I was a dork and he was a jock. I won him over though.

Bon Voyage!

So, the honeymoon has come and gone and we have successfully celebrated three weeks of marital bliss! I figure if we just make sure we’re going strong each week, we’ll be good to go for years to come!

Josiah’s grandma Kiki (whose name is Carrolynn) blessed us with an incredible honeymoon to the Mexican Riviera! We jumped aboard Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas for a seven day cruise (neither of us had ever been on one before!) and were absolutely awe-stricken. In fact, the cruise director made fun of the ‘first-timers’ that night because they’re the ones with their jaws wide open as they slowly walk through the ship attempting to take everything is. It still baffles my mind as to how we remained floating, so I’m going to choose not to dwell on that too much.

We had an incredible week of (mostly) sun, (lots of) sleep, and (beautiful) sightseeing! I’ll give you some highlights (rather than recounting each of my daily journal entries):

• Driving dune buggies through the desert and on the beach in Cabo San Lucas (we went airborne twice)
• Horseback riding on the beach in Mazatlan (Josiah’s still upset by how s…l…o…w his horse moved)
• Zip-lining through the jungle in Puerto Vallarta – absolutely awesome!
• Securing 3rd place on the ship’s 3-on-3 basketball tournament (proven by our medals we wore proudly around our necks)
• Fun little towel creatures greeting us at night (swans, monkey, rabbit, and snake)
• A Honeymooners Welcome (including sign on the door, free champagne and cake for the other 40 couples on their honeymoon as well)
• One night we made it up past midnight and danced the night away at the club onboard with the other four couples from our dinner table (all around the same age and three other newlywed couples)
• Awesome meals and unlimited food…resulting in gluttony!
• A ship with an ice skating rink, a mall, a basketball court, a miniature golfing area, a rock climbing wall, and a casino to name a few things…
• Unlimited entertainment, an awesome cruise companion, and great memories to last us a lifetime…
Now that the wedding is complete (it was absolutely PERFECT) and the honeymoon is over (highly recommended for EVERYONE), it’s time to put our time and effort into making this marriage one that reflects Christ and the Church. We have had a fun time getting to know each other, learning how to better communicate, discovering little idiosyncrasies, and building a home together. Let the fun begin!

On the boat!

Formal Dinner Night at Rhapsody in Blue Dining Room

Dune Buggies and the attractive gear

Kissing on the cliffs

Some port in the background

Domingo and Sargeant

Our nightly table group

Showing off our 3rd place medals