Let's Do Life

Brent and I have recently gotten involved in a small group at our church here in NC.  We have been going there for several months, and now Brent is leading a young married couples group.  He is doing such a wonderful job.  At first it was a little weird to have him as the leader.. you get so used to just hearing someone else talk to you about things, it's really different when it's someone you know so well.  I am so incredibly thankful for the people in our group.  They are what makes it easy to go on a Tuesday night when we're all tired from work.  They are part of the reason we want to buy a house here! We talked a lot about marriage last night (obvi in a married group) and about how marriage is NOT there to have your needs satisfied by another person.  It's there to break you and show you how much you need God in your lives.  If you think you will be happy-go-lucky-dandy all through your marriage, and that your spouse will be there to satisfy you and solve your problems and insecurities, you are wrong.  The whole reason I believe marriage is holy is because I truly do not believe you can have a successful life-long marriage without God being present.  What a wonderful opportunity to get to know God and to love someone else more than you love your selfishness.  I try to remind myself often (although it is really hard), to let go of my own stresses and jealousies and insecurities, and to let myself be thankful first.  Kathryn said it best last night:  "If you begin prayer being thankful for all the good things in your life, you might just forget what you were asking for."  I promise not to write a bunch of preachy posts, but I really do just love to share what God is doing in our lives.  It is a daily decision to live out these things, but oh the things you have to gain by doing so!!  One last quote and then I am done  :)


“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. ” -Timothy Keller

New House (Hopefully!!)

So this is my first post on our new blog!  We are getting settled in here in NC and it's time... to buy a house! It definitely needs some TLC, but we really feel like this is going to be our first house together.  It was built in 1966, has great bones, but it needs a coat of paint... and updates to... everything!! We are 2 weeks away from our potential closing date and we cannot wait. Here are some pictures of the "before".  I would like to say the "after" will blow your mind, but I can't imagine all our dreams for the place will come to fruition that well :)  God has blessed us SO MUCH in the last few months.  We have made some wonderful friends, I absolutely love my job, Brent has started his own job, we love our new church, and we cannot believe how "at home" we feel here.  We hope we will be able to have many years here together! Stay tuned for house and life updates :)