Reason #485
Made it back safe and sound. More rested, quite a bit darker, and slightly sick. We had an incredible time on our honeymoon! I can't believe it has already come and gone. But I'll admit that I am thankful to be sitting in my bed tonight, with Scout in my lap, typing out my thoughts once again. I won't pretend for one bit that I didn't miss this. In fact, it felt kind of weird getting in to bed at night without blogging. I will say that it did lead to an earlier bed time, and my body was thankful for that. But I am a creature of habit, a lover of routines, and so it's good to be home.
After taking a week off, I have a lot of catching up to do. These next few posts will most likely be either thoughts about the wedding or honeymoon experiences, so forgive me if they start to sound redundant. I want to start at the beginning. As you already know, the wedding day was a perfect day and the day after consisted of a trip to Dallas, but I wanted to share a few of the behind the scenes details that made it even more special.
On the morning of the wedding, I had breakfast with my bridesmaids and a few of the women in my family. It was such a sweet time and a great way to start the day. We had a phenomenal breakfast and did a pretty good job of holding back our tears. I just knew I would be an emotional wreck on our wedding day, but I surprised myself and only cried a bit in the morning. Of course, there are those people in the world who can bring you to tears in a matter of seconds. Before they open their mouth to say something, you know you're going to end up crying. My cousin, Lauren, is one of those people. I knew that pretty much anything she was going to say to me that day was going to make me cry. She, my parents, and my grandparents are pretty good at this. Anyhow, at the end of breakfast, Lauren gave me this little book. She said, "This book is compiled of letters from people who love you and have been praying for you and for this day." That was all it took and I was a weeping willow. Of course, I knew there was no way I could read those letters then and there, so I decided to save it for a time when I could really soak up the words.
I figured a 6 hour drive was as good of a time as any, so half way through, I pulled out the book and began to read the letters. As a lover of words, this was one of the most precious gifts I have ever received. Ever. A book full of words, of love, of blessings, of prayers, and all for me. My heart was totally overwhelmed and humbled as I read over each one, and I could hardly believe this was me I was reading about. Because I know me. I see me. I'm such a simple, regular girl. But the more I read these letters, the more I saw it. These were letters of praise to God. Friends and family who were allowing me to see their praises rising to the One who has been so gracious to us. The God who always deserves all of the praise. And they were thanking Him. Thanking the Lord for what He has done in my life - the good and the bad. And to be honest, if it weren't for the bad, the ugly, the shameful, the regret, the darkness, the sorrow, no one would have been writing those letters of praise. Those words of thanksgiving. How incredible! It was amazing to get a glimpse into the lives of others and see their praise to the Lord. To be able to view Him in the light that they view Him. To see how He has taught them, changed their hearts, opened their eyes. To see their love for the Alpha and Omega. The one who is, who always has been, and who will be. A book of praises in my very own hands, and I could hardly contain the joy from reading each one.
You see, we never know what God is up to. Often times, we don't know why He is even doing the things He's doing. For a while, we usually don't understand. Yet, you can rest assured that He is always doing something. And maybe you don't even realize it. Because all along my prayers were so self-centered. "God, heal me. God, restore me. God, redeem this. God, change me. God, use me." Me, me, me. And yet even in the midst of doing those very things, God was doing other things. Things I wasn't even aware of until I read some of those praise letters. Things in other people's lives because of what was being allowed to happen in mine. Things that would have never come about had circumstances and answers been different.
And so I just praise God for never ceasing. For the fact that He is ALWAYS doing something. And even when He is doing the things we need or are asking for, there are so many other things He's doing that we aren't even aware of. Now that's something to write about.
#485 - Because He is never ceasing and is always doing something.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease." - Lamentations 3:22
After taking a week off, I have a lot of catching up to do. These next few posts will most likely be either thoughts about the wedding or honeymoon experiences, so forgive me if they start to sound redundant. I want to start at the beginning. As you already know, the wedding day was a perfect day and the day after consisted of a trip to Dallas, but I wanted to share a few of the behind the scenes details that made it even more special.
On the morning of the wedding, I had breakfast with my bridesmaids and a few of the women in my family. It was such a sweet time and a great way to start the day. We had a phenomenal breakfast and did a pretty good job of holding back our tears. I just knew I would be an emotional wreck on our wedding day, but I surprised myself and only cried a bit in the morning. Of course, there are those people in the world who can bring you to tears in a matter of seconds. Before they open their mouth to say something, you know you're going to end up crying. My cousin, Lauren, is one of those people. I knew that pretty much anything she was going to say to me that day was going to make me cry. She, my parents, and my grandparents are pretty good at this. Anyhow, at the end of breakfast, Lauren gave me this little book. She said, "This book is compiled of letters from people who love you and have been praying for you and for this day." That was all it took and I was a weeping willow. Of course, I knew there was no way I could read those letters then and there, so I decided to save it for a time when I could really soak up the words.
I figured a 6 hour drive was as good of a time as any, so half way through, I pulled out the book and began to read the letters. As a lover of words, this was one of the most precious gifts I have ever received. Ever. A book full of words, of love, of blessings, of prayers, and all for me. My heart was totally overwhelmed and humbled as I read over each one, and I could hardly believe this was me I was reading about. Because I know me. I see me. I'm such a simple, regular girl. But the more I read these letters, the more I saw it. These were letters of praise to God. Friends and family who were allowing me to see their praises rising to the One who has been so gracious to us. The God who always deserves all of the praise. And they were thanking Him. Thanking the Lord for what He has done in my life - the good and the bad. And to be honest, if it weren't for the bad, the ugly, the shameful, the regret, the darkness, the sorrow, no one would have been writing those letters of praise. Those words of thanksgiving. How incredible! It was amazing to get a glimpse into the lives of others and see their praise to the Lord. To be able to view Him in the light that they view Him. To see how He has taught them, changed their hearts, opened their eyes. To see their love for the Alpha and Omega. The one who is, who always has been, and who will be. A book of praises in my very own hands, and I could hardly contain the joy from reading each one.
You see, we never know what God is up to. Often times, we don't know why He is even doing the things He's doing. For a while, we usually don't understand. Yet, you can rest assured that He is always doing something. And maybe you don't even realize it. Because all along my prayers were so self-centered. "God, heal me. God, restore me. God, redeem this. God, change me. God, use me." Me, me, me. And yet even in the midst of doing those very things, God was doing other things. Things I wasn't even aware of until I read some of those praise letters. Things in other people's lives because of what was being allowed to happen in mine. Things that would have never come about had circumstances and answers been different.
And so I just praise God for never ceasing. For the fact that He is ALWAYS doing something. And even when He is doing the things we need or are asking for, there are so many other things He's doing that we aren't even aware of. Now that's something to write about.
#485 - Because He is never ceasing and is always doing something.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease." - Lamentations 3:22
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