Rushing Into Marriage

So this is a never ending topic of discussion for me. Just to give you a brief background on me before I state my opinions on this issue, I have been in a 5 year relationship with my fiancé and we have currently been engaged for 6 months officially tomorrow. So as far as the rushing thing is concerned on my end, I'd say we've both been pretty patient. Granted when my fiance and I first met, we knew we'd marry each other because God confirmed that through prayer for the both of us. I will be graduating college in three months and will be established prior to getting married. During that time of establishing myself I will be waiting for him to graduate, then we will start our lives from there.

Now that you've seen my experience with this topic you can probably conclude that I am a firm believer in not rushing into marriage. Am I telling you to wait 5 years like I did? Heavens no! However, I do believe it takes time to really know who a person is and to grow in a relationship with that significant other effectively requires going through both good and bad times.

I believe that in movies we are taught to believe that love is this happy thing which it is, but true love endures test. The Bible says that love never fails so how do you know if you can truly spend the rest of your life with someone if as a unit you all have never been tested? I think at this point in time in my life this topic is relevant due to the fact that I have a plethora of friends graduating this school year and many want to go to the next phase in life (marriage and establish a family) because they fear that if they don't get it right away it will never happen.

I have so so so much I could say on this issue and should probably make a youtube video because the amount of discussions I've had in regards to this subject is astronomical and it saddens me that someone is willing to risk making the mistake of rushing to marry the wrong person, instead of trusting God and waiting for the right one.

Readers, please share your thoughts on this.

Charity R.

Wedding Update

There's so many exciting things happening. In just 3 more months, I will be getting my degree and heading back to Texas until my Fiancée graduates from the Air Force Academy. Furthermore, this past weekend we paid the deposit on the wedding venue and I am extremely excited about all of the upcoming wedding plans that are getting ready to take place. The wedding coordinator at the venue is such a sweet person and I cannot wait to do business with her.

Here are some pictures of our venue:

Stonebridge Ranch Country Club

 We are going to have both our ceremony and reception at the country club :) Cannot wait, it's only 8 months and 29 days away.

Wednesday Encouragment

Today was a productive day! I had class this morning and then work all day. This morning before I started my day, God told me to encourage those that are close to me. Sometimes we take the people that are close to us for granted and it's imperative that we remind those people what they mean to us.

 Sometimes Satan really tries to get us down by looking at our current situations in life and attempts to get us to lose focus of who God is and what He is capable of doing. With that being said, stay encouraged. We all face hardships and tough times. Don't dwell on what is going wrong in your life, but thank God for the things that went right.


Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall."

Remember that scripture throughout this week. Give all your worries to God through prayer and trust him whole heartedly to see you through your situation

Catch Up!!!

It's been entirely too long since I've posted. I've had an eventful summer. I must catch you all up briefly on what's been going on in my life since my last post.


May 2013 Ring Dance with my wonderful fiancé. This dance is at the end of an USAFA cadet's junior year and celebrates the upcoming senior year. We had a lot of fun with friends this weekend:

 

During that weekend of Ring Dance, David and I took our engagement pictures by the talented Chloe Heath.

 

In June, I bought my wedding dress which is absolutely perfect! It doesn't even need alterations because it was pretty much made for me Thankfully. We also ordered the veil and the shoes as well.

 

July was my birthday month. I turned 22 and you better believe I was jamming to Taylor Swift's song, "22".  Although, I was in summer classes that day, it was a very special day thanks to my absolutely loving fiancé. He sure knows how to make me happy, though we are miles apart.

August, I started my last first day at Kansas State University! I will be graduating in December :)

 

September was David's last parents weekend. So the labor day weekend, I drove to Colorado to see my man and spend some time with great friends. This was a bitter sweet trip. I enjoyed my weekend tremendously. Visited a great couple that have Christ as the center of their relationship and it was a breath of fresh air to spend time with them again. Cannot wait until their wedding day as well.

 

 

My silly Husband-to-be and I :)

 

 

Well, that sums up my summer catch-up post. Thank you for reading! There will be more updates on the wedding and just my life in general to come.

Homemade Mac and Cheese!!!

I must say this past weekend, I made some DELICIOUS mac and cheese. I saw the recipe on this youtube channel I'm subscribed too entitled, "all recipes". Here is the link to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4tAgeVdaNB5vD_mBoxg50w

When I saw how simple it was to make, I quickly went to the store to get the ingredients. The video made it look easy and indeed it was.




You'll need 12 ounces of Evaporated Milk, Large Elbows, Sliced Cheese, and Butter.



Grease the pan with PAM





Once you've boiled the Macaroni, you cover the pan with with the mac and layer the cheese on top.

Once you've covered the first layer with cheese, cut a small portion of butter on each slice of cheese then sprinkle with salt and pepper. You repeat this process all over again until the pan is full (like lasagna).

Bake in oven on 375 degrees for about an hour or until the top starts to brown.


This recipe was super easy and yummy! I invited friends over to eat and they loved it! :)



Craft Project!!!

This morning I woke up to a wonderful good morning text from my fiancé. I spent some time in prayer and praise & worship then started my day. Overall, today was a great Monday. After I wrapped up classes and work, I spent forever in Hobby Lobby (THE BEST STORE EVER). Recently, I asked a close friend of mine to give me the categories of areas where she needs uplifting spiritually. She gave me that list and I compiled a plethora of bible verses that target that very area she desires to improve in. From that, I came up with the idea to make her a container that's personalized just for her with all of those scriptures inside of the container. The container is heart shaped just to symbolize not only my love for her, but God's love and how He encourages us through His word. I want her to pull a verse from the container each day and really meditate on that verse and understand it so that it can be hidden in her heart. God really gave me this idea and I cannot wait to make a variety of others for more friends.



I plan to flood this heart with verses. I still have a ways to go.

Wedding Update and Motivation in God

I have finally picked my bridesmaids!!! I  have 6 girls total that I couldn't be happier with. God has really blessed me to have such great friends that are practically sisters to me. We are actually planning to go dress shopping within the next couple weeks because one of my bridesmaids is leaving the country after she graduates next month. With that being said, we have to get the dresses right away so that she will be on the same page when she comes back to the U.S just in time for the wedding. I cannot wait until we make our decision on what dresses they will  wear. I will be sure to post pictures.



Recently I've been feeling as if  I have been fitting God into my schedule. God has really reminded me today that it's necessary to pursue Him like never before. He reminded me that doing the little things to get by won't work. I need to continue to spend time in His word, prayer, and worship and really go over and beyond. I've come to learn that we shouldn't put a time limit on the amount of time we spend with God. Instead we should give Him our all and love Him as if our lives depend on it because they do. When I look at the way things are going on in the world, I can't help but think that now more than ever is the time for us to get things right with God and love Him with our whole hearts. You never know when you'll take your last breath. I challenge you today to spend more time with God today. Instead of turning on the tv or a good movie on Netflix, pull out your Bible and spend quality time with God. I plan to challenge myself in this same manner. Expect God to show you things in His word and in your prayer time that you've never seen before. Lastly, I encourage you to share what you've learned in your time with God with others, whether they are saved or unsaved. Have a wonderful Sunday! Keep your head up. God and His angels are watching over you.

Rainy Day and Bridesmaids Thinking

It's been raining here all day in Manhattan, KS. Weather like this makes me want to snuggle up in my bed, read books, and watch movies. However, I had to fight that wishful thinking and go to work and class. I work on campus so it makes it super convenient to go to class and work. Today in class I was in attendance, but not if you know what I mean. I was actually thinking about who to make my bridesmaids. Luckily I have my maid-of-honor picked out and I told her right away. However, it's so hard for me to think that I will have to select a few friends to be my bridesmaids because all of my friends are very loyal and really genuine friends. In essence, I love my friends to death, but I refuse to be one of those brides that couldn't say no and has 20 something bridesmaids. Making this decision is totally tearing me apart though. I can't wait until David and I get our number of bridesmaids and groomsmen matched up so that I can get this decision over with already. Anywho, I was reminded of a scripture today that really gave me peace of mind with making this decision and that is "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. "(Philippians 4:6) 

Sometimes we get so engulfed in our lives that we tend to forget that God wants to be included in it as well. Even in the small decisions that we make, we forget God. God loves you so much and wants to be apart of every thing you do. Let God in every aspect of your life. I know from personal experience, things just go a lot smoother when God is in the picture.

Here is a picture of my view from work today after the rain calmed down: 

I absolutely love the K-State Campus. Can't believe I have one more semester left at this place! 

Peace, Love, and Strength

I must say that today was an eventful day! I started the day off with yoga at 6:30 this morning. I've never attended an early morning yoga class so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. It was super refreshing and a wonderful start to the day. Although, my yoga instructor was "downward dog happy" today, I really enjoyed the relaxation and strength I felt afterwards.  For those of you that don't know what downward dog is, here is a picture:

Recently, since being engaged a lot of thoughts have gone through my mind. Randomly I've began to worry about things I didn't worry about prior to being engaged. I began to worry about things like, if I will be a good wife? will I be able to do the things my mother has done and continually does for my dad and family? Thoughts such as these have really taken over my mind and I took a moment to journal in my prayer journal today and asked God to help me with those areas. In my devotional time, God quickly reminded me that I need to trust Him and ask Him to give me strength. I share this with you all to say that, sometimes we think that if we have a plan or if we can figure something out mentally in our mind then we are content. However, true satisfaction and fulfillment comes in being able to trust God, the one who has the master plan, the one who knows all things, and the one who loves you more than anything. If you are feeling like I am feeling and have something that is on your mind constantly, don't let it consume your life. Find peace and strength in God.

Proverbs 16:33 States, "We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall." Allow God to be the decision maker in your life and change your worries into prayers.

The Proposal Story

For those who don't know,  my fiancé and I have been dating for a little over 4 years. We were high school sweethearts and have literally known from our first real conversation that we were going to marry each other. Long story short, David proposed to me on Sunday at my church where my dad is the Pastor. He was handed the microphone from my Dad to help out with "church announcements". When David received the mic, he introduced the scripture Proverbs 18:22 and stated, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing." He then proceeded saying that he knows that he's found that good thing and he wants to make me his wife. I quickly went to the stage and David got down on one knee in front of the entire congregation and asked me to marry him. I was in tears the ENTIRE time and quickly shook my head yes. My dad prayed over us and I was literally on cloud nine the entire day.

I am literally ecstatic about planning and cannot wait to spend this rest of my life with this amazing man by my side. This day was literally a dream come true and it's the start of many more to come. 

 

 

Here is a better picture of the ring! :)

The Beginning

So I figured I'd start a blog! I love the idea of sharing all of the many adventures and blessings that come my way. Recently I got engaged to the love my life March 24,2013 and I cannot wait to give you all the updates to our wedding, graduations, and my daily life.

The proposal story is soon to come!