I am so excited for the second Community Brew Linkup!
If we were really together, I would order a caramel macchiato, and possibly a blueberry scone if I were hungry.
And, of course, since I'm not one to beat around the bush..I would jump right into what the Lord is teaching you.. and teaching me.
I am so excited about this particular linkup since my boyfriend and I are seriously dating. And when I say "seriously dating" I mean that we have already talked seriously about marriage and we have both decided that the only person we want to spend the rest of our lives with is each other.In this season of my life, I want to know what kind of trials newly-weds face and how they bring every obstacle into the light of Christ. That's why I am so excited to read y'alls posts this morning!
I love how each and every one of you open your heart at each link up and tell the ways in which God is working in your life, and in your relationships. Maybe you write for yourself, or maybe you wrote a post today to get your name out there, but I hope all of you know that whether you meant to or not-you have impacted someone and encouraged them by your openness.
Since I am probably one of the youngest bloggers in this community, I always love to hear what wisdom my fellow blogger friends have to impart. This may sound cheesy, but I look up to y'all so much in the relationships you have with your husbands, and fiances.
The questions for this linkup are:
How has your "life stage" helped you grow in your relationship with Jesus?
What has God been teaching you about being single?
What is God teaching you about being a wife?
What lessons have you learned while being engaged?
What has God been teaching you about being single?
What is God teaching you about being a wife?
What lessons have you learned while being engaged?
The two verses for this linkup are Ephesians 5:22-23 and
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior."
-Ephesians 5:22-23
"I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivideddevotion to the Lord."
-1 Corinthians 7:32-35
The Lord has been teaching me a lot in this time of my life. I am in the midst of singleness and being engaged. You know that awkward time between I'm still single with no ring on my left hand but we both know that he is going to ask any day so we have kinda already started making arrangements for the wedding? Wait what? You mean you didn't start planning for the wedding before your man proposed?? Oops, I have... and that's the awkward stage that I am in. Who knows, maybe by the next linkup I'll be an engaged woman! Hopefully..but this is where what God has been teaching me comes in.
In this season of excitement / waiting / stressful-planning / budgeting / pure bliss... God has been really teaching me to slow down. To savor every moment. To not wait for the future to thoroughly enjoy every second of life with this handsome man He has given me to love, even if we are just dating and are not married yet like we want to be-or even engaged.
The Lord has been teaching me patience and contentment more than anything. Patience in the waiting. Contentment in the "here and now".
Patience has never been my strongest character quality. I get so excited about things happening in my life and I cant ever seem to slow down. I used to LOVE school when I was in high school and would wish away my summer because I was so impatient to see my friends again the following school year. Seriously who wishes away their summer vacation??
I used this example because its the perfect explanation of my impatience. I was so excited about something that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, that I wished away something greater! A summer of relaxation and time with my family.
That's what I have been learning- that yes, marriage will be amazing. Probably the best season of my life, but this season is sweet too. I still live with my parents, and we are the best of friends. Matthew and I don't have to worry about finances, or budgets right now at this moment because we are still only dating. I can still spend the night with a bunch of my girlfriends anytime I'd like. This time of my life is a blessing, and I need to view it that way! And I am so thankful for this stage of life that I am in.
He has also been teaching me to begin to prepare my heart for the whirlwind that is planning a wedding, and even more importantly--the actual marriage. The wedding will be a great symbolism of our commitment to being faithful to each other for life, but as my dad put it "a wedding is just a wedding, it is not the marriage."
I will always love my daddy's wise words.
I have always been the kind of person that zones in on one thing, and can't keep up with the rest. I get consumed with one thing in my life and its hard for me to set everything to the side and focus on what REALLY matters.
I guess you could call me someone who is a capitol-T-terrible priority manager.
That's why I think that the Lord is calling me to prepare my heart. So that I don't get engrossed in wedding planning and forget to come sit at his feet every morning. So that I don't begin to think that the world is all about me while the wedding is going on. So that the wedding points everyone who comes back to Christ and that ultimately we work together in our marriage to further Christ's kingdom.
The more time I spend with the Lord in this season of life, the more I realize how ugly and dirty I really am. The awesome thing about Jesus is that He can take ANY of us-at whatever stage of life we are in- to teach us and use us for his glory.
So friends, what is He teaching you? What stage of life are you in?
I have always been the kind of person that zones in on one thing, and can't keep up with the rest. I get consumed with one thing in my life and its hard for me to set everything to the side and focus on what REALLY matters.
I guess you could call me someone who is a capitol-T-terrible priority manager.
That's why I think that the Lord is calling me to prepare my heart. So that I don't get engrossed in wedding planning and forget to come sit at his feet every morning. So that I don't begin to think that the world is all about me while the wedding is going on. So that the wedding points everyone who comes back to Christ and that ultimately we work together in our marriage to further Christ's kingdom.
The more time I spend with the Lord in this season of life, the more I realize how ugly and dirty I really am. The awesome thing about Jesus is that He can take ANY of us-at whatever stage of life we are in- to teach us and use us for his glory.
So friends, what is He teaching you? What stage of life are you in?
xoxo,
Lacey Beth
"You know that awkward time between I'm still single with no ring on my left hand but we both know that he is going to ask any day so we have kinda already started making arrangements for the wedding?" YES I DO! this was me! my (now) husband & i seriously talked about marriage for about 6 months before we got engaged! it was such a weird time because we both knew we wanted to get married, but we weren't officially engaged so i couldn't really talk about it with anyone else without them looking at me like i was THAT girl! haha! so i completely understand the awkward season you are in.
ReplyDeletei'm glad God is showing you how to slow down & enjoy the here and now! it is SO hard i know because you are so excited about the future and want to plan things and it is all just very exciting and can be hard to slow down and live life "now"!
your dad is a wise man & i love that quote! one thing that helped me to "be here now" during that time was to have date nights where we just talked and asked random questions and just continued learning about each other. we had fun & made memories and didn't discuss a single thing about marriage or the wedding. it helped us to just enjoy where we were at! we also spent a lot of time reading & studying together during engagement to prepare for marriage & life together because you're right - planning for the marriage is more important than planning for the wedding (although you have to plan for both!) the wedding is one day and the marriage is for a lifetime. our motto was to "have a marriage more beautiful than our wedding" :)
love your thoughts on this! :) you are in a fun stage!!
You guys are so cute together! I got married when I was your age--19--and I was fairly impatient for marriage to begin, too! Once you know, you really do know. Marriage is definitely a learning experience, I know I've grown alot and learned so much about God and my husband and myself in the last three years--but it's a pretty fun learning experience, too!
ReplyDeleteOh girl, I know just how you feel at this point. But you are right, just slow down and enjoy every little moment. It is so easy to get caught up in all the wedding planning! I cant wait to see where you two are headed!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lauren
http://sincerelymrslo.blogspot.com/
completely understand the awkward stage! Been there, done that ha! I was married at 19 after a short four month engagement because my now husband is a Minor League Baseball player and only had a six month window to get married. So I too did some planning without a ring! We dated for five years, and even though we were young (and still are!) we knew it was God's timing for us to get married. If we hadn't gotten married, I would be missing out on traveling with him in his baseball career. It is a sweet time, but also a time that God is breaking me down and teaching me so much. I love your sweet post and your sweet heart!
ReplyDeleteThat awkward phase is very familiar to this blogger, sweet girl! I remember my ring finger feeling acutely empty for a few months before the proposal because I knew we were getting married very very early into dating and we began talking about marriage right away. I even knew my wedding date about a month before we got engaged but couldn't make plans, although I later learned my parents had been calling vendors to get pricing information to help budget. Just remember--you only get to have this dating experience temporarily, and those sweet moments before the reality of the messiness of learning to share an entire life sets in are so fleeting. Cherish this stage, each and every moment, because it will be over soon!
ReplyDeleteYour dad is a very, very wise man! Planning your marriage is far more important than planning a wedding :) No matter how the day goes, you'll love it and cherish it. In 10 years, your the quality of your marriage will be about the foundation, not the flowers!
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful, sweet friend! Planning a wedding is so fun (though it can be stressful) but the marriage part is SO much greater and more fun. I know it's hard to believe but it is true! I love your attitude about enjoying where you're at right now. There are so many parts of singleness that are such a blessing and I hope you continue to see that over the next days, weeks or months that y'all aren't engaged yet.
ReplyDeleteAw, y'all have such cute pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteI am in the exact same stage as you in life right now! My boyfriend and I know that we are going to get married and I'm actually pretty sure that he already has a ring, but I'm just waiting for the proposal. I love seeing your post that you got engaged since you wrote this. You totally knew it was coming. :] Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on enjoying the time you are in now is so true. I find myself also often looking so far ahead and not just slowing down to enjoy the present. Thanks for the reminder.