#servein2015

This year has been wonderful.

Just plain wonderful.

here are some of the highlights:

1. Going to school full time

2. friendships (new and old)

3. vacation and quality time with family

4. GETTING ENGAGED!

 

While I have loved every bit of this past year, and I don't want to see it go, I am so excited about 2015.

this next year will be a year of school, fellowship, wedding planning, hanging out with the people I love, the actual wedding, and marriage!!!

 

This year I wanted to do something I have never done before. Which is choose a verse and a key word from that verse to reflect on throughout the year and apply daily to my life.

 

 I chose Mark 10:45

 

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

The key word for the year will be serve. I want to be  servant to anyone I come in contact with. Putting myself last is a habit I want to get into. It is so contrary to what our culture says we should do, but it was Jesus's specialty. I want to be like him, and my desire is to be a servant.

 

Do you have a word for the year or a verse that you want to reflect on? I'd love to hear about it!

 

-Lace



I D O L S

I D O L S.

That big, ugly, bad word that starts with an I. 

This is what God has laid on my heart for the past week. This is what he has been whispering in my ear, telling me to give up, to let it go, to realize what is actually important in life. 

When I was younger, I thought that an idol was something that was made out of gold or wood, like the Old Testament describes. Like when Aaron made the people a golden calf to worship. Then, my pastor taught on idolatry a while back and it all seemed to click. 

An idol is ANYTHING that takes God's place in our lives. It could be a physical object, a person, or even a habit. But I want to take it a step farther...an idol is anything we think of or devote more time to than God. I'm just going to be real here: school, netflix, Matthew, and wedding planning has become my idols here recently in this season of my life. A few of those seem to be decent things to devote time to (wedding planning, school, and the fiance) but the other is just ridiculous (Gilmore Girls on netflix...I mean really? get yourself together Lacey. I may or may not have gotten through four seasons in a month.............) 

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you might be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry."

1 Corinthians 10:13-14

-------I used to always think of this verse as an encouragement to flee from temptation, and never went on to verse 14. But as I was studying, and went on to the next verse, I realized that it was saying this verse on temptation in relation to idols. God will always provide a way of escape from the idols in your life. They have no hold on you. 

Idolatry is that big ugly cloud that hides us from shining our light.

Idolatry is sin, and sin separates us from God, so obviously replacing him is sin. 

"Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;

eyes but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear;

noses but do not smell.

They have hands but do not feel;

feet but do not walk;

and they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them;

so do all who trust in them."

Psalm 115:4-8

I don't know about you, but I do not want to be like that verse described. 

I want to experience LIFE. All of life. And the ONLY way to experience this life to the fullest is through passionate, radical, undivided devotion to God. I don't want to spend this brief life chasing things of this world. Chasing idols and things that will make me numb to the Holy Spirit. 

If I do ANYTHING at all on this earth. I want to be devoted to my Savior. not kinda devoted to Him and kinda devoted to schoolwork. I refuse to allow Satan to come in and distract me. This life is wayyyyyy too short for distractions. 

I believe idolatry is a sneaky way for satan to come in and wreck havoc in our day to day lives.

You know, the devil is a sneaky guy. he is actually really beautiful and captivating. he is also really good at portraying a bad thing good, OR making something good be bad. Ever heard the saying "too much of a good thing is bad" or "not all good things are God things"? 

Gilmore Girls is not necessarily a bad show, but watching it when I should be spending time with God before I go to bed is a bad thing. And planning a wedding is a good thing! but too much time with it and stressing out about it is NOT a God thing. satan just gets in our heads, you know? 

The only way to prevent idolatry is time with our Savior. I really feel like this is all I post about...time with our Savior. Because how in the world are we going to fight the schemes of the devil if we are not digging deep into God's word and praying without ceasing? We guard ourselves with God's truth. and just think about it. How scary must it be to the devil to see all of Christs followers getting up every morning and putting on the armor of God. Then the devil is powerless! We will be this huge army standing up for Christ. Deliberately dying to self on the daily and living for Christ. His schemes will fail and God will get the glory. But how are we to do that when our main focus is elsewhere? on idols? 

"We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but the one who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true;and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

1 John 5:18-21

If we are not for Christ 100%, we are against Christ 100%

We MUST die to self. Die to idols. 

and live life for the Savior of our souls. 

Wedding Wednesday// "pinspiration"

I LOVE Wedding Wednesday.

Actually I just love Wednesdays in general because I don't have to go to school & I can catch up on homework and studying. 

This Wedding Wednesday I am going to share with you some of my wedding "pinspiration"

I won't be doing all of this exactly, I always put my own flair to it...but it has shaped the direction of how I want my wedding to look. 

So take a look at the pictures! 

It gives me butterflies thinking about this special day, and I want to savor every moment!

P.S. That ring in the last collage is my ring :)

DREAMY.

P.P.S. If you're reading this, Matthew...I love you. And I can't wait to marry you.

xoxo, 

the future Mrs. Lacey Beth Martin

Make Every Day Your Very Best Day

Source: http://fancitaste.tumblr.com/post/88954120740?crlt.pid=camp.TPaOemzs7JVt

So this is what I have been thinking about lately. How do you make everyday your very best day?? 

Do you ever feel like you're just going through the mundane of life? You get up everyday and you do the same exact thing...make some coffee, brush your teeth, get ready...I'm not sure what your morning routine is, but I do know that it is easy to just get caught up doing just that--routine. 

Routine can be beneficial (if it's a good routine) or it could be taking the life right outta ya.

You know those life draining routines...

Like the times I have pressed snooze on my alarm and slept right through my quiet time/priority times and was rushing to get to work. Then I try to have my quiet time at work, but lets just face it-it's never the same as those first quiet moments with the Lord. People are popping in and the phone is ringing, and "Oh my goodness will this pile of paperwork dissappear?!" No. It won't. And I more than likely wont have time to have my morning moments with Jesus, which results in me not having the strength to face the day. 

I completely believe that when we put our priorities in line every single morning, everyday will become our best day yet. 

So what is important to you? What makes your heart flutter and take your breath away? What makes you feel productive and fresh at the start of each day? 

Source: http://clementinedaily.com/2014/08/5-sayings-to-keep-you-grounded/#_a5y_p=2314583

What makes my heart flutter is when God speaks to me. He speaks to me though his word, He speaks to me through people, He speaks to me through prayer. He is of utmost importance to me in my life because I am seriously a different person when I haven't spent those first few beautiful moments with Him. [ask my family...maybe they don't know that I haven't had my quiet time that day, but I can be pretty nasty. So now you know fam.]

All I am saying is, when you start your day with God, you can't help but be joyful all that day. Because he is a God of joy! He is capable of restoring your broken heart, your broken relationship, anything in your life that is messed up. He loves you unconditionally. He loves you so fiercely that He is jealous over you. He desires your attention. He desires to fill you with joy beyond comparison! He wants you to look at each new day through his eyes. "...In your light do we see light."{Psalm 36:9}

Something else that I try to do is light a candle. It just really makes me happy happy happy. No idea why.

Another thing I [try to] do is dress up a little. When I am confident in what I am wearing, I am just overall more confident to take on a new day. Holla. 

Lastly, I eat/drink something filling that makes me happy. Whether its some coffee, or tea, or an egg. Maybe this last one just makes me a fatty, BUT it helps me to stay focused and on task at school, which makes me feel productive. And lets just face it, productive days are GREAT days :)

I am challenging you on this beautiful Tuesday to look beyond the trials and imperfections of the day. See the world the way the our Savior sees it. And view yourself the way the Father views you. 

Today is wonderful.

xoxo,
Lacey Beth

P.S. Go love on someone today. 

Wedding Wednesday: The proposal

Wedding Wednesday: The Proposal

Matthew always told me that on the day he proposes to me, I will be doing something from the second I wake up. With this information in mind, I had every intention of being prepared for his proposal. I thought that I would literally know that he was proposing the second that I woke up. However this was not the case. He's a sneaky guy, y'all.

On the day of Mathew's proposal, my mama, granny, and I planned a trip to a town that was fairly close by-about 40 minutes away. We spent the whole day there. We went thrifting, shopped at cute boutiques, and ate lunch together. We also got our nails done! (Which was totally normal since it was in the middle of the summer. We like to have our nails done with really bright colors in the summer-not so much in the winter). After that we came back to our area of the city and did some more thrifting. I was pooped. 

The day before, Matthew had told me that he wanted to take me out on a nice date to celebrate our 10 months of being together. I didn't think anything of it because he is literally ALWAYS planning special things to make me feel like a princess. However, after a long day of shopping (we left at about 9:30 and didn't get home till about 5:30) I just did not feel like getting dressed up and going out to eat. Matthew wouldn't tell me where he was going, but he did tell me that it was rated about an 8/10. 

While we were on our way home, I told my mama and granny that "I really don't want to go out tonight...I'd rather just throw on some yoga pants and a t-shirt and make dinner together." My mama and granny kept saying-"Now Lacey, thats not very nice, he planned something for you, the least you could do is dress up for him." My response--"Yeah I guess so..but I have nothing super cute to wear!" [Granny and mama were saying all of this stuff completely knowing that Matthew was going to propose that night].

A while back, Matthew bought me a gorgeous dress to wear for a special occasion. My mama and granny suggested that I wear that dress, but I insisted that there must be a more romantic night to wear that dress (I was thinking maybe later when I thought he would propose..) But when I couldn't find a cute dress at the thrift stores, my mama convinced me to wear the dress Matthew had bought me previously. I thought it was too formal, so I threw a blue jean jacket over it. 

At this point, I really really wanted to stay home. I am such a HOMEBODY. I had just had a very long day and I just wanted to relax with Matthew. Usually when I get in these moods of "I just want to be comfortable" I don't do my makeup OR my hair. I just go as I am. It was seriously a God thing that I decided I would do my hair and makeup in the 30 minutes I had to get ready. 

Matthew arrived at my house and we took some pictures (like usual when we go on date nights) then we hopped in his car. 

Here are some selfies we took before we started driving away:
I was completely unaware. Btw, I was wearing clothes, my dress was strapless and I just took off my blue jean jacket in the car.














Let me tell you something...don't let these pictures fool you, I was not a happy camper. First of all, Matthew wanted me to close my eyes the entire way to the place we were going. I had just finished doing my makeup, and as most girls know, when you close your eyes for long periods of time the eyeliner and mascara tends to mess up and starts to run down your face. So I said no. To make it worse, I told Matthew that I would rather be in yoga pants with my hair up, and that if he wanted to, I'd totally be ok with just going to go get Jimmy John's subs. 
Matthew just laughed and said "Are you being fussy??" And just kept smiling at me. I agreed to close my eyes when we got on the interstate.
[Side note: Matthew was so happy that I wasn't in the happiest mood because he knew that I had no idea. That was his goal, to surprise me! I feel bad about it now though! ]

When he told me to open my eyes, we were in midtown. He then asked "Do you know where we are?" [usually I'm directionally challenged] But I said "We're in midtown, and you're taking me to the Beauty Shop Restaurant". Poor Matthew, I guessed it before we even got there! 

When we parked, Matthew asked if I would close my eyes as he led me to the table. I said no. Sometimes I can't believe myself! Now I could tell this story in fairytale version where I would be the sweetest princess ever...but I am just telling you the real life version of the story.   

When we got to our table, there were rose petals all over the table along with a bouquet of roses and candles. However, I didn't think anything of this because he did the same exact thing on Valentines Day. 

When we sat down, I asked Matthew what he was going to get. He seemed so serious and nervous. He said "vegetable soup". I said "We came all the way down here and all you're getting is vegetable soup??" [I know, rude Lacey]. Then since he was so serious, I thought that we were about to have another one of those conversations "Are you ready for marriage? Are you ready for this lifelong commitment? I'll wait to marry you for as long as you want." I seriously didn't want to have this conversation again because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the man for me! 

All of a sudden our song came on the speaker SO LOUD. [our song is Marry Me by Train] This didn't seem odd either because he did this on Valentines Day as well. I STILL had no idea what was happening. This time our song was so loud that people couldn't hear themselves talk. I was actually thinking "this is so embarrassing, this is not 'Matthew and Lacey's Restaurant'. People are trying to eat!" . Then.....Matthew got up from the table and reached out a hand to me and said "Come here" and in my head I was like "I am NOT dancing with you in the middle of this restaurant." [still COMPLETELY unaware. You have to understand that Matthew is so romantic. You never know what to expect, and whenever our song comes on or old music, he stops to dance with me...wherever we are. Whether its in a parking lot, a store, a restaurant...]

When I didn't move, he said "Come here" again. I got up and came and met him in the middle of the restaurant and I saw Caylan Vanaman (a photographer) rush out from behind a corner and start flashing pictures. THEN I knew what was happening. I don't remember anything Matthew said except "Lacey Beth Jones, will you marry me?" [he told me the rest later by the way (:]

I cried a little, we hugged, and then the photographer took pictures of us outside the restaurant and around that block of mid town. These pictures were not reenacted, so it really will hold memories for a lifetime. 
I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Matthew, and I can't wait to be Lacey Beth Martin.

This is the man I have prayed for since I was little, and I will treasure this gift from God for as long as I live. I will love every second together, and remember that every single day we have together is a gift. Making a life with him will be the best times of my life, because he was made for me, and I was made for him. 

NOW, if you're still with me after all of that...here are the pictures!!! 
By the amazing Caylan Vanaman!
They make me so happpppyyy!

That's the end of them! If you ever need a photographer, go up and click on the link for Caylan Vanaman Photography!

xoxo,

the future Lacey Beth Martin