I’m Moving… Come With Me!

Hey everybody!

I hope this Thursday finds you blessed.

I have some exciting news to share – this blogging lady is moving – moving sites that is!

Since I’ve gotten more into blogging, I’ve been limited by wordpress.com in some blogging areas… so after much research and plenty of guidance from my wonderful techie husband, I have made the transition from wordpress.com to wordpress.org.

Shout out to all the wonderful bloggers out there who have made this transition before and posted such helpful guidance on the topic! (specifically thinking of Amanda, whose posts were ultra helpful!)

I would be honored if all you readers would make this transition with me – my biggest fear is that I would lose contact/connection with all the wonderful bloggers that I’ve met recently.

So..drumroll please…  our new bloggy website is www.choosingpeaceblog.com – so cool and such a blogging dream come true!

If you follow me on Bloglovin’ (insert shameless plug here that if you don’t, you should) then you don’t need to worry about anything.  Feel free to visit my new site, but know that if you already are a follower of mine on Bloglovin, that wonderful website will transfer all my followers for me! So there should be no issue there.

If you are subscribed to my blog in another fashion (email, wordpress, etc.) you should (hopefully!) be okay, also.  I am currently using a plug-in to transfer you guys over.

Thank you for being patient with me during this transition…

I look forward to seeing you all over at Choosing Peace 🙂

Praising like Daniel

I just began week 3 of the Beth Moore Daniel study and God has been giving me a Word through this study, that’s for sure!  It has been oh so good to spend time in God’s word every day and to join up with wonderful women every Monday night to discuss our study.  God has been teaching me so much and my heart has been so blessed (yet again) by a Beth Moore study.  If you’ve never done one, I would highly recommend it!

Toward the end of week 2 of the Daniel study, Beth Moore challenged us girls to take the remaining weeks of our study and memorize a passage of scripture from the book of Daniel  – a powerful passage, at that.

The setting: Daniel had just gone to the king and asked him for some time, so that Daniel might be able to interpret the king’s dream for him.  Daniel and his friends prayed fervently for God’s mercy and revelation, so that they might not lose their lives over the king’s anger and frustration (see Daniel chapter 2 for a more thorough explanation.)  That night, God revealed the king’s dream to Daniel in a vision.  And praise Jesus for that, because now Daniel and his friends’ lives would be spared! So Daniel praised God for His provision and revelation:

“Praise be to the name of God forever and ever;

wisdom and power are His.

He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals deep and hidden things;

He knows what lies in darkness,

and light dwells with Him.

I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors:

You have given me wisdom and power,

You have made known to me what we asked of You,

You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

– Daniel 2:20-23

Amen to that, right?  This passage of scripture is an awesome prayer and a wonderful praise to the faithful Father.  If you’re looking to memorize scripture, why not memorize these three verses with me?  I’ve written them on note-cards and have been taking them with me everywhere, slowly repeating the verses to myself.

I want to praise God’s faithfulness like Daniel did that night.

What about you? Is there other scripture that you have set on your heart to memorize?

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you have had the most blessed Wednesday.

Linking up today at…

Never Ever Ever…

I will never ever ever:

•  get sick of eating cereal for dinner. Yum.
• get tired of watching Pitch Perfect.  Momma got me the DVD for Christmas and I have probably watched it at least 20 times since. No exaggeration here.
• stop wanting more pets.  Two cats and a dog is NOT enough! Jeremy is super thrilled about buying a house one day because then we’ll have room for the zoo that I have always wanted. Grin.
• regret naming our chihuahua Optimus Prime.  It cracks me up.
• turn down an opportunity to take a nap. Pure bliss.
• enjoy waking up early.  I’m really hoping to work on this one.  Morning is such a wonderful time, but I usually miss it, unless I have to be up for work.  Wow…these last two points must give you the impression that I’m always sleeping! 🙂

Linking up with…

Our Love Story

Last Saturday, June 29, Jeremy and I celebrated one year of marriage.  This coming August, we’ll also be celebrating four years together! Crazy how time flies.  In honor of our one year anniversary, I decided it was time for a sappy love story on this blog!

So here goes…

Jeremy and I met in high school, in ninth grade. through our church youth group.  Jeremy asked me out and I said no. Plain and simple…

Fast forward to three years later…

The summer before our senior year in high school, Jeremy and I were still in the same youth group and were placed on the same team for our high school mission trip.  Because of this, we started spending more time together preparing for the trip and I realized that I had feelings for him! Swallowing my pride of having turned him down years before, and at the counsel and advice of some very wise people (you know who you are!), I brought my feelings to Jeremy.  Jeremy took some time to think about it and we decided to get to know each other better.  A few weeks later on August 10, 2009, Jeremy asked me to be his!

On the mission trip in August 2009.

September 2009, celebrating Jeremy’s 18th birthday…we’re so young!

Atsion Lake in New Jersey

Our first winter in love 🙂

NYC, December 2009

Jeremy took me to Ocean City, New Jersey for Valentine’s Day in 2010.  It was on this trip he perfected the use of the timer on my camera, which would come in handy 2 years later when he proposed on that very same beach (see below.)

February 2010

 Senior year of high school also meant that Jeremy was my prom date!  Such a fun night…and I always love saying that I eventually married my high school prom date! 🙂

Prom – May 2010

And shortly after, we both graduated from two different high schools…

Jeremy’s graduation

I committed to attending Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan and a month before I left for school, Jeremy decided to follow me there. Grin.

We had a wonderful freshman year… and our relationship stayed strong 🙂

Here’s a pic of us after our freshman year in college, back home at our fave place – Ocean City, NJ

Ocean City, NJ – Summer 2011

That Fall, Jeremy spent a semester going to school in NJ and we survived long distance.  After our semester apart, Jeremy proposed on December 31, 2011 in Ocean City, NJ and we rang in the new year as a newly engaged couple.

The Proposal.

Tears of joy

We were engaged for our Spring semester (together, back at Calvin College) and six short months later, we got married on June 29, 2012 – a very hot beautiful day.

June 29. 2012

And here we are…after one year of marriage.  So blessed by this man that God has given me!

Happy (belated) anniversary, Jeremy! Thank you for four years of amazing fun!

P.S. Those amazing wedding photos seen above were taken by a very talented photographer named Noah – check out his work here.

…and this year!

4th of July this year was an absolute blast…and a total success! It couldn’t have been more different from last year, but it was wonderful all the same!  Last year we were on our honeymoon, just beginning married life together, and this year, we’ve just celebrated our 1st anniversary and we are spending our first summer in Grand Rapids.

We spent the morning doing some housework and cleaning (so fun, I know) but not of course until after sleeping in. Grin.

Then I attempted my first official recipe…I always have loved to bake and have perfected brownies, muffins, and even cheesecake, but I’ve never actually made a real meal.  After being married for over a year, I thought it was time I start feeding my husband. Ha. (For those of you who are worried about his well-being, I assure you, he eats plenty.) 🙂

Inspired by one of my summer resolutions, I attempted an easy and inexpensive first recipe.  I found this crock-pot sloppy joe recipe awhile ago on Pinterest, and was saving it for a day like yesterday.  It was super easy (only 3 ingredients – 4 if you count water as an ingredient) and once I got all of the ingredients in the crock-pot  I cooked it on high for 3 hours.  And that was it.  So does it really count as my first real recipe if it was that easy? I sure hope so, because I felt proud about handling raw meat!

Success with the crock pot sloppy joes.

Jeremy was very excited and seemed to really enjoy the sandwiches.  I didn’t get fancy enough to make sides to go with them, but I’m taking this cooking thing one step at a time.

After dinner, we headed over to our friend’s house to claim our front-row seats to the fireworks in East Grand Rapids.

Family 🙂

Roomies 🙂

Love of my life.

Our regal-looking, 4th of July-celebrating chihuahua 🙂

Optimus and I were slightly afraid of the fireworks being shot off by the neighbors, but we survived and saw some beautiful fireworks!

Beautiful!

So our first 4th of July spent in Grand Rapids was a success and we had a total blast.  Love the community that we’re a part of.  So where will we be this time next year? Your guess is as good as ours! We’re trusting God to lead us in the way He would have us go.  I guess my next year’s 4th of July blog post will reveal where that is!

Happy Saturday!

This time last year…

Last 4th of July, one year ago today, Jeremy and I were enjoying our honeymoon in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  It was wonderful and 4th of July was a complete blast as we got to walk outside of our resort, go down on the beach, take a seat and watch the fireworks.  Not before we got Rita’s on the boardwalk, of course. 🙂

July 4th, 2012

Yummy Rita’s water ice 🙂

I love July 4th.  The summer is already so fun with beach trips, hanging out with friends, and barbecues, but July 4th is a day where our country puts politics and differences aside and celebrates as a nation.  And do I even have to mention how wonderful fireworks are? They’re my fave.

Watching fireworks on the beach with my love 🙂

 

A very happy fourth with my man 🙂

For this July 4th, I currently have sloppy joes cooking (hopefully) in the crockpot… because I am attempting to learn how to cook this summer.  We also have plans to go watch fireworks over Reeds Lake later.  I love this holiday and I’m so blessed to live in a free country and have a day off of work to celebrate with family and friends!

Happy 4th to you all!

 

 

20 Fun Facts (about me!)

1. I have chronic hiccups. I get them almost everyday, usually twice a day.  I’ve been a victim of chronic hiccups for the past few years.

2. My favorite color is PINK.  This is not a phase. It’s the real deal. Pink makes me smile.

3. I’m a stomach sleeper. Hardcore.  This is a somewhat recent development.

4. Speaking of sleep, to sleep well, I require 2 things: complete darkness and white noise.  I sleep with a fan on every single night (now Jeremy has gotten addicted to the white noise too) and I need pitch black…I even have to turn my alarm clock away from me so the red numbers don’t keep me awake…intense, I know.

5. I like theology. I like learning about it and discussing it with others. I’m minoring in religion at Calvin – for fun.  I’m not good at it, and my grades aren’t the highest, and I certainly don’t understand the half of it, but I enjoy being stretched in this way.

6. I married my high school sweetheart. I think it’s even more fun to say that I married my prom date.  We’re not traditional high school sweethearts (we didn’t go to the same high school) but it counts all the same.

Me and my now-husband before senior prom in 2010 🙂

7. The Goo Goo Dolls are my all-time favorite band and Jeremy and I have seen them in concert 4 times, including the night we got engaged.

8. I love all animals, but I have a particularly crazy obsession with squirrels and ducks.  Mainly ducks. They’re just pretty great.

A squirrel I feed on campus 🙂

9. I have a passion for adoption, both international and domestic.  I hope one day to use my social work degree to work in this particular area, assisting families in the adoption process.

10. Jeremy and I have a dog and 2 cats.  Our dog, Optimus Prime, is a chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie mix) and weighs 4 pounds.  Our cats are Sanford and Puma (aka Princess, aka our little linebacker.)  They’re all boys and we never plan to have any girl pets – I just prefer boys for some reason.

Our sweet San-man, as we like to call him.

Our Optimus Prime

Our little linebacker

11. I currently have 3 tattoos and I hope to get more.  I also will never get inked with something that doesn’t hold powerful meaning and that can’t be a witness to my faith.

12. I enjoy watching sports: Football, baseball, and basketball (during March Madness with the hubs.)  Favorite teams are New England Patriots and the Phillies (they became my go-to baseball team when I married a Phillies fan.)

13. I like lists. (See current posting. Ha.)

14. I’m a coffee girl. I try to limit to two cups a day, but some days require three cups! Hazelnut creamer is my fave.  Starbucks is an occasional treat but when I go, I always get a grande, cinnamon dolce, soy latte!  I prefer Dunkin Donuts, but sadly, we don’t have any of those here in Grand Rapids.

15. I love pens.  I like buying new pens and I like writing in different colored pens.

16. If I had to pick one song to describe my Christian walk and my faith, I would pick “Sweetly Broken” by Jeremy Riddle.  This song has spoken to my heart for years.  One of my tattoos is even based on this song! If you’ve never heard the song, you’re missing out – listen to it here.

17. Usually at different times in my life, different Scripture speaks to my heart, but there is a verse that is my constant (which also inspired another tattoo.) That verse is Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  I have suffered from anxiety in the past and this verse is my constant reminder that God’s peace guards my heart and my mind, and His peace is greater than my small understanding and my fears.

18. I can’t live without my aquaphor! This stuff defies all chap stick and lip gloss that you’ve ever tried. It’s particularly helpful in the dry winter but I like to use it all year long.  You can ask Jeremy – I will have a slight panic attack if we go somewhere and my aquaphor isn’t in my purse!

19. My go-to candy: Junior Mints. Yum.

And finally…

20.  I’m obsessed with journals.  I always have a journal that I currently use but mostly I just buy them and then they sit around our house filled with blank pages. I just love journals and I might have a slight addiction to buying them.  I know for a fact that I’m not alone in this one, though!  So if you plan to put me in an intervention for this,  I’ll give you some names of other girls who should be right there with me. You know who you are. Grin.

Thanks for stopping by – while you’re here, leave a comment below and share a fun fact about you!

Grateful.

Today I am grateful.

I am grateful for my husband, my rock.  For those of you who don’t know Jeremy, he’s a solid guy.  He loves God and because of that he loves me so well.

I’m grateful for the home we have been blessed with.

I’m grateful for the three little rascals (aka our furry friends) that inhabit our home and make life at home quite fun.

I’m grateful for my job, and for Jeremy’s job. I’m grateful that God continues to provide.

I’m grateful for my family, my biggest supporters. I’m grateful for our close relationships even from miles and miles away.

My momma and my sister, Kaleigh.

I am grateful for the start of a new Bible study. I’m grateful for the women who I will grow alongside of over the course of the next 12 weeks as we study Beth Moore’s “Daniel.”

I’m grateful that my soul is craving God and desiring precious time spent with Him.

I’m grateful for a spontaneous date night with my husband to get ice cream tonight… and I’m certainly grateful for Moose Tracks on a waffle cone. Grin.

I’m grateful for my friendships and my girlfriends that God has blessed me with, both near and far.

My dear friend Kelsey, who resides in Nebraska.

My sweet friend Ashley, who lives in New Jersey.

My awesome college roomie and friend, Linnea (who is right here in Michigan with me!)

I’m grateful for the summer. I’m grateful for a time of rest. I’m grateful for a break from homework and papers and tests.

I am so grateful for my God, my Jesus.  I am grateful that He has saved me from my sin and that He has given me new life in Him.  I’m grateful that I can put on a new self because of what He has done for me.

What are you grateful for today?

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P.S. Our amazing wedding picture at the top was taken by a very talented guy named Noah. Click on the picture to see more of his work! 🙂

Today I’m linking up to…

Old Self vs. New Self

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24

 

This scripture rocked me to the core this morning.  I needed it this morning. Not two mornings ago when it had been emailed to me on Saturday. (I’m subscribed to a great blog called The Heartbeat of the Home and the scripture came from this lovely posting.) But this morning, when I finally got around to going through my email.  God has impeccable timing like that.

I don’t have many words for this scripture…it speaks for itself.  I do have lots of feelings and thoughts, though, which I’ll try to express briefly.  Since accepting Christ as my Savior, one of my continuing struggles has been walking the line between my “old self” and my “new self.”  I’m realizing more and more that accepting Christ as my Savior may be a one time thing that I did in ninth grade, but choosing to “be made new in the attitude of my mind” is a daily choice that I must make.  My “new self” is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” but I must daily pray that God would give me the strength to “put off my old self.”  No, I can’t do it alone, but it is my choice to make.  And each morning, whether consciously or not, I am choosing the person I am going to be that day – I am choosing to be my “old self” or my “new self.”

I know I can’t be alone in this struggle, so I’m expressing what I’m able to in hopes that someone out there can resonate with my struggle.  My hope and prayer for myself, and for you reading this, is that we would daily pray for God to help us put on our new selves, and that we would have the courage to ask for prayer in community when we are struggling with putting off our old selves.  It’s hard to be honest with our struggles, but God has gifted us as Christians with community to do just that – to be honest in communication about our joys, pains, praises, laughs, and yes, even our struggles.

Father God, I pray thanks to you for opening my heart and my mind with this scripture this morning.  Thank you for fellow bloggers whose postings have spoken to my soul.  Lord, I pray that today, and everyday, you would help me to put on my “new self” in you, the self that was “created to be like You in true righteousness and holiness.”  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Today I’m linking up to…

Thanks for that, Nashville.

Nashville. Yep, that’s the name of the capital of Tennessee, but I know it better as the name of my new favorite TV show (currently on summer hiatus.)  I was hesitant about watching the series initially because I am was NOT a country music fan (no offense to those who are/have always been.)  Then a friend of mine (also not a country music fan) convinced me that the show was too good to miss.  Long story short, I caught up with the first half of the season and began avidly watching every Wednesday night through the rest of the semester.  You can catch up on season 1 of the show here.

So… here comes the crazy part. Brace yourselves (that’s what I should have warned my husband before I told him)… all of a sudden I’m finding myself enjoying obsessing over country music.  WHAT??!?  I feel like I woke up a different person one morning.  For those of you reading this and wondering why this warrants a blog post, you obviously don’t me or my music tastes that well.  I’ve always had many friends who love country music but that is was not me!

So what does this have to do with my new fave show “Nashville”?  Well, obviously, I blame the show!  I started liking the music on the show and it went all down hill from there.

Now for all you country music lovers, and in defense of the genre, I never absolutely hated all country music.  I’ve actually always enjoyed Carrie Underwood’s music and could handle some “light” country including Carrie and Lady Antebellum.

  

But now my always existing Carrie Underwood Pandora radio station gets played nearly every day…and I find myself “thumbs-upping” many songs of the Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, and Eli Young Band variety.  Oh, and plenty of soundtrack music from my fave new show and the changer of my music tastes – thanks for that, “Nashville.” 😉

“Nashville” image: http://www.tnvacation.com/triptales/watch-nashville-and-enter-to-win-a-nashville-experience/

Carrie image: http://beatcrave.com/2010-01-28/carrie-underwood-will-sing-national-anthem-at-super-bowl/

Lady A. image: http://www.molsonamphitheatre.net/events/event/lady-antebellum/