Saturday, July 23, 2011

You've Been Waiting....

WEDDING PICTURES!!!

Donna Berryhill, our photographer, had approximately an hour and a half before our ceremony to take photos. Most photographers have two or more hours beforehand, so I was slightly nervous about whether or not we would get the photos we wanted. Amazingly, she got TONS of shots before - I was taking pictures with her up to fifteen minutes before the ceremony!! She utilized every second of time she had, and we got some really great shots.

I hope you enjoy looking at these! There are some pretty funny ones... mainly of me halfway through some weird expression. One of my favorites is the shot of me grabbing my bouquet from Holly after being pronounced Mr. & Mrs. Blake is standing straight and tall, so proud. And I, well... I am doing what I usually do - something crazy. :)

Thanks to all of our family and friends who played a part in making our day such a happy one!

http://www.donnaberryhill.com/#

Click "Viewing and Ordering" and then "Blake and Katie". The password is "ballwedding".

Friday, July 22, 2011

Quick & Easy

I don't have a lot of time to post - eleven minutes to be exact - but I wanted to get this out there before I forgot!!

Blake's family came down last weekend to help him move his stuff out of his apartment and into our new house. His sisters and I left the "grown-ups" to the moving and we did some shopping (Lowe's, not clothes) and a fun little project for the kitchen windows.

I wanted to wait to post this until I had the curtains actually hung, but that's going to be a week or so more and I just can't wait anymore!!!

So, I bring you: Super-Simple Shades! Basically, the jist is this - you buy a cheap roller shade and cover it with fabric. Easy, and the results are awesome. You have custom shades in just a matter of minutes without too much damage to your budget.

I got the idea from Pinterest... go figure.

Supplies are easy. First, you need an adorable dog named Arnold. Okay, you don't NEED him but he is quite adorable! What you will need for sure is:
- roller shade You can purchase these at Lowe's. Measure your window and they will cut the shade to fit.
- fabric - I chose indoor/outdoor fabric since these are going in the kitchen. The fabric needs to be solid and rather sturdy. Don't buy anything sheer or anything too thin. I needed 2 yards, 1 yard for each shade.


You will also need:
- fabric scissors
- painter's tape
- foil or some other non-porous material
- super strong adhesive spray
(this stuff can be expensive, but it'll last a long time)

- All in all, I spent around $75 to make three window treatments (also made one for the bathroom).



You will need to work in a well-ventilated area on a surface you don't care too much about. I chose the driveway. :) Roll out the shade to 3 inches beyond the length of your window. You don't need to put fabric on the WHOLE roller shade - it would be way too bulky. If you know you will only put the shades half-way down, don't do more than half the length of your window. The less fabric you have to roll up, the better this will work.

So, roll the shade out as far as you need + a few inches. Tape down your non-porous material (I used tin foil) on the excess part of the roller shade (where you will NOT put the fabric). This will keep the adhesive spray from ruining the part of the shade that won't have fabric.

Put the spray nozzle on whatever setting you feel comfortable with - I put it on low. The gooey stuff dries fast, but not TOO fast, so go ahead and spray the whole roller shade surface. Then, carefully (and I do mean CAREFULLY) lay your fabric on top. Start at the top or bottom and lay it inch by inch so that it goes on as smoothly as possible. To smooth it out and squish it to the glue, start in the very CENTER and push the air bubbles outward. A rolling pin might be a beneficial tool for this project (we thought of that idea after we were done!).


No matter how careful you are, it may not be perfect. That's okay. So. Let the gooey spray dry for a few minutes. If you're making two shades, go ahead and repeat the above steps for the second shade. The first will be ready for the next step by the time you are done.

Flip the shade over so the fabric is face-down. Now it's time to adhere the extra bits to the back of the shade. you don't have .


I only had 1 1/2 inches at the bottom, so I needed to put down the tape and foil to keep the adhesive spray from getting everywhere. To know where to tape, I pulled the excess fabric up and then had my sister-in-law place a piece of tape at the very edge of the fabric. If you have a lot of excess fabric, you can just turn the adhesive spray nozzle down to low and put enough spray to cover 2-ish inches and then fold the fabric up. Once it's dry, you can just cut the fabric that isn't glued down. You really don't need more than 1-2 inches of fabric on the back.


Before starting with the sides, fold the corners... then repeat the process of adhering the sides to the back of the shade.


And this is the finished project.... sideways! Like I said, I am strapped for time and you know... I didn't even realize the picture was sideways until just now. I'll post a right-side-up picture once I get the curtains hung in the kitchen. But, for now, you can just tilt your head and... you get it. :)

Monday, July 18, 2011

Peace, be still!

Disclaimer: This post is long. But, if you have ever struggled with Trusting God or finding His Peace or understanding why we go through storms.... it might be worth a read. :)

The past few months have been a tough lesson in trusting God and in His timing. From house damage to being married and jobless, I have really learned what it means to hold out for God's plan by holding onto His peace.

I saw this quote on Pinterest the other day that really hit me. Normally I am not one for cliches or little sayings or whatever, but this one made perfect sense: "Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and He calms His child."

It's so True. We pray for peace, expecting God to calm everything around us. Peace sounds like days spent in a shaded hammock between two giant oak trees. That's not peace. That's peaceful. Real peace - God's Peace - is most often found in its purest form in the midst of chaos. Some of the definitions of peace:
- Cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension
- A state of tranquility or serenity
- Silence, stillness
- Freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.

Real Peace is Freedom. Freedom from worry, Freedom from fear, Freedom from panic. I'm reading this book about prayer by Graham Cook and the first day I read, it said "Believing in God means you must lose the ability to panic." Easier said than done. Peace is hard to achieve on our own, and that's where God steps in.

Imagine Jesus and the disciples traveling on a boat. Jesus has been teaching and decides they need to go over to the other side of the lake where they had been. They get on the boat and a "furious squall" comes up. (Okay maybe you don't have to imagine this. Maybe you can just read it in Mark 4:35-41.) Remember where Jesus was during this storm?

Sleeping. That's right. Son of God, cat-napping as waves are spilling into the boat. The disciples must have been in a panic; racing around the boat trying to figure out what to do. And they look over and the Almighty One they've been traveling with is asleep. They run to Him, assuming He's just being a slacker and that He doesn't care. "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" they ask.

Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind and hollers something like "Peace, be still" to the waves. Then everything was calm.

Did you catch that? He said, "Peace, be still."

Some versions translate it to "Quiet, be still." I guess that could have the same effect, but I like Peace better. Sometimes Jesus says those words to the "storm" we are in, and sometimes He says it to us.

Let me break this passage down to point out a few critical details:

1. "Don't you care if we drown?" - Our guest pastor yesterday talked about forgiving God (and I have every intention to write a post focusing on that subject!). Part of His message was that Satan steers us into believing that God's intentions for us are bad. The disciples let their Worldly knowledge and the deceitfulness of Satan overcome their knowledge of the Lord. They believed, in this moment, that Jesus did not care if they died. All they saw was that He was sleeping and they were panicking.
When those ideas seep into our brains, telling us that God is not answering us or that He is busy or that we are not faithful enough, we need to remember that God cares for us because we are His children. If He breaks His promise, it's His Name that is marred. He will never leave us or forsake us, even though at times it seems like He might have forgotten about us. We know the Truth in our hearts, we just have to whisper God's Truth to our brain at times.

2. Jesus, at peace - Jesus doesn't have to go to His "happy place" - He is the happy place! He is peace. And while the disciples thought He was crazy for being asleep during this storm, Jesus knew that He held all the power He needed to get through whatever they were facing. He could be still because He knew God's promises.
And Jesus didn't go up to the storm and say "Dear Lord, if it is Your will, would you calm this storm?" Nope. He just said, "Peace, be still." He knew the Power that was within Him, and He knew God's will. He combined the two and BAM! Peace. We can be at peace because God has given us that same Power and we can discern His will through listening and studying Scripture.
God may not always make our situations still, and though it doesn't make sense at times, He is still at work. We may say to Hardship, "Peace, be still" and yet it doesn't go away. Those are difficult moments to understand. But, that's when we begin to focus God's peace on ourselves and He graces us with the "peace that passes all understanding" (Phil. 4:7). That's when we can tell the storm to do whatever it wants and we'll just be sleeping below decks if it needs us.

3. You have arrived at your destination - Mark 5:1-2 says, "They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him." A) They got where they were going. And they made it safely. B) The very first thing they encountered was an evil spirit. In the days before they crossed the lake, Jesus had just appointed the disciples and had been teaching parables. You know, those confusing parables that He would have to re-explain in great detail to the disciples? But now that they crossed the lake, they were upon a time of casting out Spirits and miraculous healings and raising the dead. Teaching.... casting out demons.... two totally different things!! Though I have no knowledge of how to accurately interpret Scripture, something in me tells me that the storm in the middle of these two places was no coincidence.
Once the disciples saw that Jesus calmed the storm, they proclaimed "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" And then the first thing Jesus does when He steps off the boat is cast some demons out into a herd of pigs. He had done this type of thing before, but not all of the disciples had been a witness. When He appointed them, He did so "that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons" (Mark 3:14-15). So, on one side of the lake they preached. On the other, they drove out demons.
The storm increased their faith. It was scary, it was wild, it was crazy, but their faith in Jesus was increased. They saw the Mighty Power of God and they believed.

When we go through the chaotic times of life - cancer, death, a tornado, snake bites, financial distress, relationship garbage, anger, depression - God never lets go of us. If we have to walk through it, He walks through it with us. When we go through that kind of stress, we want so badly to get out from under it. Most of the time, we need to just keep going. Imagine if the disciples had let Jesus sleep and just decided to attempt to sail back to safe side of the lake. Or imagine if they had just simply decided that He couldn't do anything about a storm anyway and they didn't even bother to wake Him.

Since I have already littered this post with cliches, let me end with this one: God never give us more than we can handle. False. We are given more than we can handle all the time. And that, my friends, is exactly why we need Him.

Friday, July 15, 2011

what to read

The Great Book Bind of 2011. Summer is coming to a close. What to read?

The Help
by Kathryn Stockett is one of those books you want to read. It's about Civil Rights, standing up for what you believe in, the character of humans... and it's going to be a movie. So, naturally, I jumped on the bandwagon and got the book.

Last October. For $5.

I haven't made it past Chapter 2.

It's the thorn in my side - the book I so desperately want to read (because I KNOW I will see the movie, and I want to read the book first like a good nerd). But, I just can't read it. I can't get past the inner dialogue and true-to-the-era vernacular. I want to, but I can't.

So I bought Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. So many friends have recommended it, and it sounded lovely. I even started my 1,000 Things journal - jotting down all the things I am thankful for. I bought the book, and couldn't make it through Chapter 1. I felt her words were forced; too lovely to be real. When I read, I want meat. Her words are hefty, but too chewy for me. If you want my copy, I lost the receipt and would gladly give it to you. :)

I'm surrounded by books. A husband who reads for a living and a bride who can't say no to a good book deal. We own a lot. Good books. Books like When I Don't Desire God by John Piper and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (which I have already read more than once) and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

We have fun reads, like Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell and The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (don't lie, you liked it). Books that remind me of times in my life: Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. And over half a dozen Shakespearean plays that I will most likely never read, but always daydream about.

And I can't pick a darn thing to read. It's as if I have too many choices. Our book collection is just like everyone else's - books we have read and loved, books we have read and can't let go of, books we bought in hopes we would read, books we will never read, books we will never read and are embarrassed to own.

If you have a book suggestion, do share. Maybe I already own it.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

not sure why

Maybe it's because I have only been writing about my house and joblessness and need something more uplifting. Maybe it's because he's curled up next to me, making the funniest sounds while he's sleeping. Maybe it's because we don't have kids [yet] and he's the closest thing we've got. Whatever the reason, yes, I am writing a blog post about my dog. I am that pet-owner.

I saw his picture on the website of the Shelby County Humane Society in April 2006. I was living alone in Montevallo at the time, and really wanted some company at my apartment. The only dogs I'd ever had were outside dogs. We had plenty of cats, and I would have considered myself a cat person... but, once I saw Arnold, I wanted to bring him home!

They said he was about a year old and that he'd been in the shelter for four months. He was a drop-off, so they didn't know if he'd ever had an owner or if he was just a stray. My guess (after getting to know him) is that he did live in a house at some point. It wasn't long after I brought him home that I found out he had a fear of bathrooms. I guess he got locked in one at some point. I try not to lock him in the bathroom too often. Only when he's bad. :)

When I walked through the shelter, Arnold (that was the name they gave him, and it obviously stuck) was the only dog that didn't bark at me. He just looked up at me with his cute little face, big ears sticking straight up. He had no idea what he was about to get into!

The car ride home from the Humane Society.

One of our very first walks.

Arnold's favorite thing to do.

This little guy has been through a lot. Just five months after adopting him, my dad passed away suddenly. It was the strangest thing - Arnold was so calm during that time. I don't know how dogs know stuff like that, but they do. Two years later, he was attacked by a pack of German Shepherds during one of our walks. It was awful. Despite his severe wounds and emotional trauma, he wagged his tail all the way to the Emergency Vet while my cousin Holly held him tight in the backseat. He survived, and he has the awesome battle wounds to prove it.

He's moved a few times - from Montevallo to Ralph, from one house to another and then to another house, and he's about to move again - with me and Blake to our new house! He's a good dog, and everyone who visits us is greeted through an extensive process of sniffing, jumping, licking, and cuddling. He can do lots of tricks - though sometimes he goes overboard and tries to do three tricks at a time when he REALLY wants a treat.

These days, his age is showing. He is much more gray around the face and he is much lazier. When I first brought him home, he was up at 6am every day, ready to go for a walk. Now he will sleep as long as I let him and he goes totally limp if you try to get him out of the bed. He also huffs and puffs when he's not getting his way, and to get on to him all you have to do is point your finger at him and he knows. It's so funny.

He's my favorite dog. Ever.

So, there's my geeky blog post about my dog. He's just so darn cute. I don't see how you could not love him. But, you probably have a dog, too, and you are probably head-over-heels for him/her, too. So, you understand. Pets are pets, but sometimes you really can bond with one. I think it's obvious I've bonded with mine.

And then there's Elaine.... :) (It'll be a few years before I blog about her!)

Monday, July 11, 2011

coming to terms

For the past year or so, I have really been struggling with the idea of "quiet time" in my ever-changing life. As life changes, my routine changes. I get thrown off quite easily when my routine begins to slip, slip, slide away. At one point in my college career, I was up daily at 6am to read and study through Isaiah. I would read a chapter, two or three commentaries on the chapter, and journal. I was spending at least an hour every morning in study, meditation, and prayer. It was awesome.

But, that isn't my life now. I'm doing well if I even squeeze in ten minutes of sit-down-and-read time. It's taken me a very long time to let go of my idea of "quiet time." I put this expectation on myself that I was supposed to spend X number of minutes in this, that, and the other in order to meet my daily requirement of time with Jesus. I've tinkered with all sorts of ratios - ten minutes prayer, ten minutes reading, five minutes scripture memory - five minutes prayer, fifteen minutes reading, five minutes journaling - read a book of the Bible and journal - pray and journal - you name it, I have tried to make it work.

There is no magic formula. There are no "Steps to a Perfect Quiet Time" or easy-to-calculate formulas of how to get everything in under thirty minutes. The truth of the matter is that Jesus wants me 1,440 minutes of the day. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Yes, I need time to sit still and listen. Yes, I need to read the Word and meditate. Yes, I need to pray constantly (not regularly... constantly). Yes, I need to have me-and-Jesus time. But it doesn't have to look a certain way for the rest of my life.

Feeling guilty about what I am not doing is only holding me back from the time I could be spending one-on-one with my Savior. What I have found that works best is to first listen to Him. Don't come with an agenda, come with an open heart. Come intentionally, but be flexible. Some days it's prayers. Some days it's reciting verses. Some days it's studying a passage. Sometimes there is structure, sometimes the Holy Spirit just takes over. And some days, it doesn't happen at all. Some days, it happens in my car or while running errands or in song or a Scripture or a conversation with a friend.

That's what it looks like for me these days. I look forward to the time when my life has a tad bit more routine. But, my "quiet time" isn't the only time I can spend with Jesus. I have His ear all day long.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

obsession: an apology

To anyone who may be following me on Pinterest, I need to apologize. I have been OBSESSED lately and I can't stop pinning ideas!!!

I am just so stinking excited. I think we are going to buy paint samples this week to make sure we are choosing the colors we like most, and hopefully we will start painting later this week. Saturday, we are going to start moving Blake's furniture and belongings from his apartment. Hopefully, we will be able to move in two to three weeks! I absolutely, positively can NOT wait!

There is still much to do - patching the roof, finishing the eaves, cleaning the yard... not to mention all the work that has to go on inside before we move in. But, the light at the end of the tunnel is nearly blinding, and we're moving full steam ahead.

Anyone reading this who wants to pitch in and help clean, paint, move, etc.... let me know! We could use the help!

Friday, July 8, 2011

oh crafty day

If my computer had more than 250 MB of space left (and if I felt like fooling with uploading pictures in the first place), I'd show you some of the super-cool crafty projects I did today!

This week really has been an amazing one. From "down in the dumps" to "PRAISE THE LORD - WE HAVE A ROOF!" and just about everywhere in between.

As of today, we have a house that is LIVE-ABLE! That means we have the vast majority of the roof repaired (still need to patch up several spots), we have a ceiling in the living room, and the floor is fixed. There are still a bazillion other things to do before we move in (like have the power turned back on), but we're making progress and it feels oh-so-stinkin'-good.

In honor of the massive housework completed this week, I decided to celebrate with some projects for the house. If you want to see pictures, leave a comment. In fact, leave a comment regardless. Here, not on facebook. I dare you. If I get at least 20 comments on this post, I will put everyone's name in a hat and I will do a GIVEAWAY!! You'll get a super-cool made-by-Katie collage coaster. I bet this would work better if I posted a picture.... maybe tomorrow. :)

I just really want more comments. :)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

we are the mission trip

I woke up this morning hoping that yesterday wasn't a dream. It sure felt like a dream, though. What began as a rather crummy week has turned out to be an excellent one, thanks to God's perfect timing.

I wrote on Tuesday a portion of the arduous task-list we need to tackle. What I didn't write about was the tears that followed that post. My heart was hurting for my house, for my life, for my newborn marriage.

We talked about giving up.

And slowly... well, honestly, rapidly... God showed up. He always seems to show up in those moments of absolute desperation. When we throw our hands up and say, "My plans won't work, I can't do this on my own, you have total control... you always did." He shows up.

Yesterday, we had fifteen strangers working on our house. Seven from Marietta, working on the roof. Eight from Boise, hanging drywall. We were their mission trip. A phone call from a friend offering donated money from strangers at an unknown church. And a Lowe's card with a large spending allowance from some people we love dearly. People were "coming out of the woodworks" yesterday, and it felt so good. We felt sorta like George Bailey and his family at the end of It's a Wonderful Life.

But here's the kicker in the pants: God isn't providing all of this amazing assistance simply because He loves us. Even if we didn't have a place to live right now, we'd be able to live at my mom's. We wouldn't go hungry or entirely broke - someone would take care of us. But this house - this is truly something that no one else could have put together. Only the Lord could have done all of this. He is reminding us to Trust Him alone, and He is reminding us that He has a bigger plan for this house - bigger than plans for a plain old "first home" for a budding marriage. I don't know how, but this house is going to be one of ministry, healing, community - a house of significance because of its establishment in the Kingdom.

God isn't doing these things for us because He loves us. He's doing these things for His glory. So, we give Him all the glory. We give Him all the thanks, all the praise, and we dedicate our home to Him and His service.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Yesterday

Blah blah blah, house drama.

I am so sorry that my blog posts lately revolve around repairing our house. But.... that's what my life is revolving around, so.... too bad. Repairing and rebuilding this big old beautiful house is somewhat of a nightmare, as is any construction-related venture. But it's especially difficult when you are newly married and on an extremely tight budget and one of you can't seem to find a full-time job (that's another story for another day).

But, here's the good news. Over and over again, Blake and I have come to this "we can't do this by ourselves" desperation, and then somehow God provides. It shouldn't amaze me so much, but it does.

Yesterday, I was crying my eyes out and wondering Why did this happen to us? Why? Yes, I asked why. I've asked it many, many times since April 27. And God always answers with, Don't you Trust me?

It stings every time.

Trusting God completely (which, I am not 100% at "completely," but I think I am getting close) means closing my eyes and letting go. It means letting go of my expectations, letting go of my little plans, letting go of my hopes. But God doesn't leave me empty-handed. He fills me back up with his expectations, his plans, his hopes... and he provides a way for it all.

Today, a group of high-school and college-aged guys from the Vineyard in Marietta, Georgia are coming to help Blake put shingles on our roof.

I should Trust God more often.

There is something about this big old beautiful house. God has planned something that is so much bigger than we could have ever imagined on our own. Something was against us when the tornado struck, and the Lord has been putting us back together ever since. More and more, as the Lord continues to provide, I am convinced that He has a major plan for us in this house. This is the house the the Lord built, and we have dedicated it to his plans and for his service.

So, I shouldn't be afraid. He continues to provide, our friends continue to pray for us, people continue to offer to help, and the Lord is behind it all.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

for the record

Living in my mom's house post-marriage ain't quite as glamorous as it sounds. Don't get me wrong, I love my mama, but I'm ready to have a place of our own. The biggest problem is simply lack of space - our room is far too tiny for two people: a full-size bed pushed against a wall, a bookshelf, a dresser, a desk, and a closet barely big enough to fit my clothes. Blake's clothes are in a closet in the computer room, along with wedding gifts and other stored items. The living room hosts a sea of gift bags, filled with gifts that can't be put into the storage unit because the storage unit is jam-packed with our stuff.

We're bursting at the seams here - and gratefully so. We came home from the honeymoon to more gifts. People said we wouldn't get most of what was on our registry. Those people were wrong. We barely have anything left to purchase. We are so thankful, and I am in awe of the tangible love poured out on us by our friends and family.

Now if we could just get all those things into our house. The list of to-do's goes something like this:

- replace front door
- replace office door
- install doggie door in office
- install fenced-in area off the office
- install 2 new interior doors in master bathroom
- patch up 3 panes of glass
- lay tile in master bathroom
- put on new roof
- patch up hole in foyer
- remove 1 interior door
- repair hole in living room floor
- install insulation in living room
- install ceiling in living room
- install ceiling fans in living room, master bedroom, kitchen
- paint.... everything
- clean around all windows
- clean Cedar closets with Murphy's oil
- replace soffets off of living room and garage
- have pool cleaned out and re-covered
- remove remaining stumps and leftover tree parts
- walk the grounds with a magnetic strip so we don't get another nail in our tires

....Are you exhausted yet???

We can only take it one step at a time. Our goal is to move in by July 21. Our "realistic" goal is to move in before Blake starts classes in August. I really hope that happens... I am so eager to get into a place of our own.

Until then, I direct all my anger at that stupid tornado. :)

And if you want to help out with any of these little projects, we would love the help.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

the honeymoon phase

I know, I know, I should be serving my husband a hot Sunday mornin' breakfast or even getting ready for church (sinners, we are). But, I'm not. I'm sitting on the couch, catching up on whatever it was we missed while we were honeymooning and deciding what book I should start reading. Blake is still in bed, "sleeping" (reading an e-book). We need one last day of so-called freedom, so we're staying home today to unpack and do laundry before "real life" begins.

Funny thing is though, Blake and I have already experienced "real life". Maybe now it's more official since we wear rings on our fingers, but April 27 solidified everything. The rest was just a formality.

We have already faced real stress, real fear, real problems... nothing that comes at us is all that scary at this point. Okay, maybe a little scary. My hope is that we continue to look through the honeymoon lens as we eventually leave this dreamy stage and enter into the dreaded "reality of marriage" that everyone so ominously warns about. Maybe we won't always feel dreamy and our circumstances may often reflect more of a nightmare, but we have each other.

Vomit - I know. Cliche. But this past week, I realized exactly what that statement means. Bad stuff IS going to happen - and it already has (yes, I cried during our honeymoon) - and we will just let it roll off of our backs. Trusting God fully means we have to be a little naive, a little too 'roll with it' - a little like life in the honeymoon phase.

The reality of marriage is that people who [unhappily] live in the reality of marriage are missing the reality of God. Again, naive - I get it. The reality of God is that my reality is a facade. And I'm so glad it is.

Nothing lasts forever except the reality of the Kingdom of God. And I want to live like I'm already there.