true confessions

cody and i attend a group of 20-30 people titled "transitions" that meets once a month for people who are in a transition of life. most people attending are about to graduate or have recently graduated and trying to figure out how to transition from college to the real world. this last month we discussed community and how to live in vulnerability. [if you have about 20 minutes, you should watch this video: The power of vulnerability]

our small group discussed how technology increases each day. with the increase of technology, a lack of community develops. we post blogs that share a small, positive glimpse of our lives. we only post the pictures that we look best in on facebook. we tweet - pin - and the list goes on...and while we post all of these things, we get this false impression that we feel connected to that person. have you found yourself saying "i saw on facebook that you...." and seldom we dig deeper. even as i connect with friends via messages and emails who don't live near, it is easy to only share what makes me look best.... this is called impression management.

a blog i regularly follow talks about impression management and how to avoid it through confession. you can find that post here. she decided to start a link up for confessions. [for newbies - a link up is where several blogs all focus on a topic and is posted on the link up host site. then others can see all the blogs on said subject]

so here are some things i would like to be honest about: 

- i often am very self-conscious to write blog posts. i have never been confident in my writing style and always feel uncomfortable in my word choice and grammar. i love sharing life - but don't enjoy writing the process. for instance, this post has taken me over an hour at this point. and even as i type this, i am afraid you would be critiquing every sentence. 

- i am afraid we won't find jobs soon. often, i "give" this fear to the Lord but have noticed my hearts intentions. i only "give" it to the Lord in hopes he will provide immediately. each day my heart grows impatient and anxious in one way or another. with this impatiences and anxiety, i get frustrated with responses from other people because it's not the answer that i want to hear. i want and try to control the situation as much as i am able to.

- subbing is okay but my heart longs to teach my own classroom; to have the same students every day; to have a steady routine. i often have to remind myself to not look ahead and wish away the free time we have. i am not always grateful for the schedules we have now - knowing that i should be incredibly grateful because this will probably be the most un-busy we will be for a long time.

- cody is so great to me that it becomes so easy to be self-centered and not serve him the way i should.

well friends, i am going to end with that for now. i confess that i don't have it altogether but i do have one thing that means everything; Jesus Christ.

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.


[to see more confessions on the link up, click the button.]

best birthday

oh my goodness, thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! my love language is gifts:

Receiving Gifts

Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures. [taken from The 5 Love Languages website]

so whether it was facebook, text message or phone call; it all means so much to me. the idea of being known and thought of has overflown my bucket.

i have to take a few moments to brag up my husband. he blew everyone out of the water! he blessed me over the weekend and on my birthday more than i could have imagined. and look at his first tweet! how sweet he is!

we spent the day relaxing, going to the hunger games movie, and eating raising canes for dinner. it was wonderful. it was worldly perfect.

spring break

well, our spring break is officially coming to a close. the weather was beyond gorgeous. [cody liked to say it was stupidly perfect...]

our week off was spent in norfolk for a few days. while we were there, we...
- enjoyed time with my family
- played games and a bonfire with good friends
- went on walks
- "shot some j's" - [aka played basketball]
- played frisbee golf - [aka "frolf"]
...someone accidenttly threw a frisbee into the lake. thankfully, that someone had her husband there is who is so kind to get it for her :)

- cody also restored our headlights with a store bought kit.

[a dealership quoted us around $70-80. cody found a kit for $10 dollars. we were THRILLED with how it turned out.]

and while we were in lincoln, we painted the entertainment center that i blogged here. 

[pictures are not the best quality. i need to use my real camera more often instead of my phone camera]

 

[coat with prime]

 

[1st coat of paint]

[finished product!]

overall, our spring break was "stupidly perfect". 

weekend to remember

about a month ago, a best friend called me to let me know My Bridge Radio was giving away free registration for Weekend to Remember. being this is our first year of marriage, we both thought it might be something we would like to do but wasn't in our budget for this year. so i figured why not sign up for a free registration. if we got it great! and if not, we can go another time.

[i'm sure you already know where this is going...]

last night we received a call from someone at My Bridge asking if we would still like to go! we didn't win the contest but they received more registrations therefore were able to give more away.

so! March 23-25 we will be going to Weekend to Remember in Lincoln. we are super excited for this weekend for a number of reasons. the obvious of being able to focus on our marriage.

During the weekend, you will learn how to:

• Receive your spouse as a gift.
• Clarify your role as a husband or wife.
• Resolve conflict in the relationship.
• Maintain a vital sexual connection.
• Express forgiveness to one another.
• Increase your commitment, creating an even deeper level of intimacy

(taken from here) - who wouldn't want more of that in any marriage?!

we (especially i) are excited for this weekend also because it is right before my birthday (March 26, btw). ever since March 1, i've been that girl who is reminding anyone and everyone that my birthday is right around the corner. i love celebrations (!!) and am so excited to celebrate that weekend at Weekend to Remember. 

blogs

....a blog is coming soon! tomorrow (ish) i promise!
[it's too pretty outside to be at my computer right now]