Two months and counting...

Two months from today by this time, we will have said our "I do's" and will officially be husband and wife! We seriously can't believe it is almost our wedding day! We are so excited and anxious and ready for it to get here! We have a whole lot to do in the next two months. We're officially in the crunch time, and the to-do lists are never-ending. I wanted to share a few of the sweet memories we've made over the last few months! It has been such an amazing time with all our friends and family, and we are so thankful we get to share this journey with them!

Al and his groomsmen went to the Panthers/Miami game in Charlotte for his bachelor party, and from all the stories I heard, they had a blast! The Panthers crushed Miami, so that made for an even better time! Al and his friends were able to skate some cool spots in Charlotte while they were there, which I know made this trip even more fun for him. He has some pretty cool friends, and it meant so much to him that they all wanted to be there to celebrate this occasion with him. I know he is so grateful for his dad (his best man) for planning that trip for all of them and for making sure everything went smoothly! It was a success, and they all made a lot of really great memories!

My mom and sisters hosted my first bridal shower on December 10th. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I am obsessed with Christmas, so it was only fitting for my shower to be Christmas-themed. They both put so much time and effort into making sure it was the perfect day, and I am so grateful for them. I was overwhelmed by all the love I received that day from so many of the most important women in my life. I was truly showered with love and gifts galore, and I could not be more thankful. We started the day by eating and visiting with each other. Kayla had some games set out for when people walked in, so after everyone was done eating, she told the answers to the games. One of the games was "Guess the Bride and Groom's Ages." I knew this game was happening because I had to tell her the ages Al and I were in the pictures, and I told her from the beginning that Al's mom would win because she has a really good memory. I was right, she did win, but she had a little competition from my sweet friend Abigail. They tied, and both won some kind of goodies! The other game was "Who Knows the Bride Best?," and I had no idea who would end up winning that one. The questions were pretty tough, but one thing almost every person in the room knew about me was how many kids I want to have 😂. In the end, my college roomie Brittany and my soon-to-be sis-in-law Lauren won the prizes for that game. After that, I opened presents for what seemed like hours. I'm telling yall... I was spoiled. My sweet goddaughter was right by my side the entire day. She was such a great helper while I was opening presents, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. These pictures are a treasure to me, and I wish I could share them all, but I thought I would share a few of my favorites. I'm so glad I have these to remember this day by! A huge thank you to every single lady who came out to celebrate this sweet day with me! I cherish my relationship with all of you, and I'm so grateful for the impact you have had on my life throughout the years!

 

Two major life events have happened over the last few months aside from wedding festivities: I graduated from college, and we got our first apartment together! College was not always easy for me, so I was surprised to feel sad when it was finally over. I technically finished college in July, but my graduation day was in December. My sweet family and so many of my friends came to celebrate with me as I walked across the stage! It feels good to be a college graduate, and I truly am thankful for the time I spent at UNCW. That day was an ending of sorts, but it was also a beginning. Before graduation, we came by and picked up the keys to our new home! It was truly a God thing the way this all worked out! We are in love with our new space, and we can't wait to continue making it home for the next year! We are so grateful for this time in life!

Lastly, we got to spend all the holidays with our family and friends! The holidays are so special to me, and I am so glad we got to be with both of our families for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Many times, we've had to be apart in order to be with both families, but we were able to work it out to spend a little bit of time with both sides this year. As we're getting married and starting our own traditions with our own family, we know that holidays and previous traditions will start to change, so I'm so thankful we were able to make the most of this year with all our family! We have been so busy but so happy these last few months as the holidays have come and gone. I truly wish it could be Christmas all the time! 

However, here we are in the new year... OUR WEDDING YEAR! We spent New Years in the mountains with some of our friends, and it was so awesome ringing in 2018 with snow outside in a place we had never been before! We can't wait to make our way back to the mountains for our honeymoon!

I cried (a lot) when that clock turned midnight because I am just in disbelief that this year is finally here. I posted some of this on Facebook, but I have felt a calling on my life for many years now to be a wife and a mother, and I am so overwhelmed with excitement and joy that this time is finally here! Two months from today, we will be getting married, and I am so ready for this next chapter of life. We can't say thank you enough to everyone who is giving their time and energy to us to make sure our wedding day is a dream. We feel so invested in and so supported, and we know how lucky we are to feel that! Thank you to everyone who continues to read my sporadic blog posts about wedding planning. Life gets so busy and blogging takes some time, but I appreciate every person who is interested in my little life and my little stories! Hopefully I'll blog again before wedding day... but let's be real life is only going to get more hectic from here! 

Xoxo,

The Future Mrs.

What Are You Going to Do After Graduation?

This is a question that has been asked of me since my first semester of college. Why anyone would expect me to know what I'm doing after graduation when I just graduated high school is beyond me. However, the longer I have been a college student, the more frequently those eight words have been a topic of conversation. If you ask me, that is a HUGE question to answer. As a twenty-year old Junior, I have spent the majority of my college career thinking about after-graduation plans. Will I go to grad school? Will I get a job? Will I even make it to graduation at all?... (I kid, I kid). I have been constantly racking my brain to come up with the right answer to this daunting question. And when you're a COM major, the question is more like, "What can you even do with a degree in Communication Studies?" [Answer: Absolutely anything. Is that encouraging or overwhelming? I lean more toward the latter]. With all these questions about my future literally hanging over my head, the future can become less like a dream and more like a never-ending nightmare.

Recently, I was really thinking about the future and the path that my life is on, and, in one moment of clarity, I found the answer I had been looking for. All this time I was trying to come up with the answer that would be most pleasing to the ears of the asker. I didn't want anyone who was asking me about my future plans to hear the words "I have no clue" come out of my mouth. I didn't want to seem unprepared or unconcerned. I have always been the diligent worker and the careful planner (at least until college anyway), and I did not want to portray myself as anything less than what people knew to be true about me. What I didn't realize I was doing was that I was creating a version of myself that was not me at all. I was stuck between the fears of not knowing and not pleasing everyone. BUT, in my epiphanic moment, I broke free of those fears. And here is how:

I do not decide my future.

I have never been the one deciding my future.

I did not get where I am today out of my own merit and hard work.

I am not my own and will never be my own.

Those four statements hit me like a ton of bricks in a single moment. I have been so busy trying to decide what I am going to do with my life and my future that I have forgotten that it isn't my future to decide. Jeremiah chapter 10 says, "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; It is not for man to direct his steps." And Galatians chapter 2 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." My future is not my future at all; It is God's future. My life is not my life at all; It is God's life. God, in all His power, wonder, and majesty, created me with a unique purpose for my life. And He alone knows the plans that He has for me in order for that purpose to prevail. His plans are great, and I want nothing more and nothing less than the plans God has for me. After realizing this, I finally had a solid and confident answer to the ever-looming question of "What are you doing to do after graduation?" Before I share my answer with you, I want to share with you a few verses of encouragement (and a little of my insight into them).

Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." How awesome and humbling that God set me and you apart before we were even born!

Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."

I read: "Commit your [essays, math homework, group projects, final exams, free time, study habits, relationships, friendships, mind, heart, soul, life] to the Lord, and your plans will be established." What if we all went into our work with that mindset? Our productivity would be astounding.

Proverbs 16:9 - "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

I don't know about you, but that is so freeing to me. I can plan, plan, plan all day long, but the Lord still determines my steps. His sovereignty is so great.

James 4:14-15 - "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

We are but a MIST! Here today and gone tomorrow. How much more should that make us want to fulfill the purpose God has for us in the little time we have here? The Lord's will be done.

Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

This is probably the most well-known verse about the Lord's plans for our lives, but how encouraging and comforting it is to know that the Lord's plans are to give me hope and a future.

Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

Again, we make so many plans in our hearts and minds that we stress and worry over, but the Lord's purpose for our lives will always prevail when we are seeking Him.

Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

First of all, God's masterpiece?! If all I am known as for the rest of my life is God's masterpiece, then I will be the most content person on the planet. Secondly, God has prepared our work for us in advance. Why not trust in the work He calls us to do?

Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men... It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

This really hit home for me. I don't serve men. I serve Jesus Christ, and that should always be the heart behind my work.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

God is working all things together for my good. Constantly trusting in that.

Deuteronomy 14:2 - "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured people."
That last sentence brings me the most joy. The Lord has chosen US to be His treasured people. Why wouldn't we trust Him with our futures?

I know that is a lot of verses to take in, but if you really think about what the premise is behind all of them, you will find that they are all alluding to the same thing. God, our Father, the Creator of the universe, set us apart and made us His chosen ones before we were even born. He, in all His sovereignty, has a specific plan and purpose for each of our lives, and He will direct our steps along the way. If we trust in that plan, we will not fail because the victory has already been won for those who trust in the Lord.

So, when someone asks me the question, "What are you going to do after graduation?" my answer will be very simple: I am going to do whatever the Lord calls me to do. While I may not know exactly what that is yet, I can fully trust that He knows what it is and will bring me to it in His time and in His way. We think we have to have it all together all the time because of the way our society and culture has been set up. We think we have to graduate high school, go to college, get a good paying job, get married, have a family, work until we're 65, retire somewhere nice and tropical, and eventually die. But I am here to tell you, the Lord will direct your steps. His plan for you may not be to go to college. Or His plan may be for you to go to college but not necessarily find the best paying job. He might be planning for you to get married and have kids, or He might not be. However, I can assure you that whatever God has planned for you will be far greater than anything you could have planned for yourself. This is a lesson I have learned over the course of this year, and it is something that I am holding fast to in the coming years of transition in my life.

My future and my life are in the hands of the One who is working all things together for my good, so I have nothing to fear. The unknown can be a scary place, but nothing is unknown to God. And having confidence in God's abilities to make my life something beautiful for Him makes the future a not-so-scary place. My constant prayer is, "Your will be done, Lord." I am so thankful for God's sovereignty and grace. Truly, His will be done in my life because my life has never been my own. All I am for Your glory, Jesus.