The art of losing myself in bringing You praise.

Writing a blog post at 1 am is probably not my smartest move but that's okay. I am just SO excited about life that I literally do not want to go to bed. As I wrap up an awesome weekend and a great Monday night with the people I love I just can't imagine that I could be any more blessed than I am. Our God is soo good! Sometimes I think about how clearly he makes himself known in both the good times in the bad. I feel His hand on our lives now more than ever- yet when I'm going through the valleys I know he is there too. It's so great to serve a God who is ALWAYS there.

This weekend was packeddd with exciting things! Our pool opened on Saturday so I got a lovely sunburn (headstart on my wedding tan).. And I couldn't help but go back Sunday as well. My lobster shoulders realllyyy don't like me right now, but that's okay! Yesterday Greg and I went to Target and made our wedding gift registry. It was so much fun! I fell in love with a knife set- haha.. Never thought I'd hear myself say something like that! My friend Jaimee (newlywed herself!) told me a few months ago that her life lately is like playing house! And while doing our registry I kind of knew what she meant. Greg and I are soo excited to start our lives together and serve the Lord and our friends and family in bigger and better ways than ever.

We always talk about peoples lives being changed.. or wanting to change peoples lives. But the coolest thing is seeing lives changed at the ground level. I am talking about true heartchange. Like a couple weeks ago when I visited with a very special friend of mine named Lesley. She is a beautiful girl! You would be lucky to be her friend. She is the kind of girl you can just tell is soo special and has so much love in her heart. I have seen her go through ups and downs.. We fell away from eachother for a while but when I went and visited her something amazing happened. Her mom came into her room with tears in her eyes and started telling me about how when Lesley started hanging out with a Christian crowd last year it was the turning point in her life. I can't describe to you how awesome it is to see the Lord's promises put into action. The seeds that were sown over a year ago when our friendship started were harvested when we got back in touch with Lesley a couple months ago. She is absolutely on fire for the Lord. She got plugged into a local church, bought her own Bible, is going to a young adults group, and can't wait to reach others for the Lord. She is just one of the many people whose lives I have seen the Lord transform radically in the last couple months.

Romans 1: ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.

I'm not a blog queen.. Yet!

So I'm new to this whole blog thing.. But many people (Britt & Cole, Jaimee & David, Chrissy & Ethan) have made my desire to have my own blog so strong that I just can't resist it anymore! The great part about this is... life is more exciting than ever! I feel as though I'll be able to post at least once a week & *hopefully* not bore you! Lots of very exciting things are happening for Greg and I.. I will give you a little snippet of a few of the most exciting things to happen recently..

5. We FINALLY mailed our Save The Dates out today. It's about time.. We will be sending out the invitations pretty soon here. Despite a horrid trip to the post office I'm so excited that you'll all be getting yours in the mail very soon!

4. Since my awesome friend Marlena talks about "antiquing" crappy furniture a lot I decided to take a stab at it and started a project yesterday.. It isn't finished yet but I'm praying the awesome $6 steal will pay off after some pretty crackle paint! Pictures to come..

3. I got to go to Maine to surprise my mom for mothers day! It was so much fun. It is really hard to be away from her so a nice 5 day dose of her was exactly what I needed. She is the best!

2. Our friends Scott & Bethany are getting married in Maine on June 26th.. Greg and I are both in the wedding & are looking forward to yet another awesome wedding and trip to our homeland.

1. Our honeymoon is booked!! Thanks to my awesome future in-laws we are going on a seven day Eastern Carribbean cruise on the Allure of the Seas (Supposed largest cruiseship in the world??) .. After our wedding we are flying back to Charlotte then taking a leisurely road trip to Florida and spending a few days there in the condo.. then we get to go on our cruise! We are stopping in St. Thomas, St. Marteen, & The Bahamas. Hooray for my first cruise EVER- but not the last.

It leaves me absolutely speechless just how abundantly blessed we truly are. God is soo good!