2012- A Look Back

2012 was a great year.  It wasn't filled with major life transitions or monumental events, but it was filled with the people I love.  

January: We went to 12 straight nights of Code Orange Revival at church and it was an amazing way to start the new year.

February: We celebrated Love Week at church.

March: We went to the NeedtoBreathe concert.

April: We traveled to Atlanta for a few days during Spring Break.

May: We traveled a lot.  We went to Wilmington for my sister's graduation and then to Edisto for Brandon's cousin's wedding.

June: We went to San Diego and I volunteered at Camp 658 with some amazing kids.  Oh yeah, and Brandon broke his ankle.

July: I watched one of my closest friends get married. We celebrated the Olympics and were glued to the t.v. for the next month.

August: We celebrated our second wedding anniversary!  Oh and school started back.

September: We went to Myrtle Beach for Labor Day and my cousin got married.

October: We went to Raleigh for our annual Wolfpack football game and we got tickets to the Panthers game that same weekend.  Brandon began traveling for work and was in Florida for two weeks, so I went to visit!

November: We ran the Color Run!

December:  We went to the Panthers game, celebrated Christmas, and prepared to ring in the new year.  

                           Bring it on 2013!!  I know it will be great!!!

Sharing My Story

 Hey Lovelies.  Today I am over at Amber's blog Pless Press to share my story.  She has a wonderful guest post series where she encourages women to share their stories of how the Lord is working in their lives.  I decided this would be a great place to be a little vulnerable and share about a difficult part of my life.  I really hesitated to write this, but I hope that by sharing my story it will resonate with some other women and encourage them through Christ's love.  Without further ado, go check out my story!

The difficulty of the trial you survived indicates the depth of blessing that's ahead. God TESTS you to PROMOTE you.   - Pastor Steven Furtick

I want

Sometimes in life, well a lot of times, I feel stuck.  I feel like the selfishness of others pulls my courage down and makes me shrink.  While this is not a fun place to be, there is a positive side to these funks. Times like these make me reflect on what I want in life, about what kind of person I want to be.  It is a catalyst for the way I want to live my life.  I want to be happy.  I want so much more out of this beautiful existence the Lord has given me than an everyday life. 


I want to breathe in grace and exhale mercy. I want to say what I mean and mean what I say and NOT be afraid. I want to right my wrongs and learn from my mistakes.

 I want to cherish the small things, like laughing in bed with Brandon and making a child smile at my job. I want to hug tightly and love deeply.

I want the mindset of Christ, to just keep moving forward against opposition.

There are so many things I want in life.  I don't always know where or how to start, but I do know that life is worth more than a boring existence.  I do know that the Lord equips us with exactly what and who we need when we need it; and I do know that we get unstuck and keep moving forward in pursuit of a beautiful brokenness that we call life.  

New Series: Guest Bloggers Wanted

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.  And we are never, ever the same.

Taken by JT Photography

 Hey all you lovely people.  So, I've really been wanting to host a new series where I open up my blog to guest posting.  What is the blogosphere if not for sharing?  That being said, I've decided to start a new series called Footprints.  I know a lot of the people who read this blog are married, engaged, in love, or have significant romantic or platonic relationships that change you and make you who you are, whether they end up good or bad.  Love, marriage, relationships, and friendships are a gift from God and they change people who enter into them.  I really want to hear from you all about how the Lord has worked on you through your relationships.  This could be a friendship, a family relationship, a marriage, etc.   What relationships are most impacting in your life?  What relationships have shaped who you are as a person? If you are married, how has the Lord worked in your marriage?  What have you learned from other people and how has this person touched your life?  They may no longer be in your life, but they certainly made an impact.  You get the picture.  These are the types of stories I am looking for.  So, come on people send me those posts.  If you are interested in being a part of this series, please send me your post and pictures to cfbrown814@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing all of your great and inspiring stories!

My Awkward Love Story

Hey everyone!  I'm over HERE today at Basil sharing my awkward, but amazing love story.  You should go check it out.  K, thanks. 

Pray for You

Have you ever had someone say "I'll pray for you"  and you think to yourself "will you really?"  Prayer is something that should not be taken lightly.  It is our direct communication with God and I often wonder if people really are praying for me when they say they are.  I know that I am also guilty of this and it is something I want to work on.  

On the other hand, there are instances where I know people are genuine in prayer and I know without a shadow of a doubt that they are praying for me when they say they are going to.  Today someone told me they would pray for me and I believe them.  It is so reassuring to know that someone else is lifting you up.  It is too easy to get bogged down in my own prayer life.  I often feel like I pray the same prayers, ask for the same things, but there is something about someone else praying for me that makes me feel loved, cared for, and that they are concerned enough to include me in their prayer life. 

Oftentimes, the sad thing is that the people who are genuine in their prayer offerings are not my close friends, no they are strangers.  They are people in my church who lift me up; they are people in the blogospere (hint, hint that's you potentially); they are people who may never know me.  Why is it that people outside of my own personal life are more apt to pray for me and my struggles than people who know me the best?  

The good thing is that it shouldn't matter who is praying for you.  I am thankful for all of the voices that speak on my behalf, the ones who care enough to lift up my petty concerns and struggles.  I want to be one of those people, who cares enough to pray for a complete stranger who in fact is my brother or sister in Christ.  

How can I pray for you today?  Maybe you are feeling lonely, left out, having relationship issues, or just having a daily struggle.  Maybe you feel like no one else will pray for you in your time of need (I've often felt that way).  So what is it?  Leave a comment and know, I am praying for you and I mean it.               

The Valley

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow." --maya angelou

I feel the need to write a difficult post that I have needed to write for a while.  Most of the time I blog about happy moments, moments of joy, the up's of life, but I feel that sometimes it is important to be transparent, to be vulnerable.  Now, don't misunderstand it is a not a post of self-pity, but a post of personal healing, of personal process.  

I'm in a season of change in my life, a season of transition where people I thought were going to be there for the long haul have fallen short and left me to drive the cart on my own.  I am a firm believer that the Lord places people in our lives for specific purposes.  Some are there just for a season and some are there forever.  Don't get me wrong I have the forever kind of people in my life, my husband, parents, sister, but over the past year or so I have experienced a season of challenge with other people in my life.  I feel betrayed, hurt, lonely at times, and misunderstood by certain people.  To be quite honest I often feel defeated.  

As most of you know, I'm pretty passionate about relationships and when they don't work out it's extremely difficult for me to move on.  The emotions rise up and fill my soul, they command my attention and leave me broken.  The Lord brings us through the valley so that we can see the mountain.  I feel like the Lord is calling me to move forward, to start anew when it comes to these issues.  I have a strong sense that I cannot let my past continue to invade my present.  I cannot continue to let these people rent space in my head and in my emotions as they have for awhile.  

I have to trust that the Lord is bringing a new season with new relationships.  I have to purge these people.  The happy memories will always be dear but new memories are calling.  It's difficult, but necessary for healing.   I have to continue to seek relationships that lift me up and I must keep trekking through the valley...for a new season is on horizon.     

Project 31 Day 10: The Lessons of Marriage

Day 10.  What is Jesus teaching you as a wife, mom, or friend? 

I think the better question here is what is He not teaching me as a wife.  I have learned so much since I have taken on the title of being Brandon's wife.  In case you didn't know, marriage takes work.  Yes it is wonderful, roses and butterflies, but it takes much of two people.  During our ceremony our officiant spoke these words over us and they are so true.

Marriage is a sacred relationship.  It requires much of two people- sometimes more than you feel you can  give each other. But God promises to be with you in the marriage and help you with its responsibilities. The Bible speaks of a single strand of cord as fragile and breakable, but a cord of two strands becomes much stronger.  A cord of three is stronger yet.  May your marriage always be a cord of three strands- you, your beloved, and the presence of God.

 The main thing that Jesus is teaching me as a wife is that we have to rely on Him.  Marriage does require much of two people,  but the Lord only tests the limits of one's abilities so that we have to rely on him and become dependent on his strength and grace.  As a wife, I may not always live up to my husband's expectations.  Life may throw us curveballs and challenge our relationship. But if we continue to stand under his grace and mercies we can get through anything together.  Marriage without Christ doesn't even make sense.  Marriage was created for Christ as a means for us to glorify him and to help lift each other higher in our faith.  Marriage teaches me humility.  It shows me that in order to be a good wife to my husband I have to rely on the wisdom of the creator of marriage.   

Not only am I learning to depend and rely on Christ through my marriage, but I am also learning patience.  Boy, am I learning patience.  Patience has never been one of my strongest virtues.  To be quite honest, I struggle with being patient.  This is true in  my faith and is definitely true in my marriage.  For example, I like my house to be neat.  Not like OCD neat but I like it to be picked up.  Brandon is let's just say not of the same mindset.  Cleanliness is not one of his virtues.  I have to be patient with the pile of boxers in the bathroom, the dishes in the sink, and the work clothes strewn all over the extra bedroom.  I'm learning to pick and choose my battles because often my lack of patience leads to annoyance and frustration with my husband.  I am having to learn to let him play one more round of League of Legends before asking him to pick up his undies.  I'm learning to respect our differences and try to find the common ground first.  I'm learning patience, slowly, but the Lord is growing this virtue in me through my marriage.  

  
I could go on and on about what the Lord is teaching me as a wife, but I will refrain.  A final thing that I am learning through marriage is to adapt and grow, to put his needs before my own, to learn to love as Christ loved us.  I am learning the true feeling of love.  The selfless sacrifice it sometimes requires.  The Bible says for wives to submit to their husbands and for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  Now the word submit sometimes throws me off and flares my feminist urges, but what we are really called to do is to place each other before ourselves.  This is not a road we walk alone.  Sometimes we have to pick each other up, lead one another, and love the way Christ loved us.  We walk this road of life together.  We have to adapt together, grow together in love.  

Every day I learn something new as a wife.  It challenges me daily as a person, a partner, and as a Christian.  Marriage is meant to teach us things.  To help us learn from our Savior.  It is a lifelong opportunity for him to teach us and I want to embrace those teachings daily because at the end of the day I get to fall asleep next to my best friend.  Despite the bumps of this journey, the disagreements, the normalcy of marriage  I get to do all the things in my vows: I get to encourage and inspire you,  laugh with you, comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle,  love you through good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when it is simple and when it is an effort.  I get to do all of these things.  Through each of these promises the Lord is lifting me up and teaching me how to fulfill them as Brandon's wife.  I learn a new lesson every moment, every day. 

What is Christ teaching you through your marriage or relationships?

This Could Be You

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.  And we are never, ever the same.

Taken by JT Photography

 Hey all you lovely people.  So, I've really been wanting to host a new series where I open up my blog to guest posting.  What is the blogosphere if not for sharing?  That being said, I've decided to start a new series called Footprints.  I know a lot of the people who read this blog are married, engaged, in love, or have significant romantic or platonic relationships that change you and make you who you are, whether they end up good or bad.  Love, marriage, and relationships are a gift from God and they change people who enter into them.  I really want to hear from you all about how the Lord has worked on you through your relationships.  This could be a friendship, a family relationship, a marriage, etc.   What relationships are most impacting in your life?  What relationships have shaped who you are as a person? If you are married, how has the Lord worked in your marriage?  What have you learned from other people and how has this person touched your life.  They may no longer be in your life, but they certainly made an impact.  You get the picture.  These are the types of stories I am looking for.  So, come on people send me those posts.  If you are interested in being a part of this series, please send me your post to cfbrown814@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing all of your great and inspiring stories.    

New Series: Guest Bloggers Wanted

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.  And we are never, ever the same.  

Hey all you lovely people.  So, I've really been wanting to host a new series where I open up my blog to guest posting.  What is the blogosphere if not for sharing?  That being said, I've decided to start a new series called Love and Marriage.  I know a lot of the people who read this blog are married, engaged, in love, or want to be married.  Even if you aren't in a romantic relationship there are relationships that change you and make you who you are, whether they end up good or bad.  Love, marriage, and relationships are a gift from God and they change people who enter into them.  I really want to hear from you all about how the Lord has worked on you through your relationships.  What relationships are most impacting in your life?  What relationships have shaped who you are as a person? If you are married, how has the Lord worked in your marriage?  You get the picture.  So, come on people send me those posts.  If you are interested in being a part of this series, please send me your post to cfbrown814@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you all and can't wait to get this series started.