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?

Good Enough to Eat: Summer Chicken Salad

I was never a big fan of chicken salad, until recently.  But when I was traveling abroad in Peru I actually found some chicken salad I liked.  Obviously, I can't just hop on a plane and grab some Peruvian chicken salad, so I was on a mission to find a chicken salad recipe that I like.  Well, I found a basic recipe and did a little concocting of my own to make a yummy, fruity, summery chicken salad.  I thought I would share it with ya'll.  So here ya go!

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (get it at your local grocery store, the kind in the warmers, I use the lemon pepper kind)

1 cup lite mayo

Pepper

1 tablespoon lemon  juice

Half a package of Craisens

1 apple (I used a Fuji)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Make It:

Pull the meat off of the rotisserie chicken and take off the skin of the pieces

With a large knife chop the chicken into tiny pieces and place in a large bowl

Stir in the mayo

Season with pepper to taste

Stir in the lemon juice

Chop the apple into tiny pieces and add to the chicken mix

Add the Craisens and walnuts; stir

Refrigerate

I like to serve it on a nice flaky croissant

Enjoy!

Happy August

Can you believe it is August already? I certainly can't because it's our ANNIVERSARY month.  I am baffled to think we have been married almost an entire year.  So many things have happened over the last year, but that is for another post.  August is sure to bring some wonderful memories here in the Brown household. There are so many exciting things happening this month.  I will give you a short preview of what this month has to hold, but there will certainly be more detailed posts as the events unfold.  Let's take a look at what August has in store for the Brown family: 

1. My sister-in-law (Brandon's sister, duh) is going off to college!  Of course she is following in our footsteps and going to the best school ever!  We will be moving her into her dorm room in 10 short days.  Such a bittersweet moment, but we are excited for her to have the college experience.  

2. I am thrilled to announce that I got my first big girl job as a Middle School Counselor!  I am super excited, but also pretty nervous.  I will start in the middle of August.  I'm excited to have my own office and get to decorate it!  I just pray that the skills I learned in graduate school don't fail me now and that I can  make a difference in the lives of the students and in my school.  

3. I get to celebrate with the love of my life and reminisce about the best day of my life.  We also get to try our wedding cake for the first time, seeing as we didn't get to eat any at our wedding (besides the icing that went up my nose when he fed me).  Did I mention that I just adore my wedding gown and wish I could get married every August just so I can spend the day in it?  I mean how often do you find an article of clothing that makes you dance for joy in the middle of a clothing store?  On another note, we will also be taking a short vacation for our anniversary, so be on the lookout for those details a bit later :)

August is sure looking to be a pretty eventful month.  I'm sure it is going to continue to be HOT, but I would not trade this month for anything.  So happy August everyone!  What does you month look like?

P.S. send me those posts for the Footprints series!  I want to hear from all of you!

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.    

High Class Problems

A while ago at my church Pastor Steven Furtick talked about high class problems.  You know those problems that present themselves as so urgent, so stressful, so crucial.  The truth is many of our problems are high class problems.  They aren't really problems at all.  Like, not being able to decide between steak and ribs for dinner and so you get stressed out because you can't decide what to cook.  When you think about it, people all over the world are asking themselves "will I be able to eat tonight".  High class problems.  

When I think about what I get stressed over I feel foolish and selfish.  For example, just yesterday I had a breakdown.  A stress breakdown over a HIGH class problem.  On Monday, I got a call from a principal saying that she was recommending me to HR for hire as a school counselor.  Wonderful, right.  I was super excited, thrilled really.  Then today, another wonderful school calls and leaves a message.  I know they are calling for the same reason, to recommend me for hire.  I was so torn and confused that I called my mommy like a baby and had a breakdown.  Decision-making is not my forte and I hate making crucial decisions like this.  I called Brandon and he said "baby, this is a good problem to have".  

What a needed reminder of how good we all really have it.  Thanks hubby.  I mean really, two jobs wanting me and here I am crying and freaking out.  I know I was just overwhelmed with this crucial decision, but honestly, I need to consider the severity of my dilemmas before reacting to them.  I want to focus on the blessings of my situation.  The Lord's blessings are abundant and flowing in my life and my decision-making skills are not up to par to sort through them all.  High class problems, friends.  They surround me and infiltrate my life, clouding my vision and blinding me to the blessings.  I pray that I will be more aware of the degree of my dilemmas and be able to react with grace and humility.  I want to be more aware of the good things in life and focus on reacting to those instead of reacting to the minute issues that arise that, really, in the scheme of things aren't problems at all.          

Pumped

I am pumped for college football season!  I just thought I would let you know.  How could you not be after watching this amazing video?  I mean all  this talk about the NFL lockout ending just does not have me excited, but mention Wolfpack football and I am all ears.  Is anyone else a college football junkie?  Who is your favorite team?

Good Enough to Eat: Strawberry Shortcake Cake

This is a great summer recipe and so easy to make.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Angel Food Cake (can buy from the bakery at the grocery store)

2 large packages of frozen strawberries

1 6 oz. package of strawberry jell-o

1 package regular gelatin

1 large container of cool whip (I used lite)

Fresh Strawberries

Make It:

Crumble the cake into the bottom of a 9X13 dish

Make the strawberry jell-o (make it with 1 cup of boiling water and 2 cups of cold water; don't use water amounts from the box)

In a separate bowl, make the gelatin (make with 1/4 cup cold water)

Stir the gelatin into the strawberry jell-o mix

Add 1 cup of cool whip to the jell-o mixture and swirl slightly

Add frozen strawberries to the jell-o mixture

Pour the mixture over the cake and be sure it is covered well

Refrigerate until ready to serve

Before serving frost the cake with the remaining Cool Whip and fresh cut strawberries