GRADUATED!

I am excited to say that Tim and I have graduated from college! Woo hoo! I am so happy to finally be done with school. No more finals! EVER! =D

Worth the Wait

Physical intimacy before marriage is the popular (and easy) thing to do, but is it worth the guilt and dishonor? In this sex-obsessed generation, it is practically impossible to live without having some kind of regret relating to physical intimacy. Here are a few of Cary Schmidt's "20 Reasons to Avoid Premarital Sex:"


-It presents huge physical risk—diseases and illness are rampant among those who engage in this lifestyle.


-It is disappointing at the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels—the only physical intimacy that exceeds expectations is that founded on long-term commitment and marital growth.


-It creates a spiritual/emotional bond without commitment—this only breeds resentment, bitterness, and the feeling of being used. It says something like this, “I don’t love you enough to commit to you, but I love me enough to use you.”


To read the full blog post, click here. I plead with you, don't wait to agree with this counsel until you know it's true through experience. Take it from Bro. Schmidt when he writes, "A life of wonderful, married intimacy is well worth the wait!"

3 Myths About Marriage

I bet you all are thinking, "What is that topic doing on this blog?" Well, I just thought it'd be good to erase any false assumptions my younger readers have about marriage before they get in a serious relationship. Whether or not we want it this way, we are influenced by the world's viewpoint of love and relationships every day. High expectations fill our minds, and when we start assuming a guy can make us happy and feel secure, bad things happen.

Come read this short and simple post, "3 Myths About Marriage," by Paul Chappell. The counsel given is valuable for now and later, no matter what stage of a relationship you are in. Whether your relationship status is "single," "engaged, " "married," or "it's complicated," take this practical advice from a man of God. Click here to read the blog post.

Happy Birthday from Starbucks

One really good reason to register your Starbucks gift card: any drink you want on your birthday...free.

I knew about the Starbucks loyalty program, but couldn't bring myself to buy myself a gift card completely devoted to coffee (even though I'm addicted). However, when Tim's sister gave me one for Christmas, I wasted no time registering it. A few weeks later I received a postcard in the mail telling me to bring in that card for a free birthday drink! And they let me get whatever size I wanted! I felt absolutely fabulous while enjoying my free venti Java Chip frappuchino.

Here's what you need to do:
1) Get a Starbucks gift card. If you're like me and can't bring yourself to buy yourself one, drop hints about how much you love coffee and someone will probably get you one. Or... join Swag Bucks and earn a free one. Just sayin'.
2) Register it at Starbucks.com and remember to include your birthday where they ask for it!
3) Make a purchase to activate your Welcome Level status. Don't squirm... a tall regular coffee is $1.50.
4) Patiently wait for your cute little post card to arrive in the mail.
5) Bring the postcard to Starbucks and have at it!

This alone makes registering worth it. If you never use your gift card again (which is like, impossible) then you will have still snagged a deal. There are plenty of rewards cards out there with this kind of deal, but I just wanted to share this one because I just got it today and coffee is near and dear to my heart.

Swagbucks

I thought I'd start my new "Finances" label by talking about my new favorite way to earn points and get free stuff: Swag Bucks! The basic gist is to earn "swag bucks" in a variety of ways, including using the Swag Bucks search engine, redeeming coupons, participating in daily polls, games, surveys, and even trading in your old cell phone. The Swag Store has lots of interesting and useful things that you can buy, and when you accumulate enough swag bucks, enjoy your shopping spree!

Here is a list of things you can buy with swag bucks: iPod Touch, flash drives, Amazon Kindle Fire, Keurig Coffee Maker, Xbox 360 console, board games, Barnes and Noble gift cards, Biolage shampoo and conditioner, and Dermalogica body scrub and lotion... and that's just a few of them! Click here (or the logo above) to sign up; it's the easiest thing ever and I know you'll love it as much as I do.

180

I recently watched the pro-life documentary "180" and my summation of it is "WOW!" Ray Comfort talks various people through the horrors of the Holocaust and correlates it to abortion today. Is his reasoning enough to change their minds about abortion? Watch 180 to find out!

Just to warn you, there are graphic images on this video, but to be honest, they're not as bad as I expected. There is footage of the Holocaust at the beginning, and a clip of a doctor wrapping something up in paper (an aborted baby, though it doesn't actually show the body).

The logical arguments Ray Comfort proposes are both blunt and respectful. Did you know that, like abortion, the atrocities of the Holocaust were legal and government funded? Which is worse, killing a child in the womb or after they've been born? Finish the sentence: "It is okay to kill a baby in the womb when ___________." When does a "fetus" become a human being? All these are hard but necessary questions we must face when dealing with the hot topic of abortion.

If you are pro-choice, prepare to think about this "women's right" from a different perspective. If you are pro-life, get this into as many hands as you can. The Roe vs. Wade tide just might be turning. Go to http://180movie.com/ as soon you have a half hour to spare and watch this "shocking, award-winning documentary!"

Happy Veteran's Day!

Where would we be without them?

Diary of An Unborn Child

I discovered this just today and even though I'm not even a mom yet it brought tears to my eyes.  I hope no heart is too hard that will not be touched by this repeatedly true story:

September 19:

Today my life began. My parents do not know it yet, but it is I already. And I am to be a girl. I shall have blond hair and blue eyes. Just about everything is settled though, even the fact that I shall love flowers.

October 3:

Some say that I am not a real person yet, that only my mother exists. But I am a real person, just as a small crumb of bread is yet truly bread. My mother is. And I am.

October 7:

My mouth is just beginning to open now. Just think, in a year or so I shall be laughing and later talking. I know what my first word will be: MAMA.

October 9:

My heart began to beat today all by itself. From now on it shall gently beat for the rest of my life without ever stopping to rest! And after many years it will tire. It will stop, and then I shall die.

October 17:

I am growing a bit every day. My arms and legs are beginning to take shape. But I have to wait a long time yet before those little legs will raise me to my mother's arms, before those little arms will be able to gather flowers and embrace my father.

October 27:

Tiny fingers are beginning to form on my hands. Funny how small they are! I'll be able to stroke my mother's hair with them.

November 4:

It wasn't until today that the doctor told mom that I am living here under her heart. Oh, how happy she must be! Are you happy, mom?

November 9:

My mom and dad are probably thinking about a name for me. But they don't even know that I am a little girl. I want to be called Kathy. I am getting so big already.

November 24:

My hair is growing. It is smooth and bright and shiny. I wonder what kind of hair mom has?

November 27:

I am just about able to see. It is dark around me. When mom brings me into the World it will be full of sunshine and flowers. But what I want more than anything is to see my mom. How do you look, mom!

December 8:

I wonder if mom hears the whispering of my heart? Some children come into the World a little sick. But my heart is strong and healthy. It beats so evenly: tup-tup, tup-tup. You'll have a healthy little daughter, mom!

December 12:

Today my mother killed me.

When It's All Said and Done

Some of the most insightful words are spoken by those closest to death.  I'm not being morbid, I'm making an observation.  When you're looking back over your life, you'll be in the wisest state of mind ever possible this side of eternity.  I am most touched by the following quotes given by men who were not saved, because it appears that as they are dying, the truth is finally dawning on them.  However, there are many quotes below by men who were saved and those are especially encouraging.  Live your life with a view toward eternity!


I think I'll sleep now. -George Washington Carver


I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the world. Remember! -Charles I, King of England


I have tried so hard to do right. -Grover Cleveland


It's very beautiful over there. -Thomas Jefferson


This is absurd! This is absurd! -Sigmund Freud
Note: He is also reported to have said “The meager satisfaction that man can extract from reality leaves him starving.”


 I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country. -Nathan Hale


Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees. -Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson


Solely by the merits of Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. -Johannes Kepler


The taste of death is upon my lips…I feel something, that is not of this earth. -Mozart


Take me home. I was born in the South and I wish to die and be buried in the South. -Booker T. Washington


I am ready. -Woodrow Wilson


(wikiquote.org)

Look What I Found!

I found an online clipboard that I think is really cute.  I'm going to use it to post some wedding ideas, as well as other random things I find interesting.  You join by linking it to either your Twitter or Facebook account.  Visit Pinterest and follow me if you like

So You Think You're Independent?

Getting sick at college is up there on the list of things you wouldn't wish on even your worst enemy.  Mommy isn't there to take care of you... and neither is anybody else.  Your R.A.'s, friends, and roommates are busy.  Your professors keep on piling on the homework without a clue whether you're dead or alive.  And then there's the sickness itself.  Your whole body hurts.  You can't move, and if you do, it's to run to the bathroom (which is entirely too far away!).  You can't keep anything down for more than twenty minutes.  You're so miserable, you want to die!


But that's not all you've faced in a week's time.  Just a few days ago while playing softball, you got popped square in the kneecap with the ball and got banished to crutches.  During this week you figure out that it's impossible to carry your book bag and purse while hobbling around on the wretched things.  Getting to ride the elevator is kind of cool, but mooching random people into carrying your stuff isn't.  Your fiance is getting tired of everyone commenting on how your purse matches his outfit every time he holds it.


Yes, this was me this week, and no, physical infirmities are no fun!  However, I did learn something through it that I never really thought about until now.  I'm a "get it done yourself" kind of person; you might call me independent.  Having to depend on someone else for almost anything kills me (or at least my pride).  Being on crutches and bedridden for a week has taught me that I'm NOT a one-person-show.  People were created for other people, and we all need each other.


Within ten seconds of getting hit by a softball, I realized that I couldn't walk off the field by myself.  After two ladies helped me off the field, I began wondering how I was going to make it up the hill to my dorm.  Thankfully, another friend took me for a ride in her Jeep.


The school nurse told me to use the crutches in her office, but how could I use them if I couldn't even walk to her office?  Tim agreed to bring them to me.  Then I had to figure out how to tote all of my stuff around campus!  Asking people to carry your purse...how lame is that??  Talk about humbling!


Someone took me to the hospital, where I got an x-ray on my knee (no broken bones, by the way... yay!).  The wait in the ER took so long my friend had to miss a church activity.  I felt so bad!!  Am I the trouble-maker or what?


Within a few days I was off the crutches, much to my excitement.  But don't get too excited, because then I woke up with a stomach virus.  I was banished from polite society, accompanied only by my pillow and a trashcan!  At college, even though you may slow down due to illness, the rest of life does not!  


My roommates did what they could and donated water bottles and crackers to my aid.  Tim brought me Gatorade.  Another friend brought me a Route 44 cup of ice from Sonic (aaaah-mazing!).  Mom might not have been there, but she would have been proud of the hard work everyone put into keeping me alive!


I am back in the land of the living now, but still feel the effects of the past week.  I am also convinced that we aren't as independent as we think we are; we rely heavily upon others whether we know it or not.  It took me a week of weakness to realize it, but I won't quickly forget it.  Don't live like you don't need anybody.  Wanting to accomplish something big on your own is admirable, but if someone wants to help you, let them.  We are not self-reliant beings; God created us to relate to and help each other.


Let me encourage you to be sensitive to others who need a hand.  Also, don't be so controlling that you won't let someone assist you.  Quite a few people went out of their way to help me this week, and it changed the way I think about life; have you stepped outside of your "bubble" to help someone today?

How to Cheer Yourself Up

I just read on an email about a lady who started random acts of kindness and started a movement of niceness.  It is a rare thing to encounter a kind-hearted person, but it is also extremely contagious!  If you're having a bad day, why not get your mind off of yourself by doing something unexpected.  Here are some "college-student-safe" ideas to get your creative juices flowing...

• Invite a friend who lives in a different dorm to come over and just talk.  If you're really fancy and have pop corn or ice cream, share!
• Branch out of the usual Easy Mac or Ramen Noodle routine and get a couple of friends to help you cook a full course meal.  Yes, you can make amazing food without a full kitchen!  Ask around to borrow a crock pot, rice cooker or griddle.
• Go get WiFi with a friend and laugh at YouTube videos.
• Go for a Sonic run and surprise your professors with their favorite soda.  If you don't already know their preference, text someone who knows them well or check their Facebook (people like to put random facts about themselves on the internet!).
• Stop by Walmart and get a bunch of flowers, then put one in each of your best buddies' mailboxes.
• Most campuses have a bookstore that's loaded with what students really want: candy.  You know someone on campus is having a worse day than you, so give them a sweet treat.
• Go into town with a friend and get your mind off your troubles by taking advantage of an attraction your city has to offer.  One of my friends took me kayaking on the Oklahoma River this week, and we had the time of our lives!
• Read a good book.  I'm not talking about the romance novels that make you depressed because you'll never meet your Mr. Darcy... I mean wholesome, meaningful reading like Passion and Purity, Lady in Waiting, and Preparing to be His Help Meet.  Go to the "May I Recommend" page for a list of my favorites!

If you can think of any others, please leave a comment!  These are some that are accessible to me as a college student, but surely you have some ideas that are appropriate to your stage in life.  I know life can be discouraging, but it doesn't have to stay that way!  Start a movement of kindness on your campus (or wherever you live!).  It will cheer up others and you!

Remember?

There is not a single life this day did not touch.  Everyone old enough to comprehend the fear and uncertainty this day brought can recall exactly where they were when they got the news.  I was twelve years old, and my mom, little sister and I were at Staples when Dad alerted us of the attack and encouraged us to head home where it was safer.  Being just a few hours from Washington DC, we started getting really nervous when the news broadcasted the attack on the Pentagon.

Let's turn this into a discussion... Where were YOU on September 11, 2001?  How old were you?  After you learned about the terrorist attack, what did you do for the rest of the day?

Long Awaited Post on Wedding Blog!

A few of you seem interested in following up on my wedding blog post concerning how to order a wedding dress from China.  Just to make everyone aware, the post is up and ready! =) I had to think for a minute about how I could integrate biblical principles into this one, but the point is simple: We must be careful stewards of the Lord's money!


So for all of my wedding enthusiasts out there, the long awaited success story has finally been written!  Click here to read about how I got the dress of my dreams for $195.  (No, it's not a typo.)


Don't take this post the wrong way; there's nothing wrong with buying your wedding dress from a bridal salon.  However, the specifications of modesty I needed could not be fulfilled in a typical strapless gown.  If you're like me and need a completely custom-made dress, this route is practical in every way.  But don't just do it without looking into it... let me give you some pointers!

Our Wedding Blog

With the help of my mom, there is a new blog peeking over the horizon.  It brings hope (of an affordable wedding), peace (in the midst of a whirlwind of planning), and joy (when we find stuff on sale!) to all who cast their weary eyes thereupon.  It speaks of shopping, catering, and hiding in a trailer to surprise an unsuspecting fiance!  It welcomes all with blog posts, pictures, a love story, and a guest book.  


Contrary to all wedding planners who predict clients spending thousands on the dress, food, and flowers -- this blog stands in assertive rebellion.  It will not close down until it sees every to-do list checked off and each decoration perfectly put in place.  And when it's all said and done, the bouquet is tossed and the cake is gobbled up, it might just stick around a while longer, just for the fun of it!


Anyways... Tim and I have a wedding blog now and I've been itching to share it with you all!  Have fun visiting and we hope you will stop by often to stay updated on all the planning! =)


Tim and Suzette's Wedding Blog

Wedding Planning!

I am having quite the time trying to squeeze all the wedding planning I can into one short summer!  In the past three months my family and I have bought the dress, a few silk flowers, the bridesmaids' shoes, some wedding favors, lots of wedding planning books, and an off-the-beaten-path "guest book" in the form of a scrapbook!  Tim and I have started our registries, bought some Starbucks coffee mugs to put in our home, and discussed many ideas and plans.  Before he left for the summer, Mom and Dad hosted our engagement party at my house and took pictures of us at the place Tim proposed to me, the Japanese Gardens at Maymont Park.  On top of that, I've had work, traveling all over the East Cost for various family trips (and they were NOT for leisure), and trying to get some senior year "stuff" figured out.


So yeah... I've been kind of busy!


Sorry if I've been strangely quiet the past few months; I have a lot on my mind and would appreciate your prayers.  Also, one of my room mates from my freshman year told me that her mom has breast cancer, so please keep her in your prayers also.  GloryBound has had a safe summer so far, so we are very thankful for that.  


So basically everything is fine except my sanity!  I never knew planning a wedding involved so many details, and I am definitely NOT a detail person!  In my mind, a wedding was buying a dress, getting the lady at your church who's really good at baking to bake your cake, hiring a photographer, inviting your friends, walking down the aisle, eating the cake, and leaving.  


Oh no, my friend.  


First you have to figure out what style wedding dress looks best on you, then try several of them on at the bridal salon, only to come to the conclusion that there are WAY to many choices.  After you finally pick out your dress, you do a fundraiser to be able to afford the thing.  


As for the cake, you begin thinking about saving money by just doing sheet cakes, but think about how cool it would be to hire a culinary student at VCU for super cheap, but don't want to make your church baker feel left out either.  


Wait.  Cake... that means you'll need plates, napkins, tables, chairs... where is all of this coming from, anyway?!  Should you rent round tables, or use the awkward rectangle ones your venue already has for no extra charge?  Venue.  Oh my goodness -- where are we having this thing?  The church?  The park?  My parent's backyard?  A plantation?  The space museum??


And hiring a photographer.  Don't even get me started.


I have a bunch of friends from Oklahoma (hi guys!) who want to make it to our big day, but what hotel would be the nicest for them, but still reasonably priced, especially after paying for half-way-across-the-continent airfare?  Should the in-laws invite all of the out-of-town guests to the rehearsal dinner?  That's a lot of food, you know.  Food?  Hey, are we having a full-course meal or just cake and coffee at the reception?


And the little sparkly stuff people put on the tables at receptions... what do we do about that?  Should we use candy?  A centerpiece filled with flowers and bows?  Confetti?  And what should the guests throw at us when we leave?  Rice?  Bubbles?  Silly String?  Rocks?  What do we ride away in?  Limos are so expensive.  Maybe my grandpa's old truck... it's kind of "vintage."  It could be my "something old."  But wait, if it breaks down on the way to the hotel, that could be really bad...


See?  So many DETAILS!  So pray that my head doesn't explode anytime in the next year. =)

Live Without These Regrets

These two quotes I found made me think about having the right perspective on life.  Sometimes famous last words force us to us consider just how "off" our point of view is until we reach the end of our life, and begin to see it all in perspective.  In the words of Issac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci, let's see how these two very successful men would have lived differently if they could have done it all over:

Isaac Newton, 
"I don't know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

Leonardo da Vinci,
"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."


We don't have to wait until the end of our lives to realize how very short of a time we have to live each day for all it's worth.  While it's true that this world is so vast that we could never explore it all in one lifetime, Newton's regret suggests that we ought not to be so tunnel-visioned that we forget about everything outside our immediate interests.  Just take time to let things soak in.  So what if you're not a biologist, take an hour and study what makes grass green!  God made this great big world in such a manner that we can enjoy it... pause and discover something new.


If you've ever studied Leonardo da Vinci, you know that his work is anything but ordinary.  He put his very best on canvas, time and time again.  Yet at the end of his life, he regrets not reaching the quality he felt God deserves.  Is our work half-done or blown through without regard to excellence?  Do we brand high-quality workers as "OCD" and laugh them off as nerds?  If so, imagine the regrets WE will have at the end of our lives.  


I'm sure these quotes could have been picked apart far better than I ever could, and if you have any suggestions regarding their interpretation, please leave a comment.  God wants us to enjoy life!  Let's live in a way that won't leave room for regrets like these.

Dayspring E-Cards

A great way to celebrate a special occasion across the miles is to send an e-card.  One advantage is that you know for sure when it will be delivered to the recipient's inbox, because you can hand-pick the date!  Not so with letters and packages (as I discovered last week by sending Tim a package and hearing that it took an extra three days to get there)!

I like Dayspring e-cards because they are Christian and often show a Scripture verse at the end of each message. Click here to visit their site.  

Memorial Day

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.

One died for your salvation;

The other will die for your freedom.

Have you thanked a soldier this weekend?

A Life Lesson from Kids

I did nursery for the Graduation Preaching Conference at Heartland Baptist Bible College and got to see some cute kids!!  One of them, who we'll call Mark, found great pleasure in constantly trying to escape the "Walkers' Room" and explore bigger and better places.  We couldn't turn our backs for more than five seconds, or he would be gone!  I started thinking about how adults are the same way, but on a much larger scale.


Mark thought his greatest sense of fulfillment could be found "out there."  He disregarded the many toys and friends within the walls and focused all of his time and energy on somehow getting "out there."  He wanted to be free.  There was so much to see and do if he could only escape.  What he didn't know about the great beyond, however, was that there was uncovered outlets, hard floors, and dangerous objects laying around that could harm him if swallowed.


Does this sound familiar?  So many young people are obsessed with pushing the limits, climbing the fence, and living on the edge, but don't realize that what lies beyond will hurt them.  Looking outside his small room, Mark saw a huge playroom with lots of space to roll around.  Being a nursery worker, I saw more than that -- I looked past the fun and saw a floor he could easily trip and break a tooth on and a nail that Maintenance had accidentally dropped on the floor, which any two year old would swallow without giving it a second thought.  As an adult, I saw many dangers Mark didn't... but he didn't seem to appreciate my forethought and wisdom.


As a young person, you will discover boundaries set around you that you might not completely understand.  You might wonder why your youth pastor advises against dating in high school or why your mom won't let you drive around with friends past midnight.  Like Mark, you might be peeking through the door thinking, "But it looks like so much fun!" and fighting to be free.  You might grow aggravated when your authorities keep pulling you back into your "cage" and not telling you why you can't go out there.  You become convinced that your greatest sense of fulfillment is outside of these boundaries.


Just a word of advice: don't go out there.  There are things in the typical young person's world that your parents, pastor and youth pastor don't want you to have to experience in order to know about.  To let Mark eat a nail to teach him how much pain it would inflict upon him would have been ludicrous; instead I kept him as far away from it as possible.  That is exactly what your authorities are doing for you by putting up boundaries.  Like Mark, you might not understand why you're not allowed to do certain things, but someday you will, and you will be grateful for authorities who protected you from being hurt.


Your greatest sense of fulfillment is not found in sneaking out late at night to go to a party, stealing the keys to the car to visit a "friend," or putting junk music on a CD and labeling it "Bro. Jones' Preaching."  It looks like so much fun... until your friends pressure you into doing something dumb, your "friend" turns out to be a jerk, and you accidentally leave your CD in the player the day mom uses the car.  These are uncovered outlets and sharp objects that older folks know about through experience, and would do anything to spare you this kind of pain and regret.


Next time you venture to ask your parent another "border line" question and once again you run into a wall, pause before you show any sign of disappointment.  Think, "Enough of me assuming they're just trying to make my life miserable... What could be the REAL reason they're saying no?"  It just might be to protect you, and for that you could at least smile and say, "OK."  Your greatest sense of fulfillment is found smack dab in the middle of God's will, deep within all the boundaries that have already been set up for you.  If you accept these rules with a cheerful heart, you will be the happiest you've ever been in your whole life.