…love that surpasses knowledge

When I said yes on December 29th, 2008, I didn’t know exactly what I was signing up for. Our dating history was fun, but definitely not perfect, and the expectations of being the perfect wife seemed a little overwhelming.

But I said yes anyway.

And I said yes again on October 2nd, 2009.

Since then, I’ve said yes to many other things. You see, when love is in the mix, it’s fun to say yes. We have had lots of compromises throughout the past two years, and I wouldn’t change a thing. We have said yes to things we never dreamt we would:

Buying a house.

Selling a house.

Adding to our family (ahem, I’m talking about Fran, not a baby…)

Loving each other when it doesn’t always make sense.

Talking it out instead of walking away.

Boy movies (and probably some girlie ones too).

Selling a car.

Moving across the country.

Putting the other person first.

Are we doing what we predicted we’d be doing two years ago? Absolutely not. But God’s love surpasses knowledge, and because of Him, we are on one of the biggest and greatest adventures of our lives. Our “plans” may not be happening just the way we thought they would, but I am so glad Someone has a bigger and better plan for us. And I’m glad I married a man who will say yes to God, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense.

The past two years and all that has come with them make me so excited for the next two… and the two after that… and so on. Because when we aren’t in control, big and beautiful things can happen. And I am confident they will.

“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.” (Jer. 29:11)

photo courtesy of kristen lunceford photography

He’s Twenty-Five

Today he’s twenty-five. 

Why we celebrate him:

1. He puts Jesus before everything else
2. He loves me like Jesus loves the church
3. He cares deeply about others
4. He makes a good joke every once and a while
5. He takes Fran out at night because I don’t like to
6. He’s a talented musician
7. He takes risks
8. He loves our families well
9. He learns quickly
10. He cooks (and likes it!)
11. He fixes things
12. He supports me in my goals
13. He listens when God calls
14. He’s cute
15. He’s thoughtful
16. He likes to watch HGTV & the Food Network with me
17. He has good style
18. He’s humble
19. He cleans (and when he does, it’s 110%)
20. He makes the best French press coffee
21. He goes out of his way to teach people about Jesus (hello, Advance Church)
22. He’s adventurous
23. He loves to learn new things
24. He showers grace on me and those around him
25. He shows me what unconditional love looks like every day

My Man

Happy 24th birthday to my love… my knight in skinny jeans.

You complete me, you make me laugh like no one else, and you are truly my best friend.

Excited to celebrate another year together.

Weekend

Jordan’s birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated a couple nights early with a night on the town.

Blogfreeze

I feel like I’ve been having major writer’s block when thinking about this blog. Even though I know there aren’t many people who read this, I found myself wondering why I should spend time writing about myself. What’s so exciting that I should write about and that people would want to read about? Then I remembered my reason for starting a blog… journaling, a space to write down my random (and important!) thoughts. So I’m back.

This week is Jordan’s birthday week (yes… week, not day). He’s been putting the pressure on me to have a really awesome party and celebration, because apparently 24 is a big deal. He continuously says he’s only making a big deal about it because it stresses me out, but I’m feeling a sense of responsibility that he gets all the celebration necessary in his mind for his bday. We’re having a J/K celebration on Friday, then a party with friends and family on Sunday. He insists on the party being a surprise (no matter how lame/cool it is), so details will be divulged later. It should be fun! (PS… does anyone else have such a high-maintenance husband?!)

We’ve had a couple busy weeks, but they’ve been filled with lots of fun things. My parents came to visit during the last weekend of June, when we also celebrated the marriage of our great friends, Bernie and Jess. Originally, the Hoods were just staying a couple days, but Jordan and my dad got food poisoning, so we got a little extra quality time.

We’ve been able to spend time with some friends we haven’t seen for a while, have wine with some incredible girlfriends, and have at least one very memorable bonfire/Perkins run. We’ve been BLESSED with amazing friends and it’s been so fun creating great summer memories with them. For a while, I was feeling lost amidst the transition from college into “real life”… friends go different places, the 8-5 jobs take over, and it left me feeling a bit disconnected. Now (mostly thanks to our small groups through church), I feel like I’m finally establishing a new, awesome group of friends. I’m so much better because of them, too.

That’s all for now. Feels good to be back.

Busy!

Last week was one of the busiest weeks of the year so far!

I’ve been leading a book club studying the book “Strong Women, Soft Hearts” by Paula Rinehart each Wednesday through the summer… and it’s been so great to get together with a group of girls and talk about life’s deepest moments. I’ve been so impressed with the amount of depth in our discussions (you never know how it’s going to be!) and the amount of support I feel from each of these ladies. I’m so thankful for each of them. It’s crazy to me that just a couple months ago I was thinking (and complaining a little…) that I didn’t have very many girlfriends… and now every Wednesday I get to hang out with 12 great girlfriends! God is so good.

Thursday night I had leader training for our new small groups at church called Engage Groups. I’m excited to feel like God has been calling me to lead small groups the last few months and I can’t wait to see where this one goes. It starts in September… now I just have to choose curriculum! If anyone knows of awesome small group curriculum (possibly for newly married couples), I’d love your input!

Friday I only worked a half day and took the rest of the day to prepare for a new 20-30-somethings ministry we’re starting at church called The Gathering. We spent the evening with about 25 people (most of whom I’m never seen at church…. which is why this ministry has been started!) eating good food and discussing our identity – comparing the secular idea of identity to the concept of an identity in Christ. It was really fun to hear everyone’s ideas and experiences and to hear how God’s been working in the lives of people at Crossroads. We’re having a second Gathering on July 9th to delve deeper into this idea of “identity in Christ”.

Saturday night I had a few girls over because Jordan was at rehearsal for church, then a bachelor party for our good friend, Bernie, who’s getting married to Jessica this Saturday. We can hardly wait to celebrate with them!!!

Sunday I went to church, then went out to lunch with some people from our small group. Jordan and I grabbed some quick groceries (for an amazing blueberry crisp), then headed home for a quick nap. For Father’s Day, my mother-in-law rented a pontoon on the St. Croix River for the evening, so we headed to Stillwater to spend a few hours on the river. It was such gorgeous weather, really great food for dinner, and just a relaxing night spent with family.

We’re excited to have my parents coming to visit this week for a few days. We haven’t seen them since Easter (time flies!), so it will be fun to spend time with them celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary and Father’s Day. Jordan and I have really been blessed by incredible families.

Tonight we’ve got some cleaning to do to make sure our house is suitable for Mom and Dad, then we’re going to relax! (Oh, and probably do the Shred, too!)

Spill the Beans

In a previous post, I mentioned that Jordan is planning a surprise first anniversary trip. Well, last night we went to dinner with a bunch of people and two guys (who will remain nameless…Terry and Stephen) spilled the beans.

So, we’ll be heading to…….. NEW YORK CITY in October!!!

We were a little bummed that the surprise didn’t last longer, but I’m super excited to know where we’re going! Now, the surprise will be what we’re doing, where we’re staying, etc. I can hardly wait!!! Neither of us have been to NYC before, and we’ve both always wanted to go, so this trip will be awesome.Yay!

Sneaky

Our one year anniversary is approaching… in October… and my husband is already planning a surprise trip for us! He started thinking about this when we hit our 6-month mark and it’s begun to consume his hours when he’s not at work or with friends. He’s being very sneaky about everything, but occasionally dropping little hints. Of course, now it’s starting to consume MY time as I’m trying to figure out where we might be going. Here’s what I know so far:

• It’s somewhere his mom has never been – which narrows things down because she’s quite the traveler!
• It’s east of the Mississippi
• I don’t need a passport (I don’t think I do anyway…)
• The flights aren’t too expensive… lower than $300
• We get to stay at a place that looks like this (see picture the picture above)
• He’s really excited about it and says I’m going to love it

So, any guesses? If you already know, don’t ruin it for me. For some reason, I think we’re going to Nashville (we’re both big music junkies), but I could be wrong. I don’t really care where we go, I’m just excited for a getaway with my man. Isn’t he wonderful?

PMS

There’s no way around it. PMS has infected my life this week. Someday I want to find a cure for it… but for now, I’ll just live with the rollercoaster of emotions that’s tempting to drive me (and my husband!) insane.

I had the day off yesterday, so I spent it running a few errands, then meeting with some people from church, then sitting in the sun with a great book, then making homemade pizza (crust and everything!) with my man, and then finally having some good old fashioned bonding time with our siblings and siblings-in-law. Such a great day off… and the 80 degree weather wasn’t bad either!

I had a bit of a meltdown when my mom called to tell me the doctor thinks they need to move my grandma to a nursing home. I still haven’t pinpointed the exact reason for my meltdown (her health is relatively good… it’s just a physical mobility thing), but I’m blaming PMS and overreaction. Luckily, I had two great listeners around to help me process through everything. Nothing like great friends (and sisters!). There was just something that hurt my heart a little when I thought of my strong, independent grandma being sent to a place without her own kitchen! She’s one of the best cooks I’ve ever known (I always told her she should open a pie shop!)… and to think of that being taken away from her was just too much for me. It’s one of the hard parts about growing up – naivety is gone and the world is so real… and not always so nice. Realizing that things are changing (and have changed) and that people are getting older (which isn’t always better) is hard to handle. I’ll always say that I have loved my twenties, but there’s something about this adventure into adulthood that just makes me want to be five again… when my biggest worries were what dress to wear to school and whether or not I’d get white milk or chocolate milk at lunch. Oh, and where I’d be put for our afternoon nap… by the pencil sharpener or the garbage can. Now, I feel like life is full of these really important decisions (buying a house, finding a job, staying healthy, etc., etc.).

Anyway, the good news is that Grandma feels pretty good and is complying with the doctors as they all try to figure out the best living situation for her. It’s hard being six hours away and just wanting to be there and help out, but knowing that won’t happen for a while. My heart is with her, even though my body isn’t. Hopefully, prices on flights from MSP-OMA will drop soon so I can go down and spend some time with everyone.

So – adulthood. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? I can remember being younger and always wishing to be older and more mature… now I’m thinking it might be nice to revert. It’s always greener…

Slacking

I haven’t written in a while – and I could give you a long list of excuses, but it doesn’t really matter. There’s been a lot going on and I’ve (once again) neglected my blog.

So, a few things I’m excited about…

I’m really pumped about our small group. I can hardly keep myself from telling everyone about it. We started as a group of people who didn’t know each other (hadn’t ever even seen each other!) and we’ve been together since February. The growth in this group of people has been incredible.

I’m most excited about the idea of many, many more people being able to experience this kind of community and spiritual growth. This summer we’re having two large group gatherings for anyone in our church (or community) who’s in the 20-30-somethings age range and interested in getting in a small group. For those of you in the area, more info will be coming out soon at church, but the dates are June 18th and July 9th from 6:30-8:30pm. Entrance fee = nonperishable food that will be donated to a local food shelf.

We’re also having a girls’ book club this summer (thanks to Bloom Book Club for inspiring the idea!). We will be officially choosing the book at the end of the week. Can’t wait to grow in a new way with this lovely group of ladies!!!

In other news, Jordan and I are heading to Neenah, WI to spend Mother’s Day with my grandma who lives there. We haven’t seen her since our wedding last October, so some good quality time is on the menu! It’s still really surreal to us to book a hotel room together. One of the many perks of marriage.

We have some great friends getting married this summer and I’m already so looking forward to celebrating with them!

Oh, and have I mentioned my great friend, Christa, who’s due with her first baby in July? We had a super fun baby shower for her a couple weeks ago. It’s been fun to watch her gain that baby glow over the past few months. Can hardly wait to meet the little guy!!!

I’m happy to announce that I will have at least four piano students starting lessons in the fall. I’m hoping to grow the studio gradually over the next year, with hopes that I’ll be able to do that full time sometime soon! For more details, check this out.

I could go on and on, but Jordan needs me to go to JoAnn’s with him to buy velcro (haha, men these days), so we’re off to run a few errands!

Nice to be back in blog-world!