Give me Jesus 💙

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus. 

Sometimes I just have to sit and giggle at the way God works.

The hubbs and I are on a weekend trip to Branson, Missouri. It's this quaint little city nestled in the Ozark mountains, and has long been one of my favorite getaways. My parents live about an hour from here, and my dad is in business development, so he spends a lot of time in the area. He's been encouraging me for a long while to come stay at the Savannah House, so when Nick and I decided we were going to get away for Memorial Day weekend, I booked a room. They have not disappointed my expectations. 

Let me give you a little back story on Nick and I. We met through a campus ministry we were both part of in college. I was deeply involved in the ministry: worship on Monday night, d-group on Thursday, and events/get together severe weekend. At the time when I came in, there was a lot of conversation in my girls' bible study centered around what a Godly relationship is supposed to look like. Two phrases still stick out in my mind, that the man is supposed to "lead you," and that he is supposed to "wash you in the Word." 

I had a long term boyfriend at the time, and I think those phrases stick out because they were the largest parts of what was missing from that relationship. I met said ex-boyfriend while on a mission trip. He was assigned to my sister's team, and at the time I felt that was qualification enough. He's following the great commission, he's got this down pat. 

Fast forward five years, and we had never sat down to read the bible together.  He'd never given me encouraging verses when I was having a bad day. Our relationship was weakend by the fact that it wasn't centered on God, and I was at a loss as to how to change that.  As with everything else in a relationship, it takes two.

Nick and I ran in the same circles, so we hung out in groups a lot. Over the next year through his actions, I began to see what being "washed by the Word" and "led" meant. Even though we were no more than friends, he was constantly encouraging me, pushing me to be closer to God on my own. We had deep theological conversations, bonded over hours of worship music with our friends.  I began to realize that my current relationship wouldn't survive if we didn't solidify our foundation. Long story short, those changes weren't made and the relationship ended. 

Five months later, Nick met my dad and asked if he could persue me. A year and a half after that, we were married. 

Lots of life happened in that period of time. We both got out of college, and were no longer surrounded our friends constantly. We stopped reading together as often. We no longer stay up till 4am talking about how we saw God work today. I'll admit, has made this first year of marriage difficult. 

So last night we check into the Savannah House around 12:30, and when we got to our room, the bible isn't stuffed in a drawer, but it out on the desk open to the book of Psalms. I picked it up, and started a conversation between Nick and I about re-centering our relationship. A Godly relationship is something that you have to constantly work toward, and fight for. Not against each other, but together against the worldly things that try to come between you. 

 

That verse has been playing through my head since before I went to sleep last night. I woke up before Nick this morning and started doing a devotional, which happened to be based on Psalm 100. Read it. But I will tell you that hearing that God always has open arms for us when we are ready to come running back was the most glorious thing to start your morning with. He is so divine with His appointments. 

Find him today 💙

xoxo,

LRod.

New Life

Yesterday, some very dear friends of ours had a baby. To be honest, most babies come out looking squishy, and really not appealing to the eye. We faun over them, because they're so small, and they make little noises, and okay that can be very cute. This baby though, was one of the most adorable tiny humans I have ever laid eyes on! Not at all squishy. 

The proud new dad was my husband's roommate before we got married. For a long while, I was convinced he didn't like me at all. He's very sarcastic, sometimes to the point of being tactless, and I was not a fan of feeling put down because of the state of my house. I have much better things to do than deal with all the clutter that gathers on every horizontal surface of my home. Every place he's lived is kept immaculately clean. We'll probably never see eye to eye on that. 

Though it was certianly bumpy at first, we learned each other's personalities, and bonded over a mutual love for that man we've both lived with. This past fall Lance stood with us as we said our vows, Becca smiling on from the audience. They had a little secret ;)

Nick and I were married on September 19th, 2015, and on our way to the honeymoon suite after the reception he looked over and told me that they were expecting. Until that moment, I'd thought that the day couldn't have possibly held more joy. It made room, and along with our marriage, we got to praise God for new life. It was a happy, happy day. 

We watched tiny Becca fill entirely up with baby boy over the next nine months, and yesterday Levi Mitchell was born! He just sat there and cooed at me the whole time I held him. I can understand why new moms are so infatuated. 

My big man in blue, who is thoroughly convinced he wants three little ones, was too afraid to hold the baby for fear that he might break or drop him. But he looked at that tiny baby with complete adoration. Part of me can't wait to see what he'll be like as a dad. The other half doesn't know if I even want children. Time will tell, I suppose. 

In all the darkness that comes with the job, it's important to hold onto moments that bring light. Soft light, intense light, happy shiny light. It's important to share that light with others. Knowing that God took his precious time to knit a miracle together in the form of a precious little one is a light worth sharing and celebrating. Very much like the light He is for us. We have so much to be thankful for. 

xoxo 

LRod 💙