One Year down.....

Broken Open

On our way home from the beach yesterday, I couldn’t help but stare out the window and think… think about the things that I should spend more time thinking about. Yesterday marked our one year wedding anniversary, that’s great! We made it a whole year without any big blow out fights and we found ourselves more in love with one another yesterday than the year before standing at the altar…but what does that mean for this coming year. Do we celebrate our marriage one day a year? Aren’t we supposed to work at this every day?

My goal last year as we said our vows was to be the best wife I could be that year. I wanted to learn from those around me. I wanted to learn how to be the woman that my husband needed me to be. I wanted to make a home that he would cherish. I wanted to create a sanctuary for us to come home to every night. Did I reach my goal? Sort of… I am definitely not the best wife, I make plenty of mistakes on a daily basis and I most certainly have not created the “cleanest” sanctuary in this house, but I feel that I have spent a lot of time this past year growing… as a person and as a wife.

A piece of scripture that has continually resurfaced in my mind as I have gone through this past year is Proverbs 27:15-16.

“A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping

of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;

restraining her is like restraining the wind

or grasping oil with the hand.”

Am I a quarrelsome wife? Have I ever been? Oh yes… too many times. Why do I let myself get to that point? Why do we let society influence our choices and decisions as wives? Do I really want to follow Kim Kardashion as a mentor on how to be the best wife? It’s so easy to get caught up in the news and gossip and before you know it that is how you are making your decisions or how you come up with your excuses. I started thinking, how did I come up with my husband’s expectations or the standards that I hold him to? It’s pretty insightful, when you stop and look at the way you’re thinking about things.

So, what are my goals for this year? I want to involve God in every aspect of our life. I want to create a sanctuary at home and a home at our church. I want to build up my husband every day and make sure that I do everything to keep from tearing him down. I want to grow as a Christian woman which in turn will help me grow as a Christian wife. I want to surround us with “elevating” people. I want to keep negative people from distracting me and my goals. I want to reflect on this coming year, next year this time and say, “Man, what an amazing transformation we’ve come through” and I want to give all the glory to God!

Last year was all about me; how I was as a wife; how I was doing as a newly married woman in a new home and new career. This year, it’s all about God in our marriage and how we can flourish because of that.

363*

Vows may be spoken once but they’re kept forever. . . .

Casey, from the first time we met, I knew it wasn’t by chance. It was as if I could look into your eyes and see my future. Over the past three years you have taught me how to love someone by loving me. You make me feel safe and courageous. You allow me to be myself but encourage me to do my best. When the world is crashing around me, you give me the strength to conquer my dreams. And you make me feel as if I am the only woman on earth when you hold me in your arms. So today, I become your wife and from this moment forward I promise to love you the way you love me and to work as one to build a life together we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

The night before our wedding I wrote these vows. The next day I would make a promise to Casey in front of God, our family and our friends. This weekend we celebrate our first year of marriage. People told us that it would be the hardest one. I don’t believe that for a second. People also told us that it would fly by. That has been proven. I find myself thanking God on a daily basis for this beautiful life I have been given with such an amazing man. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better husband or best friend to share life with. I think that it’s important to look back on our vows this weekend and remember that day.

Weekend at the Beach

Two weeks ago, Casey and I headed down to Myrtle Beach, SC with two of our best friends for a weekend getaway. We couldn't have asked for better weather and a nicer way to relax for a few days. Our only problem was a itchy case of sunburn!

We left home around 6 pm on Friday night and

drove down to the condo. We spent the evening getting settled into our new home for the weekend and went to bed pretty early. Saturday we spent the majority of the morning out on the beach, slowly roasting(not to our acknowledgement) and then cleaned up for some "putt-putt" and an evening on the Myrtle Strip. Down on the strip we went to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's new restaurant, "Land Shark" and went for a sunset ride on the brand new "Sky Wheel" which is now the largest ferris wheel on the east coast that tops out 20 stories in the air. It was my very first ride on a ferris wheel and it sure made for a beautiful first. The new wheel was covered in LED lights that began to light up right before sunset; just when we were getting on to ride!

Sunday we spent some quality shopping time at the Tanger Outlets, stocked up on some new clothes and headed home to begin our new work week. It was a short weekend trip but a great one at that. I'm hoping we get to make another trip down very soon!