The Wedding Dress

So... Our wedding is two weeks away! It's crazy that we are finally here and it's really going to happen! :) :) I pulled out my wedding dress this evening. My excuse was that it shouldn't be kept in the bag for too long... I really just wanted to look at it again. But as I was looking at it, I thought "I don't deserve to wear this dress. Am I really ready for the responsibility of marriage? Will I be able to be the wife Adam needs me to be? Will I be able to honor Christ in that role?"

I remembered that there is another white dress I don't deserve to wear. God, in His loving grace, reminded me of my salvation. He reminded me how He saw my sin and chose to send His Son... so that I could wear a white dress of righteousness instead of my filthy rags. And just like my wedding dress is adorned with jewels, He has adorned me with jewels because He has made me like His Son. He has made me an heir to the throne. He has blessed me with a grand inheritance. I am overwhelmed again by this glorious thought.

I believe that, in God's grace and kindness, He has led Adam and I to the marriage altar. I also believe that He will equip us daily with just what we need to fulfill our vows in obedience to Him. No, I don't deserve to wear this dress (which makes me all the more grateful). I am only ready because Christ has made me ready. No, I am not able to be the wife Adam needs... But Christ will enable me and teach me. And I will seek always to live in His strength so that I can honor Him through my role as a wife.

On Pleasing People

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Galatians 1:10

God loves irony, doesn't He? My devotional this morning was entitled "People Pleasers"... Okay, great. Good scripture from 1 Samuel and wasn't Saul crazy for trying to please his people instead of God?! Ha. Famous last words.

After reading, I hurried off to a meeting with our caterer and cake baker for the wedding. Little did I know that the meeting would stress me out! The ladies were very helpful and I'm so grateful for their input, but it sort of hit me all at once how much we have left to do for the wedding... So after this meeting, I stopped by Adam's office to have a quick "cool down" session. He, as usual, was patient and calm. He reminded me (again!) that our wedding is just one day. And we'll still be married at the end of it regardless of whether I have enough seat covers or not! I listened for the most part and said "I know, you're right" in the appropriate places, but apparently I didn't really get it because 5 minutes later I snapped at him over nothing! He was simply trying to help and I shut him down :(

I quickly apologized and Adam graciously forgave me. But later I remembered my devotional from earlier in the day... :/ Who am I trying to please for July 14?! My Mom? His Mom? All of our guests? Who am I kidding? I can't please ALL of those people!!! And I shouldn't even try. We believe that God brought us together for the purpose of marriage and because of that we are joyfully following His leading on July 14. The ONLY purpose for the day is to be married in obedience to Christ! What a relief :) I'm sure that these last couple of weeks until the wedding will not be easy. I will likely have another stress moment. But hopefully next time, I'll remember today's lesson before I snap at someone and before I lose my focus from His purposes.

Kitchen Victories

The up side to being new in the cooking world is that you're pretty much open to anything! However, the down side is feeling glued to a recipe. I typically choose 3-4 recipes for the week and go to the grocery store with my list for those recipes... This means that when we have a hectic day (or I forget about cooking dinner until 6 p.m. when we're hungry), then I'm stuck! It becomes sandwiches or a frozen pizza for dinner that evening. Don't get me wrong, sandwiches and frozen pizzas have their place! But I often feel frustrated because I want to be able to "whip up" something delicious for dinner like my Mom used to!

So today, I finally succeeded... Well sort of. [I'm celebrating small victories! ;)] Today during lunch, I realized that I had nothing planned for dinner and I was due for a run to the grocery store. I remembered that my friend, Rachel (who recently gave birth to the most adorable son), recently reminded me that chicken + cream of anything + crock pot = awesomeness! So I whisked together 1 can of cream of chicken soup with 1 can of cream of mushroom. I mixed in garlic and herb seasoning and we were on our way! Frozen chicken into the crock pot... The soup mixture poured on top... Set on high for 4 hours. When Adam got back from work, we made some instant rice, microwaved some broccoli,  and voila. DINNER! It was pretty good if I do say so myself :)

I don't know if this counts as "whipping up" something delicious, but like I said... small victories! What do you have for dinner on your hectic days? Or when you forget about dinner?

The Countdown

Today marks ...
* 1 month
* 4 weeks (+ 2 days)
* 30 days
... until our WEDDING!!! I can't believe it's almost here! Finally :)

Until then...
* Our last shower is on Saturday.
* I pick up my dress next Friday.
* We move into our new apartment in 2.5 weeks. (I'll be staying there, while Adam will continue staying with his buddy until the wedding.)
* Our parents come to visit (and to bring us furniture!) on July 4.
* My sister comes to visit July 9 - 14.
* We are wrapping up last minute details and I am reminding myself not to be a perfectionist ;)

God has been so good to us and I want to be careful to enjoy these last few weeks. It's sometimes hard not to become impatient, but I know that He chose July 14 long before we did! Beginning our lives together is well worth the wait!

"Worrying is like a rocking chair...

... It gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere." -Glenn Turner

Hi. My name is Rebecca and I'm a worrier. I admit it. I get all worked up and upset about things that may never even happen! It's ridiculous when you think about it... One of the biggest impacts that Adam has had on my life has been teaching me not to worry. Early on in our relationship, he used to read me Matthew 6:25-34 EVERY time I worried about something... EVERY time. I grew tired of hearing it and eventually I learned to listen and began to apply the truths there. I've learned to worry less and trust God more. When Adam senses a "worry moment" coming on now, he simply warns "I'll read you Matthew 6." It's partially a joke, but it's also a great way that he helps keep me accountable to scripture. God's word is so good. Christ came that we might have life abundant... I don't think that an abundant life has room for worry! I'm also learning not to overreact about little things or to worry about things that I can't control.

So here's the passage from Matthew 6... Enjoy. And don't worry! "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

My First Classroom and Professional Development

Last week, I saw my classroom for the first time - MY classroom?! They're going to give me students? To teach by myself?! Haha. It's a little overwhelming to say the least, but I am so excited! God has been so good to give me this job and I know that He will continue to empower and equip me.

Adam was sweet enough to help me clean and arrange my classroom one afternoon last week. I've gone through lots and lots of binders and files! I'm a fairly OCD person and I don't like clutter, so honestly, many things have just gone in the trash. I've been able to keep many things though and I am so thankful to have the resources! The school is going to paint my classroom this Summer! I think I've decided on a mint green... It should help brighten the room without being too distracting. That's the goal anyways.

We have spent this week creating "Learning Maps" during Professional Development. I feel like I've gotten the hang of making them, but I'm still not sure how to implement them in the classroom. It's hard to think through all the concepts that I'll need to cover. We're growing tired of creating so many maps, but tomorrow we will be given time to find resources online to aid this process. I'm looking forward to that!

The people at Ouachita High have been very sweet and gracious to me. It is still strange to be the "newby." Some of the teachers already call me Mrs. Gosnell, because that will be my name the next time they see me! I enjoy hearing it :)

So that's my life lately... lots of firsts!