Bart and Melissa are gettin hitched!

Melissa and Barty got engaged! 

You know what I love most about their proposal? It was PERFECT for them. Bart knows Melissa's heart, he knows what she loves, and he did everything he could to make this moment perfect for HER... not perfect for any girl... but perfect for Melissa Danley. 

Reminds me of the way God loves us and how intimately He knows us. 

Psalm 139:1-4 (NLT) says,

 O Lord, you have examined my heart

    and know everything about me.

² 

You know when I sit down or stand up.

    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

³ 

You see me when I travel

    and when I rest at home.

    You know everything I do.

⁴ 

You know what I am going to say

    even before I say it, Lord.

God loves everyone.
And yet somehow He has the capacity to love each of personally. He knows us personally and delights in us personally. 

Marriage was created by God to be a picture of His love and commitment to His people... the Bible calls us "the bride of Christ". We are supposed to be able to look at married couples and be reminded of the wonderful, faithful, love of God. A God who will never leave us nor forsake us...

When Bart sent me a facebook message to inform me of his plans to propose to my childhood best friend... I was not only TOTALLY IMPRESSED by his plans... but also thankful... because through hearing about his love for Melissa... I could see, once again, the love that God has for me.

Bart adores Melissa. 

My God adores me.

Bart wanted Melissa to know that he would sacrifice himself for Melissa.

My God sacrificed Himself for me, in Jesus Christ.

Bart loves to do things that make Melissa happy.

My God loves to do things that make me happy.

Bart knows Melissa. 

My God knows me. 

So awesome.

Anyway, I am EXTRA excited to have Barty as my brother and CAN'T WAIT for that wedding! 

Here is part of the message that Bart sent me on Facebook before he proposed, so you can know how he did it.

He popped the question this past weekend... and let me tell you...

IT WAS PERFECT. Like a dream. :) 

Me and Mel are hanging out at her place till 4:10 or so when I'll tell her that I have a surprise for her. We jump in the car and start heading north. A friend of mine, wearing a black ninja mask and driving a vehicle that she won't recognize, will immediately follow us out of the neighborhood tailgating us and following our every turn. I'll keep turning around and make mention of it to make sure she notices. When she starts feeling uneasy about it, I'll pull into another neighborhood just to make sure that he's definitely following and not just a coincidence. Once it's confirmed, (we should be near or in black forest at this point) I'll tell her "There's a little sheriffs office on the north end of Fox Run Park. Let's just drive up there!" Once we get into the park, I'll suddenly "remember" that the road doesn't connect, and it's rot on the other side of these trees... Let's ditch the car and run over this hill to the station!!! Once I convince her to leave the car with me, we'll make it 20 ft on the trail when all of a sudden...... 20 of my friends dressed as ninjas jump out of the trees and bushes, surrounding us! The boldest of them will jump out and say something to the effect of "Give us the girl, and no one gets hurt!" To which I bravely reply "Over my dead body!" 

At this point, my friend with a guitar jumps out and starts playing theme music while an epic battle ensues! After I quickly defeat all the ninja assassins, I take her arm in arm and sing The Way You Look Tonight as my friend plays it on guitar. We walk around the lake, and finish the song as we reach the final location where there's candles and and lanterns hanging from a tree. Under the tree, she'll find a sheet draped over a table. Under the sheet, is a glass jar covering a single rose (just like in beauty and the beast:) attached to the rose is a love letter from her father essentially giving his blessing for the 2 of us. When she finishes reading the letter, she turns around and sees me on my knee at which time I make my great proposal 

We then head back to the car, which will be decorated with window paint and a bouquet of flowers waiting for her. We then go back to her parents house where they want to spend a little private time with her. And from there head to my house where a big party will be waiting for us 

I've got a friend taking pics of everything and another friend taking video of it all so all our bases are covered!

How awesome is that!!

PS. The men we marry are meant to love us in the same way that God loves us. If you are dating someone, or are interested in someone, and they do not resemble Jesus in their actions toward you... marriage alone WILL NOT change that. 

It's okay.

It's okay to gain a bit of weight at Christmas. It's a special time of year and enjoying homemade treats are a favorite part! (Don't worry the extra fluff will go away in January anyway!)

It's okay to get a pimple. Despite how tragic they feel, they are actually quite normal. Nobody notices it the way you do. Besides... you make up for it with your striking good looks and sparkling personality. :)

It's okay to over-eat at a meal. It's not ideal and shouldn't be done at every meal... But no need to panic when it happens. You won't get fat. You haven't ruined anything. In fact you probably had a great time with people you love and food you love. Be thankful for that meal. And IF you over-ate because you feel out of control with food... STILL don't panic. As a girl who has battled my own bundle of eating disorders, please trust me when I tell you that everything WILL be okay. Take a deep breathe, pray, and drink some water. God created you and He created food, He can restore you to a healthy mindset toward all things edible. He continues to do it with me everyday.

It's okay to want to strangle people from time to time. Jesus never promised that our neighbors wouldn't make us crazy, He just told us to love them. So sure, you might feel yourself hoping they get vigorously stung by a swarm of bees... But just don't act on that feeling. Instead, look for a way to express love to them out of obedience to God. When you do it He will change the way you see them.

It's okay to want alone time.
It's also okay to want friend time.
We need both.

It's okay to think he's cute. That in itself is not romantic or sexual or sinful... It is merely appreciation of a good thing. It just might be wisest to keep the thought to yourself.

It's okay to sometimes feel yucky after having been on Facebook for a while. That usually happens because everyone on there is posting the highlights of their life... Marriage, dating, babies, job success, beautiful photos... And if too much time is spent looking at other peoples' "highlights" we can start to feel that our own lives don't compare. It's not true lovely ones. Other people feel the same way when they look at your page for too long. Comparison makes us feel bad. Recognize it. Shut it up. And praise God for the life He has given you.

It's okay to tell people about Jesus even if you haven't read the whole Bible or haven't studied theology. In fact it is good. Jesus told us to do it. When Jesus healed the blind guy, other people asked the guy how Jesus could have done it and he responded saying, "All I know is that I was blind and now I see... And Jesus is the one who did it." Its amazing how God can work through something as simple as that.

It's okay to miss your ex, even when you know he isn't right for you. It's a normal part of healing.

It's okay to wonder if you "should be" somewhere else, with someone else, doing something else. It happens to all of us at times. Just don't linger in those thoughts too long because they can be destructive... Try to refocus on the gifts in your life and all of fun the opportunities to grow where you are at.

It's okay to love God but still feel sad/mad/bad sometimes. You are not crazy. You live in a fallen world. Sometimes it just stinks.

It's okay to celebrate silly things... (says the girl who STILL believes in Santa) Actually I recommend finding ways to celebrate as often as possible. Life is short and best lived with large doses of laughter involved.

It's okay to make mistakes.
It's okay to apologize for the sake of unity, EVEN when you weren't totally wrong in what you did.

It's okay to not love something your friends love. I don't love cats...
There... I said it.

It's okay NOT to complain when you don't like something.

It's okay to lovingly confront someone when they have made you feel bad.

It's okay to NOT please everyone. The sooner you lay down your need to be everyone's favorite, the better and more free you will feel.

Alright... There's more to say but...

It's okay for me to stop here and go to bed.

Goodnight moon.

New Year with the Neighbs!

Happy New Year!
It's 2013! It still feels a bit like 2012 but I'm sure the adjustment will come soon!

Last night after having a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner with Shaun's fam and some good friends we picked up Jeff and headed over to Dave's!

Who are Jeff and Dave?

Well they are a part of Shaun's circle of like 10 best friends, better known as "the Neighbs".

The Neighbs grew up together... literally... All of them living next door to one another since they were just young bucks.

And now 25ish years later... They are all still best friends.

And actually I am a neighb now too! As soon as Shaun and I got married, I was officially made a part of the neighborly family.

I love it.
Friends like that are a rare gift.

So it was only right for me to watch the ball drop with Jeff, Dave, Mama Mac (Dave's saint of a mother), and Shaun (my saint of a husband).

We rang in the new year with Dave's annual family tradition of mini meatballs with his mama's chips and homemade dip. He also whipped us up some Irish coffee and hot butter rum! He even made fresh whipped cream for us on the spot!

2013 is off to a good start. I'm so thankful for the warm welcome into this new year.

God bless you! Thank you for being a part of my blog!

Here are some shots from last night! I particularly loved watching the guys play frisbee in the basement... I caught a glimpse of their childhood, I'm sure of it. I also wanted to be sure I got a photo with Mama Mac's stockings. Each one is a handmade masterpiece and I am delighted to see them each year we visit!