God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!

Wow...what a week! We all know that some weeks are simply just better than others and this past week was definitely an "other" in my world. I'm not saying the whole week was a flop...please hear me say that I have SO very much to be thankful for and no room at all to complain...there were just a few moments that weren't my favorite...that's all! :) Needless to say, I was begging for the weekend to get here and am thankful for the start of a brand new week tomorrow.

This weekend has been exactly what I needed to refocus and get my thoughts geared in the right direction once again after that crazy week I just encountered. Aaron and I visited with his Mom and Dad Friday night and all day yesterday. His Dad officially became a Senior Citizen on Friday so we definitely helped him celebrate! :) (i don't think he reads my blog...so hopefully I'm safe in letting the secret out!)

I had such a good time with Aaron this weekend. He's been such a hero in my life over the past few days. The poor thing called me one night this past week - hadn't talked to him really all day that day, and the first thing he hears from me are not words but instead a horrible sobbing sound that probably made him instantly wish he had of forgotten my phone number that day. But instead, he patiently listened to my cry over a personal issue I had going on, assured me things would all work out and be fine, and then lead me to the Lord in prayer. Such a perfect example of living out the Word and "bearing one another's burdens". Work was a little on the crazy side too this week and I simply just felt worn down and bone tired by Friday. Been there? So, Friday night, I made it to Aaron's parents close to 8, then he and I headed out to meet a good friend of his that is going to play the piano in our wedding. BTW, boy can tear up that piano! SO excited! Afterwards on the way back to Aaron's parents, we stopped by good old McDonald's for an ice cream cone. I have to say, there is nothing more relaxing than eating an ice cream cone in the car, late at night, with the Braves on the radio in the background, sitting beside your best friend. Again, God is good and knew exactly what I needed in that moment. Then yesterday morning, after waking up pretty early (at least for a Saturday), I walked in to Aaron's parents living room only to see my sweet fella out on the back deck, his puppies playing at his feet, and the Word of God opened in his lap. Now I know that Aaron is not perfect...none of us are. But I have to tell you that I have never seen a sweeter sight and never felt more safe than in that moment. To see the man that the Lord has chosen to join me with, seeking direction and allowing himself to be comforted by words that will never return void. After taking a "mental photo", I joined Aaron and we just sat...in the stillness of the cool, quiet morning. I'm not sure what Aaron's thoughts were, but mine where something along the lines of "thank you, Lord. You are so faithful." Again, God is good and knew exactly what I needed in that moment. We spent a big part of our day yesterday hanging out with Aaron's mom and then we had a fun cookout for Mr. King's birthday last night. After we finished eating and were just sitting around the table with full bellies, Aaron's dad teased us that we weren't allowed to know what his birthday wish was, but he did want us to know something that he was very thankful for...that each of us sitting around that table has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and had found our salvation in Him. What a treasure that I get to become a part of this family.

I had to attend the funeral of a sweet friend today. Tori was a precious girl that I went to college with and to church with for a short period of time during our college days. Tori was killed this past week in an auto accident - such an awful, sad thing to receive this news this past week. However, as sad as it all is, Tori had such an incredible heart for the Lord and I have no doubt that there is no other place she'd rather be than where she is right this very minute...worshipping Him like never before. Throughout this entire week and this weekend, from the tears I've cried, to the thankfulness in my heart over the Lord's faithfulness, to the farewell of this sweet friend, I have once again been reminded that absolutely nothing else in this life matters more than finding a personal relationship with Him and sharing that with anyone I possibly can. Because we might just be the tool the Lord uses in someones life so that one day, someone we might not even know, can successfully sit around his dinner table with people he loves the most in this world and say, without a doubt, that his family knows the Lord and have the assurance in his heart that no matter what path life takes them down, they are safe because of their Savior.

God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!

encouragment from my fella this morning

I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning, but just wanted to share the encouragement with you all that the Lord gave me through my fella this morning from his blog. I am so blessed to have him in my life!

this week with God and Aaron...

i wanted to type this out, i guess just to get it out of my head...

GOD gave me a new perspective on a few things this week, things i honestly already knew but had somewhat lost sight of recently. working at the church has been awesome, i love it, but just like any job, it has its days. days where the unpreparedness of others come shining through and fall dead into my lap. i try to do my best with it, but lately i've missed the importance and the blessing of my work. i've gotten wrapped up in my list of thing to do, instead of just doing them for GOD.

i had a great meeting this week with Winfrey Shields, the media director from northstar church in kennesaw, which is HUGE by the way. great guy, a wealth of knowledge and years of experience for me to pull from, he's worked all over the country with franklin graham and all the biggest Christian bands. so we were talking about the philosophy of media in ministry, and he reminded me that my job is not about the website, projector screens, worship guides, cool posters, lights and sound. it's simply to focus on setting the tone for people to come to the throne and worship the LORD.

WOW! that hit me hard.

winfrey gave me a newfound sense of importance and encouraged me to a higher understanding of why i'm here in griffin. for me to think that i'm just as much of a critical part of the service as the soloist and the preacher, what a humbling thought! also, to know that i'm in a position where i can use the creative gifts GOD has given me to directly impact HIS kingdom. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FEELING AND GIANT RESPONSIBILITY!

so i realized, what more can i ask for? knowing everything GOD has done for me and now seeing that i'm in a place to be able to constantly give HIM all the glory for my work, how could i ask for anything more of HIM?

...and still, HE GIVES ME EVEN MORE! HE PROVES HIS LOVE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

all this came to a head yesterday, when i got a great surprise from Meredith. i won't go into what it was, that is something i'll keep between us, but it cut me down again, in a really great way. as if GOD himself was saying, "see there, I did that too. I did that for you."

so i would just challenge you, take a second to see what GOD has done for you and/or where HE has put you. don't look right over it, don't get too busy to notice it. HE is here, HE is constantly working for the good of those who love HIM.

the least we can do is thank HIM for it.

Life Update

Luke on the way to Nana's for his first Sleepover ever!! :)

Sorry it's been so long! Life is nothing short of crazy these days...but I'm lovin' it! Just wanted to give you all an update on what's been going on in my world. First off, to follow up on my last post, being engaged is wonderful! Lots of wedding planning is taking place and thankfully a lot has already been accomplished and I feel good about that. I guess after being the bridesmaid 14 times, you just kinda know what direction to go in. Not that it's all been easy, but all that past wedding experience has absolutely been beneficial. :) It's certainly weird being the bride and not the bridesmaid this time around! Aaron and I have set our wedding date at Jan. 9th...SO excited about a winter wedding. I can't wait for that blessed day! Aaron and I are still learning so much about each other during this season of our engagement and the more I learn, the more I love him. The Lord truly is Sovereign and good and His timing is so perfect. A scripture that I can remember clinging so tightly to before Aaron came along was Song of Songs 2:7 "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." There were so many days that I simply just had to trust that the Lord would some day make Himself known in this passage to me because I most certainly was tempted to "arouse and awaken love" in my OWN timing. Being single is such a hard area to be patient in, but I now know the importance of this verse. The Lord graciously protected my heart in so many ways to make it ready for my sweet Aaron and vice versa. What a big God we serve. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for our wedding day - a day that we pray will honor and bring glory to the One who is giving us to each other.

Work is still going well..the past week has felt like springtime again...SO busy! Not complaing though. I am SO going to miss this sweet bunch of people when I have to leave them at the beginning of the year. I just don't even want to talk about that! :)

My little man, Luke, is a spit fire! He is ALL TWO!! :) He came over for his very first spend-the-night this past weekend and did awesome! He is definitely to the point now of carrying on full conversations with whomever he is speaking with and I love it. He's one of my most favorite people to talk to these days. I've only had one breakdown so far about moving a little farther away from him after the wedding. I have been incredibly blessed with the convenience of only being 10 minutes or so away from him and being able to see him whenever I want since he was born. While this will be hard at first, I am only going to be an hour and a half away and I just know that the Lord will bless our relationship just as He always has. :)

My weight loss journey has not ended...for those of you who have been wondering since I haven't posted a GFJ post in quite some time! It has definitely slowed some, but I'm still hanging in and am at least not gaining! I'm very close to 90 pounds down and hope to lose at least 10 more pounds before the big wedding day. We'll see!

So much has happened in the past month...family trip to the beach, Luke's 2nd birthday, Aaron's 28th birthday, Braves game, baby showers, SO MUCH LIFE!! The Lord is all around and I am constantly in awe of who He is and with what and who He has blessed me with!