Harsh Reality Check

" Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

- 1 Peter 5:6-9 (NIV)

        There is no harsher reality check than the realization that there is some greater force out to ruin something beautiful God has planned out for you. I stumbled upon this passage recently and it got me thinking. 

        Lately Alvin and I have been trying very hard to pray together and focus more of our efforts on getting closer to God and following his will for our marriage and our lives. This past Saturday we decided we would take a solid week and pray together and separately about a certain issue that has come to our attention. Normally when it comes to praying I have a hard time remembering but this time I was determined to remember and focus my mind... So how has it been going? Alvin and I have had such a tough time! I don't ever remember having this much trouble before. . . This leads me to one conclusion: This issue is very important to God's plan for our lives. Why else would Satan be trying so hard to keep us from praying over it? 

        I believe this is why it is SO important to keep trying! Satan prowls around like a lion snatching away the things most precious to us to keep us from God's plan (notice that he cannot keep God - or His plan - from us! Deuteronomy 31:6) - he can even take away something as small as a thought to pray! It's absolutely frustrating and sickening to me. How dare he touch what belongs first and foremost to God? It's why the first part of this verse is so essential. Unless we humble ourselves before God and allow Him to guide there will be no peace, no resolution. 
       So friends, even though this entry is shorter than I have posted previously, I hope and pray that it has given you something to meditate on. God truly loves you and wants what is best for you (Jeremiah 29:11-14), no matter what this world or Satan can throw at you. Have a wonderful week in the Lord!

Always in Christ,
TheGingerWife <3

What have I learned?

        So in the almost month that Alvin and I have been married, there is something that I have learned that I believe is more important to reaching and maintaining marital happiness that most other things: communication. This may seem like a no-brainer, I know, but honestly it is one of those things that does not come naturally to me - and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I know that those of you who know me well may be saying to yourself, "what is she talking about? she talks ALL the time!" and while you are correct - I do like to talk a bit ;D - when it comes down to actually communicating? I'm lost most of the time! 

       Two scenarios come to mind that explain, more or less, what I'm talking about. One, there have been several times in the short time we have been married where an argument almost occurred because there was a misunderstanding - one person did not quite understand what the other was talking about but assumed they did,etc. Two, there have also been times when something really important comes up that needs to be discussed but you know what? It's REALLY hard to bring it up sometimes! For both of us!

        So what can be done about this? How is this chasm breached? Luckily for us, and everyone else out there, God's word tells us exactly what to do to solve this dilemma! 

In the book of Psalms, chapter 37, verses 3-7a, we get a taste of God's wisdom:

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him..." (NKJV)

        In this passage I have done two things. I have made our actions bold and secondly I have highlighted God's rewards if we follow through with them. It takes a certain amount of boldness on our part to follow God's leading in our lives, don't you think? But if we do the rewards are many and shine with His love for us, His children. The beauty of this passage is that no matter what the problem is we can take it to the Lord, because we can trust in Him, and once we've sought Him we can rest in His goodness and love and He shall give us the desires of our hearts. Now, this is not to say that after we bring our concerns to God we kick back and relax necessarily, but it means that we can have peace in the knowledge that God is taking care of us. 

        So what does this look like in real life? If I am concerned about the communication in my marriage, for example, I know that I can bring it to my husband and we can take it to the Lord together. Once it is with the Lord we are able to have peace and we can know that as long as we continue to seek the Lord's direction for our lives and our marriage that peace will last. 

        Well, I hope that this has given you some insight into your own life and the relationships there - God's word goes further than just marriages! I pray that you will also seek Him for direction in your life! 

Always in Christ, 

The GingerWife <3

Starting Out

       As of today, My husband, Alvin, and I will have been married 5 days short of a month. With no more dresses to buy, hair styles to choose, decorations to arrange, etc, life has seemed quite peaceful even with the speed bumps we have already encountered. In this blog I will be documenting my thoughts about my new life as a wife, as well as events that happen along the way in our married life. I will also post questions I might have about being a wife, recipes I find particularly good, and anything else I find relevant to my new role. 

        So to begin I will talk a little about our wedding and honeymoon. We were married September 9th on the Roof Deck of our local convention center with 140 of our closest friends and family members. We each had 5 attendants and were married by the father of a close friend of mine. The rest of our wedding party consisted of my younger brother and niece as ring bearer and flower girl. I was escorted down the aisle by my favorite uncle, a fulfillment of a hope made way back in middle school. I walked down the aisle to my favorite piece of music, composed by Yiruma, entitled "River Flows in You." Alvin and I were fortunate enough to have 2 friends play piano and cello live at the ceremony. Our wedding colors were green, purple, and blue - in the jewel tones of each - and there were wildflowers everywhere. Instead of choosing a unity candle, we chose to do unity sand - green for me, blue for him, and white for the Lord - followed by communion between just he and I. Genesis 2:24 is engraved on the vase we keep our unity sand in, as well as our names and wedding date. It is something we both treasure in our home. 
       Alvin and I were able to go on our honeymoon the Tuesday after our wedding - we were married on Sunday. My mom has a friend who owns a cabin on the coast of OR - (Rockaway Beach to be exact) and they rented it to us for the first 3 days and we spent the final day in Salem visiting friends and spending quality time together. To go into more specifics, the first full day we spent being touristy around town - walking around the town, visiting shops, etc - and just being together. That was also the day we went to the beach - we found a little driftwood shelter we chilled in for awhile, we even carved our initials in it haha! The second day we went into Tillamook - about a 20 min drive from the cabin - and visited the Cheese Factory which was so great and, well, CHEESY! haha :) The  third and final full day of our honeymoon was spent in Salem. Alvin and I both really have a love for this city and it was so great going to visit friends while we were there! 
       So one thing we both decided was that we didn't want wedding gifts from each other bought before the wedding. The deal was that, sometime during the trip, we would buy each other a "souvenir gift" with a $25 limit or so. Alvin bought me this absolutely gorgeous quilt (it came with 2 matching shams) from an antique shop in Rockaway. I made a small comment about how pretty I thought it was while we were in the shop and then forgot about it, so I was very surprised to find he had bought it! :) I didn't end up getting his until Salem. I found a little puzzle box from a fair trade store called "One Fair World" that was made in India and in a little antique shop down the street from that I found a really nice little pocket knife that was brand new and fit quite nicely inside the puzzle box. I think we both really enjoyed hunting out the perfect gift for each other! :) 

       I have really enjoyed this, my first entry. I will continue to post as things come up and keep you updated as my new life plays out! 

Always in Christ,
The GingerWife <3