Is this real life?!?!

Today, I get to marry my best friend! I still can't believe that this is really happening!

10/17/15

This morning, Lilo and I went down to our favorite spot on the river to watch the sun come up. We just sat on the stairs instead of walking the beach (we couldn't ruin Lilo's freshly groomed paws) and watched the magnificent sunrise unfold before my eyes. Overwhelmed by God's love for me, I was moved to tears as I thought about His love for me. So many mornings I've sat there praying to the Lord and at times crying my heart out to Him. Today, I went to give thanks and to praise the One who has been faithful to His child. 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. " ~ Psalm 37:4

I've always had a strong desire in my heart to be a wife. Far too many times I've read this verse and wondered "why hasn't he given me that yet?" But then I realized that I wasn't holding up my end of it. Was I honestly and truly delighting myself in the Lord? One definition of delight is: to give great pleasure or to please someone greatly. When I made the choice in my heart to finally fully submit to Him and His ways, my life changed. I was no longer worried about who, when, where, or why. I wasn't worried about "my" plan. My focus was on the Lord, trusting that He was preparing me for when the time, His time, was right.

Today is an answered prayer, proof that God is faithful and is of His word. Oh how He loves us! Thank you, Father for blessing me so richly! My prayer is that as Mark and I enter into the covenant of marriage that we can "be an earthly picture of God's heavenly covenant with His church, to reveal to the world the glory and beauty of God's unconditional love for us." (The Love Dare)

"He has remembered His covenant forever." ~ Psalm 105:8

I get to!

Do you have any words of wisdom you've heard at some point in your life that have really stuck with you? You know, the words you hear only once but have had a strong impact on you, maybe not until years later. One that I remember from my early teenage years came from my grandmother. I had spent the night at her house and in true teenager fashion, I slept until noon the next day. As I strolled into the kitchen looking for a bowl of cereal I remember her asking me how I could just sleep half of my day away. I guess I had never thought about that but that has been my mindset now as an adult. Maybe this also explains why I choose to wake up at 5am to workout before work.

Another one that sticks out in my mind comes from a friend that I follow on Facebook. She had written a post a few years back meant to encourage other moms. In it she explained that in the midst of driving kids to school, appointments, soccer practices, etc. it's easy to get caught up complaining that you have to do this and you have to do that and life is crazy. The take away from it was to change one little word. Changing I "have" to to I "get" to will allow you to have an attitude of gratitude instead of complaining.

While I don't have children, this still hit home for me because it can really be applied to every part of my life. Raise your hand if you've ever complained about having to go to work on Monday morning. (My hand is definitely raised ✋🏻) What if you changed that little word?  Now, I get to go to work on Monday morning. What a blessing it is to have a stable job that will pay my bills. Maybe you hate that you have to mow your lawn every single week during the hot summer months. Let's try changing that word again. I get to mow my lawn. It's a great reminder to myself that not everyone has a home with a yard that they can mow. I try to remember that the thing I may be complaining about just may be the very thing someone else it praying and hoping for.

What I love about my job as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor is that I have the opportunity to encourage people on a daily basis. This week I had a client that shared that lately she hasn't felt like coming to workout. She doesn't know why but she is in a rut with no motivation. I used this moment to remind her that instead of looking at her day ahead and saying "I have to go to the gym" to try saying out loud " I am healthy and able and I GET to go to the gym!" She stopped what she was doing and looked at me and said, "You know what? I never thought about it like that. Not everyone is able to get up each day and come here." It gave her that little extra push she needed to get through her session and hopefully will help her in the days and weeks to come.
Since it was fresh on my mind, I used this thought to close out my active older adults class that same morning. The final 5 minutes of class is reserved for quiet relaxation and if something encouraging is on my heart I share it with the class. I suggested to them that they take a moment to be thankful that we all got to wake up and come to the Y that morning and be together.  I love that I get to be in a position that can inspire and motivate.

So the next time you catch yourself complaining about having to do something, take a quick moment to switch that one word. Don't look at your tasks as chores, but as blessings, and see if it doesn't change your perspective. 😉

My Sister's Day to Shine!

As I was driving the other day a thought came into my mind. Being the oldest of two, I always got to experience life's milestones first; getting my ears pierced, going to my first sleepover, prom, driving, buying my first scratch ticket, graduation, college, buying a house, I could go on forever.

Coolest kids on the block

That is, until a few weeks ago when my little sister said "I Do" to the love of her life.

It was a little weird being on the inexperienced side of things, not to be able to tell her what to expect and how to stay relaxed when things get stressful. How could I possibly give good big sister advice if I have no idea what it feels like to be in the bride's shoes? (Speaking of shoes,  I am dreading wearing heels at my wedding.) How do I say "So what if the forecast shows rain? It will be ok." when I know that I would be stressing out about the same thing? I realized that the best thing I could do was remain positive for her and to pray for her.

Anaya Love 8/23/15

As most weddings probably go, everything didn't go perfectly as planned; it rained, the photographer was running late, the best man left the rings in the car and had to run out to get them during the ceremony (thankfully he made it back just in time,) the photo booth that she had reserved never showed up, and that morning at breakfast she wasn't even confident that the JP was going to show up! I'm not going to lie, if this had been my wedding day I probably would have been more stressed out than she was. Kelli handled everything in stride and in doing so taught me a very valuable lesson. Just because everything doesn't go perfectly as planned doesn't mean that it can't still be perfect. I admire her for not letting anything ruin the happiest day of her life. We have little control over most of the things that go on around us but we always have the power to control our attitude. I'm happy that my little sister got to be the first bride (and a beautiful one at that!)  I'm thankful that I will have my experienced sister by my side on my wedding day and the days leading up to it when I may need those reminders. Love ya, sis!

Sisters by chance, friends by choice <3

Djs and Dresses and Cakes, Oh My!

Wedding planning is in full force over here. Mark and I have decided on a short engagement, 7/3 to 10/17! When you know you know and we both certain do! 

Now I am not one of those girls who has built up a dream wedding in my mind since I was a little girl. I've never desired to have anything big and extravagant. I  simply knew that I wanted to get married. In fact, for the past few years I've told my closest family and friends that I didn't even know if I wanted a traditional wedding and reception. Exchanging vows and having a nice dinner with the family sounded nice and easy. However, we have both had so many people love and support us over the years that it would seem wrong not to share and celebrate this awesome occasion with others.

We have decided on a small private ceremony followed by a casual, low key gathering. Think: BBQ, sweet tea, and corn hole. But with any wedding or party comes planning. I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't be upset if someone coordinated the entire day for me and just told me where to show up and when haha. We have made pretty good progress with the details by having the dj, rental company, venue, pastor, flowers and cake all lined up. This week I found myself stressed and anxious though. We still haven't figured out the specifics with food (and you know how much this girl loves to eat) and I still haven't found my dress. After sending a Snapchat of a pan that used to be full of brownies (healthy ones at least) with a caption that read, "this is what happens when you are stressed and home alone" a good friend of mine asked me what was going on. When I shared with her my anxious thoughts she was quick to remind me that those are small, unimportant details (true,  and we will at least have cake.) She told me that God wouldn't care of I showed up in jeans and the guests wouldn't care if it was a potluck meal. What is important is that we are showing up that day to affirm our love for one another and make that commitment to stand together for the rest of our lives. What's important are the loved ones that will be present to share that special day with us. This couldn't be more true.

It is so easy to get caught up in worldly things. Most of us do it and don't even realize it. I'm thankful to have a sister in Christ who can help me redirect my thoughts and keep the right perspective. I'm thankful for those moment of grace and clarity.

Here's to stress free wedding planning from here on out!

No More Frogs!

It took 33 years but I finally did it! I found "THE ONE!"

Those of you who know me well know that it hasn't always been an easy road. This journey has had plenty of ups, downs, and even some u-turns. I've been on more first dates than I can even count and have some pretty funny stories to tell. I've met some really cool guys and some I'd rather forget about. I'm not going to lie, dating can be exhausting!

Years ago after a not so great first date I remember a co-worker encourage me with this, she said, "Don't worry, he was just another frog. Sometimes you need to kiss many frogs before you find your prince."

As silly as that sounded it was something that has stuck with me through the years. I've used that thought to assure myself that every frog I went out with brought me one date closer to meeting my prince. There were definitely moments of frustration as I went on my search and times when I was convinced that he simply did not exist and I would be single forever. The awesome thing about those days that seemed lonely, hopeless, and frustrating is that they drew me closer to the Lord. It was during those times that I was able to place my focus on Him and reestablish my priorities. It was then that I finally realized that even if I didn't get what I wanted and things didn't go my way that He is still good and I am still blessed. 

Many years of persistent prayer, not only from me but also from many close friends and family, and God finally answered. He did so by sending me a Godly man who loves his family, works hard, and treats me like a queen. He sent me a man that is perfect for me and all of the years leading up to now helped me become the perfect women for him. I couldn't have created a better man for myself if I tried. 

Lesson learned: God's ways are higher than ours and His timing is always spot on. Even when things don't make sense trust that God know exactly what He is doing. Stay faithful in prayer and know that if it is God's will then it will happen when it is supposed to.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." ~ Romans 12:12

Here's to no more frog kissing!

7/3/15

Proud to Be an American

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. It's a close call between that and Thanksgiving (I love to eat!) I never quite knew why but as I think about it being a yearly favorite a few things come to mind.

• Independence Day is a day to celebrate the county that we live in.
• There is no gift buying or exchanging.
• It's in the summer and that usually means a day at the beach.
• Hanging out with friends and family, enjoying each others company, and grilling out.
• FIREWORKS!!!! :D

More than all of those things I am proud to live in a country where I have the freedom to get a college education, go to work, have freedom of speech etc., and above all else, go to church to openly and freely worship my Lord Jesus Christ without fear of persecution. Today I pray for the people who stand strong in their faith even when earthly laws tell them they can't, even to the point of exile or death.

I recognize that this country has its fair share of issues.  Even when I don't agree I will pray for the leaders of this country and show respect. I pray that we can all stand united as one and not separated by political, religious, status, and race. If we would just look to the Father and learn to accept and love each other as He loves us I truly believe it would change so much.

God Bless the U.S.A.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Wanna know why I smile a lot?

Smiling is my favorite.

Wanna know why I smile a lot? It's not because my life is perfect or because everything always goes my way. I smile a lot because it's worth it! I actually had a member of one of my classes ask me why I smile so much. He asked if I was really THAT happy. My simple response was, "Why not?! Life is too short to be anything but happy." Don't get me wrong I have days where my mood is far from happy but when I really stop and think about it, I have no good reason not to smile and be happy. I mean, think about it:

•  Just waking up in the morning is reason enough to smile.

• Smiles are contagious. I love smiling at strangers and seeing their expression instantly change.    Smiling at children is my favorite. Imagine a world invested with smiles :)

• Smiling improves your mood. The next time you find yourself in a not so great mood just try smiling more. It's much harder to stay in a bad mood while you are smiling. Fake it till ya make it!

• Smiling not only improves your mood but it will improve the mood of the people around you. A lady walked into my office this week and told me that my beautiful smile made it worth coming to class. Members of my classes are constantly expressing their appreciation for me smiling while I teach. The fact that my simple act of smiling can make others happy makes smiling all the more worth it. The next time you go to a store pay attention to the person at the register. I have found that when I'm distracted or not very attentive to the person helping me then they are distant themselves. On the other hand, if I walk up with a friendly smile on my face they tend to be much more talkative, friendly and willing to help.

• Smiling is a universal language. No matter where you go and no matter what language you speak, everyone knows the meaning of a smile.

• It takes more energy to frown than to smile.

• Smiling excessively gives you great laugh lines on your face. I have a lot and I'm proud of it!

It's a great day to be alive!

A simple smile can make someone's day, it's free, and never runs out. Let your light shine onto those around you. Be a bright light in the dark places of this world. SMILE! :)