Rose-colored glasses

Disclaimer: there are no pictures for this post... just words.

I have a pair of rose-colored glasses that I like to put on when I think about the Lord. These glasses let me see Him the way I think He should be. I put them on particularly when I'm uncomfortable and don't understand what my brothers and sisters are doing in His name. Don't they have a pair of glasses too? With them on, I can make excuses for what I don't understand and I can justify my way through anything. Problem solved.

I have a dear friend who went through a blessed season in her life where God was teaching her what it meant to be fearful of Him. She graciously let me and another friend dissect just a piece of that with her. The conclusion of that conversation was this: God is greater that I am.

What if (bear with me) the things you believe about God are wrong? I am excluding things like Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He died for our sins and was raised again to fullness of life. This is NOT wrong. I'm talking about how often we mistake comfort and tradition for truth. I say this because I am guilty of this religious bondage. I am surrounded by religion. I practice religion. I worship religion. I have hindered the exact work that Jesus came to Earth to do. Jesus did not come to make a new law. He came to fulfill the old one and establish a church, His bride, to live freely, abundantly, and joyfully to reciprocate His passionate, HUGE love for us. Do my beliefs about Him reflect this purpose? Would I see Him differently if I took off my glasses?

The fundamental question to get down to the root of the problem is "Who do I think God is?" Some may say He's a tyrant and just likes to keep a thumb on everything. Others may say He's happy-go-lucky and as long as you act good, you're a-okay. And then others believe He is hands-off but He expects you to "just do what is right and hope for the best." But I think most are a combination of these (not in the extreme sense), mix in what we know about Jesus and his love, and you have a formula that equals "HUH?!" At least that's how it has been for me. HOWEVER, God forsaw this before you were formed, and had a plan to send part of Himself to live inside of us. His name is Holy Spirit.

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come" John 16:13

All the truth... God has given us His power, presence and personality to discern who He is. We have it! I don't have to scratch my head, furrow my brow, or put on my rose-colored glasses to figure Him out. His life is already flowing through me.

Back to my short story about my friend and fear of the Lord. Because God is greater than I am, I can trust fully in who He is. And He has sent His Spirit to teach me, to erase the inhibitions I've had, to break the bonds of religious behavior, and to free me up to walk in a manner that causes people to look over the top of their rose-colored glasses and ask, "Who do I think God is?"

Father, free us up. Our rose-colored glasses are heavy and our heads ache from doing this by ourselves. Baptize us with Your Spirit as You said You would. Give us courage to trust in You, the Almighty.

June, like the month

This is a brag post. We have a child and her name is June. She is a dog. She is also a smart dog. Among her many amazing abilities, she can sit, stay, lay down, roll over (only in the grass AND we didn't teach it to her), and get in the tub when we tell her to whether it's for a bath or not. She has many nicknames which include but not limited to Juney, Juney Bear, Juney Balloony, Junith, Juners, Biggun, and Buttcheeks (it really is a term of endearment coming from Mitch). Below is a timeline and an imagery exemplifying her awesomeness as the best friend of the Browns. Please enjoy.

This is when Mitch picked her up from the Lee County Human Society. She had brothers and sisters. Mitch was planning to get a boy, but he seemed uninterested. June was curious and care-free. She hasn't changed a bit.

 



 This was right after her little spading surgery... pitiful. :(

 

What a little sausage! Sorry they're blurry, but I think you would die from the cuteness if they were any clearer.

She learned to be a model at a young age. Such personality!

 The terrible twos (in dog years)! She really wasn't bad at all. Mitch quickly establish his role as the pack leader.

And these are her teenage years. One or both her ears always seems to be flipped back. She doesn't care though. She knows she's still cute. 

And then she grew up. 

Some of her hobbies include sticks, jumping for sticks, and swimming to rescue the sticks. She also loves tennis balls. 

      

 ... and backpacking.

 ...and resting her head on Daddy's shoulder.

...and falling asleep in the car.

She has been our constant companion.  



But things are always bigger, better, more than what they seem. Mitch and I are dog lovers. I think our love for dogs has grown since we've been together. Because we have June, we get to have something in common. We go to the park, the creek, the pond together. That in turn gets us away from the tv and out enjoying things that God intended for us to enjoy... together... as a married couple. We are incredibly blessed, and June is one awesome example of that.

Number 18

The reading "kick" has begun again. Last November, I started reading the Harry Potter books (worth it!). I was a little ashamed that I had waited so long to get into it, but I have no regrets. I also read the Hunger Games books in a matter of weeks. I won't state my opinion of them on such a public forum. Anyway, I then read Love Wins by Rob Bell and Erasing Hell by Francis Chan back-to-back. They are both VERY interesting reads and worth opening your mind up to different views of heaven and hell. Honestly, I think the two authors would eventually agree that their bottom line is the same. They just say it in different ways.

I don't think I've ever read that much in a matter of months. I was pretty impressed with myself. Since I'm such a slow reader, I've always viewed reading as almost a chore. But I've started making myself believe that I can read a whole book in a few days, and it won't be a waste of my time. So now I'm getting back on and have started reading From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola. I don't have much to say about it because I'm only a few pages in. I will get back to you guys when I'm finished. I just thought I would let you know that I'm working on #18 on my list.

Stay tuned for the next post which will probably be about our dog, June!

Engaging Times

Two years ago today, my amazing man asked me to be his wife. The story is quite beautiful, but I'm also biased. What you like to hear (er... read) it?

"The next clear night, let's go look at stars," Mitch said to Erin days before. Little did she know, he wasn't just wanting to be reminiscent of their early dating days. He had something in mind for that night whenever it might come. The next clear night landed on a Monday night. However, Erin worked a late night shift at the library until midnight on Mondays. She asked Mitch if he still wanted to go star-gazing since it would be so late. He said, "Yeah, duh." Surprised because Mitch usually has a hard time staying up past 10 p.m., she said, "Ok." Mitch was waiting at her apartment when she got off work that night. He was wearing her favorite yellow shirt of his. Erin grabbed a jacket and a sleeping bag so they would have something to sit on and off they went to Tuskegee National Forest. On the way, Erin turned on her 'Wedding Bells' playlist on her iPod. Of course, she wasn't trying to give any hints. She just wanted to be romantic. They arrived at the spot they always go to look at stars. The night air was crisp and refreshing. The sky was so clear the couple felt as if they could reach out and grab a handful of glitter. After 10 or 15  minutes of small sweet talk, Mitch smiled and said, "Well, I brought you out here to ask you a question." At which point, Erin's heart began to pound, and she said, "Really?" Mitch sat up and got down on one knee. Erin then repeatedly said, "Are you serious?" Then those few little words were uttered: "Will you marry me?" Erin said, "Yes!" They hugged, kissed, and cried (Erin more than Mitch) together. And then they took this picture.

Mitch's mom (who is an amazing woman... like mother, like son) threw us an engagement party. We invited all of our friends to come to Prattville for a luau. We ate lots of Hawaiian-ish food and hung out around the pool.

I asked my friend Jade to take some pictures of us just to have something to show for our pending nuptials. We went out to Conway Acres. It's actually a trailer park but the owner takes such good care of it. You won't even know when you look at these pictures. Jade did such an amazing job!

And then we got to take engagement pictures with our wonderful wedding photographer, Stefani Horn (Lovestruck Wedding Photography). We had so much fun walking all over Auburn getting the perfect shots.

We learned a lot about each other during our engagement. Something about having a ring on your finger, the realization of the upcoming lifelong commitment, is sobering. If you're dating, close to be engaged, engaged, or two days away from saying "I do" take the time to engage in one another. Take advantage of other married couples who have been through the first years of marriage, ask each other questions, start the marriage mindset now. God wants to bless you tremendously. After all, He's the one who created it.

Lists

My first blog in a REALLY long time.
Back then, I tried to make up flowery, witty posts to make my readers think I was awesome. Don't get me wrong, I was awesome (and still am). But this time, it's different. This time I'm happily married to the most wonderfully challenging man I've ever met, have a full-time job (with aspirations to not have a full-time job), and love the Lord more than I ever have (because He is so good). And sometimes that's all that seems to sum up my life, which is not a bad thing by all means. However, I have L-O-T-S of thoughts. And because of all these thoughts, I like to make lists to put things into perspective. So to help me achieve my "to-dos", I'm lettin you guys (all 3 of you who will keep up with this blog regulary, "Hi Mom!") in to my little world. Not everything I write about will be from this list that I'm about to share, but I'll definitely let you know when I've checked something off. So here it is (and don't judge):

For the rest of 2012:

1. Create and maintain a blog (check!)
2. Work on my sister's "scrapbook"
3. Eat out less... WAY less
4. Prayer journal, write in it.
5. One year anniversary trip- Gatlinburg, TN
6. Go camping- preferably in North Carolina
7. Visit Huntsville
8. Juice
9. Learn something new about my husband
10. Finish wood pallet project
11. Make gifts instead of buying them
12. Stephanie & Andrew's wedding!! (August 5th)
13. Be entrusted with more (this means I need to be trusted with what I already have)
14. Exercise at least twice a week
15. Get better at putting up the laundry... and the dishes
16. Go yard-saleing
17. Slip-n-slide party
18. Get on my reading kick again (From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola is next)
19. Take more pictures
20. Rearrange living room furniture (exciting, eh?)
21. Emily & Hunter's wedding!! (September 8th)
22. Learn to be determined
23. Auburn football (war eagle.)
24. Get an iPhone
25. My husband's graduation and PAR-TAY! (December 10th)

So hopefully a more productive second half to the year! What's on your "list"?