Weekend Reading (and a story)- 7/9/10

This is a special weekend for Blane and me.  We celebrate our 6th anniversary on Saturday!  We will actually be officially celebrating over Labor Day Weekend when we can get away sans kids.  This weekend, we get to enjoy another BBQ with friends.  I love summer time BBQs!I am so thankful for this man whom God has provided to be my leader, protector, provider, and lover.  He has been a wonderful husband to me and in so many respects, we have had a fairy tale kind of romance.  Don’t get me wrong, we certainly have our disagreements, grate on each other at times, and have our differences.  But from day one of getting to know Blane, he has sought to die to his own desires in order to love and serve me and Christ loves His bride.  He takes his responsibility as one who will stand before the Lord for an account of how he led me very, very seriously.  In purity he pursued and courted me, and in purity he has led me as my husband.  He is not perfect, but he is pretty amazing!

It all began about seven years ago, when he came home from optometry school on spring break.  You see, I went to college in his hometown (where he also went to college) and his mother discipled me (don’t get any ideas, she NEVER pushed anything!).  Myself and another young woman she discipled were invited to go to dinner with the family one evening about a week before my spring break  during my senior year (we are two years apart, but he was only a year ahead in school).  I walked into the house, saw him walk across the upstairs family room and thought, “Man, he’s good looking!”  Though we had met once before and both were totally unimpressed with one another, that night something happened.  We talked a lot about my recent experience in Colorado and the evening went by too quickly.

The next day I called my friend who was at dinner with us and was excitedly trying to spit something out when finally she said, “Kelly, just say it!”  I blurted out, “I think I met the man I’m going to marry!”  Do you know that she started laughing at me?!  I told her that it was easy for her, who, already in a courtship was NOT courting her mentor’s son!

That week, I just so happened to be invited over every evening to do something with “the family,” until I went home for spring break.  Blane emailed me asking some pretty intense questions (theological) and from what I knew of him, this wasn’t something he did with just any girl.  When I came back from spring break, he was still at home.  His mom invited me over (to spend more with with “the family”) and he wanted to “chat.”  He told me that we are both pretty analytical and knew that something was going on.  He told me that what he knew about me, he liked.  But that he still didn’t really know me.  He asked for my permission to come home on the weekends to get to know me, to which I responded with a quick but reserved, “yes!” (while in my mind, I was screaming and jumping up and down!).

Two months later, after being asked a myriad of questions and getting to know one another, he sat me down and proceeded to affirm me and communicated that I had the qualities he wanted in a wife .  He wanted to proceed in courtship to determine if it was the Lord’s will for us to marry.  He also gave me a letter that expressed essentially everything he said. While I wanted to respond, “This is what I’ve been praying for!” he asked me to spend time in prayer about it before responding.  So I did and in the meantime, shared the letter with older, wiser counselors in order to proceed with wisdom.

Seven months later we were engaged and then 15 months after our initial re-meeting of each other, we were married. To describe all of the workings of the Holy Spirit in that time would take way too long, but it was a very sweet time of trusting the Lord, growth, and blessing.

So, happy anniversary my love!  And have a wonderful weekend, dear readers!

Money/Finances

The Savings Are in the Details - Planning a summer vacation?  This is a must read with a very practical tip!

How to Save More Money at Whole Foods – we don’t have a Whole Foods nearby since we moved, but the same principles would apply to Earth Fare, which we do have near us.  Like WF, Earth Fare offers a 10% discount when you purchase by the case.

Mothering

Where’s Kristin? – A cute, encouraging piece on being “in the middle” of motherhood.

For the Young Mother:  Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life – This is a wonderful reminder for those of us with littles!

Motherhood and Identity: Comparison and the List You Need to Tape to Your Forehead – This is great! I love Kat’s practical, witty posts about mothering!

Health

New Study Says 85%  of Kid’s Juices, Snacks Could Contain High Levels of Lead – Another reason to avoid juice!  Tara has had juice maybe five times in her life (I don’t mention this to boast but to make a point – we are absolutely committed to eating nourishing foods).  She drinks water and raw milk.  Period.  This article only confirms the need for us to be responsible for our own health instead of relying on the FDA.  They are not trustworthy!

Don’t forget that classes begin on Monday for Naturally Knocked Up‘s E-Course about preparing for pregnancy.  If you haven’t yet, pop over and look into it!  I can’t wait for it to start!