Thoughts on getting married...Next week!

Well kids, a week from today I will become Mrs. William Alexander Branning. That's a big change. I'm delving head first in the world of in-laws, holidays, 24/7 companionship, and preparing to have a strong and bumpy marriage.

I'm excited yet it's hard to focus on the goal when their are so many distractions of how everyone thinks you should do it their way, the problem is, everyone's ways are different. How can I possible make anyone happy if I'm constantly trying to please everyone?

I was reading this study about what it means to "leave you parents and cleave to your spouse". It really got me thinking, this is going to be a bumpy ride. I know that the mixture of his broken family and my broken family can either create another incredibly broken family or be overcome through the strength of Christ. I haven't even walked down the aisle yet and I already feel like I'm fighting for my marriage.

Not in a bad way, Alex and I obviously haven't had "marital" problems yet but I think that my passion and drive for having a strong healthy marriage kind of puts me on guard. I want all my "i's" dotted and my "t's" crossed. I want God to come first in my marriage. I want to feed my marriage so it will grow and blossom so that it can endure the hardships. I've been reading 5 love languages, per request from Alex. It says that we all have love tanks and if we can figure out how to keep each others love tanks full then we might not be stuck asking,"what happened to the love"?

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject and I think for me this is my version of gardening. Some people I know love to garden, they love the feeling of planting a seed and watering it and feeding it and nurturing till it grows and becomes strong and healthy. For me I feel like my marriage to Alex is this beautiful baby plant that needs lots of love, attention and nurturing. I'm completely prepared to do what it takes, to make sure that my marriage is properly fed.

There is a lot of skepticism in this world, a lot of negativity, even among our family and friends. This can easily plant seeds of destruction into such a young relationship but I believe strongly that God has a purpose for us and that is much more important to me than anything else. I will not give up. I am here for the long run. If I go on I'm gonna start sounding like a Vanessa Williams song.;)

I will finish with this.

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."~1 John 4:16-19

Deja Vu'?

October 18, 2006"An Unlikely Banquet"

Van Walton,Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member,

Director of Hispanic Ministries

Key Verse:Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” (NKJV)

Devotion:The storm raged all night, traveling closer to shore with each passing moment. Waves roared and reached higher than normal. In the morning, although the beach was strewn with chairs, umbrellas, ice chests, and beach toys, the sun rose on a relatively calm shore, except for the busy birds. While rain and wind had created havoc during the night, the tempest had deposited a gift. The surging tide brought with it delicacies from the bottom of the ocean – a feast for the birds living along the edge of the sea.

An obvious sand bar had been created by the recent surge in the sea and, in fascination, I watched as it became a banquet table of sorts. As the powerful waves rushed toward shore, they covered the sand bar. When the water retreated, a buffet table of seafood invited the birds to come and dine on the early morning meal that God and the storm had provided.
I couldn’t help but consider my own life and the storms that have threatened to tear me apart. Yet, those very storms have left behind riches that feed me for a lifetime.
Are you emerging from a storm? Have you found God’s bountiful provision within the raging winds? Have you noticed the good left behind after floods subsided?

As a child, I could hardly fathom the first storm mentioned in the Bible. I asked over and over again, “Why?” Today I believe I know. The storm that Noah endured cleansed, offered a new beginning, disciplined, and taught mighty lessons. Its purpose, according to Scripture, was to cleanse the earth of wickedness. (Genesis 6:5) and create a new start. God protected Noah, a righteous man, and his family from the flood and returned him to a new beginning once the waters disappeared.

Sharing is Caring...

1. I love my new apartment! It's perfect!

2. I'm getting married in two weeks! OMG! ;)

3. I'm definitely still a little stressed out.

4. Alex is meeting my father for the first time next weekend.

5. I got a promotion at work! ;)

6. I love Alex even more than I thought was possible.

7. Despite all the craziness, God is totally blessing my socks off. ;)

That pretty much sums it up for now.

Here's the Story...

So, the past couple weeks a plan has been developing for me and Alex. It was solidified two days ago.

November 3rd., Alex and I are getting married in Vegas with our families!

Before you freak out, let me tell you the story. We prayed about it, talked to a bunch of really wise people and asked our parents opinions, they all gave us the thumbs up (to get married earlier), then Alex's mom came up with this idea, When we fly home Nov. 2nd we can all drive to Vegas as a family and get married. So this is what we are doing, we love the idea, we are still going to have something in march, weather it's a reception, a blessing of the union, or a renewal of the vows, we plan on meeting with pastor and discuss what our options are.

I am very happy about this decision, most of you know that I wasn't to thrilled about having a huge wedding to begin with, so now we get a small intimate family wedding and a big party with our friends. It's ultimately a good compromise for the both of us and we feel a lot of peace about our decision, in fact we are thrilled.

I got to get another dress, smaller, and a lot cheaper for this wedding but still beautiful, and I will still be wearing my big wedding dress in march. We are getting married in the church that Judy Garland got married in, you know how cool that is;).

Side note: We've spoken with our Pastor and he is also for us and said that we can have a blessing of the union in March so all of our friends here can come and celebrate with us. I would also like to Thank you all of you who have been supportive of Alex and my decisions thus far, I cannot express how much it has meant to us. We will continue to see our counselor as well as go to pre-marital counseling. I would also appreciate it if you all would keep us in your prayers for the next couple of months. We have received a couple of people's negativity and we want to really enjoy this place we are at and the fact that we have really, genuinely sought God about this and felt peace and blessed.

Could this be my new abode?

...This could be our Kitchen...
...This could be our Living Room...
...And this could be our Bedroom...

please feel free to comment on how cool you think this place is, because I think it's pretty rad. Closer to 294, pool, fitness center, all the enmities I could possibly want without breaking the bank...;)