My Spiritual Birthday

When I was five years old, I asked Jesus to come into my heart. My Mom and I had the conversation where I made my decision over hot doughnuts at Krispy Kreme and I have never been so sure of anything in my entire life. I am so thankful that my Mom trusted my heart at such an early age, because that childlike faith that captured me so many years ago has sustained me, driven my choices, and given me direction, hope, and purpose. 

Every year, on March 22nd, my Mom goes above and beyond to celebrate the new life that Jesus gave me. Yesterday was my 17th Spiritual Birthday, and we celebrated, indeed. 

It was a beautiful day and Mom and I cooked together while Grayson grilled tuna steaks, zucchini, and mushrooms. We ate outside and had this beautiful, colorful spread.

What you see here: Grilled tuna steaks, re-baked potatoes topped with fresh spring onions, grilled zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and onions, Mom's fresh homemade bread, and sweet tea!

Mom also made the adorable little hors d'oeuvres (sliced strawberries with a cream cheese/powdered sugar filling sprinkled with orange zest) that were absolutely amazing. 

 Mom always gets me roses for the amount of years I have been saved and I love these beautiful, pure, white roses. Aren't they just breathtaking?!

 And lastly, but not least, Mom made my all-time FAVORITE cake... strawberry! I could eat this whole cake in one sitting, I'm not even kidding. It's to die for!

I am so thankful to have a Mom who has always put such emphasis on celebrating the decision to follow Christ. The truth is, that is is a big deal, and the day you ask Jesus to come into your heart is a day you should never forget!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:14

Learning to love the skies I'm under

It's crazy to think about how much can change in a year.

365 days.

This time last year, I was savoring every second of my last semester of college. I could be found spending as much time as possible with my girlfriends at all our favorite local places, tucked away with a latte and my nose in a book in my favorite coffee shop, spending too much money at dreamy little thrift shops, or on my hands and knees in my dorm room floor completely obsessing over the latest craft project... and I thought life was complicated.

Ha!

Sure, there were exams, more all-nighters in the library than I could count, walks to class uphill in snow that hit my face like little needles, and all the general little struggles that most college students face... but I didn't realize how easy I had it.

Now, I'm not complaining with where I am in life now by any means. I am blessed beyond measure, head over heels in love with the man of my dreams, and have been given far more opportunities than I could have ever imagined to use the gifts and talents God's given me. I understand that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48) and I'm willing to do whatever I can to serve, to learn, to grow, to honor, and to carry His name to the ends of the earth.

What I'm struggling with is discontentment. Discontentment is poison, it's a trap, and it's nothing but a lie that will steal your joy like no other. Nevertheless, it's a battle I fight every single day. I am so thankful for our home, but at the same time, my reckless, selfish desire is for a one-way plane ticket, not a mortgage. I am so thankful to have a wonderful job that I can depend on, but at the same time, I hate being tied down to the same thing everyday from 8-5, sitting behind a desk. I am so thankful to live in a safe community, surrounded by family and friends that we know are always there when we need them, but at the same time, I crave to be somewhere new, different, and far, far away from everything that's even remotely familiar.

How I found a man who loves me not "in spite of this," but for this, is beyond me. Grayson just gets me, and I am unspeakably grateful.

Seeing all my friends who are still in college post dreamy pictures in dreamy places from their Spring Break just about sent me over the edge. It's not jealousy... because I'm happy for them. For me, it's nostalgia. It's wishing and longing for the carefree days of spontaneous adventure that graduation stole from me.

It always takes me crying out to Jesus and digging into His word to realize that I have let my blessings become burdens. Jesus wants us to live an abundant life, and that means no feelings of discontentment ever come from Him. His plan for us may not always make sense, but we have to trust that there are good things to come. We should live every day in confident expectation that the Lord is going to reveal His goodness to us. And He will.

Jesus has me right where He wants me, and I have to rest in that. It might be a struggle every day to keep myself from being discontent with where I am, but I have to trust that even if I don't realize it, He's using me, He's preparing me, and He's molding me.

There will be stormy seasons, there will be happy seasons with seemingly endless sunshine, and then, there will be the overcast, boring seasons. It's the overcast, boring seasons that trouble me the most. That's when my mind has time to wander into that trap of discontentment, and if you're like me, you know you have to fully rely on Jesus to drag you out of that pit. Lets do this together, lets learn to love the skies we're under, trusting Him to give us fulfillment, satisfaction, and contentment that can ONLY come from Him.

Homemade Washing Powder

In the last several months, I've heard so many people talk about making their own washing powder that I finally decided I had to try it for myself. This is a pretty big deal, considering I've always used liquid detergent, but the idea of making it myself was just so appealing, and then when I found this adorable little container at Home Goods, I knew this was going to be the week that I finally gave it a go!

These are the ingredients I used:
3lbs. Super Washing Soda
3 bars Fels-Naphtha 
4 lbs. Pure Baking Soda
4lbs. Borax
26 ounces Laundry Crystals (you can use the scent of your choice)
1.3 lbs Oxyclean (you can keep the blue scoop out of container if need be)

First, you grate the Fels-Naptha in a bowl. People have told me that using a food processor is the easiest way to do this, so if you have one I would strongly recommend using it. I don't have a food processor, so I took the old fashioned route. This part of the process was the most difficult, but it was really not that much trouble.

Since I don't have a food processor, I used my chopper to make the pieces smaller. 

Next, you put all of the ingredients shown above, including your freshly grated cheese Fels-Naptha in a large trash bag (this is the easiest way to mix it unless you have a big bucket, which I did not). I mixed with my hands and just tried to make sure that all the ingredients were equally distributed throughout the mixture.

This recipe made so much that I had enough to fill both my new little laundry tin and this jar full for my Momma. Everyone I know who has made this loves it and swears that their clothes smell fresher, fade less, and are softer than with store bought detergent. 

Give it a go, girls! I think you'll be glad you did.

Fifty Shades of Grey: Cover Your Eyes and Run

As Valentine's Day creeps closer and closer, bringing with it the long-anticipated release of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, my heart becomes more an more burdened. I remember when the novel first came out, ladies of all ages became obsessed with it. I didn't know what all the fuss was about and somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to avoid reading it and falling into the trap of justifying the novel as anything other than what it is: sick.

I don't need to go into detail here about what the novel and movie are about, but to summarize, it is the dark story of a young college student who falls in love with Christian Grey, a handsome, mysterious, young billionaire after she interviews him for a newspaper. Not only is the story sexually graphic and full of bad language, but it is also demeaning and dehumanizing to women because Christian expects the women he is involved with to totally submit to his sexual perversion - which involves whips, chains, and handcuffs.

J. Lee Grady of Charisma Magazine lists just three reasons that people need to "cover their eyes and run from Fifty Shades of Grey:" 

"1. It encourages sexual deviance. In the novel, Christian invites Ana to become his sexual partner, but he asks her to sign a document that spells out what he plans to do to her—and he demands that she tell no one about it. The contract says: "The Submissive shall accept whippings, floggings, spankings, canings, paddlings, or any other discipline the Dominant should decide to administer, without hesitation, inquiry or complaint." Ana finds out that Christian has had relationships like this with 15 other women—and yet she still pursues him, agrees to the painful sex and enjoys it.

There might have been some redemptive value in this movie if Ana called the police or ran out of Christian's penthouse and refused his advances because she respected herself. But no—she submits to the abuse, and signals to women everywhere that there is pleasure in pain. The film also tells women that it's OK to be a mindless sexual slave, especially if your boyfriend is rich, handsome and has his own helicopter.

2. It glorifies violence against women. Last year a researcher from the University of Michigan did a study on the effects of Fifty Shades of Grey on women readers. It showed that women who read the books (it is actually a trilogy) were 25 percent more likely to have an abusive partner; 34 percent were more likely to have a partner who stalked them; and 65 percent were more likely to engage in binge drinking.

Just as there is a link between violent video games and violent behavior in teen boys, this study showed that women who read graphic porn novels tend to gravitate toward the types of abusive relationships depicted in books like Fifty Shades. The study also showed that these women were more likely to have eating disorders. (Interestingly, the dominant male character in Fifty Shades carefully controls his girlfriend's eating habits.)

3. It totally perverts the meaning of love. In one scene in the book, Christian buys Ana a platinum and diamond bracelet so she can cover the bruises on her wrists—which she got after being tied to her boyfriend's bed. The message from Ana's lover: I will hurt you, but I will buy you nice gifts so you will stay with me. That's twisted. And couples are going to see this movie on Valentine's Day?

One of the most bizarre moments in the book occurs after Ana leaves Christian and then goes back to him. She says: "The physical pain you inflicted was not as bad as the pain of losing you." Any psychologist will tell you that is the mentality of an abuse victim, who is brainwashed to believe that the attention she gets from her abuser is better than no attention at all.

True love is not about pain, domination or control—but Hollywood is happy to serve big helpings of this slop if people are willing to pay for it. Please protect women. Please defend decency. Please don't support this movie."

His summary is just so well stated that I had to share! I could have never said it better myself!

The hype surrounding this movie breaks my heart, and it should. It should break yours too, because if we really care about having a heart like His, there is no room for indulging in sin. There's no room for justification of evil. There's no room for supporting further corruption of the media. This is the world that our children are going to grow up in, and whether we like it or not, the media will in some way, shape, or form mold their little hearts and minds. Are we taking a stand against this? Are we making the world a better place by standing up for Christ? The choice is yours, and the time to make that choice is NOW.

Just one last thought, in the words of Mumford and Sons, "Love will not betray you, dismay you, or enslave you. Love will set you free."

Leaving the party at 8:00

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "getting married at 22 years old is like leaving the party at 8:00p.m.," I would never have to work another day in my life. Seriously... I'm over it. That's why I've decided to address this topic today.

The age right after college is such a dangerous time. It's my opinion that a lot of girls feel pressure to get married right after they graduate, and there's several reasons for that. First of all, they think that once they graduate, how will they meet anyone else? They could be comfortable in a relationship that, in all honesty, could be completely pointless... but all their friends are getting married and it just seems like the next step. Or, they could just be unwilling to wait for God's best because they want to be married now, not later.

So, because of all these things, I understand why people are hesitant to get married at a young age. HOWEVER... this is not always the case.

I work with the public at a travel agency in Charlotte, N.C. so I have the opportunity to interact with all kinds of people with different backgrounds, stories, opinions, and perspectives. It's one of my favorite parts of my job, really, because I love people. Last week, a man and woman came in who were approaching their 48th wedding anniversary. They ride a motorcycle with an attached side car all over the country and truly seem more like 25 year olds than 70 year olds. They got married at 19 and 20, and granted, things were a little different then, just like they were when my grandparents were of that age, but their perspective on marriage resonated with me in a way that I will never forget.

Their next trip was up north for a wedding, which of course, led to the conversation of my recent marriage. The man asked me how old I am and when I responded with "22," I braced myself for a comment about how "that's awful young," or some other comment I've heard a thousand times.

Instead, he said, "good for you," and I'm sure my jaw dropped. That's when they led into their story about how they got married at such a young age and have never regretted it a day since. They said that of course, there had been hard times as well as good times, but that they wouldn't have changed a thing. He shared with me his opinion that if you wait until you're "ready," you'll never be ready. It was so refreshing to see a couple at that age, more in love than ever, who did what they knew was right at the time God told them to do it, not when the world told them was acceptable, and have never looked back.

So, sure... I guess getting married at 22 is a lot like leaving the party at 8:00p.m.

if you're going to a super awesome after party with your best friend.

From Miss to Mrs.

For those of you that don't know, I just married my college sweetheart!

After dating for three years, two of which were spent long-distance, we were elated to have finally reached the finish line. There were times that finish line seemed so unattainable, so out of reach, so far away... but Jesus stood by us and He strengthened us and oh, friends.... it has been so worth the wait. The gift of marriage is beyond anything I could have ever anticipated or expected.

Our wedding day was like a fairy tale. It was better than anything I could have ever dreamed of or hoped for or imagined. Every detail was so special and we were surrounded by everyone that we love. There were white lanterns, twinkling lights, good music, good food, old hymns, lots of laughter, the weather was perfect, and best of all... I got to walk down the aisle to meet the most handsome, Godly, loving, wonderful man.

 

We spent our honeymoon at Sandals Whitehouse in Whitehouse, Jamaica. It was the dreamiest week... they spoiled us, pampered us, and everything was far better than anything I ever expected. All-inclusive is the way to go, by the way. One day we went sailing, one day we went snorkeling, one day we got up early and watched the sunrise from a hot tub on the beach, one day we had the most incredible couple's massage, and the last night Grayson surprised me with a romantic, private, candlelit dinner on the beach! It was absolutely perfect and neither of us would have changed a single thing except that we wish we could have stayed longer.

When we came home from our honeymoon, our house was festive and cheery and our tree was surrounded by wedding gifts that we could hardly wait to open. My Momma, who always thinks of everything, had stopped by to turn all of our Christmas lights on and had a sweet tray of breakfast in bed ready for the next morning, the first morning we would wake up together in our new home! He carried me over the threshold, and just like that... married life began in the little town of Belmont.

Learning to live with someone is such an adventure. Sometimes we dance around the living room for no reason, sometimes we go get taco bell in our pajamas at midnight, and sometimes we don't do anything at all (and even that is so much fun). We have so many hopes, dreams, and ideas about our future together, but no matter what- we want Jesus to be glorified through our marriage and we want to stay right in the center of His perfect will.

Stay tuned, this adventure from Miss to Mrs. is only just beginning!

Wedding pictures coming soon // Bridal pictures by Erica Serrano Photography.

Detox Juice Cleanse

Ok, so this is supposed to be "coffee date" with Kate... not "disgusting juice" date with Kate. However, today, I am sharing my latest endeavor- Joe Cross' famous Weekend Juice Cleanse.

I have heard a lot about juicing in recent months, but never tried it myself.... until now. Two other girls I work with decided to participate, which I've found to be most helpful, because it provides a support system when I start wanting French fries craving something unhealthy.

For three days, or as long as you would like, you have five juices a day in the order shown below:

To say I was a "little" nervous about doing this is a huge understatement. I am a meat and potatoes girl all the way. I don't really struggle with craving sweets, but when it comes to cheeseburgers, mashed potatoes, pancakes or Chick-fil-a... well, lets just say that's another story. I've never really struggled with my weight until now, and at the age of 22, I realize that only I can take control of it before it gets so out of hand that I can't do it in a healthy way.

 

I hope to continue juicing a few days a week, then eventually a few days a month after my metabolism gets back to where it needs to be.

 

Breakfast Juice: 3 Carrots, 2 Apples, 1" Ginger

My Review: I never realized how much zing ginger has... woah. It's definitely an interesting combination! At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to make myself drink the whole thing, but then after adding a little ice, it became more tolerable and by the end, it didn't taste quite so much like I was drinking perfume. YAY juice!

Final (sad) review: I quit. Yeah, I know, it's pathetic. I didn't even make it through a whole day. When we got to the juices with the beets and sweet potatoes I threw up and decided Chick-fil-a is way better. Oh, well... I guess the skinny life is just not for me.