Whom Will You Choose Today?

"...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

This verse keeps resonating in my mind this morning. The Lord placed it there for a reason so after praying over it again this morning I wanted to share it with you. It's a familiar passage as we see it written on beautiful home decor such as picture frames or wall hangings and we may even have our own homes adorned with it. But it's so much more than a decoration to don our walls or mantles. It's a declaration of allegiance to the God to whom we serve.  

Matt and I committed this verse for our family early into our marriage but what we have to remember is that it is a daily surrender. Each day we need to choose that our family will serve God and him only. Because when you don't choose God, you will serve something other than him. Our family serving God begins with Matt and with me. Individually we have to choose to put God at the top of our priorities and give him the rightful place in our lives so that our family can grow and serve him. We pray that as our children grow and become more independent, that they too will continue to serve God with their lives. 

Today I'm thankful God placed this verse on my heart. I needed that reminder to daily surrender my all to the ONE I adore and commit to serve HIM only. I will stay tender, today, to the opportunities that God will place all around me to speak his Word and share the love of Christ with others. I want the world to see Jesus in me and know that it is HIM that I serve. ALL glory and honor are HIS! 

Whom will you choose to serve today? 

Blessings of Motherhood!

I love those moments with my kids where they share their hearts and seek godly guidance! Those moments when they come to us to ask questions and direction from God's Word....priceless! What an honor and privilege it is to walk them through God's Word and watch them grow in their relationships with Jesus! 

Today, I am so thankful that God blessed me with three amazing miracles....Ben, Callie, and Caleb! Just to think that God allowed me to be their mother, out of all the women in the world and he chose ME!

I am truly grateful and humbled today! 

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

3 John 1:4 (NIV)

Setting My Mind on Things Above

Good Monday morning!

As you wake up this morning planning for the week ahead, where does your mind go? Is it focused on all the negatives of crowded schedules and long "to-do" lists or is it God-focused and laid at His feet for guidance and direction?

Well, I'm preaching to myself this morning! Lol!

My "to-do" list was running through my head when I woke up this morning as this is a busy work week. My phone was already ringing at 6:15 and as I was going through all the scenarios planning out different things, God quickly reminded me to stop and set my mind on things above.

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Colossians 3:2 (NIV)

Yes, I need to be prepared but, even more so, I need to commit everything to God. When my plans are made with God in the forefront, then I surrender my all to His perfect plans for me. Choosing God's ways over my own are not always the easiest but sure have proven over and over again to be the best!

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you."

Psalms 37:5 (NLT)

Today, I begin my week at the feet of Jesus! I lay down my "to-do" list and my calendar and cling to the Word for guidance. I will praise His wonderful name and look forward to seeing His glory abound!

Happy Monday everyone! Now....let's do this in the strength and power of Jesus!

Shine HIS Light!

This morning my alarm was not met with warm fuzzies and my tired, exhausted body wanted to keep sleeping but, nonetheless, I am up and I WILL praise God for the opportunities before me today to praise HIM!

Today stands before me many opportunities to be the blessing to someone else. This cannot be a day to wallow in my exhaustion and get overwhelmed at the many things on my "to-do" list that need my attention. This cannot be day of complaining and grumbling (because that could easily happen 😉). This needs to be a day that praise is lifted from my lips as an overflow of my heart for the many things God has done. This needs to be a day surrendered to Almighty God with my tired mind focused through the lens of God's Word for clarity and guidance.

Yes! God, this day is YOURS! I lay it at your feet and CHOOSE to walk in YOUR strength and power! I will be intentional in speaking your praise and following your Word! May my life shine YOUR light and be a blessing to someone today. ALL for YOU!

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)

President's Day

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

II Chronicles 7:14

Well today is President’s Day. It is actually the celebration of Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays but has turned in to honoring all U.S. Presidents. This year we don't even get to enjoy the day off of school but some businesses are closed. There are usually no big celebrations or parades that happen on this day unless you count big President’s Day sales and for some, they really do enjoy that! Lol!

But as I think about these two presidents that this day was named for, I find myself with such a feeling of respect for both of these men. Both were monumental in their service to this great country but even more to me was their great service to Almighty God. It is no big secret that this country is currently without a president that is devoted to our Lord and that is so disheartening to me. Our country desperately needs a leader that is 100% sold-out for Jesus Christ! Can I get an Amen?

I read a novel about the life and faith of Abraham Lincoln a couple of years ago. Of all U.S. Presidents, this great Patriot and the life he lived have always fascinated me. I knew Lincoln had a strong faith in God because it was evident in many of his speeches, but what really intrigued me was the testimony he had to others that were so close to him that recounted of the extent of his love for his Savior and his Word. The Word of God was so important to Lincoln and he used it as his guide map for life. He referred to the Bible quite often personally and publically. It was his source of leading this great nation but also his daily life.

“The character of the Bible is easily established, at least to my satisfaction. It is a good book for us to obey-it contains the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and many other rules which ought to be followed. No man was ever the worse for living according to the directions of the Bible.”

Abraham Lincoln

It is no secret of the great desire I have for reading God’s Word and I find myself completely captured by the words inspired the Holy Spirit. This precious Book really is that important, I cannot stress that enough to you! In reading this great novel about our 16^th President, I found several quotes that he used in reference to his love for God, but this one particular quote showed just how much God’s Word meant to him.

“In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book.”

Abraham Lincoln

He “got it”! This great President knew God’s Word probably better than any other President and he was not ashamed to live it out. He knew the importance of God’s Word and its transforming power as it was given to him at a dark time in his life. It became his source of comfort! His son, Robert, recalled that when his father became older, he always had a Bible close to him because it continually brought him comfort.

Praise The Lord for this man of God! Today, as we celebrate President’s Day, we may find ourselves disheartened at the current leadership and the lack of godly standards, but let us hold to the great faith of those gone before us that really knew the power and love of our awesome Lord! May we learn from them what is really important. Let a revival in this nation start with us! May we love and cherish this precious Book so much that it becomes infectious to all those around us! Many times we complain that God’s Word is not being given the place of honor in our nation that it deserves but how many times do we let it sit on our bedside tables and be neglected. Yes, a little dose of reality, my friends. Please know that I am not saying anything that hasn’t already been convicted on my own heart. This precious Book is to be read, studied, prayed over, and applied to our lives. God’s Word, in our very hands! Glory, hallelujah!

Let’s pray for our leaders that they “get it” as well! We can’t change their hearts but our Mighty God can!

“But for the Bible we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.”

Abraham Lincoln

May this President’s Day be looked upon differently than you ever have. Let this be a day when we recommit to our God to hold his Word in high regard and follow its instruction so that revival will come!

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Blessings~

Allison

Happy 22nd Anniversary!

Today we celebrate 22 years of marriage! Wow! What an absolute blessing! The celebration actually commenced last Sunday as I began sharing our love story each day. It was great taking that walk down memory lane. Reliving the good times and the not so good times really makes you appreciate every second that God has blessed us with. The good times left us all nostalgic and the bad times left us praising God for seeing us through and remembering that our lives apart from God are nothing. It is only by HIS amazing grace and mercy that these two humans can continue to build on this marriage with so much love and respect for each other.

Last year on our 21^st anniversary we spent the day in the hospital as Matt was having an ACL repair done on his knee. I am thankful to report that we are spending our 22^nd anniversary in the quietness of our home, surrounded by our three awesome kiddos, and faithful dog, Louie. Yes, we are big party animals. Haha! In all honesty, this is exactly where we want to be today. Enjoying the blessing of home and family, out of the busyness of life. We will get time away…soon, but today this is where our celebration is. I think Caleb is almost as excited about our anniversary as we are. Lol! He told me the other night that he could tell I was so happy about our anniversary and as I walked down stairs this morning, he was waiting at the bottom of the stairs singing a little anniversary “diddy” that only Caleb could compose! Ha! That boy is something else! J

My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving today! My amazing hubby is still just that after all these years! And though I have said I love him more today than I did 22 years ago, I also like him more too. Yes! He is still the one I would rather spend all my time with. He is still by best friend. He is still the one who makes me laugh more than anyone else. He is still the one!  

Today we will reminisce with our kids about our wedding and we will probably break out the wedding video and let them watch it …again. Lol! (Torturing your kids in this way is a perk of parenting! ;) But we will celebrate another year, ordained by Almighty God, to love each other and honor HIM with our lives and our marriage.

Blessings on this most perfect day…our 22^nd anniversary!

“…but the greatest of these is love.”

1Corinthians 13:13b

Concluding the story.....

Concluding our story……

(If you haven’t joined in this week, please go back from the beginning and see just how good my God is!)

So now we are about 11 years into our marriage and I was thoroughly enjoying my time as a stay-at-home mom. But when Callie was two and Ben entered school at WCA, I began work at our church preschool to help out with expenses. What a blessing that was! I fell in love with all those sweet students and my coworkers. Callie was in preschool with me and Ben was in 1^st grade. It really seemed as though things were finally falling into place. But as a couple of years went by, Matt’s company was struggling to keep the doors open and we knew he needed to find work. We put our house up for sale, Matt began searching, and within 3 weeks our house sold and Matt began a new job. Wow! Things don’t usually work that quickly for us! Lol! Matt’s new job would take him to Lakeland, FL, for about a year and then from there we didn’t know where it would lead. There again, we found ourselves at a crossroads of what God would have us to do. We made plans to stay put here in Wilmington and see Matt on the weekends but after flying down there to help him find an apartment, God made it clear to us that we should not live apart for a year. So, when God speaks, we listen and obey! I loaded up Ben and Callie and moved to Lakeland, FL, into a one-bedroom apartment and began homeschooling. Wow! That was an intense but beautiful time for us as a family. Ben and Callie shared the one bedroom and Matt and I would blow up an air mattress every night, roll the couch out of the way, and sleep on the living room floor. It wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was home because we were all under one roof. Just as God intended! One of the perks of living in Lakeland, FL, was season tickets to Disney World and we got to visit quite often. We are BIG Disney fans!!

So, there we were in a one-bedroom apartment enjoying life as a family of four and then God began to move…..again….

It was during that time that God began working on our hearts about adoption. Nothing about that made sense at the time. It was expensive, we were comfortable with our two children, and we didn’t even know where we would end up after Florida.

Well, there again, when God calls you to something, He will see you through it. God had already begun putting the details together and this was a true test of our faith and trust in him.  Matt’s job moved us back to Wilmington in December of 2005 and the adoption process began. I was able to go back to work at the preschool and we were enjoying the total dependence on God through it all. God put a love in my heart for a child I didn’t even know yet and it was clear we had to move forward to bring our child home.

(I will not go into all the details of our adoption here, but you can read that journey at the link below)

http://www.teachablemomentsfrommysavior.com/2010/10/do-not-be-afraid-only-believe.html

All the way around the world in a town called Guangzhou, China, we welcomed our precious Caleb into our hearts on May 9, 2007! It was absolutely beautiful and God continues to amaze us with his love and grace today through that experience! Now we are a family of five!

These last few years of our marriage, God has taken us through some other challenges when I had some health difficulties, but each and every hardship that has come up in our marriage, God has been faithful. Did you get that, GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL! There have been tough times, but the blessing is that God has been there every step of the way and made something beautiful out of each mess!

What we have discovered is that God desires us to be holy more than happy. When we seek holiness from his perfect will, there is a joy unspeakable.

When you are down on your face and have nowhere else to look but up, you see his grace and mercy in ways that bring peace and healing. I can look back over our 22 years of marriage and, yes, I see those difficult times, but more than that now, I see the beauty that God brought from it. I see how much more Matt and I have fallen in love. I see the deep faith it has instilled in our marriage and family. I see the incredible strength God gave us and continues to give us. Most importantly, I see the love of a Father on his precious children and how that deep love changed our lives!

I have fallen in love with my husband deeper than I ever thought possible over these last 22 years. When I said, “I do”, I never thought I could love him more than at that moment but God has shown me differently. The love grew and took shape into something deeper, more meaningful, just like the love for my God. I cannot begin to explain how much I love my Jesus on this blog. When I hear his name, my heart is full! I long to spend time immersed in his Word and at his feet in prayer. He is my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and I am so in love with him!

Throughout this week, I have shared a brief part of our married life together. This may have been more information than you cared to have heard, but there is so much more than can’t fit onto these pages. Most of these treasured moments are written on the delicate places of my heart and will remain. Our lives are rich and full of love. Our marriage is not perfect but it is OURS! We work hard at it. We show each other grace and forgiveness and we know that through every day as our relationship with God grows, so will our relationship with each other. It’s all about HIM!

That is the secret to a great marriage….God! If you do marriage any other way you will miss out on all the benefits that God makes available to you. God designed marriage and we will continue to give HIM his rightful place in ours. I pray you will do the same in yours.

Thanks for taking the journey with me! I wish I could have sat across the table from you at the coffee house and shared this story because there is just so much that God has done in my life through this blessing of marriage. But I am grateful you joined me here.

Tomorrow is the “big” day! 22 years! Hallelujah! Thanks for sharing my memories and allowing me to take up some of your day as I rambled on about my marriage. Lol! I pray, in some way, that you have been blessed! I know I have!

God is so faithful and he continues to amaze me every day! To HIM be ALL glory!

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

Still Continuing the Story....

Still continuing the story........

Well, we did tie the knot on that cold Saturday evening in February and spent our honeymoon in Myrtle Beach. I was so happy to be Mrs. Matt Jordan and begin our lives together! A couple of days later on February 10, Matt's birthday, we received a call that my grandfather had passed away suddenly of a heart attack. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. We packed up early the next morning and headed home to be with our family. After the visitation in Wilmington, we traveled to Virginia for the funeral and burial in the town I was born in. In an instant we went from celebrating together as a family over a new relationship to grieving together in the loss of life.

So as you can see, Matt and I faced difficulties very early into our marriage. Four months later I received a call from the hospital at 5:30 in the morning that my husband had been in a car accident. Matt had been leaving early in the mornings traveling out of town to work and returning late at night. That particular morning it was raining heavily and his truck lost control and landed in a ditch. Praise the Lord his injuries were minor but walking into the ER seeing your new husband strapped to a backboard covered in mud and blood can do a number on your nerves.

After that incident, life did calm down a bit and we could really begin to settle into married life. I loved everything about married life! I loved being at the door when Matt would come home from work and having supper on the table. I loved waking up in the morning and rolling over to see that he was there beside me. I loved how he would open the Bible at night and share devotions with me. I loved hearing my name, Mrs. Jordan, called whenever I was out. I loved going on a date with him only to realize that I would not have to say "goodbye" to him at the end of the date. Everything about married life made me smile!

Now I know what you are thinking. Did we ever fight? Well, the answer is, "YES"! Of course we did! We were newlyweds. We were two people all the sudden living together bringing our own traditions and habits under one roof so, yes, we had arguments, or "intense moments of fellowship", as I prefer to call them. Lol!

Throughout our first five years of marriage, I believe God used the many difficulties and challenges we faced to shape and strengthen our marriage. When we were ready to begin our family but things took a bit longer than anticipated, our marriage was extremely tested. I was still living my dream, and that, in no way, included infertility. But as we all know, God has a plan and his ways are not my ways.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.“ As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV84)

Anyone that has walked the road of infertility understands the extreme sadness and difficulty that loom around every corner.  It wasn’t supposed to be that hard. Doctor visits and medication month after month and still being heartbroken all over again at the sign of another negative pregnancy test. After a couple of years of walking that road, I finally became pregnant! We were beyond excited! I believe I walked on a cloud everywhere I went. That "glow" everyone says you get with pregnancy was a neon fluorescent light around me and I couldn't wait to become a family of three. Unfortunately, that was not meant to happen as a month later I began to show signs of miscarriage and through ultrasound, discovered that our baby's heartbeat had stopped. Matt and I were heartbroken over the loss of our child and I could hardly bear to face every day. The next several months were filled with pain and heartache. Seeing other pregnant bellies and newborn babies were like a punch in the gut and the darkness was almost more than I could bear at times.

As summer approached, Matt got news that he would be transferring to his office in Garner, NC. This news actually made me very happy. I was ready to move away, begin again, and leave all this heartache behind. That move for us, although temporary, ended up being a time of healing in our marriage and ourselves. Matt and I worked in the same office building and we were together pretty much 24 hours a day. That was an absolute blessing! We were settling into our “new normal” and getting actively involved in a new church. God was working and healing!

Right before Christmas that year, I discovered I was pregnant again!  We were shocked and excited!  Once we had moved to Garner, I kept rescheduling my doctor’s appointments because emotionally I wasn’t quite ready to begin the fertility battleground again. But God sent us some amazing news! It was hard to get too excited as my initial blood tests weren’t as great as they hoped but with some really incredible doctors and God’s divine providence, I was able to sustain my pregnancy. In August of 1996 I give birth to the most beautiful, BIG, baby boy! Ben came into this world at a whopping 10 lbs. and 1 oz. and honestly, the world began to look wonderful again. Skies were bluer; the grass was greener, the sun shined brighter and every detail to life gained more color. God brought so much healing in my life through that difficult time and the birth of our first child. I was wife to Matt and now, mom to Ben and nothing could have made me happier. God blessed us immensely and through that time of healing, I began to draw even closer to him.

“Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.”

Psalm 127:3

Over the next eight years of our marriage, lots of things were going on. God was shaping us into a family totally dependent on him. Matt and I faced some financial hardships in Garner and moved back to Wilmington soon after Ben was born. We settled back here and into our new church home and really began focusing on God’s will in the midst of all the challenges we had faced so far. Ben kept us on our toes, as he was a very active toddler. Haha! There were many days, through his toddler years, that I really thought I wouldn’t make it through, or he wouldn’t. One or the other of us. Lol! But we both grew during that time. I enjoyed my time as a stay at home mom and wife. In 2000, we were blessed with our beautiful baby girl, Callie! We praise the Lord that we didn’t have to endure the pain and suffering of infertility again and through her birth God gave us hope that not everything we encountered would be so difficult. She brought us so much joy and her big brother was quite protective of her (and still is ;). Our home was filled with a rambunctious toddler boy and lots of pink with a baby girl. We were blessed indeed! God had transitioned us from a couple to a family and that brought a whole new set of blessings and challenges.

“But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15b

After Callie was born, we decided that we were complete in our family and we were going to enjoy life as a family of four!

Well…that was our plan. Lol!

(to be continued….)

Continuing the story....Part 3

And still continuing the story…….

(Part 3)

Three weeks before our wedding, I gave up my title as WCA’s Homecoming Queen but on February 8, 1992, I received a new title….Mrs. Matt Jordan! Our “big day” arrived and I was getting married to my Prince Charming! All those childhood memories of playing “wedding” on the playground were about come to life. This time it was with my real groom and not some elementary boy I suckered into giving up his recess to play pretend groom. Haha!

We enjoyed a wonderful rehearsal and dinner! The same teacher that made such an impact on my life through my senior year was our wedding coordinator and she did a beautiful job of getting our very large wedding party ready and rehearsed.  After our dinner, Matt had me at home by 11:00 (my curfew was still in effect right up until I moved out. Haha!) I remember waking up the morning of my wedding day and was “cool as a cucumber”. I lounged around in my cozies because it was going to be a long wait to see my groom. Our wedding wasn’t until 6:00 so I took my time getting ready. We headed to the church that afternoon and the excitement was building. My “cool as a cucumber” attitude was quickly replaced by the butterflies in my stomach eating away at those cucumbers. Lol!

The time was here!!!! I could not believe I was getting ready to be Mrs. Matt Jordan!

Our wedding was beautiful! It was exactly as I had dreamed! The wedding party was huge and full of those most precious to us! My bridesmaids dressed in stunning purple dresses and the men so dasher in their tuxes. But nothing compared to standing in the back of the church as I heard the bridal march begin, the doors opened, and there he was! My prince was standing at the altar, so handsome in his tux, smiling in anticipation with tears of joy in his eyes, and at that moment nothing else mattered. My eyes were on him, saying, "I do", and beginning our lives together as one in Christ! Our family and friends surrounded us in love and it was an honor to have both of our childhood pastors unite us in marriage that day. Matt’s pastor, Rev. Wall, just recently went home to be with the Lord but he was a precious man of God. Pastor Herchenhahn was my pastor and did such a beautiful ceremony as he led us in the scripture of uniting in holy matrimony. We had my brother and sister-in-law and some dear friends sing during our ceremony and then as Pastor Herchenhahn announced us as husband and wife, my heart was full.  We sealed our vows with a kiss and then turned to face our family and friends in the presence of God as we were officially announced as Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Jordan. What an amazing time that was!

 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

Genesis 2:18 (KJV)

We made a covenant together before God that day and, still today, take that covenant very seriously. We've seen marriages crumble all around us; some even in our own families.  A reminder of the fallen world we live in and that none of us are immune to sinful and selfish desires. We know that our individual focus and attention has to be on Almighty God! It is only then that two people, who have their own selfish ways, can be totally committed to the covenant of marriage. Do we argue and fall short at times? Absolutely! Do we get on each other’s nerves and act selfishly? You bet! But you see, when we focus our attention on God, we are both looking in the same direction and God can unite our hearts in a way that only HE can. He can take these two selfish people and make something incredible out of them. God's design for marriage is beautiful and holy! Through the good times and the bad times it is a blessing to behold.  

I am truly honored to be united in holy matrimony with my best friend and love of my life. Many days I feel so unworthy of this amazing blessing. I am blessed that Matt chose me! I am blessed that God crossed our paths that hot summer day in Chick-fil-A! I am continually blessed that God allows us to live this gift of marriage everyday! Our vows were precious then and are still today.

What we vowed on February 8, 1992, we will continue as we honor each other and our God....to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part!

"So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

Matthew 19:6 (NASB)

Join me tomorrow as I continue the story......

Wedding memories!

Love my mom! 

Me and my mom!

All my beautiful sisters!

Matt and his dad with Rev. Wall and Pastor Herchenhahn

Matt reading the Word before heading down the aisle!

All the bridesmaids!

Two of my cousins, Becky & Natalie

Getting ready to take my walk down the aisle!

Sealing our vows with a kiss!

I LOVE this picture!

Mr. & Mrs. Matt Jordan

That is a BIG wedding party!

Our parents!

The Jordan family!

The Hales family!

Our grandparents! I had no idea that this would be the last time I would see my papa on this earth. He passed away 2 days later.

I loved our cake

Continuing the Story......

If you are just joining in on our walk through the first 22 years of our marriage, let me encourage you to read my last two blog posts first. This might help clue you in on our journey and why I would even be writing about it anyway. Lol!

So back to the story.....

My senior year in high school was such a momentous year in a lot of different ways. It was definitely a turning point in my life and a year I will always cherish. Matt and I had been seriously dating now for over eight months and as my senior year was beginning, Matt was completing his last few months at UNCW. We were madly in love and both of us knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. A week into my senior year, Matt and I celebrated the one year anniversary of our first date. Matt, along with the help of his parents, made me a romantic candlelit dinner down in his family room. I wasn't feeling the greatest that night because I was suffering with a kidney infection but I did not want to miss our anniversary celebration. After our dinner, Matt wanted to serve me dessert but I politely declined because I wasn't feeling well. The look on his face showed that he was disappointed so I quickly changed my mind and told him I would love some of his dessert. As he came down the stairs with a tray of delicious looking cheesecake (my favorite!!), I also noticed a small black box intricately arranged between our desserts. Matt got down on his knee and with tears in his eyes expressed his love for me. He slipped that beautiful diamond ring on my finger and asked me to marry him! Proposals today are like theatrical performances. Lol! They are televised and sometimes can cost the same as it would to fund a Hollywood premiere. Ha! But that night, there was no grand setup with a photographer hiding to snap pictures or a flash mob waiting to step out and sing and dance to a love song. It was just a perfect proposal from the most amazing man who was pledging his love for me. It was full of love and romance just between our God and us. And to think, I almost missed that because of a silly old kidney infection! Haha! As stunned as I was, I immediately said, "yes", knowing that he was the one God had chosen or me! My heart was full and I couldn’t wait to spend my life with him!

 

We continued our celebration as his parents waited in their back bedroom for us to emerge with the news! Then we rushed to my house to share the news with my family. We were so excited and also very blessed that we had wonderful parents that understood our commitment to each other and supported us every step of the way. And, yes, Matt did ask my dad for my hand in marriage and had the blessing of both sets of our parents before asking me. What a wonderful time that was!

I'm not going to lie, going to school the next week as a 17-year-old senior and engaged to be married did not receive many warm fuzzies from my teachers and although my classmates were happy for me, they also did not think we would stay together till our wedding much less 22 years of marriage. Lol! I can’t blame them. Nothing about our situation screamed “happily ever after”. It wasn’t the “norm”. Nonetheless, we were happy and focused on getting our diplomas and THEN beginning our lives together. All things in their proper order! ;)

As I said before, my senior year was a turning point in my life. Not just because I was engaged to be married. But because God was doing a work in my life as He was molding and shaping me more into the woman He wanted me to be.  I was blessed to grow up at a Christian school where the Bible was not only taught but also urged to live out and prayer was openly practiced. I had decided not to cheer my senior year so I could really focused on my studies. Matt was such a good student whose study habits were rubbing off on me and I really wanted to finish high school with great grades. Though I had many teachers of whom had a strong influence on my life, I had one particular teacher who impacted my life in such a tremendous way. Every morning I would enter Ms. Buick's Algebra class and she would spend the first few minutes in a time of devotion in God's Word and prayer. She was bold in teaching the Word! She could really preach a sermon before we opened our  books! Kind of made it easier to stomach Algebra! Haha! She didn't sugar coat things or water them down. She told it like it was! She shared with us that surrendering to God and walking in him was the ONLY way that we could live the abundant life that God had promised us in His Word.

 

This one particular day I felt the Holy Spirit gripping my heart in such a way that I could not focus on a thing she taught that day. All I could do was pray was that this class would hurry up and get over or I was going to bust. After class, I approached Ms. Buick with tears streaming down my face and asked to talk to her. She quickly took me into an unoccupied classroom and I shared with her that something wasn't quite right in my life. I knew I had surrendered my life to Christ when I was six years old but why did I feel so empty? As she shared with me through God's Word, I realized what I was missing was that intimate relationship with Christ. Yes, he was my Savior but I was too busy "serving" him instead of really getting to know him. I went to church every time the doors were open, I attended a Christian school, I worked in children's church, and I lived in a Christian home but I was taking for granted my personal relationship with Christ. My sins were forgiven and I was covered but I was missing out on really getting to know the heart of my Savior. Any relationship needs nurturing and getting to know each other, but I severely lacked in getting to know my Savior and that relationship was strained. Ms. Buick prayed with me that day and I remember her telling me that this day would be one that I would never forget, a day that would be a spiritual marker in my life. She was right! December 3, 1990, I recommitted my life to Christ and began a journey to know him more. What a beautiful day!

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

I could hardly wait for the dismissal bell to ring at school that day! I had to share this amazing news with the two most important people in my life, my mom and Matt! I drove to Chick-fil-A and explained my day to Matt and he rejoiced with me and committed that we would grow in Christ together. I cannot tell you what a blessing that was! Then I drove home and shared the news with my mom! She was already in tears as she sat watching old home movies of my granddaddy who had gone to be with Jesus just the year before. My mom hugged me tight and told me she was so proud of me. One of the greatest days of my life and I will never forget it!

That was the day my true love affair with Jesus really began! As my love for Matt continued to grow, so did our love for God. Our desire was to begin our lives as husband and wife honor our Lord.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

“Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future.”

Psalm 16:5 (HCSB)

Over the next year and a half, we were very busy! Matt graduated from UNCW, left Chick-fil-A and entered the “rat race”. I was finishing my senior year with the best grades I had ever had, was honored by being crowned the 1991 WCA Homecoming Queen, graduated from high school and began pursuing an accounting degree at Miller-Motte Business College. Through it all, we were planning our wedding. Wow! There was a lot going on! But the date was set and the countdown began to the day we would become husband and wife! Our engagement was precious as we went through our premarital counseling and began putting together the foundation of the Jordan home. Looking back now, that year before the wedding was almost a whirlwind!

But the day finally came!

“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”

Song of Solomon 6:3

(to be continued tomorrow…..)