Keep Calm and Trust God!

Well we made it through the craziness of coastal snow and ice, weather delays and closings, bad attitudes and complaints. It is Friday and schools are all on schedule and people are beginning to regain their sanity. Lol!

Wow! What a week!

Today, I am thankful that in a world of chaos with bad news stories, inclement weather, and harsh realities that I have a God that I can turn to. My GOD...the Creator of the Universe...the Savior of the world! He is the One who holds the world in his hands. Nothing happens without first being sifted through his hands. We may not understand it but there is NOTHING that will happen without it having divine purpose in your life...in my life. Today I choose to trust the One who loves me like no other. I trust the One who sees the whole picture instead of my feeble brain who only sees a tiny spec on this earthly timetable.

Today I choose praise! Today I choose joy! Today I choose trust...in my God!

"He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together."

Colossians 1:17 (HCSB)

"The LORD has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster."

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."

Proverbs 16:4, 9 NLT)

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Amazing YOU!

Amazing YOU! Marvelous YOU! Wonderful YOU!

YOU were God's best kept secret! He knew everything about YOU before you made your grand entrance into this world. YOU have meaning and YOU have purpose. So, get up out of that bed this morning and live this amazing life that God has for YOU! Don't let the enemy steal your joy today. Live for God! Trust God! Learn from your mistakes! Walk in victory!

He loves YOU! His thoughts about YOU are precious! YOU matter!

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!"

Psalms 139:13-18 (NLT)

But God....

No matter what you may be facing today, remember these two very powerful words.....BUT GOD!

No situation is too great for our God. No problem is too big. When things seem out of control, take Jesus by the hand and let him lead you right where you need to be. 

'Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

"For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ 

Isaiah 41:13 (NKJV)

Look to the LIGHT!

Good Monday morning! Today is a day celebrated by Americans as "President's Day". Well, I should say...used to celebrate. Many schools & businesses no longer celebrate it but it is still a national holiday and worthy of honoring some amazing presidents in our country's history. I sit here in my home this morning cuddled up with a blanket and my coffee enjoying this Monday off but yet my heart is still grieved. This past week I have seen so much darkness that my heart is heavy. Heaviness from seeing friends and loved ones walking through dark, treacherous valleys; from seeing what was once called abuse, violence, and pornography now be labeled as entertainment to sold out crowds and record breaking sales; and now to seeing 21 Christ followers murdered for their belief in Christ.

Yes, there is a heaviness on my heart.

This scripture keeps coming to my mind this morning:

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

This world is dark and it gets darker every day. The enemy seems to be working overtime and chaos and hurt loom at every turn.

But.......

This morning, in the presence of my God, I pour over his Word and I see such hope! To the world it looks dark and of no hope but when you know...truly KNOW the One who holds this world in his hands there is hope beyond compare.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

John 10:10 (NIV)

So how does that apply when everywhere you turn there is darkness?

Well, dear friends....look to the Light! When darkness overshadows the news and situations in our homes, we have to cling to scripture and recognize that our God is the Light.

"This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all."

1 John 1:5 (NLT)

Though it seems unbearable, God is STILL in control and He is STILL on His throne. Satan knows his days are numbered. God's Word tells us that these things will happen but it also gives us, those who are in Christ, such hope that the enemy will be destroyed.

"And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

Romans 16:20 (NKJV)

We have to be alert and daily arm ourselves in the scripture to walk this battle of life. I love this passage and it's such a great reminder to us of how to daily walk into battle.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

Be alert!

When our circumstances seem overwhelming....look to the Light.

When the world gets more perverse every day...look to the Light.

When our brothers and sisters across the world are dying for their faith...look to the Light.

God is Light and we have this hope...

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 (NKJV)

Today, as you go about your day whether you are at work or celebrating a holiday, remember that God is Light and cling to Him. If you don't truly know God then don't let another second pass without surrendering your life to HIM. We are not promised our next breath on this earth. Are you prepared to meet your Maker?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

'If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.'

Romans 10:9 (HCSB)

Concluding our Story...

Concluding our story……

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 headed to Lakeland, FL, into a 650 square foot, 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 our hearts for a child we didn’t even know yet and it was clear we had to move forward to bring our child home. We took a huge leap of faith in obedience to God and He put all the details in place!

(I will not go into all the details of our adoption here, but stay tuned in May for our adoption journey!)

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 seen us through some other challenges. 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 are tough times and challenges looming even now, but the blessing is that God is there every step of the way and continues to make something beautiful out of each trial!

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. Times can be difficult but peace and joy from our God can remain.

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 23 years of marriage and, yes, I see those difficult times, but more than that now, I see the beauty that God brings 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. I see how our faith impacts our children and as they grow our desire is that they follow Jesus and live for HIM only. 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 23 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. The more I know my God…truly know him, the deeper my love for him goes.

I cannot begin to explain how much I love my Jesus! 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 I will share some pictures of our years together and then on Sunday we will celebrate our 23 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)

Continuing the Story....Becoming a Family!

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^th, 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 argue? 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 facing every day was difficult. 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 with the specialist 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 God’s divine providence and some really incredible doctors, 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. God had a different plan in mind! Lol!

Join me tomorrow as I conclude the story!

Continuing the Story...The BIG Day!

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; 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 for more of the the story......

Continuing our story....

If you are just joining in on our walk through the first 23 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 us and our God. 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 23 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 focus 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 who had strong influences 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. Times were scary as we were right in the midst of the Gulf War. So, being in the Word was the best place she could take her students first thing in the morning. Ms. Buick 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 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!

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 3:30

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!

(Tune in tomorrow as I share about our BIG DAY!)

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

Song of Solomon 6:3

How It All Began...

Today, I begin our story. If you didn’t read my post from yesterday this makes no sense to you. Ha! But if you are just joining, in honor of my upcoming 23^rd wedding anniversary, I am going to share our story. A love story that spans a quarter of a century and shares all the growing and learning in our marriage. Some things will be boring for you, some things will sound vaguely familiar, and some things, I pray, will inspire you to know that marriage is a huge blessing in spite of our human selves. Lol! This is our journey of 23 years of walking this blessing, making mistakes along the way, but praising God that we get to walk it together.

So, if you’re ready, grab your cup of coffee and join me for a walk down memory lane!

Once upon a time.......JUST KIDDING!

Seriously, here is how it all began....

From the time I was a young girl I couldn't wait to grow up, meet Prince Charming, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. I guess I wasn't a whole lot different from other girls my age. That was the dream! My friends and I used to play wedding on the playground in elementary school and would find some poor little boys in our class to stand in as our grooms. Oh, those crazy elementary years and poor unsuspecting souls. Haha!

Well, my dream did come true and I am happy to say that I am still living my dream with my Prince Charming! Though things weren't always a storybook tale, they were indeed part of our story so I guess I will start at the beginning. That hot summer day at Independence Mall when I met my Prince!

Soon after I turned 16, it was time to find my first job. So the summer after my sophomore year I got a job at a wonderful Christian company that was very good to young people by working around school and sports schedules and just so happened to be closed on Sunday. It was a perfect job! On July 21, 1989, I began working for a little company you may have heard of....Chick-fil-A. Lol! Two of my sisters had previously worked there and it just became a family thing. (We are so proud that our 18-year-old son is walking in our footsteps at his first job at Chick-fil-A!) I remember walking in that first day nervous that I was entering the workforce. The owner, Mr. Skelton, introduced me to the other employees and I remember, like it was yesterday, my handsome prince standing over the fryer putting in a fresh batch of chicken nuggets. As romantic as this all sounds, I hate to bust the "Cupid bubble" and admit that it was not love at first sight. Lol! He was just a nice guy cooking chicken who so happened to be my new manager.

I loved working at Chick-fil-A! The majority of the staff were teens or college students and a couple of them went to school with me. We had a great time working! Even those long open to close Saturdays were a lot of fun in spite of the crazy lunch hour mall crowd. After working a couple of weeks, Matt and I became pretty good friends. But dating did not really enter our minds because, well, he was six years older than me. Yes, that's correct! I was 16 and he was 22. Now, once you pick your chin up off the floor, I will finish this beautiful story. Haha!

One of my close friends (Shelly) noticed the spark Matt and I had for each other and decided to take matters into her own hands by convincing Matt to ask me out. He, of course, was concerned about our age difference but she, so slyly, reminded him that when he was old and gray, I would still be young and beautiful. Hahaha! I guess that did the trick because he did ask me out! Lol! I had dated a couple of guys before Matt but I had a standard that I always stuck to. I would never date a guy that I couldn't see myself married to one day. By that, what I mean is, I looked for certain qualities in a guy before I would date him. Qualities such as, is he a born again believer in Jesus Christ? Is he active in his church? Does he respect and honor his parents? Does he respect authority? Does he drink or smoke? Is he respectful of other people? I know it is a long list but those things were important to me and the more I got to know Matt, the more it became evident that he possessed all those qualities.

So now came the tough part.....asking my dad if this 22-year-old man could take his 16-year-old daughter out on a date. If any of you reading this know my dad, you are probably wondering how we ever got together, or better yet, how Matt is still alive today. ;) But I did what any girl scared of her daddy would do…. I asked my mom first. Haha! I came home from work all excited to tell my mom about this guy at work who asked me out and she was sharing in my excitement. I told her that he was so nice, funny, good looking, a Christian, with godly parents, and that he even went to a Baptist church. She was smiling cheerily and then I lowered the BOOM. I said,

"Oh, by the way, he is 22 and will you ask dad for me?"

The look on my mom's face was priceless! Lol! She, in her “always-calm manner”, said that she would ask him.

After work that Friday night, my dad agreed to meet Matt and invited him over to the house. So, we enter my home in our greasy uniforms reeking of fried chicken and the house is full of people. My sisters, my brother and their spouses just so happened to be there that night. Huh! Big coincidence? NOT! My mom and dad introduced themselves and then take us into the living room. The LIVING ROOM! We never went in there! That place was formal with fancy furniture and just shouted "INTIMIDATION". Anyway, for an hour my dad asked Matt questions as my mom and I sat quietly listening to Matt answer with perfect ease. He was well spoken and confident about what he was going to do with his life and assured my dad that he would be a perfect gentleman to his daughter. Okay, it was finally over and I was waiting for my dad to say "no", but my dad shook Matt's hand and told us to have a good time on our date.

What?!?!?!? He said, "YES"?

I think I heard thumps coming from the other room that occupied all my siblings with their ears, I'm sure, stuck to the walls as they eavesdropped. Lol! We were all in shock that my dad was allowing this date.

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(As a side note....my dad told me years later (after we were married) that he never intended to allow me to go out with Matt. He said he invited him over that night so he could see what kind of pervert 22-year-old man wanted to date his 16-year-old daughter. Lol! Yikes!

But after he spent time with Matt, he could tell that Matt's intentions were pure and he was so impressed with him and his character! I am so thankful my parents had trust in my judgment!)

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Well, the next Saturday, on August 26, 1989, was our big date! I was so excited! I bought a new outfit (my favorite color…purple) and made sure that my hair was done just right. Now, remember, this was the 80s so “just right” hair was big and full of hairspray. Don’t judge! Ha! Now that you have that visual in your mind let me continue….

I was so nervous as I waited for Matt's little red Ford Festiva to pull into the driveway. I think my heart was beating through my brand new purple and black polka dotted shirt. He arrived right on time and escorted me to his car. He opened the car door for me and was such the perfect gentleman. We had a wonderful time over dinner at Rock-ola Café. He was so easy to talk to and always carried the conversation.  After dinner, we went back to my house to play a game of pool on our family pool table. It was the perfect date! We laughed, talked, and enjoyed a fun evening. Of course, I could hardly go to sleep that night. I was totally smitten and knew deep in my heart that he was the one for me.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a second date anytime soon after. Though we remained close friends, it was a few months of Matt soul searching and me patiently waiting. You see, Matt was about to graduate from college and I was still a junior high school. Everything about our situation seemed as though we should go separate ways and we almost headed that way but both of us knew deep down that God had plans for us beyond what we expected. It was New Year's Eve 1989 (after the big snow storm of ’89), as Matt returned from a scuba diving trip down in the Florida Keys with a friend, that we realized that we were meant to be together. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was heading to the mall to do a little retail therapy since I had not heard anything from Matt returning from his trip. As I got out of my car I spotted Matt and his friend coming toward me through the parking lot. (Key the beautiful music and picture in slow motion as we walked towards each other…just kidding!) Matt walked right up to me, hugged me tightly, and told me he had missed me and that he couldn’t wait to see me. He invited me over to his house after church that Sunday night for New Year’s Eve and from that point on, we were inseparable. We knew that God had plans for us and we decided to give this relationship a try. He told me that during that trip away, he felt as though God was doing a work in his heart about us.

Saying "yes" to our relationship when it didn't make a lot of sense to others was the beginning of a lifetime together of saying "yes" to God in whatever he called us to do. Over our 25 years together, we have boldly said, "yes" to God's calling many times, yet feeling alone in our endeavor of obedience to Him. From the outside, things didn't always make sense and we didn't have all the answers but, together, we trusted the ONE who did and had faith that He would direct our path. We have had our share of ups and downs. We have weathered many storms and celebrated many victories. We have experienced the struggle of being disobedient to God and we have enjoyed the peace of being in the center of his will. Through it all, we have grown closer together and closer to our God. We have recognized that challenges are inevitable but that joy can remain. A relationship with God at the center is so much sweeter and not a day goes by that I don't praise my Heavenly Father for navigating our paths and granting us this most beautiful blessing of marriage! Though our marriage is not perfect, as we are not, our marriage is a continual work-in-progress that is grounded in faith, trust, forgiveness, grace, and lots of love. Every day is an adventure through God's will and I am so incredibly blessed to be able to journey on with my love!

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. "

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13 (NLT)

So, if you’re not totally bored, join me tomorrow morning for more of the story!