Amazing Race Wrap-Up

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Whew!  Been a while since I posted about the Race.  I must say I felt the ending was rather anticlimactic.  So many good teams that seemed a lot stronger.  Apparently Ernie and Cindy were a stronger team than I thought.  🙂  Tommy and Andy were definitely my favorite team all the way through….their enthusiasm and bold testimony of Christ was amazing!

Here are some quotes from a few of the episodes….

 

 

Cathi: We need to put the pedal to the medal.  As safely and legally as possible.

Cathi: Have such a great time.

Marcus: From now on, THAT’S how you drive!!

Tommy or Andy: This is so rad!

Bill: (gets directions and walks away)  Did you get that?

Tommy or Andy: This is awesome!  I can’t see anything!

Tommy or Andy: That’s a ways down…that’s a long way down actually.

Getting married is fun

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The other day I had an eye doctor appointment.  I’ve actually had a lot recently.  Short story: I’m trying to get contact lenses, but none of them are working.  Therefore, I have tried 5 different kinds, the 6th is being ordered and if that one doesn’t work, I’m ready to be done trying.  Anyway.  I’ve been seeing a lot of the people there.

They all know that we’re getting married soon.  Yesterday they were asking lots of questions about the wedding and where we’ll be living.  One lady in particular was soo excited for us.  She was the youngest of the group and she related how she just loved her wedding day and was so sad when it was over.  She loved being married.

“Aww, it’s so fun,” she said to me.

“What is?”  Says another lady walking in the room.

“Getting married.”  1st speaker

“It is?”  2nd speaker.  They all three had a laugh at that point.

3rd lady speaks, saying something like, “We can see how you feel about it.”  A little later, “I love marriage.”

“Really?”  1st speaker.

“Yeah.”

“You never talk about it.”  1st

“No, I loved it.  I did it twice I loved it so much.”  3rd speaker

Again they shared a laugh.

It made me sad.  I was struck by the one lady’s comment that the other woman never talked about her husband or marriage.  It just wasn’t a topic of conversation.  I currently don’t have a job…but even though I don’t have an official workplace, I really want people to know that I love the fact that I’m getting married.  That I love Michael.  And after we’re married, I want them to know that I love marriage (because I’m pretty sure I will!).

I know, I know, it’s easy for me to think all this now….before more of the “real-life” marriage issues hit.  But it just really hit me again how marriage is seen in our society today.  It’s sad.  It really is.  To love your wedding day, to love your marriage, for your marriage to last for a lifetime…is more of a fantasy or a fairy-tale.  It doesn’t really happen that way.

But it can.  And it should.  Marriage is beautiful.  It’s a gift from God.  It’s about companionship, love, forgiveness, intimacy on all levels, encouragement, and faithfulness.  It’s about showing a tiny picture of God’s relationship with us.  I really want my marriage with Michael to show this beautiful, wonderful design for marriage.  And I know that it doesn’t just come “because we’re Christians.”  It’s a day-by-day, minute-by-minute choice.  By God’s grace, we will have such a marriage!  I want to encourage people so that they see that you can love and enjoy marriage.  For life.

-Bonnie

What’s on my mp3 player….

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I recently added two new songs to my collection (gotta love free amazon mp3 credits!)…one of which was Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson.

The reason I love this song is because…it’s a real-life love song.  At the beginning, a young couple gets engaged and embarks on a journey of a lifetime…marriage.  How does the songwriter describe marriage?  It’s “dancing in the minefields” and “sailing in the storm.”  He acknowledges that life is hard.  Very hard.  But the solution?  Lay your life down for your spouse.  Cling to God’s promises.  After all, He gave those promises for just such a time.  There’s nothing to fear.

“So in the face of all this chaos, baby,  I can dance with you.”

I love it.   I love how it paints a realistic picture of marriage.  It’s not all the romantic glamour that the movies show.  But you still make it through until death do you part as you lean on God’s great promises and follow His commands to love each other, laying down your life for the other.

Marriage is a high calling.  I can’t wait to live out this real-love, life-long marriage with my sweetheart.

-Bonnie

Pinterest Love

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Okay, I admit it.  I have fallen into the Pinterest fad.  It took me a while to understand it, and it took me a while to like it…but now I love it!  Tonight I have been having so much fun looking at home decorating ideas!  I bookmarked several that I want to remember…

 

I love candles.  And I love books.  This is beautiful.  I would probably do a few modifications….but I love the main idea.

Source: suzyssitcom.com via Dawn on Pinterest

 

Faux metal hangings?  Out of cardboard?  It looks very time-consuming, but I like the final result.  Could be that it doesn’t look so good up close, but….I like it at least from a distance.  🙂

 

Another candle!!  And coffee!!  Coffee is another love of mine.  This is wonderful.  I might just do this on our coffee table when we move to our first base.

 

I definitely want to do this.  My sister, Melinda, used pages of a book on the light switch plate in her room.  Love it!

 

I love the mosaic look.  It’s one of my favorite things to do in scrapbooking, as well.  I love the idea of doing it as a wall hanging.  I’ve seen another one similar to this where the person covered styrofoam in fabric.  So creative!

 

This is simply Elmer’s glue.  On canvas.  So simple….totally doable!!

 

How wonderful is this??  This blogger used these accents on gift packages, but I have seen other people turn a bunch of roses into a wreath.  Now…the question is…could I actually bring myself to do this to a book??  Hmm.

 

Another book page idea.  Printing silhouettes onto dictionary pages….

 

Sooo many fun and creative ideas out there!  Can’t wait to try some of them someday!

-Bonnie

Wedding Planning Tip #1

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Every resource and guide and post and book it seems has a different “recommended time” to mail out invitations.  I was told the 3 month mark…then the 2 month…then the 6 week mark.  We compromised and did something like the 7 week mark.  I would recommend doing it before then.  That sounds like plenty of time…but if you have any changed addresses, by the time they get returned and you mail new ones out, you’re at the 3 week mark.  Which is what has happened to us.  (Hopefully we’re done getting invitations returned…but we did just get one a couple days ago, so you never know.)  Just to ensure that they all arrive in plenty of time, I would recommend mailing invitations at least at the 2 month mark.  🙂

-Bonnie

Thankful

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During Thanksgiving, its traditional to state what we are thankful for.

This year, I am especially and truly thankful that God has brought Bonnie into my life, and that we will be married soon.

I am also thankful to God for my Pilot selection, my opportunity to go to school and graduate next semester and my job at Bank of America.

-Michael

Loaded with Benefits

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Psalm 68:19, “Blessed be the LORD,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Selah”

So in bullet format….a few of the things I am pondering (in no particular order) as I approach the day of Thanks tomorrow!

  • Michael!!!!
  • Laughter
  • My dog, Chopin, who I’ve had for four years.  Looking for a new home for him now…
  • Drew and Carter, my sweet nephews
  • The Holy Spirit
  • The times God reminds me of things I need to be learning and thinking about
  • My parents!
  • My sisters
  • My wonderful parents-in-law and siblings-in-law
  • A wonderful apartment that we get to move into soon!
  • Good friends
  • A cup of coffee
  • Disneyland
  • Encouragement that comes from the body of Christ
  • The mental capacities God has given me
  • Food
  • When something reminds you of something hilarious that happened that one time
  • Welcoming people home
  • Blogs!  I’ve had a lot of encouragement and conviction from various bloggers…
  • Godly couples at our church who have come alongside Michael and I as we are preparing for marriage
  • Marriage!!
  • Our wedding, that I know will be absolutely perfect and beautiful
  • God’s calling
  • Creative capacities
  • Cookies
  • Books
  • The book of Deuteronomy
  • Red roses from my sweetheart
  • Sunshine and rain, thunder and lightning
  • Heart flutters because of my love
  • The knowledge that God is continuing to mold me into the woman and wife He wants me to be
  • The Air Force
  • Random things that are absolutely hilarious
  • Getting to know people
  • Heaters, jackets, and socks
  • Cute clothes, cute hairstyles, and makeup
  • My wedding dress
  • M&Ms, and just chocolate in general
  • The ability to move, exercise, and take care of the body God has given me
  • The knowledge that my future is mapped out by God’s hand and that He has given me the most wonderful man in the world to face life with!

God truly has loaded me with benefits each and every day.  There is so much to be thankful for!   I just wish I had eyes to see them every day!!

Source: etsy.com via Michelle on Pinterest

 

 

-Bonnie

Booking Through Thursday

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I recently came across the Booking Through Thursday site and thought it was pretty neat.  🙂

Today’s questions are:

Of the books you own, what’s the biggest category/genre?
Is this also the category that you actually read the most?

Hmm.  *scans bookshelves*  My biggest category would have to be my biography section.  Most of them are biographies on missionaries, but I do have several military ones, and a couple on the Donner Party.  (One of my favorite biographies was one I read several years ago…If God Should Choose by Kristen Stagg.)

But….currently most of the books I’m reading are not from this category.  I’ve been reading a lot of marriage books (hmm, I wonder why?) and a couple Christian fiction books.  I did have the goal to read through my whole biography shelf…but so far…hasn’t happened….   Someday.  🙂

-Bonnie

Sisters!!

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I’m thankful for my sisters!!  I can’t even describe how thankful I am for them.  Over the years, we made way too many good memories.  😀  When our parents were out on dates, we would have fun watching movies or making cards or working on other crafts or acting out scenes from movies and all of that usually involved lots of laughing.  My sisters have caused some of my greatest laughing fits ever!

I also am so thankful for the ways that they have mentored me over the years, whether it was through actual verbal counsel or just by their actions.  They both have blessed, encouraged, and convicted me so much.

And now we’re all grown up and married/getting married.  Crazy how quickly time passed.  But I am so excited to be on this path with my sisters of striving to be godly wives!

I love you girls!!!

-Bonnie