We fix our eyes on You, You are God alone
We fix our eyes on You, You’re our only hope
For all we have to lose is our very souls
We fix our eyes on You, You are God alone
We fix our eyes on You, You’re our only hope
For all we have to lose is our very souls
Save us from these comforts
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You
Yeah, we will worship You
Satisfy us, Lord, in Your unfailing love
Satisfy us, Lord, that You would be enough
We have nothing here, let Your kingdom come
Save us from these comforts
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You
Yeah, we will worship You
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Save us from these comforts
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You
Yeah, we will worship You
Carlos Whittaker- We Will Worship You
My need for the familar is great. When things arent familiar, I tend to lose it. Life appears to fall apart. I am miserable. Change makes me terribly uncomfortable. I hate it. Strong word, but i HATE change. Gradual change so that I can look back and not realize change happened, I am fine with. But change that happens within an hour rocks my world. In reading the Bible tonight you can imagine my shock when I couldn't find a verse that says "I will not change your world abruptly and radically in a short period of time" Its like the Bible wasn't written just for my comfort. This song just puts into words all the frustration, nerves and worries I have for the future. Define comfortable "free from stree or anxiety" that is what I would love to be, but God never promised that. Lately He has done nothing but redo our plans over and over. It has gotten to the point where I don't know why we make plans. Its a joke.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Life is precious
The events of the past two weeks have really shown me how delicate and precious life is. We have had a friend pass away, a family member in the hospital, and a coworker hit by a drunk driver. The news flashes stories of an infant abandoned in a toilet. We live in a fallen world that needs a Savior. With all the tragedy that has surrounded us lately, it is easy to slip into a state of worry. One that is paralyzed by fear of what is to come to the point that we miss what is already here. After a long talk and much prayer, the Lord has challenged us over and over again to trust Him. To abide in Him. To rely on Him.
Psalm 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
How thankful I am that my Savior knows me; my failures my strengths, my dreams and passions. He knows my heart and all my misguided energies. He knows how often I lose motivation to spend time in the Word, yet he never gives up on me. He knows that when I fail my husband and lose my temper, that I am still His child and He still loves me. What a tremendous blessing it is to have a Lord and Savior who has endless patience with me.
As Tamanda faces changes on the horizon, graduation, full time employment, rotation, the Lord has proved Himself faithful (as if He needed to...HA!) He continuously places people in our path who can support and encourage us. We have started the marriage class. In the first class, Butch challenged us that as a married couple we should be mentoring unmarried couples and by the end of the class, we should have written our own premarriage class. Oh goodness. Overwhelmed. I tried to hide my wedding ring. TJ informed me that people will still know we are married. He is typically correct so I went back to flashing my new bling.
Needless to say God is stretching us.
Psalm 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
How thankful I am that my Savior knows me; my failures my strengths, my dreams and passions. He knows my heart and all my misguided energies. He knows how often I lose motivation to spend time in the Word, yet he never gives up on me. He knows that when I fail my husband and lose my temper, that I am still His child and He still loves me. What a tremendous blessing it is to have a Lord and Savior who has endless patience with me.
As Tamanda faces changes on the horizon, graduation, full time employment, rotation, the Lord has proved Himself faithful (as if He needed to...HA!) He continuously places people in our path who can support and encourage us. We have started the marriage class. In the first class, Butch challenged us that as a married couple we should be mentoring unmarried couples and by the end of the class, we should have written our own premarriage class. Oh goodness. Overwhelmed. I tried to hide my wedding ring. TJ informed me that people will still know we are married. He is typically correct so I went back to flashing my new bling.
Needless to say God is stretching us.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Newlywed Adventure
Goodness life is busy. This morning brought a whole new world of adventure. Getting ready for school/work without power. Challenging. Thankfully the Lord is merciful and held off the power outage until i had finished drying my hair. Amazing how the little things impact me. So thankful to TJ's family for buying him this HUGEGINORMOUSGIGANTIC flashlight that I held in the bathroom so he could get ready this morning. Ah yes adventures of the newlyweds.
As posted last time we are trying to reduce expenses, which explains why our heater has not been turned on yet. Don't freak out, don't stop visiting us. We will turn on the heat if you come by :) But instead of the heater we have invested in a little friend we like to call, Kevin.
Meet Kevin Spacey. He is our new best friend. He can take a room at 55° and heat it up to a balmy 65°. TJ bought him for me with some of our wedding gift cards. Best husband EVER! So Kevin sits in our room/bathroom etc making our lives better without the expense of the heater running throughout the whole house. What a life :)
Also, today is our one month anniversary. God has taught us that marriage is hard. It forces you to admit your weaknesses because they are so clearly exposed to your spouse. He has taught us that without Him we can do nothing. Marriage has exposed what a selfish person I am. From silly things like wanting the first shower to not wanting to do laundry, I am selfish. TJ is the most gracious patient man I have ever met. Even this morning I had to apologize for not being Christ like in my "I-Hate-The-Cold" attitude. Yet he forgives me and moves on without ever bringing up the past. What a sweet man.
As posted last time we are trying to reduce expenses, which explains why our heater has not been turned on yet. Don't freak out, don't stop visiting us. We will turn on the heat if you come by :) But instead of the heater we have invested in a little friend we like to call, Kevin.
Meet Kevin Spacey. He is our new best friend. He can take a room at 55° and heat it up to a balmy 65°. TJ bought him for me with some of our wedding gift cards. Best husband EVER! So Kevin sits in our room/bathroom etc making our lives better without the expense of the heater running throughout the whole house. What a life :)
Also, today is our one month anniversary. God has taught us that marriage is hard. It forces you to admit your weaknesses because they are so clearly exposed to your spouse. He has taught us that without Him we can do nothing. Marriage has exposed what a selfish person I am. From silly things like wanting the first shower to not wanting to do laundry, I am selfish. TJ is the most gracious patient man I have ever met. Even this morning I had to apologize for not being Christ like in my "I-Hate-The-Cold" attitude. Yet he forgives me and moves on without ever bringing up the past. What a sweet man.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The groceries cost HOW MUCH?!
So all you married women, how do you feed this always hungry man that lives with you without going broke?! Seriously, I am amazed at what our food bill is each week. Since being in college I have tried to eat healthy and workout. TJ eats mass quantities of food, it does not matter the nutritional composition of the food, he just inhales it. So when I tried to feed him the same quantities of good food, we almost went broke during week one of our marriage.
Last night I was extremely frustrated after another $100 + grocery store trip, he patiently sat down and calculated how much we spend on snacks, breakfast, dinner, etc. Now I need inexpensive meals that will feed a 6 ft 3 in starving man. Suggestions?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Married Life
The blog I've been waiting to write. WE ARE MARRIED!!!
Marriage is a funny thing. I have three younger sisters and have never lived with a boy besides my daddy. Sooo this was kind of a culture shock. But I married the most gentle, servant hearted man I have ever met. Daily he blows me away with his patience and kindness.
Examples: On Tuesday/Thursday he has class at 8am, so he gets up to shower and leaves the heater on so its nice and toasty when I get up. Next example; we had shrimp alfredo pasta one night and I looked over at his plate which is completely empty except for all the shrimp. He was saving them for my lunch the next day awwww :)
But marriage is for sure challenging. It took about 2 days to realize that there is a reason we need the Lord's strength to serve each other in marriage. What a blessing it is to serve and man that loves the Lord with all his heart. We have been working out alot since we got back from the honeymoon (where we ate 5 meals a day...LOVE all inclusive resorts) Melanie Davis got me hooked on TurboFire and now I cant stop.
We are signed up for the marriage class starting in a few weeks at Living Hope which will be so good as God continues to shape us into the husband and wife we should be. We are so fortunate to have a Godly body of believers who mentor us and hold us accountable. It is so fun to be in the newlywed group (which is quite large) at Living Hope.
Examples: On Tuesday/Thursday he has class at 8am, so he gets up to shower and leaves the heater on so its nice and toasty when I get up. Next example; we had shrimp alfredo pasta one night and I looked over at his plate which is completely empty except for all the shrimp. He was saving them for my lunch the next day awwww :)
But marriage is for sure challenging. It took about 2 days to realize that there is a reason we need the Lord's strength to serve each other in marriage. What a blessing it is to serve and man that loves the Lord with all his heart. We have been working out alot since we got back from the honeymoon (where we ate 5 meals a day...LOVE all inclusive resorts) Melanie Davis got me hooked on TurboFire and now I cant stop.
We are signed up for the marriage class starting in a few weeks at Living Hope which will be so good as God continues to shape us into the husband and wife we should be. We are so fortunate to have a Godly body of believers who mentor us and hold us accountable. It is so fun to be in the newlywed group (which is quite large) at Living Hope.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
How do you feel 4 days before your wedding?
A question I have asked many brides. Here is the answer
stressed
excited
anxious
nervous
thrilled
happy
sad
ecstatic
exhausted
stressed
excited
anxious
nervous
thrilled
happy
sad
ecstatic
exhausted
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
10 days.....10 days?!?!?!?!
Well time has for sure hit overdrive. Amanda is a graduate of Texas A&M University! WHOOP! TJ finished a ridiculously hard semester with a fantastic GPA thanks to the grace of God. No way we could have survived this semester if not for the grace of God. And now....Christmas in 3 days, wedding in 10.
Things engagement has revealed to me
1. I am selfish beyond belief. When we started planning this wedding, I had it set in stone that we would finish planning under budget, that our wedding would be small in College Station, that I would have a huge ball gown dress, and that we would serve breakfast for dinner. Obviously, things didn't pan out the way I expected.
2. I have a feeling of entitlement. This was revealed through the registry. Stupid, i know. But looking at friends who have a registry that is completely bought, made me feel like we deserved the things on the registry. After 4+ years of dating, waiting for marriage, not living together, being good kids and having good grades, it seems like we should have all the nice things that established married couples have. But the truth is, we deserve death for our sins. A cruel death on the cross that Jesus died for us. The fact that people have given to us out of the goodness of their hearts is something we are so thankful for.
3. I am NOT a patient person by nature. Some people walk out of the womb casually just spilling over with patient and that was not me. I'm sure I was the person in the womb looking at my watch asking when we could get this show on the road.
Things engagement has revealed to me
1. I am selfish beyond belief. When we started planning this wedding, I had it set in stone that we would finish planning under budget, that our wedding would be small in College Station, that I would have a huge ball gown dress, and that we would serve breakfast for dinner. Obviously, things didn't pan out the way I expected.
2. I have a feeling of entitlement. This was revealed through the registry. Stupid, i know. But looking at friends who have a registry that is completely bought, made me feel like we deserved the things on the registry. After 4+ years of dating, waiting for marriage, not living together, being good kids and having good grades, it seems like we should have all the nice things that established married couples have. But the truth is, we deserve death for our sins. A cruel death on the cross that Jesus died for us. The fact that people have given to us out of the goodness of their hearts is something we are so thankful for.
3. I am NOT a patient person by nature. Some people walk out of the womb casually just spilling over with patient and that was not me. I'm sure I was the person in the womb looking at my watch asking when we could get this show on the road.
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