Five on Friday!

Morning!
Hope your day so far has been filled with joy, Jesus and lots of coffee!

-ONE- 

Last weekend was BEAUTIFUL and we definitely soaked up as much time outside as we could. We even ate supper outside and took a super long walk around our town. It was glorious. 

-TWO-

I am SO ready for summer clothes and dresses again! I cannot wait to go shopping for maxi dresses and bright fun jewelry! 

-THREE- 

My sweet husband always finds ways to surprise me and make me feel special. On Wednesday he got me flowers for no reason and also volunteered to do all the dishes. He is a keeper. 

-FOUR-

On Wednesday I participated in sweet Rachel's Coffee Date linkup. It was a huge success and it was so fun reading what was on other women's hearts on Wednesday. I am so thankful for the blogging community I have met and have gotten to know. I have learned so much from them. You can read my post here. 

-FIVE-

It is my parents 30th wedding anniversary on Monday so we are going to go celebrate with them tomorrow with my sister and her boyfriend. I can't wait to spend time with them and celebrate such an exciting anniversary!

Have a great weekend! 

Love,

             Lindsey

Coffee Date

Good morning my dear blogging friends!

I just want to say that I am so encouraged by you. The blogging world has been such a blessing to me and I have so enjoyed "meeting" many of you through your blogs. So many of you share such amazing and inspiring blog posts and I enjoy reading them every day! One of those lovely and encouraging women is Rachel from Oh Simple Thoughts. She has such a beautiful heart and it has been so fun getting to know her the last couple of weeks. 

Today I am joining Rachel for her Coffee Date linkup. I wish so badly that we could have a coffee date in person but since we live so very far apart from one another we will sip our coffee and learn about each other through this sweet linkup hundreds of miles away from each other. It's going to be fun! 

My topic for our coffee date is The Beauty of Submission. Now, I know that the word submission is not very favored in today's society, even sometimes in the Christian community. It is a word that people usually associate with control or yielding to. What I want to share with you is that submitting to your husband is not a duty but gift. It is a way for us to bless our husbands with the opportunity to live our their role as the leader of the house. That is the way God designed it and the way he designed marriage.

I want to clarify and say that submission does not mean that our husbands make all of the decisions and that we do everything they say no questions asked. Marriage is about teamwork and unity. Husbands and wives should discuss everything and the wife's opinion should be heard just like the husbands. The act of submitting comes in when you both have different opinions about a decision and you have talked and prayed about it but instead of insisting on having your way, you follow your husbands lead and do what he thinks is best. It may not always turn out right but does that mean that we rub it in his face and decide to never submit to him again? NOOO!! I plead with you not to do that. It will tear down your husband more than anything else in the world. If the situation turns out badly when your husband makes the decision then he should take responsibility for it but we need to tell him that we still respect him and love him just the same. We need to be women of encouragement. I truly believe it will bless your marriage more than you know.

I would love to share with you a personal experience I had with submission and how God changed my heart.

Last year in January and February, Jordan and I were looking for a place to live after we got married. He was living with a few friends at the time and I was living with a family in our town. We had been looking for an apartment for a while and we weren't finding anything. It was really starting to stress me out and I was scared we were never going to find a place. After seeing how stressed out I was about it Jordan asked if he could have the responsibility of finding a place for us to live so I didn't have to worry about that and finishing wedding plans. I should have been excited and thankful, right? I mean that was so thoughtful and sweet of him to take on that responsibility. Well, I have a large struggle with control so... I was freaking out inside. What if he finds a place that is gross, too small, in a bad neighborhood or too expensive? I know, these thoughts were totally crazy! This was my future husband, not a stranger... I can trust his judgement. But, I bought into all these lies and concerns because I wasn't able to control the situation anymore.

After a few weeks Jordan sent me a link to a place and told me he wanted to go look at it. Well, this place was overpriced for the amount of space that you got and for the quality of the apartment... it was a dump. While we were walking through it I was panicking in side and trying to come up with a nice way to say that I hated it. Fortunately, Jordan didn't like it either so I didn't need to worry about that. We also looked at another apartment complex that was also pretty awful. BUT the price was great. We both decided that we would keep it in mind but would continue looking. After that the search continued.

That next week I had some free time so I decided to start looking at apartments online. After a little while I found a really cute little apartment with a great price and in a great part of town. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to tell Jordan about it and set up a showing. When I told him about the apartment he wasn't very excited. He said, "I thought you were going to let me handle it, don't you trust me?" Looking back I can see how he felt disrespected in that moment because I was trying to control our situation and take over from him. Unfortunately, at the time I couldn't understand what I did wrong.

After we talked about it and I apologized for trying to take control, Jordan agreed to go look at the apartment I found. Well, after seeing it, I was in love. It was in such a great part of town, it was so clean and it was a great price for us. When we got looking at it, I was ready to sign the lease that day. When we got in the car, I immediately started babbling all about how much I loved it and how I totally thought this was the right place for us! After I got done talking Jordan said, "I think we should wait, keep looking and pray about it." Hmmmm.... can you imagine how I reacted? I was NOT happy and I made that known to him. After I got done throwing a tiny fit we finally discussed it rationally and I agreed to wait a week.

That week was so very hard for me. I kept thinking that we were going to miss our opportunity and they would rent to someone else. Every time I asked Jordan, he kept saying that he still wanted to wait. I became more and more bitter about it. I even had that thought, "he is probably just being stubborn and not wanting to rent it because I found it instead of him." (Trust me I am not proud of this but I am just trying to be honest with you and tell you what I was really thinking.) I did a lot of praying that week. I also talked to a good friend of mine about it and she encouraged me to pray a little differently. Instead of praying for God to change Jordan's heart and love the apartment, I started praying for God to change my heart and for me to submit to Jordan in this hard time. I knew that he would not make this decision without spending time in thought and prayer. I needed to trust in my future husband and also trust that God would lead us to the right apartment. Later that week I found out that the apartment had been rented to someone else. At first I was devastated but I kept praying.

Well... LONG story short...(seriously sorry for how long this story was)

Jordan found us a HOUSE to rent. It was amazing and totally planned by God. Jordan knew someone who had just bought a house and was planning to rent it out. I always wanted to rent a house instead of an apartment but never thought we would be able to afford it. Well this house was amazing! It was in a town nearby where we were currently living and it was closer to where his parents live. It also had two bedrooms, a basement, deck, backyard AND a GARAGE! (Just so you know that was one of the best parts for me because Iowa winters...suck) Here is the very best part of the house though, it was CHEAPER than the one bedroom tiny apartment I found. God is so good.

I tell you this story not to brag about our current living situation or to tell you that God will give you whatever you want or more if you submit to your husband. I tell this story because God taught me a lot about submission during this time or our lives. When I found out about the apartment that Jordan found for us I felt like God was saying to me, "see my daughter, I will provide you with the things you need and I will even bless you with more than you need. I have given you this man to lead you and take care of you. Trust him."

 I learned that submitting to your husband is Biblical and incredibly important. When men take on the role as the husband they are the head of our households. We as women need to let them have that role and encourage them in it. I need to submit to Jordan's leadership and remember that if he is seeking God first then why would I have any need to worry? When you submit to our husbands, situations or circumstances may not turn out the way that you expect but they will always be a part of God's plan.

Sometimes they will be better than you expected.

If you are looking for a great book about marriage, motherhood, and submission consider reading Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney. It is an amazing book.


Thanks for reading and sticking with me beautiful! Thanks again to Rachel for hosting this linkup!

Enjoy your day and never forget how much God loves and adores you just the way you are.

Love,

             Lindsey

Five on Friday!

-ONE- 

Sunday night I made my new chalkboard art! I am not the best at writing pretty yet but I am getting closer!

I really loved this verse and love even more that it mentions spring! 

Can't wait for that warm weather!

-TWO- 

We haven't had salt and pepper shakers since we have been married so when I saw these little babes I just had to get them. Target... enough said.

-THREE- 

On Wednesday I had a much needed retreat day. I work at a church in the town that we live in and one of the requirements of everyone that works there is to take a retreat day once a month. Basically it is a paid day where you take time away from work to spend in prayer, reading the word, taking walks, napping or whatever you need to do so you feel refreshed and close to the Lord. How cool is that?!! I think every place of work should require that! It makes me really appreciate our pastor and his mindset behind it. 

As you can probably tell I spent a lot of time at Panera that day reading and praying. I also spent a little time creating this print.

 I love the song Oceans by Hillsong and this is my favorite version! 

-FOUR- 

On Wednesday Jordan and I had our date night and we decided to go to the Muppet movie! Well, we were the ONLY ONES IN THE THEATER!!! It was pretty amazing! That has never happened for me before and I loved that we were able to laugh as loud as we wanted without worrying about disrupting other people. It was like we had our own private theater. 

-FIVE- 

Weekend!! That means crafts, sleeping in, finally warmer weather, and time with friends! 

Have a beautiful day friends! 

Love,

             Lindsey

The Proposal!

This is the story of how my amazing husband Jordan proposed to me!
You know what is really fun? This is him telling the story!  

So here you go...

J+L

Proposal
August 22, 2012

(Jordan writing)

Lindsey loves me, and since she knows I love baseball, she wants to love baseball too. So at the beginning of the summer of 2012, we started playing catch in the backyard to try and subsequently teach Lindsey about baseball and spend some quality time together. Twinning.

In yet another demonstration of her quality as a woman, Lindsey requested a trip to the baseball mecca of the Field of Dreams, before the conclusion of the summer.  I had known for a while that I wanted to propose to Lindsey before the summer was over, and a trip to the Field of Dreams provided the perfect location and opportunity, so I hatched a plan to surprise Lindsey.

With the ring safely hidden in my pocket, I stood with my back to the corn at the Field of Dreams, as Lindsey and I played catch. At some point I knew that Lindsey, like other beginning baseballers, would make an off-target throw and that the baseball would end up in the corn. Sure enough, on her 3rd throw, the ball sailed out of her hand, waaaaay over my head, and deep into the cornfield. Perfect :). I entered the corn, rustled around for a bit (making a good show of pretending like I was looking for the baseball), and then called Lindsey over to help me look for the ball. When she got close to the field I emerged, ring in hand, and said, "I couldn't find the ball, but I did find this," got down on a knee, told Lindsey I loved her, and asked her to marry me.

She said yes :)

Here is the video for our proposal! 

(Lindsey writing) 

This was definitely one of the best days of my life. It was a beautiful day and Jordan and I got to spend time with some friends and family for a while and then we went on a day trip to Galena, Illinois. (Our special place) We spent the rest of the day talking, hugging, crying, calling people and just spending time together! It was amazing! 

Thanks for following along! 

Love,

             Lindsey

Five on Friday!

Good morning to all!! 

I just want to first say how much I have loved the blogging community. There are so many amazing and encouraging women that I have "met" through blogging and I feel so blessed and thankful for that! 

-ONE- 

SPRING! SPRING! SPRING!! 

Even though it is still not very warm here in the Midwest I am still excited that it is officially spring! Heard some birds chirping this morning and that just made me giddy inside! 

I found this adorable print on Pinterest and I am exciting to write it on our chalkboard at home! 

-TWO- 

Last weekend the hubs and I went back to my parents house for the weekend. We hadn't been there since Christmas and were anxious to get back there. We had a really relaxing enjoyable weekend. On Saturday night we went to a restaurant in town called Teluwut. It is in an old bank so they still have the safe from the bank days in it. For the first time ever, we were seated in the safe! We had a great time with my parents and our family friends! 

-THREE-

On Monday, our community group split guys and girls. The guys usually end up going to a bar somewhere in town and watching sports and talking. The girls usually stay at someones house and do crafts or watch a movie. Well this week we went to Holly's house and ate LOTS of yummy food, chatted and watched the movie, The Help. I had never seen it and oh my goodness! It is a amazing and adorable! What a great story! I love having such a great church community. We have our community group on Monday nights but once every month we have a girls/guys night. It is so fun to be able to spend time together and enjoy the things that we love! 

YUM! Chocolate fondue bar and wine!

-FOUR-
Last night we had our date night at home and I made a honey pork roast, homemade mashed potatoes and veggies! I am still getting used to cooking and trying new recipes so this was a really big win for me! Love feeding my sweet man well. We also watched a lot of basketball last night. March madness is a pretty big deal in our house and we have a bet to see who has the best bracket. If I win, Jordan will watch four episodes of One Tree Hill with me in a row! Any OTH lovers out there? It was my favorite show in high school. He hasn't decided what I will get to do if he wins. Probably involving pizza and a superhero movie. I love marriage and the fun little competitions we sometimes have. Makes life fun and playful!





-FIVE-
The sweet Rachel from Oh Simple Thoughts was hosting a giveaway this week from Lavender and Linen and... I WON! This is my first time entering a giveaway and I am SO excited to receive the goodies! Make sure to check out the shop Lavender and Linen! They have awesome products and she has such a beautiful heart.

Have a great day friends! Enjoy the sunshine!

Love,

             Lindsey

Our Love Story

I can't believe how long it has taken me to write this post but I am overjoyed to share our love story with you today! Yesterday was our 10 month wedding anniversary. I cannot believe how fast the year has gone so far and it won't be long till we are celebrating our 1 year anniversary. I feel so blessed to be married to Jordan and I can't wait for 80 more years to celebrate the marriage God designed us to have. 

Our story is not perfect and I am sure I will not write it perfectly but I hope and pray you will see the workings of Jesus in it. 

L+J

    Love story...

I didn't date in high school. Believe me, I wanted to, but I grew up going to a very small Christian school and there were literally 3 boys in my grade. After my sophomore year I transferred to a public school for my last two years. It was not a very easy transition and I was pretty shy so I didn't have very many friends for the last two years of high school. This was a really hard time for me and I suffered with a lot of insecurity and self doubt. Why didn't anyone like me? Will I ever find someone who will love me, for me?" 

                        

My freshman year of college I thought for sure I would meet the most amazing Christian guy right away. I mean there were so many more options, right? Wrong. I didn't meet anyone that I was interested in, or interested in me, my freshman year. Every time I attended one of the college ministries on campus I wondered, would I meet someone today? I kept hoping that there would be someone there who would love Jesus but also would be interested in me. So many of my friends were in relationships and I hated the thought of never meeting anyone. In spite of my loneliness, my freshman year was an amazing year of college. My roommate and I were inseparable and my relationship with God grew so much that year. But I still wanted to find someone... 

  

My sophomore year of college was very much the same. I was always on the lookout and every time I met a godly man I would think, "is he the one?" I was constantly feeling frustrated and rejected. The end of my sophomore year I even considered dating the first guy that was interested in me just so that I could date someone...anyone. I am SO glad I didn't end up dating him though. He was one of those "Christian" guys who said all the right things and pretended to act a certain way just to get me to like him. One day he showed me his true colors and I decided not to continue talking to him. 

                                    
                                 
                                    

That summer I gave it all over to God. I was tired of feeling defeated and rejected. The next 3 months I was completely focused on my relationship with Jesus. I led a Bible study and spent time with my roommates. I also got a job at a recreation facility in town and I worked a lot. (important information for later) It was refreshing and exactly what I needed. God really showed up in my life that summer and it was amazing to really surrender my desire for a relationship to Jesus. I am thankful for that time. 

Song of Solomon 2:7 "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."

        

The beginning of the fall semester of my junior year I felt excited to focus on how God would use me as a single woman for His glory. I was excited at the idea of moving out of state or out of the country after graduation. Since I was single I could move anywhere or do anything that the Lord was leading me to. About a month into my junior year, my roommate and I were invited by a guy named Jordan to a Bible study he was in. We both worked with Jordan at the Rec Center but he was gone most of the summer coaching baseball so I hardly knew him at the time. I only had to attend that Bible study a few times and I started to be attracted to Jordan. He was funny and really smart. He also had a desire for God that I had never seen in a guy before. He led discussions and asked really great questions. However, I never thought he would be interested in me. 

                              
                              

Two months after I started attending this Bible study I got a text one night from Jordan. He told me he had an extra ticket to a play his brother was in and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him. Well let me tell you, I was ecstatic! I had never been asked out on a date before and I couldn't believe this amazing Christian guy was asking me. Well since I had never been on a date I was VERY nervous. I was ready two hours before he was supposed to pick me up and I was second guessing whether or not it was a date or not. He didn't specifically say it was a date and I was very inexperienced. Well, as soon as he pulled up in his car, I knew it was a date. He opened my door for me and told me I looked "very pretty." It was such an awesome night. He was soooo nervous and I thought it was adorable because I was equally nervous. After the play he drove me home and we talked for a while in my apartment with my roommates. When he went to say goodbye, his hand got caught in his coat and it was super awkward but completely wonderful at the same time. 

                          

                          

Unfortunately after that we didn't talk for a week or two. He texted me every once in a while but not consistently. It was really frustrating. Well, I had told my Bible study leader about our date and one day when she saw him at the Rec Center (she had never met him before) she went right up to him and said, "are you Jordan?" He said, "yes I am." She said, "I just wanted you to know that I have been praying for you." (When I found out she said this to him, I was mortified!) He said, "well... thank you!" (HAHA so funny! He was probably so confused.) She then continued to tell him that I was in her Bible study and that she just thought she should pray for him because I had talked about him. Long story short she basically told him I really like him. He told her, "The feelings are mutual." When Jenny told me this I was SO mad at her. I kept thinking, "he must think I am crazy!" 

                           

                         

That night, Jordan wrote me a 9 paragraph email on facebook basically explaining why he had not contacted me very much in the last couple of weeks and how he really liked me and wanted to get to know me better. It was an amazing message and I still have it saved. I told him I would love to talk to him more about this in person and so we decided to meet at a coffee shop in our town a few days later. That night was amazing and I will never forget it. We talked for HOURS and the place actually had to kick us out because they were closing and we had been there so long. When we got back to my place we talked even longer in the car and at the end of the conversation he asked me if he could pursue a dating relationship with me. I said yes and we were officially dating.

                                 

                      

 After we started dating I could see God's hand in everything about our friendship and now relationship. God used that summer after got the job at the Rec Center (where we met) to help me realize that I needed HIM and not a relationship. But I also see why I got the job there. God placed me in that job so that 4 months later, I would meet my future husband. 

"Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life."

-1 Corinthians 7:17

                              

Jordan was my "first" everything. He was my first date, first boyfriend, first time holding hands, first kiss. I am SO thankful that I got to experience all of my "firsts" with my now husband.

                

We went through a lot of wonderful times throughout our dating relationship and we also went through some hard times. Throughout our entire relationship I saw God's hand it it. We both were on the same page about everything we wanted to pursue and our desires for the future.                 

       

                 

We dated for 1 year and 9 months before he asked me to be his wife. (I will be posting the story of our proposal next Wednesday.)We were engaged for 9 months and were married on May 18, 2013. For the next month, every Wednesday I will be posting about our wedding. So, stay tuned! 

These 10 months of marriage have honestly been the best in my life and I feel so blessed to be Jordan's wife. Through engagement and marriage I have learned so much about myself and also about my selfishness. I have also learned more about what God desired for marriage and how it can truly represent Christ and the church. Jordan and I have learned so much about communication, unconditional love and forgiveness. We have to continue to choose to love each other every single day and that is only possible with the help of Jesus. Jordan is absolutely my best friend and I pray that we will continue to laugh together, pray together, serve together, play together, endure hardships together and do life together for the rest of our days.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to give you a hope and future." 

Jeremiah 29:11 

Thank you for reading our love story. I feel so blessed to be able to share with all of you how God is faithful and he demonstrates His love for us. 

Have a beautiful day! 

Love,

             Lindsey