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Lent and a Raid

15 Mar

Last year, my husband asked if I would join him in sacrificing and dedicating ourselves to prayer and devotion during Lent. Being raised in a Pentecostal home, I had never observed Lent, but here my husband was asking me to join him in a new adventure. I, of course, said YES!

Little did we know that those 40 days would become an open door for God to start to change our lives in a way that we had never experienced. We gave up certain foods which wasn’t hard, but the daily devotion and prayer with our family was actually a struggle. We were surprised that we weren’t “better” at doing this.

This past year, God has launched an all out RAID in our lives. I use the word raid because nothing else can describe it. Everything has changed – and I mean everything. From the way we communicate, to the way we pray, to the way we hurt for the lost. Even the way we desire each other and desire the Lord has changed (all for the good I might add). All areas in our life are more passionate and filled with revelation. We recognize that this didn’t happen overnight, but God was whispering to us to draw near to him.

This year, we are observing Lent again and it has taken on a new meaning in the light of the amazing year we have had with the Lord. We have given up TV (which is a gigantic sacrifice for us) and we can already see our hearts changing in less than a week.

God is drawing all men unto himself. Are you prepared to resist him or pursue him? It’s really one or the other.

More Than My Baby

15 Sep

As Mark and I raise June Jett – our single most pride and joy in this world – we are quickly discovering new areas of growth in our lives and in our marriage. We recently learned a very hard lesson which seems almost cruel and hard to articulate:

We must put our marriage before our daughter.

Even now, it sounds odd and out of whack. It’s actually a very hard thing to do for us because June is such a light and joy in our lives. The love we feel for her is unconditional and goes beyond all human reason or desire. However, as hard as it seems, we must do this for the sake of our family being healthy, whole and balanced.

We always thought of “God first, family second, ministry third”. We never thought, “God first, spouse second, children third, ministry fourth.”

Mark and I have to remember that we are one flesh – our children will have to be released from us someday into their own marriages and families.

Everyday Wonderful for Everyone!

13 Sep

Last week, I had a huge surge of folks read my blog due to Carlos Whittaker’s post. His question got me thinking about the joy that Mark and I experience in our marriage and our parenthood. I truly feel that “Everyday Wonderful” is not just a crap shoot. This concept of Everyday Wonderful can be attained by anyone. An old Roswell friend of mine married a truly exceptional woman who just had this revelation in her own life. Please ready this post – it articulates Everyday Wonderful in her own words. Read on!

http://www.morgandaycecil.com/a-radical-thing-and-a-fork-in-the-road/

The End of It All

8 Jul

I thought having a baby would…

  • end my career
  • ruin my marriage
  • be full of tedious work
  • end of many friendships
  • end my social life
  • make me boring

Instead, having a baby has…

  • given me a new passion for my work
  • increased the joy in my marriage
  • shown me that tedious work for your own baby is actually fun
  • started and bloomed many new friendships
  • started a whole new social world
  • made me more alive with energy with new perspectives

We hear so many negative reasons why people don’t want to have kids. I’m here to tell you that if you have a good foundation and joy in your life, a baby will enhance everything you already have.  Now…get to baby making!

I’m still alive and better than ever

27 Aug

The last 6 weeks have been a wonderful, dream state blur. Words don’t come close to describing the emotions and love that we have experienced.

For now, here’s a quick list of things that We are learning and experiencing:

Burping, farting, pooping and peeing are celebrated on a semi-hourly basis.

There are not enough burp cloths in the world.

Losing a pacifier at the wrong time is devastating.

Hearing my baby cry isn’t stressful.

You can become an expert at many new things in less than 6 weeks with daily practice. Case in point: diaper changing.

Being a mommy has rewards that outweigh stretch marks, 3 am feedings, and 30 extra pounds.

Praying never felt so good.

Check out junejett.com to hear about June’s adventures!

A Little Baby Update

9 Jul

Mark your calendars people!

july20

Mark and I are planning on inducing on July 20th. I’m so excited that I’ve peed my pants several times…

 

Baby Class and Birthing Videos

8 Jun

On Saturday, Mark and I attended the much dreaded Childbirth class at our hospital to prepare ourselves for the coming of our baby girl.

As horrific as the videos were, we actually left the 8-hour class feeling really good and much more prepared for what awaits us. 

There are so many important moments and events in our life that don’t come with an instructional class which makes me think - childbirth must be the most important event of them all. 

We will observe many weddings, funerals, graduations, and anniversaries…but this special event of childbirth requires a miracle to make it happen.

6 weeks and counting…

A New Life

4 Jun

As my due date quickly approaches (JULY 24), I am realizing that my life will never be the same. It is a new life in every sense of the phrase – a new life in my baby girl, a new life for me, a new life for Mark.

Besides the most obvious of having a baby this summer, here’s what’s also changing and brewing:

  • We are leaving our beloved church family at ORCC to following God’s calling to help start a church plant – Life Song Worship Center. Kick off day is Sept. 13th.
  • Mark will be leaving his job that he loves in order for us to plant this church. Appliance repair anyone?
  • I have started to fervently pursue my Wedding Hair and Makeup business. I’m booked almost every weekend through the end of September (except for 6 weeks where I’ll be home with baby June.) Check out my humble beginnings: Wedding Hair and Makeup
  • Every room in our house has been reorganized and flooded with baby stuff. June already has more belongings than Mark and I combined. It’s like we are living in a new house.

That’s really all for now. We desperately need your prayers. The things listed above are requiring a huge amount of sacrifice, tears, and commitment from us. We won’t give up, we won’t back down, we won’t relent.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I can finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…the task of testifying to the gospel of  God’s grace. -Acts 20:24 (I have this verse tattooed on my wrist…it has never meant more to me than right now).

Mother’s Day Follow Up

19 May

Last year, I wrote this post about Mother’s Day. It was a cry from my heart to be a mom. A cry for hope.

It’s such a miracle that this year I got to celebrate mother’s day as an expectant mother. Mark rolled out the red carpet for me and really made me feel special. I was totally shocked when a few of my friends also got me cards and gifts. I think I’m really going to like Mother’s day in the future – it’s like an extra birthday!!!

As I said in the post last year – KEEP YOUR HOPES UP! Whatever you are praying for…God really does give us the desires of our hearts. This baby inside of me is a testament to God’s love and faithfulness. What more could I ask for?

Dude, I’m so pregnant!

18 May

This is my new phrase…as you can see below, it’s soooo true. According to the crazy fruit and vegetable comparison, my precious baby girl is the size of a head of cabbage. I don’t know why they insist on comparing my baby to food…maybe it’s because food is all I can think about these days – well, food and the baby of course. Only 9 weeks to go – here’s to the pregnant life!

Mark took this picture when I wasn't paying attention.

Mark took this picture when I wasn't paying attention.

I’m not a dead link or a mom blog!

30 Mar

My mind and emotions have been swimming in the deep end lately. I can’t believe I haven’t posted in 2 weeks. That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without spilling my guts for the world to read.

I think it’s time for some spillage, but I can’t seem to get my thoughts in order. Tomorrow, I will have a good post. I promise. I’m not a dead link. And I’m not a mom blog (even though I can hardly keep my mind of my precious little baby girl, June). Here’s what happened in the past 2 weeks:

  1. We felt June kick on the outside of my tummy for the first time – magical.
  2. We had house guests from Missouri.
  3. We are welcoming Joshua White into our home tonight. This will be our first “face-to-face” with anyone from the internets.
  4. My face has gotten fatter – I’m fairly sure of this even though my friends swear it’s not true.
  5. French fries make my feet swell up, but I can’t seem to stay away from them.
  6. I started watching the HBO series, Big Love. It’s just wrong.
  7. We had a snow storm and 2 snow days.
  8. God taught me some lessons.
  9. I miss my blog friends.

Hey…it’s OK! – Pregnancy Edition

10 Mar

It’s OK to:

  1. Not blog for a week
  2. Watch TV all night long with your hubby and neglect the dishes, laundry and dirty bathrooms
  3. Admit that some parts of pregnancy suck
  4. Avoid the person that makes comments about certain body parts getting bigger
  5. To be nervous that you won’t get to buy yourself new clothes because you’ll be buying new clothes for the baby
  6. To be hungry at 8 am, 11 am, 12:30 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm
  7. To ask your hubby get you water, your special pillow, your laptop, a snack and the remote (in the course of 10 minutes)

Anything you need to remind yourself not to feel guilty about???

Note To Self:

2 Mar

Since I’m so forgetful lately, I’ve made a list of things I continually try to remind myself of…unfortunately, my reminder usually comes too late:

  1. Going to work in yesterday’s makeup is NEVER a good idea.
  2. You like peas now that you’re pregnant.
  3. You don’t like onions now.
  4. When you have to pee in the middle of the night, it’s not as easy to “roll” out of bed.
  5. You put your keys in your jacket pocket last night instead of in your purse.
  6. Go ahead and get the size Medium in maternity clothes instead of the XXL in regular clothes, you’ll feel better about yourself.
  7. When you feel tired on Wednesday and you call Mark to tell him you’re not coming to church, you will regret it.

Ballet Slippers it is!

27 Feb

Ok, I gave Mark every opportunity to blog this first, but many of you are asking so…

We are going to have a beautiful, healthy, baby

GIRL!!!

The ultrasound went perfectly and I think she is even beautiful in her very first picture:

babyjune1

Baby on the Brain

25 Feb

It’s been a little quiet around my blog lately…it’s because I can’t think of anything else than my BIG ultrasound tomorrow morning where we find out if it’s a girl or boy. We would be excited for a boy or girl, but I’m more nervous about finding out if the baby is healthy. I’m so preocupied with thoughts of the appointment – I can hardly get work done, I can’t sleep and I’m just a nervous wreck. I have glimses of peace and then my mind starts wandering again. Please pray for me!

As proof of this “baby brain” as I like to call it, I accidentally posted my Social Security Number on Twitter this morning (thanks to everyone who responded to let me know!).

I can’t think of a worse thing to accidentally do on a social network. Can you?

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