Marriage… It’s spiritual…

 

So Simon and I are finally married!

Man, it took a lot to get there but we finally made it and what a great day we had an what an AMAZING honeymoon we had in Hawaii! Thank you so much to all that contributed to our day and financially to our honeymoon! We did send a few postcards but only to about a third of the people we were planning so far… We will get there eventually…

As Simon and I now prepare to finish up our work together and move to the ‘top end’ of Australia we are certainly bounding feet first into ‘married life’. Already I feel that it’s been really important that we are grounded spiritually as individuals and as a couple and that we continue to work on that.

As part of our engagement process we had marriage prep classes with the very fun (and wise and experienced ) Jason and Michelle Davies-Kildea.

We officially did the Prepare course (the website’s nothing fancy). For those of you that might not know this is basically a short course that most Christian churches use (and I believe some non-Christian celebrants) to make sure you know your partner and yourself. You know, before legally signing on the dotted line that you will devote your lives to each other… There is an online quiz about yourself, your upbringing, your opinions on your relationship with your partner and your expectations for marriage. You do it separately and then it electronically collates your answers, compares them and gives you a score which basically tells you how different or the same your answers were in different areas. The lower the score the more different your responses.

Some people may say that it is determining your compatibility in certain areas, I would say it compares your likeness in certain areas.

Now, let me just put it out there… Simon and I are quite different people… Not opposite exactly but not necessarily alike…

It is not uncommon for us if we are going for a trip to Melbourne to look at ourselves and laugh. Generally I am wearing almost all black (not in a goth way in a, hopefully, sleek way ) and Simon is in all bright colours. This is starting to change however.

I love continuous learning. My idea of the perfect year would be to be able to afford to just study, not to have to work, just read and learn and write assignments, get feedback and start again. This is Simon’s worst nightmare, to the point of anxiety at the thought, he’s better with his hands…

And I like things (outwardly) to look clean and tidy. I like to do the dishes as soon as possible after dinner just because I think they look ugly sitting on the bench and this is our dressing table at the moment…

Simon’s side is on the left, my side is on the right…

We’re different, and we know this. It’s part of why we fell in love with each other. So it was no surprise when our results came back and we found a lot of differences in our responses. A big one was in communication, particularly in regards to conflict. Simon will tend to retreat in the face of conflict to the point of shutting down and I will want to talk and talk and talk it out, no matter how painful, no matter how loud the conversation becomes. I hear this is not an uncommon pattern between husbands and wives…

Anyway, for one section we got 0%. It was for Living Styles. Can I draw your attention to our dressing table above again…

No surprises there.

What we weren’t expecting was to get 100% in a section! (Jason actually said he had both never seen a 0% or a 100% so I actually felt like we are a pretty unique couple) We got 100% on Spiritual Compatability.

Wow!

Thank you Jesus!

Do you ever forget what you pray for until your prayers get answered?

I can’t tell you how long I have waited (prayerfully and sometimes even in the midst of other relationships) for a relationship that doesn’t just have physical and emotional compatibility but Spiritual compatibility. And God is faithful.

My 2012 Inspiration word has been ‘covenant’ as I discussed in this post.

If our marriage is to truly be a covenant, a solemn, spiritual agreement between myself, Simon and God then we need to be intentional about giving our marriage to God for his service. In order for this to happen we need to be spiritually prepared. And as I mentioned this preparation needed to happen both as individuals and as a couple.

Despite all of the beautiful plans I was fussing over; the plans over beautiful details, the plans to make me outwardly ‘look’ the best version of me possible; the most important plans were the ones that grounded myself and Simon as spiritually strong as possible.

Our marriage should be a demonstration of the Holy Spirit between us. Well not even should… We desire it to be…

But this is a tough call, I can’t even honestly begin to pretend it isn’t. Already I have not wanted to demonstrate holiness to my husband (even in a very public way) And it hasn’t even been a month yet!

So to continue to do this long after the honeymoon is over, long after we have children and lose many hours of sleep, long after we are old and grey and tired… This is going to be tough. Therefore the only choice we have is to focus on God as the centre of our relationship.

This is easier said than done, let’s see how it goes, but I’m glad we had that engagement period of 18 months for spiritual preparation.

Happy Day!***

Finding my renewable energy sources

 

I am finally on holidays and tomorrow it’s one week until Simon and I get married!

I thought it fitting then to share an article I wrote for work a couple of months ago. Enjoy!

‘Why am I so tired?’ She exclaimed pulling in for coffee.

‘You’re not the only one.’ Her favourite barista (who had undoubtedly been up several hours before her preparing the delicious elixir she was about consume) answered. And he, as usual, was right.

As she looked around the coffee shop through her morning haze she wondered where everyone got the energy to simply live… There were Mothers with children, businessmen in suits and uni students furiously tapping away on their wifi enabled technology. As she looked closer though she could see that familiar veil of exhaustion over their faces; Mum’s patience was wearing thin, Suitman Number three’s brow was wrinkled and the uni student looked like he was about to break up with his ipad.

She opened her own bible app on her iphone and found herself in Isaiah Chapter 40 ‘Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’

‘Hmm, have I really heard and understood what God was trying to tell me?’ She pondered.

On the aged wood table she was sitting at was the daily paper, the headline spread across the front page read Sustainable energy sources a growing issue in Australia.

If, ‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak’, surely God’s energy is the most sustainable source in all of creation? God’s energy can never be entirely consumed, it is tireless. It is impossible for God to be exhausted and that energy source is available to those of us who are struggling.

What a revelation.

She flicked open the paper further to read more about the article and was faced with an image from the Olympics, a young athlete decked out in Australia’s green and gold. He didn’t win a gold medal but he gave it all he had, “I can honestly say, there was nothing left in the tank when I finished the race” he was quoted as saying. Even this fit young man who had been training for years in the peak of his physical condition found exhaustion. ‘But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength… they will run and not grow weary.’

‘So why am I still so exhausted?’ she lamented to herself.

And then her mind cast a vision back to the Sunday before, working yet again, she had worked all week but when the opportunity came to work the Sunday as well she took it.

Sabbath; is there even such a thing anymore? Even when we do take a day off we are still surgically attached to our smart phones, checking our emails, permanently contactable, slaves to our so-called labor-saving technologies.

But we were called out of slavery thousands of years ago… Why then do we still try to make our own way, striving to achieve dreams dictated by the culture around us.

‘Forgive me Father for working so hard on shaping my own vision when I was truly designed to rely on you for the restoration of the world’s energy resources.’ She said a quick prayer and stood up from her seat. She had a sudden rush of endorphins, perhaps it was the strong, freshly roasted coffee or perhaps she had just received her daily bread.

Happy Day!***

Wedding Update!

 

Three weeks to go and my dress is still not done but we have A LOT of other thing completed over the last 6 months so I thought I would share!

I know what my dress is supposed to look like… I’m not going to share the actual dress but here are some that I liked (you know, for my next wedding )

 

Lace Tea Length Dress from Lovely Lunga Weddings

 

A cool idea using an old blue shirt from your Dad from Clean Up on Aisle Four (and Style Me Pretty), I’m gonna do this but on the inside…

 

And every time I look at this dress from Etsy (no longer available) I always think it’s just so pretty!

We have selected a caterer and I have made my own veil (hope it looks ok) using this tutorial from the lovely and talented Rebecca Caridad. (Check out her current link on simple flower arrangements in jars, I plan on doing something similar for our table decorations).

I have got my shoes and my jewellery together, here’s some inspiration (but not the actual ones)…

From Fairytale Events

 

Diamante Louboutins as seen on Style Me Pretty I’ve actually already mentioned these shoes when I wrote about My Love Affair with Style Me Pretty Weddings.

 

I’ve also got my wedding underwear sorted. Support wear for the day and something a bit funner for the night, I won’t over-share though

I had some trouble booking a hair-dresser for the day. Generally, I am not a snob, but on two things I know I am most definitely a snob those two things happen to be coffee and hair! Yes, I am a self-confessed coffee-snob and I am definitely picky about choosing a hairdresser. It took me a while to be satisfied with a hairdresser in Bendigo until I finally walked into Jools for Jim and have been satisfied ever since. However with Great Western (our location for our wedding) being two hours away from Bendigo I had to find somewhere closer in Ararat. My first trial didn’t go so well, wasn’t bad just wasn’t great… Not really the reaction you want for your wedding day hair. Luckily a lovely girl that Simon went to school with in Ararat (also called Renee) happens to not only make cakes (yippee) but is a hairdresser too! After Renee did my hair I felt so much better and she gave me some great advice that included purchasing some Remy Human Hair Extensions for the day off Ebay. So I have booked in myself, the bridesmaids and my Mum and Sandy (Simon’s Mum) is going to the same hairdresser that day too. I have also got myself some hair extensions, yes!

Us girls are going to do our own make-up! I’m sure most of you (including my own bridesmaids) must think I am crazy for wanting to do this but I have three responses to that;

1. Princess Catherine did her own makeup on the day she married Prince William, if it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.

2. I want to look like myself.

3. I wish to refer you to A Practical Wedding’s Series on doing your own make-up (and generally the entire APW site!)

The Bridesmaids have their dresses. They look like this;

But in Hot Pink…

 

Simon and his groomsmen have their suits. They look like this;

But with pants… (and a different tie)

 

My good friend Sarah Roberts has agreed to be our MC on the night and various different people are organising their speeches (hopefully…)

And as mentioned our friend Renee is making our cake for us. Here are some cake inspirations for you to feast your eyes on…

 

Found on Wedding Chicks

 

Found on The Knot

Found at Green Wedding Shoes

 

We have (obviously) done loads of other things over the last 6 months like our engagement photo shoot, our wedding rings, our favours and decorations. Plus I have been trying to treat myself to massages and facials throughout the entire process to keep giving myself incentives. But there is waaaay too much to catalogue here. Instead I think it would be best to say at this point what we haven’t done, what we still have to do. So, here goes…

Confirm Flight Bookings and Honeymoon Accommodation

Make sure the Bridal party (including the Bride and the Groom) has their complete outfit

Check in with speakers preparing speeches

Write my own speech :0

Finalise the wedding rehearsal and dinner

Finalise the menu and numbers of guests

Organise drinks for reception (non alcoholic)

Confirm the itinerary with;

Florist

Cake Maker (and hairdresser)

Photographer

Ceremony Officiant (Jason)

Venue

M.C (Sarah)

Bridal Party Members and Parents

 

There are loads of other details, to-do lists and itineraries but I don’t want to bore you with them right now. Instead, tell me which pic is your favourite. Is it the mexican-style-vintage-lace dress from Etsy or the cake with the birdies on top? My favourite diamante Louboutins or our Bridesmaids dresses?

Happy Day!!!***

New Year Plans; How’s that working out?

 

Helllllooooooo!!!

Wow, the last 6 months have been quite possibly the most stressful 6 months of my life! Between wedding planning, still ploughing through my Masters Degree, crazy-crazy work stuff, taking up dance classes, (hello?! Of course!) and really trying to focus on looking my absolute possible best on my wedding day life has been non-stop! Of course writing my personal blog has slipped into the non-essential column and here we are 6 months later…

I finally feel like I have caught up to some extent and I am on track as opposed to running desperately behind schedule with the wedding stuff. I can finally take a breath and reflect, for a moment, before launching into married life in about 3 weeks time.

I wanted to share my New Year message that I wrote in my diary on January 1 this year. I was in Adelaide, Simon had gone back to Bendigo as he was still the acting Corps Officer at The Salvation Army there.

I wanted a coffee (as I do everyday) but being New Years Day in Adelaide none of the shopping centres or cafes were open so I settled for McCafe… Being a hot day I ordered a Frappucino and sat in the recycled air conditioning of McDonalds Elizabeth… Classy…

I have been reading ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers intermittently over the last 2 years (it’s structured to read in a year with dates but I just kept ignoring the dates and reading when I could). So I opened up Chambers again with my iphone nearby (good ‘ole trusty bible app) a pen (that was running out) and the ‘notes’ section of my brand new diary.

Here are my notes (all Ozzie Chambers words, this was just what I pulled out of the reading I did that day);

The ‘GO’ of Preparation

‘It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared but preparation is not suddenly accomplished…

The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.’

The ‘GO’ of Relationship

‘Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us… No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself – a relationship that has been examined, purified and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.’

On the first day of this year I was challenged by God through Oswald Chambers to understand that preparation for His work is on the go and I will never be fully ‘ready’. I just have to be ready to ‘go’ at any time and be willing to learn on the way for the rest of my life. And I was also challenged by the fact that my relationship with God is going to be tested by my willingness to ‘go’ for Him…

This past month Simon and I have found out that in January we are moving to Darwin. Simon has received a field change with The Salvation Army and is going to be the Corps Officer at Palmerston Corps (just outside of Darwin in the Northern Territory). As I am signing up to be Simon’s wife in three weeks time I am also signing on to ‘go’ with him wherever and whenever God sends us.

We both knew that this year was a year for change. Getting married was life-change enough but we also wanted a change of scenery and we knew that means the possibility of moving anywhere in the Australia Southern Territory (yes the Northern Territory fits into the Southern Territory haha). That’s anywhere in Australia except New South Wales or Queensland. So as I sat in Maccas on New Years Day here’s what else I wrote;

Places Simon and I would like to go next:

(2013) Baby? Complete Masters?

* Melbourne – A Corps, a tough area

* Adelaide – Northern Suburbs (Playford/ Gawler)

Anywhere…

After which overseas…

Community Development Projects…

Isn’t it interesting the places God can take you if you give it over to Him. We had no clue we would be sent to the Northern Territory, although I guess the Northern Territory certainly fits into Anywhere…

We want God to send us wherever He wants without us getting in the way with our own expectations or our own timelines. At the same time I have learnt this year that my patience is rewarded as well. I am often impatient with God and with myself. Entering into a covenant (like I discussed in this post) means that I not only want to do things God’s way but I have to now consider someone else in my decisions which often means they take a little longer to happen  

Even though I’ve still gotta finish uni for the year and get married before packing and leaving next year Simon and I are SUPER excited for the change. We think God has something cool in store for us and if it turns out to be more of a challenge than we originally thought we trust that He has it in hand. A life with God is an exciting one, an unexpected one, one that we would never have chosen for ourselves but waaay better.

Even though I am a planner the Beautiful Plans happen when God is in charge!

So yeah, this year’s working out fine. Thanks for asking…

Seriously, what did Brides do before Pinterest?!@

 

If you have not yet joined Pinterest (particularly if you are planning a wedding, party, having a baby, know someone having a baby or once were a baby…) then you need to get onto it immediately! Seriously! It is my new obsession and has taken over from Facebook as my procrastinator when I should be doing anything but surfing the net.

Not only is it full of the prettiest things in the world but it educates me about something every single time I log on!

It’s basically like a big online pinboard. You can look at pictures that other people have pinned from the net, they can look at things you have pinned from the net, your homepage is a timeline of ‘pins’ from all your ‘friends’ and if you click on a pin it takes you to the webpage where it originated. It’s a great way to bookmark webpages especially for ‘how-tos’ or things you might be thinking of buying and it is a great marketing source for blogs, websites and products too!

And you can have as many virtual pinboards as you would like to organise your thoughts, events etc. So for example I have one for wedding inspiration, one for work, one for uni, one for inspirational words and even one entitled ‘hounds’…

Whenever you see a pin that you like you can re-pin it onto one of your boards or just ‘like’ it if you prefer. You can imagine the way that popular pins can trend and word can spread via the use of a particularly pretty, witty or compelling pin. Creativity is championed and originality is encouraged too and that’s one of the reasons I love it!

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s users are mostly 20-50 year old females but it’s got a much wider audience really and it’s growing! Even Simon has an account! He likes to pin pictures of Superheroes mostly…

Anyway you need to request to join Pinterest or someone who is already a member can invite you so drop me a line if you want to join, I’ll more than happily add you! Just be warned, your browsing time on the internet will never be the same again!!!

Happy Day!***

P.S Abby Larson founder of Style Me Pretty (my favourite wedding blog from my previous post here) is going to be featured/interviewed on another beautiful blog that I follow The Everygirl! How exciting!!!

My Love Affair with Style Me Pretty Weddings

 

As some of you may know I have been a little bit obsessed with bridal magazines, blogs and websites, ‘pinning’ this that and the other willynilly! Well today I want to share with you one of my favourite wedding websites Style Me Pretty. I’m sure any blushing brides reading this will know all too well the fabulously beautiful, chic and cleverly curated American website that has regional editions, including one for Australian weddings!

Check out their current home page here.

And here is some of the yummy goodness…

Here is the link to a beautiful wedding in Santa Barbara, California where the bride wore these stunning Louboutins on her peppers;

I die!

Now I am about to let you in on a little secret… The following are my DREAM wedding shoes and if I can get my hands on them I WILL buy them and I WILL wear them and my heart will be HAPPY;

They are just so perfect for our wedding and this lucky bride thought so too! Seriously, if anyone finds these Melissa by Vivienne Westwood shoes in this colour combo in a size 7 I wanna hear about it!!!

And here are those shoes again;

Just in more ‘wedding’ type colours this time in Somona, California.

And for something closer to home, here’s something from Perth;

Of course I LOVE her shoes

I just love this picture with the huge Aussie flag!

And they served Lavender Lemonade;

Now, let’s have cake!

Soo classy! From this couple in the Napa Valley.

And I just love EVERYTHING about this LA wedding

Have I mentioned I LOVE Californian weddings??! Seriously, I’m such a West Coast girl

Check out these beautiful Bridesmaid dresses;

So versatile and Summery not to mention a great colour.

They were the attendees of this beautiful bride from Tennessee.

And here’s another little treat from Tennessee;

 

Serious cuties!! And her dress, ahhh.

OK and this next one is cute cute cute!

Don’t you love the soda bottles?! Very trendy vintage chic ha! And I also love the Bridesmaid dresses, unique and bright and wearable.

Check out more of that wedding here.

And here is some fun inspiration.

Simon and I both want to make our wedding as fun as we are and fun always involves games! This Style Me Pretty Inspiration came from one of the Style Me Pretty girls’ own wedding. Check it out here. I also LOVED her veil!

It was makeshift on the day because she had left her original veil at home in Dallas (they got married in Fredricksburg, Texas) so they had to run and get some tulle and attach it to a hair comb she had purchased from etsy.

 

Love it!

And stickin’ in Texas (seriously between California and Texas all my wedding dreams come true lol!)

I love this cross and I’m trying to get Simon to make me one

Check out more here.

And, moving on, what a cute but stylish idea is this?

It’s from this wedding re-do in Kansas!

Two weddings! A bit greedy! I think I’ll just get through one at this stage lol… But I might pinch some ideas…

Now there is one wedding ‘trend’ that I am honestly obsessed with which I know will not be ‘on trend’ when I look back in 10 years time but I just don’t care because I LOVE Mason Jars!!!

This particular mason inspiration came from Colorado here. 

And I better leave it at that because I just get soooo carried away on Style Me Pretty! I go ‘pin’ crazy (more on that in my next post).

Thank you Style Me Pretty for enough inspiration to get married every single Saturday for the rest of my life! I <3 U XXX

Are you also obsessed with Style Me Pretty or other wedding websites like The Knot? Which wedding is your favourite? Is it the Santa Barbara Louboutins, the home-grown wedding in Perth or the cuties from Tennessee?

Happy Day!***