Randoms

1) I officially made a wedding playlist for the next two months. Ready?
Hey Soul Sister - Train
I told you so and Sweet Thing - Keith Urban
Fallin for you - Colbie Caillat
Just the way you are - Bruno Mars
Farmer's Daughter - Rodney Atkins
Someone to watch over me - Ella Fitzgerald
Boogie Shoes - KC and the Sunshine Band
All of Creation - Mercy ME
Forever - Chris Brown
I never told you -Colbie Caillat
Love Story - Taylor Swift
These are the nights - Making April
You got me - Colbie Caillat
Stuck like glue - Sugarland
My life would suck without you - Glee!!!!!!!!!!

Exciting right? I'm trying to get in the mushy gushy mood so my husband-to-be will have plenty of loving once we're married. :)

2) I love Mercy Me's "All of Creation" song - particularly the verses that say,
"Separated until the veil was torn
The moment that hope was born
and guilt was pardoned once and for all

Captivated but no longer bound by chains
left at an empty grave
the sinner and the sacred resolved"

and

"the reason we breathe is to sing of his glory
and for all he has done praise the father praise the son and the spirit in one."

It's a good reminder for me that we are given so much hope in this sinful world. Our only purpose for being in this world - hence the reason we breathe, is to purely sing of his glory, to bring him praise, and to worship him.

We went to Renewal this morning and one thing that both Grey and I took away from the service was when Matt talked about taking the Lord's name in vain. He said that we think that taking the Lord's name in vain is so bad but every time we profess to be followers of Jesus and we do something that contradicts that, we are in essence doing the same thing as using the Lord's name in vain. Ouch.

3) We went to the Clemson homecoming game this past weekend and while I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and hanging out with Grey's fam, I hated it. I was brought back into a world where gorgeous girls dressed so immodestly that it made me sick. The bad part was I was so jealous. I know I can't control what Grey looks at and believe me when I say that I completely trust him. But - I was in a situation where I no longer had control. I wanted so badly to punch all of those girls in the face. Sinful thoughts of comparisons started coming back and by the time the evening was over, I was absolutely sick with what I saw when I looked at myself. It was like my sophomore and junior years in college were back. I had worked so hard at having a healthy body image and I felt like all of it, within 12 hours, was shot in the foot.

However, I realized that those thoughts were purely from Satan himself and that I was a beautiful creation in the Lord. I read a blog some time ago where it talked about how painful a girl's comparisons can be. The summary of the blog was this - that Jesus didn't die so we would feel good about ourselves when we looked in the mirror or so we would fit into what the world deemed as being beautiful. How selfish of us to even think that way. Here we've been given the most beautiful gift of salvation ever - eternal life with the King of Kings and all we can think about is how the Creator's creation isn't good enough. Jesus didn't die so we would think of ourselves as beautiful in the worldly sense. Nope - Jesus died so we would think of ourselves as beautiful worshipers of the Most High. He died so we would have hope that after living through a painful world filled with sin and comparisons, we would get to celebrate for all eternity with him in Heaven.
What can you be praying for?
That especially as the wedding approaches, I wouldn't be tempted to compare myself with other girls or think that if I was skinnier or blonder or prettier that Grey would be more of a lucky guy to be marrying me.

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend.
Next weekend? APPLE PICKING with Susan and Will!! :)

76 days till we're hitched!
I love you all and thanks for praying!
-B