The Exodus

I feel like I've been reading the book of Exodus forever. In reality, it's only been nine days, but it feels like I've been reading it in real time. I'm trying diligently to learn from it - but when cubits get involved, I feel like I need to go back to seminary (or have my former seminary-student roommate move back in with me for a few days). This morning I found myself  looking ahead to what's next (Leviticus) and wincing.

Before beginning this bible reading plan, I'd never read through Genesis from start to finish. In fact, I'd never read through any Old Testament book from start to finish. Now, I've read all of Genesis, all of Job, and I'm almost finished with Exodus. I learned A LOT in the first two books, and I've been praying for God to reveal things to me that I probably missed when I watched Prince of Egypt at age eight (just to clarify, that's a joke). I feel like an idiot for getting caught up on the technical side of one of the greatest stories in the bible - aside from the life of Christ. I'll even go so far as to say one of the greatest stories in all of history (secular history included). This is God making a covenant to His chosen people and getting them the heck out of harms way! He's delivering them. He's sanctifying their faith. He's giving us the most well known and important set of rules and biblical laws. Why can't I get into this book?

Before you start rolling your eyes at me, I will assure you that this post was not written for the sole purpose of just updating you on the book in the bible I've reached in my (slow moving) reading plan. I want to share how amazing our God is and how faithful He is.

I'm trying to finish up the book, Made to Crave, that I mentioned in one of my previous posts. As I was reading today, I came across this paragraph:

"A few years ago, the words portion control took on new meaning as I studied the book of Exodus and noted the curious emotional response God’s people had after Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt. They’d just seen God do miracle after miracle to help them escape their captors, but they panicked when it came to food. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.' Then the LORD said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.' (Exodus 16:2 – 4) In other words, God planned to use the Israelites’ food issues to teach them the valuable lesson of daily dependence on Him [this sounds familiar]. Don’t you love how applicable this is to us? Ancient biblical stories have taught me that history certainly has a way of repeating itself, so I’d be wise to pay attention. Because these recently freed Israelites continued to grumble against God and turn their hearts from Him, God took them on a forty-year detour. Instead of heading straight to the Promised Land of freedom, they had to wander in the desert for forty years while they learned how to truly depend on God. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend the next forty years of my life learning this lesson. I want to stop grumbling about my weight, apply this valuable training about God-dependence and portion control, and keep walking toward the victory that can be mine."
TerKeurst, Lysa (2010-12-21). Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food (pp. 131-132). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Wow, on a day when I woke up early, sat at my dining room table, struggled to read Exodus 33-36 and left asking God to please allow me to learn from my reading, this was a huge answered prayer! Maybe I'm too dense to see the reality of what God has been teaching me on my own, and I am thankful for the common grace of books and literature to wake me up with His truth.

So, today as you go through your routine, or go about the abnormalities that may or may not be causing you strife, take heart in the fact that we most certainly serve a faithful God. Even when we feel like our prayers are hitting the ceiling and we're just not getting it, not hearing Him, or whatever, He is with us. He is loving us. He is caring for us. Trust in His Word. Trust in His promises. Trust in His truth.

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Sin vs. Salvation

One of the podcast that I subscribe to is Desiring God's Author's on the Line. Back in October, the host interviewed Michael Reeve, author of "Delighting in the Trinity". In the 24 minute interview, Reeves presents this paralleled comparison between sin and salvation. 

This is what he says concerning sin:

"Why is it that Eve takes the apple? The action of her sin actually flows out of the affections where her heart is. That she desires wisdom, she wants to be more like God, more than she wants to trust God. So, she's got a love for something else rather than a love for God. And that's how sin works in us. The reason I act sinfully is because I've begun to desire sinfully. I've begun to desire something else more than I've desired God. And this is James 1 - it's desire gives birth to sin; sin gives birth to death."

And on salvation:

"This is how we're built. So the same thing works for salvation. I naturally don't desire God. I desire myself. I desire other things. But what the Spirit so kindly does, is the Spirit opens my eyes to see the glory and beauty of God - and so wins my  heart...I want people to see that the living God is more beautiful and more desirable than our sin. And that's the Spirit's work through the Word. The Spirit opens our eyes that we might see Christ."

Source

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May we focus today on what we desire for. Are we desiring success, money, material possessions, food, love, or other things of this work that are temporary? If so, let us fix our eyes upon Jesus. Let us fix our desires and our affections on the cross. Let us focus on the God who loves you and sent His son so that you and I might live eternally with Him.

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Jesus is the bread...so take those rolls off the dinner table!

Sitting in a booth, sharing a bagel with my mom, I was faced with a new reality. We drank our coffee, shared a snack, and caught up with each other - this was nothing out of the ordinary. Since my junior year of high school, this was our routine. Even so, there was something different this time.

Here’s a little background information -

Two years ago (and around the time of this mother/daughter coffee date), as a recent college graduate, I lost about 20 pounds. Standing at only 5 feet tall with a curvy frame, 20 pounds made a huge difference in the way I looked and felt.

I was the girl crash dieting and forcing myself into the gym since early high school. I was the girl constantly tugging at her clothes and explaining my weight anytime I got the chance, just to make sure that I acknowledged my less-than-perfect body before anyone else did. So after months of cutting out all the wrong foods and fueling myself with all the right foods, my mom was curious as to why a bagel was my choice of snack that warm August afternoon.

I don’t think that my mom meant for her words to impact me very much or change my whole outlook – but I’m glad that they did. I truly believe that she had a genuine curiosity about the maintenance phase of my weight loss plan. But as she questioned, and I answered back with some vague excuse, her next words hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Have you ever considered that your battle with self-esteem, food, and your weight is more of a spiritual battle than anything else?” she asked.

Quietly, I muttered, no. Over the next few weeks, I contemplated this question almost constantly. I obsessed on it because I felt so silly for never even considering that all of these years that I’ve struggled and been overly self-conscience, I never once thought to give this “issue” to the Lord.

Why I hadn’t I? When I began dating my husband, which was about a year before this, I prayed daily that God would allow us to connect mentally/intellectually (when we began dating), spiritually (as we grew together as a couple), emotionally (as things became more serious and we started talking about marriage), and physically (after we wed). Now, all four of these things are all extremely vital to building, maintaining, and enjoying our marriage. I think that at some point in my life I just concluded that these four things made up every aspect of our person. So why then, did I not apply these same principles, including the spiritual aspect, to my only real consistent and long-term strife?

Although the answer really doesn’t matter as much as the subsequent action, I realized over time that the answer really boils down to a deep rooted fear. I feared letting go of control.  But, as I just said, identifying the problem is really only the first step. The important thing is how to change the problem.

Therefore, in a day where young women are living in an over saturated, media-based culture that forces us to see its idea what beautiful looks like, I want to extend a white flag of surrender for those who are just tired of trying.

My advice to you is not to quit, but rather, loosen your grip a little bit; let go. Here are some ways that I’ve learned to balance my struggle in a healthier way.

•  Physically - The most obvious way to take action on a struggle with self-esteem, food, and weight is by taking a physical action. I’m not a medical professional, so I’ll just give you basic ideas that I’ve learned from experience. Eat foods that come from nature. The means a diet that contains higher protein and fiber and lower in carbohydrates, sugar, and processed foods. Exercise as much as possible, but make it fun. If you like running, add some fun music to your workout playlist. If you hate running, join a gym that offers classes like cycling, kickboxing, or step aerobics. Exercise with your friends or your significant other and challenge each other; a little competition is always exciting. I’ve even started wearing a pedometer to work, and I try to compete with myself each day to see if I can find ways to walk more just by showing up at work.

•  Mentally/Intellectually - For me, this is the easiest way to conquer my issue. I read a lot of health blogs, exercise blogs, and articles on health and wellness. Sometime I enjoy reading books on health and exercise, but many times books promote fad diets, and I try to steer clear of those. Find a few blogs that you like, and follow them regularly. The beneficial thing about a blog is that it’s a real person writing, so usually it offers encouragement as well as tips, advice, and ideas. I’m reading a book right now that was suggested to me by one of my friends/blog readers called Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. I recommend it to anyone who struggles with “eating your feelings” as I like to call it. Here’s one (of many) quote from it that truly stuck out to me: “But, if I allowed my brain to park in a place of dissatisfaction about any part of my body, it would give Satan just enough room to move in with his lie that strips me of motivation: ‘Your body is never going to look the way you want it to look, so why sacrifice so much? Your discipline is in vain.’” Honestly, I could probably quote the whole book, but that would make this post completely irrelevant – so go buy the book and read it for yourself!

•  Emotionally - Incorporating an emotional aspect to battling against my weight and food is almost as hard for me as incorporating a spiritual side. It’s really tough for me to be vulnerable enough with myself to face what I like to call, “The Why’s”. Why am I so drawn to eat things that I know in my head are not good for me? Why am I sitting on the couch talking on the phone or watching TV when I can be walking around the neighborhood talking on the phone or listening to music? Why do I crave unhealthy foods when I’m mad/upset/hurt/sad? Why do I buy things at the grocery store that I know will be tempting to me, even though I’ve been eating so good all week long? Honestly, this list could go on and on, and I’m sure that everyone’s list will be a variance of “The Why’s”. Many times it’s easy to find a surface level answer, but to dig beneath the surface gets messy. I for one don’t like to face the reason for why I turn to food for comfort, or why I remain sedentary when I get home from a sedentary job. It’s painful, and many times the conclusion that I come to is that my strength, will power, and efforts will never be enough for me to make real progress in this area of my life. Which leads to my next point...

•  Spiritually - If you look throughout the bible, there are subtle, but clear references to food in relation to sin. Eve ate the apple and the Israelites freaked out because they were running out of food, just to name a few. But, as a beautiful picture of restoration, the bible also uses images of food to encourage us. When Jesus is tempted in the desert, the adversary tempts him with food, yet Jesus says that no man can live by bread alone. In the gospel of John, Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Jesus also meets the physical need of people when he feeds the 5,000 before he feeds them spiritually in Matthew 14. So, why then do we not cast our burden - our answers to “The Why’s” on our Lord and Savior? Do we think that our food issues or our weight issues are too petty for God? Do we think that we should be strong enough to accomplish our weight loss goal on our own? Or, do we deny that we even have a problem? Something that I’ve learned is that the moment I replace God with food, I’m not only sinning, but I have a problem that needs fixing by the Holy Spirit. When I’m offered a job, my husband and I celebrate by going out to eat. The last time that this happened, it took me almost a day to stop and praise God for providing a job for me. When I’m upset about something, I’ll justify a bowl of ice cream after dinner and a skipped day at the gym, but it might take me hours or even days to bring whatever I’m upset about before the Lord. Does any of this sound familiar? This issue of self-esteem, food, and weight is intricately connected with our relationship with God. Treat it that way and give it the validity in your prayers that its due.

As I look back on the last two years of my life, I almost start to laugh at how it looks. I’d love to tell you that I’m where I want to be and that the truth that my mom presented to me that day over coffee and a bagel has whipped me into shape and now I’m exactly where I want to be. But the reality of this truth that she spoke is that it’s a journey. It’s a spiritual journey, and I don’t pretend that I have all the answers. But I will admit that since that day, things have been different for me because God used my mom as a vessel to reveal something important to me and it finally clicked. My hope and my prayer is that, at the least, is that you’re encouraged by reading this. I’d love for this to be that epiphany moment and you’re literally staring at your computer right now with your hand on your forehead saying, “Man, why didn’t I see this before?!” If that’s the case, I’m thankful that God has used a simple girl like me, and I pray that he receives glory for it all.

That seems to about cover all I had to say today.
So then...
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Forget-Me-Nots

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Wow, it's be a while since I've blogged to you...I apologize for my absence. The past few months haven't been too particularly busy, but I've just been focused on a lot of other things. So, I sincerely apologize for my lack up life update via blog - but it hasn't been too incredibly interesting. My hope is that over the next few weeks, the fruit of my blog silence will reveal itself through some new posts.

I've been trying to intentionally spend a lot of time reading God's Word. I started using Guthrie's One Year Chronological Reading Plan a few weeks ago. I've also started listening to a lot of sermons on podcast. I've randomly tried to unsuccessfully do this over the past few years, but I've focused on how to carve out time in each day to accomplish this. Why, you might ask? Well, I want to fill myself up with the Word so much that what I speak about, think about, dream about is God's Word. I literally am aiming to eat, sleep, and drink truth.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not there yet; I'm not even close. I still have to make myself listen to a podcast rather than turning on fun music at work. Then, I have to make myself pay attention. I have to make myself keep up with the reading plan...and I'm really not good at that. It's a lot easier to keep pressing snooze in the morning until I run out of time to read before work...and it's really easier to turn on the TV or just keep talking to Jason until I fall asleep instead of intentionally making time to read before bed. But, I'm working at it...and as always...God's Word has not returned void - but more on that later :)

Last week I was listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler that was preached the Sunday after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. The sermon as a whole was a great hour of truth, and as I expected, it was full of emotion due to the circumstances. I didn't listen to this sermon on purpose, it was just the next "unplayed" podcast on my iPhone, but as a drove to work on a sunny almost Spring day, I believe that God opened my eyes to something.

As I drove, I started thinking about many of the tragedies that I've heard about in my life - big and small. I thought about 9/11, Columbine, and Sandy Hook. I thought about friends who have lost a parent or sibling. I thought about struggles that I know are going on around me and hardships that friends, family, and acquaintances are enduring each day. I thought about the many times that I've told people I'd be praying for their circumstance, or the times that I've gathered with a church or group to pray for nationally recognized tragedies. I asked myself, have I really prayed? In many of these situations, the answer was yes, yes I did pray. But then I believe that God forced me to go a step further and think about those individuals now - am I still praying? I teared up a little, and I muttered a reluctant "no" aloud in my car.

At almost 24 years old, I finally came to realize that prayer is an act that must be sustained. The friend who has lost a parent or sibling still misses them every day. They need prayer. The family member who struggled with depression or an eating disorder is still fighting the temptation to turn back even five years later. They need prayer. The parents of those children who fell victim to a senseless tragedy in Newtown, CT still walk by their child's room each day and experience pain in the depth of their soul. They need prayer. Twelve years later, families who lost someone on September 11, 2001 will still have an empty seat at their dining room table. They need prayer. Just because the media coverage ends or the funeral is over does not mean that prayer for that circumstance should cease - in fact, it should increase.

In Novemeber/Decemeber 2012, Brook Hills did a series on prayer.
To listen to the podcasts from this series, click here.

Our sinful, human nature causes us to forget things that don't necessarily benefit or effect us directly. We're selfish, and that causes us to focus on ourselves rather than fix our eyes upon Jesus and cry out to Him on behalf of our brothers and sisters. I urge you to change that in your life. Let us be an outward focused people who intentionally continually pray for others' circumstances. Today, before you go to bed, I challenge you to make a list of people or situations you have prayed for in the last year or the last two years. Leave that list beside your bed, and pray for those people each night. Keep adding to it - your prayers will not return void.

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"so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

{Isaiah 55:11}

"The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth."

{Psalm 145:18} 

Things that Rhyme

There once was a girl

who liked to twirl;

So she learned to dance,

while she planned her life in advance.

As she got older 

she grew a good bit bolder;

And she grew and she grew

until she turned twenty-two. 

At this time, you see,

her boyfriend got down on one knee.

He asked her to be his wife,

and be together for the rest of their life.

She said "Yes!" of course,

and without any force;

They planned their dream day 

and let nothing stand in their way.

As the wedding day drew near

the girl began to fear,

that her dress wouldn't fit, 

and she couldn't stand the thought of it.

But when the day came,

her worries were in vain. 

She and he said "I do"

on beautiful September twenty-two. 

After they wed,

as many have said,

they both put on some weight,

which the girl began to hate. 

"Enough is enough," she wrote,

in her blog she wrote a note. 

She vowed that she would work hard

and always be on her guard.

She opted to follow 

the Couch to 5K plan without a wallow. 

But she needed something more,

so that running did not become a bore.

She searched online and Pinterest

until she found something of interest.

A plan for the month of Feb

that was pre-written on the web.

Today she's presenting it to you,

so maybe you'll join in too! 

It starts out looking kind of easy,

but I doubt it'll be much of a breeze-y.

Thanks for reading my cheesy rhymn! I hope I didn't take up too much of your time :)

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P.S. If you want a PDF version of this plan, just email me and I'll send it to you. I'm having to catch up right now, so I'm doing two-a-days.

Getting Things in Order

I started blogging consistently a little less than a year ago. My blogging journey started when I decided to participate in a week-long cleanse before I went wedding dress shopping. I blogged about the cleanse, my battle that I've always had with my weight vs. self-esteem, the changes that I've made in my diet and exercise over the years, and finally, my decision to bring a doctor into the mix.

Wedding dress shopping...post-cleanse.

After about 6 months of blogging about this topic (among others), I've had some difficulty writing this blog. I sit down to write, and I think about what's going on in my life. Things have settled down some for Jason and me as far as traveling and big life changes. I like writing about marriage and being a newlywed and the emotions/hurdles/joys that brings, but I don't want this to be a blog that is solely about that. When I think about my life, the constant struggle that I have is my weight and self-esteem. But yet, I haven't been able to bring myself to write about it since October. So, as of today, I'm going back to where this blog began and I'm going to give you an update.

As always, I don't write this just so people know what's going on with my life. I write this in hopes that someone who reads this might take comfort in identifying with me, find hope in the truth that we are all God's creation no matter our struggles, and maybe even take steps to identify the source of their frustration/worries/hardship.

Before I update you, if you haven't read about my journey to find answers, take a look at this blog post.

Right before Thanksgiving, I went back to my doctor to have some follow-up blood work done. After Thanksgiving, Jason accompanied me to the doctor to hear the results. When I was 16, I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and PCOS (to find out about what in the world that means, click here). After high school, I didn't really pursue any treatment for it, but I've always just aimed to eat a low carb/high protein diet and exercise. I knew that losing weight would be an uphill battle for me. In college, things were kind of up and down when it came to my weight and self-esteem (read more about my battle here). Then, post college, working a sedentary job, being on a budget, and falling victim to lots and lots of life changes has put me at the highest weight, most out of shape, and lowest self-esteem I've ever experienced.

My feelings x 100

Now, for the results. My doctor informed me that my insulin levels had spiked. They were definitely in the high range, but I'm not diabetic (yet). He said that my results were consistent with insulin resistance and PCOS. He put me on an appetite suppressant for 3-6 months, told me to follow the nutrition rules he gave me over the summer, and increase my exercise. After 6 months, he is planning on putting me on a medication that will help keep my insulin levels down.

Honestly, I was satisfied with those results. I'd been praying that I would get some sort of answer, but that nothing HORRIBLE would be wrong with me. This, was definitely a manageable result and all in all an answered prayer.

Month One: December went pretty well. Although we were crazy busy, I managed to lose about 5-6 pounds. I was down 8 pounds, but then Christmas happened. My doctor told me at my one month check-in that he was happy with how things were going. Me, being the crazy over-achiever that I am, didn't think I'd done enough though.

Month Two: January was weird. About a week into January, I went to another doctor who I've been seeing for about 5 years. She got onto me about my weight and challenged me to get back into running and aim for 150 minutes of medium-high intensity exercise a week. My month two check-in was yesterday, and my doctor wasn't super stoked about my results. I got about 1-2 pounds off, but we all know I can do a lot better. We talked about my goals and I clearly realized something: I've got to work harder.

Eating pretty healthy doesn't cut it right now. Exercising when I have time or when I feel like it is not enough. I've got to eat really good. I've got to get out and sweat. I can't make compromises or talk myself out of this thing. I can't settle. This is no longer just a physical desire to look better or be skinnier - this is a health issue and it's about time that I start acting like it.

Obviously, I have some ideas of what I'm going to do to work harder in mind. I completed day one of week two of the Couch to 5K running plan last night. Talk about humbling. I used to be able to run at least a mile and a half without having to walk...even if I hadn't run in a while. Now, after about a minute, everything hurts. But, I'm not going to let that stop me. I'm determined to accomplish this and not quit. I also want to do some sort of weight training 1-2 days a week in addition to my running plan. If you have ideas, let me know. I also am cutting back on my sugars. I usually just look at the carbs that I'm taking in, but I haven't ever paid enough attention to the amount of sugar that foods have. Time to start. My goal is to not eat any refined carb/sugar after lunch, and any carbs/sugars that I do eat need to be whole grain or natural (coming either from dairy or fruit).

Will someone people buy this in mural size for me?

Yesterday went well, but it's going to be an uphill battle. Fortunately, I have a great support system in Jason and I'm thankful for that. I'll keep my blog readers posted (haha, pun intended) on my progress along the way. Please be praying for discipline and grace for me through this.

Last, but certainly not least, I love hearing from people who read this. Whether it's encouragement, ideas, questions, or just a random comment, it really is all great. Community is so important and I want to know how I can be praying/encouraging you as well! 

I know this is long, so thanks for hanging in there and reading to the end :)

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I Said "YES" - It's Been One Year

Jason proposed to me one year ago today. I'd like to say that time flies, and it some ways it does, but I also feel like we've just always been married...I suppose that's probably a good thing :)

Anyway, I wanted to post our proposal story, because it's awesome of course. I was going to just repost the blog that I wrote about it, but then I realized that I never posted a blog about it. I did however, post the story on our wedding website. Since September 23rd marked the day that I never did anything wedding related again, our wedding website is still up. So, here's our proposal story (complete with awesome photos), one year later.

Enjoy!

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Jason proposed on February 4, 2012. I have known Jason was very romantic all along, but I this night he was on a whole new playing field.

So...here it goes:

Jason told me that he wanted to take me on a date Saturday night. He said that earlier in the week, but he never really said anything else about it. So Friday night I asked him if he still wanted to go out Saturday night, and he said, "Yes, be ready at 5:30."

Well, I was ready, but the bottom dropped out of the sky at about 5:20 that night. So we made a run to the car with my somewhat functional (but usually broken), leopard-print umbrella. We barely got out of my apartment complex and he pulled out a blindfold and told me that there were 5 parts to our date, and I had to be blindfolded in between every part. Honestly, I wasn't as shocked as I probably should have been when he handed me the blindfold. He did the same thing when he asked me to be his girlfriend on September 22, 2010....it's kind of his trademark :)

Me with my awesome blindfold.

So the first two parts of our date he basically took me on our first date again. We went to Rojo for dinner in Highlands area. He didn't let me take off the blindfold until we were literally walking in the door, so I felt silly, but that's okay because I knew something special was coming. We ate, and I honestly can't even remember what we talked about because I was so giddy/excited/nervous.

After dinner, he took me to Morris Ave. downtown. On our first date, Jason took me to a place there to hear one of our friends from church play. On our first date, we walked around the unique area of Morris Ave. before the show. February 4th, he walked his blindfolded girlfriend through the same street. He guided me all the way down the cobblestone road to this random chair sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. Then he told me to sit down, and he got out his backpack  (I asked if we were going to school).

Our "song" is called Goodnight Moon, and a while back I bought him the children's book with the same name because he'd never read it before. So while I was sitting in the random chair in the middle of Morris Ave., he told me that he had a story to read to me and he read me Goodnight Moon (the book). Then he told me that he had something for me to read, and he got out this beautiful custom made hardback book that had all of these pictures of us in it. He'd written the book to be like Goodnight Moon, except everything was "Hello [fill in the blank]". I started crying about three pages in. Then on the last page it said, "Do you want a new last name? Will you marry me?" And when I finished reading he was on one knee with the ring out.

It looks like a scene from a movie. Good job Kyle (aka our spy photographer)

On one knee. Love this.

 After that, we went to Homewood Park. The first time we went there was some sort of pilates class going on or something so Jason and I made fun of them  by dancing on the tables trying to immitate them. So Saturday when we went to the park he got out his iPod and we danced on the table...sounds silly, but it was really sweet and cute...and let's face it, Jason and I are a pretty silly couple.

Fourth stop was O'Henry's coffee shop in Downtown Homewood. Jason took me in (still blindfolded) and set up his computer and he had my family on the other end of it so we could video chat. That was probably one of the best parts of the night because all of them were just sitting there waiting and SO excited for us! We talked for almost an hour, which I later found out was good because Jason wasn't sure how he was going to delay us for the fifth and final part of the night (he totally underestimated how much four girls can talk).

Video chatting with my family

Last stop of the night was at our friends' apartment. Our small group from church and a couple of our other good friends had thrown us a little engagement party, which was so wonderful and sweet of them. We got to celebrate and text all of our friends and family. We also got to eat some yummy ice cream cake and just share our story and fellowship with the people we share life with here in Birmingham. Before we left, our friends prayed over us and our engagement and our future marriage. It reminded me how truly blessed we are to have each other, our friends, and our families who are all so encouraging and supportive!

Our engagement party!

Dun-dun-dun-duuhhhhhh...THE RING...or should I say, THE BLING!

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