Birthday, Wedding, and Memorial Day - and randoms...

Saturday night we celebrated my brother-in-law's 40th birthday. Hubert's actual birthday was on the 13th, but the party was just this weekend. My brother, sister-in-law, and niece came in town for the occasion as well. A few cousins were originally going to come, but they had some stuff to do for the new house that they bought. John and I brought some old liquor that we had (from our stock-the-bar shower back in 2007) for the old birds to drink. We had a wonderful time and I managed not to get thrown into the pool - even though my husband was one of the man handlers throwing everyone into the pool. Only one person (Dana) brought their bathing suit, so everyone else was in their party clothes.

Sunday John and I woke up and went to church - wow what a sermon. It was as if God was speaking directly to us. Brian Jobe preached about the Beatitudes - Matthew 5: 1-12:

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The main focus for the sermon with this entire passage was the "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted". Sound like it hit home to anyone? Well, bingo - there's me right front and center. A lot of what we learned would get lost in translation, but click here and you can check out what Brian preached on. A small gist of what we learned was that we shouldn't walk into church feeling like we had to plaster smiles on our faces - hiding our tears. We need to let our emotions show, if we need to cry, then cry. I posted awhile ago about a particular song (Blessed be Your Name) that ALWAYS makes me choke up because I live and breath that song everyday and I sing it in church choking back the tears that want to flow from my eyes. Please make sure you check out the sermon because I am not very good and summarizing...

"We cannot be filled until we are empty and we cannot be made worthy until we recognize our unworthiness" - John MacArthur

Sunday afternoon John and I went to Freddie and Brian's wedding. Freddie and I have been friends since she moved here from Germany in Middle school We had such a wonderful time. A few of my friends from high school (some I have known since we were 4...) were there and it was a fun time to catch up. One friend that was there we found out is expecting and another engaged - so it was a fun night to celebrate!

The wedding was at the Mansion at Forsyth Park at it was absolutely perfect! The tears started flowing as soon as Freddie's brother walked her down the aisle. Brian and Freddie wrote out their own vows to each other and they did such an amazing job. I started thinking as they were saying their vows and then listening to the officiate go over his part and it made me realize how John and I have held onto our vows. The words seem to be just words when you are saying them that day, but later you actually start to see yourself being apart of those words and promises. For better or worse - we are living proof of that particular vow....

On a side note that has nothing to do with what I have posted above - John and I have decided not to calculate or time anything for a second child at this time in our life. We are just going to let nature take its course and whatever happens will happen. There is too much pressure in calculating days or taking my temperature - it can become obsessive and I still need (John and I both need) to work on our own healing before having another baby. If it happens then it will happen - we know that everything is in God's time and when it happens it will be the right time for us.