Suffering? Rejoice!

Spring could not have come at a more convenient time! It's been a rough few weeks and a vacation is exactly what I need! On Saturday, I had a wonderful bridal shower, my Grandmother came down and I was able to spend some time with her and I get to sleep in my old room! Plus, it's only Sunday! I still have the rest of the week! The plan for this week: wedding, wedding, wedding! My mom and I are hoping to get the rest of my wedding checklist completed!


But, for now, I can relax.


It's Sunday. The day of rest. I'm curled on the couch, p.j.'s on, and a sweet puppy laying at my feet. 


I'm blessed to come home to such an amazing Sunday school class. My mentor, Kami, and her husband, Alfred, are the leaders. Just being with them anywhere does my heart good! They've both seen me grow up since I was 16...mentally, physically, and spiritually. Kamera has helped mold me to be the woman I am today. I couldn't imagine my life without her!


Anyway, today's lesson was...God designed. He's so good at that, eh? 
We started talking about what the Bible has to say about suffering.


The passage we explored was 1 Peter 4:12-19.

(NIV Translation)
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trail you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.


If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 


For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 


And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"


So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.


(The Message Translation)
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.


If you are abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It's the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that's a different matter. But if it's because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!


It's judgment time in God's own family. We're first in line. If it starts with us, think what it's going to be like for those who refuse God's Message! If good people barely make it, what's in store for the bad?


So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what He's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.


When we suffer, we're more like Christ than ever before.

The answer is easy...

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 

and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," 

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord's praise, 

for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13

I've nick-named this Psalm as "Lauren's Psalm." I honestly believe David and I had more in common then our love for dancing. This past month has been tough for me. I've had many struggles. Emotional, physical, and spiritual. All this struggling has left me questioning, just like David in the beginning of this chapter. I've been struck down with circumstance after circumstance over and over, with no relenting. 

When I read "Lauren's Psalm" I picture me crawling into God's lap and venting. Letting everything out. Crying, screaming, questioning. So angry at the world. So unsatisfied with my life.

He lets me. He lets me unwind and blame things on Him that He doesn't deserve. He lets me get His robe wet with my tears. Then, He just pulls me in tighter and says "Are you done?" 

That's when the last part of this chapter gets me. When I feel like there is no more comfort to be found, He's there. I will trust when I can't even find the strength. Why? Because of His unfailing love for me. I will rejoice in my suffering. Why? Because He suffered for my salvation. I will sing when I don't even have the words. Why? Because He has done nothing but good for me. 

He deserves all of my trust, rejoicing, and singing no matter what I've gone through.

I'm not perfect. I'm not okay. I've still got many questions in my life. But, I know who holds the answer. I know who can calm my fears. All it takes is a choice from me to seek Him. That's my answer! Seek Him! It's such a simple answer...yet the hardest action.

"First comes love, then comes marriage..."

Facebook asks me "what's on my mind" every time I log on. The answer: weddings. Not that I'm complaining. I'd much rather have weddings on my mind than spiders, or drowning, or fighting an octopus. (That last one came from a story my seventh and eighth graders read.) Talk about scary.

So, I'm perfectly content on thinking about weddings. But, not just any wedding. No, no, no. 

My wedding.

(I suppose Brandon has a part in it...so, OUR wedding.)

We met this weekend with our photographer. She is a super sweet person and we feel she is the one! She's a lawyer by trade and does photography on the side. How cool is that? I'm so impressed with her work and can FINALLY cross that off my list! Another thing to cross off is the groomsmen's tuxes. Brandon got fitted for his and I picked out all the outfits. 

So, here is the new and updated wedding list:

Boy

Parent's Approval

Ring

Dress

Location

Date

Invitations

Photographer

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaid Outfit

Groomsmen

Groomsmen Outfit

Pastor

Pre-Maritial Counseling

Ceremony Decor

Reception Decor

Reception Food

Vows (semi-crossed off...we're writing our own.)

That's what's left! I'm sure there will be little things popping out to add to my stress, but I'm so excited for June 11, I can handle anything! 

The decorations for both the ceremony and reception are the main things that are clogging my brain. I've found SO many ideas and I can't seem to put them all together!

I have quite a collection of little items I like...enjoy!

I love everything about this! The dresser, the pendants, the books, pictures, etc. It's perfect to place the guest vase!

I love the hanging paper lanterns. Our colors would be black, white, and light yellow.

I don't see the need for covering the WHOLE chair, so an alternative is tying some fabric like this! Since we're having an afternoon wedding, the reception will be an ice cream/ dessert bar which means two things: 1) Short reception and 2) No need for everyone to be sitting down at once which means less chairs! (We'll have other things for the guests to be doing instead of sitting down.)

I'd love to find some old windows and add some "umph" to them!

For the centerpieces: books, bottles, candles, frames, etc.

I have a collection of glass bottles that I want to fill with sand and place some flowers or candles in!

Instead of a traditional guest book, I'm going to have tons of river stones, permanent markers, and a vase. I saw this idea a few years back and fell in love! 

My bridesmaids are wearing their own black, above the knee, strapless dresses. I'm having these necklaces made for them all to wear!

A cute sign to hang around the dessert tables. I'm thinking of painting on some old wood...

I love this idea of a "family" tree. It can be filled with pictures of Brandon and me, our families, past weddings, or family members who could not make it.

Ladders? At a wedding? Absolutely! I fell in love with the look of this. With some plants and draping yellow fabric...love!

I love umbrellas and parasols. I want to incorporate them somehow!

My bridesmaids will be carrying pomanders (aka ball of flowers) instead of a bouquet of flowers. I'd like to have yellow spider mums and a big black ribbon.

So, as you can probably tell, my head is full! I have so many fun ideas that setting them in stone seems impossible! Add in a photo booth "box" and my plate is officially full! 

But, knowing that on June 11, 2011 I am marrying my best friend, puts all of my stress at ease. He is worth so much more than little details. I know it's going to be beautiful, simply because that'll be the day my name changes to his. 

insert catchy title.

today is thursday. ive been sick quite a lot lately. more than usual. im tired of it. my students got tired of the sub and wrote me a sweet message. it was on facebook. i wont add them as my friends until theyre out of my classes. too weird. it said:

Hey Miss Wegmann,
We've all been praying for you. We need you back cause the substitutes are starting to get on my nerves. Get better really soon....like tomorrow soon:)


theyd have a ball reading this entry, seeing how im not capitalizing or using correct punctuations. i just dont want too. so i wont. ha! (i do have to admit, it takes longer for me to resist the urge to use the "shift" key.) but im strong.

ive been all kinds of busy.
wedding coming up.
Bible studies.
sick days.
teaching.
little random things.

im ready for a lot. im ready for too much. im ready too much. im so ready for what will happen, i forget and look past whats happening now. i want the end result. patience. ouch. that hurts.

i want to be mrs. crews.
i want to be healthy. for a long time. like, at least a month.
i want to have my "ideal" job.

i also want to live in north carolina and get a bigger dog. but those are way way down the line.

well, folks, that's all.
next time itll be more important. and ill capitalize. and use punctuation marks.
promise.

Hi. I'm Lauren.

I felt like I had to introduce myself to the blog world again. It's been forever! I do believe I have a legitimate reason, though. But, nonetheless, I'm sorry to have put this off for so long.

I smile looking at my previous blogs. Especially knowing what I know now! For instance, I was so stressed over school...and guess what? I've done been graduated for a month!

(The use of improper grammar was on purpose, promise.)

I teach middle school Language Arts, I better know how to speak and write correctly! Ah, my job. Yes, I still teach at this wonderful school. No sarcasm there, folks. It's truly been a blessing to have this job. But, God has shown me that this is not where my heart lies.

It's funny how I used to know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I have my kindergarten portfolio and I knew even then that I wanted to be a teacher. I attended over 4 years of college as an Elementary Education major and graduated with my AA and BA! But now, I'm not so sure what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have so many ideas in my head, teaching just seems to be the most practical for right now. Maybe I need to get back to the younger ones. Middle school is great and all, but when they're all taller than you and have major attitudes, it's hard to deal with the drama. So, maybe the answer will be found when I start teaching the little ones. Oh, I hope so.

Anyways, back to me and the changes that have been happening! There's been a small addition to my every day apparel. Just a little (actually, not so little) token from my sweet and handsome man. You guys know him, I wrote a special blog just for him! Then, he was my boyfriend. Now, I get to introduce him as my FIANCE! Yes, that's right! I'm engaged! It happened the same day I graduated. Talk about walking on cloud nine! I couldn't have asked for a better proposal, ring, or future husband! Check out the story on our wedding page! (I've been waiting to do one for years!!)

http://brandonlauren.ourwedding.com/

Christmas break was perfect! It started out not so perfect (my flight home was cancelled indefinitely.) I had to be a "big girl" and miss my first birthday and Christmas away from my family! Talk about hard! But, I had Brandon and his sweet family. I enjoyed joining in their Christmas traditions. Especially knowing they're future family to me too! We met my family and spent a week in TN with our close family friends. We saw snow, went sight seeing, made ceramic coffee mugs, and had an impromptu engagement picture session! All in all, it was a wonderful and much needed break. Needless to say, I hated having to wake up before the sun and get back into my "teacher" routine!

Nowadays, my life consists of lists. Well, that's a lie. My life has ALWAYS consisted of lists. I even wrote a lists of things to cover in this very blog! That's bad, isn't it? But, now my lists consist of wedding details. Every single random thought that pops into my head is written down. I've got 135 days to go! The big ticket items can thankfully be crossed off.

Boy? Check.
Parent's approval? Check.
Ring? Check.
Bridal party? Check.
THE DRESS? Check!!!
Photographers? Check.
Invitations? Check.

Now I just have to sort through my little notes and figure out the flowers, decorations for the ceremony, reception site, reception decorations, etc. Hmmm...I'm starting to get a little stressed. I better stop before the anxiety starts. Breathe.

Picture time!

                                          

My mom handed me my diploma. It was so special!

My amazing family!

Only a few hours later he became my fiance!

Most amazing moment in my life! So glad our families were there to get pictures!

I was in shock!

First posed engaged picture!

Showing off the bling to his mama!

We went out for yogurt and Chick-Fil-A to celebrate!

A few shots from our engagement shoot in Nashville, TN!

 One of my favorites.

 Can't wait to get this blown up and framed!

 Love!

 The bling!

My life! :)