Hey Katie!

aka...my faithful follower :)

so...I forgot for a couple days that I have a blog.

and now I feel overwhelmed because A LOT has occurred since I last posted...I'll just hit the high points!

My Niece was born!- Addison Elizabeth Hare She is way cute and precious.

I had my first shower--my tennis girls and their moms threw it and it was beautiful and a sweet time!

Deposit is down on florist...bought some lanterns for center pieces

I've had 2 personal training session---kicked my booty...but its good to feel like I'm pushing myself again. I am realizing I haven't really done that since college.

Still a struggle for quality time in the Word daily...WHY?!!

A busy Saturday!

Yesterday was such a great today but incredibly busy. I had my first shower yesterday morning. It was lovely! It was thrown my my tennis girls and their moms. It was such a sweet time. So many of them were able to make it. I felt so loved and it was a good opportunity to tell all of the girls how much they have meant to me the past 4 years. I got to tell them how I have prayed for them and how I am so proud of them. They really are an incredible group of teenagers. Their moms are equally as wonderful and they were so encouraging to me. They gave me some wonderful things. My favorite was a clear platter with "Britton" engraved on the bottom :)

After the shower my mom and I put a deposit on the florist, bought all the lanterns for centerpieces, started my registry at Belk, and I searched for some bridesmaid shoes. I worked on the guest list last night and felt like it was an overall, productive day. Lots more to do today though!

Ephesians 2

People say that you need to preach the gospel to yourself every day. Ephesians 2 is where its at. Wowzers...pretty sure I need to read that chapter daily to be reminded of where I was and what Jesus rescued me from. It is SO easy to forget the magnitude of my sin and the even greater magnitude of His mercy. I usually spend time with the Lord in the evenings (which I know isn't always best) but I want to start reading Ephesians 2 every morning when I wake up. I need perspective going into each day. I don't know how I expect to love others or show grace to my unruly students or have any peace when the gospel, the good news of Jesus is just somewhere on the back-burner of my brain. Thankful for His patience.

Shoes! yay!

These are the shoes I'm wearing in my wedding! I lurve them :)

Three Posts...I'm almost a regular

I bought my wedding shoes tonight and they are super duper cute. So now I can go and get my dress altered. I haven't exercised today but I'm going to do some abs while I'm in bed (every little bit counts right?) I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already. I am sooooooo excited to see Lanie this weekend. It seems like FOREVER since we've gotten to hang out for any extended period of time. Sometimes I miss him so much it hurts. I can not wait to kiss his sweet face.

I did spend some time in the Word last night and came across a verse that I do not remember ever reading. I love it when that happens. And what a beautiful verse it is...Isaiah 33:6 "and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure" I feel like this is a very timely verse for me and one that I will be referring to often during this season of many life changes. I will truly need to look to the Lord to be my stability. I also love that he uses the term abundance when referring to salvation. I don't know exactly what that means but I know that I am incredibly sinful and the thought of salvation being "abundant" makes me thankful. As far as wisdom and knowledge, I feel as though I am always desiring both of these and so often I don't look to the Lord first in order to obtain it. And lastly, oh how I want my fear for the Lord to be what I treasure. I want it to be what I deem most important and what I guard and keep secure above all else. This is convicting as I reread it the verse I feel like the Lord pointed out the fact that it says "the fear of the Lord IS Zion's treasure" NOT "the fear of the Lord is something that Zion attempts to treasure sometimes, or regularly...It shouldn't be something that I have to strive for but something that just IS. Renew my heart, Lord.

So today I went for a walk after school...exercise...check. My mother and I worked on wedding stuff for a few hours. We complete the photography contract and looked at some pictures of the museum to brainstorm some ideas of decorations and set-up. That's about it. I'm exhausted. My children were terrible today and induced my daily headache by 11:30 am. I still haven't spent time with Jesus today. I am planning to do that before I go to bed!

Why am I starting to blog?

Accountability. I need accountability for the 1 million tasks that I need to do between now and when I get married on June 23rd! This blog is more for me than for the general public. It will be a way for me to see progress that is being made each day and share what I am learning through this crazy, yet wonderful season of engagement. The following are some goals, along with things that need to be done. I'm sure I will be adding to this list as I go!

Wedding Day Plans---invites, flowers, decorations, shoes, gifts etc...still to be done!
My House---Get it ready to be ON the market or ready to rent out. CLEAN OUT!
Move---Start packing and getting things moved to Knoxville
Job Search---Complete Applications and dedicate time to searching for a job in Knoxville.
Exercise Daily---Do some form of exercise every, single day....whether its walk, run or a fitness class...SOMETHING. EVERY DAY.
Time with Jesus---EVERY DAY..again, whether I read a chapter or one verse, I want to be praying regularly and really abiding in Him. I certainly won't make it through this season without Him.

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