Home Sweet (New) Home - A Photo Tour

In the interest of sharing with you all that has taken place in the last few months, the following is a brief photo tour of some of the highlights...

At the beginning of August, we took a family vacation to my favorite place in the world, Hilton Head Island, SC.

Then, we shared a final hoorah with some of our friends at the Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw Concert!

 We sent our little sister off to college!

Then came the move... packing was a nightmare, but Allie was super helpful :)

Then the long drive from New Jersey to Tennessee.

And since then...

 

So there you have it, our life for the last two months in a nutshell...or a photo!

Freedom in Obedience

A while back we talked about discipline being the theme of my 2012. When I wrote that post, I could never have imagined the plan God had to take that resolution and reveal the fullness of what it meant.

Over the last 12 weeks, Hubs and I have been taken on a ride that has completely changed life as we knew it. At the end of June, we traveled to Cincinnati / Louisville to celebrate my beautiful sister-in-law’s 30^th birthday. My brother hosted a surprise party for her and we had the rare opportunity to represent “our side” of the clan and spend time with her parents and many siblings – all of whom we love dearly. It was a fantastic weekend of simple family fun.

On Sunday, after church, we all sat around eating lunch and chatting before heading to the airport. One of the sisters brought up a topic that had been discussed hypothetically several times in the past – that I should work for their father’s company.

He runs a broadcast shopping network that sells jewelry and gemstones exclusively. Taking into account my love of fashion, accessories, and all things sparkly, I had always indulged this “what-if” conversation with a hopeful heart. However, the company is based in Knoxville, TN and I lived in New York, thus, it had always just been a fun idea to imagine.

…until that weekend in June.

The conversation started as it always did – “Dad, you should really hire Jaclyn to do marketing for your company – she would be perfect there.”

But this time, instead of the expected “Wouldn’t that be nice” response, he said, “Well, actually, we are hiring for that position.”

From there a full-on discussion took place regarding the merits of moving to a state in which neither Hubs nor I had ever stepped foot. Two weeks later, we were on a plane headed to Knoxville to take a look around.

We spent the weekend interviewing, meeting with the University of Tennessee MBA Program Admissions Director and taking in the sights. We returned to New Jersey exhausted and confused.

The very first thing we did when confronting this unimaginable decision was to call on the Lord. We recognized that this was “one of those moments” – the kind that define your future. We prayed for guidance and clarity to see His will in this decision. More than anything, we wanted to be obedient to what He was calling us to do.

We made lists, sought wisdom from family and friends, and prayed… a lot.

And let me tell you… it is AMAZING how the Lord will respond when you call on Him in prayer. Truly amazing.

Undoubtedly, Hubs and I will be faced with life altering decisions again in the future. But having gone through this process together, and at such an early stage in our young marriage, has made our relationship stronger and built a solid foundation for how those decisions will be faced in the future. Not since our wedding day had we felt and understood so deeply what it meant to be “a cord of three strands” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). We were completely relying on God and each other and were willing and eager to be obedient.

Two and a half weeks later, on August 1^st, I gave my notice at work. Two weeks after that, Hubs began school at the University of Tennessee, while I labored to pack up our home in New Jersey. And another two weeks after that, we moved into our new home in Knoxville.

To say this experience has been a whirlwind would be the understatement of the century. It has been dizzying, exciting, challenging, and at times overwhelming – in both good ways and bad. Throughout this time, though, we have continued to seek God and have never before felt more of His pleasure in our response. What a beautiful thing to walk in His presence by asking for His guidance and responding obediently when He reveals Himself so clearly.

So we have been living in Knoxville for exactly 1 month now – and we love it! Surprisingly, our transition has not only been smooth and easy, but also tons of fun! We cherish and miss what we left behind in New Jersey, but are so hopeful for what we’ve already seen here. We have dared to imagine a future vastly different than the one we had previously expected to live and have opened our minds to pursuing it.

We feel so blessed and are so grateful for the love and support that surrounded us during the decision-making process.

In our new life, I promise to reinvigorate this Blog. I will continue to update you on everything from what I am experiencing here, to what I’m cooking, to what I’m pondering in the depths of my soul and plenty of what is in between.

Please re-join me or be welcomed for the first time on this exciting journey!

Timeless Elegance or It Never Gets Old

As many of you know, I often share memories from November 6, 2010 - my wedding day! It was a magically thrilling experience and I love to recall it.

This past week, almost exactly 18 months after we said our vows, the photos captured from our special day were featured on the famous wedding blog Style Me Pretty in the New York section. It is such an honor to be included on a site that has helped so many brides craft and execute their vision for their own dream wedding day.

As someone who dreamt of her wedding since she was a little girl (and isn't afraid to admit it), I feel blessed that my dreams not only came true, but were far exceeded by the actual experience I had as a bride. As such, it feels only appropriate that I should share that with others.

No matter if you're a little girl dreaming of a far off day, a bride-to-be in the midst of wedding planning, or a seasoned veteran of marital bliss, I hope you enjoy this post!



 

Healed: A Good Friday Reflection

Every year, it is the same.

Lent begins and I start thinking about how to get my heart in the right place. I ask myself what God is doing in me this season and how I am to respond.

Palm Sunday rolls around and we sing "Hosanna in the highest!" and we rejoice as Jesus enters Jerusalem. During worship, I lift my voice, my heart and my hands to sing His praises and we celebrate!

And all that emotion continues over the next week. I find myself reflecting on scripture and feeling moved to tears as I think about my Lord, my Savior being ridiculed and beaten mere moments after the celebration has ended.

On Maundy Thursday we are convicted by Jesus' humility as He washes the feet of His disciples. I ask how I can humble myself and serve others with the love that Jesus called us to have for one another.

And then it is Good Friday. I feel my heart severed in two and my emotions at odds. I consider the scene of Jesus' being humiliated, beaten, mocked, bloodied, and lead to a rugged cross where He will endure an agonizing death. I find myself in tears as I place myself into the scene, and imagine what terrifying desperation His disciples must have felt to witness this horror.

But before I allow the grief to settle in, I turn to Isaiah 53 and read what truly is the Good News of this Friday. I remember and internalize that Jesus was fully human, fully God, and fully blameless in the life He led on this earth. I consider His obedient, selfless behavior and the way in which He used those on the margins of society to proclaim the glory of God. I stand in awe of His ultimate sacrifice and take to heart that it was for me! All of the ugliness of the sin in my life (and trust me, there is plenty), He took off of me and placed it onto Himself. His sentence was what I deserved and yet, He so freely gave Himself over to it on my behalf!

For a long time, I carried with me the crushing weight of sin and guilt. I knew the Lord loved me but had never experienced the freedom of grace and forgiveness. But as I have grown closer to the Lord, it has become abundantly clear that when Jesus said "It is finished", He meant it. And so it is by His wounds that I am healed.

So this year it will be different.

I may still cry in service tonight, but they will be tears of joy and thanksgiving at what Jesus has given me. A clean slate and the opportunity to know my Heavenly Father. Dear friends, take to heart today the sacrifice of the living God. You are healed. You are forgiven. It is finished.

Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53 (NIV)

March Musings

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!

– 2 Corinthians 5:17

That is an oldie but a goodie if ever I've heard one – and so appropriate at a time when spring is popping up all around us!

March is one of my favorite months – especially when March behaves a little more like May than it ought, with sunny skies and warm temperatures. In particular, I love the month because it houses both by birthday and the first day of spring (which happen to be one in the same – March 21st!). I'm definitely "that girl" when it comes to birthdays, by the way – love. love. love. Some say it is because I live to be the center of attention....I tend not to argue with them.

{Hey, stop judging! At least I am honest about it!}

This year, I had the ultimate good fortune to spend my 26th birthday in what has become my most favorite city in the world, Paris, with my wonderful husband. It was truly magical!

Hubs is starting business school in less than a month, big changes are coming to our family and anxiety has crept its way into our home because of them. Life was relatively simple when the two of us were on similar schedules: get up, commute to the office, work all day, commute home, complain about work, cook dinner, eat dinner, watch T.V., go to bed. Save for a hiccup here or there, we have shared this same routine since getting married. In fewer than two weeks, however, our routines become radically different. We will no longer be on the same schedule.

In an effort to loosen the tensions that had started to heighten at home due to the impending changes, Hubs, in a stroke of genius, planned a week-long getaway to Paris over my birthday. We just returned on Sunday, and let me tell you...I. Am. In. Love! With my hubby of course, but also with this glorious city.

We had an amazing trip which was topped off with perfectly sunny days and warm spring weather! We explored the city, sat in cafes, saw beautiful churches and historic sites, ate delicious food, drank indulgent wine, and strolled along the Seine. Really, it was perfect! {pictures to follow}.

Paris is everything it is said to be. Romantic. Beautiful. Charming. Leisurely. Delicious. It felt like we had suspended time and escaped reality.

Like all good things though, vacations especially have to come to an end, and now we're back to the grind. We are in our final two weeks of commuting together and I am trying my hardest to embrace the mystery of what this "new life" will bring. It is easier said than done however.

As you know, I have committed myself to acting with discipline this year. I'm having good days and terrible ones, but I'm working on it. I know that the true test will come when Hubs stops working and I continue the daily trek into the city.

To be honest, I'm terrified. Of what? Mostly, I'm scared of the selfish creature that I know lives in the depths of my being. The one that will be dying to come out on days when Hubs gets to sleep later than I do, or gets to do his work at home instead of in a cubicle.

But I've returned from this trip with a renewed spirit, albeit to an airport that smells more like burnt Starbucks than freshly baked Parisian bread. I'm praying that God will change my heart so that I might die to my selfish ways along with Christ on the cross and become a new creation. I want to live as He has called me to. I want to be the Wife of Noble Character described in Proverbs 31. And, if it's not too much trouble, I may even ask that you pray for me as well...

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still night;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her female servants.

She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

– Proverbs 31:10-31

I couldn't have said it better myself...

This post is simply a nod to my dear friend, Julie M. Ferrell. She is a brilliant writer with a heart that is on fire for the Lord. She radiates goodness and is sincerely the definition of being a light to the world.

I commend her for her most recent post regarding the disconcerting decisions being made at Vanderbilt University. Check it out here... Redefining Real.

Marriage 101 - Lesson #4: Please & Thank You

It has been a while since I last posted in the Marriage Lessons series, although that is not to say I haven't learned anything since August. This most recent lesson is one that my husband actively strives to reinforce on a regular basis and in turn, I've found myself doing the same, so I felt compelled to share it.

The art of "please" and "thank you" is something we are taught from infancy. You can hear your mother's voice in your head reminding you, "how do we ask nicely for what we want?" or "what do you say to the nice lady who gave you that cookie?". However, when we enter our marriages, those simple practices, all too often, fly right out the window. And what a mistake we're making by allowing that to happen!

This past weekend, hubs and I had the honor of hosting an engagement party for our dear friends. The two met, believe it or not, at our wedding, so we feel a particularly special bond to this couple. We were overjoyed to celebrate with them and 25 of their closest friends and family at our home.

In the last year, I've found a passion for cooking, entertaining and homemaking, so I was eager to show off my acquired skills and host this soiree. If you've ever hosted a large get-together at your house (and didn't  have it catered) you know how much work goes into it. There are invitations (hard copy, not Facebook), menu planning, grocery shopping, trips to the liquor store, cleaning and decorating the house, set-up, and of course cooking and presenting the meal. That's not even mentioning the cleanup afterwards and the odd stranger who asks if they can spend the night.

In these high-stress situations, it couldn't be more important than to have your spouse as your ally and yet we know all too well the number of arguments that break out in the days preceding an event like this. We have hosted a few of these parties in our home since moving in last year, so we were fortunate to be able to recognize the tell-tale signs of potential fights and worked to stave them off.

Each time I was tempted to don my I-Know-Best Voice, I quickly changed my tactic knowing he wouldn't respond well. Each time I made a request to pick this up or move that out of the kitchen, I asked calmly and always with a "please". In turn, he responded quickly, knowing that unwelcome clutter in my cooking space would threaten to upset my composure. He anticipated my requests, setting up the bar and running out to get ice without my needing to ask. Each time he completed a task he was met with a "thank you" - and a sincere one at that. I too was thanked repeatedly - he never missed an opportunity to tell me how much he appreciated my hard work.

As a whole, Hubs and I took on our hosting responsibilities as a team. We chose the invites together and printed, stuffed and stamped them at our house (which was most definitely a group effort). We planned the menu together. We went grocery shopping together and split responsibilities of going to the bakery and the liquor store. We cleaned the house together, arranged our wall hangings together and divided jobs like designing the dining room and setting up the bar. All without screaming at, let alone killing each other!

In the hours before the guests arrived, if I ever had a momentary breakdown, he was there to comfort me and help me think through the problem calmly. He asked how he could help. He complimented the food I made and even took time to mention how pretty I looked.

As the night developed, we continued our team approach. He was charming and conversational while I finished cooking. He replenished food and drinks when it was clear I just need five minutes to sit down. He gave a touching toast and I said grace before dinner was served. And he even found time to invite me to dance (even if we were interrupted after just a moment so he could move cars around in the driveway). Our seamless cooperation was noticed by others at the party, and if I'm being honest, it made us both really proud.

Our mission was to throw a memorable engagement party for a couple we care deeply about. The result was something so much more gratifying. We were able to bring glory to God by really living out the blessing of marriage before an audience of people who differed vastly in their opinions of the institution. We felt privileged to be shining a light on one of His most precious gifts and it all started with a "please" and a "thank you".