Focused on Jesus

Ever since I first read Jennifer's post on marriage and ministry a few days ago my thoughts have kept cycling back to this statement of hers…

“I want to finish well. I want to be more in love with my husband after 50 years of marriage than I am now. I never want to sacrifice my relationship with him on the alter of ministry, work or anything else. I don’t want a ministry or child focused marriage, but a Jesus focused marriage.”

As soon as I read her words I stopped to soak them in. A “Jesus focused marriage.” Even though I’m single and am no where near being married, I was struck by her description. Everything within me desires for my marriage one day to be focused on Jesus. I want for my marriage to be rooted deep in Him. I want my marriage to grow with Him at the very core of our relationship. The more I love Christ, the better I’ll be able to love my husband.  Like Jennifer, I want to be more in love with my husband with each year of marriage.

Such a relationship doesn’t come without work. It means guarding my marriage fiercely. It means investing in my husband every single day. It means the only thing he is second to is my relationship with Christ. It means that Jesus is the core of our marriage.

As I thought about how I could use the time now to better prepare for such a marriage, I was challenged with another thought. The best way I can prepare for a Jesus focused marriage is to have a Jesus focused life. It seems obvious, but how often I stray from this. I never want to sacrifice my relationship with Christ for anything else.

In many ways, I must guard my relationship with Him like I will my marriage one day. I can’t allow anything to sway my heart away from Him. Everything in my life flows from my relationship with Christ. He is my focus. Even though my passions flow from Him, I must be careful that I don’t become so caught up in these that I push away intimacy with Christ. My passion for teaching is the example that stands out the most. Although I know teaching is my ministry and will fill a large aspect of my life, I can’t allow this to become more important than abiding in Jesus.

I want to be more in love with Jesus in 50 years than I am now and this also doesn’t come without work. It takes intentionality in building a Jesus focused life. Every day I have a choice to respond to His invitation or not.

“There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.” –Frederick Buechner

Today I choose to recognize Him. I choose to see Him in the early morning breeze. I choose to see Him while I walk to my classes. I choose to see Him when a stranger responds to my smile. I choose to see Him in the changing leaves. I choose to see Him while I’m at work. One day at a time I will work on building a Jesus focused life.

Friday’s Letters

Dear parents,

I’m slightly jealous of the day date you had on your anniversary! I much rather would have gone exploring like you two did than sit in class…

The waterfall they discovered while out driving around.

Dear Human Biology,

Although I’m fascinated by how complex you are, I’m a little overwhelmed. The pace at which we move through the material is too fast for me. Only spending one class on each system is daunting.

Dear kindergarteners,

You are so much fun to work with! I love seeing your eyes light up as you come up with ideas and work on problem solving.

I so wish I could show you their faces!

Dear crockpot,

You make cooking so easy for this girl with a busy schedule. I’ll be using you much more often!

Snapped a photo minutes before rushing out to work.

Dear readers,

I hope your weekend is full of relaxation and moments spent with friends and/or family!

20 Years.

{On their honeymoon}

Twenty years ago today my parents committed their lives to each other. In front of friends and family, they vowed to stand by each other and live life together. They vowed to be partners as their lives intertwined in a way that only a husband and wife can.

I’ve heard the story of how they met over and over, but I won’t ever grow tired of hearing it. Their story is simple yet so full of sweetness. They met in January and were married in October…it certainly was a whirlwind romance. My mom had been single for a year when she finally came to a place where she released her grip on her love story and surrendered every aspect to the Lord. She submitted her desires and plans to Him. The very next day she met my dad.

At the time, my mom was teaching first grade and went to school like she had every other day. But, this day would be different. My dad was working for the same school district as an electrician. On this particular day he had a work order at my mom’s school. She was up front teaching when he walked into her classroom. Immediately, he noticed the beautiful teacher with dark eyes and hair. He ended up asking the ladies in the front office about this young teacher that had caught his eye…he found out that she was single.

Before he left school, he made his way back down to her classroom and asked her out on a date. After their first date, they were inseparable. People started to ask when they were going to get married...so they decided that they would! My dad sold his motorcycle at the time to buy an engagement ring. They were married on October 10, 1992 and I was born July 8, 1993 (nine months later…).

The past twenty years have been so full of sweet moments and laughter. I’ve seen my parents work through disagreements. I’ve seen them forgive and then continue to move forward. I’ve seen them as partners in life. I love that I still see the twinkle in my dad’s eyes when he looks at my mom. I’m so thankful I’ve grown up in a home with both of my parents fully present. Never once have I doubted their love for each other or their love for me.

So today as they venture out on a day date, I want to wish them a sweet sweet anniversary. Here’s to twenty years of doing life together!

Life Lately

{Running at the end of each day}

{I keep coming back to this verse…}

{Rediscovered this old photo from two years ago and I couldn’t get over how much I looked like me mom}

{Taking pictures while waiting at a red light}

{Oh the emails I send my mom…}

{Attending a middle grades education conference}

It’s an overcast and chilly Saturday afternoon in southeast Tennessee. In between working on homework I decided to do a little post to let you all know what I’ve been up to lately. I attended a phenomenal conference on middle grades education at Georgia College & State University yesterday. It was so fun to be around dozens of other college students who have such a passion for teaching. There is a group of future teachers that are going to take the education world by storm over the next few years!

I hope that the rest of your weekend is full of laughter and sweet moments!

A Little Break.

Good morning, girls! I never intended to take a blogging break, but nonetheless it has been almost two weeks since I’ve opened up Blogger. My days have been full of school assignments and work, but mostly full of sweet joyful moments. Every time I thought about sitting down to write the words just wouldn’t come. My ideas for blog posts seemed to run dry so I chose to take a break. To be honest, I’m still at a loss for ideas and I’m not sure how frequent my blogging will be in the near future. But, I promise that I’m still here! I’m just a little quieter than normal. I hope you find lots of joy throughout this day. I’ll be back soonish!

Side note: If you want to keep up with me on a more regular basis then you can follow me on Instagram!