Getting back to the Real Purpose

My wedding is a less than three weeks away and stress could weasel it's way into my mind and cause me to be cranky unhappy or just down right mean.
But surprisingly throughout this whole engagement I have been one happy puppy!
Not to say I am perfect by any means but after seeing 6 other brothers and sisters get married (Lola included) I picked up a few things.
A couple of rules to follow.
1. Plan within your means of finances
2. Don't try to please every single person. It is impossible.
3. Choose NOT to think the worst of people.
4. Leave room for changes
5. Have a fair amount of Compromise from both families.
6. Stay thankful.
7. Get back to the real purpose for marriage.

in other words stay focused on why you are even spending this great amount of money on this party of all parties! ( BTW our families are helping tremendously with finances.)

The reason for even writing this entry was because of an incident that happened yesterday as I was at my trial makeup appointment.

As i was sitting there the lady says "remember not to STRESS OUT!"
and i said "no I haven't been stressed" "Busy yes, stressed No"
and she said "OH but Yes you Will be stressed as it gets closer"
and I simply shook my head. Not wanting to continue the conversation of why I SHOULD be stressed any further.

Where is it written that all brides must be an absolute mess before their wedding!!!
And why MUST I be stressed.
Sure there is a lot going on, and as i was tempted to fall into the STRESS HOLE I stopped myself.
As I was praying this morning I asked the Lord

"Please don't let me lose focus of why I am even getting married. Let me enjoy this time I will never have again. Let me laugh when others say I should be worried."

There is a purpose for God putting Rigo and I together. And I am going to just enjoy this time of Love and learning.
There is such an emphasis on your wedding day and rightfully so. But you can miss out on all the beautiful things when you are consumed with everything that is not going right. This is when I pray that God will let me take my hands off the wheel and let him drive.
He can do a much better job than Rigo and I can anyway.

24 Days left till the BIG DAY!!!!

A birthday snapshot and a few thoughts...

As my wedding day approaches I think I am more and more in awe at what God has done this past year. So much has happened in a matter of months that at times I feel overwhelmed at the grace of God. I truly don't deserve it. I only pray I will be the wife He has called me to be. I know I have A LOT to learn. I guess I am just thankful He has brought me into this season. I know it is filled with so much change and adjusting. I pray for the ability to do what He has already willed in my life.

***Love can draw so much amazing things out of a person***

LOVE and the act of being Intentional

I have been wanting to write on Love for a long while and after hearing a sermon one Sunday morning on it I knew that God was putting a lesson on Love in my heart. Yes, I am in Love at the moment with a amazing man but I soon realized that Love as beautiful as it is must be intentional.
LOVE = Selfless commitment to another's well being.
I think the word commitment in this definition is what brings on the act of being intentional. I think for the most part (and this is a generalization) people want to see other's succeed. Teachers want their students to pass. Coaches want their team to win. Parents want their kids to have good jobs, marry the right people etc. But to be selflessly committed to one other person with the end goal resulting in their well being must be intentional.
I was with my sister the other day and one of her little girls was crying, I mean wailing. Her poor baby girl was hungry and was not up for the car ride home. As we drove along the crowded 3:30 p.m. streets of Brownsville trying our best to make it home as fast as we could I saw what a selfless commitment it was to be a mother. Drop everything and meet the needs of your baby. You come second the needs your baby has come first. I was sure my sister wasn't going to say "Yeah I can hear you crying but I really do need to stop for a manicure and pedicure, so zip your lip girl can't you see your mom has needs to." Ok so the example might seem far fetched to us as Christians but you get the picture.
It was not about my sister, it was about her baby.
Thank God it just doesn't stop with children but God desires us to live intentional about love.
As I get ready to get married I thought about living out Love in my relationship with my fiance. I love him dearly and want him to succeed and think he is the most amazing man on the face of the earth. I deeply desire to intentionally Love him. Not love him because he did it all perfectly or knew what to say but purpose in my heart to Love simply. I think that often times being in christian circles wives or husbands tend to have more grace on their "disciples" than they do on their own spouse. Believe me I have heard enough negative talk on marriage and the "just wait after you are married seven years it's a shocker, eyes wander and you grow tired." AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I hate the attitude some have now a day about marriage and call me naive but I would rather have faith like a child in the Lord about my marriage and future than to negatively anticipate and participate in some of this marriage counsel. If God designed Love and marriage than He alone will be faithful to see it to the end. It is not my desire to throw my hands in the air and say well whatever happens happens nor is it my desire to anticipate a negative relationship in the future.
What I have decided is to pray and ask the Lord that he make me Love intentionally. To Love not just those who love me ---For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? MATTHEW 5:46
Do I claim to be an expert, No not at all, do i boast that my life will always be perfect, No, I know God builds us through trials.
But what I do draw comfort in is knowing that He loved intentionally for me. I didn't deserve his commitment of selfless love. Christ is the one who is the model of this and I need to cling to Him in order to anticipate Love and intentionally give it to others.
***That definition in itself brings about so much conviction in my heart, if I can be painfully honest. I want to Love intentionally not just to please my future husband or others but to please my God, the one who selflessly committed Himself for my well being that He might be lifter higher.

Photos from Arizona :)

On the plane
The beautiful braid he made me :)
Paying for parking
And Breakfast :) Yummy

Lessons from Arizona

This October I had the chance to visit Arizona to see my fiance Rigo. I was more than excited at the chance to spend time with him along with some amazing friends. My best friend Marylou and her husband Shaun Tan were blessings the whole time and I learned many valuable lessons on marriage, trust and the importance of girl friends.
Of course like anyone in my situation where the man she loves is thousands of miles away all I wanted to do was run to him and spend every waking moment in his presence. :) But in the mix of football practice and other things he had to take care of I found that valuable "girl friend" time was important also. One morning while my man was busy snapping the football we all went to eat breakfast. Our ever polite hostesses Ruth and Milo took us out and we had an amazing time. As we stuffed our faces with egg whites and whole wheat pancakes I realized all over again just how important Godly friendships are. Seeing the way these men, Shaun and Milo, treated their beautiful wives spoke loudly to me. Of course I missed my man and felt a bit incomplete but being in the company of those I was with made me appreciate him so much more.
Spending sweet time with him in Arizona and praying outside one cool evening are things I won't ever forget.
I am so proud of all he has accomplished as he has been gone. Even as he finishes this football season with the UFL I am grateful for our time together and apart. YES I SAID APART. This time apart has brought on so many lessons learned from trust to communication. Being together in Arizona made our semi long distance relationship all the sweeter. I am learning, apart from him, about being content, beautiful as a person, trust, the importance of communication, expressing myself and of course PATIENCE. Patience to wait on the right time and the ability to trust God with this relationship no matter what issues may arise.
We've truly made a commitment before we even say I do to each other and I am seeing the value of quality time and blessing each other with our WORDS. That is all we have right now and I am so blessed to have been given a man like this who is so giving with his words!!!! Even if he is thousands of miles away I feel so close to him, so assured of his love and so blessed by the Lord.

A wonderful gift

My life has changed so beautifully after God crushed the walls of fear I built up around my heart. During the summer of this year I battled so greatly with God about so many things. I felt my days were as water just slipping by with so much confusion and fear. This was truly a time of refining from God because He alone knew what was to come.
I met Rigoberto Morales in March and nothing became of our conversations but God had a plan. A beautiful plan. We began talking again on July 9th and since than a purpose filled relationship began to grow in Christ, with Him as our foundation. Rigo is a God-fearing man who loves the Lord, has convictions and is what I had always prayed a man would be in my life. Through my cynicism of relationships and love, God restored me this summer refining a lot of ideas and beliefs that were still remains of heartache. God brought me a man that would love me as a woman. I know the love God has poured out on me through Christ and NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON could take that place. But I know God has given me my hearts desire fulfilling it in every way from things that would seem insignificant like his laugh, his eyes, the tone of his voice, his sense of humor to the significant things like his beliefs in Christ, his faithfulness to tithe, his convictions on relationships and respecting my dads wishes. I was worth it to him, Rigo, to pursue everyday. I felt more blessed than these words can say the day he asked me to marry him. I cried at how this wonderful man loved me, me, little insignificant Theresa. The one that wants to be invisible was seen. I trust God in the things concerning my heart and see now that all things have a purpose. There were nights I prayed and cried out to God for a man just like Rigo. So consistent, so thoughtful, so patient, someone who loved the convictions I had and did not think it a bother to deal with the things I believed. God has always given me grace for the day and I pray He will use this relationship to glorify HImself. I have much to learn about being a wife and a woman of Christ in such a way as this. I am just going to enjoy this season and be in awe and the goodness of God!