Lovey-Dovey

I always want to be lovey-dovey with Tim. I always want to feel and be connected to him. Well… how I have that in mind has turned out to be quite challenging in this busy season of work. As usual Tim is my reminder that we are okay. We have been in a season that we work 12 hour days, 6 days a week, going to bed late and getting up very early in the morning. It's not regular life, it's a season. And changing seasons are part of who we are, that is our life.

Remember me writing about our Conscious Cuddles. Well, when they don't happen I am not so well. When it doesn't happen 3 days in a row, I start to worry… where will this lead us weeks from now? We will not be well. We need to be connected. Those are some of the worries that pop up. We cannot not connect just because life is busy. But Tim reminds me that this is just a season of something different.

I was praised today for the high standards I continue to have for our marriage but at the same time I notice I am growing and changing. I actually find there is connection in the not connecting. Okay, our conscious cuddles are not as long as in less busy times (though there are still there) but at least we agree that we need to be focused on work right now and us time will come back to us. We agree that we are okay and we will get back to one another. Just now, for the time being, work is taking up most of our conversations, and that is okay.



Photo credit: Wojtek Wolfe

Not what I had in mind...

The season after our wedding that I couldn't work was interesting for me. I had always worked so hard and here I was put to a halt. While I was going through the immigration process I wasn't allowed to work just yet. Something that was very challenging. I believe God was doing a good thing. I think He needed for me to take a deep breath, get a break and learn to have a change of pace. I learned a lot in the not doing.

When it looked like immigration was coming to it's close I slowly started to ponder with Tim on the next. What would I want to do once I am allowed to work? I had little time to really think about this because work presented itself, from a somewhat unexpected angle.

When I left Holland I wasn't sure what would happen to my business. I was ready to leave behind the deadlines, the work overload, the crazy hours. I was thinking I wanted to merely focus on photography and Tim's ministry. But then in June came the call from the Dutch broadcasting company… could I come on board again? They were in a bind… and before I knew it I was doing research on a documentary in Oklahoma and not much later I found myself in Myanmar for a reality TV series that I worked on the previous seasons. And one thing led to the next. Since August I have been working on a  new reality TV series for Holland but here in the States, in the end leading to the same crazy hours and deadlines. I will say it was great to be back! Despite the crazy hours and deadlines.  

For the first time I am a married working woman and that is quite different from a single working woman. It was another opportunity to learn, grow and adjust. For one, I still wanted our home to be spick and span. I still wanted to cook for Tim (uhhh, us). I still didn't want him to have to worry about anything concerning these matters. And it was Tim who sat me down and said: "If you and I are both going to be working… you need to let me take care of some of the chores around the house." Are you kidding me? That is not what I had in mind. But I had learned in my 'not doing' season that it is certainly not about the doing. I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to do everything myself. I don't and will never be wonder woman. And so my amazing husband has stepped up to the plate and been sharing in some of the chores. 

For the first time I am a working woman with husband and that turned out to be a great something. When Tim started his new non-profit, he, his team and I thought I would come on board. It was that plain and simple. But as I got busy myself, we didn't see it happen. And I had to realize that right now, my role in Tim's ministry is providing some needed income. I do have a part, it just looks different from what we had in mind. I am grateful for this realization, I just want to have a part… whatever part that is and right now that is giving Tim more time to get the non-profit up and running. But I do take part where ever I can during meetings, brain storming and such. I always love going on a road trip with Tim because he is speaking some where or we are visiting his partners and supporters. But as it turns out, it works the other way around also. As I dove deep into research for this new reality series I found myself in very beautiful conservative circles. I found that it was more about relationship and trust building then it could be about work. And there were times where the people would look to Tim as the man and not me when it came to talking about this TV project. And so more than once Tim ended up on the road with me, for my project. And what a blessing this has been. For the first time I have a husband supporting me, my dreams and work. Tim has been amazing.

I felt such trust from Tim as I traveled around. There was so much freedom and support. And as the months passed Tim stepped in many many times and we turned out to be quite the team when it comes to working together. I experienced much much joy, besides it being pretty amazing that Tim would give me so much of his time and so much devotion to my work. One thing we know… we are best together. I am looking forward to many more projects together. 

 

Hopefully I will be able to post some Myanmar photos on my photography Facebook page soon: 

MaddyChristine Hope Photography on Facebook

Myanmar Episode "Destinantion Unknown"

A Love Letter

In our marriage counseling our pastor had asked us to write down the things we like about one another. He said we could do that in any way we wanted. To me, that was an open invitation to write Tim a longggg letter. Our pastor kind of made fun of this during our wedding ceremony because it is often that the guy sums up a list of things, while the woman pours out her heart on many pages, and we were no different.

On our anniversary Tim and I watched our wedding video for the very fist time. Our dear friend Dave has put many hours into getting us our memories on video and it was the most perfect gift for our one year anniversary. Hearing our pastor speak about my letter and sharing it with our family and friends during the ceremony made me want to share my longggg love letter here. As I was hearing it back, I was stunned at how right on I was with my words about Tim. Everything I said about Tim is actually very true today. Of course I have gotten to know Tim better over this past year, but the guy I got to know 21 months ago is a reality!

To my dearest Tim,

I am very honest and I don't take these words lightly when I tell you that I have never met a man as Good as you. And I know having a dad like I had can make that not a big deal.  But besides my dad there were men in my life like neighbors, teachers, friends and pastors and no one was merely as good as you.  And I am honest when I say again that packing up my life in Holland to come here, to come to you, was very easy.  That is a compliment to you.  I know I have God to praise for this, and I have God to praise for you. He has designed for you to be a Good man and you could have chosen to walk a different path many times.  Your childhood in boarding school could have changed you, going through a divorce could have changed you.  But no such thing happened, you choose Good.  

When we met in church and had that first date way into the night, that is not when I got to know your character all that much.  It's through our skype conversations that your character shone through strongly. It's something stable and something I trust. I love your character, and I admire that you are a Good man.

I love that you are honest.

I love that you are such a happy person.

I love that you are humble.

I love that you will sit down with God on a daily basis.

I love that you are always willing to look at yourself first.

I love you are able to say you are sorry.

I love that you always see things from the bright side of life.

I love that you believe the best in a person.

I love that you are a giver and are always willing to help out.

I love that you are open to being confronted.

I love that you ask for help.

I love that you treat people with respect.

I love that you take your roll as son, brother, friend, neighbor, church go-er, my fiancé very seriously and you are a good son, good brother, good friend, good neighbor, good church go-er and an excellent fiancé.

Babe, you are really an excellent person. You are righteous.  You are remarkable.

All this really shows you are an amazing man, a Good man with a capital G because you really do reflect Jesus in your life.

There is much I love about you but for sure your character is your strongest asset. But how can I deny mentioning your hotness? Your appearance is stunning, your eyes are amazing, your facial features are so handsome.  I love your length, I love your muscles and let me mention I love your facial hair, I love your hair in general for that matter, ooooh that chest hair is sexy.

And than you have your ways that I love.  I often just sit there and look at you and take you in because when I am with you there is so much about you I just want to take in.  There are little ways, little things to you that are big to me like making sure you walk on the outer side of the road when we go out for a walk.  We have learned we are not to do that when we bike together because only then is my life not secure ;)   I love that you can get so cheery just because I am around you, and I love even more you let me know that fact.  I love the way you laugh.  I love your enthusiasm in life, over sports for instance, man do you get loud!  I love that you will ALWAYS grab my hand when we walk next to each other, whether that is from the car to the supermarket or during a long anticipated walk.

There are loves:

Can I mention here that you are an awesome athlete.

And I love your low singing voice.

I love you are strong.

I love your hugs and the way you kiss me.

I love how you make new people feel comfortable.

I love that the Gabonese are so important to you.

I love that you desire love over things.

I love you long to excel at work, to not just do your job but be good at it.

I love that you consider me in your decisions.

And than I get into some thank you's:

Thank you for playing my childish games with me, even though they were weird at first maybe, but you still haven't stopped racing me when we get out of the car and I yell: "Who gets there first?"  Thank you for partnering with me in those things that make me ME.  

Thank you that you ask me about my heart on a regular basis, what an honor it is to have you ask "How is your heart today honey?" in such a beautiful and compassionate way.

Thank you for trying to understand my ways of feeling loved.  I acknowledge that you go out of your set and comfortable ways to love me.

Thank you for your willingness to stand up as a man and leader, even if it means going against me. You are a tremendous leader.

Thank you for getting things done for me because you know they are important to me.  I acknowledge your wonderful and faithful efforts like with getting a home on time, getting a few pieces of furniture and getting me internet.

Thank you for taking me in account like when you made sure I had a phone while in the States the first time so I could be in touch not only with you, but also with my friends. Not to forget mentioning signing me up for the gym.  That really blessed my heart.  

Thank you for risking to fail (in your opinion) at loving me in practical ways like getting me Burlap and Bean coffee.

Thank you for keeping healthy by exercising on a daily basis.

Thank you for being my friend, I love hanging out with you whatever we do.

Thank you for laughing with me.

Thank you for laughing at me.

Thank you for reigning me in when I need to be reigned in.

Thank you for trying hard to love me well.

Babe, you deserve a Good woman.  You deserve to be acknowledged and honored.  It will be my important job in this world to be good to you, to honor you as a man and give you all the space you need to move, and to move well.  

You are easy to love.

I love you... tons!

Yours with lots of kisses, hugs and smooches,

MaddyChristine Hope

Besides celebration and change...

In my previous post I said that there are many updates to write, there is much to share and there are many stories to tell.  When one is quiet for this long, it's a little hard to know where to begin.

Let me start by saying that Tim and I are celebrating life. I can honestly say that life has gotten more beautiful with Tim in it.  When one marries at age 39, you can imagine the long wait there was to endure. But God saw it fit for me to wait this long. And now that 'it' is here... I continue to be grateful and celebrate the gift of marriage. Looking back I'd say it was worth the wait. Looking back I'd say that Tim was worth the wait. God knew what He was doing, His way was right! And for some reason... as soon as I met Tim, the long wait was forgotten. I was recently told by a friend how those words, spoken by me before, are still encouraging her in her wait.

As one can have gathered by now from reading this blog, my life was not on a bed of roses, neither was Tim's.  And in no way did marriage take away my problems, or Tim's. The difference is... we are together in all those 'problems' and that in and of itself is worth a celebration. How life has changed!

For me, getting married later in life took away that fairytale idea of marriage. And that is a good thing. Tim and I entered it pretty realistically. We didn't get married thinking or hoping we'd be fixed by getting married, that problems would no longer be problems or that somehow marriage would make life grand and easy. I find it important to express that marriage didn't do any of that. So, besides celebration and change, this year was full of growth and growing pains, learning and adapting.

I have come a long way in life and being married shows me I still have a long way to go. And Tim continues to remind me that we have a life time for that. He still reminds me to RELAX and have fun. Just this morning I thanked God for the perfect man He gave me. What a perfect match Tim is for me. After another restless night last night, I lay in bed awake this morning... restless.  I kept turning and sighing and groaning. Tim knows how to make a difference. He took me in his arms and said: "If you would only lie still for 5 minutes." I attempted to lie still but kept talking, sighing and groaning. Tim continued: "I mean, lying still AND being quiet." I decided to lean into him and his wisdom. It took everything I had in me to do just that but well and behold... I fell asleep for a little longer and in a peace I had not had all night. It's the way Tim speaks, it's the way he leads that blesses me tremendously. Another something that amazes me about being married is that Tim often knows how I am doing before I know it myself. He knows from a distance when I am having a rough day. How that works is a beautiful mystery to me.

Tim was worth the wait!
He knows me!
And my Heavenly Father knows me even better and loves me enough to work through my husband to make life better. 

Through her eyes...

There are many updates to write, there is much to share, many stories to tell... but for now I just want to re-live our Wedding Day, today a year ago!  

I thought to Celebrate our anniversary by sharing bridesmaid Melissa's blog post on her blog about our Wedding Day. 
It it so fun to re-live our Wedding Day through her eyes!

Wedding of the Century

So many dreams came true on October 6, 2012. 

So many details came together.

So many people were blessed.

And all because God is good. Even when life is bad. 

He is in the business of restoring what is broken and making it beautiful. 

And in this case, He didn't just make all things beautiful in His perfect timing...

He made them RADIANT.

These two souls have been through more than most could ever imagine in their individual journeys. Pain, suffering, heartbreak, loss, longing. Beyond belief.

And yet rather than giving up hope, they chose to believe. To dig in. To forgive. To heal. 

To allow God to re-create them from the inside out. 

They chose hope.

They were willing to go through whatever it took to become whole. 

And even when the dark clouds remained over their futures, they chose to trust. To wait. To be faithful. 

And here they are. 

In all their glorious redemption...

(this side of Heaven)

Shining.

Radiating.

The LOVE of God.

a wedding is the painting of a picture of Christ and His church;

you are truly looking, here, at the most beautiful image of His love.

I didn't get too many pictures of the bride, due to the honor of actually being allowed to stand by her side all day. But what I did get was the eternally beautiful image of her face aglow as she worshipped her Healing, Loving Father, and vowed by His grace to bless this man-gift until her dying day. 

I got the chills down my spine at the sight of her walking down the aisle with pure peace and grace all over her being.  And I got the greatest view of all during the whole ceremony. Their precious, emotion-filled faces, taking in every moment and soaking in the power of what was taking place. 

What a true miracle to behold.

And the very BEST part?

 They are living 11 minutes away now-- we get to be NEIGHBORS!!

God IS good!!!!

...

here are a few shots from the celebration:

Rehearsal time-- cannot believe this is actually happening!

his first wedding-- he was so excited!

i wish he was my date! sooo handsome!

lucky grams got to be his date instead!

my main squeeze bringing the videography skills

my cute parents, without whom we wouldn't be here!

this girl was on FIRE!

the sweet send-off dance--
we all circled around them and danced them off into their new life together!

could she be more Radiant??

Could not be happier for this sweet couple. 

Can't wait to do life together-- 

to learn from them, laugh with them, and enjoy the goodness of our God together! 

Such a blessing to us all!

Just have some fun

God really spoke to me in my fasting week. The words sound easy and yet, they are not.

God showed me that I work hard on our marriage, all the time!

My blog posts point it out also. I have shared in a previous post that I am a black or white person. I know no grey. I'd like to add to that that I am an all or nothing person. And that comes out in our marriage meaning I take marriage very seriously and I work hard on it, all the time. It's a joy to do so, but I do get tired at times.

God confronted me on that and told me to 'JUST HAVE FUN'. Tim's been telling me for weeks to RELAX and I never understood really what he meant. Well, now I know. He and God were saying the same thing: I need to 'just have fun'.

There is a problem with that though... I don't know too well how to relax, how to 'just have fun'. All my life I have worked so hard. My childhood was filled with abuse, pain and survival. In my twenties I worked hard on overcoming my past and healing. My thirties were focused on my career and company. And frankly, that brings me to here.

So my prayer to God has been: " Father, I hear what you say. I don't know how to just have fun. So please take me by the hand and show me how to 'JUST HAVE FUN'.”

I am excited. Really excited. My Father tells me to have fun. What a great Father. He doesn't want me working hard all the time. He wants me to trust Him that He is part of our marriage too, and He will help us stay on track. I don't need to constantly pay attention to whether or not we are doing well. As I ponder on this I am seeing a father holding his girl's hand, twirling her, directing her to the playground, making her smile and telling silly jokes. The girl has no care in the world.

I am ready to just have some fun !

High Standards - I don't want the honeymoon phase to be over... ever

So I hear people say that all that I am feeling and doing is normal. Sometimes Tim and I differ in the area of 'normal'. He realizes our love will be steady while we may not always feel close. I am still working on always feeling close. Tim explains to me that life will 'get in the way' and our focus will be outside of our home too. I still like to think my first and foremost responsibility lies at home.  Tim's love is steady. In the midst of a not so nice moment he will say: “I love you” and: “We are okay.” There is truth in what he is saying but sometimes it is hard for me to say those words. 

I want to continue to have high standards for our marriage and for who I am in this marriage and how I contribute. Okay, so my reactions you read about in that post may be normal... in the human sense. But I know God is calling me to a higher calling. He laid out what love is and what it looks like. That is not near what we humans make of it. Yes, we will fail, I will fail and I will need to extend grace to myself just like Tim is extending me grace. But I will not let go of the standard God gave me regarding the true meaning of love.

People talk about the honeymoon phase, the phase where everything not only seems easy, it is easy! It is easy to think about the other person. It is easy to sacrifice. It is easy to hug and hold hands. It is easy to spoil the other person with little gestures. Everything seems to go without effort. And 'all of a sudden' all those things that were simple to do and happened quite automatically, do not seem so automatic anymore. And we forget about the other person. We now think that what we want is what needs to happen, even if the significant other has other plans or ideas. Sacrificing moves to the background and we focus more and more on ourself. (I realize I am writing very black and white. For those of you who do not know me very well (yet), I am a black or white person. Often I do not know grey. Tim is trying to be my balance in that ;-)  )

The honeymoon phase is dear to my heart. I like to believe that the honeymoon phase is not a phase, but maybe every newlywed feels that way. I am just not ready to accept that our honeymoon phase is over.  I am not ready for marriage to become more of a routine. I am not ready to let go of feeling close most of the time. I think Tim and I are a nice balance in that area. He brings in reality. I bring in 'keeping it up'. The things that used to happen on it's own... I don't want to lose those things and I realize as time passes, they become work. In my opinion we need to remind ourselves of the honeymoon phase and work hard on keep doing what we were doing back in that season. I would like to work hard so that our marriage will not become a routine. I believe that now that Tim and I are without children... this IS the time for us to keep up the endearing things that put that smile on our face, that gave us that warm fuzzy feeling for one another. We still have a schedule that allows this, there are no distractions. If we are blessed with children at some point... I can imagine we get distracted by lots of things.

And what I wrote in this post was very real. I am surprised how we go from really good days to days where connecting is a bit of work. And I am not like Tim: I have a hard time saying 'I love you' when we are not that close and when I am not feeling great. Classic, right? Something that is very normal, married people tell me. And this brings me back to high standards. At no time is it okay for me not to say 'I love you' just because it is hard for me. Love stays, love is my choice. And when Tim isn't feeling great and it comes out in our relationship, it is not okay for me to be short with him just because he is. No matter how hard, I want to get good at this. I don't want to withdraw when he is withdrawn. I don't want to forget to extend grace when he most needs it.

And to get the worries out of the way: Tim and I are well. We just celebrated our 6 month anniversary this weekend!  We are in a good place. I am just writing all this to be real. Marriage is hard work. Marriage is good work. I love marriage. And Tim and I have a good balance. We have plenty of fun. We relax. We exercise together. We nap on a Sunday. We hang out with really cool friends. We love our family and spending time with them.

A favorite and weekly event... hanging out with the Kolmans

 

Dear friends, and always sure of good content with them



Never enough family time... (feeding them a Dutch meal)

 

I don't like to miss Tim's soccer games

Going out on walks in the neighborhood in our dorky protection overcoats

We drive out to NYC to meet my old colleagues

We see an opportunity to take a photo at odd times

Working in the home office, always a joy



Sunday morning... we'd like to see some Dutch soccer before heading out to church

We hang out with family at the doctor's office

Lots of time is spend at the gym

Coffee shop visit... also a favorite

We love a family visit

Or a visit from overseas 

Celebrating 6 months this past weekend!! It's been a wonderful 6 months. I regret nothing and am VERY grateful for this amazing gift of joy and love in my life.    

                                                                

Celebrating

As Good Friday is getting close, I prepare myself. Of all celebrations of the Christian faith, this, to me, is the biggest one. And it's not about chocolate and Easter baskets, it's not even about food and a family get together, although I do enjoy a family gathering. Frankly, I don't like the name Easter for this Holy day. And it is something much more silent and within.

I would dislike for Good Friday to come and go and then to find myself in church on Sunday celebrating a miracle. To me the miracle begins on Friday. And I want to prepare myself for that. I want to be conscious about the gift given TO ME. I have been doing this for some years now and every year this gift is hard to fathom. It is FOR ME!

As of Monday I am withdrawing a bit from the world. I realize how addicted I am to my computer and phone as I choose to spend less time with them. I also do not go out to meet friends, do fun stuff, or spend time in stores and such. Lastly, I withdrew from food. I know we are not always to talk about when we fast but I am breaking that rule. I fast to get weak. When I fast I can't move as fast. I lose strength, and that is the perfect place to be for this week as I contemplate Good Friday and an amazing resurrection FOR ME on Sunday. And while I withdraw, I give my time to the Lord. I just want to be still, I want to meditate, think of, reflect upon and take in Jesus. So I pray. I praise. I read in the Word. I worship.

Grace flows down

 

Love isn't a feeling

Jesus gave us a great example of Love.

Why, then, is it so hard to be like Him?

Jesus' love is:

Unconditional.

Literally dying to self.

Perfect.

And I know I cannot be Jesus, I cannot be perfect. But He gave an example over and over again. Why is it hard to follow?

It was bound to happen right? Me learning to love Tim when he's not so in tune with where I am at, or when he makes that odd remark or makes a joke at the wrong time. It is actually really hard. It is hard to be disciplined about loving him when I really feel like walking away because I feel hurt by him.

But what rights do I have?
What is Love?

What is my role?

Let me just say... I am learning a lot... again... still...

Tim's change of work and ministry has brought him into a rough season; a season where he is not always his happy, cheery self. This is why I need to step up to the plate and perhaps give more, and certainly love when he is falling short. Tim's been short with me a few times, and I certainly get it... he deserves grace in this season that came rather abruptly. And yet... I lack. I fail.

I hoped I would never be like this. I am embarrassed to admit, but I want to walk away when I get hurt. I want to move to the other side of the couch (and I have) when I hurt. I have a desperate need to protect myself from pain.

I have never had a man devoted to me. I have never been married, and so now I may put way too much responsibility on Tim. It's so wonderful to have someone who loves me, physically around. But with that comes that I depend too much on Tim to love me and make me feel good. So when he made a bad call a few times in a row, I turned around and separated myself from him. Not good! I even felt God guide me back in toward Tim, but I couldn't. I wasn't disciplined. I wasn't the graceful wife. I wasn't the loving wife. All I wanted was to be alone and deal with it alone.

I am realizing I always need God first, before I need Tim. Tim cannot and will not ever satisfy me. He is also not responsible for me. In a way, sure he is, but at the root he really isn't. So while I enjoy human love for the first time, I kind of fall into the trap of thinking this makes Tim responsible for my well being and me feeling love. It wasn't without reason that I put in my vows that “I realize that love isn't a feeling. It will be my choice.”

So God is kindly pointing out His truth and His good ways. They are better than my thoughts, truths and ways.

Tim and I went to this marriage conference a few weeks back. It was our first ;-) and what struck me most is when Paul Tripp said: “Women, you love your husband because God loved you first.” And: “So you don't love your husband when he is good to you. No! You especially love him when he fails, because God loved you first. You possess everything you need to love your husband.” It struck me! It pointed me to my need for Jesus. Yes, it may be hard to choose love when I am not feeling it, but when I choose and am disciplined to call out to Jesus, He will be faithful and make it possible, right there in that moment. I posses everything I need to love my husband and love him well.

Jesus' love was sacrificial. Maybe true love is love that hurts a little. For Jesus it meant given everything. It hurt. It wasn't easy. He even asked His Father if there wasn't a different way (Matthew 26:39). It meant sacrificing His life so we can have ours, and we didn't deserve it. Paul Trip mentioned that love isn't really love until it is sacrificing for the good on another, especially when the other doesn't deserve it. So I truly love Tim when it costs me something.

I need to treasure God's love over my husband's love. I need to go after God's love before going after my husband's love. Love isn't about me getting from my husband, it is about me loving Him well. And in turn it means loving Tim when he 'deserves' it least. I know Tim does the same for me and THAT makes a good marriage.

I love because God loved me first.

I possess everything I need to love my husband well.

Love is still not a feeling. It will be my choice.

I need to treasure God's love over my husband's love.

True love costs a little. True love is sacrificial.

Faithful in prayer

I have always wondered how that works: praying for people! People will ask me to pray for them, people will ask me to pray for a friend of theirs that I don't know, or I know of a friend who needs prayer desperately. It has happened that the list was overwhelmingly long that I really didn't know how to go about it. It seemed impossible to pray for everyone. I have always been sensitive to the fact that I never wanted to promise people I'd pray when I wasn't sure I could. And I wondered if people would really pray when I heard them say: "I'll pray for you" while passing me in the hallway. Would people really, really pray when they said they would?

And then I met Tim. And with him came his way of praying. Tim keeps a journal and he showed it to me in our early days. In there is a longggg list of people he prays for on a daily basis. And I got to see how he has his time with God during the day and he really, really prays for all those people faithfully. I was impressed, and love is written all over it. He would also bring many of those people before the Lord again in our night time prayer, adding more people to it as they would come to mind.

The wonderful thing about marriage is that now we can pray together. And it really is wonderful. It has an encouraging effect. So I find myself praying more than before. And we never promise to pray without fulfilling that promise. We actually follow through, and often right there on the spot.

Very regularly we get texts from people who need prayer and we do the fire safety thing like "stop drop and roll". We stop whatever we are doing, we drop to our knees (not always literally), and roll into a time of prayer. And just this week I realized how it's become a habit for us to pray for people. I love it! It's who we are becoming. And of course there is the truth that praying for other people doesn't just benefit the person for whom we are praying. It is very fulfilling, I have more time with our Lord and it builds my faith.

So... keep the prayer requests coming...

I Love Valentine's Day

Yesterday or any day before I would not have said I love Valentine's Day. I feel it is a commercialized day which lots of people going crazy with money and the only people who benefit are store owners. Yes, that is truly how I felt. I don't like to do things that have lost the true reason for the season (or day). Maybe it's because I was single all those years. Maybe because I had no one to share deep love with that made Valentine's Day meaningless. But even as Valentine's Day came closer and closer my feelings didn't change. I didn't want Tim to feel he had to spend money on gifts and such. I wanted to express my love for him, but in a Maddy way which was probably with home made things like baking love heart cookies or something.

I started writing this blog post yesterday and see there is not much love for Valentine's Day: Since last year Valentine's Day became actually special. Still, I would say I am not crazy about this day. I refuse to spend much money, that is NOT what this day is about. I refuse! But I couldn't help to think about ways I could let Tim know he is special to me. But Tim's love language is not 'words' so writing him a card is not the way. :( This is sad to me because I am all about the written word.

And now a day later, the day after Valentine's Day I would say it is an amazing day. A wonderful day. A Lovely day. It is a day where love is spread and communicated in sweet ways. Tim is amazing at it! And I would be crazy to not embrace that. So yes, it was probably my singleness that gave no meaning to this day. Because now, now I get it!

I felt so joyous. I felt such love from Tim and for Tim. Tim really gave the day meaning and in the best (and inexpensive) of ways showed me love. I felt it all very deep in my heart.

Without discussing the day much we both found sweet ways to love on each other. Tim had asked me weeks ago if it would be okay if we celebrated Valentine's Day with friends and I thought it was a great idea. Tim knows I love surprises and so that is all I knew about it. This in and of itself blessed me. Tim knew keeping things a secret would bless my heart.

In the morning my tea and OJ were accompanied by love heart straws. Such a simple and cheap way for him to show me his love and it spoke volumes of “I think of you today in special ways. You matter!” Then I walked downstairs and I stumbled upon this gigantic card. I had seen those cards in the store (remember, in my pre-Valentine's Day attitude) and I thought: “Yeah right, 6 dollars for a mega card like that, that will have no place in the home in the end.” Well the card HAS a place in our home for now. Even though Tim's love language isn't words, he lacked no creativity when he wrote this card. And this, this made my day.

We spend a lovely day together, me still getting over me being sick. We went for a little walk in Longwood Gardens where Tim was very patient with me when I wanted to take photos (of him). Another way he shows me love. Patience communicates love people!

When we got home I found this by our door:

I was amazed Tim had more in store for me. I was fully satisfied with the straws, and the card. This just blew my mind. I had not expected it and Tim really did an awesome job of being my husband and showering me with his love. He got me Dutch tulips! With a card that had a sentence from his vows to me. How precious and meaningful. Thought through, through and through. You can imagine my change of heart right?

And I knew what I had up my sleeve for later. I was going to make a love heart trail to our decorated bedroom where he would find a romantic scene with champagne, love heart brownies and our vows in frames.

Altogether it was a sweet day. A day that changed my look on Valentine's Day. 

I did think of my single friends and family and felt for them. I know for many of them it is an awkward day. You try to focus on God, knowing His will is best, but that can be hard on a day like this. So I prayed for you girls. Know that!

Melissa was extremely happy for me yesterday, my first Valentine's day with Tim and she wrote me this: “I do feel like this day is a gift to me as far as your life story goes. I always felt so burdened to try to make it special for you-- and to let you know how loved you were (are!). But now I know that will be MORE than taken care of by the BEST person possible."

And she is right... Melissa did think of me, her single friend, on Valentine's Day. Now I will take on that burden for my single loved ones...

Our plans got changed last night. Our friend Kristin was sick and so the romantic plans Jason made felt through. We ended up hanging with awesome Joe and Joy. That is always good fun!

Love is in the air with these two...

I remember last year... Last year, 9 days before Valentine's Day, I walked into who would soon be my husband. Being an ocean apart, he sent me flowers and the most meaningful card, having selected his words carefully.

This year, we were together, as husband and wife, for the very first time. Valentine's Day, in a way, I hope is a day like any other. The effort we make today, I hope we make every day.