Blessings Pouring Down

So many good things are happening that I feel as if my cup is running over with blessings right now. :-)

Over the weekend we had our last premarital class and it has been such a blessing. It's been a great learning experience and we met nine great couples who have been an encouragement to us throughout the class. We have exchanged information with them all and hope to keep in contact with them. Someone might even start to lead a couples bible study/small group with them to build upon those foundations of friendship we formed in the class.

Mark and I had a fun day together on Sunday. Before our last class we got donuts to celebrate completing the seven week course. Then after our last class and church, we went out to lunch to and then went shopping. We had a fun "us day" to unwind from all the busyness we've had going on lately.

My Sundays are going to be more free now since I decided through prayer and God's leading to leave the singing group. It was becoming very stressful to keep up with it amidst my busy work schedule and still find time to have a day of rest while off work. Even though it was hard to give it up, I know it was the right thing to do as my life is constantly changing and evolving right now. Now I can use my Sundays off to honor God by going to church, resting, and spending time with Mark, our families, and friends which will be nice.

So my other great blessing to share with you all is that yesterday at work, I got the job offer for the pharmacy tech-in-training position! And I accepted it! And will be getting a raise later this month! This is such a blessing and huge answer to prayer! It feels so great to finally feel like you are reaching a goal with God's help. When He promises to provide, He really does hold tight to those promises.

Valentine's Day was also a blessing which I haven't gotten to share about on here just yet. I spent the whole day with my fiance and it was a blast. First, we went to Lincoln Square Pancake House and had a V-day brunch which was delicious. Then, we went to my sister's house to wish my youngest niece a happy first birthday. Then, we went back to my house and got all dressed up to go out to dinner. My brother took some nice engagement pictures of us in the backyard before we left.

 Our 1st Valentine's Day together Feb. 14, 2013.

 Mark & I all dressed up.

 The gorgeous ring.

This one is my favorite. 

We enjoy laughing together so much.

Next, we went out to dinner at a really fancy seafood restaurant downtown. He surprised with the dinner and with a rose already there waiting for me. After dinner, he surprised me with taking me out for ice cream for dessert at Coldstone Creamery. Then, we went back to his house and watched a movie. All in all it was the best Valentine's Day we both have ever had.

Mark & I at dinner with the lovely rose he gave me.

We have been enjoying getting to know each other and our families better and I look forward to all the blessings that are to come in the future. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. :-) May your upcoming St. Patrick's Day this Sunday and first day of spring next week be happy and full of hope for the good things to come throughout this year. God bless and keep on dancing with joy for all of God's blessings to come. :-)

The Best Valentine's Day Ever!!!

This is going to be the best Valentine's Day ever! And my early Valentine's Day surprise was wonderful. My boyfriend Mark kept dropping hints about wanting to propose (whether he meant or not lol). I figured out pretty early on that he wanted to "pop the question" on Valentine's Day. It kind of become common knowledge to me & those I talked to about it, "Well when he proposes on Valentine's Day...I think he's going to propose on Valentine's Day...on Valentine's Day I will probably be getting engaged." It kind of took some of the fun & excitement out of it to be honest.

So when Mark then asked last Saturday night if I would be disappointed if he didn't propose on Valentine's Day I said no but maybe a little. Then I started thinking, if I know him well & I think I do, he's either try to psych me out so he can still propose on V-day or propose on another day. And knowing him I knew he was too excited to wait until after V-day. So I had it narrowed down to either the next day, Sunday, or today, Valentine's Day. Then I thought wow I could be getting engaged tomorrow (Sunday).

And to my surprise and delight my boyfriend Mark proposed to me on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at around 7:15am. I was still surprised even though I had a feeling it was coming, but I was so excited. He had mentioned to me that he had a surprise for me (not related to V-day). When I came inside he gave me a box of Thin Mints Girl scout cookies & said that is your first surprise. That's when I knew what the second surprise was going to be. :-)

He asked me to sit down on the couch. Then he went & grabbed something & put it behind his back. Then he said these words, "Four months ago, I said a phrase (to you) that changed our lives forever, 'I love you'. And it was the second happiest moment of my life. I want this to be the first." Then he got down on one knee & asked, "Will you marry me?" And I said, "Yes."

He then pulled out a stuffed puppy dog from behind his back that was holding a little, red, heart-shaped box that said,"I love you," on it. He opened the box & a beautiful, sparkly ring was inside. He must have put it on my finger at some point because I was so excited it was kind of a blur to me ha ha. I just remember looking down at my hand & thinking how beautiful the ring looked on it. Then we hugged each other & said we loved each other. It was one of my happiest moments & definitely one I will never forget. I'm glad he decided to surprise me instead of asking on V-day as originally planned ha ha. :-)

God has truly blessed me with a wonderful fiance' & a wonderful future ahead. Our couple's verse that we picked for ourselves as a part of the premarital class we are taking at my church is Jeremiah 29:11. It reads, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am holding fast to this promise in God's word. I'm fully expecting it to come to pass, over the course of the next year as we prepare and plan for our future together.

I know that with His strength, all things are possible. As it says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." As long as He is at the center of our relationship & our future, it will be full of strength and joy.

Marriage doesn't have to be an end to an enjoyable life, as many today view marriage to be. Marriage can be a wonderful beginning to a life full of joy, blessings, and enrichment if we are committed to God first, and our spouse second. Please don't let your view of marriage become skewed by the negative view the rest of the world has about it. God created marriage and has great plans for it, if you will have faith, hope, & trust in His ways.

May your Valentine's Day be one filled with God's awesome love, for you and for us all. Happy Valentine's Day! And Happy 1st Birthday to my youngest niece! Auntie Crystal loves you! And Happy Anniversary to my job, where I've been for 4 years today (yes romantic I know lol ha ha)! And Happy Valentine's Day to my fiance' Mark, the love of my life. :-) May it be a day that we never forget. :-)

Great Things Happening, Great Things to Come

So many great things have been happening since my last post and I know more great things are to come in the future. In the last two weeks God has done just what I said He would if I believed and had faith in Him. He worked out the new job possibility & now it is about to become a reality! I got the job offer to become a pharmacy associate and I'm so excited! I also applied for the pharmacy tech-in-training permit with the state, per the pharmacist's advice last week. Then just today I got the congratulations email that said my permit was issued! Woohoo! I start this Sat. in the pharmacy and I'm so pumped!

Another great thing that is happening is that the Christian singing group I'm in called Special Moments has been accepted to sing at a local Christian Coffeehouse & Ice Cream Shop called His Place. It features local Christian bands & singers on weekends. We will be singing there on Sat. Feb. 16, 2013 from 7-9pm & I'm so excited! It will be a great outreach to the community & it might even become a regular thing for our music group.

Mark & I are doing very well. We have been enjoying getting to know each other & each others families better. I hope he can meet more of my friends in the future whenever time & schedules allow haha. He is very special to me & I want everyone else to meet him & get to know why I think he's so great. I guess you could say he's another "great thing" I have going on in my life right now lol haha. And I hope it never ends. :-)

God has been doing so much & teaching me so much. The more I seek Him, the more He reveals about Himself & about me. I am learning more about His perfect will for my life & how He wants to refine me to become who He wants me to be. He wants me to live out His will for my life & not my will for my life. The more I surrender to His will, the more joyful, blessed, amazed, & thankful I become for all the ways He's using me more than I could ever think or imagine.

As it says in Ephesians 3:20-21,

"²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

This is my prayer for all of you who may be reading this blog. :-)

To Him be the glory forever & ever! Amen.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013! I'm still getting used to writing & saying 2013. I keep wanting to say & write 2012 instead since that's what I'm used to haha. So the week of Christmas turned out to be great. On Sun. Dec. 23, 2012 I got to meet & celebrate Christmas early with Mark's mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun & I felt so thankful to become a part of their Christmas celebration. His relatives were all hilarious & made me feel like I fit right in.

On Fri. Dec. 21, 2012 (The Not So End of the World Day haha) I visited with my aunt & grandma. Then I went to my nephew's 3rd birthday party & had a great time celebrating with family. Later that day my cousin invited me to go swing dancing with her & her boyfriend that night. So I drug my brother along & my aunt & uncle came too & another cousin. We all had a great time & it was good to finally go out dancing again. I hadn't gone swing dancing in at least over a year! lol.

On Mon. Dec. 24, 2012 (Christmas Eve) Mark came to my aunt's house & got to meet my mom's side of the family. He also got to meet my cousin who I'm very close with & her new boyfriend. Yes, we both brought our new boyfriends to Christmas Eve! A big step I know lol. They both seemed to fit right in though, which was great. We even went to a midnight mass (well 11pm technically) together which was very neat.

On Tues. Dec. 25, 2012 (Christmas Day) Mark had to work. So my dad, brother, & I took all of our Christmas gifts for my nieces & nephews & went to my sisters house. We visited & the kids opened up all of their gifts. Then we all went to my aunt & uncle's house on my dad's side of the family to celebrate Christmas day with my dad's relatives. We had a good time.

Before I new it Christmas was over & work returned to normal for the most part which was nice. Then it was time for New Year's Eve on Mon. Dec. 31, 2012. I rang it in with Mark by my side, some sparkling grape juice, cheese ball & crackers, and a kiss at midnight. Which was a first for me since I have never had a boyfriend around New Year's. It was probably the best Christmas & New Year's I have ever had. :-)

So now it's 2013 & it's already off to a great start! The job opportunity I had talked about previously which didn't work out at the time, might be happening soon! I am praying that it all works out & if it does that means I can move to a different area that I can't wait to be a part of. God is really doing some mighty, powerful things in my life right now & I'm so thankful for it. If you just have faith & believe that God can do great things in your life, He will. My only resolutions are to trust, believe, surrender, obey, and have great faith in God's promises all throughout this upcoming year.

So Happy New Year to All! May God bless you & teach you His promises to you in this new year.

'Tis the Season...to Be Jolly!

"Fa lalalala lala lala!" Yes I just sang a Christmas carol online hahaha. Well so far this Christmas season has been very busy, yet very merry. I have gone downtown with friends and family to see the Christmas tree, made Christmas cookies & candies to give people, bought gifts, wrapped gifts, exchanged gifts, put up & decorated the Christmas tree, put the outdoor Christmas lights up, written & mailed Christmas cards, & gone Christmas caroling at the nursing home (& had a blast singing there last Sunday). Yes it has been busy, but I have been trying to enjoy it along the way too.

So last Sunday my boyfriend Mark & I exchanged Christmas gifts. And guess what? We both gave each other the same photo of us in a picture frame! I opened his gift first & starting cracking up because I knew I had printed the same photo & also put it in a frame along with his gifts. What are the odds? I thought that was very cute and sweet. I guess great minds really do think alike. ;-)

We then went to church together which was nice. Then he came with me to the nursing home to watch me sing Christmas carols to the residents there with my singing group. 

 

My sister also came with her three older daughters & everyone had fun singing along to the music & listening to the kids ring the jingle bells.

Later, we went to my sister's house & visited with her & the kids & had fun. I also gave them some of my Christmas cookies & they scarfed them all down joyfully.

Me & my youngest niece Adelise in our matching Christmas outfits lol.

We are so cute together. :-)

My boyfriend Mark & my niece Adelise. Adorable!

So last week I made five types of  Christmas goodies to give people as gifts: peanut blossom cookies, pina colada cookies, Mexican wedding cake cookies, peanut butter cornflake candy, & puppy chow. It all came out delicious. But I sure am glad to be done baking all of my Christmas cookies & candy though, it's a lot of work! I finished it up over the weekend & now I'm scrambling to give them away before they start to dry out lol. I didn't have to do all this work, but I wanted to. Christmas just doesn't feel the same without all the Christmas cheer and goodies.

 Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies.

Pina Colada Cookies.

 

Peanut Blossom Cookies.

I am looking forward to the hustle & bustle to die down at work. Since I work in retail it's been more stressful lately, but the extra cash in my paycheck I got tonight was nice to see. I've been able to pick up extra hours lately which has been a blessing, among many other blessings I've been receiving lately. I'm looking forward to upcoming Christmas parties with family & friends & ringing in the new year too.

So what are some of your Christmas blessings that you are most thankful for lately? And what are some of your favorite Christmas traditions or memories?

God bless. Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year to All!

Very Thankful For...

So I turned out to be right. My previous post did turn out to be my last post as a 25 year-old. As of Thanksgiving Day Nov. 22, 2012 I turned 26 years old. And I had some great birthday celebrations. On Wed. Nov. 21 I was off work so I started out the day with a delicious birthday breakfast with my family at Lincoln Square Pancake House.

Later on that night I had a yummy birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse with some of my good friends and my cousin. I even got the waiters to embarrass me by telling the whole restaurant it was my birthday and everyone in the place yelled, "Yee haw!" to me. Hahaha. It was fun.

On Thanksgiving day aka my birthday Nov. 22, I got off work at 3pm. After work, I went to my aunt's house to eat Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate the holiday and my birthday with my dad's side of the family. Afterwards, I went to my boyfriend's parent's house to eat dessert, celebrate my birthday, and take part in their "Thankful Basket" family tradition.

This is how a thankful basket works. Each day of the two weeks before thanksgiving you write something you are thankful for on a piece of paper. You then fold it up & put it into the basket. Once Thanksgiving arrives, you gather the family together, pass the basket around, and each pick out a note and read it until all the notes have been read. For extra fun, you can also try to guess who wrote what. It helps if you can recognize everyone's hand-writing too haha.

I really enjoyed taking part in the thankful basket tradition with Mark's family and I think it's a great tradition to have. It reminds us of what the holiday season is about: giving thanks to God for the many blessing and lessons He gives us in this life. Right now I'm thankful for so many things that I think I will have to make a list here for you all to read.

What I am very thankful for during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season:

• My salvation & personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• My wonderful boyfriend Mark who is such a blessing and encouragement to me. :-)
• My wonderful family.
• My wonderful friends from work, church, and every where else in between. Also to my friends who are my family in Christ.
• All the ways God provides for me: financially, with food, with shelter, spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.
• All the ways He uses me to serve Him through: The Christian singing group I'm in that sings at the nursing home, the Christian artists group who supports, encourages, & provides great fellowship, the small group girls Bible study I'm in who are always there for me, & the many other ways God uses me to encourage & witness to others.
• For my life & being able to serve Him everyday that He blesses me with air to breathe.

I hope you all have a great month of Christmas celebrations. Just remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season." God bless. And remember to keep: being thankful, running, dancing, singing, laughing, and loving others during this holiday season.

What are you thankful for during this Holiday season?

Happy Holidays...

I had a great Halloween and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and my birthday which is on the same day. I love the holiday season and I'm glad it has officially begun. I went to haunted house with some friends, passed out candy to treat-or-treaters, and went to a Halloween costume party with my boyfriend. We went as Popeye and Olive Oyl and had a great time.

I'm looking forward to celebrating the holidays with my boyfriend, family, and friends by my side. Who knows this might be my last post as a 25-year-old! Haha. I will write a longer post next time when I have more to share. Until then dance, laugh, live, and love! God bless. :-)