FireProof : Week 2

He First Loved Us

This week the focus was on " Do you know God's love? and Do you reflect that love to your spouse?". Main point of scripture "1 John 4:19 " We love because HE first loved us." You can read more of that passage, 4:7-21 on your own. God chose to love us, we didn't do anything or never will to earn HIS perfect love, but HE loved us first. HE loved us so much, that HE sent HIS only Son to die for us, our mistakes, our sins, HE took our place on that cross. It's very hard for me to wrap my head around that kind of love and sacrifce. I have seen that love demonstrated to me through my parents, and now through my husband. I have also seen and have been on the receiveing end from God, but to love someone like that....WOW! We discussed how you cannot fully understand that kind of love until you have experienced it from God, in a deep and personal way. You also cannot begin to love your spouse like that, until you have loved God in that way and have HIM as the center of everything you do. Kevin and I discussed how we can show each other that kind of love and we found out that it was in the little, everyday things like: Kevin said, by greeting him at the door when he gets home from work, calling him when I get out of school to see how his day was going, cooking dinner, washing clothes (the few times I do :) ), paying attention when he speaks.... Jill said, by asking how my day was, listening while I tell good stories or complain about school, students, parents, meetings, etc..., helping with the house chores, cooking dinner, being encouraging and postive when things are either going great or not going great (which this is one of my favorite traits in Kevin, however, sometimes he can be too postive and I am like, get negative or stressed out for once!). The key to understanding how to show love to your spouse, is by asking them. What may seem like "no big deal" to you, may really make a huge difference in how your spouse views you and feels loved by you.

Something to think about: This week, ask God to help you see your spouse through HIS eyes and ask HIM to give you the strength to love them, the way HE does.

FireProof Your Marriage Bible Study Week 1

In our Sunday School Class, we have started a couples Bible study following the guidelines of the movie, FireProof. During the first week, we discussed how men and women are different and what each expects from marriage. We discussed how men want respect and women want to be loved and feel like they are loves. We talked about different ways to do both of these things. Some were funny others were serious. We talked about how we could better show respect and love to one another. Our focus verse for week 1 was from Ephesians 5: 33 "However, each one of you also much love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

The movie comes out Friday, Sept. 26th. We are going as a class on Oct. 4th. You can check out the trailor if you click on this link. From what I have seen, it's going to be good, but will also step on your toes and make you reflected on your marriage. Having only been married for 3 months, Kevin and I are trying hard to get off on the right track, but we are learning a lot from this Bible Study.

FireProof Link:
http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Our Wild Backyard

You just never know what you will see in our backyard. We have had rabbits, deer, snakes, humming birds, raccoons, armadillos, etc. Here is a picture of one of our hummingbirds.

We named our hummingbirds. The boy is named Rosco, and the girl Ruby. (I am sure you can guess who named which one). They are ruby-throated hummingbirds. Now we have 2 pairs. The bird in the picture is one of the girl's. We haven't named the other pair yet, because it's hard to tell them apart.

Ruby the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Our Newest Family Member

Abby, our black poodle.

This is Abby the day she came to us. I

t's hard to tell if she's a boy or a girl.

This is Abby after her first trip to the Groomers'.

It's hard to believe it's the same dog!

Abby loves to play fetch with the tennis ball!

Our dear, sweet Abby!

It's Sugar!

This weekend at the beach, since it was so cold on Saturday, we went to shop at Broadway. They have new store there, that totally demonstrates the meaing of the phrase "like a kid in a candy store". Well, I was one big kid. I had never seen so much candy! Everything you can think of. This sand castle is made out of jelly bellies and jelly beans. "It looks so good you can really eat it!". This candy is also worth it's weight in gold. When we left the store, our bellies were full and our pockets were empty.

The Up Country vs. The Low Country

Having lived in the Up Country all my life, it has been a change for me to move to the Low Country. Kevin and I dated for 4 years before we were married. During those 4 years we spent many miles, hours, and gas traveling up and down the road to visit one another. It was a 3 hour trip, we could make it in about 2 1/2 hours, as long as the traffic was moving along well. So, I was used to things down here, but it still has been different. Some things that I miss about the Up Country are the mountains, cooler temperatures, and my family. At home I could drive down my back street and see the mountains. Just about anywhere I went, you would get a view of the mountains. Here all you see is pine trees, fields, and straight roads. However, I do greatly enjoy the slower pace of things down here. In Greenville, everyone is always in such a rush to go places and people do not have any patience. Here, people take their time and really seem to appreciate life and the little things that make our life special. Also, a big plus is that I am now only 2 hours from several beaches, whereas before it would take me about 4 to 5 hours to get to the closest beach, which was Charleston or Myrtle. Here we can go to Edisto, Hilton Head, Charleston, or Myrtle in about 2 hours or 2 1/2 hours. Also, there sure are a lot more Carolina flags around here, vs. Clemson. I get tired of all this red. People need to brighten up their life with a punch of orange. I have enjoyed living on a farm. It's so peaceful in the mornings and I wish I could sit on our back porch swing for hours, instead of rushing off to school. Even though I miss my family and the other pleasures that the Up Country has, I am very fastly becoming a Low Country Gal.