Draw Me Nearer...

So thanks to Pandora (on my new droid that I am absolutely loving!) I heard this song by Meredith Andrews. It really just hit me where I'm at and I can't stop listening to it. I won't ramble on, I will just let the lyrics speak....


Meredith Andrews - Draw Me Nearer

Draw Me Nearer

For your nearness Lord I hunger 
For your nearness Lord I wait 
Hold me ever closer Father 
Such a love I can't escape 

For your nearness I am hoping 
For your nearness Lord I long 
Have no need of any other 
I have found where I belong 
Yes, I have found where I belong 

So draw me nearer Lord 
Never let me go 
Closer to your heart 
Draw me nearer Lord 
Draw me nearer Lord 

In your nearness there is healing 
What was broken now made whole 
Restoration in its fullness 
Lasting hope for all who come 

In your nearness I take shelter 
Where you are is where I?m home 
I have need of only one thing 
To be here before your throne 
To be here before you throne 
So draw me nearer Lord 
Never let me go 
Closer to your heart 
Draw me nearer Lord 

So draw me nearer Lord 
Never let me go 
Closer to your heart 
Draw me nearer Lord 
Draw me nearer Lord 

And keep me here, keep me here 
There's nowhere else I rather be 
So keep me here, keep me here 
There's nowhere else I rather be 
There's nowhere else I rather be 

So draw me nearer Lord 
Never let me go 
Closer to your heart 
Draw me nearer Lord 
Draw me nearer Lord 
Draw me nearer my Lord

Catch up with the Wrights!

I have been such a blogging slacker! Here's a quick catch up with what's been going on with the Wrights!

- We are now the proud owners of a basketball goal! :) Just a side note, I beat Steve at a friendly game of PIG

- I am working basically full time & have started back with classes! Only 3 classes, practicum, & 2 internships left to go! There is a light shining at the end of the tunnel!

- Steve & I have found a church in Troy we are really enjoying visiting! It's Covenant Grace Baptist Church. It just started up this past January. The people have been so welcoming and the church seems to have a lot of great things going on. Here's a link to their website if you want to check it out! http://www.covenantgrace.info/

- We have a  new show that has caught our attention...The Voice! It's similar to American Idol, but I gotta say so far I'm liking it more! Idol fans, don't worry, we are still watching and cheering on Scotty & Lauren. I was a bit more of a Haley fan, but they have both been favorites of our's the whole season, so I suppose we'll be happy with whoever wins! :)

- This past Saturday, Steve, his step-dad, & his brother put together a "home" for Steve's lawn mower! Such hard working guys!

- Last but not least, we are still loving married life and God is continuing to grow us closer to Him & each other through it! 

What a week...

So I definitely have been slacking on the blog the past couple weeks. I figured that might happen once I started working everyday. Don't worry, you haven't missed much, our lives are still pretty much the same. We are still getting settled in to our lives here in Troy and loving married life! :)


This past weekend we got to go to Birmingham for our friends Jessica & Wes's wedding. Jessica is one of those friends that are 1 in a million. She really is like a sister to me and God has used our friendship to grow both of us closer to Him. It's not often you find a friend who will openly speak Truth into your life. I cannot wait to see how God uses Jess & Wes's marriage for His glory! 


It was so much fun and such a Christ centered wedding. It made me want to get married again, to Steve of course! He didn't like this idea as much as I did, needless to say. I don't think guys are as into the wedding scene as girls. haha I just love the picture and reminder weddings give us of Christ's love for the church. I've blogged about this before with my own wedding so I won't go on & on about it. But it really is just a beautiful thing. This wedding in particular was such a good reminder in the midst of a week that came with a lot of devastation and tragedy from the tornadoes that swept through the south. I hope we will all be in prayer for those affected and willing to help where God leads us to. For me, the tornadoes were huge reminder of how temporary this world and everything in it really is. In an instant, lives can be lost and possessions can be gone. It really blows me away to think about how finite this world really is. I almost can't help but have an "ok, what am I doing with my life" moment. 


There are some verses that always seem to a) give me comfort, b) give me perspective, and c) direct me to seek the Lord. I want to share it on here in hopes that it can provide the same for others...


But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you....Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:7-12;  16-18

Need more time? or need more Jesus?

So the wait is over, I will start work tomorrow with AIM (Abstinence in Motion). Here is a link to their website if you want to check it out...aimproject. I'm pretty excited to get to work for an organization I believe in 100%! It's funny, before we got married I thought I would love just being at home all day every day. But I quickly realized once the house was situated that I am not much of a stay at home wife. I need a little people interaction in my life and something productive to do. 


God has also shown up in this past month and half despite the fact that, in all honestly, I haven't used much of my free time to spend with Him. I think God has really shown me that I don't do a very good job of making the most of my time to spend the time I need to in His Word. Yes I have had a whole house to get situated and that does take some time. But it also became a month and half filled with TV and internet time. While that whole time I could have had a month & a half of sweet time with the Lord. Why is it that when we have a million things going on we are too busy for reading God's Word. But then when we get free time we still don't take time to spend with Him? Something I think I have learned is that whether we have 24 free hours in a day or 24 wrapped up hours in a day, something will consume us. We will either be consumed with the love of God or the crap in the world.


The funny thing about what you are consumed with, is that you control it. I started to get consumed with having a great looking house and other things of this world because that is what I fed myself. Yes, I had some good moments with God in there and was still learning from Him. But in all honestly I was slowly filling myself with crap of this world. The time I spent with God vs the time I spent watching tv or movies or being on the internet is incomparable. I used all the free time I had to squeeze God in here & there between all of the worldly influences. It's easy when you're working, having class, and busy with church activities to blame the business on a lack of time spent with God. It's not so easy when you strip all of that away and still lack that daily time spend with God in your life. 


This lesson has been a humbling one for me and honestly I didn't want to share about it. I mean come on, spending time daily with God is like the #1 thing Christians know they are suppose to do. But still I find myself caught not doing it. And since I know that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God, maybe there is someone else out there who is struggling to make time in God's Word a priority on a daily basis. Maybe you need to ask yourself the same questions I'm asking myself. What am I feeding myself? What am I allowing myself to be consumed with? If I'm feeding myself with the things of the world, I will be consumed by the things of the world. I know that's pretty elementary sounding, but we miss it so much. I am so guilty. I fill my time with facebook, tv, secular music, and following celebrities on twitter and think it's not going to affect me. Thankfully God has used the truth of His Word to convict me and show me that I need to be more careful about what I feed myself. 


The sad thing is, I know this. I have taught lessons on this. I know I have to fill myself with truth and not be consumed by the world. I use Romans 12:2 so often when talking with others. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." So while I find this to be true, the more I spend time in God's Word the more I desire it. I also find this next statement to be true in my life. The more I spend time with the culture, the more I desire it. So maybe my problem with not spending the time I should in God's word is that I'm not desiring it. The problem is I am allowing myself to spend time being consumed with the world and that is becoming what I desire. It's scary how quickly we can fall into sin without realizing it. We have to be in God's Word so that we recognize the sin in our lives and can repent and God can continue to transform our lives. Here's some Truth found in Luke...


“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Luke 6:43-45


So I have to ask myself, what am I storing up in my heart? The truth is, it will come out. I think for most of us, the problem is not that we don't have enough time for Jesus, we just don't have enough Jesus. 

Day to Day

Well Steve & I have been married for over a month now and we are pretty settled in our new home. I suppose you could say the hype of the wedding, the honeymoon, and moving in a new house has settled. It's easy to want to live on a high all the time, but the reality is most of life is just day to day. Everyday is not filled with huge events or moments. But I have to say I really love the day to day life of being married. I love just living life day by day a long side my man. It's watching TV, eating dinner, having good conversations, leaving little notes on the refrigerator, working out, goofing off, disagreements that ultimately teach us a little more about the other person, watching movies, and even playing video games. It's having someone to support you even if you're just being an over emotional girl. More than those things, it's having someone to encourage you in your relationship with God. Someone to pray with and spend a life worshipping God with. Someone who pushes you a little closer to God than you were yesterday. I love the big event moments of life, but I pray that I don't miss the joy found in the everyday blessing of daily living.

Now I Remember...

Last night our wedding photographer, Noel Sapp, made a trip to Troy to hand deliver our pictures. We absolutely love them! He did such a great job! I'm so thankful for photographers. That day flew by so quickly it was almost a blur. Thanks to Noel, that day is back in focus for us and we can remember it for a lifetime! Here's a look at our wedding day...

something old (my great grandmother's handkerchief), something new (TOMS shoes),  something borrowed (a little heart I gave my mom when I was little), something blue (there was blue in the garter)

getting ready!

mom zipping me up

where do you wear your TOMS?

boys getting ready

before he saw me

"hey there..." :)

gotcha! :)

4 generations of women

all the girls

all the boys

the wedding party

the bride's family

the groom's family

ring bearer & flower girl

"here comes the bride..."

giving me away

we're getting married!

1st thing we did as man & wife was take communion & pray

"you may now kiss the bride!" yay!

Steve fist pumping for being married!

yay we're married!

bride's cake

celebrate!

1st dance as husband & wife

cake time!

let's dance!

my favorite pic

rings

another ring shot

we're outta here!

Time flies!

Wow, so as of yesterday Steve & I have been married for one month! It's crazy how quickly time flies! It has been a great month and I am so excited about the many more months and years we will have together. It's so awesome when you find someone you connect with so easily! Now, don't misunderstand, we don't always agree 100% and things aren't always perfect. I think we do a pretty good job of talking those type of things out and exhibiting some grace & mercy just as God has done for us!

We celebrated by eating at Santa Fe, topping it off with some blizzards from DQ, and then watching The Notebook. He picked out the sappy love movie of his choice, which was great because I LOVE The Notebook. More than that, I loved hanging out with my husband without any distractions and just enjoying each other!

Here's a quick look at our first month together...

We're married!!!

Honeymooning!

Getting all moved into our new home!

Watching American Idol & Sons of Guns

Cooking yummy meals!

Playing Call of Duty...yes I have even played some! haha

We started working out together! He's kicking my butt! haha

Our first month of marriage gets 2 thumbs up! :)