I'm Getting Married!!!!!!!!

I knew of Chris from high school (Teenworks) and even though we were in the same graduating class (2005), we didn't hang out in the same friend group at the time. Teenworks planned a senior trip to New York City and that's where I met my best friend, Emily (Humphrey) McCarthy. She played a major role in our relationship. 

Emily knew Chris pretty well through her then boyfriend, Steven McCarthy. Even though Chris and I both don't really remember getting these photos taken, there are multiple pictures of Emily, Chris and I hanging out together in NYC on the senior trip!

In 2008, Emily married Steven (yay!). Chris was a groomsman for Steven and I was a bridesmaid for Emily. I'll never forget the moment right before I was to walk down the aisle in front of Emily when Chris pointed at me and said that he was for sure going to dance with me later at the reception. That dance with Chris was very magical and I remember falling asleep that night thinking of it. The next day the bridal party went and watched Emily & Steven open presents and that's when Chris asked me for my phone number. After the wedding we talked and hung out for about a month, then life led us both in separate ways and we lost touch.

Fast forward to March 2014 and Emily and Steven are having their first child! It was at that same time that Emily ran into Chris's mother, Donna, after her baby shower and heard that Chris was doing very well for himself. He was working at a new job in Grand Rapids, was involved in a great church in Ionia...and that he was single. This got Emily thinking...

Knowing our history and how much I liked Chris when we originally hung out six years ago, Emily decided to let me know how Chris was doing. I was very happy to hear that he was doing well, but when Emily suggested that I'd reach out to him, I said no because at the time even though I was single myself, I wasn't looking for a relationship. About six months later, Emily suggested again that I reconsider because she saw on Facebook that Chris had gone to one of my favorite coffee houses (The Lantern). I prayed and thought about it for five days then I took the leap and Facebook messaged him! After that I refused to look at my Facebook for at least three days after that because I was too nervous! Well it was worth the wait because on the third day when I checked my Facebook he had written back! He had waited three days so that he could pray and think over things as well. Two weeks later we went on our first date. 

From the moment Chris responded to my message early November 2014, I don't think there's been a day that we haven't talked to each other. He is my everything and I can't imagine life without him. God used that six years of our lives when we were a part to shape and mold us. The night of our first date in November when Chris was telling me of how God has been working in his life, I was speechless and knew that I didn't want to let this man go. Two days after our first date on November 24, 2014, Chris asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes. December 8, 2014 he told me he was in love with me. Friday, July 3, 2015 he asked me to marry him…these will be dates that I will always hold dear, but they will never amount to the magnitude of the day that I marry Christopher Cunningham on December 5, 2015!!!

-The Future Mrs. Christopher Cunningham!

Love is...

Last night I drove home from my parents house after we spent the day at my Great Grandma Sutliff's funeral. All I could think about was who do I want to be? Grandma was 107 and lived on her own after her husband died with very little to no ailments. Grandma was sharp and knew how to play Euchre like nobody's business. But the best part about Grandma was her character. She was the epitome of 1 Corinthians 13:4-9...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

 

I will truly miss you, Grandma, but I know that I will see you again since you are with Jesus.

-A

It All Adds Up

Change is something I have a hard time grasping onto - either in the cold hard cash form or when life throws a curve ball at me. Not all change is bad, though. You all know of the bucket list that I've been working on and I'm happy to report that I have been able to cross another item off the list: getting my finances in order. I did this by enrolling into Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and it was one of the hardest classes I've ever taken.

If you're like me, you break out in a cold sweat; feel like puking or running away to a remote desert and sticking your head in the sand when you hear this word: budget.

For five straight weeks this is how I felt every Monday night knowing that class was about to start and we'd have to talk about our budgets. Not fun. But I stuck with it and by week six, I had finally gotten the hang of Dave's way of budgeting and felt like I was on top of the world! Tomorrow will mark the 9th and final class and because of the class, I am a changed person where my finances are concerned. 

If you're struggling with your finances at all, I highly recommend this class. Here are four reasons why:

1) Its Biblical Based...

Dave Ramsey really gleans from the Bible and draws all of his lessons from scripture. Praying about your finances and putting God first and in the center of them is really the key to getting things in order. Not just in a monetary form, but in life as well.

2) Dave Ramsey is real and honest...

He did not come up with this program for his own benefit; he truly wanted to help others. He wanted to teach people how to get out of debt, because he has been there. He went bankrupt and was able to get out of debt by following God's principals regarding money. 

3) It's simplified into 'Baby Steps'...

There are 7 Baby Steps that are to be worked through at a slow pace. I did not really understand this until about week 6, but Dave really does break it down so getting out of debt is doable. It's really true the tortoise wins the race in the money game.

4) If I can do it, you can do it!

Every month I was coming up short on my budget. I did not understand my spending habits at all and was shooting in the dark most months. It was a very stressful way to live. When I started the class the instructor had us tell one thing we hope to accomplish during the course of this class, I admitted that I was a horrible at making a budget and needed desperate help. Now that I know how to budget and stick to it I no longer use a credit card!

Also, God will bless you and help you save money when you make a point to follow his way of managing money. Last March I hurt my foot pretty badly running in a 4 mile race. It was still hurting last month and I made a doctor’s appointment to get an X-Ray even though I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for it. That next Monday I sat next to a new guy in class and asked him where he worked and it turned out that he was a foot doctor! I politely asked him about my foot and he examined it right there on the spot and gave me the good news that nothing was seriously wrong and that it was just a slow healing injury. I was thrilled and cancelled my X-Ray appointment the next day! What an answer to prayer!

Some of you may be fellow Taylor Swift fans and know that her new album came out October 27th. Well, because I'm sticking to my budget, I couldn't buy her album and I was quite sad, but I accepted it. I thought maybe someone would get it for me for Christmas. Then a week later, without them knowing I was trying to save money, two friends of mine thought it would be a good idea to give me the new Taylor Swift album! I cried I was so touched and excited! I am so glad I didn't fall into the temptation and spend out of my budget zone and buy the album. 

So the next time I'm tempted to go out of the budget zone, I'm going to 'Shake It Off' save the money and if you listen closely, you might hear some loose change in my pocket ;)

-A

A Year In Review - Happy Anniversary to my Blog!

Last year in October I started this blog. I started it after I prayed the dangerous prayer that whatever God saw fit to remove and/or bring into my life, that He would do it. It was also after that prayer that I knew it was time to quit Facebook (for seven months)...when I got more into Twitter and Instagram...when some friendships ended and new ones begun...when I really started getting more involved in my new church family...and when I started living my life and relationships more intentionally and chronicling those experiences here on my blog.

In my very first entry I wrote about my fun filled vacation to visit my best friend, Emily in New York. It was a fun entry but I couldn't let it slip that she and Steven were expecting their first child together. That was a hard secret to keep in! The news of Albert (not yet born at that time) came as a shock to me. I was used to most of my friends being married and some even had kids, but Emily and Steven had always been just Emily and Steven. I wasn't quite sure how this would change our relationship. Then on May 31st, Albert Gregory came into the world and honestly, he has enriched Emily and I's friendship. It's hard to describe, but I cannot for the life of me picture a world without him in it. If you're single and your friends are either getting married or having babies and you're worried that it will change the friendship and that they won't need you any longer, that is not true. If they're good friends, they will still include you in their lives. Yes, it will be different, but don't give up on them and the friendship. They are going through one of the biggest changes of their lives and need your support and understanding more than ever.

I mentioned above that God brought new relationships into my life and that would be from my new church home, Immanuel Lutheran. This was far beyond the best decision God lead me to make. I was an attendee of an non-denominational church for four years since I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to follow in my family's footsteps and become a Lutheran. The Sunday I turned 26 I decided that it might be a good idea to check out a local Lutheran church and give it a try. I found Immanuel and never left! It's there that I have met some of the most amazing mentors and made solid friendships. One of my greatest joys was sharing to a co-worker about my new church family and watching her make the decision to also become a member! I encourage you to find a solid Bible teaching church and either join or attend regularly and make those same solid relationships. Being that my family is not on this side of the state, it has helped me still have that family atmosphere.

One of my mentors at church told the story of her divorce during one of the Bible studies I attended last year. After she was done, we thanked her for sharing since it must be hard to do. I'll never forget how she responded that God had healed her enough now that she can share it like she was "describing a bag of chips" to us. She had completely moved on from the hurt and pain and accepted her new life and the blessings God brought into it (she had remarried a wonderful man). During the course of this past year, God decided to remove a few relationships from my life. Life is messy. I don't always know what God is doing in my life when painful circumstances like these happen. It's hard to trust that He is doing a good work in my life. That's why I decided to have a vinyl of my favorite verse (Psalms 27:13-14) made and put it on the wall in my bathroom to see every day because one day, I'll be able to talk about my hurts like I was "describing a bag of chips." Jesus never said life with Him would be easy, but He did say that He'd always be there to help us through.

As writing relationships go, I met bloggers Amy Kessler and Lisa Anderson at Pursuit 2014 and what encouragement I got from them! It's because of Lisa's transparent message at Pursuit that allowed me to acknowledge God's grace in my life when I fail or when relationships sour. It brought me peace. And Amy! The fact that she loves cats and that we found out that we shared the same internship program in DC was thrilling enough! Then she offered (and continues) me some great writing tips. What a fantastic and memorable weekend that was for me! 

Oh and let's not forget the wonderful and talented concert that I got to go to with Bethany: NICKEL CREEK! Ahhh!

And to you, the reader, thank you so much for reading my blog! Thank you for hanging in there with me when I was just learning the ropes (still am!). My main goal is still to inspire and encourage you to build a meaningful relationship with God and others. I hope to continue blogging for a long time to come and that I build relationships with people through this blog.

-A

#ArtPrize 2014

It's here again! The 5th season of West Michigan - ArtPrize. This will be its sixth year in Grand Rapids and I love this time of year because I get to watch downtown Grand Rapids come alive with the hustle and buzz of a real city. Here are some pictures that I captured of the season.

Horse outside of the DeVos Place

There are four stunning glass blown lamps located in the B.O.B.

This is one of my favorite shots...you can even see the glitter in the wood grain

Me & Miss Alyssa

Turtle Girl!

This mans wood carvings made it into the top 20! This turtle here weighs 50 lbs!

-A

#MackinacIsland in Pictures

My parents and I stayed on Mackinac Island for a night and we had such a blast! I think my favorite thing was seeing the little island bats sleeping in shop doorways and riding our bikes to Arch Rock!

Where did you vacation this summer?

My bike!

 

Getting closer!!

View from the water taxi

St. Anne's Church 

We didn't stay here, but it was very pretty

Missionary Bark Chapel

Harbour View Inn - where we stayed!

Isn't it Grand?

I love my Daddie!

Little Stone Church

Arch Rock

-A

When Stars Fall

You don't get the job... A loved one dies far before their time... You feel lost and alone... You get your heartbroken... Your best friend moves away...
These disappointments and harsh reality checks happen to you and to me.

"Do Not Tremble or be Dismayed. For the Lord Your God
is With You Wherever You Go." - Joshua 1:9

Chills. He, the God of the universe...the creator of the stars, is with me...with you. It's overwhelming to think about, especially after I spent last Sunday at the beach watching the sunset with my family. It was a glorious sunset, but the real show was when the stars came out. We all just laid there as my sister pointed out different constellations. I like to think that God put those stars there in the heavens to remind us of His presence to comfort us when we go through hard times.

Recently I received some news that left me feeling discouraged. A day after I received the news, I got a very encouraging and loving email from a dear friend of mine. There was also the time when I got lost while vacationing in Colorado. I didn't know where or how to get where I needed to go and I was scared. But just like Joshua 1:9 says, He would be with me "wherever I go" and just like that, He provided a really nice lady to take me where I needed to go.

I don't know what you're going through in your life in this moment. But know this: Jesus is with you. After all Jesus warned us that we would have trouble on the earth, but to not lose heart because He has overcome earthly troubles, even though we still feel the pain (John 16:33). I encourage you to cling to that hope. Don't give up.

-A