Waiting..

I am always waiting. Waiting for 5pm so I can leave work. Waiting for an email. Waiting for Summer to be over and for Fall to kick in. Waiting for my sister-in-law's wedding. Waiting for the weekend. I am always waiting for something.

When Tanner and I started getting serious and I realized he was the one I wanted forever, I couldn't wait for him to propose. It was like I was about to explode. Everywhere we went I drove him crazy with hints that I was ready to say YES any day now. It got so bad that he finally had to grab my shoulders and shake me (literally) in the middle of Wal-Mart and tell me that he got the hint, and if it was up to him he would have proposed yesterday, but "diamonds are a little out of the budget right now".  After that, I calmed down a little.....not really though, I just didn't mention it around him again. Instead, I would spend my Saturdays floating around in my best friend's pool, both of us daydreaming about our significant others popping the question (sorry Izzy!). And trust me ya'll, when he finally did ask me, I was so happy and ecstatic and felt like I had a million butterflies land on me all at once. I wanted him to propose so bad because for some reason I felt like if we could just be engaged, then life would start. Then we could have everything we'd ever wanted. But then I did it again........ I started waiting.

2 months later we were married. We just couldn't wait any longer. We both decided that a big wedding wasn't what we wanted, nor could we afford, so we invited a few of our close family members and were married at the beach in March 2014. It was absolutely beautiful and I wouldn't change a thing. But then it happened again............ I was waiting.  This time I was waiting for a house. I thought that once we were married and had our own house, then life would start. Then I would have it all. A husband, a house, a good job. A house was the final key because it was something of our own. But then life happened. Car issues, more bills, etc. Then, one Saturday in my best friend's pool, I had an epiphany.

Life is happening. Right now. Our first year has already had so many ups and downs that we can look back on and laugh. We've already made so many of our own memories as The Bright family. And if I don't slow down and try really hard to pay attention to what's going on now, I will spend the rest of my life waiting for the next thing to happen even though I have so many beautiful things already happening. I hate to use this cliché, but I really have to stop and smell the roses.

Weekend Bits & Pieces

What a busy past few weeks!! We are so blessed to have such good friends and family. We've gotten to hang out with some very special friends, see some out of town family, and lots more.


Last weekend, Tanner got his second win on the Downeast Amateur Golf Tour. Isn't he handsome?? Not to mention his trophy makes a great candy dish! I couldn't be more proud :)

Eastern NC has gotten some serious rain the past couple of weeks and what better way to spend a rainy Saturday than shopping? I got to spend all day with my mom and my two favorite girls in Raleigh. I found some major deals in Charming Charlie at Triangle Town Center.

 Wednesday night youth group has been deemed as "service night". This past week's service project was taking cards and cookies to various members of the community to show appreciation. First we hit up the hospital nurse's stations then we went to both fire stations in town. Everyone was extremely grateful, and the firemen even gave us a quick tour of the new station. It's amazing how much fun you can have spreading God's love.

 

 

 

Friday night we got to celebrate our friend, and my cousin, Kimberly's birthday with some pretty special people. We went to Sappari Japanese Steakhouse and, as always, the food was great and I ate way too much.

 

Saturday morning was full of errands as we awaited the arrival of some out of town guests. Tanner had a tournament in Clinton, NC so I got to spend the day with some of our family from Maryland and Virginia. We finally got to meet cousin Matt's girlfriend, Kellie, who we absolutely love!

Sunday after church Kimberly and I went to a baby shower and ate our weight in finger foods. There is nothing like a good veggie tray, am I right? Not to mention all of the precious tiny toys and clothes for the baby boy. Almost cute enough to make me want one...........................almost.



Too often do I stress over being so busy, and I let small worries become big problems. I get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of all the things I feel like I have to do, that sometimes I forget to enjoy the things I get to do, and it's been really great being able to spend time with friends, family and God. We are so blessed to be surrounded with so much love and we are so thankful for the life God has given us!

#blessed

Technically, there are no guidelines as to what we can and can't consider as blessings, however, I'm noticing more and more that the things people are saying their "blessed" with are material things. Forgive me, but I don't think your new Michael Kors watch is a blessing from God.

*****Disclaimer: This post is my own opinion and may sound a little harsh. And yes, it is possible to be a Christian and wealthy. End Disclaimer. *******

True Blessings:

Family
Friends
Spouse
Church Family
Jesus
Career
Significant Other
Talents
Education

Not Blessings:

New Cars
Large House
Beats headphones
David Yurman bracelet
3 karat engagement ring
Christian Louboutin heels
Good hair days
the latest iPhone
Nice boat
300 Twitter followers


Get the picture? Again, I'm not knocking being financially successful. In fact, if you used that financial success for the glory of God, then that would even be considered a blessing. You see, the problem with saying that we are blessed with material things is that we're giving the impression that unless you have these things, you are not blessed. And that's just wrong.While you consider your possessions a blessing, there are people in the world who consider just being able to wake up a huge blessing; due to the genocide going on in their country. And they would take one look at your Instagram (if they had access to the internet) and see the picture of your brand new Tiffany necklace with #blessed written underneath it and they would probably think that you were the most silly person in the entire universe and that you should go back to the Bible and see how the Lord would define a blessing.

To go even further, to consider yourself blessed because of your possessions is a form of idolatry, don't you think? If the material things we acquire make us happy, or so we seem to think in today's world, then maybe we should examine our hearts and rearrange our priorities. Think about Job. His wealth, his children, his health, his home. He lost it all. If we lost literally everything, but we still had God, we would still be blessed.

And because he still counted his blessings, even when it didn't seem like he had any, God blessed him with even more than he had before.

So, to conclude, count your blessings often, but be mindful of what is truly a blessing.