Greater than Great

Psalm 89:1
1 I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

I feel like there is no word in the English language or probably any language to describe how great our God is. I have been pressed to think about this recently as the Lord has been doing the most spectacular things in our lives. I just can't hold it in anymore. I have to write and share about what we have been experiencing. I shared with our egroup that I was worried about getting a house. I've never wanted a house. I've pictured myself in an apartment in Europe forever. Isn't a house too worldly? Being planted in the USA of all places seemed scary to me. Well, here we are. We are set to close on our house in ONE WEEK. I've been praying that if it was the wrong move or too permanent, that God would show us. We hit some bumps along the way. So, I want to share how God has proven his faithfulness and sovereignty in this process. In order to make it short and sweet, I'm going to do it in a list:)

1) House is pushed back to August 20th.
2) We find out the next day that we need A LOT more at closing.
3) If the house had not been pushed back, we would not have had time to save.
4) While trying to save, it came down to tithing and other offerings vs. groceries and gas
5) Tithing continued and groceries went on credit cards
6) The perfect amount we needed to close on our house fell in our lap. Like manna. SERIOUSLY. CRAZY. That story will remain a secret. Sorry!
7) I call to make a payment for one of B's student loans. They said I had paid too much previously and that we owed $0.00!! WHAT. I've never overpaid. THERE IS NO WAY.
8) I go the doctor. My co-pay is close to $100. When I went to check out, they said I didn't owe anything. They have a special contract with my insurance company that will only let me pay so much. I am still super confused about that.
9) Groceries and gas on credit cards are being paid off much quicker than originally planned.

Things like this are continuing to happen on a regular basis. I want to make it clear that God has not provided for us because of what WE did. HE is growing our faith through his provision and through his word constantly. He planted us here. In the Steele Creek area of Charlotte. It has become our ministry. We love it. Thank you Jesus.

Two Years!

Today we celebrate two years of marriage! I am so thankful for my husband. The Lord uses him to speak truth and love into my life daily. I have been reflecting a lot the past few days on our history together. Bradley and I met at UNCC because we were both involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. A few months later, some guy friends moved into the same apartment complex as some of us other girls from CRU. It made for some great times of fellowship. There were nights that we would get together and worship. Sometimes we would play games or watch movies. It was definitely a very special time in my life. One of those guys was Bradley! By November 2009, we had caught each other's eye. :) We spent 8 weeks during Summer 2010 with very little communication while I was in Italy/Slovakia and he was in East Asia. Once we were reunited, we knew we never wanted to spend time away from each other again. Just a few months later, we were engaged! So, that's our love story in a nutshell!

Some major events from our second year of marriage include:

-A trip to Slovakia (my favorite place on Earth!)
-A hospital stay from a nasty flare
-Graduate school started
-Bradley was accepted into the CMPD police academy
-We signed a contract to build a house!
-Bradley graduated from the academy! BIG YAY!!!!! I am one proud wife!
-We bought a new to us car (not wanted or planned-yuck)
-I finished my second year of teaching

This has been a VERY exciting and big year! I can't wait to see what the third year brings!

I was looking through some wedding photos...

Practicing for the big day

 

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Morris

Our beautiful cake.

 

 

 

Love my daddy!

 

Really missing this!

 

 

 

Such a wonderful time and a wonderful two years!

 

 

Itsy Bitsy Spider.

WARNING: If you don't like nasty bug bites don't look!:)

One afternoon, I was sitting in a meeting in a science classroom. I felt something bite me on the foot. I smacked my foot and a little brown spider fell on the floor. My friend killed it. I didn't think a thing about it. Several days passed. The week before EOGs, I noticed that I started to feel very achy. I thought I must have pulled several muscles or something even though I really hadn't done anything. Friday morning, I woke up with my thigh feeling like someone had punched it. I still had not really put the pieces together. I didn't think there was any way that a little pink bite on my foot would cause me to feel achy and have swollen lymph nodes. When I went to urgent care, I had a fever. They convinced me that it was indeed the spider bite causing me to be sick. I ended up on two high powered antibiotics and dealing with a fever for 3 days. Here are some pictures from the bite's progression. It is all better now:)

Just a few days after the bite

After one day of antibiotics

A few days in, it started to ulcerate.

Then it turned very blue

 

Eventually it healed and formed a scab.

 

Isn't that WEIRD and GROSS?!

 

SO. What does any decent teacher do? Make it a teachable moment.

 

After EOGs, I decided to dedicate a day to dangerous insects of NC. There are some NASTY caterpillars around here guys! Anyways... I thought this foldable title was cute!!!

 

Building an idol. Oops, I mean house!

Over the past four months, we have waited, hoped, and prayed for our home as it being built. There have been many ups and downs in this process. For example, today we found out we make too much money for the loan that we had been initially approved for. Bradley was still in the academy and they do pay them a little more when they get out. Now we have to apply for another loan that is less young couple friendly. When we received the news, I was furious. WE make too much money? Is that a joke? This is how the government thanks us? Grrrrrr. I laughed. I cried. I panicked. Yesterday, we found out that builders around the city are struggling to build houses quickly this year due to weather and a shortage of workers and our house will not be ready until mid-August. I cried. I got angry. When Bradley got home from work yesterday, I asked him how his day was. He told me he saw a dead body. Yes. That is weird that we discuss things like that but we are weird after all. I asked what happened. He said a girl texting crossed the center line and hit an older couple who had just celebrated 40 years of marriage and were on their way to breakfast. The impact killed the older woman. Bradley shared a few other details which brought me to tears. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. What am I doing? I have made an idol out of my house. I think about it all of the time. I can't wait to drive by and see it. When I thought I might not have it or not on time, I lost my mind. Then I began to sulk about how bad I am. I'm such a sinner. Blah Blah Blah. But I reflected on something David Platt says in his book, Follow Me. It's dangerous to stay in that place for long. When we make the decision to follow Christ, we die with Christ. We die to ourselves. We are raised to life IN Christ. It's sort of like a house. When we are raised to life, it's like a lot being prepared for a structure. Over time, a structure is built. Piece by piece. Eventually it will become what the architect designed but it's not easy. There are ups and downs and things that don't pass inspection and need to be worked on again. I am thankful for what the Lord can teach us in this life. I am thankful he doesn't leave us an empty lot but builds us into a pretty house that is strong.

 

 

"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."
Ezekiel 36:25-27

Blessings!

As I type, my sweet husband is on the way to his first day (or night!) of work as a police officer. He graduated yesterday as part of the 164th class of the CMPD traning academy. I am so proud of him. He has endured six months of intense academic and physical training. He went from being a college student to a lean mean fighting machine before my eyes! I can't help but be so incredibly proud of his dedication. I can't even describe how blessed I feel. The Lord has provided everything we need and more. He knows how to give to his children! A year ago we weren't sure if we were going to go overseas, join Campus Crusade, or some other endeavor:) The Lord made it clear that he wanted us to serve the people of Charlotte. Both of us. The Lord has open to door for us to share the gospel and minister to many people around us. He has provided an awesome church with people that push us closer to Him. I have never been one to give up control easily. However, I have learned that if you let go and trust, He will provide and it will be better than you could have ever imagined! I promise.

I am so thankful for the leadership of these two men in my life. They point me back to Christ when I am ready to give in!

A Loving God.

"One of the most unloving things God could do would be to allow you to live in sin and operate under the illusion that you’re still close to Him." -Pastor Steven Furtick
 
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4: 14-15

The Lord has been bringing to my attention over the past six months or so that I was becoming a bitter person. It wasn's something that I allowed everyone to see and I often didn't feel the need to open up that part of me to anyone other than my husband. When I would hear the word bitter, I would coil up and almost feel sick because I knew it was true.

The truth is, we live in a sinful world. Even people we expect to be the most uplifting will hurt you. People can cut so deep you feel like you will never recover. Not only do people hurt me, I am guilty of hurting people as well. Everyone has hurt someone else's feelings whether it was intentional or not.

After seeking the Lord for months, the time had come for the nasty and hard part. That is called forgiveness. I call it nasty because it can be hard to admit you still need to forgive someone when it has been months or even years of consistent hurt. I knew that I was close to the Lord working a miracle and the Lord rescued me from my bitterness after listening to message that I know the Lord prepared for me to hear on this day.

Pastor Steven Furtick preached a sermon series called How To Hug A Vampire. We have all been vampires because we have all hurt people. Pastor Steven invited Mark Driscoll to come and share a word in May 2012.  I listened to the message again this morning and heard these awesome and weight-lifting truthes.

1. You either choose forgiveness or bitterness
2. Forgiveness is a miracle-it's not something you do for someone else. It's something that Christ does in us and through us.
3. Bitterness is a tree-it has roots that must be dug up
4. We can't do it alone

Forgiveness is:
Not pouring out your wrath on someone else
Being set free from their offense and setting them free
Wanting the best for the other person
It's all through Christ

Forgiveness is Not:
Denying the sin
Forgetting
Reconciliation-things may not go back to the way they were and that is ok
It's not regaining trust

I feel like often times, we as believers say, "YOU must forgive others!" and we leave out the part, "You must forgive others and it can only be done through Christ and it is a process." It was also such a relief to take the pressure off of myself to make things "normal". That is not a truth about forgiveness. We can cause ourselves a lot of anxiety if we put that pressure on ourselves. The Lord has the power to restore, but it's up to him and it MUST be done through him.

I know this revealed a lot about my heart but it's so good for the soul to recognize sin. I am so grateful that the Lord loves me enough to call me out on sin and not leave me the same! Praise Jesus!