Women of Joy Conference Recap

I have had the most amazing... life lately.  I almost don't even want to write about it...because writing it all down means that it's past-tense stuff.  And I'm just loving living in the moment...  However, moments like these deserve to be documented.  

 Several months ago, my daddy had this great idea that my mom & I invite his mom to come to a Christian's women's conference with us.  Just to let you know why this is important as briefly as possible, there have been some problems between my mom & her MIL and during wedding planning, there were some problems between my grandma and I as well.  Daddy felt like his mom may have been saved as a child but he wasn't sure.  He wasn't raised in a Christian home and questioned whether or not either of his parents were Christians.  So, we did invite her and were excited about hopefully burying all of our hatchets and maybe even exposing my grandma to the gospel in a new kind of way.  Fast forward, and my grandma came to EVERY NIGHT OF REVIVAL two weeks ago.  She brought her Bible.  She seemed happy to be there.  This was a huge deal because she has always been a Sunday-morning kind of person.  Needless to say, we were all thrilled that she was coming to Revival.

Fast Forward again, and it's Friday - time to go to the conference!  We leave as soon as I get off of work, pick up my grandma from their beach house, and head to the conference.  We got there a little late, but were still able to participate in the praise and worship time led by Charles Billingsley.  I'd never heard him (or head of him) before, but he is an amazing musician and worship leader!  Amazing.  He has such a tender heart for the Lord and was honest.  He talked about how the traveling parts of his job are hard because they take him away from his family.  He mentioned a friend of his who is a pastor who is resigning because of an affair he'd been having.  Y'all know I'm all about people who keep it real, so I really liked Charles Billingsley.  Then, we listened to Carol Kent share her testimony.  She had an amazing story about dealing with the pain of having their son in prison for murder...she was so amazing to listen to.  Then, we left and checked into our hotel for the night. 

Saturday morning, we had more praise & worship with Charles Billingsley.  Amazing, again.  Then Sheri Rose Shepherd spoke.  She might have been my favorite speaker.  She's a former Mrs. America who used to be overweight.  She was gorgeous and funny and real.  At the end of her speaking time, she had us all stand up and say our wedding vows to Jesus.  She had a table set up, like the other guests, and I got a "wedding ring" to use as a witnessing tool.  Also, it's super cute and will always remind me of the amazing weekend we had. 

Then, we had a bit more music-time with Charles before getting to my favorite lady at the conference, Anita Renfroe.  Anita is a Christian comedian!  LOVE!  She is so spunky and I could related to many of the things she joked about.  :)  I thoroughly enjoyed being able to laugh at clean humor with my mom & grandma.
After the comic act, we had the afternoon to spend doing anything we wanted.  The conference was in Myrtle Beach and we've done about everything there is to do at the beach.  We decided to try something different and we went and painted pottery!  :)  I've painted pottery before, and I love it!  My mom and grandma had never, but we all enjoyed it.  I can't wait to get our pieces back.  :)  In perfect timing, we were done and headed to go get dinner with the other ladies from our church attending the conference.  Then, back to the conference for a concert that was SO GREAT!  Mandisa sang first, and she was absolutely stunning.  She has a set of pipes on her and she sang for the Lord!  Next up was Brandon Heath.  I really fell in love with his sound and can't wait to download some of his tunes!  :)  After the Saturday night session, we all went to I-Hop for dessert and coffee.  Except it started pouring down rain and we all looked like drowned rats.  It was a had-to-be-there type thing that had us all laughing.  After we stuffed our faces full of sweets, we all retired for the night.  My mom & grandma got ready for bed, and then I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.  When I came out, they were talking.  And they made up that night - both of them apologized.  My heart was so full...
Sunday morning, back to the conference to hear Thelma Wells speak.  She was a hoot!  She spoke about grace and mercy, and shared some of her life story.  She was a funny & godly women and we all really enjoyed listening to her and learning from her.  
***
Then, Sunday night I was back at our church where I presented all of the information about our own conference to the congregation.  Everyone clapped, but clapping is easy.  Being involved takes work...so we'll see how it goes.  :)  
I later found out that during revival, my grandma rededicated her life to the Lord and I couldn't be happier!  I know for a fact now that I will see my grandma in heaven and nothing compares to that joy.      
My heart is full...God's blessing are so good.  I'm a happy girl.  Except that my husband won't stop dipping. & I'm keeping my kisses away as motivation but it's not really working... :/  Other than that...everything here is GREAT! 

Coo Coo Kachoo, 

Mrs. Robinson

Part Six: Family & Wedding Party Pictures

[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four] [Part Five]

Or, you can just click the "All About Our Love" tab up at the top to read our love story from the very beginning!  :)  

The Wedding was over and we were man and wife!  We made our way down the aisle and had a family & wedding party photo shoot before heading to the reception.    

Our sweet flour girl, Gracie, got all upset.  Apparently she was crying during the entire ceremony, but was able to hold it together.  She said that now that I'm married, we'll never see each other anymore.  I, however, think that she knew her mom should have been there for this.  Gracie's mom passed away from breast cancer in 2009.  Regardless of the reason for her tears, I love this picture of me comforting her.  :)  She wasn't in most of our group pictures as a result, though.

(L-R)  My Sister, Mom, Husband, myself, and Daddy

The Bride and Groom, Parents, Both Sets of Grandparents, & Flower Girl/Cousin

(L-R) Groom's Mom, Groom, Bride, and Groom's Dad

(L-R) Groom's Nana, Groom, Bride, Groom's Dad & Mom

 We got married just before the Pinterest wave hit, so I'd never seen any of the quirky family portraits.  All of our after-the-wedding photographs were nothing out of the ordinary, but they're classic and timeless.  We didn't want to spend all of our time taking posed photographs, so we instructed our photographer to take several group shots and to focus more on candid, action shots during the reception.  We are very happy with the pictures we have with our family.  They may not be anything weird or new or quirky, but everyone looks happy in front of a gorgeous, Southern backdrop and we were able to focus on spending time with our guests rather than posing for thousands of pictures.

Before - How - After {Jesus}

Testimonies always start with how a person was raised.  So, I'll start there.

Before  

For the most part, I was raised in a Christian home.  My mom was a Christian - she took us to church and kept us involved.  My dad didn't go to church until I was a little older, but later he became a strong Christian and has even served as a Deacon.  I am my parent's firstborn child.  I'm also the oldest grandchild.  My family had high hopes for me and there was a lot of pressure to make everyone proud.  I was baptized as a young child because I didn't want to be the last kid to go forward at church.  Nothing too out of the ordinary with my upbringin'.  When I was in the 8th grade, I got my first kiss and smoked my first cigarette.  I was the new kid at school and loved all the attention I got.  I think I sort-of got addicted to the shock-and-awe attention from my classmates.  Fast forward to high school.  I lost my virginity to a boy I knew I'd be with forever, except forever only lasted a year.  I dated a string of boys and men, and get deep into the party life.  By 15, I was smoking cigarettes, sneaking out, drinking daily, drinking and driving, sleeping with my boyfriends (some my age-ish, some adults), lying to my parents, cussing like a sailor, smoking pot, taking prescription pills, going to parties... it was all so easy to get sucked in.  I lost a lot of friends...a lot of girls talked bad about me.  I went to a church camp in the 10th grade, where I felt God speaking to me.  I rededicated my life and even got baptized again - I wanted it on the correct side of my salvation.  But..it didn't stick.  It was too easy to have "fun."  People from school called me a slut, a drunk, a party-girl, a pot head.  It hurt, but I was having fun and just called them "jealous."  My parents and I argued all the time, about everything from grades to where I was, who I was with, and the boys I dated.  College was the same.  I was always skipping class to get drunk or high.  I dated another string of boys.  I started selling pot to make some extra money on the side.  When my parents found out I was teaching my sister everything I knew about buying, selling, and smoking pot...the gravy train ended.  They stopped paying my rent, stopped giving me money at all, and said they would no longer be paying my tuition.  I deserved it...but I was so angry at them.  Our relationship crumbled, and so did I.  I dropped out of college, started waiting tables full time at Ruby Tuesday.  I pretty much stayed in a stupor for a while...I used a variety of drug and alcohol combinations to stay numb.  Eventually, I met Mr. Robinson.  We fell in love and I knew if I had any chance of holding onto this guy, I would have to change my ways.  He was, after all, a Christian.       

How

Mr. Robinson taught me all about unconditional love.  He loved me even though I kept hurting him and pushing him away.  He tried to talk to me about Jesus all the time, but I didn't want to hear it.  One night, when I was at a low point, he invited me to church with him.  I accepted, even though I was terrified.  My parents came to go to church with us, and gradually the relationship I had with them improved.  Mr. Robinson made me so happy...he made me realize that the only reason I felt like I had to stay drunk or high was to forget my reality.  If he could be reality, I'd have nothing I needed to forget.  I stopped smoking pot and partying.  I told him that I loved him and meant it.  I already knew he loved me, but he said it back anyway.  We made it official - we were "boyfriend and girlfriend" after almost 6 months of him trying to woo me and me scampering away.  He gave me a journal and I started to pray and read my Bible.  I asked God to forgive me and I started to work on the relationship I had with Him...and on all the relationships I had damaged over the years.  Again, I lost a lot of friends.  My drinking buddies and drug dealers didn't think I was much fun anymore.  My definition of fun had changed without me even knowing it...  Within two weeks of us being official , we were planning our wedding.  :)  Another two weeks, I had an engagement ring.  God used Mr. Robinson to bring me back to Him.

After

I did so many things that I regret.  I'm thankful for where I am now, but there are so many mistakes in my past I wish I could have avoided.  But Jesus claimed my sins as His own and God forgave me.  I read my Bible because I want to.  I have a desire to learn more about God, to learn from the people He inspired, and to better myself.  I pray all the time - for others, for myself, and for my marriage.  I say thank You for the things I am thankful for and I love on the people I count as blessings.  I love going to church and being with with like-minded people, instead of dreading it like I used to.  I listen to the Praise and Worship channel on Pandora and praise God while I get ready for work.  I encourage other people, I invite other people to church because I want everyone to experience God's love, and I use the talents that God blessed me with for HIS glory.  When I'm upset about something, I pray.  I read my Bible.  I seek God.  I don't get drunk or high.  I ask God to be my strength and to get me through anything I go through.  I have faith that someone smarter & bigger than me has a plan for my life.  I know that there is a bigger picture out there that is fabulous, even though I can't see it.  I know that I have nothing to fear and I know who is in control.  I know that no matter where I am, who I'm with, or what I'm doing...God has given me a how-to manual.  I have peace, and it is well with my soul.  

  I hope that you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.  It has completely turned my life around and it truly does make all the difference!  If any of y'all have any questions, I'd be happy to share my knowledge and experience with you - leave a comment or e-mail me at MyNewWifeLife@aol.com.

Our Usual Fights {After 6 Months}

Maybe it's just a Robinson thing, but we seem to have the same fights over and over.  Marriage is a challenging and beautiful mess, and we're still learning our way.  We'll probably always be learning our way, but I thought it'd be interesting to write a post about what our current most common fights are.  Like I said, we seem to have the same fights set on repeat for some reason.  My mom says that her and my dad still have the same fights they've been having for 20+ years, and maybe all marriages are like that.

Some are petty and silly.  Some stay light while others can get pretty heated.  In any event, these are the fights we've been having up until the 6th month mark:

• Housework & Chores:  My mom, in my opinion, is close to perfect.  She also has a pretty ideal lifestyle - she's a housewife with a wealthy husband.  She spends her days cleaning their home, cooking amazing foods, working out, taking care of all the bills, reading her Bible, etc.  I grew up in a spotless home.  Absolutely spotless.  My mom is a clean freak.  My husband and I are living in the house I grew up in.  Except it's not so spotless anymore, since we both work 40+ hours a week and still try to find time to read our Bibles, remember to send off our bills on time, take care of the dog, juggle church and our other responsibilities, and I try to exercise.  Our plates are full, and all I want is to go to sleep every night in a clean house.  Oh, and I want my husband to help my achieve that.  We fight about chores all the time.  I hate how much I nag him....  I cook dinner, all I want is for him to help wash the dishes.  When we first got married, I wanted to clean the house little by little every day so that we would have our weekend set aside to relax and have fun.  He preferred that we use Saturday's as our housework day.  Except now that we spend every Saturday cleaning the house, he's decided that it's not necessary to sweep/mop/wash-dishes/clean-toilets/etc. once a week.  I can not get him to do yard work.  He has cut the grass a few times, but there are weeds everywhere, the bushes and hedges and trees and everything are out of control.  When he gets home, he checks the mailbox and brings the mail inside.  But instead of putting the mail away or throwing out the junk mail, he leaves piles of paper all of the kitchen counter.  He doesn't throw anything away.  I'm getting off track.  The point is that having a clean home is important to me.  It is not important to him.  We argue all the time about this because he either doesn't help, refuses to help, argues with me about why such&such doesn't need to be done, or complains about having to help.  And just so that y'all don't think my husband is the bad guy (because he really is a wonderful man & I love him very much!)...I turn into a big, fat, nagging wife.  Hence, the fight.  Which brings me to our next fight...     

• Why Do I Have To Ask You For Help?:  It drives me nuts that I have to ask my husband to help me do things.  I spend an hour cooking him dinner.  I get everything ready, fix his plate, hand him silverware, tell him what we've got to drink.  And he fixes his drink.  I just spent over an hour preparing a dinner for us.  Be courteous and fix us both a drink.  Does that make sense?  Or when the clean towels are in the dyer, we both have to shower to get ready for work, and he brings one towel into the bathroom.  This fight or always me fussing at him...it all boils down to I feel like I carry more weight than he does & shouldn't have to ask for help.  So I nag, fuss, complain and a verbal fight breaks out.  This one's probably our most common & most heated....probably because it always comes AFTER the first fight I mentioned, meaning that tempers and emotions are already running high.    

• Mr. Robinson's Compromise:  Whenever we talk about compromising, it seems like it's me asking my husband to compromise with me.  As a result, he naturally feels like I never have to compromise with him - which makes him less likely to willingly or joyfully compromise with me.  He doesn't see the compromises I make because I don't mention them or draw attention to them while I'm making them.  For example...he loves my spicy chicken nuggets.  He could eat them for dinner several times a week, while I would be satisfied with eating them once a month.  However, I cook them once a week anyway.  I don't say to him "Honey, I'd like to point out the fact that I'm compromising with you by cooking chicken nuggets for dinner.  I'd rather have {fill in the blank} but I'm cooking what you want instead.  I'm compromising...keep this in mind!"  I firmly believe that this has everything to do with him being an only child and me being the oldest sibling.  To be honest, it's probably a combination of us both being right.  We both compromise...I compromise often without calling attention to it (but not as often as I should/could), while expecting him to compromise all the time (big sister syndrome).    

• Visiting Other Churches:  My husband and I both adore our church, but occasionally he wants to go into the "big city" an hour away and visit larger churches that have a different type of worship service.  His favorite is a church that is quite similar to a rock concert...and I hate it.  I feel that it's irreverent and it makes me miss our home church.  Not to mention, I feel like as members of a church 5 minutes away from our home (and with it being a church we love and are very happy with) we have no business waking up an extra hour and a half early to go visit a church we aren't going to join, especially if I don't get as much out of that type of service.  

• I'm Sick of Boy Movies & He's Sick of TV Shows:  This one explains itself and is 100% two-sided.  I am always sick of watching boy movies, he is always sick of watching TV shows.  My Side:  Let's just watch an episode of Law & Order: SVU or House, fast-forward through the commercials, and it takes less than hour.  Then we can watch another episode or something else, or find something else to do, or go to sleep! His Side:  There are so many movies that you need to see - all you've ever watched are chick flicks.  You're missing out on some really great movies - and we watch SVU all the time.  Let's do something different.  And back & forth, back & forth, back & forth.  I feel like we should watch a show that we both enjoy rather than watch a movie that only he will enjoy.  However, my argument is void because he's sick to death of SVU & House.  

I love my husband and he loves me.  We don't hate each other, we don't fight all the time, and we have plenty of good days.  Both of us are committed to surviving every fight.  I'm sure this post implies that we fight like cats and dogs...but our reality is that we are two imperfect people who had one perfect day on September 10, 2011.  We looked our best, dressed our best, and acted our best.  It was perfect..

  "My New Wife Life" is a blog about our life ... after I took off my wedding dress &  after he took off his tuxedo.  And sometimes it sucks, because it's anything but perfect haha.    

On My Heart..

Still not ready to post about our vacation...so I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that it might be a while before I can upload the pictures onto my home computer, edit them, upload them into Blogger, and write about the details.  But...it's coming.  

After spending 7 full days with my sweet hubby, I've really been missing him since we've gone back to work.  We met at Ruby Tuesday...we were coworkers.  And sometimes I really miss the "olden days" of us working together and being together all the time.  Call it unhealthy, call it a "phase" that will go away over time, but I could be with Mr. Robinson all day every day and be happy as a clam.  Over the past few months, I guess I've adjusted to spending our days apart from each other.  We both have full time jobs and various obligations/commitments during the week that keep us busy.  After taking a "vacation" for 7 days and spending every waking moment together...I miss my husband.  And I think I'm a little sad about the fact that I've adjusted to our days apart.  I suppose there aren't many married couples who spend all of their time together...but we used to.  Maybe that's why we knew so quickly that we wanted to get married.  We knew we could work together and play together...we knew that we loved each other.  & we're living happily ever after.  I know it's completely natural and healthy for couples to spend time apart...but I just enjoy our time together so much that'd I'd be happy if we never spent any time apart.  

We do spend time apart, though.  Even thought I miss him when we aren't able to be together 24/7, sometimes I receive blessings when I'm away from my husband...blessings that I wouldn't receive otherwise. At our church, a group called Mission Sisters meets once a month to focus on community missions.  And we eat yummy food.  I am, by far, the youngest in the room, but those ladies bless my heart repeatedly.  Last night we had our monthly meeting, and when I left I was floating.  God works on us through our mentors, and if you don't have a godly woman in your life acting as a mentor, you are missing out.  I am so significantly blessed to have a handful of Christian women who I can look up to, depend on, and fellowship with.  I enjoy being a part of a group of women who can step on my toes and bless my heart all at once.  

Source: teen-beauty-tips.com via Melissa on Pinterest

I need to be doing so much more for His Kingdom.  There are people that I need to confront, love, and invite to church.  Instead of reaching out, I ignore it all and eventually forget that something pulled at my heart in the first place.  It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day.  It's even easier to use that as an excuse for not doing something.  I am the absolute worst when it comes to justifying why I did something or why I didn't do something.  Last night, at Mission Sisters, I was pretty much called out on my junk.  Not directly...nobody called me by name and pointed out my flaws or anything.  The lesson really stepped on my toes and opened my eyes to the fact that I'm being too passive about things and that as a Christian, it's not acceptable.  Often, I'm afraid of making enemies or ruining relationships so I don't say anything.  

Take my sister for example.  She's a good kid, a good daughter, a good student.  All of those are things that did not describe me when I was her age.  She's a freshman in college and has the whole world at her fingertips or feet or earlobes or whatever body-part you associate with this particular saying.  She's not making bad choices, or as far as I know she's not, but that doesn't make her a Christian.  She loves and respects our parents, but that doesn't make her a Christian.  The truth of the matter is this:  I know that my sister is a good person.  I have no clue if she is saved.  Or if she has been saved, she doesn't take it seriously.  She isn't in love with our Savior and she isn't passionately seeking Him and His perfect will.  And last night I learned that it's not acceptable for me to be passive about my sister's salvation.  She's part of me, and her soul, her eternal salvation, is worth me risking our current relationship.  She's my little sister.  I'm supposed to take care of her.. 

      

It doesn't stop with my sister.  Where is my passion for people?  I don't get to pick and choose who I witness to.  I don't get to pick who I invite to church or who I reach out to or who I pray for.  It's not my church.  It's God's church.  And I've got to stop only inviting people to church if they look like me, or act like me, or have things in common with me, or are related to me.  What about everyone else? 

These are some of the things that are on my heart today.  I want to be a better Christian, and that means being a better relative and a better daughter.  It means not being afraid of rejection or "ruined" relationships.  When I die, I will be held accountable for everything I did...and for everything I chose not to do.  I want to finish well.  I want to be regarded as a good and faithful servant.  I don't want to spend eternity explaining to my perfect, Heavenly Father why I didn't find certain people worthy or worth the risk of sharing Christ's love.