In lieu of Factual Friday...Wedding update!

Wedding planning is going well! I guess it's kind of a Factual Friday since it's a fact of my life. :) We're at 190 days now and most of the major players are in place. We have the locations, the photographer, DJ, wedding party, etc. Save-the-dates are going out soon which I'm very excited about! They look absolutely gorgeous. Major props to my friend, Becky, for taking the photos and designing the postcards and for putting up with my ignorance of graphic design. :)

Sneak Peek (this is not the final copy but close):

 

Isn't it lovely? :) Becky designed them and then we had them printed through GotPrint.com which I highly recommend. They do great work. They postcards are in pristine condition and were processed and shipped pretty quickly. They even provide an online proof so you can make sure that it looks the way it's supposed to. They do many different products from postcards to fliers to CD/DVD inserts and more. I printed all the address labels last night and will be picking stamps up this afternoon.

The one main vendor I'm trying to book ASAP now is the videographer. After a couple of days spent trolling the internet, searching websites, watching online samples, I've learned this: you CAN watch too many wedding videos. I think I've OD'd on wedding videos lately. I need to weed out those outside of our budget so we can book someone who does good work. Hoping to have it closer to being nailed down in 2 weeks time. 

Our menu tasting has been set as well for early May. Looking forward to tasting the delicious food at our venue, especially since we may not have much of a chance to taste it on the day of the wedding! Next up is booking the cake tasting with the locations cake baker. Looking forward that that one too. :)

Big news for the weekend: my dress shopping appointment is tomorrow! Dan's mom and one of my bridesmaids, Alisha, are coming into town this weekend to come with us. My mom, Dan's mom, Alisha, my sister Sarah (also a bridesmaid) and I will go dress shopping while my brother Josh and Dan go hang out for some guy time. Super excited that they'll all be here to look at dresses. :) I've been back on Weight Watchers for about a month now so I'm excited to see how I look in the dresses. Working on losing a few more pounds but definitely ecstatic about my progress so far.

Well, I guess that about covers it. Stay tuned for more wedding wonderfulness in the weeks and months to come! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Factual Friday: Olympic Glory

Fact: The Winter Olympics were first officially held in 1924 in France.

Not even a hundred years old! Compared to the Summer Olympics which trace their roots back to Ancient Greece, the Winter Olympics are fairly young. Now, to give them credit, their roots trace back to the Nordic Games, first held in 1901 in Sweden so the lineage is a little older than the official establishment of the Winter Olympics.

Watching some of these athletes is simply amazing. There are several times I have sat mesmerized, potentially with my jaw on the ground, watching what they make look so easy. Sometimes though my amazement is held by the intensely frightening crashes and falls. One of the female Swedish downhill skiers had a particularly bad fall Wednesday night, hitting her head on the ground behind her feet, running over a “gate”, and sliding for a long time. I was astonished that she walked away from it, almost under her own power, with no serious injuries.

But this is what they train for. They know their sport, their equipment, and their limitations. They know how to take a hit and get back up. In light of the death at the beginning of the Olympics, I think each accident/fall/wipeout has been more nerve-wracking than usual. But, again, this is what they train for.

So it should be with us. Several times, Paul described our lives and Christian walk as races.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Hebrews 12:1-3
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Whether you know it or not, you are in training. But what is the goal of that training? Are you just simply hoping to get across the finish line, not caring what shape you’re in when you get there? Or are you striving with your heart and soul and every fiber to do your best, to push through, to run the race in order to gain the prize? Welcome to the Olympics, my friend! :)

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

BookSneeze.com Book Review: “Redefining Beautiful: What God sees when God sees you” by Jenna Lucado

(This post is in lieu of my normal “Factual Friday”. Enjoy!)

Awhile back, I joined a book review program from Thomas Nelson that my best friend (and maid of honor), Holly, told me about. (The program recently changed names and is now BookSneeze.com.) She wrote a blog post about how you could get free books if you agreed to read the whole thing then post an approximately 200 word review on your blog and a commercial website (e.g. Amazon, Borders, etc.). I talked with her about it then dove right in, signing up and waiting for a book to catch my interest. Then, along came “Redefining Beautiful” by Jenna Lucado (with father, Max Lucado). It sounded like a good read so I signed up to read and review it.

That was back on September 15, 2009. Five months later, I have finally (!) finished the book and am ready to give my review. So continue, dear reader, for my first review.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

**********

Jenna Lucado’s book “Redefining Beautiful” wants us to define beautiful by how God sees us, not how we see ourselves. Jenna discusses throughout the book accessories (practical and attitudes) every girl can have that make her beautiful. She spends significant time discussing the most important person in a girl’s life for helping her feel beautiful: her father. Jenna points out that even if a girl’s father is absent, she still has a heavenly Father who thinks she is beautiful and is molding her constantly. She makes it a point to acknowledge all fathers are imperfect, but that God is the perfect father figure.

While the message is appropriate for all women, this book is geared towards the young adult demographic. Occasionally, it attempts to be too hip with its lingo, becoming comical. Personal stories are well utilized throughout. One of the unique features is journaling spaces. Jenna doesn’t leave her audience to ponder deeper questions, she gives them space to answer right then. I thought this was a great idea as it doesn’t leave the issue for later when you’re likely to forget.

Overall, a good read and good reminder that God thinks we’re beautiful, even when the world (or us!) tells us we aren’t. Highly recommended for middle school to college-aged young women.

Factual Friday: Through and through

Fact: Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

It’s amazing how detailed God’s creation is! A tiger is a tiger even if you were to take away all its fur. The pattern is imprinted on its skin. One cannot hide its identity as a tiger simply by removing the fur.

It’s kinda like when we say that beauty is more than skin deep. Who you are is not simply on the surface. Like the tiger, who we are goes deeper than that. It’s imprinted on our very being. But it’s more than just our physical beauty.

When God created you, it was in HIS image. That is something that we cannot avoid no matter how much we may want to. We cannot remove His fingerprints, cannot give back that part of us. He loved us enough to make us in His image. Who we are is beautiful and unique.

Think about that for a minute. YOU were created in the image of the God of the universe. He formed you and knows you better than anyone ever can or will. Nothing is hidden from Him. And He loves you immensely. So much so that He sent His son to be killed so that you could one day be with Him again (John 3:16). How amazing is that? :)

I pray, my friend, that today you may remember how special and beautiful you are just because you are who you are, not because of anything you’ve done. We will age and makeup will fade, but you will always be beautiful...through and through.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Photo Sneak Peek!

So I was working on a Factual Friday blog post that I meant to get up last Friday. I was going to put it up today but then I received some wonderful gorgeousness in my e-mail inbox yesterday that I just had to share! A good friend of mine, Becky, agreed to design my and Dan's Save-the-Date postcards. In conjunction with that, she followed us around St. Mary's City for several hours on Saturday snapping photos she could use. Here's a sneak peek at some of the wonderful work she has done! So excited to see the rest of them! :D

Near the St. Mary's College campus bookstore

Down by Church Point at St. Mary's City