01.03.15

January 3rd, 2015 

Truly the greatest day of our lives.  

So many people told me that my wedding day would come and go so quickly and quite frankly I dismissed their opinions; however, now I see the quickness that they spoke of.  The week before our wedding seemed like the longest week of my life.  We had so much left to do, but at the same time we had come such a long ways.  

On the Sunday before our wedding Joseph and I had decided that each night that week we would spend time doing something that we did when we first started dating.  One night we went to Koto's to eat. *Funny story - before we started dating Joe didn't like Japanese food.  He didn't want anything to do with it.  But in my family that was one of our more frequented restaurants so we introduced him to Japanese very quickly and now when we come home we HAVE to eat Japanese at least once per Joe's request.* The next day we went on a day date to Winston.  We had wedding errands to run and this was something we did with our families when we first started dating so it seemed appropriate.  Another night we spent at my house watching a movie in our computer room.  This was the spot where we always hung out when we were at my house so it only seemed fitting that we travel back to the computer room movies.  

The rest of the week was spent laughing about all the memories we have made over the past seven years and dreaming of all the memories we will make as we begin our new lives together.  Our time together ended Thursday night when his groomsmen and my bridesmaids starting arriving in town.  

Friday, during the day, Joe and his groomsmen spent the day playing paintball while my bridesmaids and I enjoyed a Bridal Luncheon hosted by some wonderful women.  
After lunch I was able to spend sweet time with some of my bridesmaids, my mama, and my MIL as we decorated for the rehearsal dinner and wedding.  The day quickly got away from us and that evening we found ourselves at the church rehearsing for what would be the greatest day of our lives.  

After the rehearsal we went to the rehearsal dinner and shared time with our closest friends and family.  It was a sweet time as we shared memories and many stories over the past seven years.  The night ended with many laughs, a few tears, and one last goodbye kiss between the Mr. and Miss.  

We said goodbye that night and went our separate ways.  He had a bonfire with his friends and me and my friends went on a little adventure with my daddy. 

(The best bridal party of them all)

On the eve of our wedding, I saw every single hour.  I don't think I slept more than one hour at a time.  It wasn't nerves, it was just pure excitement.  
I woke up the next morning with one of my best friends by my side, we showered, ran errands, and headed to the church. 
Most of my friends would tell you that I was in rare form that day.  I was very quiet.  I didn't talk much.  I was just taking in all of the excitement and preparing myself for what was to come. 

As the day quickly passed by I found myself spending my last few moments before I walked down the aisle with my daddy.  Those are moments that I will never forget.  We laughed, took some deep breaths, and of course we had to take a selfie right before the church doors opened. 

The back doors of the church opened and it was then that I saw my future, waiting at the end of the aisle for me.  With tears in my eyes and tears in his eyes it was the moment that we both had waited for for so many years.  

From that point on, it was magical.  There are no words that I could use to accurately describe my feelings or how perfect the rest of the evening was.  

The pictures are a good indication of how much fun everyone had, so without further ado... 

#PresentingTheParsons

(My beautiful cousins sang for us) 

(And my other handsome cousin surprised us with a very special song)

And we danced and danced and danced until they had to kick us off of the dance floor...

We never really understood how magical our wedding day would be until we experienced it first hand.  Everyone has told us that this would be the greatest day of our lives until we have children.  So we will hold onto the memories of this day and continue to name it the "best day of our lives" until the Lord decides to bless us with babes!  And if He is going by our schedule that won't be for a while :)

Joseph and I just want to take a moment to thank each and every person who shared in this day with us, from our family to our bridal party to our guests.  This day would have never been as amazing as it was without each and every one of you.  We are so very thankful for the companionship that we have in each of you and we are so excited to share the journey of the rest of our lives with you! 

To my mama and daddy: 
Thank you for the endless time and money that you sacrificed to give Joseph and I the day we truly dreamed about.  There is no way I could put into words how deeply thankful I am for each of you, but know that my love is endless and I'm so thankful to have you both as parents. I love you! 

A Season of Waiting

A Season of Waiting... Also known as finding P A T I E N C E 

In certain seasons of life I find myself having to remind myself that my life has already been orchestrated by the greatest creator and all the questions I have about life will one day be answered, but not until it is time.  At times in these seasons of life it feels that there is no way I will be able to plow forward, but it is with the help of my magnificent Savior that I am able to press on.  

Have you ever felt like that? 

You're not alone. 

It seems as if this season of impatience in my life has been here for a while and I don't foresee it going away anytime soon.  I believe that it is something we all deal with every single day; however, some situations are more serious than others. 

I have to find patience in my relationship with Joseph. 

Patience in school. 

Patience with my patient's in the hospital. 

Patience with my spiritual walk. 

Patience with friends and family. 

And patience in just every detail of every day. 

To me, it seems as if this is one of the most difficult Fruit of the Spirits to possess. 

But with the hand of God placed upon my life, I have seen many wonderful things happen. 

In the quiet moments of life, when I am trying to plan every detail, is when I hear God simply whisper, "wait". And when I surrender my plans to Him, he takes what I have longed for and either simply blesses me greater than I ever imagined or He simply shows me that my selfish wishes are not necessary at this time in my life. 

The truth is, not one single accomplishment in my life has come without trial or suffering. 

• My relationship with Christ has not always been perfect. There are times when I miss my quiet time during the day or when I would rather sleep than wake up and go to church BUT through faithfulness, prayer, and repentance I have come to a place in life where I realize that I cannot do it on my own. There have been times when I have questioned God, wondering if he is really there and if he really cares about me and every single time, He comes through. I have to patiently rely on the presence of my Savior or my days will be trying and heartbreaking.  
• My relationship with Joseph has pretty days and ugly days. If I'm being honest, this man has shown me what true patience is all about. This is the raw and unedited story of our lives- we fight and we argue and we disagree on many things. But the beauty of our relationship shines because we have prayerfully become patient and accepting of the other. It has taken us many years to get where we are today and many times we questioned if we would make it to see another day with each other. But that is the beauty of Christ and the beauty of our surrendering our relationship to Him. He took each of us, sin and all, and over time has molded us into exactly who we are supposed to be. I have prayed for this revelation and it has taken endless days, months, and years of patience to see the end result.  I am so thankful for what God has done in our lives and thankful that the day we have patiently waited for (for many years) will be here in less than 3 weeks!
• Finding patience in nursing school has been a big hurdle for me. I never thought I would see the day that I actually was able to apply to graduate, much less apply to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. But with patience and guidance from Christ, I applied to graduate last week. Talk about a blessing that has stemmed from having practicing patience! 
• Lastly, one of the most trying situations to find patience in is when I am taking care of very sick patient's in the hospital. Finding patience with my patient's. At first I thought this would be a really hard task after having patient after patient who was constantly on their call bell or complaining because they don't have a good enough pillow or complaining because they are in so much pain. But this is what I have learned- we are all humans and we all can be annoying at times. But my patient's in the hospital are in an extremely vulnerable state. They are sick and helpless and they are depending on me to care for them. It is my responsibility to treat them as if they were my own family member. Thinking about someone caring for my family member with the type of attitude I had at the beginning humbled me REAL quick. 

So today and everyday I choose to practice what I know to be true - the art of waiting and being patient comes from having faith in Christ because he has already gone before me and made a way for each and every detail in my life. 

Here are some ways that I have found help me in my seasons of waiting and I challenge you to try them if you are in a season of waiting now:

1. Have a quiet time and pray out loud each day. Find a time during the day that works best for you and just sit alone with your bible. Find a devotional that you like and read through it. Start a prayer journal so you can keep track of things and people you are praying for. Use this time to vent to God instead of calling your best friend. It doesn't have to be a long period of time, but enough time that you can cast your cares upon him. 
2. Keep pushing forward. Never ever ever give up. Understand that God has already prepared a way for you and he is just waiting for you to be obedient to him. There are times when it seems as if life is at a standstill and these are the times that you need to spend more time with God and push forward ever harder. If you do your part, what God has called you to do, then He will finish the rest. 
3. Expect that God will do great things in your life. If you truly believe in Christ then you should understand that God will always provide. It may not always be what we want personally, but when God provides he provides what he knows is best for each of us. 

James 1:2-6 tells us that the "testing of faith produces perseverance".

 Strive to be all that you can be -- in the trials of your life practice patience and understand that God is there every step of the way. 

A Birthday Post

Yesterday morning I was reminded by my darling fiance' that I had not updated the blog in a while.... so, here I am!
  I actually have a couple blog posts that I could write, if only I could find the time to translate the words from my quiet time journal to the computer.  I will work on getting everything together and writing some updates within the next month or so! 

But on to more important things!

I secretly think that Joe reminded me about the blog because he wanted his own special post but little did he know I already had one in the works.  

So, my words today are for my best friend, the birthday boy.  

So many times this past week I have found myself repeatedly thanking the Lord for another year with my precious fiance'.  So often we get into a daily routine and never realize that we are taking so many things for granted until one day it is like a slap in the face and we realize God is "shaking" us saying "Hello! Wake up!" Or at least that is how it is for me.  But one thing that I truly try not to take for granted is the love that Joseph shows me.  Each time I pray and thank the Lord for him I am constantly reminded of the million and one reasons that I fell in love with him.  He is gentle with me and so lovingly tells me when I need to get myself together when I am in a tizzy.  He has the most perfect, forgiving heart.  He calms me like no one else can.  He is open and honest with me about what is going on in his life.  He has a sense of humor that could make a brick wall laugh.  His passion for the things he loves is intoxicating- if only I could bring myself to love hunting and fishing.  And his good looks are only an added bonus.  

I was blessed with the complete package. 

Joseph, 
You, my love, are truly a gift from God and I can only pray that I imitate your Christ-like actions day in and day out.  I am so thankful for another year, a thousand memories made, and trillions of laughs with you.  21 proved to be an awesome year, but I believe that 22 may be the best yet!  I wouldn't choose to spend this crazy and exciting life with anyone else.  
Thank you for being my perfect companion and continuing to choose me after all these years.  I am honored to live life with you and to be able to call you my husband in a month and a half.  I hope today, and this year, is everything you wish for it to be. 

Happy Birthday my love! I cannot wait to celebrate YOU all day!!

(These are pictures on Joe's birthday over the past few years!)

Hope

Hello, sweet friends. 

It has been a while since I have sat down and poured my thoughts into a blog but as my thoughts are beginning to overflow out of my tattered notebook I realize that it is time to share once again. 

Each day I sit down and spend time growing in the word.  Some days I simply dwell on bible verses that are applicable to what I am going through in life and other days I focus on my daily devotional.  But no matter what, each day, I write down the things that I am learning about myself and my walk with Christ. 

However, lately I have found myself caught up in a whirlwind of emotions that I cannot begin to explain.  Some days I feel like darkness has encompassed my life and other days I experience pure bliss.  Every day people are telling me that this should be the happiest time in my life; after all, I am planning a wedding and nearing the end of my undergraduate degree, but that is not necessarily the case.  When I allow worry and anxiety to creep into my life, my whole demeanor changes.  I have learned a lot about my walk as a Christian through these personal trials which has shown me how to appropriately face each day with a positive attitude.  

Seven years ago if you would have told me that this is the dream I would be living I would have told you that you are crazy.  

At that time in my life Joseph was only an acquaintance, albeit a cute one.  We were only friends and had no idea where the high school/college years would take us.  I surely didn't think I would be getting married at the ripe 'ole age of 21 (but SO thankful I am!) 

Also at that time in my life, anything and everything about hospitals absolutely freaked me out.  I did not do throw up (still do not do throw up), I did not do blood, and I definitely did not do dirty diapers.  Funny how when we say NO, God says YES-- look where I am today.  I am dealing with each of those things every time I step foot in the hospital.  

It is extraordinary how much change has taken place in my life over the past years, but the one thing that remains in me and the one thing I encourage you to hold on to is H O P E. 

But for me, holding onto the gift of hope also means dealing with a lot of the dreaded anxiety.  How does that work?  I am hopeful that God is using me and doing a work in my life every single day, but I am also anxious about the things that have yet to come.  I think that this has something everything to do with my OCD/having to plan everything/controlling personality. But as a Christian, God commands me not to be anxious.  

1 Peter 5:7 clearly tells me to "cast my anxiety on Him because He cares for me".

Jeremiah 29:11 is also an everlasting promise that I cling to, tightly. 

However, if I'm being honest, I would tell you that the anxiety and fear of the unknown has encompassed more of my life than the HOPE that I should be searching for. BUT every time I turn to my Heavenly Father I get a glimpse of that HOPE that I long for every day of my life.  That HOPE graces me with thoughts of the life ahead of me: my Christianity and the privilege that I have to share that with anyone and everyone, the nearing of the end of my undergraduate degree and the hope that this time next year I will be a nurse, and the most wonderful thoughts of the life that my fiance' and I will begin to share on January 3rd, 2015. 

If I'm being honest again I would tell you that although I am a little bit nervous for this next phase in my life, I am also a whole lot excited for the things to come.  I am excited for my Christian walk and my faith to grow.  Joseph and I have talked multiple times about how we feel a calling of some type of ministry on our lives.  We do not know what, where, or why we feel this way but I do know that together we will be faithful and serve wherever the Lord leads us.  The thought of sharing the gospel and reaching out to others while standing beside the man I love brings pure joy to my life.  I am also excited for the career that I have been working on for the past 3 years.  I can't wait to be a nurse and to reach out to people every single day.  I am excited to be a part of their care and to help give them HOPE about their future.  Lastly,  I am extremely excited and overjoyed about becoming one flesh with the man who knows and loves me more than I ever thought I needed.  I pray over our marriage every single day.  I know that there is no true way to ever prepare myself for what is to come, but I like to think that I am doing the best that I can.  What I do know is that our marriage is going to take work, but I also know that it will be worth every second, every dispute, every miscommunication, and every tear that we share.  We have been together for six years, and we both agree that we know each other pretty well.  But we also know that marriage will teach us things about each other that we have never known.  We know there will be hard days (we are two sinners who are beginning a life together), but we also have HOPE that there will be quadruple the amount of happy days that there are hard days.  In the last few months of our "singleness" I have HOPE that we will strengthen each other for what is to come.  I trust that we will grow a little more together in our faith and continue to have boundaries set to deter any temptations that we may face.  I have HOPE that this life we will create together will be the most wonderful thing we will ever experience aside from the day we found our salvation in Christ.  

I have HOPE that no matter the amount of worry and anxiety I let Satan bring upon my life, the amount of joy that I will receive from Christ will be tenfold.  As Christians it is our responsibility to declare Satan out of our lives.  If we are living for Christ then there is no room for Satan.  

Turn your face to the Lord and allow him to show you his mercies every single day.  Even when your life seems dark (as mine has been at times) find time to present yourself to the Lord and he will greatly bless you.  

When you are not spending time with the Lord, find time to do something that brings comfort to you.  For me, writing is the second best thing to help me get rid of the stress in my life.  The first, of course, is talking and sharing my feelings with Joe.  Find someone who will listen to you and love you no matter what you say.  Find someone who encourages you in your darkest times of life.  Find someone who will hold you accountable and tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.  If you have that one person you can turn to then you have a true friend.  

PS- I am always here to talk to anyone who needs encouragement, support, and prayer. 

Thank you for taking time to read this blurb about HOPE.  This is real people.  Although I do live a very blessed and happy life, this is the raw and unedited side of things.  I struggle each and every day to make the right decisions but I also serve a Father who is full of forgiveness and love.  

You are loved, 

Chaselyn