I asked my husband to write a post on marriage from his perspective.  I love reading this because it gives me insight into how he thinks, as a man and a husband.  I hope this will be enlightening to all my lovely lady readers, as you see into the heart of the person dearest to me.  Thank you for writing, Joshua!


Year One:

This is not Jaimie. This is the husband. My name is Joshua as I am sure some of you know. I am 21, a student like Jaimie. I am studying history, theology and education. Some people don't understand why anyone would choose to do a triple major but, I just couldn't choose between them. 

As I stated I am married and am enjoying it. Many people have told me that I will not think so in a few years. I disagree. While I may not have the same relationship with her then as I do today, that was kinda the point. As with all good and worthwhile things, it is meant to mature and adapt. 

Anyway, a while ago a certain personification of beauty of heart, mind, and soul asked for my opinion on our marriage and if I would write about it. So here I am. What do I think about Marriage so far? I think we need to see marriage as an ever changing experience and a journey (or voyage). I do believe that we need to prepare ourselves for the changes and troubles that the world will throw our way. Also I believe that not every change is a trouble.

There is no relationship that gives me more drive, but yet it takes the most energy to keep healthy. For instance I hate doing housework, absolutely hate it. I wish I had a maid. (I'm joking; the idea of servants is scary.) However I do not expect my wife to do the housework all the time, especially when we have children later, so although I hate to I do help in the kitchen and around the house. I love how she has such a servant heart and how well she loves me. In this way she gives me more desire to serve her. 

Another thing I like to remember for myself, is how marriage is not two good people living good lives; it's a couple sinners supporting each other and helping bare that sin. Even though we strive to do the best we can we often fail. Along with this we need to remember that though we are sinners, we've been forgiven and have a new and great life in Christ.

So from the Bible, God's word, we draw our strength. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "A cord of three strands (Jesus, Joshua and Jaimie), is not easily broken." So we will never have a problem too big for us, because us includes the creator of the universe and everything in it, including marriage. 

So happy anniversary baby girl. I love you. 

One year ago today,

we made promises to each other and to God...

And exchanged these...

And asked God's blessing on our marriage...

To become who we are today:

married-one-year

husband and wife

best friends

lifetime partners

a team to serve God

lovers for eternity.

I could not have imagined the sorrows and the joys,

the incredible blessings,

the hard things and the easy,

the amazing life that God would give us

in just this first year.

When people ask how married life is, I tell them,

"It's the hardest and the best thing I've ever done."

Nope, marriage isn't easy.

But it is good.

And it is so worth all the struggles

for the countless moments of happiness

that result from working hard

and especially from God's grace to us.

I love my husband more now

than I thought would be possible a year ago.

And I know

that with God continuing to bless, keep, and teach us,

the love between my husband and me

will keep growing every day.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called

children of God!

...Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God,

because God is love."

-1 John 3:1; 4:7-8

I apologize for the poor picture quality...my computer doesn't like uploading the high-quality photos our photographer took!

Lessons from Ivy

Just a happy little list of what was done in the Ramsey apartment today:

-cleaned and organized the pantry shelf (I wish you could see!  I'm so excited!)
-de-greased and de-dustifiied the top of the refrigerator (yes, dustified is a word).  Vinegar and baking soda are magical.
-cleaned the microwave, in and out
-roasted a chicken for supper (and the leftovers will provide the basis for at least two meals! yay!)
-making chicken stock (the carcass from the chicken is in the slow cooker)

There was also an incident involving a very large insect (I'm convinced it was a cockroach; Joshua doesn't think so and I do want to believe him, but it was so very big and black and crawly) which had somehow gotten into one of my flower vases that I store under the kitchen sink.  My hero of a husband disposed of it down the toilet and sanitized the vase.  I hate bugs.  Especially big ones with way too many feet and antennae.

Long story short...it has been a lovely Saturday so far.  And now I'm going to reward myself by watching Julie and Julia, a lovely movie (starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci!) about two of my favorite things: cooking and blogging.

Have a happy, blessed, Christ-filled Sunday!!

Sometimes I find it hard to really rest.  Have you ever felt like that?
My mind is constantly in motion, thinking of everything I want to do and especially everything I need to do.  Right now it's a variety of cleaning and organizing projects that I want to get done, and every time I sit down that what I'm thinking about: I could be cleaning out the cupboards right now.

My friend Sara and I were talking about this just yesterday, in anticipation of the upcoming school year.  Both of us have a bad habit of over-scheduling ourselves and then we get to busy with the things we have to do that we don't have as much time for the things we want to do--especially rest.

"Sleep is overrated," we say jokingly, but sadly enough, we often believe it.

It's one thing to rest my body, but it can be so much harder to rest my mind.  Even when I'm not doing things, I'm thinking about things, and stressing about finances, future, scheduling, meal planning!

This weekend we're going on a short getaway for our anniversary.  I know how important it is to take time to get away, to focus on our marriage and our friendship, to just spend some time out of the house.  We've done this a few times in the last year, one of them being on our Thanksgiving trip to see family.  Another time was during Christmas break, when we escaped to a cute little bed-and-breakfast just a couple blocks from home!

My sweet husband reminded me yesterday that sometimes I need to rest my mind, too--clear my head, not think about things that cause me stress, and to focus on the good things, instead.  I know that when I think about everything that God does for me, it's much harder to be worried, stressed and anxious.  Blessings cancel out stress and worry.

Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience posted a link to this prayer today.  The sentence that hit me the hardest was this:

"Help me live this day at the pace of grace—no faster or slower."

 The pace of grace.  I love that.  I take it to mean that we should make the most of each moment, and take each moment as it comes.  We shouldn't spend so much time focusing on the past or the future, but on how God is showing his grace to us in every hour, every minute.

God is eternal.  He is past, present, and future.

We're not.

When I focus on what God is blessing me with--in every moment of every day--worry has no room to be in this busy head of mine.

I can rest in Him.

My soul finds rest in God alone,

my salvation comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

image found here

I firmly believe that everything in our lives happens for a purpose.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:28.  For some comparison, here are three translations of the verse, thanks to www.biblegateway.com:

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁸ We are assured and know that [^[a]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

Footnotes:

Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts read, “God works all things with them.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, ^[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Footnotes:

Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good

New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together^[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Footnotes:

Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts read And we know that everything works together.

My NIV Bible reads, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  This is my favorite translation, along with the NLT, because of one thing: Those versions focus on God working.  Yes, everything does work out in our lives for good--but it's not because of luck, or some unknown force.  It's because of GOD.  It's important to remember that we might not understand why he allows certain things to happen.  God does not cause evil.  Evil is a result of the work of Satan and every person's own sinful nature.  However, God sometimes allows evil to happen because through it he can work good.  We may not see at the time why certain things happen.  We may never know why it was allowed.  But we can trust that God worked some good out of it--because he always does.

Specifically today I want to talk about how God brings people into our lives to fulfill his purposes for us.  Two dear friends of ours, Joseph and Ruth, are moving away to begin a new chapter in their lives.  We've been good friends with them for just over a year: Ruth and I met and became friends in January of last year, and it's gone from there.  They and we were engaged at the same time, and we got married just a couple of months before they did.  We have that kind of friendship where everyone can be themselves and not feel judged in any way; we all love each other for who we are.  We've been there for each other though the first year of our marriages, encouraging each other, praying for each other, and just being there.

It certainly hasn't been perfect.  We all communicate in very different ways, and although we learned that and understood it, sometimes that caused misunderstandings between us.  But that's what forgiveness is for.

Ruth and Joseph have been an incredible blessing to Joshua and me in so many ways.  Just having friends who understand this first-year-of-marriage thing has been a huge gift.  We're not as close with any other young married couples around here--although I do hope to become better friends with some other people over the next months.

I believe that God places people in our lives because he has something he wants to tell or teach us or of which we need reminding.  With friends like Joseph and Ruth, and my friend Sara, some of those things are pretty obvious.  God reminds us that he is always there for us.  That he will always provide.  That we are precious to him.  That we are loved even when we feel most unlovable.  That we don't have to hide who we really are.  That the way he created us is the way he wants us to be.  That he still has so much he wants to do in our lives.  That he loves us, more than we could possibly imagine.

I am so thankful for the friends that God has placed in my and Joshua's lives.  Some of them are just for a time.  Others, I think, will last for years, perhaps even our whole earthly lives.  Ruth and Joseph are two such friends.  I take great comfort in knowing that, even if we don't see each other very much any more, we have eternity to look forward to--all of us together, in the presence of God.