Justice for the weak...

I haven't really been blogging a lot lately because things have been kind of busy and hectic. The Millers are going through a lot of different things right now. Feeling like there is an enemy ready to attack around any corner! Wes and I have had discussion after discussion over how the enemy only attacks those who are fulfilling God's will for their lives. We have been very encouraged by our friends and family in that as well. We have been married for 4 months now and our life is made up of changes. Changes in schedules, changes in outlook, changes in attitudes, changes in friends, and changes in life. Between all the changes we seem to often forget that God knows each and every one of them before they show up in our lives. I know the Lord is constantly having to remind me of this. Sometimes He uses creative reminders but the majority of the time it is something as simple as His word. I was reading Psalm 6 today and verses 7-10 really jumped out at me.

"My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy, the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish, They will turn back and suddenly be put to shame." Psalm 6:7-10

Sometimes I feel very weak in situations. Like I can't express my self the way I want to and I can't make my point because I am worried about how it might sound. Because of that I tend to get run over by people who have more dominant personalities than I do. I let things build up and then I may not handle them correctly or I stumble around my words just trying to make the thoughts in my head seem valuable to the other party. I'm a non-confrontational person. I hate conflict! So dealing with conflict a lot of times ends up with me laying down myself or walking away from it and not dealing with the issue. A lot of times our enemies or foes can come in different forms. People we think we are close to, dissension within the body, acts of evil from strangers, situations within our jobs, not being able to express ourselves the way we'd like to, not having the things we feel we deserve etc. Foes can take on many forms and most of the time a foe is not a person but a situation. This can be hard for us as humans because we are constantly looking for someone to blame. Sometimes we blame ourselves, our spouse, our children, friends, a situation we are in, and even God. The truth is God is always our helper. This passage of scripture just reminded me today of how the Lord takes our "foes", whatever they may be, and destroys them with just his presence living within us. We are our own worst enemy because we dwell on all the things that are stressing us out or going wrong in our lives instead of dwelling in the Lord! We think that all of these things have piled up on us and God has just left us to deal with it, when really we have left him and are trying to deal with it on our own. It doesn't matter how I confront things as long as the center of my confrontation is Christ. Even when we feel we have done a poor job communicating it, God will get the point across for us. He will bring to light those things that have harmed us in situations and make them right. The same for us if we have wronged someone... it will be brought to light! In that instance we must humble ourselves and admit our wrongs to that person and ask for their forgiveness.

When we grow tired, anxious, or angry with our situations we must cast those cares on the Lord. When we do He will demolish all of our oppositions and use them for His glory.

I can't wait to share this with my husband tonight :)




Blessings....

Chalkboard China...

I am loving this post today from Joss & Main. . .

http://www.jossandmain.com/store/chalkboard-china.html

Remember, you have to be a member of the site to view the rest of the pictures so sign up today. Membership is free... Here are a few of my faves!

New furniture...

So our furniture is still for sale and has not sold yet but I have already found the perfect replacement! I love this Danielle Sofa from Ashley furniture...

Top 10 reasons why this couch is perfection (In no particular order):

1. It's purple

2. It's more compact than our last couch

3. I have been leaning toward a modern yet vintage style recently and I think this couch accomplishes that with the sleek lines and awesome fabric

4. It has a pretty fabulous price tag!

5. It has cute throw pillows which means less money on accessories to start with

6. It comes with a warranty that offers replacement and/or repair for pretty much anything for up to 5 years

7. It is a great fit for the cute set of accent chairs I have been eyeing at target.com for a while

8. We will finally have some color in our very cream apartment

9. Did I mention it's purple?

10. Wes likes it too!

Now, I don't pretend to be the most trendy person on the planet so I would appreciate your feedback on the colors. I have thought about going with a Khaki color for the accent chairs to throw some neutral tones in... comments!!!!

Furniture for sale...

So Wes and I have decided to downsize our apartment after 3 months of living here and by downsize I do not mean move... We are downsizing our furniture. We have a brand new couch, chaise lounge, coffee table, kitchen table and chairs and a few other odds and ins that will come later on. Here are a few pictures...

The idea is to get our aparment in a functioning state so we can actually use our 2nd bedroom for guests. We will be putting a lot of other things up for sale very soon.

Items to come:

Desks

Lamps

Clothing

MPC 500

Other decorative itmes

If you are interested in finding out prices or know of anyone who is, leave a comment with your contact information and I will send you the info.

Joss & Main

Posting on the go today but really wanted to share this site with everyone! Check out Joss & Main, a new website that gives exclusive, private sales events on premium brands for your home and life. Come find your joss!

http://www.jossandmain.com/store/myinvite/sFS

The pictures are in...

Brian T. Murphy, our amazing wedding photographer, has posted the pictures from our wedding!

Bridesmaids

Groomsmen

Flower Girls







Meme sewing a piece of Myomma's dress we had embroidered into my gown

Me and groomsmen

Wes and bridesmaids

In the elevator

Walking around before the wedding

Sweet friends praying for our marriage

Wes about to enter the sanctuary to see me for the first time that day

Excited to see Wes!

Dad and I walking to the front

Full wedding party

Wes and I right after the ceremony

Wes whispering to me

Getting ready for the reception

In the getaway car

First dance

Enjoying the band

Leaving for the honeymoon

To view the full album lick here then scroll down to the album titled wedding - jessica and wes

Fun in the sun...

Destin Beach, FL

It has been two wonderful months since Wes and I said "I do" and it has flown by so quickly. Between jobs, family, friends, THANK YOU NOTES, and weekend outings there hasn't been much down time.

With the 4th swiftly approaching the past few weeks have been super hectic. Trying to reserve a room for the pup was worse than trying to find a room at the beach for three married couples! Tying up loose ends with work was definitely a race to the finish line. One of which I finished via my cell phone my first day of vacation. However, Thursday night, July 3oth, We made it into Luverne from a 3 hour drive that somehow took 4 hours and crashed in my bedroom at my parents house anxiously awaiting the next day... family vacation in Destin!

My parents have been at the beach almost every weekend since the wedding and they decided to take the kids and their spouses with them for the 4th. How nice of them ;) After a good night's rest and a wonderful day of sleeping in and getting some last minute work done we were off to the beach with free gas provided by a beautiful, candy apple red Ford F-150. We all know what a blessing that is these days.

It was a relaxing weekend of cool water, blazing hot sun, and spectacular food. My dad even boiled shrimp one night, a Carpenter family favorite. Wes ate at least a lb by himself. One thing I will honestly say I have RE-learned since being married to him is the man is not at a loss for appetite!

We had a great time and didn't want to leave but never-the-less, it is back to the grind of everyday life. It is nice to take time out for a while and appreciate what you have. I have a new perspective this week on my life and the blessings I have been given. I hate that I take these things for granted so often but I thank God for the little moments to relax and enjoy them.





Hope you had a wonderful 4th too...

VOTE!!!

Hey guys! I have slacked a lot on blogging lately. Mainly because I have been looking at wedding photos that have come in. This photo has actually been submitted for Alabama Weddings Magazine's Real Alabama Weddings Competition. So really quick I'm shamelessly putting a plug in for our picture that is on their blog site...

To vote for us -- Go to our BLOG post on AWM website-Direct blog link: www.alabamaweddingsmagazine.com/blog/ and find our Image, Type VOTE or make a comment under our image!

Thanks for the support... We love you guys.

Blessings

Loving the song "Blessings" by Laura Story... very simple message but so true and I feel like it probably hits home for a lot of people. Learning so much about the blessings in my life right now. Counting them one by one...

Here is a little blurb of Laura sharing her heart behind the song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz9irePc-iI


as well as the full song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mmgV6mPvb0



Enjoy....

Life...

So recently The Millers have been a little out of pocket. This trying to balance life with another person thing seems to be a little more difficult than previous assumptions would let on! Between getting the apartment in functional order, my work on the weekends, Wes's out of town work trips on the weekends, and the little ins and outs of everyday life we feel like we haven't even seen each other since the honeymoon.





The past two weeks have been especially difficult for me because Wes has been swamped with work. We knew it was something that he would have to jump right back into but it is still difficult none-the-less! He was out of town from last Wednesday to Sunday morning and then flew out of town again Monday night and finally got back home this Wednesday night! What a week?!?! Being a newly wed and basically having to do that transition via phone conversations (very limited phone conversations) is not fun. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This weekend is MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!!!! Which means... 4 day break from work and life with a little trip to the lake. How fun!





But for this particular post, I would like to focus on last week and some of the things I learned while away from my sweet husband. First of all, absence really does make the heart grow fonder and I feel like I love him more today than I did yesterday.... which is saying a lot ;) Also, no matter how hard things may seem the hard times always come to an end and the time right after is the sweetest. Praying last week for my husband's safe flight to Tampa, then back to bham, then to Charlotte, and again back to bham was so encouraging. Not only did the Lord grant him safe travels but made his flights so easy. That is kind of hard to come by lately... if you are a frequent flyer you probably know what I mean. Just knowing that the Lord doesn't guarantee us another day or more time with our loved ones or even an easy life makes those times when he grants us those things even sweeter and I am so thankful for that.





I pray that for the rest of our lives God continues to make us take the time to realize how blessed we are. Even when life seems very difficult and those times come around more often than we like I pray that God would continually remind us that He, the Creator of the universe, is the one thinking for us and that nothing that goes on in our life surprises Him or catches Him off guard. He is always aware of what we are going through and is constantly working it together for our good. To shape us and mold us into who He has called us to be. Into a people that will bring glory to Him through all things.

Sneak Preview...

Here are a few of the pictures from our Wedding April 30th! Just a few teasers before the rest of them come in. Thanks Brian T. Murphy and Miana for doing such a wonderful job on these! So excited to see the finished product...

Check out T.Photographic for more information...