Wow... Just wow

What a crazy weekend!! God did amazing things, as always. We celebrated birthdays, miracles, sacrifices, old friends, weddings, and family. We are SO blessed. It would take forever to tell you about everything, so here's a recap:
Congrats, Jamie and Benjamin!
Happy Birthday, Hope David and London Bohl!
It was great to see old friends...
Thank you, Father, for your huge miracles that come with our tiny sacrifices.
Thank you for the most amazing family and church body.

Today we ran 12 errands on my last Monday off for a while. After prayer, seeking counsel, and looking at an impossible budget, we have decided that I will begin substitute teaching on Mondays until we are more financially stable. I am a little nervous- subs are usually terrorized and gived many discipline problems. However, I used to be a teacher and I really miss the kids... so this is a great ooportunity to reconnect, make new connections and maybe even make a difference in their lives. So many of them come from such broken, abusive, empty homes and their teachers are the only smiling, positive people in their lives. I pray that God will use me to be a light on the campuses- to the students and the faculty. I have such a heart for hurting kids and I know that God will give me the strength and patience I need for this new adventure.

Keep us in your prayers. We love you all!!!

Another great scripture

So, there's another great scripture that I can't get away from that I wanted to share with you.

Deuternomy 28:1-8
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

I just think it's pretty cool that if we do what God says, he blesses us in every way of life, AND protects us from our enemies. I mean... He is God, so He probably knows what He's talking about. I don't know why I argue with Him so much.

I am really excited about this weekend. We have so much to do! Tomorrow we'll start things off at morning prayer to wrap up a great week of really pressing in to seek God's will. Tomorrow night we have Jamie's rehearsal dinner and I have a bachelorette thing. Saturday we have Chris' little cousin's birthday party, London Bohl's birthday party, then I get to go do make-up for Jamie's wedding, then watch her get married and we can dance the night away! Then Sunday is Miracle Offering so we are going to all three services and Fall Fest that night.

Check out healingplacechurch.org for more info on our Celebration Weekend!!!

Morning prayer at HPC

For those of you who haven't been able to make it out, you still have two days to participate in HPC morning prayer! God has been doing some great things in my heart as I just continue to seek His face and His will. With Miracle Offering this weekend, Chris and I have been praying a lot about what God is calling us to give, both with this offering and Chapter 2. I have been reading some great passages on finances, but theres one that has really been hitting me hard.

Malachi 2:8-12 says "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

This is SO strong! To think that I could rob God scares the daylights out of me! I would hate to steal from Him when He has given me more than I could have ever asked for or imagined! In the scripture He also says to test Him. I may be wrong (all you bible scholars can let me know), but if I remember correctly, this is the only time in the Word that God tells us to test Him- which leads me to believe He must be pretty serious! If I just act obediently and give Him what He asks (and what's already His anyway), He will pour so much blessing on me that I won't have enough room for it?! I don't know about you, but that offer sounds pretty good to me!

So, this week, I pray that God speaks to you and me about what He expects of us financially. Let none of us rob Him of what is His. All of our tithes and offerings are different and cannot be compared... What matters is our obedience to what He puts on our hearts. Whether you are an HPCer or not, God wants us to give to Him and His people. Let's test Him in this and see the power and blessing that comes from obedience!

P.S. Married life is still as peachy as ever. We are truly so happy and so in love... We fall more and more in love everyday. God has given us such favor in dealing with conflict and we have not had a single fight or hint of a fight or argument. We pray that we are able to continue to die to ourselves and keep God first... We're definitely on the right track, and it's all because of Jesus... Gotta love that guy!

Thank you, Jesus

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately on marriage (obviously!). Anyway, I just feel so sorry for people who don't love it. Recently a lot of young people around me have gotten married, and I was so discouraged when I asked how it was and I got, "It's not what I thought it would be" or "It's not that different". Some even went so far as to say they felt trapped. I worried that Chris and I's only difference would be that we went to sleep and woke up together.

But it's just so untrue! The moment we committed our lives to each other, something happened within us and there's such a strong, pure, holy commitment that nothing and no one could ever tear apart. Many people will think I am an overzealous newlywed who is still in the "honeymoon stage." But after talking to some older and wiser married couples, I have found out that the honeymoon stage never has to end. I can be this blissfully happy and in love my whole life!! What God has done inside of us is so huge that it's just out of my realm of understanding.

Hearing that marriage "...isn't that great" is such a slap in the face to God. He created us for union with each other and this is one of His most amazing gifts. By degrading it to something that just gives you a title and some privileges, people are totally stripping it of what the Father meant for it to be.

I just want all of you to know that I LOVE marriage. I know that I am very blessed to be in such an amazing coupledom and not everyone has that blessing... I thank God for it everyday. And yes, this is one of many areas I am learning to have grace with... I just don't want negative people to disrespect God or discourage people looking forward to a life with the one God created them for...

Wedding Pictures!

Here's a sneak peek of the best day in my life... Go to my last post to see how to view all the glorious pictures!!!!!!!!!

Married life is amazing

Ok, first let me apologize for the lack of posting these last few weeks. Needless to say, things have been a little hectic and I have not had much (any) free time.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the wedding such a success. I was truly able to sit back and just enjoy marrying the man of my dreams. The wedding was beautiful. The reception was a blast. We really have the very best family and friends that anyone could ever ask for.
(To check out wedding pics, go to collages.net. From there type in username: meghan and chris matt, Password: 12350. Then it will ask you for your info.) The pictures came out SO well- I have no idea how I will choose which ones to get copies of to frame.
For the honeymoon we went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 6 glorious days. We had such a wonderful time, but we did miss everyone and we're glad to be home. It was such a blessing to have a vacation- I can't even remember the last time we got real time away.
This is just the beginning of an amazing life to come. We are blissfully happy and so grateful to God for His faithfulness.
Here are some pictures from the rehearsal:


On a somber note, please keep this in your prayers- Last week two great men died... Mollie White's father and a 26 yr. old guy named Stephen Rogers. Mr. Charlie and Stephen had both been battling sicknesses and went to be with the Lord. Let's pray peace and comfort on their families and friends in this hard time.