I always knew February was a special month, but until I got married, I really didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. I mean, we all know that it's the only month to start with an "F" and it's a funny sounding word to say. It's full of holidays: Groundhog's Day (which is only notable because Bill Murray got stuck in it), President's Day (Yes, for those who didn't know, Washington and Lincoln were both born in February, but they get to share a holiday), and it's the only month that has a Leap Day in it! All in all, February is a special month.
What's that? I forgot the most important holiday? Oh, that's right, I was born on the 1st. No? Not that one? hmmmmmm.... Oh, right Valentine's Day, the day that singles like to hate and couples like to enjoy. For me, as the previous post talks about, I like it because I got the best answer to the best question on that day in 2011. I think I'll let Brianna talk about how we celebrated it this year, though.
I forgot something else? No, actually I didn't forget it. The 18th of February is another one of my favorite days because it was the day my wife came into the world. It took awhile for us to find each other, but she has improved my life and I'm sure she's improved the world.
Oh, I must go! We have a birthday dinner to prepare!
Why is February special for you?
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
A Valentine's Proposal
Ah, Valentine's Day... a day of love, chocolate, flowers,
and mushy cards. A day where sweethearts all over the country declare
their undying love for each other in flowery poetic words. I love
Valentine's Day... even when I was single I loved Valentine's Day, because it
was all about love and I knew that someday I would find someone who I could
share it with! This year though, Valentine's carries a lot more meaning
for me, because it was last year on Valentine's Day that JC proposed to
me.
He had made the trip up from Butte, Montana to spend a whole 8 days with me... from February 12th to 20th. I was so excited to be able to spend that length of time with him! We would get to celebrate his belated birthday when he got here, and then Valentine's Day, and then my birthday... all within those 8 days.
Before this visit, we had spent a fair bit of time talking about proposals and marriage. We both knew we would be getting married some day, and we had even talked about what kind of ring I wanted when the day came for him to propose. (I asked for a white gold ring with three stones. I wanted the center stone to be colored and the two outside stones to be diamonds. I expressly asked for small stones, as I have never been a fan of big jewellery.) During these conversations, we had talked about how he would be waiting for his tax return in March or April or May and then be thinking about looking for rings. Of course, he never came out and actually said those words, he just kind of hinted at waiting and I ran with it. Little did I now that my devious boyfriend already had a ring picked out, an exact match to my request, and that he had brought it with him in February.
On Sunday afternoon (the 13th), JC went in to have "the talk" with my Dad. I knew he was in Dad's office talking to him about our plans for the future, but I honestly didn't think it was because he had a ring with him on this trip. I had so completely bought the idea that he was waiting for several months to buy a ring that I figured he was just asking for Dad's blessing so that next time I visited Montana, he would have the ring and would then propose. Was I ever wrong! My beloved boyfriend was downstairs in my Dad's "Man Cave" asking for his blessing to propose to me the next day and showing him the ring he had picked out.
Well, Valentine's Day came and we enjoyed a nice lazy day
together, going for a walk and doing lots of talking and laughing. We had
reservations at Redstone Restaurant in Red Deer for dinner and then we planned
to go for a walk around Bower Ponds after dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed a
lovely dinner together, feasting on some absolutely delicious food! It was
romantic and I loved it! As we were finishing our dessert, JC informed me
that he had one more gift for me (we had exchanged Valentine's gifts that
morning), but that I couldn't open it until we were at Bower Ponds.
My mind raced for a moment.... Was it a ring?!?!?!? But once again, my brain reassured me that he had not bought a ring yet, and so there was no way the "gift" was a proposal. I was sure the gift was going to be something like a pretty necklace or a keepsake of some kind.
We arrived at Bower Ponds and bundled up in warmer jackets and gloves. It was almost too cold for a walk, but JC was adamant that we go... "Just for a short one". (I didn't notice, but apparently he had slipped a wrapped package into his jacket as we were leaving the car) We walked along the path until we got to the bridge over the Ponds. We stopped there and JC said I could finally open my present.
He handed me a gift wrapped box about 8 inches by 5 inches,
and about 2 inches thick. I was immediately very curious as to what it
was. I pulled off the paper and held a brand new boxed Bible in my hands.
I can admit, my immediate thought was "Really? A Bible? I know
we both love God and we know that someday we'll be serving in ministry
together.... but a Bible for Valentine’s Day?" Within about two
seconds though, my brain realized that this was indeed a very cool gift (I love
Bibles) and thanked him for it. He urged me to take it out of the box, so I
pulled it out and looked at it. It was a pretty color, but what caught me
was the name inscribed on the bottom corner of the front cover... "Brianna
Reagan". It was at that moment that I finally realized that
something was up and I started to freak out… He told me to look at the
dedication page inside the front cover. I turned there and read the
following words:
To my Lovely, Beautiful Bree.
From your Beloved JC.
On February 14th, 2011.
On the Occasion of:
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
At this point, he put his arm around me and held out a ring box with a lovely ring inside it. He said, "I love you so very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" I immediately started crying and nodded and said "YES!" I turned to him and I got to kiss him for the first time. (We had both agreed to save our first kiss for engagement, and neither of us had ever kissed anyone else, so it was indeed, a first kiss!) I kept crying and smiling and laughing, and finally yelled at the top of my lungs, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!" There were about 3 people skating on the Pond and I'm sure they all heard me. : )
JC didn’t know my ring size so he hadn’t been able to properly size the ring before giving it to me, but he had a solution! When he purchased the ring, he had bought a beautiful silver chain to keep the ring on until we could get it into a jeweller. We slipped the ring onto the chain and he fastened it around my neck so I could keep it close.
We finally decided to head back to the car since we were both freezing. Of course, we made quite a few stops to smooch some more… Once we got back into the warm car we knew we had a couple phone calls to make. The first was to my best girlfriend, Marie, who I had promised to call first whenever the day came that I had been proposed to. I got her on the phone and when I said “Hi Marie. This is Brianna”, my cell crackled and she didn’t hear me. She asked who was calling and as soon as I said my name again, she burst out with one of her famous “Marie Squeals”. She said that there was only one reason that I would call her on Valentine’s Day and she asked if I was engaged. : ) Yup, I assured her I was and she proceeded to scream some more. She was almost as excited as I was! Then we called JC’s parents on speakerphone and chatted with them for a few minutes. They congratulated us and wanted to hear the story of how things went. It was a lot of fun!
We headed back to Rocky and my family was still up when we got to my house. More congrats followed and more hugs and smiles. We posed for pictures and I got to show off both my beautiful ring, but also my very unique new Bible.
I went to sleep that night with a huge smile on my face, knowing that I was going to marry the man of my dreams and being so thankful to have the wonderful guy I now was able to call my fiancé. The cool thing is, now that we’ve been married for a little over 6 months, I still go to sleep with a huge smile on my face every night… not to mention waking up with one too.
He had made the trip up from Butte, Montana to spend a whole 8 days with me... from February 12th to 20th. I was so excited to be able to spend that length of time with him! We would get to celebrate his belated birthday when he got here, and then Valentine's Day, and then my birthday... all within those 8 days.
Before this visit, we had spent a fair bit of time talking about proposals and marriage. We both knew we would be getting married some day, and we had even talked about what kind of ring I wanted when the day came for him to propose. (I asked for a white gold ring with three stones. I wanted the center stone to be colored and the two outside stones to be diamonds. I expressly asked for small stones, as I have never been a fan of big jewellery.) During these conversations, we had talked about how he would be waiting for his tax return in March or April or May and then be thinking about looking for rings. Of course, he never came out and actually said those words, he just kind of hinted at waiting and I ran with it. Little did I now that my devious boyfriend already had a ring picked out, an exact match to my request, and that he had brought it with him in February.
On Sunday afternoon (the 13th), JC went in to have "the talk" with my Dad. I knew he was in Dad's office talking to him about our plans for the future, but I honestly didn't think it was because he had a ring with him on this trip. I had so completely bought the idea that he was waiting for several months to buy a ring that I figured he was just asking for Dad's blessing so that next time I visited Montana, he would have the ring and would then propose. Was I ever wrong! My beloved boyfriend was downstairs in my Dad's "Man Cave" asking for his blessing to propose to me the next day and showing him the ring he had picked out.
Well, Valentine's Day came and we enjoyed a nice lazy day
together, going for a walk and doing lots of talking and laughing. We had
reservations at Redstone Restaurant in Red Deer for dinner and then we planned
to go for a walk around Bower Ponds after dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed a
lovely dinner together, feasting on some absolutely delicious food! It was
romantic and I loved it! As we were finishing our dessert, JC informed me
that he had one more gift for me (we had exchanged Valentine's gifts that
morning), but that I couldn't open it until we were at Bower Ponds. My mind raced for a moment.... Was it a ring?!?!?!? But once again, my brain reassured me that he had not bought a ring yet, and so there was no way the "gift" was a proposal. I was sure the gift was going to be something like a pretty necklace or a keepsake of some kind.
We arrived at Bower Ponds and bundled up in warmer jackets and gloves. It was almost too cold for a walk, but JC was adamant that we go... "Just for a short one". (I didn't notice, but apparently he had slipped a wrapped package into his jacket as we were leaving the car) We walked along the path until we got to the bridge over the Ponds. We stopped there and JC said I could finally open my present.
He handed me a gift wrapped box about 8 inches by 5 inches,
and about 2 inches thick. I was immediately very curious as to what it
was. I pulled off the paper and held a brand new boxed Bible in my hands.
I can admit, my immediate thought was "Really? A Bible? I know
we both love God and we know that someday we'll be serving in ministry
together.... but a Bible for Valentine’s Day?" Within about two
seconds though, my brain realized that this was indeed a very cool gift (I love
Bibles) and thanked him for it. He urged me to take it out of the box, so I
pulled it out and looked at it. It was a pretty color, but what caught me
was the name inscribed on the bottom corner of the front cover... "Brianna
Reagan". It was at that moment that I finally realized that
something was up and I started to freak out… He told me to look at the
dedication page inside the front cover. I turned there and read the
following words:To my Lovely, Beautiful Bree.
From your Beloved JC.
On February 14th, 2011.
On the Occasion of:
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
At this point, he put his arm around me and held out a ring box with a lovely ring inside it. He said, "I love you so very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" I immediately started crying and nodded and said "YES!" I turned to him and I got to kiss him for the first time. (We had both agreed to save our first kiss for engagement, and neither of us had ever kissed anyone else, so it was indeed, a first kiss!) I kept crying and smiling and laughing, and finally yelled at the top of my lungs, "WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!" There were about 3 people skating on the Pond and I'm sure they all heard me. : )
JC didn’t know my ring size so he hadn’t been able to properly size the ring before giving it to me, but he had a solution! When he purchased the ring, he had bought a beautiful silver chain to keep the ring on until we could get it into a jeweller. We slipped the ring onto the chain and he fastened it around my neck so I could keep it close.
We finally decided to head back to the car since we were both freezing. Of course, we made quite a few stops to smooch some more… Once we got back into the warm car we knew we had a couple phone calls to make. The first was to my best girlfriend, Marie, who I had promised to call first whenever the day came that I had been proposed to. I got her on the phone and when I said “Hi Marie. This is Brianna”, my cell crackled and she didn’t hear me. She asked who was calling and as soon as I said my name again, she burst out with one of her famous “Marie Squeals”. She said that there was only one reason that I would call her on Valentine’s Day and she asked if I was engaged. : ) Yup, I assured her I was and she proceeded to scream some more. She was almost as excited as I was! Then we called JC’s parents on speakerphone and chatted with them for a few minutes. They congratulated us and wanted to hear the story of how things went. It was a lot of fun!
We headed back to Rocky and my family was still up when we got to my house. More congrats followed and more hugs and smiles. We posed for pictures and I got to show off both my beautiful ring, but also my very unique new Bible.
I went to sleep that night with a huge smile on my face, knowing that I was going to marry the man of my dreams and being so thankful to have the wonderful guy I now was able to call my fiancé. The cool thing is, now that we’ve been married for a little over 6 months, I still go to sleep with a huge smile on my face every night… not to mention waking up with one too.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Persevering through the Desert
I've been trying to be productive the last couple of days, trying to use my computer as a tool and not as a time waster or brain sucker. Thus I've been reading articles and working on my Inbox. I took Gmail's claim that you never had to delete a message again. Yeah, that might not have been a good idea. 4000+ emails takes a long time to work through.
However, it felt like I was in a time machine, digging back into my past. I saw emails that made me think about that stage on my journey. I thought about how sometimes I would get stuck, sometimes in circumstances, sometimes emotionally, and sometimes spiritually. There was a period of time where I wasn't moving forward and was just spinning my tires. I needed something to change.
Through a lot of prayer and thought, I came to the decision that God wanted me to put my faith out and take a risk. I quit my job in Eugene, OR, and took a three and a half week road trip halfway across the US. I used this trip to listen and try to follow what God wanted for me. It started on the coast, figuring out that He wanted me to drive south and it continued across California, to Arizona, through Kansas and finally wrapped up in Missouri.
I had many adventures on that trip, but there was one day that I want to share.
I was on my way from the Grand Canyon, headed up towards Colorado. Right around Red Mesa, I was zipping along and saw a painted sign "Revival --->". I smiled, thought that was cool and continued. About a mile or so down the road, I realized " Oh, God, you want me to follow that sign!" I turned around and headed back.
Now this is in the middle of Arizona desert. Red dirt and mesas all around. The road was not paved and wasn't the nicest road in the world. My assumption was that this would be in a hall or something like that, about a mile down the road. Yeah, not so lucky. About 3 miles I came upon a calf roping arena and yes, there were people roping calves. I stopped and asked where this revival thing was. I got vague directions that really didn't help.
Back in the car I go and I start thinking. My gas gauge was getting low and I was yet to see anymore signs. I was starting to wonder about turning around and going back to the highway. Then, I realized that this was a God moment. Through out my life I've been willing to obey God, but my tendencies have been to only go so far and then either camp out there or turn back. I liked my comfort zones and to push past them hurt. Even in obedience to God, breaking those comfort walls, hurt. But I realized this was a time to break that habit in my life. This was the time to PERSEVERE and move forward. God said and I needed to obey.
It wasn't 5 minutes and I see a sign. Then, I see another sign and arrive at my destination. The revival was on this personal property and turned out to be in Navajo!! However, I was blessed and I got to bless others there. They gave me a place to sleep and I left early the next morning.
I look back on this event in my life and I try to remember that when God gives us something to do, then we need to do it! We need to push past the uncomfortableness. We need to climb that mountain (My friend, Geno, just wrote a post about persevering in his hiking journey which inspired this post).
When I come to the areas in my life that are tough, I can get caught up in my wants at the time, but I have to persevere through God does come through and I have seen His Hand time and time again in my journey.
What do you have to persevere through?
However, it felt like I was in a time machine, digging back into my past. I saw emails that made me think about that stage on my journey. I thought about how sometimes I would get stuck, sometimes in circumstances, sometimes emotionally, and sometimes spiritually. There was a period of time where I wasn't moving forward and was just spinning my tires. I needed something to change.
Through a lot of prayer and thought, I came to the decision that God wanted me to put my faith out and take a risk. I quit my job in Eugene, OR, and took a three and a half week road trip halfway across the US. I used this trip to listen and try to follow what God wanted for me. It started on the coast, figuring out that He wanted me to drive south and it continued across California, to Arizona, through Kansas and finally wrapped up in Missouri.
I had many adventures on that trip, but there was one day that I want to share.
I was on my way from the Grand Canyon, headed up towards Colorado. Right around Red Mesa, I was zipping along and saw a painted sign "Revival --->". I smiled, thought that was cool and continued. About a mile or so down the road, I realized " Oh, God, you want me to follow that sign!" I turned around and headed back.
Back in the car I go and I start thinking. My gas gauge was getting low and I was yet to see anymore signs. I was starting to wonder about turning around and going back to the highway. Then, I realized that this was a God moment. Through out my life I've been willing to obey God, but my tendencies have been to only go so far and then either camp out there or turn back. I liked my comfort zones and to push past them hurt. Even in obedience to God, breaking those comfort walls, hurt. But I realized this was a time to break that habit in my life. This was the time to PERSEVERE and move forward. God said and I needed to obey.
It wasn't 5 minutes and I see a sign. Then, I see another sign and arrive at my destination. The revival was on this personal property and turned out to be in Navajo!! However, I was blessed and I got to bless others there. They gave me a place to sleep and I left early the next morning.
I look back on this event in my life and I try to remember that when God gives us something to do, then we need to do it! We need to push past the uncomfortableness. We need to climb that mountain (My friend, Geno, just wrote a post about persevering in his hiking journey which inspired this post).
When I come to the areas in my life that are tough, I can get caught up in my wants at the time, but I have to persevere through God does come through and I have seen His Hand time and time again in my journey.
What do you have to persevere through?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Six Months of Marriage - Six Months of Blogging
It's our 6 month anniversary today. Hard to believe that it's been exactly 6 months since we stood at that altar and began our marriage! We've been through so much since then, that in one way it seems like we just got married, but in another it's like we've been together our entire lives!
So here's a bit of a review of our six months and what we shared on this blog:
So here's a bit of a review of our six months and what we shared on this blog:
- First was the honeymoon and the fun we had in Canmore. I still smile when I think of sitting in front of the smelly soap shop waiting for Bree to come out.
- Then we finished an engagement bookh that we greatly enjoyed, and have used principles from ever since.
- One of the big steps we took was making our budget. It's been a journey, and eventually we'll talk a bit more about keeping to that budget and the journey we've been on since that first spreadsheet.
- September ended up with us starting to get settled into a routine.
- Then this American was introduced to Canadian Thanksgiving.
- Brianna posted about her learning curve as a wife and her view of how God created her husband (definitely worth a read!)
- We discussed how reading has become difficult and movies easier to assimilate..
- Our third month anniversary was celebrated with Neptune Chicken
- I wrote about how to make your wife happy - which still seems to apply now.
- A question about our faith haunted Brianna.
- Then we prepared for Christmas and recorded a Christmas message
- Our 2012 started out with Brianna talking about what makes a great marriage asking a question that we still need feedback on.
- We had some frigid days and stayed home to play games.
- And finally, Brianna shares a way that she saves money.
Friday, February 3, 2012
When Distractions Get Louder Than God
If you're like me, you've heard a lot about "being still" and listening to God. And if you're like me, you puzzle over how to do that. I often sit in service, during a quiet time, or during worship, trying to center my thoughts on God. Does that happen? Not as often as I like. I'll think about the need to talk to someone after church, or what we're having for dinner, or a project that I need to work on. I catch myself over and over again with wandering thoughts.
Is it possible to think on God and seek Him first?
Yes. It takes discipline and training to do that.
Our minds are under constant attack from several sides. Our culture is full of distractions that take our eyes off of God and onto material and perishable things. Think about it, how much time do we spend on the computer? How much time is spent checking statuses, watching youtube videos about the Star Wars Kid, playing games, or even just watching TV? I've heard that the average American spends 35 hours a week watching TV. Can I just say "Wow!"
Beyond the obvious "we need to spend more time with God" I want to emphasize the discipline of training your mind. Our minds naturally go to the easiest things to think about. A habit is formed and our brain likes going that direction because it's easy. It's easy to think about that game level you're working on, or the problem at work, or your daughter's latest drama. It's not so easy to put our minds on God, on His Glory, on His Majesty, on the Awesome God we love and serve. It's a battle and we need to spend more time in that battle. Don't be mediocre.
How do we change our habits? How do we discipline ourselves to put the priority where it needs to be?
We make choices. We choose the good things and discard the mediocre and lukewarm habits. Yeah, it's not something that is easy. Changing habits is hard, but the end result is a stronger and more vibrant walk with God.
I'm not saying all entertainment is bad, but when anything, whether movies, spouses, money, or books become bigger than God, then we have to seriously examine our lives. Entertainment can be a good thing to have, but in moderation.
Our Action Steps
Brianna and I have recently been convicted that we spend too much time focused on trivial things. We decided that to start our minds on better tracks, that we needed to trim some of the time wasters we fill our lives with. I recently wrote about What Place Does Our Computer Hold and that started us thinking about where our priorities should be. Thus for the month of February we're avoiding watching movies or TV shows, taking a break from Facebook and spending more time with God and with each other.
It's only been three days, but we're already feeling more connected with God and our minds seem to be working better.
Yes, we're still using the computer, but it's limited to being a tool.
The voices are loud and they can drown out God's voice. Remove the voices and you can hear Him more.
Meet us in the comments and tell us how you deal with the distractions in this world. How often do you check in with God?
Is it possible to think on God and seek Him first?
Yes. It takes discipline and training to do that.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
2nd Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV
Our minds are under constant attack from several sides. Our culture is full of distractions that take our eyes off of God and onto material and perishable things. Think about it, how much time do we spend on the computer? How much time is spent checking statuses, watching youtube videos about the Star Wars Kid, playing games, or even just watching TV? I've heard that the average American spends 35 hours a week watching TV. Can I just say "Wow!"Beyond the obvious "we need to spend more time with God" I want to emphasize the discipline of training your mind. Our minds naturally go to the easiest things to think about. A habit is formed and our brain likes going that direction because it's easy. It's easy to think about that game level you're working on, or the problem at work, or your daughter's latest drama. It's not so easy to put our minds on God, on His Glory, on His Majesty, on the Awesome God we love and serve. It's a battle and we need to spend more time in that battle. Don't be mediocre.
How do we change our habits? How do we discipline ourselves to put the priority where it needs to be?
We make choices. We choose the good things and discard the mediocre and lukewarm habits. Yeah, it's not something that is easy. Changing habits is hard, but the end result is a stronger and more vibrant walk with God.
I'm not saying all entertainment is bad, but when anything, whether movies, spouses, money, or books become bigger than God, then we have to seriously examine our lives. Entertainment can be a good thing to have, but in moderation.
Our Action Steps
Brianna and I have recently been convicted that we spend too much time focused on trivial things. We decided that to start our minds on better tracks, that we needed to trim some of the time wasters we fill our lives with. I recently wrote about What Place Does Our Computer Hold and that started us thinking about where our priorities should be. Thus for the month of February we're avoiding watching movies or TV shows, taking a break from Facebook and spending more time with God and with each other.
It's only been three days, but we're already feeling more connected with God and our minds seem to be working better.
Yes, we're still using the computer, but it's limited to being a tool.
The voices are loud and they can drown out God's voice. Remove the voices and you can hear Him more.
Meet us in the comments and tell us how you deal with the distractions in this world. How often do you check in with God?
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