Wedding Story: How We Met



I'm thinking about doing a blog series on my wedding!  This is the freshest it'll ever be in my mind (seeing as how it happened last October) and I'd love to have it documented here so I can come back and enjoy it over and over again.

So I start with how Kevin and I met and our story of dating.  I hesitate sharing this with you...why?  I'm afraid of being judged.  I'm afraid of people thinking that I'm a jerk.  But our story is quite beautiful considering how God orchestrated it all.  If I had to summarize it all in one sentence, it would be this: God works in ways that you will never understand or ever be able to predict, but He is in control and knows what He's doing AND what is ultimately best for you.

So in November of 2010, I was not in a happy place.  I had just gone through a really tough breakup and to be honest, was pretty depressed.  I was 27 and not understanding why I was still single.  Though I was NOT old, I thought I was because most of my friends were already married and on baby #2.  Thankfully, I have a very supportive family who has always loved me and NEVER pushed me to marry quickly or feel inadequate because I was not married yet.  They believe in God making your story happen the way He wants it.

My roommate and I decided to visit the young adult gathering at my church on a Thursday night, November 4, 2010 to be exact. Ha!  It was on this night that I met Kevin, my future husband.  I remember thinking he was a good-looking guy who was very sweet and seemed down-to-earth.  At the end of the night, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to hang out again. 

Now a bit about my thoughts at this point: my heart was very broken.  I still cried daily and just couldn't get out of my depression that started the previous September.  I had considered counseling before, but never wanted to pay the money to invest in it.  The daily crying finally convinced me that I should give it a go.  I was sick of being in a such a terrible place.  I got a recommendation from a friend for a great Christian counselor and started going weekly.  I cannot tell you how BIG this time in my life was!  I learned SO much about myself, my desires, why I process things the way I do, what in my childhood affected the way I handle situations today, the kind of men I was attracted to, and more.  This all came from the LORD and His guidance in this time of counseling.

Ok, back to Kevin.  We immediately became great friends and hung out often, even just the two of us.  I think that because of my brokeness, I couldn't see past being friends at the time.  I knew I was not in a place for a relationship.  I did go on dates with others in the meantime, but nothing became of any of it.  I got to know Kevin very well.  I knew deep stuff about him and he knew deep stuff about me.  I was always honest with him about my intentions - being friends.  He so graciously accepted me where I was and accepted me as his friend, best friend.  There were times that I felt like we shouldn't hang out as much but I just couldn't stop....I LOVED hanging out with him.  I felt like he got me for who I really am and accepted me despite all of my inadequacies.  In fact, I had an ex-boyfriend that viewed my querks as annoyances.  He rolled his eyes at the things that Kevin loves about me.  I was always 100% myself around Kevin.

So for a year and half, this was life.  I continued my counseling which went from getting over the ex-boyfriend to moving onto bigger and deeper topics that I had never dug into.  I highly recommend counseling for everyone - we all have stuff we need to dig into, no matter who we are.  No one is too good for counseling.  But hear me on this - there are good and bad counselors!  Get recommendations!  Ask around!  Don't just Google someone.

I was also digging deeper into my relationship with God and getting a true understanding of grace and His unconditional love.

Kevin and I became better friends.  During this time, we got to know each other's hearts without the temptation of becoming too physical or caring way too much about what the other thought since we weren't dating.  I so appreciate that phony filter not being a part of our friendship.

Here are some photos of the random things we did while we were friends over that year and a half:


 
 
 
 
 
 

Coming soon....Wedding Story: How We Started Dating

Here's to 2014!

I know I'm a little late on this post but hey, better late than never, right?!

Honestly, I don't make new years resolutions because I usually fail at them.  After hearing my pastor's sermon a couple Sundays ago, I was motivated to make some goals.  You can listen to Pastor Andy's sermon here.  I also like what Jodie, our pastor to women, said about it here.

My goal in 2014 is to be more like my master, Jesus Christ.  While this is a daunting task, it is a realistic one if I break it down into smaller tasks...perhaps, more tangible tasks. 

I've also made some health-related goals that are unique for me. 

So I share my more specific goals with you, asking you to help keep me accountable:

1) Wake up earlier - I am a huge fan of sleep!  I think that getting 8 hours of sleep a night is healthy and just puts me in a better mood.  But I also am very productive when I wake up early and get things done in the morning.  It also will help me achieve #2 and #3!  So I'm attempting to get to bed early so I can wake up early every day.  Plus...Jesus did it and I'm striving to be more like Him!



 

2) Spend time with God daily - Even if it's just a short amount of time, I want to make a habit of this.  Sometimes I get down on myself for not doing it, but even 10 minutes is better than nothing!  Baby steps, Kelli, baby steps.  What a perfect way to enrich my relationship with my Best Friend and Father!  Shouldn't we want to spend time with our best friend to deepen our relationship?!  I'm finding this book to be an awesome way to do this!  Each day is short and full of wisdom.  Thank you for this book, IBC women's ministry!

Jesus Today by Sarah Young

 

 

3) Work out 2-3 times a week - I used to work out more often and probably should now, but I need to start with something realistic.  Even as a woman with no kids, I am SO busy and it's hard to find time to work out.  You know how most girls exercise like crazy before their wedding??  Yeah, I was the opposite.  I worked out much less because I was so busy!  Then we had the holidays!  Thankfully, my building at work just put in a new gym that I can use for free!  And I can watch Heroes on Netflix on their awesome iPhone hookup on each monitor!  That's motivation! Ha!  I also do my Advocare workout DVD at home when I can't make it to the gym.

 



 

Ok, let's pretend that this is me now, not my freshman year in high school...



 

4)  Eat "out" less often - Eating out costs so much money and you don't know what they put in your "healthy" meal, should you choose one.  We're aiming to eat at home more often - plus, I love cooking!  However, meeting friends for dinner is a huge part of our social life.  Relationships with others is a high priority for me so I'll still do this every now and then.  I'll just find a healthy balance!

 



 

5) Eat fewer tomatoes and fried food - fun fact about Kelli: I have acid reflux. Not so fun, right?!  It's actually pretty difficult to manage seeing as how I LOVE tomatoes.  The following foods are highly acidic and are bad for my stomach: tomatoes, pineapple, oranges, lemons, limes, red wine, coffee, spicy food, garlic, onion, vinegar, grapefruit, etc.  The following flares it up for other reasons: fried food (french fries!), alcohol, fatty foods.  Many of my favorite things to eat are on that list!  My obsession with tomatoes and french fries is probably what caused it.  Try to find a crockpot meal that doesn't include one of these...it's hard!  I'd like to get off of my medicine though so I'm aiming to be good.

 



 

6) Pray for my husband intentionally - there is nothing more powerful than prayer.  I want to be more intentional about praying for every aspect of Kevin's life.  It'll also help me to see him as God does.  I'm praying through this book currently:

 

"A Wife's Prayer" by Pamela Hines



 

7) Learn how to say "no" (and not feel bad about it) - I really struggle with this.  I'm working on not saying "yes" to all things and all people and I think I'm making progress.  Now that I have a husband, he's a priority, but I still value friendships very much so I'm learning how to balance that.  I've also limited my weekly commitments to only two things - where I volunteer as a budget counselor (New Friends New Life) and our young-marrieds small group at church (starting this Sunday!)  Here is a great post from Mix and Match Mama this week on this topic:

 



 

Don't be afraid to ask me how I'm doing on all of these!  I need accountability!