31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – finding a new church

One thing that I never anticipated doing during the first three months of newlywed?

Finding a new church.

Because G was already involved in a local church – I was ready to jump in with him after I moved and enjoy the six months we were going to be here {we might be moving in January… did I mention that?}.

Looking for a church together would be something that we would do after our next move.

The second Sunday after we got married and I moved to Hampstead, we walked into Sunday School and I was excited that I was finally able to worship alongside my husband, and not 500 miles away like we had done for the previous 14 months while we were dating/engaged. I was ready to get involved in a small group and to see what God could teach us through church during our first six months of marriage.

The lesson plan He laid out was a little different than I imagined though. He didn’t want to teach us just through church, He wanted to teach us about His church also.

After a couple of months of getting involved, we felt God begin to change our hearts and plans for our time here in Hampstead.

As G and I talked about things that were important to us in a church, we began to stalk look at churches online. {Can I just say how much I love the internet?}

Through a little bit of searching, He’s showed us where He wanted us to be.

As I think about this last month and what God has shown us – through his Word, the teaching, and encouragement from others – I’m reminded how sovereign He is. He knows what we need and when we need it.

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – daily prayers

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet Princess Kate?

As awkward as I can be around people I know, I can’t imagine how nervous I would be around “royalty”.  I’m sure I would try to act like I have it together but we know how that would turn out… not good… and she would probably look a little something like this:

kate not impressed | atwell adventures

So thankfully, I don’t think I’ll be meeting her anytime soon – but I do have a King that lets me approach whenever I need Him {and thankfully, no plane tickets required}!
hebrews 4-16 | atwell adventures

I love that God tells us that we can come confidently to His throne and that while we are there, He’ll give us mercy and grace {and can we ever have too much of either of those?}.

Since I can’t physically approach His throne yet, I decided to try out something new a couple of months ago – writing out my prayers.  For me, writing has been the best way for me to approach the King {and when I say writing, I actually mean typing in my pages document called “prayer sheets”}.

I find that if I’m not writing something down {a to do list, goals, etc}, my mind tends to go in a million different places. And with writing I’m able to more fully focus on my Him and eliminate as many distractions as possible.

And y’all – what a difference it has made! It has been so good for me, to not only be consistent in my daily set aside time, but also to look forward to my prayer time now that I have found a way that helps me focus and give Him the attention He deserves.

What are some ways that you spend time in prayer?

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – quality time

You know what I love? Spending a morning sipping coffee with family and/or friends {bonus points if it’s my house and I can where my white robe}. There’s something so nice and simple about early morning light and quiet moments.

early morning coffee | atwell adventures
Yesterday
I talked about how my faith had changed since July 7.  But really it started about 6 months before that. In the early mornings while sipping coffee with my Savior.

After we got engaged in December, I decided to start waking up earlier to spend time reading the Word and praying before I went to work.  Normally, I would just do it when it was convenient for me, and sometimes it didn’t even happen at all. As I prepared for the upcoming changes, I knew this was the last thing I need to leave off my to-do list.

Having a time set aside to spend with my Savior, the Lord began to show me this was the deepening our relationship needed. Quality time. Time to be renewed in Him. Some mornings it was through a passage that I read over and over instead of quickly glancing through, other times it was just talking to Him and really releasing my control over to Him.

When we began pre-marital counseling, the Lord kept reminding me that if I was spending the quality time with Him, my actions and thoughts will be more likely to reflect Him. If my first focus was my relationship with Him and acting like Him, I could be a better wife, helper, listener, friend to G {and of course, it doesn’t stop there – He challenges me to be a better daughter, sister, aunt, friend, co-worker, and even share His love to the strangers I encounter}.

Thank goodness He overflows.

And now a few months have gone by, the wedding and honeymoon are finished, and we are settling into life.

Although my daily schedule looks much different than it did four months ago, the routine of spending those quiet, early morning moments with my Savior has thankfully continued and He continues to restore me and make me new.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”

Jesus. More Jesus.

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures