Title Tuesday: Your Marriage Today... and Tomorrow

Welcome to  Title Tuesday, my favorite day of the week! This day is dedicated to book suggestions, news, cartoons, and reviews. I write this portion of my blog because I am a big believer in the motivational speaker Charlie Jones' quote which says, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I try to meet as many new people as possible and to read everything I can. This is my way of sharing that information with you. You can see a visual summary of the books I have reviewed for both adults and children over on my Facebook page. If you are interested in understanding my rating system for books you can read my Book Review Explanation here and What I Believe here. If you want to check out what I am currently reading or what I want to read next, friend me on Goodreads!

I recently listened to the wedding plans of a dear friend. In listening to her talk, I realized that she was SO EXCITED for her wedding, not for her marriage. Today, our society is all about the wedding. In fact, in 2013 the wedding industry boasted being worth roughly 53.4 billion dollars. And yet for most couples, when the ceremony is over there is almost NO preparation for the real life that waits after you say, "I do". That is why when I was offered a chance to review Crawford and Karen Loritts' new book Your Marriage Today... and Tomorrow, I was thrilled! 

To start this review I have to say that usually I don't like books that are co-authored by couples but this one is totally different. This couple is one that I would LOVE to meet in real life. I feel like this is the kind of marriage mentor-ship that you would get sitting across the kitchen table. You know the kind I mean, where you just sit and listen while they drop 40 years worth of wisdom on you. 

So with that being said, lets jump in.

What I loved:
The purposeful look to the future and the legacy you leave, not just living in the moment. 
The use of stories from their own life to help the reader relate.
The book is biblical, there aren't "I thinks" it is all tied to scripture
Focused questions to think about (could be used to spark discussion with a spouse or group)
This quote: "Forgiveness declares that we are not enemies, we are allies" (page 128)

What I didn't like:
Absolutely Nothing!

Overall, I give Your Marriage Today... and Tomorrow by Crawford and Karen Loritts a solid A+. If you are about to get married put this book on your wedding registry. If you are newly married go buy it. If you have been married for any length of time this is a great way to remind yourself of the purpose of marriage and the reality that the wedding is the start of the legacy.

Ok, gushy bride-to-be moment...

I am getting married to my best friend

 10 days from today! 

My Titus 2 Women

Over the last two years I have had some pretty incredible women come along side me. These women have guided me, pushed me, and loved me. They have comforted me when I needed it, and kicked me forward when I deserved it. These ladies are my team, my advisers, counselors and friends. As I prepare my heart for marriage in the next month, these ladies have surrounded me and my fiance with their love and prayers. 

Yesterday Mrs. S and Mrs. J hosted a wedding shower with my closest friends and family in attendance. The event was beautiful, but what was more beautiful was what happened when I got home. The devotional that I have been reading through had Titus 2 as the section for the day. Titus 2:3-5 says, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." In reading through that section I realized that my four ladies Mrs. J. Mrs. S. Mrs. K and Mrs. F are my Titus 2 women. They remind me of what it means to be a Christian woman, and the incredible responsibility that we have been charged with. They remind me to always submit to the will o God and to stay focused on His plan.

Baby's Breath, Tulle, and the Wedding Blues

So as I wrote about earlier, I got engaged last week! This is a time full of excitement, congratulations and plans. This is a time to be happy, and yet I am struggling. 

We got engaged on May 10, 2013 and our wedding will be July 6, 2013. Needless to say my world is pretty much consumed with wedding stuff for the time being. 

I was never that girl to imagine my wedding as a child. I never played bride, I didn't really play house. That was just never my thing. Little did I know that those things have a place! It is hard to plan your special day when you haven't spent time thinking about it before the engagement. I am not saying that you should sit and spend all of your time daydreaming about your wedding. (My advice on that is: Get out, live the life God has called you to and when he is ready you will have your special day!) I don't have pictures filed away of possible dress styles I like, or flower arrangements I admire, or bridesmaid dresses I don't. 

When people emailed/facebook/called to congratulate us, my mind was a blur. All I could think about was the fact that the wedding was only 8 weeks away.  I am so excited to be married to B, but the idea of having to stand up in front of a lot of people makes me more than a little nervous. Then I experienced an incredible amount of emotion while doing some preliminary planning with my fiancee and his family this weekend. I was so incredibly overwhelmed by all the choices that I couldn't really enjoy the moment. I began to feel incredibly guilty about feeling overwhelmed... needless to say it is a vicious cycle. 

Thankfully I have some fantastic women in my life who are there to help fill the roles of the parents of the bride and help me to get all the details worked out. One of those women sent me this link to Barbie's Wedding Portraits with the caption, "no one says it has to be like this". She reminded me that this is a celebration of God bringing B and I together. That this is an opportunity to glorify Him and to witness to friends and family that may not ever make it into a church other than for our wedding. This is not a show in which I am expected to be perfect. This is the bringing together of two imperfect people in holy matrimony, so that we can be stronger for the kingdom of Christ together than we could apart. No amount of baby's breath or tulle can mess with God's plan.