Today is an important day for my wife and I.
On this day back in 1999, we gathered before friends and family and professed our love for each other.
Now nineteen years later, that love has grown stronger and I am enjoying our life together.
19 years and going strong!
It is hard to imagine that it has already been nineteen years. It seems like only yesterday that I met her. We worked for the same organization, but in different departments and different buildings. I have always said it was God ordained and meant to be. Her department had to be relocated to my building because their offices were being renovated. Our paths started to cross and we began chatting. The relationship developed slowly, first as colleagues and then as friends. As we spent more time together, we learned that we had many things in common and shared many core beliefs. In the fall of 1998, I traveled out of town for a family gathering. While there, I realized that could not stop thinking about her and that I did not want to spend my life without her.
By January 1999, I had gotten up the courage to ask her to marry me. I remember saying to her, “We have done many things together, but there is one thing that we haven’t done. Will you spend your life with me? Will you marry me?” Nine months later, we walked down the aisle of Saint James the Greater Catholic Church (in Saint Louis, MO) and became husband and wife.
I cannot put into words the joy and excitement that it brought me to have the wonderful lady as my wife. We have God as our center of our marriage. We spend time reading and studying the Bible, going to Church every week and reading faith-based self-improvement books. We work at making ourselves better, for our own self and for each other. We have based our relationship on communication and spending quality time together. We take the time to talk through what is on our hearts and make sure we understand each other’s needs. We both say that we are not only married to the person we love, but also best friend. This makes the relationship stronger because it can enjoyed at many different levels. A relationship that is built on many interwoven levels cannot be broken.
Is our marriage perfect? NO!
Do we have our challenges that need to be worked through? YES!
But we face these circumstances head on. We continue to work on ourselves, each other and on our marriage.
We don’t give up or give in!
A Photo From Our Most Recent Road Trip – Batchawana Bay in Ontario, Canada
In our nineteen years, God has blessed us many times over. I look back at it and I thank Him for all that he has done for us. I look forward to see what each day will bring. Because I know, the best is yet to come!
Today is Labor Day and I hope you are relaxing and enjoying your day off. However, everyone does not get Labor Day off. Yes, it’s true, not everyone gets a day off on Labor Day. If you have to work today, I want you to know that BubblingWithEleganceAndGrace.com appreciates you and hope you get a day off soon because you deserve it.
It may be September, but it’s still summer and very hot. The flowers are in full bloom and I had to stop and think about what this day really means.
Flower Garden
This video clip from the CBS Morning Show goes into great detail about the origins of the Labor Day holiday. I found it be very interesting and it expanded the my understanding of the holiday. Watch it here!
Did you know that not wearing white after summer did not start out as a fashion statement? Being life long learners, we must grow and learn everyday.
I hope you are relaxing and enjoying your day. My hubby and I had the opportunity to review the move, Healed By Grace 2 Ten Days of Grace. The movie stars Sean Young, Kennedy Martin, Natalie Weese and David Matthew Weese. I do not want to write a spoiler notes of what the film is about because I really want you to see the movie. The movie centers on a teenager named Jesse who wants a horse for her 15th birthday. Her mother is against it; but she really does not know why. Her father is able to convince her mother to agree to a 10 day summer horse camp. But what happens from there is totally surprising. You will have to see it to get the rest of the story.
You can watch the movie’s trailer here.
The message that comes through is forgiveness. No matter what you have done in your life, God loves you and he forgives you. One scripture that comes to mind is Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
We have to forgive ourselves first and then to be able to forgive others. Sometimes we get angry and the other person does not even know it and we are only hurting ourselves. God gives us Grace and what a fitting tile for this movie.
Here is a short clip from the movie.
The DVD home release of Healed by Grace 2 will be September 18, 2018. It can be be purchased at ChristianBook.com and from Amazon.
Bubblingwitheleganceandgrace.com is hosting a Giveaway of two DVDs of the combo pack Healed By Grace 1 and 2.
Guidelines of the Giveaway
1.Please leave a comment below of what you think the movie will be about.
2. Please share the Giveaway on your Facebook or Twitter page with your friends.
Please note: That’s it. You will not be signed up for a newsletter or anything like that for entering the Giveaway.
The giveaway with start today, Sunday, September 2nd and will close on Monday, September 10th at 11:59pm (Central Time).
Disclaimer
Bubblingwitheleganceandgrace.com will receive two DVDs, Healing Grace I and Healing Grace 2 for writing this heartfelt honest review of the movie, Healing By Grace 2:Ten days of Grace.
Wherever you turn, there are guides to being fashionable on a budget, but when you are struggling day to day, it can be difficult to encapsulate a consistent sense of style, and this is where your lifestyle comes into play somewhat. If you are used to the finer things in life, having a spring clean of sorts in what you spend your money on, will help you to cut corners financially, but still enjoy the fruits of your labor. So, without further ado, what are the lifestyle habits we need to curtail to make sure we have a whale of a time?
Your Car First things first, if you have a car that gulps fuel, and it’s essential to your lifestyle, you can think about driving more economically, or taking the opportunity to calculate whether it’s cheaper to get public transport, a cab, or get in your car? But also, are you paying over the odds for your car insurance? On cheapautoinsurance.co there are plenty of insurance policies to look at, just to make sure you are getting the best policy for your budget. It’s not the most interesting of things, but if you are looking to maintain a certain lifestyle, you need to find ways to cut back in other areas. And the next one is one of the best ways…
Your Food If you’ve been a student, you know how important it is to save some money so you can socialize, and the way for you to do this was to cut back on your food, but you can still have a healthy diet even though you are cooking with the basic ingredients. On buzzfeed.com there are some handy hints to cooking on a budget, but when you are looking for parts of your lifestyle to restrict; your food is one of the simplest ways. And this doesn’t mean you have to live off porridge and lentils! There are so many cheap dietary staples that are great for you, like pulses, and never underestimate the power of herbs and spices to improve a dull and bland meal!
Your Nightly Excursions Before panic sets in, and you can’t live without your nightly hubbub with your friends, there are just a few things to change to make it more financially bearable for you. You don’t have to go out, so why don’t you stay in and have people around? By finding ways around making these three things, it will have a fantastic impact on your finances, so you can make the most of your weekends, and spend time with the people you care about. And remember, if you are desperate for new clothes, and you’ve been sticking to one type of style, mixing and matching with friends, or even heading to thrift stores, can throw up some unique and new ideas that you never considered before. Making a change in your lifestyle always sounds like you have to drastically alter your budget, but you don’t necessarily have to.
FTC Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
I read on Facebook today that our friend Margie went to heaven. She fought hard. She was tough. In spite of her challenges, she always had a smile on her face. Our prayers go out to her family and her close friends. Margie loved the Lord with all her heart. She was a survivor and outgoing. She would tell anyone about Jesus and dedicated to her church. She was a hard worker and enjoyed life to the fullest.
I met Margie at the church we both attended. Every time I would see her, she would greet me with a big smile and a hug. She was a part of the Go ministry, where she and the team would go out into the community and tell people that they need to make Jesus Lord of their lives. When I saw her singing in the choir, I could tell that she felt every word that she was singing. A true Christ follower.
My hubby said that she would always say, “Hello brother Jason” in a deep voice every time she saw him. Margie worked with us on a program at the church. We included her in a promotional video that we created for the event. She can be seen at 0:52 and 2:01 mark of the video seen below.
Margie was a bright light in this world and will continue to shine in the hearts of everyone who knew her.
Isaiah 41:10fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Philippians 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Words cannot say how I feel right now. Tears are streaming down my face as I write this post because I have lost my little buddy, my fur baby, and a part of my family. Gio went to heaven on Monday. If you are not an animal lover, you wouldn’t understand. And that’s okay because you don’t have to.
Gio
I celebrate his life. He had the energy of an Energizer bunny — very playful. He brought so much joy to everyone who met him. He is and will always be a family member.
This is a joyful post because he always made me laugh. He made everyone laugh and brought so much love to our family. Gio was a rescue dog. He came into our lives by the way of a colleague at work giving me a flyer with his picture on it (I still have that poster of him). When I saw it, my heart melted. I know that my hubby grew up with beagles on a farm so when he saw him he thought he was cute and wanted to bring him home. The story the family told us was that they had three beagles of their own and the female was trying to attack Gio because she didn’t like him getting too close to their child. And the female beagle would not stop, so if no one took him, they were going to have to take him to the local dog pound. Well we wouldn’t let that happen.
We brought him home and it took some time for him to know that we really loved him. We don’t know his past so we respected that and continued to love on him. And when he knew the love he gave so much love to us in return. That unconditional love he gave us is priceless. Our veterinarian said that he was 2 years old when we got him so he was fourteen, and we had 12 years of Gio being part of our family.
Gio
My sweet Gio we love you, miss you, and you will be in our hearts forever.
We learned so much from Gio about life that we wanted to share it with you in future blog posts.
Learn More About JT Bubbling with Elegance and Grace is a place for life long learners. The Bubbling With Elegance And Grace team was created 14 years ago. A passion for fashion sparked a lifestyle blog for our Elegant Community to enjoy. We are thankful and in gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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