[On my Heart] Run to Jesus.

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Often the plans we have for our own lives are not God's plans for us.

We have to trust Him & exercise our faith knowing that He will work it for our good ~ which is His good, all for His glory.

At times when I am low, it is usually because I am not clinging to His truth.

I am not seeking Him the way I should be.

The world around me has once again taken over and problems seem too big.

Then I am reminded....

God is Bigger!

When I realise the problem is not the things around me, but in fact with me.

I run back to Jesus.

Into His arms.....

And the problems seem so much smaller.

Not as important as they once seemed.

They might still be a big deal and valid concerns.

But the knowledge that the one who moves mountains (Mark 11:23-24)

has me by my right hand (Psalm 73:23).

He is the one writing my story.

He will lead me in the part I have in His larger story.

I am trying to learn to let go of what I feel are my rights in life.

Everything beautiful in life is a blessing, not a right.

Being happily married, having godly children, living a life of purity waiting for the One He has.

All these are gifts from the Lord, a result of His grace, they are not earned.

It is by His grace, I am able to have anything beautiful in my life.

Without Him, I am nothing.

So He has been teaching me to focus on the joyful things He has blessed me with.

Not with the things which for now, are not part of my life.

To focus on the beautiful friendships, family & relationships He has given me.

This past week I did not write much, 

I was refocusing on the Lord.

Relining my Heart to His will for my life.

Learning to be content with where He has me, and continuing to learn what He wants me to learn at this moment in time.

No matter how hard.

Because nothing else in this life is as important as that.

Run to Jesus, sweet friends.

There is no better place to spend your time.

Much Love,

L

P.S. Check out the website linked to the first picture! Haha so much fun! It was edited, just so you know =)
P.P.S. I will leave the signup for the Spring Fling Swap open over the weekend just in case you missed it! If you have already signed up, you should be getting an email from Erin & I soon!!!! Yay!!! 

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Guestbook Ideas]

 

I thought I would share a few guestbook ideas I have had floating around with you guys today.

I still love the idea we did for our own wedding although I have found many others which I LOVE as well.

For our wedding, I ordered a photobook online of our engagment pictures and had them on plain white backgrounds so that people could write around them. I love this book, it is full of such wonderful messages from people who travelled to come and be with us as we were married before the Lord.

Such a beautiful keepsake.

You can order these from sites likle Shutterfly or Snapfish. Oh and Shutterfly often send you free codes for their products, just leaving you to pay shipping. I have ordered 2 photobooks in the last year from them (one was finished last night) only paying about $8 for them (shipping). 

So if you aren't getting married for a while and you want a guestbook, you could totally wait until they have another free photobook deal going on.

We set it up on a table at the reception with the gems you can see in the first picture (totally walmart's wedding aisle) and some candles I found on clearance in Walmart also. 

I don't have a picture of what it looked like, but I was really happy with the effect. 

I would highly recommend getting engagements pictures taken, there are so many things you can use them for in decorating for your wedding. 

People like me who love pictures just LOVE this aspect of weddings. 

Plus it makes for a fun date in the midst of all the sometimes crazy planning =)

We actually had 2 sets done. One by A's cousin who is an AWESOME photographer, and another by our wedding photographer who did an engagement session with us.

Of course, his pictures turned out pretty unbelieveable.

We didn't plan to have 2 sessions...but it worked out that way.

And it gave us a much wider selection of photos to choose from =)

Since our wedding, I have seen the thumbprint idea being used for a guestbook...which is just darling! 

I so wish I had known about this beforehand.

I would love to make one for someone.

Here are some pictures of what I am talking about:

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Wouldn't they just look super cute hanging up in a newlywed home =) 

Such a beautiful reminder of all the people who were a part of the ceremony before the Lord.

All the people praying for them & cheering them on in their married life. 

I have seen this done where the guests themselves make the fingerprints....if you do this at your wedding don't forget to bring paper wipes for after =)

A few other sweet ideas I love:

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Of course if you can't choose, I'm sure you could have several of these at your wedding. 

As a guest it is great to have things to do during the reception or when arriving places. 

Happy picking! 

I love the little cute things like this at weddings.

So sweet.

Much Love,

L

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Glorious Spring & Etsy Surprise.

I apologize for not posting on Monday this week, friends.

I have been struggling to get well after having a really bad flu bug. Sounds like the never-ending excuse but unfortunately it is true.

I am feeling much better this evening, finally after a day of unbelievably painful stomach cramps. 

My poor sweet husband ending up watching the 2 kids I was caring for today =)

He is amazing.

So hopefully my body is finally healing. I no longer have the flu or the sinus infection that followed.

So hopefully I can start working out again this week.

I don't think I shared my goal for working out. 

During lent I wanted to give up 'not exercising'....

I don't usually give up things for Lent but I used it as motivation to kick my own butt into getting into shape. 

So I started the Jillian Michael's six week six-pack. As it is mainly my abs that needed work.

I saw results after just a week. I don't do it every day as this started to give me bad joint problems. So I work out for 3 days, then take a day off. Then do 3 more and a day off.

I did stop while I was sick and have struggled to start again with all the other viral problems that followed.

My plan is to work out for 40 days (I figured this was roughly six weeks of intense workout with maybe a day off a week). So I am on day 14.....after about a 10 day break, which was unplanned.

Just thought I would share.

And leave you with some beautiful pictures of the blossom trees in our neighbourhood.

A & I went for a walk and enjoyed looking at them all.

I think the white ones look like giant cottonballs on trees.

I have added several to my Etsy store which you can buy as prints.....

Click HERE to go to the store.

'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.'
-2 Corinthians 5:17

Use couponcode:

AllGloriousWithin20

for 20% off introductory price!!!

At just over $5 for the digital copy or a print, they are a steal!

Check them out!

Much Love,

L

P.S. If you havn't already....don't forget to sign up for the Spring Fling Swap. Its gonna be a ton of fun I promise!!! =) I'm SO excited!!!

{Spring Fling Swap}

Surprise!!!

Introducing.....

About the Swap:

Spring Fling Swap has been created to celebrate the arrival of Spring (finally!) by making a new friend in the blogging world & sending them some encouragement.

 Don’t you guys love meeting new people and sending them some love? Your package should include a pair of flip flops and other items you think they might like! We want encouragement to be the main goal here, so please make sure you are able to meet all the requirements before you sign up. We are closing this at 100 participants, so sign up now!

 

Swap Partners:

Erin & L will pair you up randomly with one partner who you will send and receive a package from. Hopefully you guys will become friends through this! 

Dates:

         Sign-up remains open until April 6th (sooner if all 100 spaces are filled).

       We will email you guys your partner info by April 9th.

     IMPORTANT: Your package should be mailed by April 30th.

·  May 11th We want you guys to link up on Erin’s Blog and show us what you guys got in your wonderful packages.

Overseas:

Erin & L made the tough decision to close this swap to US residents only. We are extremely sorry if you live overseas. We are both pretty busy at this season in life and felt it wouldn’t be fair to include this option as we feel unable to give the extra time commitment this would require.

Requirements:

1.       Active Blog in 2012 to participate

2.      Must be a US resident.

2. Please spend between $25-30 on the goodies in your package. You may include handmade items (i.e. from your own store) but keep the value within the guideline.

3. Please do not participate if you don’t feel you will be able to stick to the timeline. We want everyone who sends a package of love to receive one back.

4. We are limiting this swap to 100 people. So sign up now!

How to Sign-Up:

Please click HERE and fill out the form.

All the info will be emailed to us and we can start pairing you guys up!


{Sign-Up is now closed.....check back on May 11th to see the fun packages!!!}

Spread the Love:

If you decide to participate, grab our button & stick it on your blog letting people know you are taking part!

<a href="http://allglorious-within.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-fling-swap.html" target="_blank"><img alt="AllGloriousWithin" src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/LisaBarker/SFSbutton.jpg"/></a>

Questions:

Anything we didn’t cover?

Email us at springflingswap@gmail. com

Be sure to stop by Erin’s blog today at SweetnessItself =)

We would love to meet you guys through all this fun =)

We are so excited! We have been giggling and squealing! =)

 Leave us a comment below and let us know if you are participating.

much  love,

Erin & L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Invitations]

I would totally love to see what invitation you guys have used or are planning on using to invite people to your wedding.

Everyone's invitations are so unique. 

You can buy them on clearance (this is totally what I did, they were from Target).

Or you can handmake them.

It really depends on how much you want to spend, how much time you have, how creative you are. 

Or even just what you want them to look like.

I found some really classy black and white ones which I printed in my family's printer and added ribbon to. We created a factory in our dining room for a few hours having everyone able to help doing something for them.

They were printed, then each one had a map included on how to get from the church to the reception, as well as a picture from our engagement pictures collection & a ribbon added to the invitation.

I am not sure if I have a picture of what they looked like.

But you can see them in the mess of the table in the first picture.

Some things to note about invitations:

• The list of options for what they look like really is endless, look around online and see what you might want to do
• Make sure you have them out early enough that people know when your wedding is (especially if summer and people you know travel a lot), or send out save the dates if you think you will need them
• Include website details if you plan on having people RSVP online, this is totally what we did as our invitations were sorted according to continent (no joke) and we couldn't do return mail on them
• If you include website details, you can totally add registry information later, if not you prob should include your registry details somewhere on your invitation
• Include a picture =) People like me love them and put them on the fridge for years
• Don't forget that even if someone can't come to the wedding, they might still want to receive an invitation to keep (we did this for A LOT of people)
• Don't panic at the number you send out, I think only about 70% of most people come to weddings...it might even be less than that. So feel free to invite more than the actual headcount you budget for. We invited about 370 people to our wedding and about 140 came. So you see how that works.
• You don't have to use your wedding colors for your invitations if you don't want to. You can totally go with another combination for the invitation, I think it leaves people guessing =)

If I could redo our invitations, I might choose from some of these designs:

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I LOVE the calligraphy writing on the invitation front. So cute.

Oh yeah....we also used a wax seal on ours. What a neat tip....find an old earring you dont like very much, like a stud....then use a candle and make that your seal print. Its not expensive and it looks super cute =)

Hope that helps with all your planning.

Much Love,

L

P.S. Leave me a comment - I want to hear all about those invitations =)

Home Inspirations.

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One of my favorite days. 

A day to dig out those inspirations.

Oh and I totally picked up 2 baskets to start trying to grow herbs in. Exciting! 

Enjoy the finds! 

Amazing how you can often make these work without paying a ton of money too =)

{Tutorials on some of my finds coming soon....oh and make sure you don't miss Friday's Surprise guys!!}

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 Absolutely!!! Seeing prayers answered on a board like this would be a wonderful reminder of how faithful the Lord is.

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Ok so I don't love this room but I like certain things about it. Like the green dresser and those curtains!! =)

 

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This nursery is so sweet. I love the freshness of the colors. Oh and that rug is totally Ikea ($20), Just in case anyone wants to know....

 

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This would have been my dream room in high school. I love those comforter colors!

 

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These pictures make me hope we have a farmhouse someday.

 

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A armhouse with a woodburning stove so we need all that wood.

 

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This is beautiful. No other words.

 

Happy Winds-Day everyone! =) 

Much Love,

L

Sponsor Spotlight: SweetnessItself

Given the wonderful surprise coming later in the week, yes keep an eye open this friday...

It only seems appropriate to introduce you to a wonderful sponsor of mine & a dear friend.

Meet Erin From Sweetness Itself.

Image Property of {SweetnessItself}

If you have yet to visit her blog. Well it is a must! 

No seriously!! I am not joking....go check it out right this instant and stop listening to me.

You back already? Well ok...I will continue =)

There are girls you meet in this life whom you may not see very often. She and I have never lived in the same place (It is one of my dreams to someday). She is a beauty living on the west coast. The very first time I ever saw the Pacific Ocean (or the West coast), it was with her and because of her. 

If I were Anne living in Green gables....it is quite possible I would want her to be my Diana. She is one of those girls. The ones you know you don't need to talk to everyday to know that if you call them, they will still understand you. Even if life passes for a few months, nothing changes between the 2 of you.

Sweet friends. She is one of them.

Image Property of {SweetnessItself}

 So I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce you not only to her AMAZING blog. 

Which you really should visit quite frequently, because her heart is just amazing and she shares it over there in her virtual living room (aka her blog). 

But also to share the sweet story of how we met.

Image Property of {SweetnessItself}

Picture 18 yr-old Erin & L. Both living on opposite sides of the globe. 

Both with hearts for purity, a love for the Lord & committed to allowing Him to show them the one they would someday marry.

A few months after I arrived at college, a friend introduced me to the puritygirls website. I can't link to this site anymore as it no longer exsists due to personal conflicts with the people running it. However, it was a site dedicated to encouraging young men & women choosing to wait on the Lord to bring His best into their life in a spouse. 

I had surrendered my relationship with A to the Lord at this point in my life. We were not corresponding and living in different countries (again, I apologize more on this story another time).

I decided to join this site and hopefully find encouragement from like-minded girls choosing to trust God with this area of their life.

Once I was a member of the purity girls website, I filled out my profile details and then it moved to the next step (which was optional) of choosing an accountability partner.

So I scanned through the pictures of countless young women all of whom looked awesome in trying to live their lives for the Lord. As I scanned through them I thought well I will choose someone later...then I came across the profile of a girl called Erin. 

I felt a huge nudge, like a voice said to me 'Pick her!'

It was not an audible voice, just to be clear.

As I read through her profile, the nudging happened again.

I was unsure if this was the Lord or just me thinking she looked sweet, so I clicked the button requesting accountability with this sweet californian girl. 

It.Was.The.Lord.

Who nudged me.

A friendship this sweet, was definitely a gift from the Lord.
As we began correspondance that year, I met this incredible girl with such a sweet heart for God.

She encouraged me in my pursuit of Christ, in my loneliness of being single, in so many different ways.

The more I got to know her, the more I found out how similar we were.

We were both the oldest of 2 girls in our families. Both love vintage things, both have blonde hair & blue eyes (in fact her mom mistook me for her when I later visited her), both in love with girly things (I blame her for this change in me haha). 

Image Property of {SweetnessItself}

The Lord has given me this precious friendship & taught me so much from her wonderful heart.

She has been my friend through so many exciting changes in my life.

From loneliness in my first year of college, through exciting courtship with A.

Through engagement to A right after I went to visit her and we actually got to spend a week together in sunny California.

She has been such a true friend to me. 

She was my long-distance bridesmaid as last minute she was unable to make it to our wedding.

I am so thankful the Lord nudged me that day in my dorm room, to pick an accountability partner from SoCal. Just another girl in a bunch on a website. 

She is not just another girl!

This girl has a heart of gold.

She is so precious.

I pray that someday I will be able to witness her earthly prince arriving to sweep her off her feet.

To share in her joy, like she did mine.

And I totally plan on naming a child after her (of course that decision will be made with A)...

because I love her name & because if I someday have a daughter who turns out anything like her....

Well that would be one of the biggest blessings in my life ever!

I was going to describe our trip to see each other.

But that might have to wait.

Praise the Lord for sweet friendships & for ordaining our meeting!!!

Go call or email those wonderful women in your life for no reason other than to say hi. 

You know who they are.
They are a gift from the Lord.

Much Love,

L

 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17 

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

Proverbs 27:9
 

 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12