Embracing Him

He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11a)

Every girl needs her own space right? I have always wanted to have a dressing area in my bedroom with ample space for me to do my hair, apply my makeup, and paint my nails.

My former vanity was the one my mother had as a teen. Though I love that vanity, it was small and becoming overcrowded with all my girly gadgets. I started looking for a larger replacement vanity, but couldn’t find one in the color and size I wanted. In addition, the few I had considered settling for (in desperation!) cost much more than my budget allowed.

What’s a girly girl to do when faced with such a dilemma? Bring her concerns to her loving husband of course! After talking to JT about what I wanted, he agreed that it would probably be next to impossible for me to find a vanity in the size, color, and price range I desired. To solve my problem, he offered to build a simple vanity shelf for me.

At first I wasn’t sure a vanity shelf would look right, but JT assured me that it would. He patiently strolled through Lowes with me while I found the perfect piece of wood. After the wood was cut, he stained it for me, and anchored it to the wall. The result? The spacious, attractive (and inexpensive!) vanity I had dreamed about for so many months!

Once the shelf was up, I was ready to spruce up the area. At the local Goodwill store, I was able to find a few heavy, textured, decorative candy dishes to use as makeup brush and utensil holders. While there, I also discovered a huge, custom-made, cushioned bench that fits under the vanity shelf perfectly. This beauty was a real steal at less than $15!

Now that my vanity is in place, getting ready each day is much easier. All my girly gadgets are in one place and I’ve got room for them all. The area is well lit and spacious. For me, this vanity sure beats trying to beautify in the bathroom under the wrong type of light! For JT, it means my girly glory isn’t spread all over our bathroom.

This simple little creation works well for both of us!

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. (Romans 7:18-19)

Ever since Adam and Eve nibbled on forbidden fruit, we have been battling sin. Even after we admit our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our personal war against sin yet rages on. Paul notes that though we want to do the right thing, our sinful, human nature can make it difficult for us to do so.

None of us are exempt from losing control and misbehaving. Just last night, I snapped, made a poor choice, and was later left asking myself, “Why, oh why, did I do that?”

I was having difficulties uploading some information to my blog so I sought help from JT. In the process of fixing one problem another problem was created when I was accidentally locked out of my blog’s administrative panel for a while.

According to JT, what followed was “quite the shootout” as my anger met his stubbornness head on! Was it my intention to blow up at JT? Was it his intention to take a stubborn stance? Certainly not, but we both succumbed to sin and ended up doing things we ought not and did not want to do.

Last night, JT and I were both reminded that the battle against sin is ongoing. Sin is an annoying parasite that latches onto us, irritates us, bites us, and infects us. Thankfully, our Savior Jesus Christ is the soothing salve for our sinful short comings! We can’t rely on our own strength as we wage this war against sin. We know what we want to do, but God knows what we ought to do. It is only in His power that we are able to act in a manner that glorifies our Heavenly Father. Thank God we can lean on Him and not wage this war against sin alone!

Photo: Courtesy of PauloElias (Flickr)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (Ephesians 4:9-10)

Today JT and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! During today’s service, the church recognized August wedding anniversaries and presented all couples with roses as the congregation sang an anniversary song. (I so love stuff like that!)

Six years and two children later, JT and I are still dedicated to each other and our marriage remains a top priority. Over the past six years, God has used our marriage to draw us closer to Him and to further develop the fruit of the Spirit within us. Daily God is teaching us both about the importance of doing things His way.

Though we didn’t celebrate privately today, JT and I did enjoy a great Sunday with our girls. We hope to have a belated celebration later this week. Thanks to the generosity of some close friends, JT and I will be enjoying a cozy dinner at a restaurant we’ve been eyeing for a while. (Won’t you join us in praying that the babysitter is free some evening this week?) In the meantime, we’re looking forward to many, many more happy years together!