Gettin' Hitched!

I'm getting married to my best friend! So cliche but so true. Taylor proposed to me on February 4th which was his 23rd birthday. His mom suggested that we plan him a surprise party for him and I was all over it. I love surprises. I invited all of his friends that I knew were in Nashville and some folks from Knoxville. The plan was perfect. His mom rented a room in the church that he grew up in so we decided to tell him that we were going to swing by the church and pick his mom up before dinner. Totally believable because Mrs. Anne has tons of friends at that church.

We were walking into the church and I was SO excited, I knew he was going to love it! Right before we got to the room where everyone was waiting he stopped me and asked me to take off my coat and purse, all the while i'm thinking..."No way! We have to keep walking! There's people waiting, and plus, i'm cold" but he asked again so I did. All of a sudden I got a strange feeling that everything that i had planned wasn't actually happening. The nervous sweats began. We were standing in front of the chapel door where we met 7 years ago. He asked me if i remembered the first time we were in this chapel together. The tears began to pour. I wasn't even in the dang chapel before I started blubbering! He opens the door to a pitch black room the only things that could be seen were tea light candles lining both sides of the isle, and the cross on the stage. There was a beautiful circle of flowers in the exact spot where we met when we were 16 and our song was playing on repeat in the background. 

If you know me, you can only imagine how hard I was crying. I kept thinking, Lacey, shut up... you are NOT a pretty crier. That only made it worse. The "i love you's" that i've been waiting to hear from taylor began to pour forth and swept over my heart. I couldn't believe it. After 6 years of dating, I couldn't believe this moment had finally come! 

So, all that to say, I'm getting married! At first, it didn't feel real. Now, it feels so natural. I've wanted to marry Taylor for 7 years, it's a relief to finally know that it's going to happen! Planning has been crazy and so incredibly fun! We have a date which is September 25th if you were wondering! We are getting hitched at Cedarwood Mansion in Nashville! 

These next few months will be crazy! We are going to try to have everything planned by mid-May which is when we leave to go to Pine Cove! Can it be done? I don't know, I'll keep you posted haha! We are so incredibly excited to learn what the Lord has prepared for us to learn. It truly is by the grace of God that we are together. The Lord has been so good to us and has redeemed both of us in HUGE ways. I'm am excited, nervous, giddy and terrified to venture into this thing which shows the world how deeply and intimately Christ loves his Church. Wow. What a responsibility and privilege. Prayers are needed and very appreciated! I'm excited to share our journey with you in hopes the Lord will receive the glory that only He deserves. We are so thankful for each and every one of you who has been a part of our crazy story. You probably don't realize how precious your friendships are to us.

Some picture are coming soon! 

Rollin through the hood with tha roomies...

Doing what most girls do on a chilly Saturday... roller blading, scootering and biking through the neighborhood.

a heart worth dying for

It was dark. The darkest dark that I’ve ever known. Mangled and weak, I was paralyzed beneath the weight of the sin that was stealing the very breath within me. The worst part was, I didn’t know.

 It was too heavy. The weight of my chains I mean. The chains that I had been swaddling myself in for years finally slammed me to the ground. Breathing was a conscious effort. In…Out...It was getting harder as the resistance against you continued to grow. In….Out…In………Out…………In……………. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was dead. It was in this very moment of helplessness and naivety that you looked at me and spoke the most beautiful words that will ever fall upon my soul. You whispered, “that is a heart worth dying for”. As I lay there breathless and cold with scarlet carved upon my heart you spoke life into me. You spoke hope into me. You spoke truth into me. I am new. Finally.

Breathing this time seemed different. Effortless. Enjoyable and light. In.Out.In.Out. But how? How is this happening? To me, of all people? I didn’t ask, I didn’t seek… I didn’t….

“It is finished.” Were the words of my Father that wrapped around my healing heart. “That’s how. I’ve loved you before I spoke the world into existence. Before anyone loved you, I did. I loved you first and I will love you last. As I hovered over the waters of the Earth in the beginning, I knew you. Every part of your heart, and I still love you. I saved you from death because the love I have for you is the most overwhelming love that has ever been. I’ve known from the start that you were mine. I knew from the start that you had a heart worth dying for.”

I can offer nothing to Him who continues to breathe life into me. His name is greater than all things that were created. He alone saves the lost, draws near to the broken hearted, heals the sick, cares for the widows and fathers the fatherless. What have I to offer?

“There is one thing I desire more than anything, one thing that I rejoice over, one thing that overwhelms my heart with joy.”

It’s a struggle, I won’t lie. There are days that I willingly pick up a chain and heave it around my neck, only to find the familiar heaviness unsuitable for the new heart I’ve been given. I remember how He found me. Cowering in the corner of my sin. Filthy and hopeless. He saved me, so I try to give what He desires. Complete surrender. Dying to myself and trusting that He will revive me daily. He does. My King, Jesus Christ, has a heart worth dying for. 

Faithful

Faithful- Brooke Fraser

There's distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
i wave my arms' round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close, though I know you're always here
But the comfort of you near is what i long for

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same

When I can't hear you, I know you still hear everyword I pray
And I want you more than i want to live another day
And as I wait for you maybe I'm made more faithful

"No Thanks"

She is four. Church to her is cold pews, dangling feet, pretty windows, and some sort of singing, if that's what you  call it. She sits on the pew as she plays with the hymnal. Wide eyed and filled with wonder as she gazes around the sanctuary. She knows that it's Jesus' birthday today and that's exciting because all birthdays are exciting, right? Especially to a four year old. 


People are in a line eating and drinking when the line comes to the end. What is this? She wonders. What are they eating? What are they drinking? It's her turn...she follows her family down what seems to be an unending red carpet. It's time. What are these people saying? I'm next, so I guess I'll find out. "Child, this bread is the body of Christ, broken for you. Eat this in remembrance of me." "This wine is the blood of Christ shed for you and for me. Drink this in remembrance of me." As she looked up to the people speaking and back at her family, she said "No thanks" and walked right past the beautiful supper that the Lord had graciously invited her to. And ohhh did He want her to come to His dinner. He yearns for her to come. I imagine the Lord's anticipation as His child walked down that seemingly endless carpet, hoping for the honor to dine with her. "No Thanks". The Fathers heart breaks. He wanted to talk to her, teach her, make her laugh, dance with her, tell her that she is the most beautiful young woman and that He is totally enthralled by her beauty. 

How often do we do this? I know for me personally, an embarrassing amount of times. We look full into the Lord's face and say "no thanks" and go along our way, chained from head to toe in bondage to sin. By saying no thanks, we are saying to the one who breathed life into our bodies that "no thanks God, my ways and plans are far better that your plans and the taste of sin is far better than the holiness that you offer." Oh how it must hurt the Fathers heart to hear those words. No thanks. 

Beloved, the Lord desires your heart in the most intense way that we can comprehend, he yearns to satisfy every little nook and cranny of your soul. My prayer through this season is that our tendencies to say "no thanks" will be suffocated out of our hearts by the Holy Spirit and that we shall be filled with the Living Water that our God SO desires to give us.

Next time your invited to the Lord's supper, which is daily, my prayer is that you are able to just bask in the incredible and intense beauty of what has been done for us. We are bought with the most precious sacrifice that could have ever been made. Breath that truth deep into your heart. It.is.finished. You are no longer bound to the things of this world! What good news! 

Know that you are deeply desired and deeply loved by your Heavenly Father and that He is eagerly awaiting your heart and his arms are wide open. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I wanted to introduce you to my new/old 1976 Schwinn bike that my loving boyfriend renovated and gave me for Christmas! I'm trying to decide what to name her. So far I've got.... Betsy, Bridgett, or Rhoda. All hilarious and appropriate names. I'm open to ideas if anyone has any! The video below is my mom and I riding our bikes in the snow! I gotta tell ya, i'm in love...with my bike that is! :) Hope everyone had a wonderful, magical, joyful Christmas!

Bicycle! Bicycle!