These Are The Moments...

How do I start this? Where exactly do I begin? Well, after a few months of sitting, waiting, thinking, I’ve decided it’s time. Maybe this will end up kept to myself, maybe it’ll be enough to motivate one other person, or maybe this will hold me accountable. Regardless, here goes nothing… [Late is better than never, right?]

In December, I was thinking about different, meaningful “New Years Resolutions.” No, not those “I’ll change something for a few days or a week, then go right back to my old habits - even though, often, that’s the easiest way. So, obviously, going to the gym & eating healthy were NOT an option! Haha… Because my will power in that category has run all the way across the country. 

After so much thought I’d nearly given up, I was reminded of the numerous times I’ve spent “looking forward” to things, events, people, meetings, dates, etc. I can honestly say, I have probably thrown away entire weeks just waiting on that one thing to “make me happy.” Maybe this is absolute crazy talk, but I promise you… I’ve allowed this to be my life, my entire life. 

Not to say everything has been a waste, but often times, the things I have looked so forward to have been disappointing. Ya know… It didn’t all go as planned [Hm. You’d think I would have learned that life throws curve balls constantly before the age of 25 - Ha!], something else came up, or I didnt even get to do what I had originally intended. Why? What’s the point? Is that really ‘living’ for God?

If I honestly tallied up all the time spent hoping, wishing, and waiting in anticipation, I would truly be heartbroken by the moments I let slip me by. All the times I said “in a few months, I’ll be going home,” “right now, I need to clean before people come next week - so I cant,” or the “we are going on vacation… just 20 more days, now 19, now 18.” 

Don’t you think God intends for us to make the most of every single day we’ve been given, or better yet, make the most of every second? “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should ENJOYgood IN his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of GOD.” [Ecclesiastes 2:24]

How many months have I wasted looking forward to a certain vacation, family visit, weekend home, or even just a day off… God doesn’t intend for us to only ‘really live’ on our two days off for the week or our two weeks of vacation for the year. Doesn’t He want us to ENJOY good IN our labor? Not just after, not just before, but even WHILE laboring? 

Now, I will say… 2013 has been better, but still a constant work in progress. Like I tell all my patients, “we will take improvement” because I’m taking baby steps in the right direction. 

Moral of the story, I don’t want to be the girl with regret, missed memories, time wasted. I want to be a witness in all areas - To be truly happy with EVERYTHING God has given me… Because it is ALL in our lives for a reason:friends, circumstances, family, obstacles, even trials and work! His TIMING truly is PERFECT. So, let’s start living like it!

“And WHATEVER you do, do it HEARTILY, as TO the LORD and not to men…” [Colossians 3:23] <—- I’ll be expanding on this powerful scripture later. 

Nothing But Nonsense

The thoughts going through my head... I'm completely aware they make no sense. All I know is that they need to be down on something, told to someone... I guess that someone is you. Thanks for listening.

Giving. Caring. Scheduling. Writing. Calling. Texting. Planning. Deciding. Prioritizing. Creating. Sharing. Spreading. Helping. Cooking. Counseling. Dusting. Fixing. Informing. Reading. Encouraging. Passing. Petting. Cleaning. Understanding. Telling. Assessing. Typing. Mopping. Paging. Sweeping. Feeding. Running. Checking. Holding. Transferring. Updating. Straightening. Smiling. Working. Listening. Advising. Loving. [[And all on a daily basis.]]

I suppose my motto for the moment is "Dont stop 'til you drop..."

What I want... for you, whoever you are & wherever you're at, to say a prayer for me. Im scared that being stretched too thin will leave me inadequate in some areas & make me lose sight of what's important. It's not always easy to remind myself that it's ALL for His glory - I can't lose focus... I cant.

Thanks to whoever you are... For keeping me in check.

Until next time,
XoXo

"a dog can express more with his tail in seconds than his owner can express with his tongue in hours..."

Just some updated photos of my favorite boys [Bentley & Bama]... <3

SYTYCD [Yep, I finally gave in...]

---Watch the youtube link below---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxMWSomnRb4

I have to admit, Sasha isn't my favorite dancer, but they did an exquisite job on this dance. Loved the story, detail, & technique. Wow!

[[The more I watch this show, the more I kick myself for not joining Ice Bears dance team this year... :/]]

Our Wedding Video

http://www.modernmemoryfilms.com/#/galleries/video/full%20weddings/0

Either click on the link above or copy and paste it! :)

**Please only view on a computer. You cannot access it on phone.**

Be sure to check out Brad's work [www.modernmemoryfilms.com]. We absolutely LOVED working with Modern Memory Films. They are such a fun loving couple that are just a joy to be around. Most importantly, they captured every SINGLE detail of our wedding day... How awesome is it to be able to replay this over & over again & feel all those same emotions. Wow! I have seen it probably 20 times just in our first year of marriage... It will never get old. These videos [& our wedding pictures] are my most prized possessions.

Only Modern Memory Films could truly capture our fairytale on video... <3

Opening Our Eyes

How neat is this...

During devotions this morning, I ran across a few things that I thought were important to share.

Proverbs 28:27 - "Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed."

*Think about it. God promises that He will supply our needs... But often times He goes about doing that through using the resources he has given us - people! I can't help but ask myself... What am I doing right now that is helping God supply others' needs? Volunteering isn't only about giving to people, it is about being of service to GOD! How exciting AND motivating. :)

Proverbs 29:7 - "The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don't care at all."

Proverbs 31:20 - "She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy."
*This verse [really all of Proverbs 31] is describing the ideal wife/woman. Not only does she do for her family and put their needs before her own, she also gives to those less fortunate. Now all the specifics are not something we can conquer in one sitting or even one year; however, these qualities are something we should use as an inspiration - something to aspire to in all of our futures.

Goal for the week: find a real way to give back!

<3 Until next time, Jordan Leigh

The Beginning of a Journey

[Okay, bear with me...]

The way this will probably make the most sense is if I go back to last week. After a few months of looking into local volunteering options and researching ways to help out, it hit me like a ton of bricks... I truly want to make a difference. Not just in the community, but within myself.

I know, I know. It sounds crazy... But so much has been going on lately. During all this, I really have finally found so much peace and a new-found excitement. Preparing for it to be something temporary, I have decided to stand firm and hold on for the ride - I will not let go of this feeling! Bottom line - it is time for us to get REAL.

I guess I don't really know how to make sense of it all, but I do know that it's time for us to stop begin so self-involved, self-absorbed, and self-righteous. Now, I know I have always been eager to volunteer and helping others is one of the many things that brought me into the nursing field in the first place; however, there is MORE to just helping out. [I know this sound crazy.]

I see so many people go through the motions - sadly so many volunteers, families, and even Christians seem to do what they feel they have to do to "get by" to say "well, I do this or I do that.." When are we all going to start doing EVERYTHING we can and for the RIGHT reasons? No titles, no status-quo, no stereotypes.

Why don't the people that have extra time on their hands spend it at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or other non-profit organizations?

Why don't people that are well-off give to those struggling to make ends meet? Or even make donations to organizations in need?

Most importantly... Why aren't we, as Christians, out there trying to spread the word that God is real, Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, and that salvation is the answer... Why don't we care enough to DO SOMETHING? The world needs to see our excitement about God and needs to see us ecstatic about our eternity in Heaven [which I will touch on in a later post].

I am in the middle of reading many, many different books at the moment [Again, I know that's nuts]... One of them stated roughly 250,000 people die every day. You know what that means? Every day, those people either go to Heaven or hell!!! What are we doing just "going to church"? We need to be out there reaching the lost!

Okay, I suppose all this is coming from doing a lot of reading, devotions, our recent youth retreat, some discussions in our women's bible study, and a humbling new TV show. But honestly people, don't you think it's time to get REAL. No matter what you do, are, or consider yourself... Don't you think it's time to just be real?

IM EXCITED!!! Let's make a difference... Let's be true role models... Let's be real witnesses.

<3

Today was a Fairytale

[I know it's been so long since I've been able to update everyone...]

June was such an amazing month. I had recently graduated from college, moved out of my apartment. We [my family & friends] moved "my life" from Illinois to Tennessee - the only thing is that I wasn't going to be living there til after the wedding. So for the months of May & the beginning of June, I lived out of a suitcase. :)

The family started arriving to help decorate for the wedding & finish all the final touches. Since there are so many amazing memories & things I could go into so much detail about, Ill just touch on a few favorites... [The girls putting together all the gift bags for our hotel/out-of-town guests - what a system we had down. Going to look at flowers and make the final changes the day before - but being floored by how perfect it was... Exactly as I had dreamed. Standing in the freezer with my girls - Haha. Getting our marriage license at the courthouse. Watching too many hours of Wipeout. All my family & friends at my brothers ball game the night before rehearsal. Don Sol for the last time with my favorites. Running around like idiots dropping off gift bags at hotels. The horrible nail job - And the last minute fix. The organized chaos. My aunt's amazing structure for our two hour crunch time at the reception hall decorating. Everyone having specific jobs! Pictures left & right every 5 seconds. All the amazing phone calls and texts. Getting ready, shaking like a leaf. Writing in Josh's bible, in tears. Getting my hair done with my girls. The cameras in our faces' all day. Walking into the church with everyone, but not noticing anyone - overcome with joy. Getting my dress on - then realizing I should have went to the bathroom first. Visiting the bathroom 20 times in 5 minutes. Sweating like crazy. Reading & re-reading my vows. Walking down the aisle with my dad. Seeing Josh's face - Even though ~400 people were there, not seeing anyone but him! Hearing Josh's song - Doing everything in my power not to cry. Getting announced. Walking out together. Seeing all the amazing love we were surrounded by, all the awesome people that came to our wedding! Pictures like crazy. Our first dance. Our beautiful cake. The stunning reception hall. Friends & family. The drive to Effingham that took way too long. :) Walking into the hotel - everyone hollering for us! Our first night as a married couple. :) Oh and of course, Domino's pizza.

What an absolutely amazing day. I can honestly say I never stressed out over any of the wedding things, not the planning or even the day itself. It was even more than I had ever dreamed... We can't thank God enough for how beautiful it all turned out & how smoothly the day went! <3

The day after, we drove back to Mattoon. With all of our family members, we chowed down, visited, laughed, took pictures, and opened all our wedding gifts, and cards. It was the PERFECT Sunday! What a wonderful way to be "sent off" before our honeymoon starting Monday.

Hawaii was breath-taking... There is just no way to describe it all - You HAVE to see it for yourself at some point in your life. [We CANNOT WAIT to go back!]

[[Some of our "adventures" since our marriage: I will say, Josh was sick on the first two days of our honeymoon... His family had gotten him sick. When I say sick, I mean SICK. And vomiting on a 9 hour plane ride = miserable. But that was just the START to our many marriage adventures... Haha since then, we had to worry about Maui's fire. The emergency sirens going off at the hotel. A dear loved one passed away while we were on our honeymoon. I passed a kidney stone [not too long after I officially moved to TN] - So I had my first ER experience as a patient. A skunk got into our air unit around 3:30am one morning. I got a bunch of maggots & ants in my trunk [and all over my hands] when taking our trash to the dump. I got food poisoning. Haha the list goes on...]]

**Even with all these crazy things, I wouldnt have it any other way... Being married to the man you have always dreamed of, finding your soul mate is nothing sort of a magical miracle. The feelings, the thoughts, the dreams, the firsts, the obstacles, the joys, the love... it's nothing sort of PERFECT! **

[Ill post some of our professional pictures as soon as we get them! But for now...]

Good friends. Great times. Awesome memories.

So, this past weekend was Bachelorette Weekend! Horray! We had such a wonderful time... Of course, it wasn't your "typical" bachelorette party, but it was ME - it was exactly what I could have ever dreamed! Most of my favorite girls all in one place, eating good food, enjoying the beautiful weather, playing games, acting obnoxious, and laughing all day and night!

I owe my bridesmaids a HUGE THANK YOU for all their hard work, time, and money! All of you mean so much to me! :) It was a wonderful day that I will always remember. Thanks for making me feel so special! <3

Here are a few pictures of the big event!

I Want More of You and Less of Me

These past few days, I've really lost sight of what's important...

I've been so stressed with sooo much to do, jobs to be applying for, packing up my life, assignments, papers, studying, worrying about boards, planning this and that. I honestly feel like I lost myself these past few days with all the worry and anxiety.

Instead of knowing that God has everything planned perfect for me, I've been worrying about how I am going to get everything done on my own. That's just it. I wont get anything done alone. I'm so glad that God knows just what I need! Some days I get the perfect text, the sweetest voicemail, the most praiseworthy weather, the nicest compliment, and greatest encouragement at JUST the right time. Things like that are never a coincidence!

Well, I just wanted to ramble a bit because I feel so refreshed! If you, too, feel like you've lost yourself... I challenge you to remember what's important!

[On a very happy note, Josh and I had our first amazing wedding shower. :) And we have nearly everything we need for the wedding. My amazing aunts have taken over the decorations, but we have most everything figured out... And have some great, unique touches. <3 June 5th will be an amazing day for us!!!]

Love you all.