the Lord is faithful to the end.

i really love that the Lord cares about everything that matters to us... even the smallest things.

a little over two weeks ago, i went with Mom to birmingham to shop for my wedding dress. if you know me at all, you know i'm not a dress shopper. i think most dresses are adorable, i just don't wear them too often. and i definitely don't like trying them on. shopping for my prom dresses in high school was pretty much as close to a nightmare as it gets.

my attitude was slightly predominantly negative preceding the trying on of dresses, but the whole day turned out to be a huge success and such a blessing. Mom and I had a long overdue fun day (including lunch at The Cheesecake Factory!), and my wedding dress was the 4th one i tried on!

for everyone who may read this and is looking for a wedding dress, i highly recommend The White Room. Carolyn and her daughter Cathy are absolutely amazing! they were precious and so very accommodating. when Carolyn told me Cathy would find me a dress that day, i have to admit, i was doubtful. 'the dress' she ended up bringing me was nothing like the one i had pictured, but she knew exactly what would look best on me. when i got it on and all pinned up, i knew it was the one. after we bought it, Cathy came back in the dressing room and her eyes were as big as saucers. she brought the tag to me and told me to read the name of the dress... and it was named 'Emily.' [oh, and my dress had been marked half off right before i got there.]

God took a day that i was dreading and turned it into a story i can tell.

He really does care about all the details.

St. Augustine

purposeful relationships

i have an idea.

instead of Facebook messaging or texting a friend or family member today, why not call them up and say hello? (i'm speaking to myself as i type these words, too, because i'm just as bad about this as anyone). i'm trying to be better. but seriously, this whole social media thing has gotten out of control. i am not saying it's all bad. i'm using social media by blogging for the whole world to see (although i'm quite sure approximately two people will read this and that i'll also eventually hate even the idea of blogging at all). i think it'd be safe to say that at least 50% of social media leads to nothing good. and i'm aware i'm sometimes extreme to a fault.

i've been encouraged via Facebook, no doubt. i know most of us lead busy lives and it's hard to be intentional in maintaining our friendships when we have so much going on in our own lives. i have a number of close friends, and even though we may go a month without talking, we have no doubt we're still friends. life is just busy, and we have to prioritize. all of that to say: it's good to use social media when we have five minutes instead of an hour to catch up. and it's also nice to come across an encouraging thought/quote/video that may help us through our Mondays.

but we CANNOT replace one-on-one interaction with social media. period. if i see one more husband and wife having a conversation over Facebook while they are sitting in the same room, i might just throw up. it's not cute, and it doesn't make the world say, "awww, look at those two." honestly, it makes me wonder why they're not saying what they need to say to each other in person. our words do not need the world's approval. being one who sometimes says way too much without considering my words beforehand, privacy is becoming so much more special to me. if we share all of our most intimate moments with the world, we have nothing left for the most special people in our lives.

sanctity. sacred. valuable. all of these words come to mind. in my opinion, we all need to lay low for a while and understand the meaning of these words for ourselves.

sorry for the rant.

Color palette.

(...minus anything chevron)