Tetelesta!

“It is finished!”

I have turned another year older today. I went home to Georgia this past weekend for my last final but of course fabulous shower with friends and family. I am so blessed to have such amazing people who love and care for me. Some of them have never even met Blake, others haven’t seen me in years and they all still shower me with gifts and cards and love.

I walked away from my shower so in awe of people and their generosity.

Little did I know, more was to come…

So to give you all some history, I have acquired some debt with my parents. It started about 5 and half years ago when I bought all new furniture. My parents were kind enough to tell me that I didn’t need to worry about a monthly bill to the furniture store that would have some interest and instead they would pay for it and I could pay them back interest free.

So a few thousand dollars later, I had new furniture and a little debt to mom and dad. Flash forward about 2 months later to someone telling me my parked car had been hit. I walk outside on a Saturday morning to find a 16 year old girl crying in front of her wrecked car and my wrecked parked car. It seemed like a good bit of damage but I wasn’t expecting them to tell me my car was totaled!

So now I was out a car that was paid for and stuck with about $5,000 to try to get a new one? My parents again stepped up to the plate and said they would pay the remaining amount left on the used car I wanted and I could add that to my debt.

So my small debt grew to a tad bit larger than I wanted. I made a point to get a receipt book and pay them back as much as I could afford each month. My internal goal was to pay them off completely in 5 years.

Well the 5 year mark is approaching this coming July 4th and unfortunately I still owed them a little over $2,000. I did not want to bring any major debt into the marriage but both Blake and I talked it over and said we wanted to make that our first priority and try to pay them off as soon as we could.

Well as of Sunday morning, June 27, 2010 my debt has been paid in full thanks to my amazing parents! As an early birthday present they presented me with the last little receipt I had sent with last month’s payment and wrote in big letters “TETELESTA!”
It is finished! And the verse from the cross when Jesus spoke those words:

John 19:30 (New International Version)
30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

I immediately began crying! For so long I had worked hard to pay them back. My tears were such a mix of joy and grace and relief all in one. I cried because I am no longer had that debt to pay. I cried that my parents had just wiped such a large amount away and I cried thinking about the freedom that comes with this gift.

I was crying over $2,000.

Have I cried over my life!? Have I truly thought about what “Tetelesta” means? Have I spent time reflecting on the words that my Savior spoke for just for me while hanging on that cross 2,000 years ago?

The beauty of our faith is that we don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to pay my Savior back. It is finished! It is done! I don’t have to do anything because of what Christ paid on the cross for me.

Its unreal, amazing, beautiful, painful, easy, hard to accept. It’s GRACE.

I heard this once from a Sunday school teacher. He said that it’s amazing to see Buddha’s last words next to Jesus’ last words.

Buddha said: "All conditioned things are impermanent - strive on with diligence!"
Jesus said: “It is finished!”

One great leader told us to strive on, keep working, doing things…the other great leader, creator of the universe, said the opposite-It is finished!

I am blessed to have such amazing parents who would wipe my debt away. I am blessed and humbled to have such an amazing savior who would do the same for me on the cross!

I may have to frame that last receipt slip-for a few reasons!

40 Days

That’s how long I have until I am Mrs. Perry. Only 40 days. I have been reflecting on the arrival of this number for a few weeks now. For some reason 40 days seems a bit more important than even 30 days or 5 days. 40 days.

You can do a lot of stuff in 40 days. You can change your diet, exercise plan, train for a race, flood the earth, be tempted by the devil, kill a giant…wait what?

Yes, it seems like 40 days occurred a lot in the Bible. Some major things happened during a 40 day time period. If you do a search for 40 days on Biblegateway.com, you get 22 results. The most notable are the flood, Moses on the mountain with God, Goliath taking his stand every day, Jesus in the wilderness and Jesus staying on earth for 40 days after his resurrection.

When I think back on some of these stories, it seems that 40 days was a time when God was preparing the hearts of his children. It was almost a holding tank, or a time when God needed to ready his warriors for battle. God was teaching them things so that they would be able to handle the aftermath of the 40 day period.

When you think about the result of what 40 days brought in these stories, it is mind blowing!

The flood-God created a rainbow as a promise with his children that he would never destroy the earth with flood ever again. It took a flood to eradicate sin and teach those that survived how important it is to hear and listen to God’s word and promises. (Gen 7-9)

Moses on the mountain-Moses was on the mountain with God for 40 days, while God gave him the words to write and share the Ten Commandments. (Ex 34)

Goliath-Goliath came took his stand for 40 days taunting God’s children until a young David came on the 40th day and killed him with his slingshot saying-I come in the name of the Lord Almighty! (1 Sam 17)

Jesus in the wilderness-Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness while at the same time the Devil came to him and tempted him. Jesus resisted Satan’s evil powers and the angels attended to him after 40 days. Then his ministry ultimately began as word spread about him and the miracles he was performing. (Matt 4)

Jesus ascends into Heaven-After staying on earth for 40 days after his resurrection Jesus ascending into Heaven and left the power of his Holy Spirit with us (Acts 1)

So what does this mean for me as I stand on the cusp of moving from being a single woman to a married woman? I know for one that it does not me the end, game over, the solution to my problems or the completion to who I am as a person. Excuse me, while I stand on my soapbox for a bit to I unpack this thought.

Too often in the South without directly saying it, females are taught that marriage is the ultimate goal. That finding the “one” is what will make you whole. That being married and having a family is the answer to any internal issues, problems, pain or suffering.

While I think marriage and family are hugely important, I don’t think they are necessary for living the full life God wants for us. I think too many young women make the mistake in thinking they can’t have the full experience unless they have a man in their life.

I know from personal experience that at one time I am sure my thought process was similar. However, I have learned so much as a single woman. God has shown me so many amazing things and a lot of these lessons never even had a man in the story line (no offense fellas). So I want to take these remaining 40 days to prepare my heart for the next season, the new phase, the amazing things he has in store for me after I say “I do.”

I want to accept in these 40 days that marriage is not an end to any current internal problem. I want to accept that whatever issues or sin I deal with now will be carried over to deal with and work through in marriage and more importantly I want to keep learning and growing as a woman of God!

These 40 days, join me in praying that I will become a better person independently. Pray that I will also become a better person for Blake. I want to embrace the beginning and not the end of what’s in store for after the 40 days.

God could show me or you some awesome things in 40 days. He could show us a rainbow, new lessons, kill giants in our life, allow our ministries to begin and teach us how to embrace his Sprit. Let the countdown begin…

Revelation 19:7: Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

Pray with me as His bride "makes herself ready!"

Save the Best for Last

No, this isn’t our first dance song. Although it was my favorite song in seventh grade!

This is exactly what happened at the first miracle at the Wedding at Cana. Jesus was invited to a wedding and he must have RSVP’d because he was there when the dreaded thought of the wine running out occurred.

His mother ran to him and asked him for help. He told the servants to fill the jugs with water and bring it to the master of the banquet’s table. (I wonder if this is like the wedding coordinator back in the day. I am picturing Martin Short’s character from Father of the Bride).

When the master tasted it he pulled the groom aside and said, “Why are you serving this now!? Everyone brings out the good wine at the beginning and saves the cheap wine for when people are too drunk and happy to notice!” (I'm paraphrasing here)

And so the story ends and the celebration continued and this was the first miracle of Jesus.


Interesting story on so many levels. After talking with one of my bridesmaids (Hey Amy!) we sort of hashed out a few key points.

• Jesus was invited and came to a wedding
• What Jesus touches makes things better

First, I love that Jesus went to a wedding. He was obviously invited and attended. He saw the importance of marriage. The very symbol of the Groom coming for his Bride was about to take place in his own life on a Cross in a few short years.

Jesus created a wine that tasted even better than the best wine served at the beginning. And for the master to recognize this in perhaps a slightly tipsy state says something about how good that wine was! Jesus made it better.

What can we take from this? First and foremost, Jesus is invited to our wedding, our marriage, and our life! I want him to attend. I want him to be the honored guest. I want him to be a part of our celebration. We are having this shin-dig in his honor- to signify the beauty and symbolism of the wedding ceremony and to rejoice in him bringing us together.

And I sure hope that it gets better and better. I think after several Couples Sunday School Classes and Pre-marital counseling sessions we can firmly say that nothing will get better, resolved or grow with out his help and I want the best wine to come later. I think with and only with Jesus help can the "wine" of marriage get better.

We are having a quote from C.S. Lewis read at our wedding. I absolutely love it. It is the most realistic approach to marriage I can think of. This, my friends, is just the beginning for Blake and I. I hope you will join us in prayer as we continue on this journey…the three of us.

From A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works "Being in Love"

"If the old fairy-tale ending "They lived happily ever after" is taken to mean "They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married," then it says what probably never was nor ever would be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years? What would become of your work, your appetite, your sleep, your friendships? But, of course, ceasing to be "in love" need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense-love as distinct from "being in love"—is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be "in love" with someone else. "Being in love" first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it."

-- C. S. Lewis



Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New International Version)
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.





John 2 (New International Version)
John 2
Jesus Changes Water to Wine
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[a]
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

The Big Design

I just wanted to let everyone know who follows this little blog that I am still here and things are in the works to update all of you on a few changes that are to take place in my life.

I am sort of unsure how to approach the blog since things are changing. Obviously my parents are much better and in a totally new place compared to that cold December night in 2008.

The blog began as a way to update everyone on their progress and out of it a beautiful healing process began. I shared with all of you the pain of physical recovery and the spiritual redemption that we experienced and I hope in turn it touched you on some level.

I want to continue sharing what the Lord teaches me as I move from being a bachelorette to a newlywed but I am not sure if this is the platform for those experiences. My life is about to drastically change. Not only will I go from single life to married life but I am moving to a new city, learning to share my living quarters and going back to school!

I am enrolling in a few graphic design classes and chasing after a dream I have come to realize over the course of my 20s. As I pray about how to refocus the blog please leave your thoughts and comments if you are still interested in reading these ramblings.

I feel like God has some exciting "designs" in store for me and I can't wait to share them with you if you will let me in.

Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, cards, emails and encouragement over this 2.5 year journey. I continue to cherish these moments we have shared over this little blog.

Exodus 35:35 (New International Version)

35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers.

Separation Anxiety

Blake and I have had phases of being a long distance couple in our 3.5 years of dating. When we first met he lived in town, just a few miles away. Then after about 4 months he moved back home to wait and see what med school would accept him. He was about 4 hours away and we did our best to see each other as often as we could and adapt to our new relationship as it changed and grew.

Luckily, UAB was where he ended up for med school and as quickly as he left Birmingham he returned back! We lived only 15 minutes away from each other for 2 years until this past year when he moved to Tuscaloosa for his 3rd year rotations.

We went right back to being a “long distance” couple and relied heavily on our cell phone providers and their unlimited text messaging and/or friends and family plans. Tuscaloosa is only an hour away and the weeks tend to go by fairly quickly and before I realize it the weekend is upon us.

The fall seemed to fly by because I was always headed to Tuscaloosa on game days (Go Dawgs-don’t worry UGA you’re still #1 in my book). The New Year started with a few surgeries for mom and an engagement ring for me. Here we are today in the thick of wedding planning.

Not much is left to plan really, just a lot of tiny details before the big day. But what I am realizing more and more is that I am so ready to live not only in the same city as Blake but also the same apartment with Blake. I am thrilled about our upcoming wedding but I’m more excited to no longer be separated by space and time.

I am eager to share a space with my best friend. Dare I say it, I am ready to have a roommate again?! Lately I can tell in my voice and his that each time we say goodbye at night we are both experiencing a little separation anxiety…Just wishing it was as easy as rolling over and turning off a bedside lamp instead of hanging up a cell phone.

Do you ever experience separation anxiety from your true love? Well the funny thing is you can’t. You can never be separated from the love of God. No matter what happens in life-good or bad-nothing can keep you from God’s love.

Life throws a lot of curve balls and change up pitches. Sometimes a curve ball comes and I’m not even standing in the batter’s box! But no matter what, I’m still receiving the redeeming love of my Savior.

Of all the verses in the Bible this one speaks to me the most. I think because of what it says so clearly. Nothing can keep me from God’s love-not even unexplained car accidents, cancer, depression, or even happy times. He is and always will be right by our sides.

Romans 8:37-39 (New International Version)
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Laughter

Do you remember the first time you truly laughed so hard it hurt? When you got so tickled about something with a friend that the two of you couldn’t talk you were laughing so hard.

I think for me that must have been in my family. My dad has this ability to keep a straight face while others are laughing so hard they are crying. He can make the entire family crack up and yet he never breaks. It’s truly one of the things I love most about my dad. People leave dinners with him holding their stomach because he has them laughing so hard.

I think other times have been as a small girl playing with my sister or my neighbor down the street. One minute you are angry they took your favorite Barbie, the next you are rolling on the floor giggling so hard that a parent has to make sure no mischief is taking place.

I think the best thing about getting married is knowing that I will still be laughing that hard with Blake for the rest of my life. Blake and I can and have spent time just laughing and talking together for hours just like he was a part of my family or one of my childhood friends. That even in some of life’s saddest moments, he has kept me smiling.

I remember one time in particular when we were in the car driving to and from the hospital in those early days of the accident. I wasn’t too happy in those moments but Blake kept my spirits up by making me laugh. We had and still have a long standing joke about Third Day’s music that wouldn’t make any sense if I tried to explain it here.

And when he proposed he popped out of a larger than life box and the first thing he said was, “Thank you for making me laugh…”

How can you not say yes to someone who laughs at your jokes!?

I think when God talks about Beauty for Ashes this may be a peak of what he meant. That despite some of the “ashes” in my own life-the sadness, the tears, the pain, the disappointments and failures that God knows and desires the “beauty” for my life. I think the beauty is marrying someone who makes me laugh. Who knows how to not only be my husband but also my friend.



We had some engagement photos taken recently and there are some that are amazing but the ones I think I love the most are when we are laughing. (you can click on the one above to get a better view) We are 3 months away from being man and wife and I absolutely can’t wait. I pinch myself sometimes just to make sure I really am getting to marry my best friend. Ouch! Okay it’s true. I am.





Psalm 126:2-3 (New International Version)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.

Spring Showers

So far we haven't had too many of the spring showers. The weather has been amazing despite the large amount of pollen on the ground and cars. However, as with every spring, I am sure some spring showers are headed our way. I guess it'll be nice to wash all the pollen away though.

This spring also brings another form of showers-Bridal showers! I am honored that I have such amazing friends that have planned these for me and Blake. We haven't really had to do anything or ask anything of anyone. We have our first shower this Saturday night. It is just a celebration dinner and I am thrilled to stop for a night and surround myself with my friends and family who have supported Blake and me through our relationship.



According to the all knowing Wikipedia-Bridal showers began when a father couldn't give his daughter a dowry and her friends and family would instead bring gifts to compensate. I wonder if my Dad is wishing my friends would pay for the wedding instead of buy us dishes right now?


Needless to say, this tradition has stuck and now every bride gets the chance to be showered. I am looking forward to this upcoming shower not for the gifts but for the friendship. To finally include the best part of my wedding planning-my friends and family. To look around a table and to be showered with joy at the amazing friends, parents and soon to be parent-in-laws that we have as a couple.

Isn't it funny that we don't share that same excitement and joy for all the amazing things God showers down on us? Instead when any anxiety creeps in my knee jerk reaction is to complain and whine and cry. I don't stop and thank God for the other awesome things he has showered down on me. I fret and worry and miss the blessings. Maybe the blessings are just time to talk with him, a roof over my head, food on my table. Simple things that he showers me with everyday. Like manna from heaven, God gives me the sufficient daily bread that I need until I start a new day with new blessings.

I think this spring, I will begin to first thank God for his showers. Last year my Mom was still struggling to use both arms and hands. Feeding, cleaning and other simple tasks were a struggle now she is helping me plan a wedding and traveling back and forth to Birmingham for fun things like meetings with the florist, dress shopping and now showers!

Spring is here in more ways than one. As someone just said to me today-He is making all things New! It almost brings tears to my eyes to realize how New we are from just last year. I don't thank my Heavenly Father enough for the showers he pours over me every day!

Spring showers are coming from heaven's skies-get ready to rejoice

Joel 2:22-24 (New International Version)

22 Be not afraid, O wild animals,
for the open pastures are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.

23 Be glad, O people of Zion,
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness. [a]
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.

24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.