A Tiny Bit Naughty

Since my parents are coming in for Christmas and we only have one bed right now, a trip to the furniture store was inevitable. We planned to buy a queen mattress to go with a wooden frame we recently bought from some friends. However, I was having some second thoughts about the color of the frame we bought. It is a medium color (sorry I'm not up on wood names), and I have a slight obsession with dark woods--think Mahogany or espresso stained. While at the furniture store, we spotted a bedroom set (two night stands, bed frame/headboard, dresser with mirror) in a delightfully dark wood that we both really liked. Ummm...the store was also having a 25% off sale, which they have never had before. The best sale previously was 10% off or free shipping...times are tough, and the furniture people needed to move the goods. Without too much hesitation, we decided to buy the bedroom set and put the step child of a light wood bed frame in our guest room.

Then came the mattress testing. I have always been a "buy the cheapest one and get out of there" kind of gal. This time, we let ourselves get sold. We laid on the most heavenly of all beds. Seriously, we had to lift our hands and praise God when our backs hit that bed...you think I'm kidding, but we literally lifted our hands and praised God for that mattress....and then without much hesitation, we bought it too!

David and I have been so ultra conservative about spending--think "we haven't even bought cable since we've been married conservative." I think both of us just cracked at the same time and wanted what we wanted. We had the cash for it, so don't worry that we're going into debt or anything. Can I say though....it felt really good to be a tiny bit naughty?

P.S. I'll post the pics as soon as we get the furniture delivered.

Decorating Update

I've decided to keep you updated as I begin decorating our house. First, the master bedroom. My vision for the room is elegant yet comfortable.

Walls: Won't be painted for a few more months, but will be a light kind of chocolate brown.

Carpet: Beige-y

Furniture: No idea yet, but we need a new dresser, mirror, and comfy chair. We did recently purchase a wooden bed frame/head board/foot board.

Bedding: Check! I actually just bought our bedding and love it. It is a cool light blue/green with chocolate brown accents. Pictured here are the bedspread with the throw blanket on it and a throw pillow. I also bought bomb.com sheets that are so nice they feel like silk. I bought them in the blue/green color and brown.

Wall decorations: Framed wedding pics, the shelf pictured here with candles added on it--which I LOVE, and ??? Good ideas are welcome!

I am suuuuuper excited to make our house finally begin to feel like a home.

Pumpkin is a gift from God

Seriously. In combination with cinnamon and nutmeg, it is amazingly delicious. List of pumpkin-ness I enjoy: pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cheesecake, and my #1 favorite....Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.

I realize that I could really make most of these foods year round. Somehow, that seems like cheating fall out of one of its most glorious wonders. So, every year around the end of July I begin dreaming of all things pumpkin. Then, every year around the beginning of January I push aside the memories of pumpkin and try to think that I've had enough of pumpkin. In my heart, I know I lie to myself. There can never, never, never be too much pumpkin in my diet.

P.S. Pumpkin pie is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. Crust=carbohydrates that are necessary for your body to function. Pumpkin=a very healthy vegetable for breakfast! Whipped cream=dairy that your bones need.

Best. Moment. Ever.

Lara: I don't like it when women marry people.
David: Why are you so severe on your own sex?

David has been watching Pride and Prejudice when I go out of town....laughed until my cheeks hurt.

Can I be real?

Sometimes, I am very tempted to "go shallow" or censor my thoughts on my blog because I'm afraid what people may think if they read it. I know that I don't like reading shallow blogs--now, these are different from "everyday life" blogs which I totally understand won't be deep all of the time. I just mean that I don't want to write fluff to just post something.

That being said, I have been thinking a lot about my recent trip to Indiana. I had an absolute blast hanging out with my sister and friends--finding THE white dress. Seriously, I don't think it could have been more fun. The weirdness came for me when I visited my old church. It was wonderful to see everyone, and I felt very welcome. I felt the power of God. It was really positive in almost every way. The weird thing was that I didn't belong anymore. It was like I was watching my life from 2 years ago, but I wasn't in it anymore. It made me really sad, but I couldn't figure out why at the time. After thinking about it more, I have come to the conclusion that a chapter of my life is closed, but I didn't know it had happened until I was in church. That was so much a part of who I was for so long that I almost grieved a little for the loss. I think this will sound crazy unless you have experienced something similar.

Cali and my experience here have changed me more than I realized: being married, planting a church with a very small team (that really is like family now), leaving comfort, truly understanding grace and love...

I am not the person I was. I am thankful for the change, and God is sovereign. His perfect will is coming to pass in my life. It is just weird to realize all of this within the span of a couple of hours.

Yeah, so that's what I'm thinking, for real.

So Good to Me

Can I say that I love, love, LOVE the song So Good to Me by Cory Asbury? If you haven't heard it, it is a "must download." It just totally focuses on the goodness of God in our lives and all that He does for His kids.

If you are in a hard time, it will get you dancing. If you are in a good time, it will get you dancing. I was thinking today about all of the amazing things God has done in my life. He is so AMAZINGLY good. It is crazy to me to think how many people in the world are right now attributing bad things to Him. They think He is mean and punishing the world or just indifferent to suffering. Soooo not true. If you are struggling with those thoughts, take it from me (and the Bible!), that's not Him.

He's good all the time.
He's good when I'm not.
He's good when I feel it.
He's good when I don't feel it.
He's good when I see it.
He's good when I don't see it.
He's good in every way.
He's good-er than I can even imagine or know.

I really encourage you to start thinking and meditating on the goodness of God. (I have heard like every theological argument about why bad stuff comes from God, and when Christians especially make these arguments, they usually are not theologically sound in separating the way God operated in the Old Covenant vs. how He operates in the New Covenant. Want to know more? I'd love to share.)

How has He been good to you recently?

Twitter

Hmmm....I joined twitter. Still trying to decide if it is too much commitment to actually tweet and blog. At least I will follow some friends and church leaders. Any suggestions for people that you think I should follow?

LaraAJackson is my twitter account...maybe if enough of you follow me on twitter, it will convince me to tweet? I know you love my insights and can't wait to hear from me multiple times a day :)

I know...again

I know you are (maybe) getting tired of hearing about David, but too bad. I am going to blog about him again. This is because I am amazed on a regular basis about how great he is. This may seem small, but on Saturday, he straightened up the entire house and vacuumed while he forced (literally, I cried because I didn't want to go) me to go get a massage. It wasn't even a special occasion! Come on fellas--if any fellas read this--treat your lady right. I think David needs to teach a class on relationships and marriage. I know we've only been married a little over a year, but he's really good at it. He is selfless, generous, fun, handsome :), and a true man of God. I am so very blessed.

Now, all of this goodness does reciprocate back to him. I enjoy serving him and making his life better in any way that I can. It starts with the man though. He sets the tone of the relationship and is the leader. So, thank you, David. You are more than words can express to me!

It's Christmas time! and other random thoughts

Ok, so I know it's only the beginning of November, but Starbucks has Christmas cups and Gingerbread lattes. For me, that means it's time to snuggle in to big blankets on the couch and watch Home Alone....only it's still like 65-70 degrees here every day. Maybe I'll turn on the AC and pretend it's really cold :)

On a totally unrelated note, I have been thinking a lot about my role in other people's lives lately. There was a time in life that I really understood my relationships with other people. That is not so now. I feel like my relationships are so undefined. I'm kind of friends with some people but not at that friend stage where they truly tell me what's on their heart. The few people that I feel like are my best friends are far away. On top of that, the new friendships I am starting to develop are awkward. Maybe it's the people I'm meeting, but it feels like no one knows how to relate and become friends. It is a struggle to hang out, a struggle to have conversations, and a struggle to get to know them. It isn't a two way street. It's like I am trying to be friends, and they are allowing it but not an active participant in the process. Very weird. Why am I not meeting anyone that just "clicks" with me? You can pray for me about this because it makes me want to just stop trying which isn't good either.

On another totally unrelated and much happier note, David and Kaela, Remnant's worship leaders, got married last Sunday. It was totally a nor Cal wedding. So relaxed and very "hip" (even though I know hip is such an un-hip word to use). I loved being a part of their big day. Here are a few pics of them. They are wonderful. So in love with Jesus and each other.