Rob & Jeane: ENGAGED!

Whoo hoo!  About 9 days ago, some of Colton and I's very favorite people got engaged!  Rob flew to Salerno and proposed to Jeane Carroll!  I wish I could have been there so bad.

Jeannie was a Chi O but is two years older than me.  I knew her then but really got to know her on Crusade summer project in Salerno, Italy.  Colton and I started officially dating on that trip and we both got to know Jeane really well.  Rob was also on that trip and that's where they became really good friends.

The Lord called Jeane Carroll to go back to Italy this year on a STINT with Crusade.  She left in September and gets back on July 11th.  I am SO proud of her.  Romans 10:15-And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"  What an incredible picture of the call to missions. Fast forward to now-we are both engaged, getting married close together, and all really good friends.  Rob is a groomsman in our wedding and I cannot wait till Jeane gets home.  I just adore her and can talk to her about anything.  I wish so bad she was here right now but know she is exactly where she needs to be; sharing the gospel with Italians and allowing the Lord to teach through her. 

Jeane is just one of those special people.  No matter how long it has been, we can always just pick up right where we left off.  She is so honest, down to earth, and real.  She's just hilarious too, I never stop laughing when I am with her.  I have watched the gospel radically change her life and she is such a sweet picture of Jesus.  Rob & Jeane get the meaning of marriage.  Colton & I love spending time with them because it is so edifying.  They bring us up and encourage us biblically.  I trust them and I see Christ when I look at their relationship.  Cannot wait for you to get home and am SO THRILLED to see the gospel in you & Rob's relationship.  We love y'all!  Miss you Jeaniiee!!

Documentation

Well here I go, my first real attempt at blogging.  There are so many times that I think of something that I want to blog about.  Not so I can have followers and tons of people reading my thoughts, but so I can look back 10 years from now and remember what the Lord was doing in my life.  So here I am-engaged, about to graduate, get a job, start a family...what better time than now to start blogging?  I also hope it will be a way for me to keep up with my friends once we have graduated and each go our own way.  SO bittersweet.

I think it would be appropriate to explain why I chose the address and title of my blog.  Rest and Abide.  Two words I fail at every single day.  "Abide in Me," a phrase I know the Lord speaks to me everyday.  Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  I am heavy laden every day.  Every time I think I can do it on my own or work for approval of man, I am spiritually heavy laden.  When I forget that I am clothed in righteousness (Is. 61:10), I am spiritually heavy laden.  I think this verse is often times looked at when we're physically tired or worn out, but I think it refers more to our spiritual state. 

And the word abide-John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  I think abide means to remain, which would also mean that salvation has already taken place.  So he's talking to believers telling them to remain in Him.  If I believe in the Lord, then I am abiding in Him....seeking his presence by reading and studying the Word, praying, and fellowship with other believers.    

So that's a little explanation of why I chose the address and title of the blog.  Next post, I'm going to talk about some of my successes and failures of some of my Pinterest creations.  Let's be honest...most of them have been failures.  Thanks for reading :)