The City that Never Sleeps

What a great week! We got to do so much this trip, almost to the point that we don't need to spend more than a day or 2 the next times we visit. As much as I LOVE New York, my feet wanted to kill me! We walked so much in 3 days...but it was well worth it. We arrived on Saturday and went with my PopPop to lunch. We relaxed the rest of the day because we knew we had a long couple days ahead of us.

Sunday, we headed into the city. It was rainy and freezing, so we stopped and got pizza at Ray's Pizza...DELICIOUS! One slice was half the pizza. Then we came across TKTS in Times Square. TKTS is a center in the middle of the city for discounted tickets for broadway and off-broadway shows that day or the next. Never again will I buy tickets at full price for smaller shows. We decided to pick a show since the weather really wasn't cooperating with us. We saw Altar Boyz. I thought it was hilarious and I really enjoyed it. Zach wasn't as enthusiastic. It was about a Christian Boy Band on their last night of their tour. The members were Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham (the Jewish one). It was a musical of all their different religious songs put to upbeat music with the silly dance moves and tight t-shirts.....it was hilarious. The songs mainly poked fun at the Catholic Faith so I am not sure Zach understood everything....It still made me laugh a ton.

Monday, we started our day at Madame Tussauds, the wax museum in NY. It was a lot of fun, but kind of freaky too. They look so real. Here are some of our favorites.

Spice Up your Life!

My Long Lost Love

For Kimberly

Golf Legend, Arnold Palmer

Jen was on the other side of the room. I was hoping they would have John Mayer next to her, but they didn't :(

Good Ole' John Wayne

After walking around the museum, we hopped on the City Sights Bus Tour. I would strongly suggest this tour to everyone, whether you have been to the City or not. It was so much fun and so informative. We took the downtown tour verse the uptown tour, but of course you can do both. I was more interested in Downtown because it included almost every part of town, SoHo, Financial District, Greenwich Village, Times Square and much more. Our tour guide was young and so funny. He pointed out everything along the tour from great eating spots to historic buildings to the history of the area. Very interesting. The tour is for 24 hrs and you can get of and on whenever you want.

After the tour, we went to our favorite italian restaurant with PopPop. What a great way to end a fun day....Amazing Food and Great Canolias. Tuesday was Zach's birthday. We had lunch at Borbon Street in honor of Fat Tuesday and walked around the city. We walked in Central Park and to the American Museum of Natural History. WE got so lost in the museum but it was really interesting and very educational.

FUNNY MOMENT #2 w/in 10 minutes!

Mom just said..."YO DOG" and she says..."you know like Randy".....WOW!

Moving Day

Today....oh what a day! Zach and I had to sleep in the living room on the blow-up mattress last night....BAD IDEA! I, unfortunately, forgot to turn on the heat....It has been so nice these last couple weeks that we have not had to turn on the heat. Last night, it got COLD! We did not sleep well, so I got up at about 4 and packed the last bit of stuff in the cars and left Gulf Shores by 5. Normally, Gulf Shores to Atlanta is between 4 and 5 hours....not when you have to drive 55 mph....pulling a trailer in the truck! That is right....I pulled the trailer in the truck all by myself for 7 hours!

What a DAY!

Once I got into Snellville, I started unloading the truck. Zach had to go into work this morning, so I got into town first. People....if you could see the hill my parents live on...you would cry for me! Cry a whole river. It is a mountain. And we couldn't pull the truck up it with the trailer attached. Let's just say, I got a workout!

Zach arrived and we headed to the storage unit to unload everything else. Then we dropped the trailer off at u-haul...and here I am! Exhausted...soar...only one battle wound to the tip of my finger and a much deserved glass of wine! Zach is off to play poker with my dad and his poker buddies (hopefully he'll win some cash). And we leave for New York in the morning. I need a vacation!

Day 10: Love is Unconditional

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.---Romans 5:8

If someone were to ask you, "Why do you love your wife?" or "Why do you love your husband?"---what would you say?

Most men would probably say something about their wife's beauty, her sense of humor, her kindness, her inner strength. Women would probably say something about their husband's good looks or his personality, that he's generous. He's helpful. But what if over the course of years, your wife or husband stopped being every one of these things. Would you still love them? If your reasons for loving your spouse all have something to do with his or her qualities, and then those same qualities suddenly or gradually disappear. Your basis for love is over.

The only way love can last a lifetime is if it's unconditional. The truth is this: love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love.

The Bible refers to this kind of love by using the Greek word agape. It differs from the other types of love, which are phileo (friendship) and eros (sexual love). Both friendship and sex are important in a marriage, and are definitely part of the house you build together as husband and wife. But if your marriage totally depends on having common interested or enjoying a healthy sex life, then the foundation of your relationship is unstable.

Phileo and Eros love fluctuate based on feelings, Agape love is selfless and unconditional. Agape love is "in sickness and in health" love, "for richer or poorer" love, "for better or worse" love. It is the only kind of love that is true love.

That is not to say, though, that love which began for the wrong reasons cannot be restored and redeemed. In fact, when you rebuild your marriage with agape as its foundation, then the friendship and romantic aspects of your love become more endearing than ever before. When your enjoyment of each other as best friends and loves is based on unwavering commitment, you will experience an intimacy that cannot be achieves any other way.

But you will struggle and fail to attain this kind of marriage unless you allow God to begin growing His love within you. Love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7) does not come from within. It can only come from God. This is God's kind of love. And thankfully, by your choice, it can become your kind of love. But first you must receive it and share it.

And don't be surprised, when your spouse begins living confidently under its shade, if he or she doesn't become even more lovable to you than you remember. You will no longer say, "I love you because..." You will now say, "I love you, period."

Today's Dare

Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse, something that proves (to you and to them) that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. Wash her car. Clean the kitchen. Buy his favorite dessert. Fold the laundry. Demonstrate love to them for the sheer joy of being their partner in marriage.

***So...I was a day late..OOoopps...I was moving :) I will be taking a break (but still applying everything I have learned the last 10 days) while Zach and I are in NY. Love Dare will be resumed when we return next Friday.

P.S. If you are planning to move any time soon, it is REALLY, REALLY hard to practice patience from Day 1...be prepared!

FUNNY MOMENT!

My mom just started singing Zach happy birthday.....50 cent style. It came out...."It's your birdday"....Can't stop laughing and Zach questions, once again, "What have I gotten myself in to!"

I thought Kaitlin and Chrysti would enjoy this one!

Day 9: Love makes a Good Impression

Greet one another with a kiss of love.---1 Peter 5:14

You can tell a lot about the state of a couple's relationship from the way they greet one another. You can see it in their expression and countenance, as well as how they speak to each other. It is even more obvious by their physical contact. But how much importance should you give a greeting.

How do you greet your friends, coworkers, and neighbors? How about acquaintances and those you meet in public? You may even encounter someone you don't necessarily like yet still acknowledge them out of courtesy. So if you're this nice and polite to other people, doesn't your spouse deserve the same? Times ten?

It's probably something you don't think about very often---the first thing you say to him or her when you wake up in the morning, the look on your face when you get in the car, the energy in your voice when you speak on the phone. But here's something else you probably don't stop to consider--the difference it would make in your spouse's day if everything about you expressed the fact that you were really, really glad to see them.

When someone communicates that they are glad to see you, your personal sense of self-worth increases. You feel more important and valued. That's because a good greeting sets the stage for positive and healthy interaction. Like love, it puts wind in your sail.

Think of the opportunities you have to greet each other on a regular basis. When coming through the door. When meeting for lunch. When saying good-night. When talking on the phone. It doesn't have to be bold and dramatic every time. But adding warmth and enthusiasm gives you the chance to tough your mate's heart in subtle, unspoken ways.

Remember, love is a choice. So choose to change your greeting. Choose to love.

For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love. (Philemon 7)

Today's Dare

Think of a specific way you'd like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.

*** Loved burning the list. Of course, I read it again first, prayed for the strength to see past these minor attributes, and BURNED. It made me laugh too, reading the part in the book about being jealous about the husband playing golf. Exactly us yesterday. I was home packing and he was out playing golf. He came home and told he how well he did...he had the biggest smile on his face...and I just started laughing so hard. It makes me much happier seeing that big smile than to be upset that he wasn't home helping me. Point well taken!

Day 8: Love is not Jealous

Love is a strong as death, it jealousy unyielding as the grave. it burns like blazing fire.---Song of Solomon 8:6

Jealousy comes from the root word zeal and means "to burn with an intense fire." There are actually two forms: a legitimate jealousy based upon love, and an illegitimate jealousy based upon envy. Legitimate jealousy sparks when someone you love, who belongs to you, turns his or her heart away and replaces you with someone else.

The Bible describes God has having this kind of righteous jealousy for His people. It's not that He is envious of us, wishing He had what we have (since He already owns everything). It's that He deeply longs for us, desiring for us to keep Him as our first love. He doesn't want us to let anything take precedence over Him in our hearts. The Bible warns us not to worship anything but Him because "the Lord your God is a consuming fire, is a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 4:24).

With this established, we will shift our focus to the illegitimate kind of jealousy that is in opposition to love---the one that is rooted in selfishness. This is to be jealousy of someone, to be "moved with envy."

Jealousy is a common struggle. It is sparked when someone else upstages you and gets something you want. This can be very painful depending on how selfish you are. If you're not careful, jealousy slithers like a viper into your heart and strikes your motivations and relationships. It can poison you from living the life of love God intended.

You don't usually get jealous of disconnected strangers. The ones you're tempted to be jealous of are primarily in the same arena with you. They work in your office, play in your league, run in your circles...or live in your house. Yes, if you aren't careful, jealousy can also infect your marriage.

When you are married, you are given the role of becoming your spouse's biggest cheerleader and the captain of his or her fan club. Both of you became one and were to share in the enjoyment of the other. But if selfishness rules, any good thing happening to only one of you can be a catalyst for envy rather than congratulations.

He may be enjoying golf on the weekend while she stays home cleaning the house. He boasts to her about shooting a great score and she feels like shooting him. A loving husband doesn't mind his wife being better at something, having more fun, or getting more applause. He sees her as completing him, not competing with him. A loving wife will be the first to cheer for her man when he wins. She does not compare her weaknesses to his strengths. She throws a celebration, not a pity party.

It is time to let love, humility, and gratefulness destroy any jealousy that springs up in your heart. It's time to let your mate's successes draw you closer together and give you greater opportunities to show genuine love.

Today's Dare

Determine to become your spouse's biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set you heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday's list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Them share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed.

***I made the lists. I have not smiled as big as I did making the positive list in a while. I loved writing down everything I loved about Zach. All the things that I see in him that make me know I made the right choice. I was so happy and it came so easily. But then I started the negative list and, no joke, my face completely changed; I felt awful. I hated writing down the things I didn't like about him and I hated more how easy it was for me to think of them...because I know the things I don't like about him well. But the good far outweigh the bad and the way I felt writing the good, felt so much better than writing the bad.