Religion or Devotion?

Are we going to die in our religion OR die in our devotion?

Radical

Andrew and I are starting to read books together. We started with the book "Radical" by David Platt. There should be a warning on the cover of this book titled, "Prepare to be blown away."

After reading every chapter, I'm either crying or praying more and more that the Lord gives me an even more authentic faith. I turn to the Bible and see where Jesus requires us to pick up our cross and carry it. We are to sell our possessions and follow him. We are to abandon everything we have... with joy! We are to go to the nations and make disciples. But do we really do all this... for the sake of Christ?

I love the quote by Jim Elliot,

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

I think it gets easy in America to read something like that and just move on. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep. Nothing in this life remains, but our relationship with Christ. Why cling to things of this world? America makes materialism so easy, so beautiful, and so desirable. Money is the reason most Americans wake up every day.

There are so many people that do not live like us. What are we going to do about it? Andrew and I are praying that the Lord guides us as we pray to the Lord. Our life is an open book to him.

I pray if you are reading this, the Lord would grip your heart, and draw you to closer intimacy with him.

I understand this post is so much different than my other ones (all 4 of them!) I love telling funny stories, and I will continue to do so, but I will also share my thoughts on the Lord. After all, God is Love and he is the center of the "Love Nest."

I want to end with a quote from the book Radical.

"Here we stand amid an American dream dominated by self - advancement, self - esteem, and self - sufficiency, by individualism, materialism, and universalism. Yet, I want you to show you our desperate need to revisit the words of Jesus, to listen to them, to believe them, and to obey them. We need to return with urgency to a biblical gospel, because the cost of not doing so is great for our lives, our families, our churches, and the world around us." - David Platt

The "Entertainment Crew"

Let me just say this:

Marriage is amazing. I love it. No, I'm OBSESSED with it. I seriously love Andrew more everyday. The Lord has really blessed us. May the Lord be in the center of every marriage!

These past few months have been a complete blur. I can't even believe it's almost been 2 months since we got married. Before I know it, Andrew and I will be 80 wearing diapers watching Golden Girls (and actually finding it humorous).

Here are some memories from the best week of my life aka the HONEYmoon.

First night. I got that dress because it looked Mexican :)

Sitting on the cute bench next to the people.

Inside our suite :)

Let me just tell you a story from the Honeymoon:

There is a group of 7 people that worked at the resort that were the "entertainment crew" aka "Let me annoy you to death crew." There were two that really bothered me, Oscar and Tall Girl (I forgot her name but she was literally 7 feet tall). Not only did they "try" to entertain you by the pool, but also at night. One night, the "entertainment crew decided to get a game of "Suck and Blow" going. Really??? Is this 1999?? We were about to leave when Oscar (I knew I should have never made eye contact) grabbed my arm and dragged me on stage. The Tall Girl (so tall, seriously) grabbed Andrew and threw him on stage. We and 6 other people had to play a game of "Suck and Blow." You have to pass a playing card with your mouth. Hence, if you drop the card, you could potentially kiss the person next to you. They separated me and Andrew and laughed about it. Of course, people are dropping like flies out of the game quickly. Me, Andrew, and Bucktooth Willy were in the final three. Andrew drops the card on purpose just to kiss me in front of everyone. It was cute :) But that leaves me with a SEVERE problem. It is just me and Bucktooth Willy. He is wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I started out with the card. We had to stand about 10 feet apart and I had to spin and walk across stage before I passed the card to him. I spun and started walking successfully while sucking the card. I got close to Bucktooth Willy and SURRENDERED because the thought of us messing up and making lip contact made me nauseous. Needless to say, weird experience.

Here I am onstage. There is Bucktooth Willy on the other side of the stage.

Alright, Katie. I was pretty good. But had lose on purpose, couldn't face Bucktooth.

Bahahahah.

Besides that really weird experience, the honeymoon was a dream. Check out my photos on face book. It was the best week of my life. Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" became our theme song, mainly because I sang to Andrew, the line, " You know that I love you boy, hot like MEXICO." Mexico was fun, hot, and unforgettable.