Going out of town is always and, the initial plan for our first wedding anniversary. But we weren’t able to do so; however God allowed me to see his faithfulness in a new lens. So here are some pictures of what I did for our first year together.
The balloons has print on it that says; Happy 1st wedding anniversary. I Love you.
This cake is a banana carrot cake. So yummy 🙂
Kin left these stuff in our bed early in the morning. I found this at around 12:35PM. 🙂
I thank God for the past twelve months of our married life. Our married life is not perfect; we have our own ups and downs, adjustments and so many on. But it doesn’t mean God is not present during those times.
For the past 12 months He allowed me to understand what it really means to say “Glory is for God alone” and “He is faithful”. These lessons in life always brought me to tears. There are only two reasons why I cried to God. First, I do not understand why things happen that way but I know I had to obey God’s leading and trust Him instead. Second, now that I understand why it happened and I couldn’t thank God enough that He reveals those things to me. It is just overwhelming.
It doesn’t mean that God didn’t answer my heart’s desire He is not faithful at all. God is just teaching me to level up the way I think of His faithfulness.
God made me realize that I don’t need to go somewhere else to experience His faithfulness. I am experiencing His faithfulness everyday through the love of Kin for me. God’s love for me must be so huge and He cannot contain it anymore. That is why God gave me Kin to all the more express His love for me.
Love I know that this marriage doesn’t give us assurance that we will fight no more, but instead I think we will be having more fights.
We may fight each other, but we will fight for each other and I will be your warrior princess.
These are some of the few lines in my vow during our wedding day and I guess it is true. It is not that we fight everyday but there were really passionate discussions between us. We were married for nine months already and I thank God that we are surrounded with people who were married for more than 10 years . Of course it is always a blessing to be married to a godly man but it doesn’t assure us that everything will go smoothly. We are still living in a sinful world which means we need to deal with the imperfections of our spouse till our last breath. It is quite challenging but all the more I see the hands of God at work in us. I didn’t come from a happy family; both my parents are not in good terms since I was three years old up to now. (It’s okay, they don’t actually read my blog, they just click like 🙂 ) But this will not define my married life.
Our married life is worth fighting for, it is worth the fight. Both the husband and the wife should commit to fight for their marriage. There must be this sense of security and loyalty that no matter what happens our spouse will fight for us. Our enemy is not our spouse, Satan is our enemy. We need to fight the battle together. We will fight for our married life.
Again our spouse is not perfect. No one is perfect in a marriage but our marriage is always worth fighting for because Jesus won the battle already. It is also my prayer that I will see my husband the way God sees him. We will always come to a point of hurting each other through our words and actions but true love covers them all. Let us be reminded how God defines love and not how society defines it.
The third party that is allowed in our married life is God. Actually, we don’t consider God as third party; He is the first and top most priority. Two is better than one, with God at the center makes it more even better.
Humility is very important. And I admit that I am having hard times with this one but the grace of God is always available for us, it enables us to control our temper and say NO to what is not pleasing in His eyes. What is not pleasing in God’s eyes will eventually hurt our spouse as well.
Kin and I are so blessed to have these people in our life. (Victory Group)
Marriage is hard work but everything will come easy if there is LOVE and RESPECT and God in the center of it. Last night we had this dinner with some couples from church. And while we were sharing some things, unintentionally some funny and serious arguments were discussed. While listening to them all the more I realize that we need to protect our marriages. We need to work hard for it. Here are some things that crossed my mind last night.
We need to pray for each other. Not just pray for the things that we believe for as a couple but we need to pray for each other’s spiritual growth and maturity as well. Let us pray that our spouse will love God more than they love us. If they love God more than they love us we can be assured that their love for us will never die because their source is eternal.
Our spouse is not perfect, not even close to one that is why all the more we need to speak life to them. We need to speak encouraging words to them and uplift them. Appreciate them and thank them. If we need to rebuke them, we must do it with love. Remember, they are not our enemy, they are our partners.
Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
This is what I am talking about. Teammates help each other, the same thing for married couple. Husbands and wives are partners, we are not to compete with each other, but instead we should complement each other. If there are conflicts and arguments, we need to be reminded that they are not our enemy. We are to fight and resolve the issue together. We have the same family names now which means we are one.
Mark 10:9
“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate”
This verse brings so much comfort for every married couple. Before we came to think about marriage, it is already in God’s mind. God carefully thought of our partners and God deserves gratitude from us for our married life and lifetime partners.
Since the beginning of our marriage, there is one thing I cannot stand about my husband. It is the way he responds to me, though not all the time but every time he does it my response is also tested. Most of the time my husband answers me with a raising voice or a loud voice, and I just don’t really like it very much. It is really very unloving for me though it is not his intention to do it I can’t help but get mad at him. Most of our arguments started with the way we respond to each other. It’s either he feels disrespected or I feel unloved.
Along the way I realize some very important truth with the way we respond to each other:
The way we respond is our responsibility. Our response should be under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Our response to our spouse is not dependent on how they treat us. Though at times it is really annoying but we need to understand as well that our spouse is not perfect. They are a work in progress. Our response should be under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your husband, as to the Lord.)
This line was taken from the book Love and Respect.
Our greatest test of character is our spouse. We live in a fallen world, yet we are charged to respond in a way that honors God. It has nothing to do with them alone. It has something to do with our relationship with the Lord. We cannot just blame our partner and not look into our self. The line it takes two to tango doesn’t apply here. The more we grow in Christ, the more we learn to deal and be patient with our spouse.
When I say pray, do not pray a selfish prayer like; Lord please change the heart of my spouse ( though this is a good prayer ). But what I am trying to say is, let us pray that God would guide us in responding to our spouse. Sometimes we keep on praying to change the heart and character of our spouse and we forgot to pray for our self. Our spouse is not the one who is at fault here, we have a responsibility. Let us pray that God will grant us fresh amount of grace and that God will lead us into His truth in responding to our spouse.
Every day I pray this kind of prayer. We do not come into a married life hoping to change each other . We cannot change our partner, only God can. But what we can do is co-labor with God in molding our spouse the way God wants them to be.
During our wedding last 10.23.2014 it rained for one hour, it rained at exactly 4pm sharp and the rain stop at 5pm sharp. The rain consumed the entire hour for our wedding ceremony. Months before the wedding day it is our prayer that God will hold the rain the entire week, including our wedding day but again the rain pour out. Months after the wedding these questions keeps on running in my mind “Lord, why did you let it rain? I thought we are favored? You let it rain during our wedding and hold the rain during the wedding of other people?”. For some months these lines are in my thoughts, though I am shrugging it off since I know that these are lies from the enemy. And thank you Jesus, just today (04.10.2015) I was comforted why it rained during our wedding day. The word that was shared by Pastor Tony Mendoyos really ministered to me when he mentioned about RAINBOW AND COVENANT during a wedding ceremony which I am accidentally invited by a guest HAHA.
Genesis 9:13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow during the wedding. I got this picture from Siony Amoroso.
A covenant is an agreement, usually formal between two or more persons to do or not to do something specified. Before I go to the verse, let me briefly share with you my feelings on that day ; That day I want to cry, but the tears just won’t fall. I was reminded of what I wrote in my notebook that says “ God is my ultimate wedding coordinator”. It simply means that let Your will be done during my wedding day God, after all this is Your idea not mine, after all it is You who orchestrated this love story. Somehow I didn’t see the rain coming, though I made a commitment to let God’s will be done. I was too confident that God will hold the rain for me, that everything will be smooth the way I imagined it. Though it is not bad, but again making a commitment to God that His will be done on our wedding day includes the rain and everything in between. I always prayed that the glory of God will be seen on the wedding day and all. Again, it rained for one hour. I am imagining the faces of our guest and parents, like what are they doing or thinking right now. What happened to the decors and all and the chairs, I am really thinking about it. But some friends came to my room and said that there are rainbows. And somehow I was comforted, really comforted.
The rainbow is a sign of God’s commitment. Remember the story of Noah, after the flood there was a rainbow. God made a covenant, an agreement with Noah that never again, there will be a flood to destroy the earth. I am teary eyed while writing this, God is really faithful. It is the same thing as God is saying to us that no man can ever destroy us as a couple and no one can destroy our relationship with the Lord. And that God will bring us to completion as a couple. That God will provide for us, that He will remain faithful to us even if we are unfaithful and faithless. The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant, God’s agreement to us, God’s commitment to us.
The rainbow during our wedding.
Thank you Jesus for speaking to me. It doesn’t mean it rained, it is not glorious. If the pouring out of rain will glorify God, then be it. After all glory is not for us, it is for God. God will be glorified if His plans will be done and not our limited plans. This verse really ministers to me that I cannot even contain in words.
I made this vow two months before the wedding day to make sure that I cannot forget anything I want to say. And I read this vow thrice a week to make sure that everything I want to say is already written in my notes. But now I realize that no matter how I prepare for my vow words will never be enough to express how blessed and grateful I am to God for giving me this kind of husband and happiness. And even if I am now married, I am still reading this vow, but this time only once a week. I even memorized some of the lines :D. This time I want to share it with you guys.
Love when I was 20 years old I prayed that God will guard my heart and by the age of 23 I will meet the man that I am going to marry and by the age of 26 I will be married to him. And true enough God answered my prayer he gave me a security guard before I turn 24 and being tied to you earlier haha. God really knows what kind of man I need and not just what I want. You are my exact opposite. You are the emotional one and the expressive one. Maybe it’s hard for you to believe this line, but really I’ve softened a lot. The engagement season was not easy for us, there were problems and trials that we need to face and even come to a point na kita na ang mag.away. But I am confident that things will be okay because God already made a promise that there is a wedding and that He will bring us to completion. We may fight each other,but we will fight for each other and I will be your warrior princess. True love really hurts because sometimes you are the reason of the pain, but you are still the no.1 cure of it. Love by the grace of God, I commit to submit to you as the head of the family, to support you, cheer you up, inspire you, be your no. 1 fan, I will give you my highest respect and be your prayer warrior. If before waking up early is a struggle now I am excited to wake up early to serve you by cooking breakfast and preparing your baon. By the help of the internet, specifically www.panlasang pinoy.com I know I can cook for you more than just pancit canton with egg and oatmeal with milk and milo. That night at Silliman Beach when you lay down your intention is just a glimpse of God’s glory, realizing that He just tie together two imperfect individuals. Love I know that this marriage doesn’t give us assurance that we will fight no more, but instead I think we will be having more fights. And when I mention fight I know my friends will be thinking na ako ang nanguna kay ako daw ang maldita but they just don’t know na maldito sad ka. Love whatever problem or conflict or fight we will be having in the future , I am confident that those things cannot separate us because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. I am convinced that 2000 years ago this marriage has already been nailed down on the cross and by the grace of God, we will be able to play our roles well as husband and wife. You know submission is not an easy thing for me, but I will continue to seek God and strengthen my relationship with him. As I submit myself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I will submit to you as well as the leader of the household. I will honor God in this marriage life by submitting to your leadership and respecting your decisions. Nothing I desire more than to see you falling in love with God everyday of your life and become the man that God wants you to be. As long as God is your first love I am secure that your love for me will never die and that this relationship will last till eternity. And as long as we both live, we will serve the Lord and as what God says in Zechariah 4:14 ,and these are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
This also made me realize that the beauty of the vow is when the couple puts it into practice 🙂
Stay Blessed 🙂
After two months of preparing this vow finally i can read it loud and clear 🙂Before stating our vow for each other.
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