Category: Uncategorized

HACKED! Again. And a Happily Ever Beginning

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Dear Charity Eldred,

Today I watched you get married. I saw your first look with your earthly groom. I helped you set up for the wedding and got ready this morning with you. Who knew what a journey Jesus would take us on when He gave us each other for 7 and a half years. Now We have others we have been given to and I couldn’t be happier for you! Yes, I even cried, multiple times, including writing this.

I love you. Dearly and deeply and truly. So tell Brian he better catch up and exceed me, that he must love you more than I do (but still less than Jesus). I couldn’t imagine when we moved in together al that we’d go through. Grieving about family strife together. Praying for salvation of loved ones and rejoicing with tears when prayers are answered. You took my family to be your own and I loved how amazingly funny and witty your family was (is). We fought like sisters and loved like sisters-in-Christ. We filled a place in each others lives that I don’t think our husbands can be to us, so you will forever be my sister-friend-roomie.

You have been the best example of self-less love that I have ever seen. I am so happy you get to share that with your life-partner now. Loving him as his wife will be a different kind of love than loving him as girlfriend or fiance. Loving him in marriage will show you a better picture of how Christ loves us as His bride and I can’t wait to talk with you about how your love for Jesus will grow because of this better understanding.

Honestly, I had a whole sappy letter planned out for you in this hack, but I can’t stop sniffling and I don’t want runny mascara, so… No clue where this will go now! Ha!

I love you because you are unashamedly you. You have no shame and you encourage others to see themselves in the same way-with no shame.

I love you because you are a robot who never doubts the love of our Saviour yet never judge others who have doubts.

I love you because you are always wanting snuggles and hugs and watching binge-worthy shows together.

I love you because you love so freely, and it taught me to love deeper.

I love you because you love my family.

I love you because Jesus made you so wonderfully and fearfully, and you never pretend to be perfect in-spite of it. šŸ˜‰

The amount of things I would want to say to you on your wedding day is vast, but that’s because of how much we have shared together in almost a quarter of our lives. Charity, remember to be kind and quick to listen. Remember to turn off the lights you aren’t using to save on electricity. Remember to taste food as you cook it so you can adjust the seasoning. Remember that I am always willing to go dress shopping with you. And remember how you will always and forever be my roomie.

I love you.

Happy Beginning of Marriage!

Online Dating: Part 1

.Reading time 4 minutes.

It’s been a hot minute since I posted, and I didn’t really know if I ever would again. But I’ve been trying out dating on a free online dating site recently, and I thought I’d share some of my advice (Part 1) and experiences (Part 2).

The Blithe Bachelorette’s guide to online dating

1. Make sure you are the only human in your photos. If you are with another person of the same sex, we don’t know which one is you; if you are with a person of the opposite sex we don’t know if you are a player. If you are with a child or infant, we don’t know if he/she is yours. Pets and aliens are okay in pics.

2. No shirtless (or nearly shirtless) selfies. We don’t want you for your body. Yet. Wait until the wedding night for that.

3. Selfies should be taken from an angle showcasing your face, Read More

My Life Updates, and My Goodbyes

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ā€œThis will probably be my last post,ā€ I thought as I wrote the conclusion.

ā€œYep, I donā€™t know what else I have to say after this,ā€ I thought as I read the post out loud to my roommate and tweaked a few things.

ā€œI really donā€™t see my blog going past this week,ā€ I iterated to myself as I posted to WordPress and chose a photo and tags.

ā€œI should probably shut that thing down,ā€ I mused about 10 minutes before another blog post idea started percolating.

And so it went, week after week, post after post, for over 2 years. Every week or month or 6 weeks or so, Iā€™d have a new post idea, and Iā€™d be so excited or scared or ready to share my thoughts and the Gospel and to tell people about Jesus, my Savior, my Best Friend, my future Husbandā€¦

I canā€™t even tell you how many good-bye posts I wrote in my head during my commute, only to get home and have something else to write instead. Read More

My Dead Dreams

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Iā€™ve wanted to be a wife and mother, ever since I knew what that was. (This is no surprise to anyone who knows or follows me.)

Sure, Iā€™ve wanted to be other things: fashion designer, graphic designer, marine biologist, office manager, writer, editor, missionary, motivational speaker, press secretary for the White Houseā€¦ the list goes on.

Iā€™ve achieved some of these dreams, Iā€™ve outgrown some of them, and Iā€™ve seen the common sense in giving up on others. I love my life, and Iā€™m happy with the choices that have brought me to office management with designing, writing, editing, and doing nail art on the side.

Sure, there have been some dreams that God has taken away from me; but I can look back and see that He had a good plan. Two examples for you: Read More

My Roommate Life: Part 1

.Reading time 11 minutes.

Iā€™ve blogged a few times about how great my roommate is, and most people who know us have commented on how much we seem like a married couple. So Iā€™ve been processing for a couple of months now how roommate-life is (and isnā€™t) like married life.

In Part 1 (this post), Iā€™ll talk about how having a close roommate is like having a spouse. And in Part 2, Iā€™ll talk about how itā€™s very much not like having a spouse.

How we met

Nicole and I have a mutual friend, and back in the day, this mutual friend would talk to Nicole about me ā€“ and to me about Nicole. For years, Nicole and I were separately jealous of how much our mutual friend talked about her other friend. Yet, for years, we didnā€™t meet each other.

In 2009, our mutual friend got married, and Nicole and I were both bridesmaids in the wedding. We spent about 36 hours together in which we were focused more on the bride than each other, and I promptly forgot about Nicole as she and I went back to our respective cities after the wedding.

In 2012, I told our mutual friend Read More