41 more sleeps - by Jo

It's almost the end of another weekend - we only have 5 to go before The Big Day and they are filling up quickly!

Last w/e Clive turned into Handyman Extraordinaire and the kithen is now looking amazing. It is quite a small space but it's amazing what some well positioned shelves can do to one's sanity. YAY! I am so SO proud of my husband-to-be.

Today we cleared out the spare room - and I thought I had loads of stuff ... oh my HAT! But it's looking good now - we've thrown out junk, made piles of clothes and things to give away and I reckon spring cleaning (even in mid summer in a very hot room) can be very therapeutic. I also got to see some very old photo albums (which also features David Drew ... he he) and Clive says he'll explain them all to me one day. I look forward to hearing more stories from my man's life - he has great ones to tell and I get to travel the world, just hearing his wonderful heart.

So I'm blogging, sending Facebook messages to friends and watching the 7de Traan (I mean Laan) omnibus, which is great given that I don't have a TV. There really is nothing that great on TV at the mo - where does SABC find all those old, dodgy movies with bad hair and very toit jeans???

Both sets of folks are coming down next w/e which will be great. I do hope we have a braai somewhere along the line :o) And I hope we get to just kuier abit without too much wedding planning!!!

So the bridesmaids are struggling to find gunmetal dresses - that's probably because we're going into winter here and the overseas gals are going into spring/summer. It's a tough colour but I'm happy that the girls won't be all matchy matchy - when has it ever helped to be a control freak??? (Ha ha, I am still a work in progress. Help Lord!!!)

So I have discovered that there is no such thing as The Perfect Wedding. It's about two people choosing to love each other til death and picking a day to celebrate this joyous union with beloved family and friends and even colleagues. So much emphasis is placed on ONE day but there's a whole marriage on the other side. So while the prep is totally worth it, doing a whole bunch of external things does not make a woman a great wife, mom, homemaker, friend, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law ... it's allowing God to have His way on the inside that leads to the abundant life we dream of. And that He dreams of.

Psalm 139 says that the Lord knew each one of our days before one of them came to be! So often we make plans and later ask God what He thinks. How glorious to ask Him first and to let His dreams become our dreams, and let the desires of His heart become ours?

1 Cor 2:9 says
"no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive
what God has prepared for those that love Him.
but He has revealed it by His Spirit"

He is the author of life and I am on the journey of realising that when I am painting the picture of my life, the picture stays very small. But when I allow Him to paint the picture, the possibilities are endless, and more wonderful than I could hope, dream or imagine.

As Casting Crowns sing,
"I want to sign Your Name at the end of the day,
and know my heart was true.
Let my lifesong sing to You."