When God Writes Your Love Story: Sha & Stephen

.....It's amazing from beginning to end.

Are You Ready To Serve?

Today I stayed home for morning service because my cousin stayed home with my aunt as well. I was talking to one of my younger brothers in Christ on Facebook because he mentioned in his status that he was lonely. I told him if you really look at it your not. Of course he didn’t agree to I shared with him what the Lord revealed to me: relationships, friendship & marriage are all ministries. You serve and are served; if you feel you are ready to be in a relationship or get married ask yourself if you are ready to minister everyday while you’re with them. When he looked at it like that he said he wasn’t ready so I told him to ask God to show you where you lack. I realize that everyone wants to be in a relationship so that they have someone.

It's Here!

The day that we have all been waiting for is here! My cousin is married! I danced until I could dance no more. I dragged my niece all over the dance floor and had so much fun! I promised my cousin I would dance and I danced from beginning to the end! Now I can finally get some sleep! Lol, this has been an exhausting experience but so worth it to see how happy they were. I will try to post some pictures.

Last Minutes....

Today I went to get my hair done and spent the remainder of the day with the groom to take care of the last minute things before the big day tomorrow. I am so happy that my cousin has found his help mate and vice versa. I couldn’t think of a better person for him. She’s a humble, sweet, Woman of God who loves the Lord and puts others before her. I pray tomorrow is everything she wants and more!

Changes....

This time next month my best friend will be marrying my cousin. Its so funny how many things are going on, the preparation for a union that will mark a new era in our lives. After this wedding, it will start a chain reaction. We are all at that age now and it’s the next logical step to take. My little sis is in the stages of planning a want to press pause and rewind back t the days when we used to go over to my aunts house to play for hours in the backyard while our mothers talked and cooked in the kitchen. In a couple of years, that will be me and my family. The cast of characters change but it’s the same play.

It Takes A Little Time Sometimes....

Today is one of my spiritual older sister 12 year anniversary. I am so happy for her. It just goes to show you what happens when you make God your foundation. She still gets giddy when she talks about him, and she respects him. I look at them and I realize you can see the difference between a Christian couple and a secular couple. My Bishop and First Lady have been married for over 40 years. They still look at each other with respect and adoration….. It’s sickening sometimes (just kidding). We had a meeting for our upcoming Women’s Conference to go over the last minute details and ended up talking about relationships. It’s been a regular thing now, there’s a bulk of the youth that has hit that point so of course it will be always in the air. The end result was my cousin and I went to our friend’s house to watch this seminar by a minister from Ohio about Love, Sex and Relationships. All I can say is “ “. I am totally speechless. It was so amazing and it was just the introduction! The seminar has 10 parts; I am so excited to see the next…. Well, I have work in the morning, be blessed.

Here Comes the Brides!

Today was actually fun! I have a lot of ideas for my cousins wedding (she asked me to be the planner and help her out because I know her like the back of my hand). It is so funny how quickly things are happening. One minute we think boys are ugly and have cooties, the next minute we can’t wait to find our help mate. In the midst of the entire wedding craze and the constantly telling all the vendors at the Expo that I am not a bride but a friend there for support, I found myself at peace with it all. Right now, it’s not my season for a relationship. I am in my winter season; things are dying and cold but it’s a season that must happen so I can get to spring. I know that when its time, its time; but right now I am content. That’s the best way you can be.

Last Minute Prepping

Today consists of sorting laundry, food shopping for the next two weeks, and a hair appointment. I realized that I am one of those demented people who like to actually be busy (I know, I’m neurotic). I am looking forward to tomorrow, I will be going to the Bridal Expo with my girlfriend’s (I have one friend getting married in August, the other next September) and I will actually enjoy myself. Today in Youth Service we talked about Evangelism. Over the next couple of months, we will be evangelizing in different locations in Brooklyn. We will also have a couple of Outreach services where we have service outside of our church. We decided to make things interesting and do one night for girls and one for the guys. I can’t wait to see what they have to offer.

Another Month Has Past

We are already done with April and are looking to May. The days are going by so fast! I am wondering how will things be for me this time next year. I know I will be looking forward to my other best friends wedding; actually a lot of my friends are getting married next year, lol. But I have to truly say that God has been good to me. I am forever grateful to Him.

What's in a Hyphen? Apparently Everything!

I have the funniest story to tell. Well, I think its funny. We were rehearsing for our Bible School graduation and they were breaking us up by class then last name, first name. So, one couple were expecting to sit next to each other when they found out that he will be sitting in the front row and she will be in the fourth. She was so upset! She claimed there had to be an error on the BibleSchool’s side; everyone did. Then we were told why they wouldn’t be sitting with each other: she hyphenated her name. So instead of sitting with the C’s (Coil) she was sitting with the V’s (Virgo-Coil). I thought it was too funny; the couple didn’t share in my humor (not surprised). When you think about it, they say two shall become one. You’re him, and he’s you. It’s not you & him; it’s YOU. She didn’t understand when I explained to her, that she isn’t Virgo anymore, she’s a Coil. Virgo was when she didn’t know him and now she does; her name should reveal it….Maybe I am just reading too much out of it, and I am not knocking anyone who hyphened their name (I know tons of people who did) but wouldn’t you want people to know who you have joined with when they read your name?

Share Your Story

We decided to change up our usual Friday Night Youth Service and had a guest speaker from a church we fellowship with: Sheperd's House Open Bible Church. The topic was faith. He began to share his testimony about how he waited and went through for his mate. The funny thing is that I knew his story because we became friends in the midst of it, but for him to share his story with a group of people that didn't know him that well encouraged me. It seems these days the Lord is going about pairing up the Youth in the old school/biblical way. The Lord has been sending prophecies, dreams, word confirmation, etc. to show us who HE has for us. The thing is there's a ministry in each marriage, but that is how it's supposed to be. I remember being told that marriage itself is a ministry and it also represents the relationship between Christ and His bride: the church. When I think about it from that point it totally blows my mind! It's just another way to represent Christ to the world. Isn't that amazing? Your future spouse/ or current one is a living example....but I digress, I remember a while back that I told the Youth that it's our job to share our stories. We don't know who we are helping when we talk about where we've been and what we've been through.

The List

If any of you read "And the Bride Wore White" by Dannah Gresh; you know about: The List. The list is a brunch of traits and/or characteristics that you want in your future spouse spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally from the Lord. I remember when I had to do this I panicked. I kept thinking "What if the guy God has for me is nothing on this list?" It took me forever but I finally did it and stuck by my list. It's almost been a year and I have no interest in reading my list. I will finally review my list before I enter courtship to see if he matches the list. I realize I have been talking about relationships because that's all my friends have been talking about it! Anywho, I just fell in love with 2 colognes: L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent and Hugo Element by Hugo Boss. They can't rival my all time fav: Armani Code for Men. It smells like a dream. I have a weird memory when it comes to scents. I can easily remember what they smell like verses what they wore. SMH, don't ask. Maybe I should add those colognes to my list; you never know.