Motz Notes: July 2010

July 23, 2010

Another Good One...

from the girlTalk blog:

"[Feminism] is mixed up with a muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers but slaves when they help their husbands." ~G.K. Chesterton

July 20, 2010

This quote was on the girlTalk blog today and I just really like it.

"Marriage is a vocation. It is a task to which you are called. If it is a task, that means you work at it. It is not something which happens. You hear the call, you answer, you accept the task, you enter into it willingly and eagerly, you commit yourself to its disciplines and responsibilities and limitations and privileges and joys. You concentrate on it, giving yourself to it day after day in a lifelong Yes." ~Elisabeth Elliot

How contrary that is to the secular beliefs about marriage today. People believe marriage (and especially love) is "something which happens." They are staunchly opposed to any kind of discipline, responsibility, or limitation in marriage, and they certainly don't find any privileges or joys in being married. How sad that they are missing out on something so great. Something so completely wonderful. Granted, there are occassions when Nathan and I have both thought in moments of intense emotion that life would be easier if we were not bound to each other for life, for better or worse. And I guess in all actuality, that is true. Life IS easier when you are not constantly reminded of how selfish you can be at times and that what is expected of you day in and day out is to be completely unselfish. To consider others better than yourself. To truly love. And yet, that is the joy of marriage. To experience and show the world true love, love that is of God. Love that never quits. Is never self-seeking and always unconditional.

July 19, 2010

Girls' Weekend

Dallas. 3 days. 3 nights. 4 girls.

Mercado's. Hooptie. Drake aka Aubrey aka Jimmy from Degrassi who got shot in the back. Six Flags. Roller Coasters. Lots of water. Sweating. Talking. Pizza. TV. Laughing. Germany. Original Pancake House. Shopping. Black faux leather jacket with ruffles. Princess Honey Butt. More shopping. More laughing. "Digging all up in there." P.F. Chang's. Despicable Me in 3-D. Even more laughing. Chatting in PJs. Princess Trailer. Shipley's.

Great. Friends.

Great. Weekend.

July 11, 2010

One Year

"Let marriage be held in honor among all..." -Hebrews 13:4

Today is the first anniversary of our wedding. Oh, how I love that day! I often wish we could revisit it. It was such an important day, but it flew by oh so fast. As did this past year. It's hard to see myself as married sometimes. Mostly I just think of Nathan and I as simply together. It's overwhelming to think of how much I and my life have changed in the last year, all because of being married to Nathan. And more so to think back to how different things were two years ago, when I was still living in Abilene, Nathan was in OTS, and we had been dating a few months. I am so grateful for my husband and for the gift God gave us in marriage. Too many people give marriage a bad name. It is hard, but it is so worth it. I am anxious to see where we will be after five years of marriage. That is short when compared to people who have been married 30 years, like our parents. But it seems so far away to us!

July 06, 2010

Hot Springs, Arkansas

We spent the weekend in Hot Springs to celebrate our first anniversary (a week early). We had such a great time! We stayed about 20 minutes outside of the city in a cabin and had a perfect mix of being lazy and also doing stuff. A little recap of what we did, along with some things we have learned about each other since being married:
-Drove to Hot Springs on Friday evening after I got home from work.
-Watched some TV. A show on the History Channel about the War of 1812, to be exact. We have learned that we are both nerds and we love it : )
-Chilled in bed while watching the World Cup. I have learned just how much Nathan enjoys soccer. And it's A LOT! I have also learned that I can enjoy watching too. But only with my handsome man.
-Ate at DJ's Diner. Nathan picked this one and I wasn't so sure. Absolutely delicious! Still learning to trust him on some things...
-Chilled in bed again/napped while the World Cup was on.
-Got ready to go out for a nice dinner in town.
-Explored the historic part of Hot Springs. We have learned that we both like just walking around together.
-Ate at Fisherman's Wharf for dinner.
-Watched the fireworks over the lake from the side of the highway in our car. So fun!
-Slept in because Nathan knows how much I treasure my late mornings : )
-Grabbed some food and then went out to Garvan Gardens. Stopped on the way and bought some fireworks. I learned Nathan loved popping fireworks as a kid and he discovered that I have never popped fireworks on my own. Sparklers don't count.
-The gardens were pretty even though not a whole lot was in bloom. We saw a hummingbird and I think that made Nathan's day. Maybe even weekend. I have learned how much he also really likes to watch hummingbirds. We haven't had but one come by our feeder here since last fall. We also had fun singing along to the old hymns that this chiming tower played. We have realized that we both love singing the old hymns.
-We had a blast playing Putt Putt Golf at Pirate's Cove. We have learned that we love doing fun/silly things together. And I learned that Nathan will always beat me in anything that requires coordination/being an athlete.
-We ate at Olive Garden and got dessert to go. We ate it while watching some TV in bed. More of that History Channel : )
-We came home Monday and didn't do anything really. We ended the night with watching Baby Mama. We laughed so hard! We have learned that we love to laugh together. And that most nights we have free are partly spent watching a movie together. And that I think babies are so cute. And that Nathan will always tease me about thinking they are cute : )