DIARY // DONE!!!!!!!

james & i finished our hebrews course last night….BOOOOOOYAAAAAAAHHHH! ok, it may not seem like a big deal but to us IT’S A BIG DEAL…it’s the start of a journey and getting over the first mountain wasn’t so bad. i’m excited to start my next course and continue this journey, remembering to walk, not run.

we leave on our usa roadtrip in 16 days… 16 DAYS… cannot wait to hit that open road, not to mention..COACHELLA & DISNEYLAND…be still my heart.

james is currently painting some of our furniture gold. THANK YOU LORD JESUS that you gave me a husband who approves my love of gold. gold on gold on gold on gold. we’re hoping to spruce up our living room, slowly but surely. one day we will find our dream couch (for a good price, in Jesus’ name!)

i’m pretty freaking excited that it’s Easter weekend this weekend!! can’t wait to spend time celebrating that CHRIST HAS RISEN! i’m especially excited for our sunrise service which is happening sunday at 6:30am…it’s pretty incredible to sing songs of praise to Jesus as the sun is rising up over our beautiful city. i’m also excited to spend time with our families this weekend, birthday/easter dinners are the best.

ok and one more rant here…how beautiful is the weather we’re experiencing!!? sands flashing sign reads 18 degrees right now…18! we haven’t had to turn our heat on since sunday…ohhh summer, i cannot wait for you.

hope you’re enjoying this beautiful sunshine :)

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

ONE YEAR AGO

one year ago today a very handsome man tricked me into going to an old barn on a friend’s property to grab a rain jacket he had left behind. little did i know he was leading me down a path that would drastically change the course of my life.

we entered the barn. 

sparkling lights, burning candles, cranes hanging from the ceiling

oh, how my heart was racing out of control.

he sat me down, picked up a guitar and started singing. after he finished the song, he walked over slowly, got down on one knee, said incredibly beautiful words, got out a beautiful sparkly diamond and asked me to marry him.

i said yes and yes, it’s still the best decision that i’ve ever made (besides saying yes to Jesus)

one year later and we’re 7 months into our marriage. 

every day is an adventure and a gift. i am so blessed to call this man my husband.

i sure love you james peter liira.

to see the full story of our engagement, click here!

s.s.♥.

FIX YOUR EYES

last week was one of those weeks.

the second half was awesome. i finished the first draft of an essay, went to the gym a few times, had a great illuminate debrief with friends, had an awesome time looking at cameras/going to walmart with james saturday night ha and wow, church was just absolutely incredible last night!!!

but the first half…oh gosh.

stress, mayhem, blaaaaah. and it’s so funny because the week prior God spoke this word to me through my course on hebrews..

fix your eyes on Me.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus,the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  -hebrews 12:2

but did i fix my eyes on Him? not really. i looked out onto the storm and i saw the waves and the lightening and sure enough the water swallowed me up.

but praise God for his grace…He was there to grab my hand and pull me up out of the storm. 

the same thing happened to peter..(the video below is from the bible series  )

when he was fixing his eyes on Jesus he was WALKING ON WATER. and not flat glass-esque lake water, but really stormy, wavy, water.

HE WAS WALKING ON IT!!…pure cray!!!!

but the moment he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink…

it’s so easy to be distracted by all the things that life throws at you. relationships, work, debt, school stress, etc, etc. 

life can be crappy, life can be hard. but what you need to know is that Jesus is there for you. look to Him, fix your eyes on Him. as i studied that verse i found out that looking/fixing (your eyes) to Jesus means not looking at anything else expect him.

the worries of life will take you down and consume you if you let them…but the moment you start fixing your gaze at Jesus instead of those things, your perspective will change. you’ll start seeing more clearly, you’ll begin to breathe fresh air & perhaps you’ll start doing some crazy things like walking on water or finding a ton of joy in going to walmart with your husband on a saturday night? ha.

well there’s so much more i could say but i must finish this second essay.

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

NESTING // COASTER HUNTING

i’m on a coaster hunt. 

yep, that’s right.

we got this gorgeous mid-century coffee table from my nana’s basement (the best place to shop, ha). it’s not in the greatest condition but once i’m done my hebrews course, i got plans (hint: gold plans).

but before the gold diy plans, i need to find some coasters.

i looked on etsy, anthro, uo, and honestly, i didn’t find a ton of sweet ones. i know they are out there…some where!

so here are my faves…

 1 & 2 // 3 // 4

cheers!

s.s.♥.

DIARY // ONE MONTH

one month until james & i depart on our usa roadtrip and i am beyond excited. 

really

really

really

excited.

we’re heading down to seattle, portland, redding, san fran, san diego, COACHELLA, la, DISNEYLAND!! then portland again all in 15 days….yippee!

so many things to look forward to…

the sun, adventures in new cities, amazing music, disneyland, etc, etc

but what i’m most excited for is just driving and dreaming with james.

God has been placing a lot of dreams on our hearts lately, but sometimes with life being so hectic, you barely have time to hash them out.

so with that, we are so excited to have literally hours and hours on the open road to talk dreams and Jesus.

 oh, it’s going to be good.

hope you have a fab day!

remember you are so loved :)

xoxo,

s.s.♥.