to Jeremy and Morgan...

My older brother, Jeremy, got married exactly a week ago. WHAT. It still hasn't set in for me {and I'm sure not for the newlyweds either}.

photo cred: Katie Marentes takeheartphoto.com

It's been unique for me as sister of the groom in that I'm also best friends with the bride. So I had the honor {no pun intended} of being the Matron of Honor in last Sunday's ceremony. As a part of my duties, I was to give a toast at the wedding...and due to technical difficulties {and nerves} it kinda didn't go exactly according to plan.

So here's what I would have said:

Morgan, you just married one of the most amazing men in the world. He's been my best friend growing up. He's kind, caring, and loving. He'll always seek your happiness. He is very understanding and patient. Jeremy helped me through a lot of hard times. But he's also been there for so many of the good times. He's a shoulder to lean on and one of the funniest guys ever.

He'll make you mad. He'll probably fail you more than once. But he'll point you to Jesus and sharpen you more into His likeness. Jeremy loves the Lord. He is a man of God. And he'll lead you well.

Jeremy, you just married one of the most amazing women in the world. She's been my best friend through college. She's vibrant, full of life, and loving. She'll always seek your happiness. She has the biggest heart. She constantly seeks to know Jesus better. She's passionate about life. She's also passionate about sports, which is a plus ;). 

She'll make you mad. She'll stumble and make mistakes. But she'll counsel you as you lead her. She'll follow you wherever you go. She's loyal and in love with the Lord. She'll be a wonderful Proverbs 31 woman.

Cheers to you two. Can't wait to see where God takes you.

I would have said all that if I had taken the time to write it down, but I was trying to be spontaneous and let the words flow from the heart. {bad idea}.

I love you Morgan & Jeremy. Marriage is tough but it's also the best method of sanctification. I've grown more in my walk with God in two short years than I have in the 20 years prior to marriage. I know you guys will love God, and others, better together.

Love,

Jac <3

according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." 

When I told my mom I had passed my final CPA exam she said, "it reminds me of Romans 8:28. Most people look to this verse in hard times, but God has fulfilled this verse in your life through blessed times." // This made me think. I've been looking at this verse wrong all along. Or maybe not wrong, but partially wrong.

God doesn't say He needs to work bad in your life in order to work out the good. He says He works out ALL things for good. Which means, in the good times and the bad times HE gets the glory - all the time. And "good" to us may not mean the same thing as "good" to God. Because He knows our ultimate good.

So a great reminder for me today and everyday is to remember that God is actively working right now for those who are called according to His purpose. In the midst of global chaos, struggling countries, and warfare, God is working out things for good. We may not understand, but we serve a God who is beyond our understanding and is working out His plan for this world.

quite the journey.

Today I finished taking the last section of the CPA exam. It's been quite the journey. And I haven't really had a chance to process it until now. {hence the nonexistent blog posts}. I've passed 3 out of the 4 sections {PTL} and I find out if I passed this last one in early August.

My life has been rather a whirlwind since leaving my internship last summer. I finished my internship, left for the Dominican the next day, moved in our new house a few days after getting back to the States, and started my Master of Accounting program the next week. Then it was pretty much go, go, go until today.

This year has been a lot of work and has grown me in unexpected ways. Trying to adjust to taking care of a house, while being a full-time student, and then studying for the hardest exam of my life has been insane. But throughout all the craziness, I've grown to understand just how powerful prayer is.

I am blessed with an AMAZING community of believers who have been my prayer warriors throughout this whole journey. And I wanted to write this blog to say thank you. You guys will never really know how much your prayers have meant to me :) I've had so much focus, discipline, and peace while studying this past year, thanks to your prayers and an awesome God.

So as I'm closing a chapter of chaotic, non-stop studying, and opening a chapter of working in the real world, I feel very grateful and excited. I know that what lies ahead will sometimes be just as hard or even harder, but I'm comforted that the Lord hears our desires and our prayers and gives us exactly what we need for His glory.

Andddd, I'm excited to say that I am heading to Mexico tomorrow morning with my best friend, Andrea, for a week of relaxation before starting work next week! YES. much needed :)

{change}.

Change is one of the hardest things for me. I get it from my mom. We're both very emotional and get anxious when things start to unravel in our lives. We like plans and we like to know things. For a while, I thought this was a good problem to have. It's good to be consistent and steady right? It's good to want to be in the know. It's good to want constancy in your life. Well, yes and no.

I don't like change because I can't control it. I don't know the plan. So I don't know if I'll be okay or if things will work out. God says He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and His ways our higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

So we shouldn't be afraid.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

And we shouldn't hang on to our own plans because they're comfortable or because we want to be in control.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." - Proverbs 19:21

But we should hang on to the consistency of God.
"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." - Malachi 3:6

It's comforting to know that in the midst of staggering changes and unstable circumstances that we have a God who never changes. And we will not be consumed by what feels overwhelming and shaky.

My family moves to Austin, TX tomorrow where they will probably remain for many years to come. It's scary to finally be on "my own" with my family thousands of miles away. It's scary for my mom to think she has to start her life over. It's scary to not know the everyday routine of her life. But it's mind-blowing to know that this is God's way and He will be with my family wherever they go. 

{a chapter closing}

Tomorrow I graduate with a Master of Accounting from UNC-Chapel Hill. Tomorrow I officially and ceremoniously close a chapter of my life that has been so full of growth.

I started my time at UNC with a lot of fear. I feared being alone, being away from home, not fitting in, and of course failing all my classes {like everyone else}. I told God I trusted Him, but I really didn't. After a difficult first semester I was ready to transfer, but God knew better. He gave me some of the best friends I've ever had. I also grew so close to my suite mates. And I got plugged into a campus ministry and began to grow at UNC.

 some of my best friends. Ami, Cassie, Joni.

 me and Joni.

God gave me the best suite mates in the world.

Sophomore year was full of changes. I left my former campus ministry to join Cru where I met lifelong friends who would be my bridesmaids. I began my involvement at the Kenan-Flagler Business School and ended up winning an accounting case competition, which solidified me a job at a Big 4 firm that summer. I am amazed by how The Lord provided for me and directed each of my steps along the way. When you're going through life, it's really hard to understand God's plan, but looking back it's so clear that God's hand is over everything.

friends from Cru at the annual hoedown.

my xTax case competition team, in DC where we competed.

The end of sophomore year marked the beginning of a new chapter. Matt and I discovered I could graduate a full year early, and after having dated for 4 years we wanted to toy with the possibility of getting married in a year. It was crazy to most people, and rushed. But we felt God's calling. Matt proposed the August before my Junior/Senior year.

in St. John with Matt before he proposed.

Back at school, being newly engaged was weird. I had to juggle being present for my last year at UNC while preparing for my future marriage. I felt pretty confused with where God wanted me to focus my efforts and how to best use my last year at UNC. In a way, I feel like I took that last year for granted. All my friends had one year left, and I technically did as well (grad school), so I didn't let it all sink in that I would be graduating.

Moving in to my last apartment at UNC.

my last roomies at UNC.

So when I graduated that year and knew I would be coming back for grad school I thought nothing much would change. I took a gap year to work for a public accounting firm and again grew immensely. I loved my job and my co-friends :) It was weird though, everything in my mind was temporary until I got back to school. My friends and my heart were there. Matt and I joined a small group where we lived. We formed a new life together and struggled with how to do this thing called marriage. We fought, but we grew. And we learned how to be selfless.

graduation would not have happened without the love & support of my family.

newlyweds.

christmas ugly sweater day at work.

I left my job to come back to Carolina this past August. I was so excited to be back where God had worked on me and changed my life so much. It was hard being there and not having all my best friends at my side, but it helped wean me off of UNC a bit. This whole year I've been preparing to leave and sadly not come back. As I look forward to what lies ahead, I'm excited but sad. I can't wait to see what God does in my career, but I also have to say goodbye to a place I called home for 4 years and officially close the chapter of UNC in my life.

my audit team in the MAC program.

MAC friends :)

UNC changed me in a way unlike others. I wasn't always obsessed with the place. Sometimes I hated it and longed for home. Sometimes I loved it because I was surrounded by my best friends. I wasn't a die-hard sports fan or a sentimental Old Well lover. But as I look back at my time at UNC, I realize that I love it because it's where God met me and changed me. It was God's best tool for me at that time in my life. UNC was a place God knew He could challenge me and draw me closer to Him.

& that is why I will forever love UNC. Tomorrow I'm going to soak up the moment, thank God for where He's taken me, and look forward to what He has in store for me in the future.

recap.

It's been wayyyy too long since my last post. Lot's of things have happened but I'll recap via picture story :)

Vday 2014 --> Skiing with Andrea --> Chick-fil-A opening --> new SUV for the broman --> college besties reunion --> Arizona for Gma's 75th bday.

All that with a mix of constant studying for the CPA and you have our past 3 months in a nutshell. Through all this chaos, it has been a blessing to see God strengthen me and Matt together. Our start to marriage has been a whirlwind with transitions and big decisions, but it's amazing to look back and see how God completely orchestrated it all. 

I'm getting ready to graduate May 8th from the Master's of Accounting program at UNC-CH. I can't believe it's already over. A 9-month long Master's program goes by quick. Although I'm excited to start my career in the accounting world, I'm going to savor these last couple months of this season in my life. 

Matt is thriving at his job and is doing big things! He's heading up multiple computer programming projects and is performing so well :) I'm soooo proud of him! It's going to be so refreshing to both work and finally have a routine in life. Looking forward to what God has ahead!

God & Stress

God & stress. These two words probably shouldn't be in the same sentence. Lately, God has been teaching me a lot about how to handle stress in a godly way. For the past 6 weeks I have been studying for one of four CPA exams I need to take for my accounting career. Throughout these 6 weeks I have been on a roller coaster of emotions from peace, to worry, to fear, to anxiety, to carelessness, and much more. I expected the completion of my exam to make all those feelings go away. But it didn't. And for several days after my exam I was still feeling so much tension. I realized that God was teaching me a big lesson.

Of course, we all know that stress is a result of worry and anxiety about present or future circumstances. And of course, we know that this is not what the Lord wants of us:

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

But even reading these verses, it's still hard to overcome stress. And I realized, stress ultimately comes from us trying to be our own gods. I stress because I don't have control over the situation and I don't trust God enough to work. God doesn't delight in our stress; He delights in our trusting Him. And I think oftentimes he puts stress in our lives or allows stressful things to happen to show us that He is our only source of refuge.

Psalm 34:5 "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act."

It's a lifelong lesson to learn, but if we can let God be God and trust that He is good, we should have nothing to fear or stress about.

Hope this encourages you as it has encouraged me this week :)

Home Improvement

Before Matt and I bought our house, we always talked about all the things we would do to make it unique. We watched HGTV for countless hours and I made a Pinterest board for all our projects. For some reason, we forgot that projects require doing a lot of work. Soooo, Matt and I did zero house projects for the first 6 months in our home {excluding hanging pics and painting an accent wall}.

Fast forward to this past weekend when we finally did all our procrastinated housework in 2 days. We {and by we I mean Matt's parents. Thanks mom & dad! :P } cleaned out our garage, built new shelving, mopped the floors, painted another accent wall, built a headboard, reorganized our office, and the list goes on.

We definitely experienced the joys and sorrows of home ownership this weekend. Joys: you get to do whatever you want to make it yours and be proud of it! Sorrows: you have to pay lots of money to get things fixed like broken A/Cs and cracks in your concrete slab foundation.

All that to say, check out some of our work from this weekend! We're pretty excited about it :)

World Map Office Wall

Step 1: Paint accent wall 

Step 2: Put ready made decal on wall

Step 3: Get rid of tiny air bubbles 

     Step 4: Admiration

Rustic Headboard

  Step 1: Stain Wood

Step 2: Let Dry    

Step 3: Let the men drill holes into metal strips and bolt onto headboard and assemble and put up

Step 4: Admiration

Garage Shelving

(no idea what any steps were since the men did it, but it looks great!)