Where the heck have I been...

In December, my boyfriend of 6 years and I got engaged and just days afterwards he slipped a disc in his low back and was unable to work, walk, stand, or do anything for that matter, without excruciating nerve pain shooting down his leg. (Yes, the picture above is of him laying on the emergency room floor lol)

It was such a trying time — it invited me even deeper into being the nurturer I was born to be and really put our relationship through a beautiful trial of “how do we handle things when sh*t hits the fan?”.

With that being said, things were really put into perspective, and I had to take a step back from writing in order to be the woman God needs me to be for my future husband and our little pup, Nellie.

I am so happy and enthused to be back writing and sharing my life with you all!!!

• Lots of talks about Jesus + how I’ve come back to my faith after straying for nearly 2 decades

• Holistic and realistic wedding prep

• Sobriety + my journey with alcohol

• Relationships, polarity, + everything in between

• Adult friendships

• Fun seasonal, vintage + thrifted fashion

• Health, wellness, + ancestral living

And PLEASE, if there’s anything you want me to write or share about don’t hesitate to ask <3

1. Relationships are not about getting, but giving. They aren’t about love, comfort, or validation, they are for giving yourself fully and putting those you love before yourself. Before Jesus I saw and believed the complete opposite and it nearly ended my relationship. In a world of people that are committed to “ME-ISM” as their religion, be more like Jesus. You will be shocked by the outcome.

   "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

2. I need the sacraments of the Catholic Church to really feel connected to Christ and His church. At first when I journeyed back into my walk with Christ I was adverse to Catholicism (mainly due to childhood trauma, not the actual church or its teachings), and I avoided it — mainly going to non-denominational churches. As I stepped closer to marriage and dove deeper into the history of Christianity, God whispered to me through the people around me that the Catholic Church was exactly what I was looking for. Going back to confession for the first time in 18 years was like laying down a backpack of bricks I didn’t even realize I’d been carrying. I have now done 5 weeks of Pre-Cana classes in the Catholic church to prep for the sacrament of Matrimony along with weeks
   + weeks of Confirmation classes to make my Confirmation during the Easter Vigil! I have so much more to say about this but I’ll leave it here for now.

3. More times than not, it’s better to keep my mouth closed and my thoughts to myself. As Christ refines my spirit and helps me grow into a mature woman of God he has also given me the message that most of the time I don’t need to speak up or put my two cents in. This goes against all of my “new age” teachings and trainings where I was taught to constantly speak my mind, overshare, and berate my partner (and people in general) with everything I was thinking and feeling at all times. I was under the belief that THAT was the only way I was going to get my needs met..Turns out that was completely wrong. It brought my relationship to its knees and showed me that if something is that serious and needs to be brought up, it will be. And that when I’m more focused on giving than I am getting, my needs will be met without me needing to ask (per lesson #1).
   

Em