Wifery Tales #3: Uniquely Garrison

Today is a special day.
It's Lance and I's first anniversary-
We survived our first year of marriage! Whoop whoop!
It's been full of adventure, full of both joy and hard, change, more change, major decisions and more weird then I EVER thought possible. (Ever.)

In a world of filtered social media pictures and articles that portray the 'perfect' image of marriage, it can be a major temptation to compare your own marriage to other people's.

"They do WAY more than we do.
They look way happier than we do.
They have more fun than we do.
They're more romantic than we are.
They have way less problems than we do."
Blah...Blah...Blah.

Comparison is ugly. It fails to look through the lens of reality and tears down one's joy faster than anything else.
As Ann Voskamp says, "Comparison is a thug that steals your joy."

But I think that the antidote to comparison is celebration.
Because celebration is a form of thanksgiving, and thanksgiving brings to light the truth of God's goodness and provision in your life. Comparison drains and disheartens the soul, but celebration fills it back up to the point of overflow.

The truth is, EVERY marriage is different. Because *duh* every ONE is different.
Then why in the world do we expect them to look, work and function in the same way as everyone else's?
Just as God created each person uniquely, each marriage is unique and quirky in its own way.
That's how it should be!
With this being said, I just want to take a minute to celebrate 7 things I love about our 'Uniquely Garrison' marriage.

1. Jesus. So cliche. Yet so true. He is Lance's shelter. He is my shelter. What a beautiful thing it is to hide in Jesus when the world doesn't make sense; when we don't understand each other; when we can't agree ;when there is no resolution to an argument other than to just pray that God would fix it- fix us. And He is faithful every single time to bring peace to disorder, to bind what was separated and to unite us through struggle. I can't say this with enough confidence :to agree on Him is the best thing.
2. Laughter. It's the greatest medicine! Lance is made up of about 89.99% humor (and corny jokes. Ha!) and that just makes life fun. We accept and embrace each other's weirdness. It feels so GOOD to be free to be quirky.. and to feed off one another's strangeness. I friggin love it.
3. Extroverts. We are both extroverts! I love that we both like to be around people a lot, have people over a lot, and hang out with people until the wee hours of the morning. It is a lot of fun to always be around friends while being with each other.
4. Sleepovers. This sort of is my favorite. We still have sleepovers. (And yes, we are adults). Every once and awhile, I get together with all my girlfriends and have a sleepover at their house while he invites all the guys over for games and grub to stay at our house. Its stinkin' the best. Guys need guy time, and girls need girl time = This is the perfect solution! 
5. I test the waters, and Lance cannonballs right into it. In almost any situation, I have to think, overthink and re-think about it before I make any kind of decision. And half the time I overthink because I'm afraid. Lance, however, sees an opportunity and in full confidence just goes for it-- Cannonballs right into opportunity. He helps me to "Go For It" and I help him " think about this for just a second.."
6. Either Lance is a great 'gift' detective - or I'm horrible at surprises. Y'all. Nearly every single gift I've ever gotten the man-- He FINDS IT. Or he 'accidentally' looks on our Amazon to see recent purchases. Or I forget where I hid the gift and mistakenly tell him to get me something from the place I STASHED IT. (Sorry about ruining your anniversary present, btw) BAH. Good thing he doesn't like surprises that much. *or so he says*
7. He cooks. He cleans. He launders. He does dishes. Sometimes I come home to warm cookies- GOSH-- So hot. This man. I used to feel so un-domestic because I thought I was supposed to do this stuff all the time, but why would I even complain!? It's so nice to have someone else help you out with all that house stuff. Even if he did one time mop the whole floor with half a bottle of undiluted-straight-up-bleach. *coughing/wheezing/dying for days*

The great thing is, that every marriage is unique. There are qualities in every marriage that are admirable and awesome because they are a reflection of two people making it work together. It's easy to lose sight of what you love in the lens of comparison. Yet, celebration can bring them back to life.

What are 7 things that make you "Uniquely ____________"?

Scripture Typer: Making It Stick

I know I posted this long ole blog the other week about tons of reasons why we shouldn't be on our phones, but!

Here is one REALLY good reason why you should be.

The Scripture Writer App.
This app is the best thing ever.
I don't know about you, but I have the hardest stinkin' time memorizing scripture.
I don't know why either- If you think about it, it really isn't that hard.

Think about it, we can hear a song a few times and sing along to the whole thing the same week.
We can watch a movie once or twice and spout off quotes like clock work.
There are a thousand different buttons on Facebook and somehow we can manage to still remember which ones do which and how to navigate it effortlessly.

So why is memorizing a line so hard?I envy those people who can just spout out about anything from the Bible and I am just here like,
"Heyy-- I know John 3:16. And a ton of  'Jesus' quotes from Pinterest!" (That aren't even really that biblical... You know, like, "God won't give you more than you can handle <3 <3 ", "God Works in Mysterious Ways <3 <3)

How are we supposed to navigate a world with a thousand counterfeits if we don't have the real thing memorized?

How are we supposed to fight a spiritual fight if we aren't ingesting His Words and our Swords are at home collecting dust on a shelf?

I was thinking last week: "What if for some CRAZY reason, all of my Bibles were taken from me, erased from the Internet, and all of the sudden became almost impossible to access?"

Well, at least I have an arsenal of Pinterest Jesus quotes.... right?

Sure- If you're planning on going into a gruesome battle with a Nerf gun!

That question inspired me to at least try and memorize some scripture.

With the help of my beloved IPhone I found an amazing app to help me do that.
**Thank you iPhone for finding me a great app to help my poor soul**

It's called, Scripture Typer: A Bible Memory System.

Scripture Typer lets you select your own verses to memorize or you can choose to memorize verses from a specific category of scripture like The Romans Road, Salvation Verses, Verses on Temptation, exc. Then you go through three steps with each verse: Type It, Memorize It, and Master It. You do these three steps once a day (or multiple times, if you want more points ;) and it takes like 2 minutes. TWO MINUTES.  Then, each day it shoots you a notification on your phone to review your verses and do this process again. Once you have mastered a verse for a few days, it reminds you every 3, 4 ,5 days. Meanwhile, you just keep adding verses to practice. Over the course of a month you will have dozens memorized. You can do as many of these verses at a time as you want to . I've tried it for the past three weeks and I. AM. AMAZED.

Especially since my memory can be so sketchy, and this stuff is actually sticking.

So whether your waiting in line, sittin' on the toilet, taking a break from work, waiting at a stop sign (This was a trick one, don't text and drive, fool!) or before you go to bed-- Take TWO minutes and review your verses. It's crazy how repetition really makes things stick.

Oh, and did I mention it's free? Who doesn't like free things!

And if you just can't help yourself, you can upgrade and get cooler additions to make it more fun.

If you want to know more about it, there's a link in the sidebar!

Go download it --- Now! :)

Dear Generations of Women Before Us..

We need you.

I need you.
I know that we can be annoying with our face in our phones 3/4 of the time.
I know that you probably chuckle and grin inside when we talk about the struggles of growing up-
("They haven't seen nothin' yet!")
And sometimes we struggle to make a good conversation with you--
But we need you.
It may not seem like it, but we are dying to just glean wisdom from you.

You have an arsenal full of knowledge, of wisdom, of experience,
and that does not disqualify you or make you less relevant. It makes you all the more valuable and needed in a time when the connection gap between generations is so..

W  I  D  E.

We need your investment in our lives.
We need your advice to protect us from those falls that hurt so bad.
We need your voice of encouragement saying, "You can do this. I'm for you."

Why?

Because you are 12 steps ahead. 30 steps ahead. Maybe even just 2.

It doesn't matter.

You've been there.

You've done that.

You know what works and doesn't work.

It doesn't matter if your 90, 75, 48, 30, 22 or even 15 -

INVEST in the generations behind you.

To be frank: Our generation is surrounded by the influences of media, the high and mighty, and there are lies and promises thrown at us from 1,000 different directions. There are so many avenues that can take us the wrong way. We get lost in the mix and lost on the wrong trails.

From a Biblical stand point, investing in the next generation  is a command and an avenue in furthering God's word: Older women, train up the younger women (Titus 2:4-5).

Of course, parents play a HUGE, if not the main role in training up their children, young and old.

Yet, even though I'm not a parent, I would be willing to bet that parents want other good and wise people to help guide their children, right?

Just like the old phrase says, "It takes a village to raise a child." Heck, it takes a village to raise an adult, I think.

We know that you have families. You have jobs. You have school. You have children to invest in, too.

But just consider our generation and those behind us.

Find a way, big or small, to pour your life, your wisdom, your presence and experience into the next generation.

Even just a date to coffee every once and awhile. A walk once a week. Time spent on the porch. Be creative!

W h a t e v e r.
We just want to be with you!

What an amazing thing it would be to see each generation of women pouring into the next.

Imagine the hurt that could be avoided; the improvement in decision making; the growth that would take place just by gleaning from lessons you've already learned and can teach us.

Don't wait for us to come to you inquiring advice- Just INVADE our lives.

We give you permission to ask hard questions.
We give you permission to prod, and dig, and point areas in us that will cause a downfall down the road.
We give you permission to say, "Hey, that's a really stupid idea. Here's a better way!"

I encourage you- actually I beg you- find a younger gal pal and invest in her.

Get real. Get honest. Let us know we aren't CRAZY for going through what we are.

You've been there- You know.

Mentorship/ Discipleship/Investment in the next generation is SO essential for growth.

And it WILL change the world.

It WILL change generations, after generations, after generations.

Your story is so relevant, so on purpose-- and it can change the stories of other women.

It can change ours. And theirs.

And years down the road, when the lady you've invested in starts investing in another--the legacy of your story is interweaved throughout her life, though you may never meet.

We love you, look up to you, and want your friendship and mentorship more than you know.

Sincerely,

The Younger Gen of Women.