What is Marriage?

I read an article this morning about weddings - a topic that has really been on my mind during the past year or so. I live in a culture that is so wrapped up in the "Wedding Ceremony" and hours of Pinterest searching to find the PERFECT guestbook alternative or most unique centerpieces that really aren't unique at all because every girl and her sister are pinning the same things. We are cultivating an epidemic of discontentment. You don't have to look long to see the effects of this epidemic - just turn on your television and you will get to watch a "Bridezilla" in action who is ripping her family and friends heads' off because something in her wedding planning went wrong. I've personally seen so many girls spend thousands of dollars on their dream wedding, then when something goes wrong, they have a mental breakdown instead of just laughing it off and enjoying the day of celebration. When the honeymoon is over and all of the excitement has died down, what's left? Oh just your marriage, that's all. In the midst of all the expectations, sometimes it's difficult to take a step back and evaluate what IS marriage, really? As my mind raced at the thought of this GINORMOUS question, I decided to take a piece of paper and a pen and just write down what marriage is to me. The result was the following five things: 1. Marriage is becoming part of a team. You no longer look out for your own best interest. You look out for your teammate's best interest. 2. Marriage is sacrifice. You give up your desires, dreams, and wants to create NEW desires and dreams that you BOTH share together. You let go of individual hopes - and you hope together. 3. Marriage is a double-team spiritual defense. You no longer have to fight the wiles of the devil alone. You have a comrade to back you up - or even stand in the line of fire for you. 4. Marriage is a lifestyle, NOT a ceremony. A wedding is a ceremony - it only happens once - then it becomes a thing of the past. Marriage is an every-day occurrence for the rest of your earthly lives. Marriage cannot survive on living in the past - it has to grow. It changes with each season of life. It constantly moves forward - and you have to move forward with it. 5. Marriage is love. Just as you don't "fall" into marriage, you don't "fall" into love. You "fall" into infatuation. Marriage is the kind of love you CHOOSE. Every day - even when the one you love is unlovable - even when that person is not showing you love in return. Of course, marriage is all of that and so much more, but my point is, just those five things alone are so much DEEPER than a Pinterest Perfect wedding. Why put more effort into ONE DAY than you put into your marriage? My generation is going to continue to live a life of discontentment, always looking for "the next big thing," until one day, when their lives are coming to an end, they have the realization about life that Solomon did - it was all vanity. The lesson will be learned too late, and the ruins of their marriage will be the proof. So, what is Marriage to you?

Celebrate Good Times - Come On!

Happy Hump Day! I'm so ecstatic to have a short week this week! Not to mention July 4th is one of my very FAVORITE holidays! Speaking of holidays....I thought I would just give everyone a little "Celebration Update" on my #makeeverydayacelebration challenge. I have officially been celebrating for 22 days! I'm not going to lie, I didn't keep up with EVERY single day, but I did my best! So far, I'm having an absolute blast! I hope I inspire some of you to find your own way to #makeeverydayacelebration. In case you haven't been following my daily celebration updates, here's just a few of my celebrations in picture form....

Have a great rest of the week!! ~E.C.

Make Every Day a Celebration

Can you believe that we are already halfway through 2015? It seems unreal, but it's true. Life happens, and it happens fast - whether we're keeping up with it or not. As I was reminiscing about the first half of my year, the one regret that kept coming to mind was that I lived too much in the future. You've heard of people living too much in their past, right? Those who constantly dwell on their past mistakes and failures and let them paralyze them in the present? Well, in the same sense, if we are constantly dwelling on what is going to happen in the future and always looking for the next big exciting event in our lives, we are paralyzing ourselves in the present. Wishing our lives away as we constantly say, "I can't wait for THIS to happen" or "I'll finally be happy when THAT happens." I have been very guilty of living too much in the future during the first half of 2015. So, my "Half-Year Resolution" is this: Make Every Day a Celebration - no matter how big or small. You've heard holiday scrooges say, "They have a holiday for everything!" Well, I used to think that was just a figure of speech. But it's not. At all. There is literally a holiday - and sometimes several - for EVERY single day of the year. That is a nightmare to holiday scrooges. To me? A dream come true! I LOVE Holidays! And what better way to Make Every Day a Celebration than to celebrate a different Holiday every single day of the year. So to put my Half-Year Resolution into action, I have compiled a list of the holidays, and I will be celebrating in some way every day for the rest of 2015. I will also post a picture that represents HOW I'm celebrating on both Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #makeeverydayacelebration. I'm super excited and ready to start living more in the moment than in the future. Feel free to join me in my celebrations! :)

Ya'll ready for this? ;)