Exciting things are happening at the Steffaniak household! Our family is growing. No, I am most certainly not pregnant! 😉 But we truly are adding a sweet young lady to our mostly male brood! Yippee!

Our oldest son, Jordan, popped the question to Sarah, his sweetie, on Saturday, January 17th. It was a foregone conclusion months before the special day—since these two love birds are quite the proactive planners. Good for them! So we’ve been waiting with baited breath to let the whole world know!

Jordan was blessed with a full-time position as a loan processor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, starting in January of this year. He still hasn’t quite finished his MDiv from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, but he can finish up what’s left online. And with this new job, Sarah will be able to go to Liberty tuition free next year (her senior year) after their summer wedding. God’s blessings just keep pouring down!

It’s so exciting when a couple is just starting out, but often that excitement quickly gives way to stress, disappointment, confusion, not to mention, butting-heads with our fiancé’s.

What?! . . . No way! . . . Yes, way!

I wish I could pour all of the wisdom Gary and I have learned over the years—often the hard way—into Jordan and Sarah’s hearts and minds! But like most things, our adult-children {seems like an oxymoron, right?} will have to learn the hard way as well.

But in God’s amazing and mysterious economy, that’s a good thing!

If we didn’t have to face disagreements, money troubles and the ordinary challenges, plus unpredictable trials of life, then we wouldn’t learn to trust God. And if we didn’t learn to trust Him, we wouldn’t come to know His amazing grace and perfect peace—even and especially in the midst of the messiness of life.

If there’s one thing that I would tell Jordan and Sarah as they navigate the incredible challenge of marriage—as well as all the rest of the engaged and newly married couples out there—it would be to . . .

Look to the Lord to be your one true love, especially when your “bride or groom” is not living out their vows quite like you hoped they would. Remember God’s declaration . . .

“… As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” ~Isaiah 62:5b

“‘For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. ” ~Isaiah 54:5 {emphasis mine}

And don’t forget what your position in Christ is right this very minute . . .

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” ~Eph. 2:4-7 {emphasis mine}

[Tweet “So whenever you face troubles in this life, look to God to fill your empty and aching heart. “]

Looking to your spouse for that kind of love will leave you frustrated and discouraged. They just aren’t made to carry that heavy of a weight, but thankfully the Lord can and does!

What would be a bit of sage marriage advice you’d like to offer my son and his fiancé &/or other engaged/newlywed couples? 

I’m sharing some photos from our vault, as well as many from Sarah’s blog {yes, she’s a writer/blogger too and oh-so-gifted in photography among many other arts}. I know, I gush! So I’ll hush . . . and let you peruse to your picture-scanning pleasure! Ahh, young love!

Joining with my friends at Giving Up on Perfect, Wifey Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, Wholehearted Wednesday, and Whimsical Wednesday.

Now it’s time for Wedded Wednesday …

Check out our new WW button!

Find our other WW button code and guidelines here.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.messymarriage.com" title="Messy Marriage"><img src="http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m502/bethsteff/Messy%20Marriage%20Buttons/WeddedWednesday170.jpg" alt="Messy Marriage" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And don’t forget to include a link back here, because the easier people can find me, the more traffic I can send your way!

// <![CDATA[
document.write('’);
// ]]>