Great wedding, great job

Here I am, living the dream. (And I don't say that with one iota of sarcasm!)  This life is what I dreamed of for sooooo long and I need to appreciate every last minute of it.  I try to, but it's been so busy that it's hard to really step back and see it for what it is/has been for the last year +.

I never thought this would happen for me.  I really thought I would work a regular, full-time job for the rest of my life.  The only way I ever saw my life getting any easier was when the kids started helping around the house so that I wouldn't have to do as much on my weekends at home (when I had them; I did work a lot of Saturdays). 

And then almost exactly two years ago at this time, God spoke to me.  People are sometimes skeptical of a statement like that, but I know for a fact that's what it was.  I literally woke up one morning with the clear vision of what was going to happen:  I was going to start my own wedding planning business and get to stay home with the boys.  I even knew that it would happen within a year.  I was GIDDY with excitement, even though it was months away, and immediately started a small notebook to hold all my thoughts and ideas for this new stage of life that was on the horizon. 

As the time to quit my job neared the following spring, I got less excited and more nervous.  How on earth were we going to make it financially?  Chris didn't even have full-time hours at his job, just his weekend gig with the possibility of picking up extra shifts.  How was I going to get my name out there and afford marketing materials, etc.  I was walking towards the cliff and peering over the edge.  But I knew God was there - not at the bottom to catch me, but standing next to me holding my hand.  He said "I'm jumping with you."  And I took the leap of faith.

I knew the first year would be the hardest and it was.  Chris worked every single minute they would let him and somehow kept us afloat.  (Thank you, Chris, for being so supportive and working so hard for our family!)  And I used my connections to get a few weddings...then a few more.  In January of this year, a friend of mine who owns a ministerial business needed an associate minister to help with the overflow of ceremonies in the summer.  I started training, got ordained and have really enjoyed performing wedding ceremonies for the wonderful couples I've met.  (It's helped us tremendously in the financial department, too!)

Yesterday I had a wedding at a local golf club and it was BEAUTIFUL!  God took care of the weather (80, sunny, no humidity!) and I took care of the rest.  I left the house around 9am with a lot of excitement, not dread, for my 16+ hour day.  I enjoyed every last minute of it!  Performing a truly valuable service and being APPRECIATED for it is all anyone can ask for from a job.  I'm so very, very happy God spoke to me two years ago....and even more happy I actually listened!