1st day of Lent

So when i decided to do this 40-day fast... i didn't even realize that it was Lent. He he. :)

Today is my first day of self-denial of coffee and sweets... and its been a good day to far. I read my devotional and listened to Bethel worship on my phone while getting ready for work. They sang 'Be Thou My Vision', which was the song that was playing while my husband and i took communion at our wedding... so obviously its close to my heart.

My prayer for today:
 God, be my vision! I pray that i never ever lose sight of who You are and who You have made me! With each day that passes i pray that i continue to get closer and closer to You and closer and closer to the realization of who i am! Once again, i surrender my all and i give you all the praise and the glory! Holy Spirit, guide me. Show me ways that i can represent Jesus in everything that i do.
 Father, i want to see with YOUR eyes. I want to love what You love and hate what You hate.
In Jesus Name - Amen!

clearer vision, growth, and love. - Monica
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blog thoughts & 40 days fast

Happy Monday to you all!!! :)

I have recently discovered a beautiful blog last week. Unveiled Wife is a blog dedicated to encouraging and uplifting wives and wives-to-be. The author, Jennifer, writes beautiful and powerful prayers for soo many marital circumstances and situations. Her life story is real and out there for everyone to read. She is truly an inspiration to me.

I love to document fun recipes and the cute stuff my new husband and i are doing... but above all else, beyond the recipes, pictures of my every day life, and little updates i hope to be inspiring. To uplift. To encourage. To brighten people's day. To be real and raw no matter the cost. To show love and kindness.

My blog is like my journal... rejoicing in the happy moments and contending in the not-so-smiley times. After all, i am a woman who cries when i am sad (or mad). Who laughs so hard at times that my side hurts. I am a girl who makes up phrases and chooses alternatives to cuss words.
I just hope that with the words that i write... even if it is one person who reads it... that the person on the other side feels the hope that is inside my heart.
So laugh along with me... even cry when the moment needs it... but in everything feel inspired.  Inspired to not be ashamed of who you are. Encouraged to be proud of the person God made you.

I am starting a 40 day fast inspired by Unveiled Wife. I will be fasting coffee (and espresso) and all sweets. I will be contending for my friend's, family's, and for my own marriage to be Christ-centered, to fall even more incredibly in love with Jesus, for me and my husband to realize our calling and identity, and for complete restoration to God and to each other in broken marriages that surround me. If any one is interested please feel free to join me!
Read the inspiration for the 40 day fast here. Also, if you need prayer for anything please comment below and let me know. (:

wives learning from other wives, more inspiration, and love. - Monica
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Happy Valentines Day!

Well.. life has been soo crazy lately!

car problems. work. bills. life! hehe.

Everything is finally settling down and i feel like i can breathe (and live) again.

We did have a fun-filled weekend though! Martin, my sister-in-law, and i had a movie day on Saturday. We went to Red Robin and got lunch, hung out at the house for awhile, and then headed out to see 'Machine Gun Preacher' at the "dollar theater". It was really sad.. and based on a true story (which makes it even more sad)!
After that we rushed over to the other theater and watched 'Safe House'. The movie started at 10pm and i will be lying if i said i didn't doze off a few times.
The next morning Martin and i got up and headed out for church. After church we went to see 'The Vow'.

That was also a sad movie based on true events! But... oh... it just made me want to be true to the vows i made almost 6 months ago! 

That night i made a delicious dinner of steak and garlic shrimp sauce while i rocked a scrunchie while cooking.

 Dinner was sooo good!!! Mmmmm... and then i made pink strawberry cupcakes for dessert. 

I truly love going all out for holidays. I love making themed foods (the first time i met Martin's family.. it was St. Patricks day.. and so i brought over green mint chocolate chip cookies). I love making it special and memorable! I know i will do this forever! hehe. Hopefully i will still have the energy and time. 

I made Martin a gift... i found it on pinterest. (follow me on there pinterest.com/monicamv ) 

I made him a '52 reasons why i love you' card deck book. 

It was really easy to make!!! 

Write down (or type) 52 different reasons why you love your spouse (or mom, or sibling, or child), hole punch a deck of cards, glue the reasons on the card, and put it together with a binder clip (or ribbon). 

I added little pictures of us, sayings, and bible verses to the backs so that each page had something. And here is how it came out. 

And that was it! hehe. :) 

He sent me my favorite flower to work today! 

No matter if you are single, married, complicated, divorced, or not even interested... i pray that love will surround you not only on February 14th.. but all year through!!! 

love, love, and more love. - Monica

♥ . ♥. ♥ 

heart Starbucks

oh yes! this makes me smile today.

My husband brought me some lunch and this adorable Starbucks!

again...i love this month!

pretty cups of white mocha, hearts, and love. -Monica

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my favorite month!!!

i love all things pink and with hearts.. so of course February is a favored month!

"Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy ; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; (love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Okay, i know that sooo many people have probably heard this verse before at weddings, on anniversary cards, on wall art... we probably all know it! Its probably as common as 'For God so loved the world..". But bear with me.. read it again... stop and think what each part means. 

Love suffers long (NIV says "is patient" but i like the "suffers long"... it is more honest, i think). Patience (suffering long) is not something i am perfected in. After a long day at work with the general public and then coming home to do housework can often times test my patience. And sometimes that impatience inside of me will have me react in the not-so-kind way. Then the ripple effect starts... I am sure my husband will tell you! 

But my heart is to represent love to my friends, family, and to those around me. I do not want to be rude or think evil of others. Sometimes we need to make that FIRST choice... to love. To be patient. To be selfless. To be nice... and see the ripple effect of love start. 

These verses aren't written to give us those warm and fuzzies based in emotion. These verses (i believe) are to teach us and encourage us to love correctly. It is a challenge... and every single morning we get up and choose to love again. It is so much easier to be impatient, or arrogant, or selfish.. but it is more rewarding to follow the advice of Paul and be love. :) 

re-reading common verses, pink hearts, and of course .. love. - Monica

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Spontaneous Dates with my husband

This morning my husband got me up earlier then normal and told me to get ready. I had NO idea what we were going to do.

We got up and drove around our hometown. We looked at different scenery.. cute houses.. shops we've never been to.
We stopped off at one little bread shop and they gave us a free slice of cinnamon bread! oh yea! it was about to be a good day!!! ;)

Its amazing all the different stores and shops we had never been to the whole time we have lived here! I have been here for 3 years and i still find places i have never been in! i love having adventures.

We decided to just keep driving and ended up downtown walking around. We walked around the "downtown mall" which is just a bunch of shops clustered together outside. hehe.

There were these blue benches that went all the over and had big gaps .. so Martin and i decided to try to jump to the next one. i failed... but Martin could do it!
Isn't that soo like guys?! lol.
The first time he didnt get enough speed...and missed.

But then he made every.single.one.

We joked abut jumping over this one:

but no attempts were made. Martin said "i would get on TV for making it... or on YouTube for falling.. either way i'd be famous!" hehe.

We continued to walk and i admired all of the window art. I LOVE this time of year! Valentines day is like one of my favorite holidays! I know it sucks when you are single.... or on a diet. But i love all things pink, girly, and romantic! i really liked this one at a downtown restaurant.

So fun!

After that we drove around some more just admiring the little town we live in. We decided to stop off at our local organic store to pick up some honey for tea. I didn't know how much fun i was about to have!!!

They had different types of honey by the tubs!!! And you bought it by the pound! They had little taste cups so you can try them! First free bread... and then as many free samples of honey our tummys can handle!!! (which isn't a lot... lol... not since we hadn't eaten real food yet!)
We went with traditional raw Clover honey! :)

Yummy! i cant wait to have some tea with it!!!

By that time we were very very hungry and in the mood for a movie. So we bought our movie tickets early and headed over to Five Guys Burger and Fries. It was DELICIOUS!!! They just opened and a good friend of ours said they liked it.. so we checked it out! i was very impressed!

It was a great price.. lots of food.. and you can choose whatever toppings you want on the burger for free!!! I wasn't a huge fan of the cajun seasoning on the fries... so next time i will get them regular... but it was still good! :)

Then it was movie time! We watched 'Contraband'. It was pretty good.. a "guy movie" in my opinion.. but still good. I thought we were the only people in the theater so i yelled out "YYYES!!!" and as i was turning i noticed a man in the top corner. oops! lol.

We had a GREAT day today! :) And it really wasn't that expensive! We know that we don't have a lot of money to go out.. but it is soo important to our marriage that we continue to "date". We went to the early bird (first showing) for the movie.. which made it cheaper.. and just went to a cheaper restaurant. We window-shopped and just spend a lot of time together! :) i had soo much fun! Enjoy your town the next time you can! Have a picnic! Window shop! Have fun!!!

lovely dates, delicious burgers, and love. - Monica
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God & marriage.

So a friend of mine put this on their facebook the other day and i ADORED it! Many other of my friends have shared this video too... and i felt it was soo inspiring that i thought i would share it with my lovely blog readers. :)

This video is an inspiration to husbands, wives, and single people. This video speaks the truth. This video encourages the true meaning of a Godly marriage.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as i did. :)





sex, marriage, fairytales, and love. - Monica

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