"They taste like I KNEAD them."

Today was labor day.

Husband and I didn't really labor, and it was amazing. We had a day-long date and at one point, driving back home, I told Eric, "This has been one of my most favorite married days."

Why, you ask?

Well, for one, my love language is quality time. And our day went as such:

1. We slept in. Then we woke up. And made these delectable whole wheat biscuits:

(The quote in the subject line is what Eric said after he ate them.)

2. After deciding that we didn't really want to drive to Amicalola or Tallulah, we realized we really just wanted to ride our bikes.

The problem is, we only have one (for now).

So we took turns riding around our cul-de-sac.

3. After riding around our cul-de-sac, this was our conversation with our neighbor Lamar:

Lamar: You have only one bike too?

Us: Yeah, only one right now.

Lamar: I told my wife, "We should do it like in my country," because in my country a man rides on his bike with his son and his wife!

Lamar is from Guinea, his wife is from Florida, and they have a newborn baby boy. I don't think they've caught on yet to the fact that I am in love with them and have had an intense desire for the past month to cook for them. As we were chatting and were finding out more about Lamar's family, we said that we need to eat together soon and talk about our lives. I am eagerly anticipating this day more than they know, I think. They are just really kind and interesting people, and I can feel the love of God welling up within me and spilling out for them.

4. We went to the free zoo at Memorial Park. The baby bears are adorable. And after walking by the ex-owl exhibit we concluded that somebody cut through the owl's former habitat (aka a fenced cage) and set it free.

5. Not long after, we ran some quick errands, then got Starbucks. Eric paid for mine with his own allowance money (yes, allowance)! Haha, but seriously, it blessed me because it was one of our first married dates, and he really didn't have to pay, because now we have the same bank account.

6. With our Starbucks, we went to the Cracker Barrel, sat on the porch in rocking chairs, and played checkers with our frozen coffee. The sky was all blue all day.

7. And last, we ended the day just laughing. I think we stayed up until 1 a.m.--way past our bedtime--and almost laughed ourselves to sleep.

Marriage hasn't been the easiest thing for us, and that's okay because love is a choice and it's not about me or him. We have to lay ourselves down for each other, and sometimes I don't do that, and sometimes he doesn't, but we are getting there. In the midst of the mess, we are having fun and living lives that are so blessed and highly favored. Eric's discipler, Daniel (his wife Katie is my discipler), told him recently that for a lot of people the first year of marriage is spent trying to figure out how both people can feel at home in their home. I keep telling myself that it's okay, this is a process, and if my marriage with Jesus isn't perfect, then my marriage with a human will definitely not be perfect

I am such a dreamer and it's hard for me to accept the fact that things won't immediately happen the way I saw them in my imaginative little head. Not that we're settling--we are definitely living one dream at time, starting with our year at Wesley; we're living on a tight budget, and I love that because we are trusting the Lord more than our finances (and we're going to keep it that way)--something most people don't understand, and that's okay.

To put it simply, we are growing in God's heart. For each other, for the campus, for the Body of Christ. It's stretching us, it's not always comfortable, but we are already experiencing the joy of deeper intimacy with God. It's a choice, but He's the one who calls us, compels us, moves us, breaks us.

We know that, as good as things are now, they will only get better.