praise God from whom all blessings flow

I am constantly amazed at how faithful and gracious God is, and how He provides for me and Kevin, especially during this whole wedding planning process! I am also really embarrassed (and humbled) by how sinful, stressed, and not trusting I have been for His provisions. Let me give a few examples learned throughout this engagement season:

1) When Kevin pursued me, he told me that it would only be a matter of months before he put a ring on my finger. He couldn't give me a ring as soon as he wanted because he was only working part time at BJ's, and didn't have enough money. So what did I do once I got home? I told my family all about it, and was grilled and discouraged from going through this plan. But I wanted them to get used to the idea as soon as possible, as opposed to finding out 7 months later without a warning! After lots of tears and sadness, and venting AND praying to God.... eventually:

God blessed Kevin with another full time job, so Kevin started working two jobs simultaneously. And my family finally accepted the fact that Kevin and I were going to get married, and I no longer have to defend marrying him.

2) Kevin and I knew that we had no money to spend on a nice reception for the wedding, so we opted for a potluck dinner. I was sinfully stressed out and sad about this, because my mom (being a typical filipina mom, wanting the best for her daughter) wanted me to have something more grand. So I prayed for God to hopefully give me a nice reception, to please my mom, and to prevent people from voicing out their disapproval....eventually:

God somehow stirred my dad to pay for a reception. Out of the blue, he called and said, "Ugh, well, I guess I have to pay for your reception. Otherwise, everyone will gossip about how bad of a dad I am." Well, not the best way of offering to pay for a reception, but hey! I was thankful! My dad picked me up and we went over to BJ's and had Kevin stop by our table as he was working, and broke the news to him! Kevin was really surprised and said, "Wow, I'm so happy, I could start calling you 'Dad!'" But my dad was like, "Oh man, don't get ahead of yourself there, buddy. I'm not ready for that!" HAHA! Great memories! My mom was also very happy when she found out!

3) I was discouraged because of the lack of money I had for a wedding dress, veil, shoes. I was stressed out about details for all the wedding logistics (attendants, ushers, singers, flowers, unity candle, aisle runner, rehearsal dinner, where the girls and guys would get ready the day of, tables, DJ, transportation, etc.) and also had no idea how to help Jamie since she is Maid of Honor and was trying to come up with ideas for a Bachelorette Party and a Wedding Shower event...eventually:

God provided for everything, yet again! Kevin saw how sad I was over not being able to buy a dress, so he bought me a dress (he didn't see it, of course, that would be kept a surprise til the day of the wedding!) And a friend who just recently got married, Jane, bought two pairs of shoes for her wedding and had an extra, and gave those to me as a gift! And I am also now borrowing the veil of another friend who got married recently, Dayne! We have a DJ. We have ushers (some fellas from church-Micah, Fred, etc). We have a videographer (Jeremy, accompanied by Russell). We have wedding coordinators (Thomas, and Auntie Susie!) And as for Jamie and her planning, the Galindos graciously opened up their home for my Bachelorette Party (they are also singing the first song to our first dance at the wedding reception), a few women from the Excellent Wives ministry will help transport flowers from the ceremony to the reception...I really am just SO blessed with a church family who is so willing to help and lend a hand whenever we are in need! And just last night, I had dinner with Kevin, his mom and dad, his brother Mike (who is the Best Man) and Jamielyne. What a blessing that was! We all sat around the dinner table, and Mike and Jamie were going through this whole schedule they came up with for the Wedding Shower, and me and Kevin's mom were talking about flowers, and Kevin's dad and him were talking about the unity candle...And we got so much done! Today we had marriage counseling and also finished up a lot of logistics. It was so encouraging!

4) Kevin and I were so bogged down with the planning for the wedding, that we didn't really have any plans for the honeymoon. As long as we got the wedding day to go smoothly was our priority. I really wanted to have a honeymoon somewhere though. I didn't stress out as much about this, but prayed for God to hopefully bless us with one. Not long after...

God answered! I got a text from Jamie during a Marriage Ministry event yesterday saying that her mom wanted to give us a honeymoon as a present, and we would stay at her TimeShare in Vegas! She would be reserving it starting Sunday (the day after the wedding) to Thursday. Kevin and I were ecstatic! And then today, during Marriage Counseling (with Kevin's uncle who is the pastor marrying us, along with his wife Auntie Susie) Auntie Susie, who is like one of the sweetest, godliest women in the entire world, offered to get us a hotel room for our first night as a married couple! Kevin and I were like WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!! So sweet! We are so undeserving!


Kevin proposed after 7 months of being boyfriend/girlfriend. And technically, we have been engaged for 9 months. I cannot believe how ridiculous my heart is, and how much I do NOT trust in the Lord! Ridiculous! I mean, it's really easy to just have head knowledge for trusting in Him, knowing He would provide. There are many passages in the Scriptures which speak of this subject. Unfortunately, the hardest part about reading Scriptures and memorizing verses is actually applying it, and living it out! Easier said than done, definitely in my case. I kept in mind during this whole process Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." I knew God would provide the necessities. In my sinful state, I wanted extra! And amazingly enough, God provided for ALL of it! So undeserving! It's like a smack to my face, Leigh Ann, stop worrying, stop stressing, don't let what other people say affect you negatively.

So, as a lesson, if I think that wedding planning is sanctifying, I know that marriage is truly sanctifying. A wedding is for one day. A marriage is for a lifetime! I've really just set my heart to memorize this verse and just rest on its truth for this first year (and ALL THE YEARS) of marriage.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." -Philippians 4:4-8

Thank God for teaching me a lesson: He provides! No stressing, no anxiety, no sadness. I just need to rejoice in Him. Woo!