I Loved Her First...

This father's day I found a book that was written about the song that my dad and I danced to at our wedding. Since it is almost one year since my dad and I danced to this song, I thought it would be a very appropriate gift for Father's Day!

Lyrics to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first



Almost a year ago I had the privilege and honor of dancing to this song with one of the most important men in my life (Don’t worry, you in good company…Jesus & Jason!) I think back to the first time I heard this song I thought of many special times that we have shared throughout my lifetime, some that I remember, and some that you have told me about. Not many little girls and young women are not fortunate enough to have a dad as special as you.

I am so thankful for the unconditional love that you have always and will always have for me. I never once questioned that in my heart. I am also grateful for the love of God that you have and have shared with your family, friends, and others. Your faith, continual trust, and obedience in the Lord in all that you have said and done throughout your lifetime have taught me more than one could ever imagine.

I think the greatest lesson of all that you have taught me is the phrase that you have told me each first day of school, and a few other big days in my lifetime… “Remember who you are, and whose you are.” That phrased has grown in meaning to me as I have gotten older and realized more of who I am, what I stand for, and what I believe. But it has always remained a constant reminder of the greatest lesson of all…whose I am. That I am God’s child, and that he sent his Son to die for my sins, so that I may have eternal life. This small phrase of just a few words has seen me through some of the most nerve wracking times in my life. And it is one I know that I will continue to share with my children someday.

I am so thankful to have a father whose love has opened the doors to revealing Christ’s love to me in a very real way. As the song says I know that a place in your heart will always be mine, as will a place in my heart yours. I may have grown up and be married, but I will always treasure that place in your heart as the song says, and knowing that I will always be your little girl. Your wisdom and understanding of life and the Lord, as well as your ability to listen and discern have helped me through some very difficult times in the past few years, and I am so grateful for that.

I treasure the stories of how you would walk to me and sing to me at night to put me to bed. I treasure the fun times we had looking for animals underneath your bed and being so silly! I treasure every time you came to my dance performances, and that you played that large of a role in that part of my life. I treasure the excitement and love you have for Texas Tech!

Another thing I treasure is the way you have loved and accepted Jason into your family as your son. The first time I heard this song, it brought tears to my eyes, and I knew it was the perfect song for you and me to dance to at our wedding. Two of the lines that really stood out to me were the line that said “I prayed that she'd find you someday,” and, “And I knew the first time I saw you with her; It was only a matter of time…” I know that for many years you prayed for my future husband…and I love the story of how when you came to Lubbock that first time you knew that there was more to the story, when I told you and mom that Jason had asked me to be his girlfriend, and how you sensed that we were getting more serious when you came up and we told you we had started to talk about marriage. I am so thankful for all the ways you were involved in planning our wedding, and for the special moments we shared before and while you walked me down the aisle, kissed me as you gave my hand to Jason, and shared our father daughter dance.

Thank you for everything daddy. I treasure who you are, and whose you have taught me I am. I know that your strength , wisdom, and unconditional love are a result of your faithfulness and love for the Lord, and I am grateful for the legacy you have created, and hope that Jason and I can continue to live that legacy as well and pass it on.

Happy Father’s Day 2008! I love you with ALL of my heart!

Lindsey Anne

A legacy of love!

So I am working on a project for an Anniversary present for my parents...Their 32nd wedding anniversary is on June 5th. My mom saw this collage of pictures my cousin had put together in her new house and loved it. The pictures were copied on a color copier and then decopaged onto art canvases...I will post pictures of it later, but for now I wanted to share a few of the pictures that I decided to use in the collage. I am doing a collection of 10 pictures to start. There are 5 pictures of my parents and 5 of Jason and I at similiar points in our lives...Some of the similarities in the pictures are so amazing I had to share...Enjoy!

This was Jason and I at Semiformal our freshman year in college, and my parents at their Senior Garden Party in high school.

Engagement pictures...

My mom and my bridal pictures...notice the hand...I was shocked when I found this picture!

I remember my mom and dad telling me the story of how their photographer told each of them separately to look at each other when they got to the end of the aisle and when they did they realized they were looking at each other...I always thought that picture was so sweet growing up...I asked our photographer to take a similiar one at our wedding!

Cutting the cake!!!

Suffering

I found a link to this blog through a friend of a friend, and these words were so beautiful and spoke so much to something I have been struggling with in my heart for the past year and a half that I had to post it...Please read!

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-deep.html

"The image of Jesus being mocked while he bled and suffered was unbearable today. More so than any other time I have read the story. His words, His shame, His pain...His love is deeper than I can fathom. If you want to feel the Holy Spirit fill you, try something one day. Maybe today if you can make the time. Start by praying for God to reveal Himself in a new way to you, and then read through these words of agony and death, and imagine your face as what He saw. You were worth it. He still believes that. I hope you do too. When God turned away from His Son, and darkness crept across Calvary, He knew your face, your heart, your hurts. They are forever hidden within His wounds.

It always makes me laugh when Abby and Ellie watch Sleeping Beauty. They have seen it no less than 20 times, and yet, when it is time for Aurora's finger to touch the spinning wheel, they cover their eyes and ask over and over, "What is going to happen to her?" The truth is that they know what is going to happen, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch. There is time between her bleeding and her waking up. The in-between is where the doubt creeps in. Where you think that evil might just win, and that the great rescue will be stifled.

I know that He will raise up, He will conquer, but when I read about the cross I want to close my eyes until the in-between is over. Today, as I read each scripture, I was struck by something I have never put too much emphasis on before. Jesus did not return to His followers as a healed man. He had scars that told the story, that brought Thomas to belief. He was alive, fully alive, and yet, not unscathed. God chose to use these wounds to remind the world what He had overcome. It seems like if I were the writer of the story, I would heal them completely. Really show people what kind of power I had. Just make it look like it never happened...complete restoration. This isn't what God chose for Christ, and it isn't what He chooses for any one of us. If we are called to suffer in the name of Jesus, we bear scars as well. He doesn't hide them when trouble has passed, but rather He allows our paths to cross with those who want to touch them, to believe in them, to fall into the arms of the one who allowed them to be inflicted.

This is why I write to you all.

I have prayed many, many times that the eyes that read these words will run their fingers along the wounded hands of Christ, letting His suffering tell you the depth of love He has for you.

This life is not about being healed.

It's about bearing wounds for the sake of the One who bore them for us. For you.

As a psychologist, I want to help people face these hard things. To turn them into beautiful gifts to be given back to the Lord.

It is as simple as recognizing that God has chosen your suffering for a purpose, and the splendor of His plan begins to be revealed as we trust Him to do that.

Our scars tell His story to those who need to know HIM. Just a thought to ponder on...

An old married couple!

So this weekend as Jason and I are pulling into Sears we realize what an old married couple we've become in less than a year...Here we are on Memorial Day going shopping for an appliance (more on that later) and we are dressed alike...Red Tech T shirts, shorts (mine denim, his gray) and black flip-flops! We totally cracked up!

This past weekend we shared another "married first" as I like to think of it...We bought our first married appliance together! We have decided to save more money and stay in our apartment for another year, and then hopefully move into a house next summer. This year we've been renting a washer and dryer because last summer was so hectic to buy one, so we took on the Memorial Days Sales, and with the promise of possible savings of tax on a washer set off to find a new washer and dryer!

I never possibly knew that selecting a washer and dryer could be so complicated...We went through the major question of top load or front load...Of course we both drooled over those gorgeous red front load sets, but thankfully reality and sanity set in and we begin to look at other options!

We found an incredibly helpful guy at Home Depot who explained the ins and outs of front loading washer dryers to us...We have been energy conscious with our light bulbs and have saved a good amount of money this year so far by doing so, so we were open minded about the savings in water and electricity that we could see in the long run. They tell you that you can save $200 a year in your electric and water bills...We went home and crunched the numbers using our water and electric bill, and even considering increased loads of laundry with kids (someday) we figured we would save about $150-$200 over about 7 years...and with plans to buy a house within the next year and all that comes with that we decided to stick with a top loader. We figure by the time we need a new one, there may be only front loaders, and even those will be cheaper! We got a good deal, because Home Depot does price matching with Sears and we got a $100 rebate for buying 2 GE Appliances, and 10% off...

So, drum roll please, our new washer and dryer...to debut in the Metz residence on June 10th!!!

New Job!!!

It's official! I have a new job! Next year, I will be an Assistant Drill Team Director! I am so excited! I will be the director of a JV Drill Team, the assistant director for a Varsity Drill Team, teach PE Dance, Child Development, and Nutrition. I originally applied for this job last year, but God had other plans for me. And although it has been an incredibly challenging year, I have learned so much where I am at in my first year of teaching, and am thankful for the experience. I know it has made me a stronger, better teacher. I was approached again about this job, and after much thought and prayer, felt through many doors that God has opened, he is leading me in this direction...When I decided my freshman year in college that I wanted to teach it was because of my high school drill team instructor and the difference she made in the my life, and that of my teammates. I hope that I can make such a difference in my students lives as well this coming year! I am excited about using my passion again!

I went to meet my teams for the second time today, and my JV team threw me a surprise party...It was so neat, and I was honored! The Varsity put together a basket, and gave me my first team t-shirt with my name on it! It was very thoughtful, and made me feel so welcome!

Mandy's Graduation!

I wanted to post a few pictures from Mandy's Graduation Party last weekend. I am so happy for her that she is done with school, and proud of her! She has overcome so much! She is truly my hero, and an inspiration of strength, courage, and determination, to me each day! Also, for those of you that are still keeping her in your prayers, they were able to take the fixator off today, and she is pretty much done with surgeries for awhile now, and will be able to slowly move on with her life! I am thankful for this day, and for God's tender love and care that has been and will be continuing to watch over her!

My cousin, best friend and "sister"!

The proud parents with their guns up!

Mandy's Graduation Cake!!!

Decorations for the party!

Jackson and Kaytlyn love Aunt Mandy so much!!!

Tribute to Mom

So this is a little late, but I wrote it before Mother's Day for my mom and still wanted to post it...

I was listening to the radio Friday night before Mother’s Day and people were calling in to share stories and anecdotes about their moms. One caller was asked to name the most important lesson she had learned from her mom…That got me thinking…What was the most important thing I have learned from my mom? There have been so many!

Most of the things I’ve learned from my mom have been through observation by the example she has given me in the life she leads. One of the things that stands out most about my mother is how she loves the people in her life with God’s love. And by God’s love I mean an agape type of love. A love that is unconditional and never ending. She is a true servant to all of those around her. One way I saw this growing up was in the time, effort, and dedication that my mom gave of herself and her family to take care of my grandparents. My grandmother suddenly passed away when I was seven years old of cancer. For the next six years my mother took care of my grandfather. He was in and out of the hospital sometimes multiple time each year, and she remained steadfast in her dedication to him to be able to continue to live in his home until he passed away. Many times this involved spending days, weeks, and even months in the hospital at his bedside and then in rehab. Each time he came home, we would go to stay with him until he was able to stay on his own again, and then she would go check on him each day. I do not know of another daughter who so greatly sacrificed herself for the sake of her father’s independence and quality of life. Through all of this however she continued to serve her husband as a loving wife, and be there in every way for me as a mom. My mom always made me feel like I was the most important thing in the world to her. She stayed home with me when I was young and then chose a change in career path in order to devote time to me during holidays and summers. She always supported me and encouraged me in school and is a big reason that I was blessed to achieve the accomplishments that I did academically. She also supported me in dance and helped me to develop a passion which has lead me to career I am pursuing today. I hope to be able to be the kind of mom that she was and is to me today to my future children. I hope to be the mom that encourages and inspires her children to be all they can be and more. I hope to be the kind of mom that teaches her children unconditional love, truth, forgiveness, integrity, and faith by example. And in my first year of marriage I have realized how much my mother taught me about being a wife. My mom has always built up my father in my eyes. She always respected him and taught me to respect him as well. She always encouraged my dad and supported him as the head of the household. She loved him and loved his family with the same love that she did her own. Through her I have learned to encourage my own husband and that marriage is a partnership which is held together by unconditional love and deep respect regardless of the circumstances of life. The phrase, “Actions speaks louder than words” truly represents my mother’s love and the legacy that she has past on to me. My mother has truly lived her life as a servant to God and those around her, just as Jesus once instructed, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”

I got my mom this Willow Tree Angel for Mother's Day...It stands for Courage, but the inscription was for someone who has a triumphant spirit, shows courage, and is an inspiration through their daily life...I hope this is a reminder to my mom how inspirational she is to me and many others!