0 It's the Holidays

The holiday season goes by so quickly! I can't believe next week is going to be Christmas. I have not even started wrapping my presents yet...it scares me to even start!!!

We have had a fun December so far. The first weekend we hosted an "Around the House" shower for our friends Sandy and Chris. Below are some pictures from the party.


Here's one of Chris and Sandy opening their presents. They got some good stuff!


Raleigh, Chris, and one of his groomsmen getting some food


Sandy with her sweet bridesmaids


The hosts and hostesses

This past weekend, I got to stand by my friend Abby as she became Mrs. Abby Gray. Abby and I met in college when we were both orientation leaders for Camp War Eagle. CWE was an amazing experience but the thing that I loved most about it was getting to know some really great people. Miss Abby was one of those people. We instantly clicked and she became a wonderful Christian companion of mine that summer. She can quote scripture like the back of her hand and she always has a smile on her face. Seriously, always. I am so thankful that we have continued our friendship for all of these post college years and I look forward to many more years of memories!


CWE Summer 2004


Abby and I getting our hair done


The gorgeous bride!


My sweet friend was glowing on her wedding day!


Stephanie, Becka, and I had a bobby pin assembly line going on!


JD and Abby cutting their wedding cake. Both the bride and grooms cake were delicious! Raleigh loved this cake because it had a hint of almond in it. I went straight for the grooms cake...gotta have me some chocolate!


Raleigh and I at the reception


I wanted to quickly shout out to my friends Ashley and Adam for celebrating their 2 year wedding anniversary! We love y'all!!!!!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Move Mountains

Prayer.

We all need it, we all want it...but are we willing to allow it to transform our lives?

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you truly believe that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed that you can move mountains?

I will admit, over time I have had my doubts about the power of prayer. I have had conversations with friends about my troubles and they always say, "I'll keep you in my prayers." Yet, sometimes I wonder if they really do keep me in their prayers. Honestly, if I don't take time to pray for someone at the very second that they ask, my day will pass by so quickly that I won't remember to do it later. Isn't that horrible and so selfish? It is definitely something that I am constantly working on to improve.

On average, I believe that most of us pray at least once a day. Whether it is at dinnertime or bedtime, we have those "canned" prayers that we say every day. Growing up, my brother and I split the dinnertime prayer because we use to argue over who would say it. So, he says the first part and I say the last. To this day, we still do it that way. Those prayers count, but how many times a day do we go head to the floor in prayer? I mean, really prostrate ourselves in front of our mighty Savior? Sadly, I believe that most of us do this in dire times....life or death times....serious circumstance times.

I am awe-struck by those that take time out of their day to meditate in prayer. Many other religions in this world take serious time out of their day to pray to their gods. Why do we Christians have such a hard time doing this? There are many answers, but the first one that comes to my mind is an answer that relates to the region of the world that we live in. In America, where Christianity is still the largest practiced religion, we are going 90 miles an hour and we just don't feel like we have enough time in the day to meditate. I can say that many of us would feel like others would think we were wasting time if we took 30 minutes out of our day to meditate.

It makes me sad to think that sometimes I value my schedule over my time with God. Friends, we have got to do something about this. We have got to start making time for our Creator. His line is always open. There is no busy signal, no slow connection, and no traffic when it comes to having some quiet time with Jesus.

I do believe that prayer can move mountains. I have witnessed first-hand that God does answer prayers. I can't carry the weight of my world on my shoulders. I'm just too weak. But, my strong Savior can handle everything that I give him plus the rest of the world's troubles. True prayer isn't necessarily about us, it is about trusting our lives with God. It is believing that no matter what the outcome...good or bad...He is in control and the end result is going to make us so much stronger if we truly believe that all He has is goodness for our lives.

Friends, I want to make an effort to be your prayer companion. Please don't hesitate to ask me to pray with you.....you can send a request anonymously if you wish....but know that I would like to pray for you.

I would like to ask for you all to pray for my bible study mentor, Beth Moore. I read her recent post and she had to have surgery (they did not state what for) and she is slowly recovering. She has touched many of us through her wise words and this is how we can help her.

Thank you dear friends.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Bubble Wrap

Goodness gracious, have I got so much to share with all of you! First off, what did y'all think about Raleigh's post on the Love Dare? I am so excited that he is going to start doing reviews and other posts on this blog. If it wasn't for Raleigh Price, I would have never been brave enough to start doing this in the first place. I truly believe that he adds an element of creativity and style to this site. We have more things in store for you all in the upcoming weeks so be on the look out for some new upgrades to The Uncontainable Truth!

Secondly, I just want to apologize for not posting sooner. Last week was a little crazy for me and I was out of town and then my mom came to Montgomery to help me decorate for an engagement party we had at our house on Saturday night. My mom is a crazy worker bee and she was cleaning all over the place. She had a fit with my oven and my bathtub. I told her that people wouldn't be looking at my oven and bathtub but she said, "Christen Michelle Ridley...Price....I just can't let you live like this!" Mom loves our house but she isn't used to it being so...old. Older homes just have that certain "character" that you love but at the same time have to ignore. Like, I love my hardwood floors but I don't love how they warp in some areas. Or, I love the transoms above my doors but I don't love how air comes through the window even when it is painted shut. Oh, the joys and the charm.

Finally, tonight after dinner I sat back and watched Carrie Underwood's Holiday Special. I do have to say, I am a BIG Carrie Underwood fan. No haters out there I hope. I just love, love, love her music. Last year, she came to Birmingham and we went to her concert and I remember my spirit felt uplifted when I left. Now, I know she has songs that aren't very nice like "Before He Cheats" but all in all she is someone that holds herself with grace and character. Tonight she sang a song from her new c.d. called "Temporary Home" and it was truly inspirational. I love Christian music but I truly admire her because she sings songs like that in our pop culture where she can influence so many non-believers.

I feel like it is so easy to get wrapped up into a bubble and just communicate with people that are just like me. We aren't afraid to share our testimony at church but we won't tell our co-worker about Christ and how He is the only way we can make it through our day. I know I have some friends that I openly discuss Jesus with and then I have others where I don't even bring up the subject. Something that I am constantly seeking is that balance of sharing Christ with non-believers or luke-warm Christians without freaking them out. In Philemon v. 6, Paul says, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."

From this verse, I believe that the more we share our faith the more we will have faith. So, not only will we be helping others learn how to have a relationship with Jesus, we will also be strengthening our own relationship with him. Many believe in God but they don't know God. They don't let themselves give in to his undeniable love. When we fully commit ourselves to wanting a relationship with Jesus, we become living disciples for him and it becomes more natural to share him with others because we can't deny where our joy is coming from.

It sounds so simple doesn't it? Well, guess what...it is! Fear is from Satan and that is what is holding me back. But, if I let go of fearing what others will think, I will be basking in his love for me and that will be a light to others.

How have you overcome your fears of what others will think of you? Do you have an example of how you have shared Christ with others? Help us shy girls out :)

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Book Review - The Love Dare

Hey everybody, today we are happy to bring you the first of many book reviews to come. Throughout the reviews you will notice that many of the books, Christen and I will both give a review. I think this will give us a unique opportunity to have two different opinions on one book. Of course, over time we will also do individual reviews as well. As always, we would love any suggestions for a particular book you would like reviewed. Also, after five years of Architecture School, you learn to take criticism rather well; please comment on your likes and dislikes with the review process as well. Now that I've beaten around that bush…

Description:

Too many marriages end when someone says "I've fallen out of love with you" or "I don't love you anymore." The Love Dare discusses how these statements reveal a lack of understanding about the fundamental nature of true love.

As featured in the popular new movie Fireproof, from the team that brought us the #1 best selling DVD Facing the Giants, The Love Dare is a 40-day guided devotional experience that will lead your heart back to truly loving your spouse while learning more about the design, nature, and source of true love. Each reading includes Scripture, a statement of principle, the day's "dare," and a journaling area and check box to chart progress. Dare to take The Love Dare, and see your marriage change forever.

Review:

When our small group decided that we were going to read The Love Dare as a group, I must admit, I had my doubts. This is a book that I imagined to be an extremely personal experience between two people. I wasn’t too sure about sharing how well we had done the Dare’s. Now that we have successfully gone through all 40 days, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the book, but also the group study of it as well. Our days fill up quick, and it was nice having a level of accountability to The Love Dare.

The book really felt like it broke down into three parts. The first part starts out as rather simple ways of showing affection for your spouse that we simply forget to do because of our busy schedules. To put it bluntly, you basically realize all the things that you’re really not that great at anymore. Whether it be preparing a special meal for the two of you every now and then; or simply biting your tongue when your spouse irritates you. These dares, although they require the most physical effort, will turn out to be the easiest really.

The second part of the book takes more of an inward focus. It establishes through scripture the fact that our God loves us with all of our imperfections. He never holds back his love from us simply because we have not loved him. Here, we learn what true love really is- love that is about commitment, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Yet, most importantly, that it is a choice and not a feeling. A choice that has been exemplified by Jesus Christ.

The final part of the book dares you to take what you have learned and work with your spouse, not only as you build a relationship with each other, but a relationship with Christ. You will quickly find that your relationship with God directly affects your relationships on earth. Love never fails. That is probably one of the boldest things ever written. Love never fails. God never fails. As humans, we lose our way sometimes and let each other down. But if you and your spouse truly seek out the Lord together, your love will not fail. This He has promised.

Recommendation: I highly recommend The Love Dare to any couple, whether newlyweds or those in the retirement home together. There is no wrong time in a marriage to read this book. If you and your spouse commit the The Love Dare, your marriage will not go unchanged. If your spouse is unwilling to take the challenge, I dare you to take this journey and see if you can love as God has.

In our small group we have a couple that is months away from getting married and although they may not have been able to fulfill all the dares just yet; I know that it has helped build a solid foundation for their marriage to come. However, I would be hesitant to recommend this book to those that are in a casual relationship.

-Raleigh

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0 Pay no attention to the man behind the blog...

Hey everyone, I'm Christen's husband, Raleigh, and I just wanted to thank you all for being a part of this community. It is absolutely amazing to see it growing the way it is. In the near future, we hope to start expanding everything the blog has to offer and really turn it into more of an actual website full of different opportunities for people to reach out to each other and grow closer to God. Throughout this process, please feel free to share your opinions on how you would like to see this community grow. Successful communities take a lot of planning, so we would like to hear what our "residents" have to say. With that said, I just so happen to be the more tech-oriented of the family. So I ask that as we begin to make these transitions that you bear with us. New features will become available over time, so if you click on a link and it appears to be dead, feel free to let me now. Again, thank you all for the support, and I look forward to taking a more active role at The Uncontainable Truth.

-Raleigh

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