Getting married... but not consumed...

Well the big news is now public........ I'M GETTING MARRIED... I'm going to be Mrs. Joel Miller. I'm going to be doing a blog series soon of how the Lord sent this wonderful, godly man into my life! But for now... I want to share something Jesus spoke into my heart yesterday.

See we've decided to get married on October 26... this year.... yes, I'm well aware that it is only 2.5 months away... and I'm well aware that most people spend a year planning a wedding. But we don't want to wait! We've been waiting on each other and praying for each other for many many years. We've prayed about this and are certain that this is God's plan for us right now. With that being said... I've been a busy girl these last 7 days... With only 73 days left before our wedding, my to do list is endless... but I needed to take a few minutes to share this.
You see Joel and I have made a rule that one evening a week we will have date night and there will be no wedding planning. This is simply because we don't want to be "consumed" by the wedding. We still want to develop our relationship with each other and spend time preparing for marriage not just the wedding.
Not getting consumed is kind of hard though.... I mean with a wedding right around the corner, it's so easy to spend all my spare time planning and all my drive time day dreaming. It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement and wonder of what marriage is going to be like. I can so quickly find myself completely distracted from my tasks at hand and lost in thoughts of lace and burlap and pearls.
The last couple of days the word "consume" has been continually on  my mind. So do I attempt to not be consumed with the wedding so I can be consumed with our relationship? Or do I not be consumed with our relationship so I can be consumed with work? I'm starting my workout program back up this week but the comment I made is "I don't want to get consumed with it like I did in March." But yesterday I could just hear Jesus drawing me back saying "Why would you want to be consumed with anything but Me?"
Consume: to engage fully.
I don't want to be consumed with anything or anyone besides Jesus! I don't want to think about anything more than Jesus. Love anything more that Jesus. Dwell on anything more than Jesus. Look forward to anything more than Jesus. Cling to anything more than Jesus. Find enjoyment in anything more than Jesus.... Even in this busy time where I'm on cloud 9 and Jesus is pouring out blessing after blessing... I want to be consumed with HIM! His love. His plan. His thoughts. His perspective. His character. His beauty. His grace. Himself!
"Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You." - Psalm 73.25
I am so so blessed in life right now. I praise God for sending me such an amazing man who pursues me and loves me and leads me the way Joel does. I am in awe of what God is doing in our lives right now. In that, I always want to remember that where my blessings come from and never fail to praise Him for all that He is and all that He's doing!
I'm praying that regardless where you are in life you will choose to only be consumed with Christ... Maybe you struggle with being consumed by work, ministry, children, struggles, finances, happiness, relationships, school, fitness, popularity, success... I don't know what you tend to be consumed with... I find so much more joy when I'm consumed with the One who loves me more than I can imagine.