And nearly 4 months later...

1. I moved to Canada 3 months ago. The canadian border people didn't like me, denied me entry, I believed it was God's will for me to be in Canada, I tried again, and made it safely across. Hurray!

2. I got married nearly 3 weeks ago. Best. Thing. Ever. I am so unbelievably happy and blessed!

3. Some friends of our got married 2 months ago.

4. Another friend is getting married in 1 month.

5. Canada is cold, there are dirt roads everywhere, temperatures in celsius, distance in kilometers, gasoline in liters (or spelled the canadian way, kilometres and litres) at the equivalent of $4 per gallon.

6. AKA life is very different.

7. I have a kitchen to myself for the first time ever. I really enjoy cooking now that I don't have to share a kitchen with 15 other people.

8. I'm addicted to Criminal Minds.

9. Rob and I are addicted to The Amazing Race and Survivor...and each other :-)

10. I'm overwhelmed by God's grace, His goodness and His kindness. I'm blessed beyond anything I could imagine and I deserve none of it. I'm 21 years old, passionately following Jesus Christ, had my life changed in podunk east Texas, and I'm married to the most wonderful man I've ever known.

Was It Really A Year Ago?

<---This pic was taken at graduation last year - can you see the lack of enthusiasm in our faces?!

This time a year ago I was counting down the days until Rob would leave, and thus would begin a year of long distance in our relationship. Now, I'm less than a month away from moving to Canada to be with him, and I'm bittersweetly counting down the days to this year's graduation.

This year has certainly had some hardships, but it's been full of many blessings as well. Our relationship has grown stronger and more beautiful than we ever could have imagined, and we see now that God definitely had us in these two separate places for a purpose. I'm going to miss Teen Mania a great deal - my life has changed in such a dramatic way and I've been blessed beyond anything I ever deserved.

Soon, this blog will be full with the adventures that lay ahead - the transition out of Teen Mania, the move to Canada, getting maaarrrried, and all the stuff in between. I'm excited to see what God has in store :-)

A Modern Parable of the Sower

About a year ago a young servant girl was entrusted with many little seeds that, if well-tended, would turn into succulent, juicy fruit. She couldn’t wait to share this precious gift with the other servant girls she was surrounded by. She couldn’t give them all the seeds at once because they grew at different times, so over the course of a year she slowly offered the girls different seeds.

Some of them, after seeds were offered, left them sitting on the kitchen counter and immediately the cleaning crew came along and threw them away.

Others immediately received the seeds, but when the seeds didn’t grow right away, they threw them back at the girl and accused her of offering bad seeds.

Then others who received the seeds went quickly and planted them. Yet stress, worry, distractions, and desires for other things became their focus and the seeds never got watered. They assumed that someone else would water it, or that the rain would be enough. At the end of the year they went to collect their fruit and what was there was blackened and rotten, and could not be eaten.

But yet the others took every seed offered and took great care of them. At the end of the year they collected a basketful of the most colorful, large, beautiful, and exotic fruit the eye had ever seen.

*****************************

I am that young servant girl, who, almost a year ago was so excited to become a house director for MA women. It's hard to believe it's been that long and my time is almost over with them. Leading those women is one of the most beautiful gifts I've been given and I love each of them dearly. Even while there have been tough seasons, I'm going to miss them a great deal. And I can only trust God that the seeds He's given me, that I have in turn given them, will turn into good fruit at the end.

They have grown to love God deeply this year, and they know that they are loved deeply by God. Those girls have changed me and they have blessed me, and I pray that they would continue on this lifelong journey of Selflessness, of surrendering and loving deeply, of walking in the fullness of God's grace.

~Your "Fearless House Director"

One Year Ago Today

Today is July 2nd. A milestone date. It was one year ago today that Rob and I started dating! It was a big deal leading up to it. I had turned him down twice already - I wasn't interested in dating anyone, at all, and I wasn't quick to make an exception. Then after seeking the Lord, asking for peace and clear direction, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart, and simply gave me the word, "ready." So I began to allow a deeper friendship with Rob to develop. Then on July 2, 2009, he planned a scavenger hunt for me that evening. He gave me one little paper clue, then off I went finding more clues, taking pictures along the way, the last clue leading me back to his house where he had dinner waiting for me. That night he asked me if I was ready to begin a courtship...and I said yes! Guess third time is a charm, eh?

There are so many things I'm thankful for when I think about this season that began a year ago. First off - I'm so thankful Rob didn't just give up on me when I said no the first two times! He believed he had clear direction from the Lord, and Rob trusted in Him the entire time. He was patient, but he didn't just quit on me. That says a lot about his character, his faithfulness, that he's not just gonna quit on me when things get tough in the future.

Second - I'm SOOOOO glad I sought God, and allowed Him to interrupt my plans for my life. He had something far better for me, but I had to trust Him. My life would be dramatically different had I not trusted Him about this.

I'd always wondered what it would be like to be with someone for an entire year. This may sound terrible, but I always wondered how people didn't get bored with each other after that long. Haha gosh, the naiveté. Well, I'm definitely not bored with him, that's for sure! In fact, last night I was reading through some early journal entries and began to weep and just thank God for His grace and mercy. I know I don't deserve what I've been given, and I am simply overwhelmed at God's love for me.

I am so thankful for this past year, and for God's sustaining grace during this year long separation. It's truly amazing to look back on it all, and I'm looking forward to the time that lies ahead.

-The future Mrs. Griffioen

The Proposal

Well, after nearly 1 year of dating, the day I arrived for my vacation, Rob proposed! We are officially engaged, and here is the story of the perfect proposal.

After I landed in Buffalo, Rob and his parents were waiting for me at the airport. I was a bit surprised as I didn't expect his parents to be there. We went out for lunch, then when we got back in the car Kim (his mom) was like Well, Steph, I know you are tired, but we went to Niagara Falls back in April and there was a ton of ice and snow, and we really want to see what it looks like now. Okay, now I didn't sleep the night before because I was up celebrating my birthday with the girls in my house. But I was actually quite excited to go back to Niagara Falls, so I happily obliged.

When we get there, Kim mentioned that it's pretty chilly at the falls and we should bring jackets...it was hot, and humid, and sticky, so I was thinking, how cold could it possibly be? But I chalked it up to her being a thoughtful Mom, so no big deal (little did I know Rob was actually using his jacket to hide the ring box because he obviously couldn't fit it in his jeans pocket!)

So we were just walking around the falls on the American side, then they said there was a bridge we should walk to because you could get a really good few of the American falls and the horseshoe falls (on the Canadian side). So we had to get our passports for this bridge, because it actually crosses the border in the middle. So we are on the bridge, and his parents are way behind us, which I thought a bit odd, but I guessed they just wanted alone time. At the same time, Rob is walking way ahead of me, and by now I'm just so exhausted! I was like gosh Rob why are you walking so fast?? Guess he was getting a little anxious :-)

Then, we get to the middle of the bridge, and Rob points to a plaque there on the bridge. It's the exact dividing line between the US and Canada. So I get all excited and I'm taking pictures, perfect view of the falls in the background. And Rob is like yeah, look I'm standing in Canada, and you are in the United States! Which I thought was the neatest thing. And then, I'm looking over the bridge at the falls and Rob goes Well, Stephanie...and my heart just stopped! I KNEW he was about to do it, and I begin to freak out realizing this is really about to happen. So I turn, and there he is down on one knee, in Canada, while I'm standing in the US, and he pulls out the most beautiful ring (c'mon now, this is the moment every girls wonders and dreams of...what is the ring going to look like?! :-)), and asks me to marry him...and of course, I said YES! Well, actually, I think I said "Yes, yes, yes, oh my gosh, yeeeesssss!!!!!" Then commenced much jumping and screaming on my end :-) I was shaking, and didn't really know what to do with myself, and all of these people are walking by on the bridge and congratulating us, and I'm just laughing and smiling and saying Oh my gosh we're engaged, we're engaged!!

It was THE most romantic, perfect moment, and I could not have dreamed of a better way to do it. In all honesty, I did not see it coming at that moment! I kind of felt like he probably would propose while I was here for vacation, but I was seriously so surprised! He definitely did very good, as my dad said, very classy.

I am so thankful for God bringing this man into my life. He is everything and more that I've ever dreamed of, and I can't get over how blessed I am. I can't wait to begin my life with him November 13, 2010!

Through the Seasons with Nancy Delgadillo

My old roommate/housemate/friend, Nancy Delgadillo is in town right now before she head's off to Panama for a mission's trip. What a perfectly timed divine encounter from God! I'm just going to share a bit of encouragement from this wonderful woman.

Nancy, since graduating the Honor Academy in December, has been able to remain fervent and steadfast in her relationship with God. One of the biggest things is this: at the HA, we are constantly going, going, doing, doing, being spiritually developed, praised by leadership, and while in leadership we are looked up to and encouraged - all the time! When you leave the HA, people don't care about your accomplishments and success here - most of them don't even know where in the world Tyler Texas is. So when we leave, all of what we were used to at the HA virtually disappears. But my identity cannot be found in the praise of man, but only in Jesus Christ. Though there is almost guaranteed a lonely season after leaving, God wants to fill us and satisfy us in the deepest possible ways during that season. We are most desperate for him when we are stripped of everything else this world can offer. And this season is just that - a season! What an encouragement to me, to know that despite the initial loneliness of leaving, that I can be satisfied in God!

Another point that Nancy reminded me of, is the complacency of the world, and how many after leaving the HA can easily slip back into that. What a waste to forget The Plan, to forget that this life is more than making money, getting married, having babies, and living comfortably. What a waste to just be satisfied with going to church once or twice a week. Life is so much more! I never, ever, ever want to fall back into the complacent Christianity that I lived before the HA. I have been given SO MUCH, therefore much is required of me. Any abundance in my life is meant to be shared, meant to be given, meant to bring glory to God. May I never grow stale, nor selfish, nor forget that this life is not my own.

So in my current season of questioning the foggy and unknown, this was a timely treasure from the Lord to see Nancy. He truly knows and cares about the longings of our hearts.

Mountain LTE? Nope - Bus LTE

Well after every bus but mine suffering a total breakdown, days without showering, and climbing thousands of feet above the earth's surface, I am back, I am showered, I smell good again, and as you can see, I survived the Bus, er, Mountain LTE. Seeing the Rockies for the first time was quite remarkable, and worth the endless bus trip to get there. The climb up the mountain was quite treacherous. Most of the trails were packed with snow, which at this point was actually like solid ice making it a slow and difficult climb. I've got many bruises from multiple falls. But here are a few highlights to show you from the weekend~

This was the view from our campsite just outside of Estes Park

This is Bierstadt Lake...we got lost on the trail and accidentally stumbled upon it. I'm glad we got lost, because this was my favorite part of the entire hike :-)

This is Bear Lake, it's totally frozen! This shows you just how stinkin cold it was on that mountain!!

Standing in front of Alberta Falls - it cascaded down into a rapid river that ran through the mountains. Gorgeous!

This is the view from the top of Alberta Falls. Look how close we are to the clouds! It was hard to breath up there!

It was beautiful, it was hard, it was breathtaking, it was worth it. I look forward to doing adventurous stuff like this with Rob in the future.