Busy busy fun!

It's been a while since I've had the time or desire to get on here and write but here I am! I made myself sit down and read, comment, and write. I'm glad I did. I have enjoyed it thus far :)

Big recent news: I HAVE A JOB!!! I am officially employed (sp?) at Target! Woot! Woot! I will be doing stock and floor organization! I'm so so excited. Not only will it keep me busy and allow me to meet new people that live around here but I'll be getting a pretty good full-time pay check which would help out a good bit! I can't wait to start next week!

Me and James have been super busy this past week. He was out of town Mon.-Wed. and then Thursday we left to go meet our cousins, Whitney and Bethany, in Alabama at their house to do a "fake wedding shoot". They're photographers, Glass Jar Photography if you wanna look them up, and they needed to shoot a wedding for the "Once Wed" blog and also to send examples to help them book a wedding in another area. We were pretty pumped to be asked to be their "fake" Bride and Groom. A wedding all over again! This time with less stress and strictly photos. We got their and took some engagement photos then I put on my wedding dress and James wore sweeeet khakis, blue button up, a tie and a handsome vest :) He looked SO good! ha ha All their friends and family were there and we went through all the motions of a real wedding. We even got to cut the cake, feed it to each other, and throw my bouquet! It was so much fun. I have never enjoyed an evening so much!

We spent the night with them and Friday James dropped me off in Ringgold to be spend the night with my sister at home for the last time before she moved to Toccoa for college! Saturday we got up and packed her stuff and headed to Toccoa!!! I'm really excited for her new journey. She's going to LOVE college. It's going to be unlike any experience she's ever had. It'll really grow her too! Being there and in the girls dorm and seeing all my friends back again made me kind of sad. Part of me wanted to go back in time and be there again and live on the hall with everyone. I miss it so much. It really took some time to shake the sadness and jealousy of Lauren off. I love James and being married and being here and I know God has us here for a reason! I'm just so excited for sister!

Well I have to go get a drug test for work! I love all of you! It won't be FOREVER till my next blog. Promise!

The storm.

Let me just say from the start, I've never experienced such a hard long week or two of my life. It's been pretty stretching and pretty tough. I think I'm just not coming out of it and the fact that I'm writing this blog means that I survived it. Thank goodness!

You know, when you start writing all this "godly and encouraging" stuff for other people I think you got to be careful because you begin to be tested in it and let me say something again, I failed.

The world can deceive me and look so good. It can look so harmless and so happy and carefree. It's hard not to desire it or want what others have. It's hard to remember that even though they are looking like they're living the complete happier life than say, me, a Christian, the end for them is so much worse than I have it right now and everything the do, fun or not, is in vain apart from our Lord. I've really been struggling with being a good person, a "happy" person, a satisfied person. It's like this massive storm cloud hit me out of no where and took me down this super muddy track in the woods. It's been a long since I had felt that "out of myself" and empty. It was really hard to get out of and it began to have an effect on me and James which crushed me.

We spent the morning at the kitchen table after breakfast just talking about anything that is hurting us or working on communication and working on how to communicate hurt feelings and pain. Even after the talk I was still down for some reason but, as spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning everyone room in the house, the rain stopped and the thunder stopped and the lightening stopped. The sun is beginning to peak through the clouds and I can feel the warmth and joy it is bringing. I pray so hard that things stay this way. I don't know what it was that brought me down so much but I'm going to work hard to stay in the Word and keep encouraged and try to have a good and positive attitude. I know this trial/storm is almost over and I'm so ready for the sunshine.

I love it when no one has any idea what you're going through but they decide to comment on your wall and tell you they miss you and love or send you a text and tell you they love you or send you a message with a favor to ask because they CHOSE you to help! Those kinds of things help the sun shine a little quicker and a little brighter.

This message is kinda dull and boring but it's all I got to give today. Thanks for sticking around and reading this stuff ha ha It'll only get better from here.

I love you all!!!

Devan Draper