Memorial Weekend

This Memorial weekend was so much fun! We were able to go to the beach with our good friends who we never ever get to see! Forest and Cathorine are such an amazing, godly couple. We had a great time hanging out in the sun and just being lazy. Lately I have realized just how important it is to have Christian fellowship and to surround yourself with other Christians. We had so much fun going out to eat, dancing, laying out in the sun, watching movies, and shopping! Life is so good! Then at the end of Stu's vacation we went to the lake for a super lazy weekend. Just me, Stu, and Jenks. This was such a relaxing time that was much needed. We read so much between the two weekends that I was able to finish my book that I had really wanted to get through. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. It was so good! One of my top favorites. I learned so much reading this book. Many things were so good that if I wrote them all, it would literally be the entire book. But here is one thing I loved that is so true. It is in chapter 14 that is titled 'When God seems Distant.' Here is what it says:

' Floyd McClung describes it: "You wake up one morning and all your spiritual feelings are gone. You pray, but nothing happens. You rebuke the devil, but it doesn't change anything. You go through spiritual exercises...you have your friends pray for you...you confess every sin you can imagine, then go around asking forgiveness of everyone you know. You fast...still nothing. You begin to wonder how long this spiritual gloom might last. Days? Weeks? Months? Will it ever end?...it feels as if your prayers simply bounce off the ceiling. In utter desperation you cry out, "What's the matter with me?" ' Then Rick Warren answers, 'The truth is, there's nothing wrong with you! This is a normal part of the testing and maturing of your friendship with God. Every Christian goes through it at least once, and usually serveral times. It is painful and disconcerting, but it is absolutely vital for the development of your faith. Knowing this gave Job hope when he could not feel God's presence in his life...'

This is so true. So many times we hear/see someone going through this. Or it is sometimes us who is wondering, "Where are you God?" So I thought this was just too good to not share. We are developing our faith. Each day, we are developing our faith.

God really cares. He answers my prayers.

I never used to journal. Sure, I would take notes in sunday school and church and I would underline Bible verses that really spoke to me. But I never really journaled. I started my journaling when I got married. I knew there were just too many things that I would want to remember down the road. So from day 1 of Mrs. Thomas Stuart Winkler, I started my first page in my soft, brown leather journal. I wrote all my prayer requests down. I wrote down praises and I would write just how thankful I was for my Christian husband. As time passed, I would find a piece of paper here and there and in random places of prayer requests I had written down from college. As I would read each one, I praised the Lord because I realized that He answered them IN HIS TIME. Not all of them had been answered 'yes.' And I praise Him for that too! But He did answer all my prayers. I am so glad that I have journals so I can go back and say, "Praise You Lord! For You are God!" No, not all things have been answered since I started my journaling, but I know that He is working. Praise You Lord for being Lord of my life!!!

On that note, I do want to praise Him for caring about the little things. I am such a fairy tale girl. I really do think that life can be perfect and that it can be the way we always dreamed it would be when we were little. Here are some of the little things in life that I have always wanted that I now have. (These are not the eternal desires of my heart.)

1. A Christian Husband who loves me so much. AND who comes home from a hard day at work wanting nothing but to be in his living room with me! A husband who makes me laugh harder than anyone has ever made me laugh.
2. A door that is all windows. I know that sounds crazy, but that is something I really cared about.
3. Boat rides. There is probably nothing that I love more than boat rides at the lake. I love going up to the lake house (which is pretty much a cabin) and ending the day with a relaxing boat ride. Ahhhh....never in my life did I dream that I would be able to do that more often than not.
4. My cozy corner of my couch with my lamp. My most favortie time of day is before the sun comes up and I get to cuddle up with a cup of coffee and do my Bible study. I am so thankful to have a home.
5. My cute, adorable job. I love designing. LOVE interior design. There is nothing more satisfying than coming home from a hard day at work knowing that I did my best and had tons of fun doing it. BUT, there is one blessing that God surprised me with that I never expected. My favorite scene from a movie is when Meg Ryan is working at her adorable SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. I have always loved the small old building on the cute little strip. And that is exactly where I start my work day and end my work day....our cute little design building downtown in Historic Opelika.
6. My lunch break. I wounldn't appreciate this if I didn't communte for 2 years prior to my job now.

I could go on, and I am sure I will in further blogs. But these are the things that make me stop and say, "Thank you God for caring about the little things."

A Hot Start to a Hot Summer

Summer...it is finally feeling like an Alabama summer. The Winklers LOVE summertime! For many reasons. We love those lazy lake weekends where we can just float in good ole' Lake Martin. The water already feels like bath water! We are definitely in for a very hot summer. We had tons of fun yesterday floating in the water and our sunset boat ride with the family. Then we enjoyed a wonderful plate of cholesterol at our favorite restaurant Oskars. Fried pickles and corn nuggets...who needs an entree? We woke up early this morning so we could enjoy the cool breeze right before we packed up to go home. We stopped at Walnut Hill to grab our traditional lake breakfast of homemade biscuits and now our tummys really hurt from all the traditional Alabama food. We made it just in time for church. Then this afternoon, I decided to plant my herb garden. Stuart was so nice to bring me my favorite herbs! I already used some rosemary to bake chicken! I knew I had to go ahead and cook with something because I am excellent at killing any plant. There is no green thumb in me at all! And I decided to start blogging again. All thanks to Sarah Beth (who is my only follower and probably the only one who will read this...unless I ask my mom to.) What a perfect Sunday!

One Year Down

My little sailor, right before the wind blew him over.

It snowed our first Christmas! Jenkins, right before he made our neighbor's snowman yellow.

Our happy family at Christmas

Wife Tip: Men don't want a sip of crystal light when only lacking 10 more feet of mowing.

This weekend we celebrated our first anniversary! It was such a blessing. God has been so so so good to us. We owe everything to Him and are so grateful He chose us to be His. Let me try to sum up our first year as Mr. and Mrs. Winkler...

20 things we learned:
1. Women have to spend a good bit of time in the bathroom getting ready if they want to go anywhere. (at least me anyhow.)
2. Men do need at least 20 minutes of "no talking" time when they come home from work each day.
3. Men work really hard at work, so the most you can do for them when they get home, the more likely they are to say 'yes' to you getting a mani/pedi.
4. Pray, Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray constantly for your marriage and for your spouse. Pray verses and pray hard. A Christian couple is such a threat to the enemy and he is always looking to strike in areas that you don't expect.
5. Cleaning the floors twice a week just doesn't cut it anymore with those work boots and the dog.
6. She doesn't always look perfect when she wakes up. So please don't say, "Wow, are you feeling okay?"
7. Don't ever put a cold milk jug on her back at 6:00 am and expect her to laugh.
8. Don't throw his xbox out in the yard...but if you do, make sure to throw it far the first time so you don't have to walk out in the yard and throw it again because it didn't go far enough.
9. If you do throw the xbox out in the yard, check the weather channel and make sure it isn't suppose to rain that night. Go get it if it is suppose to rain.
10. He does need guy time. And he probably won't put his plate in the sink before he goes.
11. Don't giggle when hamburger meat splatters in his eye. That was so mean of me when he was trying to help cook.
12. If he says "Don't spend over $50." Then he means it.
13. She can snap at any second. And there is a good chance this will happen more than once.
14. Join a Bible Study together.
15. Don't fix Cottage Cheese Casserole and then go to your neighbors house. And if you do, don't start throwing up in their bushes when they open the door. And if you do, don't tell them it was because your wife made "Goat Cheese Surprise."
16. Find a church together and get involved.
17. Still make time for family.
18. Evening walks are what make the world go round.
19. Buy their favorite things at the grocery store, even if you don't have a coupon for it.
20. No matter how mad you are at him, don't take his beer and give it away at your company's Dirty Santa party. He won't like it.

But most importantly...
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37

"Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together."
Psalm 34:3

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

" A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good , not harm, all the days of her life....She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom , and faithful instruction is on her tongue....Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Proverbs 31: 10-12, 25-26, 30


The Lord has blessed our first year. He has granted so many of our desires already this year. Here are some of the prayers He has answered:

1. He has given us so many Christian friends.
2. He has allowed me to be in Auburn, serving Him with children and others in the community.
3. He has given us such a sweet home that we can share with others when they come over.
4. He has allowed us to start leading a college bible study. We are very excited about this. Praise God! To Him be the glory!
5. He has given us precious time to spend together, each evening, and on the weekends.
6. He has blessed us with close family in Auburn, Montgomery, and Columbus. We love our family and are so glad everyone is near each other.
7. He has blessed Stuart with an amazing job. And given Stuart a great work ethic. My prayer for Stuart has always been for the Lord to bless the work of his hands. And God has been faithful.
8. Our health and safety, oh how the Lord has been good.
9. Bible studies: we have been blessed to be in a couples study right after we got married; I was able to do Daniel by Beth Moore with my best friend who would travel to come and do it with me. I am about to be able to do Esther with my mom, mother in law, Christian mentor, and my friends.
10. I was able to spend one on one time with my Christian mentor who has been such a blessing to me.
11. 2009 is our year that we are both reading the Bible all the way through. Seeing him read the Bible and have such a desire motivated me to and me and my best friend are encouraging ourselves through it! (Stu started before me and helps me if I don't understand something.) It is such a wonderful thing to do. I suggest doing it one year!

12. The Lord provided the means for me to go on a mission trip to Guatemala with my dad and sister. We were able to build houses for many families that had nothing. It was so amazing.

There is so much that happened in one year! Lord, thank you for this wonderful year. You are so good.

"For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prsper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

We can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for Year #2!

My Life as a Winkler Begins

When we were little, we had these fairy tale dreams. Dreams of a prince on a white horse. A white horse that would carry us away into the sunset. Every girl had them. Then we grew up and sort of lost that dream. We told ourselves it wasn't real, that he didn't exist. ...Then I met Stuart. And I became a little girl again. He was my prince, and I his princess. His white horse came in the form of a black F250, his sword was a pocket knife, and his boots were old and were starting to get holes in the soles from how hard he worked everyday. But I knew he was my prince.

We serve a wonderful God. A God that does all things in His timing. And I thank Him everyday for giving me such a wonderful Christian leader for a husband. Stuart was a gracious gift the Lord bestowed upon me. Undeserving me, I have such a wonderful and sweet husband. Thank you Lord for giving me Stuart.

On that note...they say when you marry, you marry the family. I have a loving family-in-law. Not only are they loving, but they are very giving. So giving, that my sister-in-law gave us a cute puppy for Christmas. He was so cute, and so little, and so loving that we fell in love. We still love him, and he is still cute, but he is not still little.

Meet Jenkins.

And so, life as a Winkler begins.