Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

SEVEN | BLOG NAME


Today’s prompt: Tell us about your blog name. Where did it come from?

When I began my blog nine years ago, it began as Cutler Family Chronicles. It was a way to share my scrapbook pages and a way to keep in touch with family.  I would share our day to day happenings, funny stories and my layouts.  

As the Lord started working on me and changing my heart, my writing changed as well.  I found a post that I wrote not long after my husband left.  There is a paragraph in it that was the pivotal point where my writing style changed: 

I know this is probably hard for some of you to understand. All I can ask is that respect me and trust me enough to know this is what is best for everyone right now. Just support us, pray for us and encourage us. And hopefully in the end everyone can look at us and what we have been through and find one encouraging thing in it to put to use in your own life and marriage.

From that point on, my heart was in helping marriages and encouraging women.  It still remained Cutler Family Chronicles until a few years ago. 
I had just read a book on the Song of Solomon and relating it to intimacy in marriage.  I fell in love with Song of Solomon 6:3 and even got a tiny tattoo of it.
While thinking of the verse on day, I realized I’m not only my husbands beloved but I’m also Gods.  He loved ME enough to send His son to die for me.  And I will forever be His beloved.  Even during seasons of my life when I didn’t even give Him a thought, He was still pursuing my heart.  

SIX | STYLE

Today’s prompt: Share your style. What fashion trends do you love, frequent, or avoid?

While I wouldn’t say that I’m all that into fashion, I do enjoy clothes.  I guess my style could be explained as simple and country.  I’m just a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl.  And every single time I ask my husband which outfit of mine I look the best in {tell me I’m not the only girl that asks that question} I always get the same response from him…jeans and t-shirt.  
I’m not sure I’m much of a trend follower. And I’ve never really been a girlie girl that liked to dress up either. I’m a big fan of jeans. And t-shirts. And boots.  And flannels.  And scarves.   I think these are all pretty timeless.  So hopefully I never have to worry about being out of style. 
T-shirts.  I love finding shirts that I know are obscure and I know not many people around here, if any at all, will have the same shirt.  On day four, I mentioned one of my passions is being different.  Hence why I love buying my shirts from little shops online.  I love bold, graphic tees that make a statement.  Sassy since birth.  I love big beards and I cannot lie.  Jesus loves this hot mess.  
Jeans.  I could live in jeans, for real.  They are just me, and they’ve always been.  My current obsession is jeggings because they are so versatile.  In the winter they work perfectly to wear with boots, in the summer they look cute with Toms.  
Flannels.  This girl has been wearing flannels since college.  Even when they went out of style for a while, I still wore them.  And now they’re back in…hallelujah!  If you want to wear a t-shirt but it’s a little too cool, throw a flannel over top.  Too hot to wear a flannel in the summer?  Tie it around your waist.  Yep, love them.
Boots.  Oh, where do I even begin.  I’ve been wearing boots my entire life.  In fact, I have a scar on my leg from running to the playground in elementary school in my favorite cowboy boots.  Cowboy boots.  Work boots.  Rain boots.  Ankle boots.  Combat boots.  Knee high boots.  No matter, I love them all.  And I may own just a pair or two too many, but I’d never admit that to my husband.  
Scarves.  Two years ago, I found a new winter obsession to pass the time…knitting!  When the weather starts to get cooler, I start getting the urge to knit.  Thankfully, my daughter loves to knit too.  So our winter evenings are usually filled with Netflix, coffee and knitting.  
What trends are you loving? What is your signature style? What trends do you wish would come back or trends that should have never happened?

FIVE | MUSIC

Today’s prompt:  What are the first 10 songs on your iPod {while on shuffle}?

Boy oh boy, get ready for some crazy.

Chris Young – Aw Naw
Juke Box Blues – Reese Witherspoon {Walk the Line Soundtrack}
Wobble – V.I.C.
Cowboy Take Me Away – Dixie Chicks
My Favorite Things – Julie Andrews {The Sound of Music}
Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man – Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Years From Here – Baker and Myers
Faithfully – Journey
Party in the USA – The Barden Bellas {Pitch Perfect}
Could’ve Been – Tiffany

It’s no secret, I’m obsessed with music. It’s such a HUGE part of our lives in this household. With one note it can take you soaring back to a moment in time. It can lift your soul. It can make you shed tears of grief or music can make laugh. Music is a universal language, you don’t even have to understand the words if the artist is pouring their soul into the song.

Music for me was always a way to let my emotions out. There are songs to this day that still invoke the memories of what it meant to me years ago. Hold on by Wilson Philips takes me back to my freshman trip. To be with you by Mr. Big takes me to a dance after a wrestling match one cold, winter Friday night. And we can’t forget Friends by Michael W. Smith. Oh, so so many tears were cried at church camp while singing that song around the campfire. Funny, years later (we won’t discuss just how many years it’s been, please.and.thank.you) I still get teary when I hear that song come on.

I am so super thankful for music and all the memories it has given me over the years and the way it has left mile markers along my journey.