mere update

[far_go]

for all those wanting to know how she's been here you are from my Facebook profile her 1 yr anniversary update note

With this week marking our one year anniversary, the incessant blogger in me will not allow this momentous occasion to pass without commemorating it by sharing the story of God's faithfulness in our first year of marriage.

We were married in a very traditional ceremony in an old, beautiful church where over 400 friends and family witnessed our vows and celebrated our union. Our shared vision for lives spent glorifying God together was the desire of our hearts, so we made every effort to cover the ceremony in prayer and ensure that it was evident that God was to be our strong foundation and the center of our marriage.

The following day, we drove to my family's farm outside of Richmond and said goodbye to my family. This, for me, was much more difficult than I had expected, as I had lived at home all of my life, enjoyed spending time with my family more than anyone else, and knew that I wouldn't be seeing them at all for a minimum of seven months. I cried, my parents cried, my siblings cried (most notably, then-three-year-old Sheridan sobbed, "Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!"), and poor Stephen later remarked that he felt as if he was stealing me away from them! My entire family - my dear parents and five precious younger siblings - stood on our farmhouse's front porch, teary eyed and waving goodbye as we drove down the long gravel driveway and set off on our new journey as husband and wife. My heart ached on that cold, rainy December night as I knew that my life was changed forever. I was immensely happy to be married to a man so much greater than I ever hoped for or imagined, yet filled with sadness at the thought of leaving behind my dear family and the only life I knew. Less than a mile away from the farm, Stephen pulled the car over into the dark parking lot of an old, nearby church and prayed for me. I was now Stephen's girl and although everything within me loved the thought of belonging to him, my heart was broken by the thought of dying to the contented life I loved working alongside my family.

After a wonderful road trip and perfect honeymoon from Richmond, VA to Charleston, SC to Palm Beach, FL to New Orleans, LA and finally to Stephen's hometown of Dallas, TX for Christmas and New Years', we parted ways for two weeks due to a delay with my United Kingdom visa.

[makepeace]

Wow

Thank you!

Far_go, how many people do you have access to? (Lina, Meredith, ....)

I am still suspicious that you are a troll who enjoys creative writing.

[makepeace]

It was a very, very difficult trial, especially in our young marriage. I was incredibly discouraged because I was absolutely not the helpmeet I planned to be and I hated that Stephen got stuck with such a burden of a wife! Through that season, I realized how dependent I had become on Stephen's approval and how I needed to seek God's approval first and foremost. Also, I saw how obsessed I had become with striving to be the best at every little domestic task while (in my mind) critiquing and judging others. God used this time to break me from that prideful attitude, as I was truly the very worst in every task and was so sick that I didn't even care anymore.

I admire the way she has changed her attitude.

[MamaJunebug]

First post TLDR but really did enjoy the paragraph that makepeace pulled out. Liking the healthy humility and reasonableness!

[Sola]

I wonder if living in the UK has contributed to that attitude change? I'd certainly like to think so, our view of Christianity, even among Christians themselves, is quite different to the mindset in which Meredith was brought up.

[fundies_like_zombies]

I wonder if living in the UK has contributed to that attitude change? I'd certainly like to think so, our view of Christianity, even among Christians themselves, is quite different to the mindset in which Meredith was brought up.

How is it different between the UK and America?

Most of the bloggers I read are in America and just a couple in the UK but I thought there were more fundie types because there are more people. :?

[Sola]

How is it different between the UK and America?

Most of the bloggers I read are in America and just a couple in the UK but I thought there were more fundie types because there are more people. :?

No, our percentage of Christian fundies is tiny. The percentage of people who go to church at least once a month is around 15%. Most of us don't 'do' religion at all. A lot of people will nominally identify as Christians in the census for example, but they are the 'three times in their lives' Christians - they attend church to be Christened as a baby, to get married and for their funerals. As for CofE which is the 'majority' representation of Christianity here, 1.1million attend at least once per month.

The church going percentage has increased over the last couple of years according to surveys, but that increase has been in immigrant communities. We've had quite a large population of Polish Catholics coming over which has bumped up Catholic numbers, same with the Pentecostals due to immigration from Africa. But among Brits themselves, church attendance and Christianity as a whole, rates have been falling year upon year.

[buddingmedievalist]

Um, so I have some Facebook friends from college who are friends IRL with Meredith, so I can see a little of her profile... from what I can see, she hasn't written any notes, which makes me suspicious. I want this to be true, but my limited views of her profile say no

[fundies_like_zombies]

No, our percentage of Christian fundies is tiny. The percentage of people who go to church at least once a month is around 15%. Most of us don't 'do' religion at all. A lot of people will nominally identify as Christians in the census for example, but they are the 'three times in their lives' Christians - they attend church to be Christened as a baby, to get married and for their funerals. As for CofE which is the 'majority' representation of Christianity here, 1.1million attend at least once per month.

The church going percentage has increased over the last couple of years according to surveys, but that increase has been in immigrant communities. We've had quite a large population of Polish Catholics coming over which has bumped up Catholic numbers, same with the Pentecostals due to immigration from Africa. But among Brits themselves, church attendance and Christianity as a whole, rates have been falling year upon year.

I thought of the UK as a Christian country but I guess that is kinda based on the census. Interesting that people would still identify themselves as Christian though - 15% sounds pretty low for church attendance!

I wonder if the fundie-ish UK bloggers get more fundie from the exposure to American fundie bloggers.

[sea_gale]

Fake. Not even one use of the word "classy".

[Sola]

I thought of the UK as a Christian country but I guess that is kinda based on the census. Interesting that people would still identify themselves as Christian though - 15% sounds pretty low for church attendance!

I wonder if the fundie-ish UK bloggers get more fundie from the exposure to American fundie bloggers.

It's only over the last ten years that I have identified myself as Atheist on the census/medical records etc. I was brought up Christian and up to then if asked I would have said Christian even though I have been an atheist for 30 years. People tend to see it more as a heritage thing.

[simplysweet]

Um, so I have some Facebook friends from college who are friends IRL with Meredith, so I can see a little of her profile... from what I can see, she hasn't written any notes, which makes me suspicious. I want this to be true, but my limited views of her profile say no

Yeah- there is nothing on her page. I am friends with her (we built up a friendship through our blogs.) on FB and she is rarely on it. This is not real.

[far_go]

I am not going to write a 5 page update to entertain unknown persons here. I hate cranking out papers for university. The note is only visible to certain people. To the person not on her friends list spouting off that you cannot see anything you ARE NOT on her friends list. Here is a small screen shot I cannot get the full thing.

http://i42.tinypic.com/29fe2ab.png

[meda]

It would be more believable if you had not done the same thing in one of the Lina threads. Are you close friends with all the fundies we discuss?

[gustava]

I want it to be real.

[far_go]

Did you go to the screenshot?

[snarkbillie]

Did you go to the screenshot?

I did. What does it mean that you "can't get" a full screen shot? I could take a screen shot of my entire desktop right now. It's not rocket science.

[Austin]

Meh. I don't care. I never found her to be interesting.

[far_go]

Thanks for clarifying that is not rocket science for me. I was unaware of that fact. What I meant was I cannot get the full note in one shot unless I shrink my page until all the text minuscule b/c it is quite long and the same thing as what I C&P'd above.

[snarkbillie]

Thanks for clarifying that is not rocket science for me. I was unaware of that fact. What I meant was I cannot get the full note in one shot unless I shrink my page until all the text minuscule b/c it is quite long and the same thing as what I C&P'd above.

I would want an actual picture of the FB profile, not just her profile picture and the note. It's quite easy to write the note on your FB page and set it as "private" and then take a screen shot and replace your profile picture with hers. What you've posted here would take someone about 10 minutes to do in Microsoft Paint.

[far_go]

this is the other screen shot that I took when I took that one last night--I cqan get one of her whole profile though

http://i40.tinypic.com/16aa0yh.jpg

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm intrigued by the posters who come here to share news of people they claim to be 'friends' with in real life. :roll:

[ChunkyBarbie]

I'm intrigued by the posters who come here to share news of people they claim to be 'friends' with in real life. :roll:

Me too, it totally ooks me out. Friend my foot!

[MamaJunebug]

I dunno, I was never that smitten with Meredith but I had to admire a gal who had perfected the practice of brushhogging. ;)

It sounds like her writing style.

I don't have a dog in this fight so that's all i'll say.

[lilah]

Meh occams razor says its legit, it does match up with everything her mom said happened on her blog