The Father's Faithfulness

Yall know how songs come to my mind often when I'm trying to put my finger on how I'm feeling. And the song that came to mind when I was thinking about this post is kind of an oldie that has been sung by Chris Tomlin and good ole' Michael W. Smith. You know the one that says "forever you are faithful, forever you are strong, forever you are with us, forever..."?

Well, sometimes you don't realize just HOW faithful our Father is until you have a little bit of distance to look back on things. Other times it hits you in the face and it is impossible to credit yourself or anyone else besides God with how things all happened. Well, this story is one of those times when His faithfulness was impossible to ignore.

"For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, 

who have been called according to his purpose"

Romans 8:28

This story will be presented in timeline form...

November 2012: Matt Sutter & Amanda Bradley get engaged

December 2012 - January 2013: Wedding plans commence

January 2013: Both Matt and Amanda begin semester-long internships. Matt was in LaGrange, Georgia doing student teaching and Amanda was in Birmingham at Mitchell's Place. Matt finds out that he will have two preps, neither of them really history. The first prep was for psychology and the other prep was for government classes. We both tried to find a reason that he'd have to drive an hour into another time zone in order to not even teach a history class....

January 2013-April 2013: Matt slugs his way through his student teaching while Amanda quickly falls in love with Mitchell's Place.

March-ish 2013: Amanda starts to stress about finding jobs. For both her and Matt. Matt, true to character, doesn't stress. 

May 2013: Matt & Amanda graduate from Auburn University. 2 days later, Amanda travels to Birmingham to interview with Hoover. (Long story short, I got the job!) Then...the principal asked Amanda to be the cheerleading sponsor. After some laughter and some prayer, the newest cheerleading coach at Simmons was someone who had never cheered in her life! 

July 2013: What a month. Marriage. Loss. See earlier blogs for what happened in July. Still no job for Matthew. Confusion. Doubt. And maybe a couple of prayers that went something like this...

"Dear Lord. Matt's life has been kinda poopy lately. He deserves a job. Why hasn't he gotten a job? This isn't fair!....etc etc."

(*Note: Probably not the best example of all those key good Christian words like "faith" "trust" and "leaning not on your own understanding")

July 31st, 2013: Cheerleading parents meeting. One parent shows up (a dad) and makes the comment that he wouldn't be here except that his wife was out of town. [Obviously totally thrilled to be in attendance]. He's wearing a local school's athletic shirt. Amanda's big mouth opens and asks where he works. He says "Irondale Middle School". Post meeting, Amanda opens her big mouth again and says that if he ever needs a social studies teacher she's got one at home. He says "I just posted a position today actually". SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! (Didn't say that out loud). Email promptly sent by my sweet hubs to said dad (and principal) of this middle school.

August 2nd, 2013: Matt gets a call that said principal/dad would like him to come on Monday for an interview.

August 5th, 2013: Matt interviews for the position. Thinks it goes well.

And then. NOTHING. Not a word. For 2 whole days!!!

Wednesday August 7th @ 7:00 am: Another stellar prayer went up "Dear God. This stinks. You messed with him again. Seriously?!?!?!?!?! Another lead and it's not going to work out. WHAT ARE YOU DOING???"- Maybe don't take prayer notes from me yall.

Wednesday August 7th @ 11:00 am: Matt shows up. At cheer camp. And.. Wait for it. Is employed. He got the job! He's a teacher! He's employed! He will be teaching 7th & 8th graders at Irondale Middle School and will be helping coach football and track. Oh, and the funny thing is. He'll be teaching civics to 7th graders. Aka. Government. (Ohhhhhhh that's why He placed him in that internship)

It should be noted that at this point on Wednesday I instantly felt a wave of guilt for the struggle session I had been having that morning with Jesus. How little faith I showed. But this I know. HE is FAITHFUL. Even when I doubt, even when I struggle, when I whine and complain. He is still faithful. He is working ALL things together for the good of those who love him. 

My lesson from all of this is to try and do a little less whining and complaining and to keep my eyes open for the incredible ways He is working in our lives. 

Kathleen

Our first few posts on this blog have been quite serious and in depth. Originally this blog was created to share our life with you, and so today that takes a different meaning. A fun story, fun day with friends and a freebie!

Fun Story:
Kathleen is one of my dear friends and was one of my bridesmaids a few weeks ago. Originally from Birmingham she went to Auburn and we met freshman year. Little did we know that we would become life-long friends through Auburn's freshman orientation program Camp War Eagle where we served as counselors our sophomore year, along with two other sweet sister-friends, Katie and Lauren.

"Leenie" as we often call her is one cool chick. Anyone who has met her knows that, as evidenced by the fact that she's Lebanese, was President of AOPi, has an infections laugh, and moved to Australia for a semester of school. Well, this next part of her story just adds to her cool factor as she sets out for Tulsa, Oklahoma where she will be spending a year mentoring and tutoring students. We cannot wait to follow her adventures in this next phase of life.

Fun Day:
The four frumps (a name we received that summer of CWE) gathered together today in Birmingham to celebrate Kathleen, catch up on life, and have a girls day. Complete with greek/Mediterranean food, Steel City Pops, and lots of talking & laughter, our day was an overall success...These four friends never lack for a good time.

As Kath got ready to head off on a year-long adventure to Tulsa I wanted to give her something to remind her of home. Something that she could put in her room/office/car/closet. It wasn't much but the other two wanted a copy, and I promised to share! So, as promised, a freebie. Click the link below the picture to download your own copy.

Schedule Freebie

We promise that wedding pictures, funny newlywed stories and cheerleading craziness will be shared soon. Happy Saturday!

*If you want a preview of our wedding pictures, visit Brandon's blog here!

Praise

One of the ways I most connect with the Father is through music. This may be a shock to those who know me as I am the one child in my family NOT gifted with musical ability. Something about praising the Holy One through song just gets me connected to the Lord in a special way. Several songs came to mind as I thought about the topic of this blog post, and they'll be sprinkled along the way.

This is my prayer in the fire,

And weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames

I will bring praise

I will bring praise

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

(Parts of Desert Song by Hillsong)

There are two reasons that this song came to mind. And specifically, two words. Those words I put in bold because they speak to how Matt and I feel a lot of days. We "will" bring praise. Our praise is not something that should only be done when we feel like it, are having a good day, or something awesome happens to us (like winning the lottery). Praise is a choice, and sometimes we have to set our hearts and minds to that fact that we WILL praise. 

Along these same lines, the second word that stands out is "every". In "every" season. All of our life. And the reason we can praise and will praise all of our life, in every season is because God is still God. He still has a plan for us and he is sovereign. This thought, the Lord's sovereignty, brings me to the real reason for this post.

Sovereign one

You work all things to your plan

Sovereign one

You hold all things in your hands

Perfect in power. You control all things

Perfect in wisdom. You know everything

Perfect in goodness

Jesus You're so good to me

So good to me

(Sovereign One by Sovereign Grace Music)

Something that has brought us great joy and led us to praise during the past few weeks has been to look back and see the Lord's sovereignty working through time and our lives, orchestrating His perfect plan for me, for Matt, for Bud, and for all of our family. I would love to tell all the details, all the stories, and all the ways we've seen sovereignty but that might take a novel. Below are a few of the things that stood out to us as amazing.

1) Our wedding date:

For the longest time, Matt and I talked about getting married on July 13th, not July 6th. We were afraid to do it on a holiday weekend, that people wouldn't be able to come, or that we'd interfere with other people's plans. But, because of the Lord's Sovereignty. NOT chance. We landed on July 6th. And Bud was able to stand by my husband, as his best man, and experience one of the happiest days of his life as a father.

2) Bud's toast:

Because we had our wedding a week earlier, Bud was able to give my husband a toast, a challenge, and words of encouragement. He got to tell my husband that he was proud of him. That he was man enough. And give him words of advice on how to love & serve me. This stands out because due to the absolute sudden nature of Bud's passing, it's possible that their last words may have been mundane, routine, or even filled with frustration or some other negative emotion. We are so thankful that Matt got to spend meaningful time with his dad that weekend, and that we were able to receive wisdom and encouragement from him

3) Bud was not keeping Grayson:

Those of you who knew Bud know that he was retired and was in part time Early Childhood Development (aka; he kept his 3 year old granddaughter several days a week). However, on that day, he was not. This is such a relief and a point of peace for her parents and all of us. Grayson will be able to cherish memories of her Poppy without having to remember him in that way. We are beyond thankful. 

These, along with many others, are the reasons that Matt & I will bring praise. Right now and for all of our lives. We encourage you to do the same!

For Better, For Worse

"to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part"

Those of you who know us know that we just got married. As in, 6 days ago married. Normal people go on honeymoon trips, take lots of solo shots, photos of their food and pictures of their towel art. They get to live out the "for better" "for richer" and "for in health" parts of their vows. We, apparently, are not to be a normal couple. On July 6th, 2013 Matthew Clark Sutter and I pledged our lives to each other. We took vows. We meant them. And three days later, we got a call that would put everything we just pledged to the test.

On our second day in Costa Rica, as we sat at our first dinner on the resort, we received a message from our waiter that my dad, Kerry, had called in reference to Mr. Sutter and that we needed to call him back immediately. With sinking hearts Matt and I got back to our room as quickly as we could, and attempted to contact our family. As you probably know, it was at that point that Matt received the devastating news from his brother-in-law that his father, Bud, had passed away earlier that afternoon from a heart attack. We got our new travel plans and boarded a plane the next day to return to the states and be with our families. 

Over the last few days there have been so many things to take note of: how thankful I am for my new family, their strength and their faith, God's sovereignty in working ALL things together, and the qualities I've seen in my husband as he faces this challenging season. Unfortunately, I can't cram all of these thoughts and feelings into one post, so please check back as I continue to process this time through writing.

What I do want to talk about today is something that people have constantly been asking me about, and praying for me about... How does a wife of 3 days deal with something like this? How does a marriage survive a blow this early on? How are Matt & I holding up? So, without further ado...

What they don't teach this in pre-marital counseling:

(Sorry Trace)

What they don't teach in premarital counseling is what to do or how to react when three days into your marriage you get a call that shatters your spouse's world. What they don't teach is how to love your husband in his pain, meet him there and be strong for him. What they don't teach you is that your heart will break into pieces with his.

However...

What we did learn in premarital counseling is that Christ must come first. And your spouse must come second. The Word teaches is that we are to love one another as we love ourselves. We are to comfort each other with the same comfort that we receive from Christ. We are called to serve each other in every season, even the worst of seasons, which the Bible promises will come. We are called to point each other towards Christ, and to be each other's constant encouragers in our walks with the Lord. We must love one another. We learned each of our love languages, and that knowledge has been invaluable in the past few days. We practiced communicating, about easy things and hard things. And though I've said countless times these past few days "they don't teach this in premarital counseling" we so value the things we did learn that were building blocks for our marriage and have helped us navigate this tough season. 

Trace Hamiter did our premarital counseling and encouraged us to write down a mission statement for our marriage. Though we didn't write it down in formal wording, we talked about what we wanted this covenant to be about. We want to love God, and serve others through our marriage as we pursue Christ individually and together. We want to present to the world a marriage that is made up of two broken people, who are restored in Christ Alone, and through his love alone are able to love and serve each other. 

This mission in our marriage was given a very real, very sudden opportunity as we faced the passing of Matt's dad. Would we try and rely on each other, or Christ? Would we crumble or would we stand strong in our faith? Would we trust that our loving God is sovereign or wander in confusion? We don't claim to be perfect. We don't claim to be walking through this on our own strength. But we are resting in Christ's arms, on his strength, and by His grace we are able to have joy. We pray that each of you would see this in us, and know this joy yourself.

We are being forced to rely on the Word and our faith alone. We are so thankful for the families we have and the friends that have been placed in our lives to help get us through this stage of our marriage. We will grow together, through this, with the desire and mission that God alone be glorified. Join us in praying that more people will come to know our Jesus as a result of this.

On a final note, as we have told some of you, we count this season as a blessing. We are starting our marriage totally focused on Christ, knowing that if we rely on ourselves we. will. fail. We have grown closer in our 6 days of marriage than some couples grow in 6 years. We have held each other, cried together, laughed and celebrated the man who helped shape my husband into the man he is today. We MUST count our blessings in this, and many more of these blessings will be shared in the days to come. 

Ways you can be praying for us:
- That we would seek Christ first in this, leaning on his word, his truth and his faithfulness
- Protection from the lies of the evil one that lead to fear, selfishness, distrust and anger
- For Matt: understanding, peace that surpasses all understanding, comfort and a way to hang on to his joy
- For Amanda: for peace that surpasses all understanding, for strength to be Matt's strong helper during this time, and for knowledge of how best to love and serve Matt as he grieves

We love you all dearly and are so thankful for your encouragement over these last few days. May Christ alone receive all the glory,

Amanda

Welcome

Hello everyone, my name is Matthew Sutter. On July 6th, I get the privilege of marrying my absolute best friend in the world, Amanda Bradley! One of her great loves is connecting with new people and staying in touch with friends and family. I have started this blog as a way for her to continue sharing all the craziness that we are about to get into as we begin our new life together. She will most likely do most of the blogging, but I plan to make an appearance every now and again. Since she will author most of our stories, I want to take a minute to tell a little about her. As anyone who knows Amanda will tell you her most amazing quality is her servant heart. I have no doubt that her love for helping and serving others comes from her deep and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. For the past three years, God has been shaping, molding, and drawing us to one another. With all of my heart I know that God has given me the perfect companion and will continue to use us to strengthen and spur on one another. Our prayer is that our marriage will be a picture of God's gospel. That through Christ we may be a representation of his love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. It is my hope that this blog will serve as not only as a vehicle to update our friends and family on the crazy wonder that is newly-wed life, but more so an opportunity to spur on and encourage other believers and show Christ to all who stumble upon this Taste of Sutter Home.

God Bless and War Eagle,
Matthew Sutter