Scott and Angie Bentley

Thank you, Real Simple, for the idea folded into the pages of your magazine.

Great idea for jewelry.

On the rocks.

We have a new favorite Saturday tradition: the Winter Park farmer’s market.

(And, yes, I got my hair cut…finally!…on Friday. Bye bye bride hair. It was fun while it lasted.)

It’s 3 blocks away and full of vendors selling plants, fruits and veggies and homemade concoctions.

If we had some space and a green thumb, this is a plant I’d like to take home.

Monday marked our 1-month anniversary. We can’t believe how fast 30 days has gone!

So we celebrated as Anglos on a Latin night: Qdoba (my business card won us 2 free dinners) and salsa-dancing lessons that Scott bought me for Valentine’s Day.

We don’t move quite like the teachers yet but Scott said he’d go again!

They gave us nametags that branded us beginners. Oh well. We were.

Mother’s Day weekend was a fun one for us. We enjoyed a first — having both sets of parents and Angie’s brother fly in from Nebraska and Iowa.

They joined us for our Orlando wedding reception Saturday afternoon, then we 7 celebrated Rita’s 60th birthday Saturday night.

Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day with a Winter Park (where we live) boat tour and then a jaunt to Cocoa Beach.

Melba & Dean, Scott’s parents. (Dean was more excited than he lets on here.)

Lee & Rita, Angie’s parents. (Rita is less tough than she lets on here.)

Is it stating the obvious that it was more than a little windy? We asked Chad, Angie’s brother, to model a windblown look.

My favorite part was the canals on the tours. For about 46 seconds, it felt like we were in the Amazon. Not that I know what the Amazon looks like. But I’d have to guess like this. Um. Maybe.

Today marks our 1-month anniversary, so it seems timely to finally get honeymoon pictures up!

See fun pictures like this…and more.

I’ve been Angie Bentley for 30 days and more has changed than just my name.

It’s like the gospel is new again.

Here’s a taste of how God’s using Scott and daily married life to give me renewed perspective of His great love for me.

• I don’t have to try to be so strong. Last night I tucked myself into Scott’s embrace and teared up as realized this. My blood sugar had gone too low and my orange-juice hero (as I like to call him now) fetched me a sugared drink to get my glucose back up. The gospel says, “Rest, Angie. I’m taking care of you. Your strength is found in depending upon me.”
• I am loved in a way that blows my mind. The way Scott looks at me and speaks words of encouragement to me brings me life. One day when he said, “I like reminding you who you are,” I about lost my breath. That’s exactly what the gospel says, “Angie, you are Mine. I fought to win you, to show you who you really are. Now, as I show you My love, I’m reminding you of that truth. Your value comes because of who I say you are.”
• Play can come before work sometimes. Scott makes me laugh unlike anyone else on the planet. “Playful” is how I often describe him. Whether with his wit or his accents or his impulsiveness, my seriousness doesn’t stand a chance. The gospel says, “Angie, you planner; it’s not up to you. Rest. Play. Enjoy your relationship with Me.”
• I thrive in the security of knowing Scott’s not going anywhere. Apart from death, Scott and I have covenanted before the Lord that our marriage is for life. We are not perfect, but we are God’s perfect provision for each other. And there’s a beautiful thing that has happened to my heart with that confidence. The gospel says, “Do you know how you are loved? How you were rescued from darkness and brought into the light? You have a hope and a purpose and a God who’s forever for you, now that you’ve said yes to him. He will not ever leave you or forsake you. Confidence is yours!”

Bentley Update

This is an adventurous season for us, for sure.

Praise:

• For a wedding that delighted us and honored the Lord, we believe. We had a blast and are grateful for all of the friends and family who pitched in to make our April 19th wedding a day we’ll never forget. Check out photos below on this blog.
• A cute mother-in-law house for us to call our first home. We love the commute to work together each day (albeit longer than before) and opportunity to read our chronological Bible-in-a-Year each morning on the drive.

Prayer Requests:

• Scott got his official acceptance to join Campus Crusade as a missionary this summer. Stay tuned for more!

Part of the reason for me getting so emotional the morning of the wedding was an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my girlfriends.

Girlfriends, you’ve walked through singleness with me and you’ve thrown up excited hands with me when God brought Scott into my life.

I’m so grateful that you came to be part of Scott and my landmark day. I love each of you.

The above shot is one of my very favorite pictures from all of the ones Kristina (front left) took. Technically, my new husband took it (thanks for climbing on the counter to do so, Scott!) but he used her uber-cool camera.

Here’s Virginia & I using whatever props are around us to spontaneously karaoke to the radio after she finished my makeup. The girl was amazing: she created my bouquet, my bridesmaids’ bouquets, she did my MAC makeup and also sang! (She had to leave the reception a bit early, thus why she’s sadly not in the first picture.)

So life in our little MIL (mother-in-law) house is a fun and cozy (emotionally and physically) adventure. One part of the adventure is figuring out how to cook.

Our counter line up includes (in lieu of a stove): a George Foreman grill, a toaster oven, a skillet and a crock pot.

It was an exciting day last week when my researcher husband (husband…oh, that’s so cool to say!) found out that pasta (& rice) cooks in the skillet!

So, I don’t plan on speeding, but check out what the cop will see if he asks for my license.

Meet Mrs. Angie Bentley!

Thanks to Kristina, we have even more wedding photos to enjoy for years to come!

See other formal, fun and playful pictures she took.

Here’s the blog entry with another slide show.