We didn’t send out any Christmas cards, so MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR from Rocco & I. For anyone who follows us on FB/Twitter/Instagram, you know this year was eventful. To call 2016 eventful would be an understatement. Wouldn’t have it any other way though. Earlier in the year I student taught, graduated from UND (Music Education), taught Zumba, led worship (UND Chi Alpha)….AND planned the pink & sparkly wedding of my dreams. Shameless plug, but holy smokes, you can find me on iTunes & Spotify now! YAY! “You Are Free” & “Christmas Time Is Here” are my available EP’s so far…stay tuned for more! Earlier in the year for Rocco, he played up and down with the Florida Panthers organization, appeared in his 1st NHL playoff games, and was traded to the Colorado Avalanche organization right before the wedding. He enjoyed his last week as a single man by going on a ”Brolympics” trip with his boys. Don’t ask who won…haha. We were married in Grand Forks, ND on July 9th. The weather was perfect, everyone was healthy, all the details came together, and WE GOT MARRIED. YAY! Everything was pink & sparkly….Rocco’s dream, naturally. Haha. The only problem was it was so beautiful & joyous that EVERYTHING made me tear up! My. Gosh. Can’t complain, though. We enjoyed a great honeymoon in the Bahamas (if you’re marrying an athlete, all-inclusive is PRIME) and spent the remainder of the off-season in LA. We spent the summer working out, touring around visiting family, watching the Olympics, and learning how to be real adults! Good news, we can both cook! From there we moved to Denver and San Antonio at the start of the hockey season. The fans in San Antonio were thrilled to have him back (The Rampage used to be Florida’s AHL affiliate). There’s always someone hollering his name & it’s kind of precious – great fan base! This is my first year seeing all of his home pro games, and I’m definitely enjoying the hockey wife life. I make a lot of pasta, and I go to a lot of hockey games. Pretty chill. Ha People will ask me how we’re doing all the time. I think people are curious about how life is for us since we move a lot and are so newly married. Life is kind of all over the place, but we are doing great - When your marriage’s foundation is Christ and both of you have goals/purpose, life is GOOD. Sure, I have no idea how his career will turn out: how many time we’ll move, where he’ll be playing, how many trades we’ll see, what I’m going to do in all of these places…but none of that really matters. See, we both have goals, specific and nonspecific ones, but they are all centered on having an impact on the world for Christ. Our faith grows like wildfire in this kind of scenario. If we don’t have faith, what do we have? I am miles away from family, friends, familiarity…but God’s presence fills my life. Plus Rocco is hilarious, so how could I not enjoy my life? *To those skeptical of marriage, know that Christian marriage can be WAY different than what books, how-to guides, and movies portray it to be. Every marriage is different, but the most successful ones are all held together by God. He created marriage, so He can make it the healthiest. We are very young and don’t necessarily have anything mapped out for our future…but we have each other, our family’s support, & God’s promises to guide us. To me, quality of life in a marriage has little to do with money, stability, looks and much to do with how well you serve each other and show respect with your words and actions.* Another thing people ask all the time is how I keep myself inspired or doing purposeful things. After a lifetime of absolutely sprinting (school, music, dance, jobs, etc.), this season is allowing me to experience God’s presence in NEW ways. I am hungry for practical wisdom and the truth of His Word. I am writing more music than ever, and I have real joy. I combat fear of the unknown with prayer and Biblical promises. Rocco and I are a team, so he supports my musical/ministry goals, understanding that direction from God will come one step at a time – and support him by, you know, frequently moving across the country and making a lot of meals…Ha. Can’t wait to write a book about everything. I see 2017 as a year full of promise, expecting to see miraculous growth and opportunities in my life, Rocco’s life, and YOUR life. Remember that living life to the fullest is all about living your life for Jesus. Living a life of purpose is about living for His purposes. It’s good to know that God is working in every chapter of our lives. While I don’t usually count the new calendar year as the punctuation of a prior season and beginning of a new one (it’s just another day, right?), this may be the start of a new season for you. Be open to God’s surprises, say “Yes” more often, trust in God’s promises, and don’t forget to enjoy the season you’re in right now. You never know how essential it will be to the rest of your story someday. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, XOXO, Abby (and Rocco) Grimaldi
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*Welcome to my new website/blog! I want to provide great music & some good reads for your life! - Abby* With Christmas shopping in full swing, the election a few weeks behind us, and the Grammy nominations out today...I decided to not talk about any of that! *Yay!* So what am I going to talk about? Something pretty old-school actually. I'm 22, which puts me toward the end of the born-somewhere-between-1980-and-1999 "milleniel" generation. (Good news, I'm not even going to talk too much about being a millenniel!) Lately it's all people talk about with the elction and what-not. There's a lot going on in the world. Expanding world population. Rapidly improving technology. Increasing violence. Growing scientific knowledge. Stretching human morals. The world is always changing. The people on it and its physical nature. Ever think about how much you've grown and changed throughout your life? I reflect on my own growth often. Newly married, recently graduated from college, and having moved 3 times in the first 3 months on marriage, I am always trying to learn and grow. All of that has happened in my life in just a few months. I know everyone else has a lot going on in their lives too...that's a LOT going on collectively. We all face a variety of different experiences...challenges, growth, success, failure, hope, doubt, etc. Multiply that times the world population and well, the Earth is a busy place.
As we grow up and take different paths, we each face a variety of voices around us. Some oppose us, some affirm us, some are neutral, some we may not even hear. Everyone has a voice, and our voices effect one another. God made us this way. Voices (of both verbal and non-verbal communication) are a way we can inspire, love, challenge, and teach others. Voices are powerful. I know even the quietest of people long to voice their minds. I think this is why social media gets so insane. People can finally "like/share" the things they support in a public way, giving them a voice that is heard, but in a less-threatening way than speaking it in-person. That being said, it can be so hard to decifer which voices to listen to...who is really giving you the right advice? How do you know? I could talk allll day about voices and influences, but I said I was going somewhere old school with this... In general, I see the latest trend involving the buzz word "progressive." The world's ideals are changing so fast, it's hard to keep up with what is socially acceptable anymore. As a Bible-believeing, saved-by-the grace-of-Jesus Christian, I love seeing progress that advances the kingdom of God. Our God is alive and active, so of course things can improve in His power when we serve Him! God is not for slavery, God is not for hate, God is not for disunity, God is not for pride, God is not for favoritism. God is for freedom, love, unity, humility, and equality. He created each of us with the same amount of love and possibility. James 2 forbids favoritism, expressing that fortune and power should have no impact on how we treat someone. 1 Corinthians warns believers that using Spiritual gifts to serve others means nothing if the works are devoid of love. Matthew 19:13-15 displays the love and potential Jesus placed upon little children. Jesus loves "the least of these." I hope I do too, as my sin had also placed me in that category until Jesus came and gave me new life in him. One thing I will call myself until the day I leave the Earth is a follower of Jesus. A Christian. In a world so easily offended, that's not something everyone wants to say outloud. I will not say that I support every social movement going on in our courtry. But I will always say that I am for the cause of Christ. You see, the world's standards change too much for me to ever feel any sense of security in them. The voices change too often for me to trust them. I respect earthly rulers and authorities, but my ultimate authority is Jesus Christ. The laws of His land are clear and unchanging. Reading the Bible in the *correct context* provides a moral code and letter from God. A God who is living and active while still remaining unchanging in nature. His identity is a mystery in that I keep getting to know Him better, but as I continue getting to know Him through time in prayer and in the Word, it's not Him that evolves, but my perspective of Him that does. Just as young kids do best with routines at school and a bedtime at home, we all do best with a constant God we can consistently rely on. He is the only constant you will ever find. Call it old school, but I call it something I can count on. We all long for the kind of reltaionship that will never let us down. I have that with God. I hope you do too. It's awesome! An absolute gift bringing peace & stability to my husband and I as we enjoy the uncertainty that comes with any pro athlete's career. Some Christians may believe that following the changing standards of the world is the best way to live at peace and harmony with others. I disagree. We all ought to love and respect one another regardless of what we do with our lives. Unconditional love is vital. But when we begin to condone all behaviors and gray the line between right and wrong, we lose the laws God has laid out for us in the Bible for our own protection. Anyone can take the Bible out of context, but when we take His guidelines to heart in the correct context, we are blessed for walking in obedience. It's human nature to be tempted into sin: a selfish though, a harsh word...no one is perfect. But we save ourselves pain by walking in the ways of the Lord. Following ideological trends is relentless, tiring work. The target keeps changing. It's true that as others chase the changing ideologies of the world, I chase after God in an effort to never stop growing closer to Him. But the God I pursue will never change. The growth never goes to waste, as the target never changes. God is alive always, but He never changes His ways or heart. Because of this, I can TRULY believe all that the BIble tells me about Him. That just as He did 2,000 years ago, He CAN and DOES physically heal people. He CAN and DOES change the hearts of man. He CAN and DOES love me, just as he loved me on the cross before I even came to be. Throughout the ages, He has sovereignly ruled this world. Creating new life daily. Hearing our every prayer. Saving the souls of those who come to Him. Guiding us as we receive the Spirit of God and walk in its leading. Suddenly, there is ONE voice to listen to. The unchanging voice of God. The Divine Author of the Book that guides our lives. People come and go. Times change. But the God true believers serve does not. As we approach Christmas Day, it's exciting to know that the Baby in the manger is the Son of our living God! The one who has a mysterious way of never changing, all the while always moving and inspiring His people. So no, I may not be a "progressive," but I can tell you this: I am doing all that I can to make this world a better place in the Name of Jesus. I intentionally aim to use words, thoughts, prayers, and actions that will leave an eternal impact on others. And by that description, I'd say I'm living a pretty progressive life. Love, Abby Grimaldi P. S. I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season! For some festive music, check out my new EP "Christmas Time Is Here" on Spotify, iTunes, GooglePlay, Amazon, or physcial copies from my Facebook page! |
AuthorChristian Singer-Songwriter, Writer, Hockey Wife, & Fitness Fanatic. Nomad with North Dakota roots. Archives
January 2020
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