A little bit of who I am...

Hi there…

My name is Lisa Dawn Rouse, however my last name will be changing in just over a year. I am SO excited.

 Redeeming Love is the name of my blog, because it is the story of my life and who I am. I have been redeemed by the love of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for me and for you. That in itself is reason enough to write.

I live in Zimbabwe, Africa. However, I am currently studying Social Work at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. I love my home country; it is a beautiful place and has the potential to be the breadbasket of Africa. It has had a challenging past filled with hatred, war and a great deal of bloodshed. However, I believe that anything is possible with God and that it is on the journey of healing and becoming all that it was intended to be. My heart for Zimbabwe and its people is huge. I desire to see change and restoration take place and I believe that part of my purpose is to be a tool in bringing that about. Pursuing my BSW is a huge part of God’s plan in equipping me for the work I hope to do back home. It has been a challenging and beautiful journey, living in another country for what will be four years and being far away from the ones I love and the country I love. But it will all be worth it! J I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity and privilege of furthering my education and being able to use it to further the lives of many.

So as I mentioned earlier, my name will be changing in just over a year. YES, I am getting married. I am engaged to the most amazing man I know, Robert Itayi Chifokoyo. He is gentle, kind, loving, funny, supportive, encouraging, strong, and bold, oh how I could go on. The thing I love the most about him is the way he loves the Lord and his heart to serve the Lord with all that he has. He has a heart for the forgotten people and to see them come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He longs for people to know the freedom, grace, and redemption that he has found in Christ. His heart is HUGE! I am so very blessed to be loved by him, romanced by him, and to be getting ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Our journey has been a long beautiful one. It has certainly had it’s dark moments, but the Lord has been gracious and merciful to us each step of the way. We have grown and learned so much through our almost ten years of being friends and I am so grateful that next year our journey together will continue in a new way, a beautiful way, as husband and wife. There is nothing that sounds better than spending the rest of my life with my very bestest friend. I love you Robert Itayi!

Thanks for stopping by and reading a little about who I am!

Love and blessings!

Today was a beautiful day...

Today was a beautiful day…

    I got to go and try on wedding dresses with three of my beautiful friends/sisters/bridesmaids, Augusta (Beans), Megan and Nicole. It started off with wonderful treats from Starbucks and then a twenty minute drive to Montclair, a near by city. On the way there there was lots of chatter in the car…however inside my stomach was turning I was so excited and yet so very nervous all at the same time. I wondered what I would look like dressed up as a bride…would I be as beautiful as I had always dreamed…well I certainly wasn’t expecting what was to come.

    On arrival I was greeted and handed some paper work to fill out and then I met Tanya, sweet Tanya who was going to be my wedding consultant for the day, she was gentle and sweet, which was just the perfect fit for me and for this day. We discussed different things I like and then Tanya was off to find dresses while I had to change into more fitting attire to try on wedding dresses ;) Then in came Tanya with the first dress, it was pretty but definitely not all that I had imagined or hoped for…I stepped out of the fitting room on to the platform and the girls all commented and so did Tanya and so did I…on what I liked and didn’t like…then it was on to the next dress…which Nicole, had already told me she didn’t like. It was a dress that was slightly shorted at the front and then getting longer in the back…it was interesting and different…just not the one. So the girls and I decided to take some fun pics, while Tanya went on the search for another dress for me to try.

    When she found one we headed on back to the fitting room while doing this Tanya said how she wasn’t sure if this is what I would like but that it seemed to have a lot of my ideas combined in one and so it was worth a try…and so…it was BEAUTIFUL! As I walked out all the girls gasped at the beauty they saw. I walked over to the platform…looked long and hard in the mirror and started to gently cry…crying at how beautiful I felt…I don’t think I have ever felt so beautiful in all my life…and it wasn’t just the beautiful wedding dress I was in…it was the overwhelming beauty of love…the love that I get to experience with the most amazing man…the beauty of being his bride and the beauty of being his wife…it was a moment that my heart will never forget…a moment filled with depth of beauty, overwhelming joy, and an excitement that felt so peaceful.

Today was a beautiful day!