Edelweiss

   Hello all! This is to be my last post on this blog. I told you in a previous post that I was feeling led to turn my focus into writing for my sisters in Christ, and so I shall. But, because of my OCD nature, I simply cannot bring myself to redo this blog, and so I must begin another. (Plus I've spent alot of time making it really cute, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste!)

   My new blog, is entirely focused around young ladies, and though I have not posted there yet, please feel free to browse the tabs I do have up, and let me know what you think.

   In closing, I invite you to imagine me singing "Edelweiss" to you all, as I shall miss this blog very much. And  I hope that you will all join me in prayer for my new blog, that God will use it to touch the lives of the young women He brings to it's pages. 

Walking with Bilbo ~ A book review

  I was first introduced to Sarah Arthur, on my fifteenth birthday, when my parents got me her book Dating Mr. Darcy. I poured over that book, so that the covers are now bent. When I found that I could review "Walking with Bilbo" , I jumped on it, and couldn't wait to get it in.

The Pros:
   Sarah Arthur writes with humor and insight that keeps me either laughing or nodding my head in agreement. In this book, she is showing how when we accept Christ we embark on a journey of faith, and can choose either to stay comfortably in our 'hobbit holes' or follow Him. She draws many other charming parallels, between "The Hobbit" and our walk with Christ, that helped me to see things in a whole new perspective! The chapters are all short, sweet and to the point, followed by probing questions, and verses to look up. It's great to read in just a few minutes and then meditate on throughout the day.

The Cons:
   If you are not familiar with the story lines of "The Hobbit" and the LOTR trilogy, you will not get as much out of this study, and may be lost in some parts.

In Conclusion:
   If you are even a mild LOTR fan, and are ready to embark upon the adventure of faith, "Walking with Bilbo" is an excellent book to get you excited and provide encouragement.


*I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers for my honest opinion.

From the Archives ~ Planking

(This is the third post on my "From the Archives" series. I hope you are enjoying it so far! This particular post was originally published on  August 29, 2011.)

³And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 
⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
                                  - Matthew 7: 3-5

     I memorized these verses several years ago for my Bible class in school and they sounded pretty hilarious to my childish mind. I would imagine myself with a board sticking out of my eye, hitting peoples heads with it as I turned to look at them. And while that is amusing to think of, its also painful, because with my (slightly) more mature teenage mind, I can see so clearly the truth in it. You see, I have a problem with pride...not one of those little annoying habits, but a serious problem. I can honestly say that 97% of all of my sin issues have their origin in  pride. It especially manifests itself in my judgmental spirit. I can profess to love someone dearly, as mentally run over every thing about them that bugs me. I can hug them and laugh with them as I plot how to tell them just exactly what I think of a certain character flaw that they possess. I can tell them I'm praying for them and try to give them a spiritual lift, when not ten minutes earlier I was gossiping about how they really need to get right with God because their life is going down the drain. And especially frustrating to me is when I'm supposed to be listening to a great sermon, but I'm really sitting there wondering if so-and-so is paying attention to the message. (as if I am!)   In fact, just to be honest (and also to practice some much needed humility) I'm sitting here writing this right now, trying not to hope that certain people will read this post. 

   The more I reflect on this tendency, the more I realize that I truly am hitting people in the head! I try to help them see the error of their ways ( in a rather self-righteous way) when in reality I'm pushing them farther and farther away because of this painful plank.

   I'm going to end this post a little differently today. Instead of asking everyone to search their hearts or join me as I seek to rid my life of this pesky problem (though that would be great!). I am instead going to ask for prayer. Pray for me that I will allow God to have His way in my life, no matter how hard it may be on my pride, and that I may become an empty vessel, ready to be filled with Him and poured back out. And that maybe, I won't hit anyone else in the head with this plank.

From the Archives~ What Manner of Person Ought I To Be?

(This is my second post in my "From the Archives" series. It was originally published on August 26, 2011.)

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 
¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
                                                2 Peter 3:10-11 

    I don't know about you, but these verses hit me right between the eyes. I mean, I've always known the concept behind them, but having it so clearly laid out really brought it home. I heard an expression once, I can't remember the exact wording, that talked about people going to heaven smelling like smoke, because everything that they did here was burned up, it didn't count!

      So, I started thinking, what manner of person ought I to be? How does God want me to live my life, so that when I stand before Him one day to give an account, I don't 'smell like smoke'? And God, in all of His faithfulness, has used these last few days to show me ways that I need to grow in Him and redeem the time that He has given me. Now, I'm not going to go into the things that He has taught me in this post, I may later. I just want to encourage you to join me as I search my heart, and together we can  ask ourselves, "what manner of person ought we to be?"

From the archives ~ Something Borrowed

(The last few days, I have been re-reading some old posts, and have found that the truths in them, continue to convict and challenge me. So, I have decided to spend the next week or so, on a "From the Archives" series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! This particular post was originally published on May 25, 2011)

     Yesterday afternoon I finished reading "In His Steps" by Charles Sheldon, and I started thinking about modern Christianity. It seems that so many of us Christians today borrow our faith. And by that I mean, we use the faith of someone else, or the faith that we used to have, to cover up the gaps in our present faith. We have so much knowledge today about how to be a great Christian, how to walk as Christ walked, and how to talk as He talked, and yet there is a surprising shortage of people who actually do.
   
    I'm guilty of this myself! I know all the right words to say and the all the proper things to do, but I often don't allow my heart to be changed by the wisdom that I glean from others. I substitute a passion for Christ, with a shallow excitement for the thrilling aspect of doing things for Him. And the knowledge that I have of God, comes not from intense hours spent in His presence, but information I have obtained from other peoples experience of Him. While it is good to hear and be inspired by what other people have to say, it is wrong to substitute their words, for the words of the Father.
   
   So the question I have is this: What if we as Christians began laying aside the words of others, and learned to listen to the words of our King, applying them to our lives, without thought to the personal cost? That question may never be answered until we ourselves muster the courage to know Christ, and stop borrowing our faith.

Against the Tide ~ Book Review

   I first discovered Elizabeth Camden, who majors in historical Christian fiction, through her first book, "The Lady of Bolton Hill". I fell immediately in love with her writing style, and her fresh characters, so when I had the opportunity to receive her third book free to review, I jumped on it!

The pros:

   As I read this book, I was struck by the historical depth and accuracy, as well as the consistency that Camden shows throughout the changing settings in her book. I have read too many stories where the author can't keep their facts (dates, ages, events, etc...) straight, so this was very refreshing. Also, the story itself was riveting! Camden, throws in several plot twists, some, I could see coming, but several surprised me and kept me turning the pages. I especially loved that the story did not drag. Many books, even good ones, have 'dead spots' in them, which I generally skim through to get to the action. This plot however, was so cleverly planned, that when I most expected to be coming upon a lull, I would find a twist instead, which definitely kept the story hopping. And, since this is a Christian novel, there are no dirty words, or bad scenes, which is a plus. 

The Cons:

    As much as I love a good mystery and romance, I prefer to read books that leave me longing to be a better Christian, and this book just didn't do that for me. The hero, is a Christian, and the heroine is not, but instead of guarding his heart, the hero jumps right into love with the girl, which was disappointing to me. Also, I was saddened to find that the Gospel is not mentioned in the story. It appears at the end that the heroine is following Christ, but there is no mention of her making a specific decision to accept Christ as her Savior, which I found anti-climactic.

In conclusion:

   If you are looking for a clean, adventurous, well-written story to pass some time, you cannot go wrong with "Against the Tide". If, however, you are seeking a spiritually edifying story line that will leave you thirsting for more of Jesus, you can take or leave this book.

*I received this book free from Bethany House publishers for my honest opinion. 

Procrastination, and Random Notions

 

    Hello all! I am so sorry for my super long blogging break. I would say that I have been super busy lately, (which would be absolutely true) but it is also (and probably more so) true that I have been procrastinating.
   I have alot of things on my heart and mind that I want to share, if I knew how, but since I don't, I will wait a little longer on them. I am however planning to add book reviews to my blog. I have already posted a couple on here, but these will be reviews for free books!!!! (I have to feed my habit somehow...)
   Also, I sometimes feel hemmed in, on what I can say here, because I have no set audience. I have been wanting to change this for some time, and turn the focus of this blog toward my sisters in Christ, so be looking for some changes to that effect in the near future.
   I believe that, this is all that I want to say, so good night, and I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday tomorrow!!!  

Covenant Exchange

  I've been quite frustrated the last couple of weeks with the phrase "covenant exchange" or just the plain word "covenant". I have heard it, read it, mulled over it, and still had no earthly clue what these people were talking about! (Anybody else with me?) I mean, I knew what a covenant was, but I didn't know how that applied to my relationship with Christ until, quite literally, five minutes ago. (Thank you Leslie Ludy!) Here it is:

Covenant Exchange: Saying to God, "Everything in my life, all that I am is yours, and everything that you purchased on the cross is now mine."

   How awesome and powerful is this? I mean think about what Christ purchased on the Cross. He purchased eternal life, power over death, adoption into God's family, plus all the things that go along with being children of God, such as His strength, and power, and life in ourselves! All these things in exchange for our measly selves. ( Do I sound like a TV commercial yet?) I mean, why is this not standard stuff in Christianity today? We spend so much time trying to fix the symptoms, that we never get to the disease. We belabor the issues of insecurity, and self esteem, and recurring sin, but we miss the fact that the answers can all be found at the cross, in a covenant exchange with our Lord and Savior. How awesome is that? 

Every Day Glory

                                               "It is one thing to go through a crisis grandly, 
                                       but another thing to go through every day glorifying God
                                                   when there is no witness, no limelight,
                                                no one paying the remotest attention to us."
                                                                          -Oswald Chambers-

"When God Writes Your Love Story" a book review

by Allie Loyd

                This book  was lent to me by a good friend (I’ll call her Lindsey). I must admit, I’m terrible at reading...well, finishing non-fiction books (especially the devotion kind). But after an awkward meeting with Lindsey during which I had to admit I hadn’t even started the stack of books she had given me, I finally buckled down and started reading...only to stop three chapters later due to certain issues of the heart.

                See, despite the book’s *ahem* misleading title, it is not purely about waiting for God’s perfect timing and finding your perfect match. This book is about oh so much more. 
                It teaches the importance of your relationship with Christ, of serving and loving others more than yourself, of living truly a set-apart life for God. Once you have the foundation, you can have a truly fulfilling single-season and God-written romance. 
                But the Ludy’s don’t stop there. 
                They tell of their own experience through the world’s messed up dating system and how they each came to hold their views of dating and marriage. They encourage and exhort those who seem ‘stuck’ in the season of singleness and offer practical advice on how to make the most of these years in ‘the wilderness’. And to those who feel like they have tainted their purity and ruined their chances at a God-written love story, they offer the blood of Christ.
                   If this had been just another book on Christian marriage and dating, it would have hardly made a difference in me. It speaks some harsh truths, but those always turn out to be the ones worth listening to. 

What you do for God.

"The more you do for you, the less you do for God."

- Bro. Bobby

"Its (not that) Complicated" a book review

The cute cover caught my eye; the convicting words caught my heart. 


   The book, "It's (not that) Complicated" by sisters, Anna Sophia and Elisabeth Botkin, is marketed as a guy-girl relationship book, which it is, but the well thought-out and Biblically sound principles that they bring to the table, go far beyond this single area of relationships.
   It's most basic premise is a call to love our brothers-in-Christ more than we love ourselves, but I found myself being convicted more over the way I loved, (or, more accurately, did not love) my family members, close friends, and even God.
    In short, this book broke me. It broke my pride, my self-conceit, and my hypocrisy. It held a mirror to my face, and bid me see what manner of person I truly am, and not what manner of person I think I am. Hard on the flesh? Definitely. But oh how glorious for my soul!
   I would encourage anyone struggling in their relationship with God, friends, family, or even guys, (since, that is, in fact the main theme of the book) to get their hands on a copy of this book and then buckle up, because you will never be the same. 


*You can purchase the book, by clicking on the link above, which will take you to the Vision Forum website. 


** The Botkin sisters, have written one other book, and have many audio resources, but I'm not sure that I would not recommend them. Most of what they write and say, seems quite biblically sound, but there are some things, that I'm not sure I can completely endorse. So, if you are inclined to study more of their works, please use discretion.

Abide in Me

God has been revealing many great Truths to me over these last several weeks, and as much as I long to share them, I feel like I need to hold them to myself a little longer, until my grasp on them is better. So, it may be pretty quiet around here for awhile. I do still want to get posts up, so I may be leaving you in the hands of much older and wiser people for a while, and today I want to share with you an excerpt from an incredible book by two of my heroes, Eric and Leslie Ludy. Enjoy!
  " In John 15, Jesus gave His disciples what may be the most profound and beautiful command in the entire Bible... He summed up the essence, the granderur, the mystery, and the marvel of life in but a few life-altering words. He said to them, 'Abide in Me.'
   What did He mean by that?
   He meant, 'Find the meaning of life in Me. Find your value and confidence in Me. Find your purpose and direction in Me. Find the source for all spiritual achievement in Me. Find the strength to live each moment in Me. Find the wisdom to navigate the many turns for life in Me... Find the most satisfying life for all of eternity in Me.'
   To abide in Christ means to allow His Life to possess us at all times and in every situation life brings. To abide means saying to God with the inhaling of every breath, 'Not my will, but Yours be done.'...
   God created us to abide in Him. It's that basic. Abiding in Him is our life's purpose. Abiding in Him is what we were created for. Abiding in Him is why we are here."
                                            -Eric and Leslie Ludy in "When God Writes Your Life Story"

Hello Again!!!

Hello everybody! I'm sorry for the unannounced and unexpected hiatus, June was just a super busy month. But now I'm back and I've got alot of things to share with you all! First, me and my mom started a business, Made Wright At Home, and we are really excited about that. Next, I've gotten on Pinterest and created some boards with really great resources, that I would love for you to check out! And finally, God has just been teaching me alot this month. He has been breaking and humbling me, and I can't wait to see how He is going to bring me out in the end. I will hopefully be sharing with you some things He has shown me, and your prayers would be appreciated!

In His Presence

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

-Psalm 139:7

   As I have been reading "Loving God with all Your Mind:, I have been learning to think on what is true (Phil.4:8), and to apply that to my life. I'm not very good at it yet, but today as I was memorizing and meditation on Psalm 139:7, I realized that this is a very important Truth, one that should impact every moment of my life. The Truth is this: God is with me every moment of every day. Yikes! That is a scary reality, as I think of all the things I have done, that I would never think to do if I knew that I was in the presence of the King of the universe. But how am I to act now that I know? Since I found this Truth in the Psalm's, I decided to look at a couple more that dealt with living in the presence of the Lord. After my quick search, I found three verses that  I think lay down some good guidelines. 

   The first one is: "... come before His presence with singing," Psalm 100:2b. Even though we are always in His presence, I think this is a good practice to have in the morning, as we consciously enter His presence at the start of our day. Isn't the first sound we often hear in the morning, the singing of the birds? 

   The next verse I found is: "...in Thy presence is fulness of joy..." Psalm 16:11. This one is one, that sometimes I just have to believe, even when I don't feel it. It is a Truth that is often hard to understand, but since the Bible says it, I just have to believe, that God will supply the joy that He says is found in Him.

   Finally, I found Psalm 31:20, which I think is one of my favorites: "You shall hide [those who fear You] in the secret place of Your presence...". I love it! He hides us and shelters us in His presence! What a wonderful Truth to have tucked away, ready to throw at the enemy. 

   I know that there are many more Truths to be found, but I don't have enough time or space to get them all down, so I will let you mine for the rest. I hope that this verse has challenged you as it has me, and that you will keep it in the back of your mind as you go throughout the day. 

"We ought to try to live so we would feel all right if we should find Christ walking with us someday."

-a character in Grace Livingston Hill's book, "Cloudy Jewel"

Memorable Monday

Ok, I don't have as many pictures of last week as I would like, because my photographer has been sick, and the holder of the other pictures does not live at my house, so I will have to steal them when they post them on facebook. (Which, by the way, you can 'like' me on by following this link.)

On Thursday, me and my Mommy got to go to Little Rock so I could get my new Bible stamped and I could get some graduation presents for my friends. While I was there I picked up a wonderful book my Elisabeth George. (one of my favorite authors!!!)

I have been reading this slower than I read most books, because it is so practical and inspiring, that I have to take extra time to soak it in. My mind wanders very readily, (my kindergarten teacher can attest to that!), and I always assumed that  since that's the way I am there is nothing I can do about it. This mentality has let in alot of worry, fear, and discouragement, that truly does not belong in the life of a child of God, and through this book Elisabeth George has shown me  the weapons that I need to fight this. It has truly been incredible, and I am already seeing results!

Then on Friday, I went to the graduation of my best friend! (you can find pictures of her, and a sweet post about her on my sisters blog.) She had 620 people in her graduation class, so it was reallllllllly long, but totally worth it!

Then on Saturday, we got to see some wonderful friends that we haven't seen in months, and my graduation invitations came in. Yay!!!

Also a fun part of the weekend was getting to try out the new target my Daddy bought for me and Lacey to use.

Lacey checking to see how she did.

                                             
                          Getting ready to do it again!

Then of course, yesterday was Mothers Day! I love my Mommy!
Here are some pictures of her card. (Nothing but Snoopy will do!)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!! 

Memorable Monday!

The first memorable thing that happened last week, was on Thursday, when Snoopy Lucas came to visit!

  He is a little boy, I got to baby-sit for several months last year, and we just love him. So when we got a chance to watch him Thursday, we jumped on it!

                         
       He got to come early for breakfast, and this is his chocolate gravy mustache. Hehe!                    

             He and Lacey decided to pretend that they were going to the beach, so they dragged all of their props out in the dining room. This was their set-up.

They also played a rousing game of 'Fight the Bad Guys' and Lauren managed to get this video of him telling me about it. (You might have to flip your head around a few times to get a good view of this!)

Then on Saturday, we got to baby-sit our youth pastors son, and after me and my dad  poured the concrete for some steps, we got to play on the trampoline in the sprinkler. I haven't had that much fun, in a long time! :)

This is all of us playing Ring Around the Rosie, Grant insisted! I'm the one in the purplish shirt, Lacey is next to me in the green (she got really brave of the water!) Katie, my best friend, has her back to the camera, Lauren is next to her, and Grant is the little boy in blue.

Lacey and Grant enjoying the water.

                                                                           
           After this, we (the older girls) all got cleaned up, and Daddy took us to the movies to watch "The Avengers".  I really wasn't sure if they could live up to the expectations everyone had for the movie, but I believe they managed to pull it off!

                                                      

     The real highlight of my week though, was last night, at the special service for graduates. Bro. Bobby, our youth minister, shared the fruit of the spirit he thought described each of our lives the best, then he presented each of us a brand new Bible, from our church family. My Daddy sang the song "Cinderella", and I tried not to get too misty. ;) Then a girl from our youth group got up and told a little story about each of us. It was a beautiful service, and I am so thankful that God has placed me in the church family, that He has. It truly is more like a family than anything! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

“God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.” 
― Elisabeth Elliot

Miscellaneous

   This post is pretty much just a bunch of things that I want to tell you, not really anything dreadfully important. So, here goes:
1) I feel sometimes, like some of you don't know me very well. I mean, you get all of my deep (maybe?) , thoughts without really seeing what my life is like for real. So I want to start having Memorable Mondays, where I can tell you all about some memorable things that happened to me the week before, along with pictures taken by my wonderful photographer sister! Also, I would like to include a memorable quote from a great Christian of the  past. Sound ok?
2) I'm going to tell you this, because if I do, then I have to do it! I am going to read the whole Bible through in the next 90 days! Ok, not really, I'm starting now, because I want to be finished by the end of the summer, and my schedule for some of the months is so crazy, that it will be impossible for me to do the entire days reading that I need to finish in 90 days. So, it might be more like reading the Bible through in 120 days! I decided on this plan, because I've tried the read through in a year plans, but the time seems soooo long. I'm hoping that by reducing the time, it will keep me more motivated longer.
3) That is all I wanted to say... I think.... I will let you know if I think of anything else. Have a great day!!!

Doughnut Girls

I have been reading a wonderful book ( "War Romance of the Salvation Army" by Grace Livingston Hill), about the part that the Salvation Army played in World War 1. I have been especially struck by the stories of the Doughnut Lassies, who went to the front, to encourage our soldiers. I want to share this with you too, but since I cannot put it half so eloquently as Mrs. Hill, I am just going to copy and paste her words, in the hope that they will stir you as they have me.


   It needs some special experience to appreciate what Salvation Army lassies really are, and what they have done. They are not just any good sort of girl picked up here and there who are willing to go and like the excitement of the experience; neither are they common illiterate girls who merely have ordinary good sense and a will to work. The majority of them in France are fine, well-bred, carefully reared daughters of Christian fathers and mothers who have taught them that the home is a little bit of heaven on earth, and a woman God's means of drawing man nearer to Him. They have been especially trained from childhood to forget self and to live for others. The great slogan of the Salvation Army is "Others." Did you ever stop to think how that would take the coquetry out of a girl's eyes, and leave the sweet simplicity of the natural unspoiled soul? We have come to associate such a look with a plain, homely face, a dull complexion, careless, severe hair-dressing and unbeautiful clothes. Why?

   Righteousness from babyhood has given to these girls delicate beautiful features, clear complexions that neither faded nor had to be renewed in the thick of battle, eyes that seemed flecked with divine lights and could dance with mirth on occasion or soften exquisitely in sympathy, furtive dimples that twinkled out now and then; hands that were shapely and did not seem made for toil. Yet for all that they toiled night and day for the soldiers. They were educated, refined, cultured, could talk easily and well on almost any subject you would mention. They never appeared to force their religious views to the front, yet all the while it was perfectly evident that their religion was the main object of their lives; that this was the secret source of strength, the great reason for their deep joy, and abiding calm in the face of calamities; that this was the one great purpose in life which overtopped and conquered all other desires. And if you would break through their sweet reserve and ask them they would tell you that Jesus and the winning of souls to Him was their one and only ambition.

   And yet they have not let these great things keep them from the pleasant little details of life. Even in the olive drab flannel shirt and serge skirt of their uniform, or in their trim serge coats, the exact counterpart of the soldier boy's, except for its scarlet epaulets, and the little close trench hat with its scarlet shield and silver lettering, they are beautiful and womanly. Catch them with the coat off and a great khaki apron enveloping the rest of their uniform, and you never saw lovelier women. No wonder the boys loved to see them working about the hut, loved to carry water and pick up the dishes for washing, and peel apples, and scrape out the bowl after the cake batter had been turned into the pans. No wonder they came to these girls with their troubles, or a button that needed sewing on, and rushed to them first with the glad news that a letter had come from home even before they had opened it. These girls were real women, the kind of woman God meant us all to be when He made the first one; the kind of woman who is a real helpmeet for all the men with whom she comes in contact, whether father, brother, friend or lover, or merely an acquaintance. There is a fragrance of spirit that breathes in the very being, the curve of the cheek, the glance of the eye, the grace of a movement, the floating of a sunny strand of hair in the light, the curve of the firm red lips that one knows at a glance will have no compromise with evil. This is what these girls have.

   You may call it what you will, but as I think of them I am again reminded of that verse in the Bible about those brave and wonderful disciples: "And they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus."

The Blessed State of the Righteous

I 'stumbled' upon this chapter yesterday morning, and it's promises were so beautiful and encouraging, that I had to share. 

The Blessed State of the Righteous

112 Praise the Lord!

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

² His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
⁴ Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
⁵ A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
⁶ Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷ He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸ His heart is established;
He will not be afraid,
Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

⁹ He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted with honor.
¹⁰ The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Attention Ladies!

   Attention Ladies! Have you ever wondered what makes a man tick, and how you can show respect to him? Well, at a great blog that I follow, they have just wrapped up a series on respect, written by a guy. If you are interested in learning more about this, or want a great way to teach others, you can follow this link, to find all the Project Respect posts. I hope you enjoy them!

Just Trust

 ⁵Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

                              -Proverbs 3:5-6

  ( Sorry about the lack of posts recently! I've been attempting to absorb some important spiritual truths, but haven't been able to articulate them very well yet- they are kind of slippery! )

   I was reading a book (by Lori Wick!) the other day, and in a conversation between two of the characters, this verse came up, and even after the characters were finished discussing it, it remained in my mind. I have known this verse since at least elementary school, and possibly even earlier, but it has gripped my heart in a whole new way these last few days. The first word, alone, has caused alot of heart searching- Trust. When I think of the word trust, I usually think of the 'faith fall' illustration. You know, the one where the speaker has a volunteer fall backwards into his arms, on the promise that the volunteer will be caught. My teachers at school used to use that, and I would always try to make myself as invisible as possible, in case they decided to start calling names. Even just for fun with friends, I can't do it! As I once said to a friend of mine, "If I'm driving, I don't trust anyone else on the road, but myself." And that seems to be my motto with the rest of my life. Now, disclaimer- I'm not a hyper paranoid, control freak- at least not badly, but, I find that I have trouble trusting God to do what is absolutely best. As soon as I decide, to 'faith fall' into His will, a million what-if's start banging around in my mind, and before I know it, I no longer have that sweet, child-like trust in my Heavenly Father that I know I should have. And He has not even given me a reason not to trust Him, in fact, it's just the opposite, He has been more faithful than I could ever dream. Yet, so often I lean on my own understanding, simply because I can see the end, because I think I have it planned out, because it feels the safest. Oh, what have I missed, because I would not trust with all my heart, my dear Father, who loves me? 

Absolute Surrender

I have been reading a wonderful book by Andrew Murray, on the topic of surrender, and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes (so far) from it.

- God does not ask you to give the perfect surrender in your strength, or by the power of your will; God is willing to work it in you.


-And that is what we should seek for-to go on our faces before God, util our hearts learn to believe that the everlasting God Himself will come in to turn out what is wrong, to conquer what is evil, and to work what is well-pleasing in His blessed sight. 


-If there is anything holding you back, or any sacrifice you are afraid of making, come to God now, and prove how gracious your God is, and be not afraid that He will command from you what He will not bestow.


-Be not afraid, but come just as you are, and even in the midst of your trembling the power of the Holy Spirit will work.


- When God has begun the work of absolute surrender in you, and when God has accepted your surrender, then God holds Himself bound to care for it and to keep it.


-God is willing to maintain our life. Only let our absolute surrender be one of simple, childlike, and unbounded trust.


-Denying self must every moment be the power of your life, and then Christ will come in and take possession of you.

Go Low

I wanted to share with everyone, a wonderful post, written by a wonderful God-loving girl. This post has caused me to do alot of soul searching, (which explains the lack of posts recently) and I hope that it will inspire you as well. If you enjoy this one, check out the other recent posts on her blog, they are all equally as inspiring! 

go low

Photo Credit

If the Christian life could be a picture, I'd say it would be a road. It passes through valleys, mountains, rain, sun, night, day, minutes and epochs. The end is sure but unknown; the distance is measurable. People walk that road, some going backwards, some plodding forward, some running hands-to-the-sky, most milling around and some sitting, exhausted. And at the beginning of the road, just after the narrow gate, there is another wall-like structure. No door. Too high to climb. Too far to go around. It's certain that the traveler who makes it past the gate is on the road -- no questions there. But he is stuck at this wall. He is stuck. Some make it through -- they must, somehow, because the road stretches on. But for the most part there is a whole crowd standing beside that wall, clogging the road, jostling the seeker who tries to get close.

For the longest time, I remember standing outside that wall, staring it up and down and around to figure out how to get past it. I could hear the singing of those on the other side, their feet pounding the ground as they moved closer and closer to the finish line -- and I wanted what they had. Badly. My heart thrilled whenever it thought of the possibilities on the other side of that wall. It was everything I desired. But it was always like an outsider looking in: I wanted it, but I didn't have it, and I didn't know how to have it. I had no part in that business beyond the wall.         read the rest here

A Small Announcement!

 
   Guess what everybody? I am now affiliated with Vision Forum! This means that when you enter their site, through the link I just put up, and make a purchase, I will receive commission from it! (Doesn't that sound fun!?)
    Now, in case you don't know what Vision Forum is... It is a wonderful online Christian store that sells everything from dolls, to spy gear, to homeschool curriculum, to books (my favorite!), to movies and they even have a sewing machine that is great for beginners!  (I probably should really be putting links in these categories, and one day I will, but until I figure this whole thing out, I'm afraid that you will have to be content with searching for them yourself! Sorry...) I could spend hours on their website and all of my parents money! (Oops! Did I just say that out-loud?)
    I will share some of our favorite products to get you started searching. "The Runner from Ravenshead" is one of our familys favorite movies. It has an all children cast, and is surprisingly well written and produced! I have also been recently watching some of the "Homestead Blessings" DVD's, which share how to do different crafts such as: sewing, candle and soap making, bread making, quilting, gardening, and a bunch more. In the book section, there are too many for me to choose just one, but my Dad has been reading (and loving, and gushing about) the book "Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham.
    So, hope on over and check out all of their inspiring, products!  

Gimme' that Old Time Religion

A think lot of people now-days have this idea of past Christians as being stuffy, legalistic, and hypocritical; considering the outward show of religion, as more important than true salvation. But as I have been reading some writings for young women, on outward conduct and the workings of Christian religion; I would have to challenge that long held belief. These people got it! Their religion (yes, I said the "R" word!) was more than pithy sayings and raising hands because of an emotional high. It was more than, empty words and time wasted on self. These people, allowed religion to change their lives! They carefully ordered their lives around the pursuit of God, and guarded their time against idleness and self-gratification. They regularly came before Christ, whether they felt like it or not. And they came to him with a (horror of horrors) righteous fear of Him. They recognized Him as their Lord and King, and didn't brush Him off as a causual 'buddy' or 'best friend' as we are apt to do today. Of course there were some who took it too far and became fake, but unless you can look around today and say that some people haven't taken this "relationship, not religion" thing too far, then there is no question that we have something to learn from our elders.
   Now I have some questions. What if we, today, took our que from the great Christians of the past and lived out our belief's instead of hiding behind our Christian freedom? (Which, by the way, is a valid belief, as long as it is kept within the proper bounds.) What if we chose prayer and Bible study, over fleeting amusement? And what if we did this all, in the spirit of loving Christ and honoring Him? I think that we could make a huge difference!!!

Not Our Time

  This is an excerpt from an old book for young ladies,and is alot like a post I did a few months ago, though of course, he says it better. I like to remind myself of this perspective often, and I wanted to remind you too!

 
   When you entered into solemn covenant with the Lord, you consecrated your whole life to his service. Your time, then, is not your own, but the Lord's. If you waste it, or spend it unprofitably, you rob God...       Suppose you waste only ten minutes at a time, six times in a day; this will make an hour. This hour is subtracted from that portion of your time which might have been devoted to active employments. Sleeping, refreshment, and personal duties, generally occupy at least one half of the twenty-four hours. You have then lost one twelfth part of the available portion of the day. Suppose, then,you live to the age of seventy years. Take from this the first ten years of your life. From the sixty remaining, you will have thrown away five years! These five years are taken from that portion of your time which should have been employed in the cultivation of your mind, and in the practical duties of religion. For, the common excuse for neglecting the improvement of the mind, and the cultivation of personal piety, is want of time. Now, if you employ one half of this time in reading, at the rate of twenty pages an hour, you will be able to read more than eighteen thousand pages; or sixty volumes of three hundred pages each. If you employ the other half in devotional exercises in your closet, in addition to the time you would spend in this manner, upon the supposition that these five years are lost, what an influence will it have upon the health of your soul? Or, if you spend the whole of it in the active duties of Christian benevolence, how much good can you accomplish? Think what you might do by employing five years in the undivided service of your Master.

Newcomb, Harvey (2009-10-04). A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females Being a Series of Letters from a Brother to a Younger Sister (Kindle Locations 2108-2115). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

*p.s.- I would recommend this book to any young lady seeking to grow in God. I haven't been all the way through it yet, but the parts that I have read, have inspired and motivated me in my walk with God. It's free on Amazon for the Kindle version, and I had it delivered to my PC, so it works out well!

Seeking Wisdom

   So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
   If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵    Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.

                          -Proverbs 2:2,4-5

   It has always been my philosophy, that wisdom comes with age and experience, and that I may have some wisdom, but until I was really old, I could only have a small measure. I had never seen anything to challenge that philosophy until recently. In fact, all that I had heard from others, and seen for myself confirmed that view of wisdom! Until I met up with the word of God, that is. I have highlighted (or bolded, but I don't think that's a word) some of the words in the verses above this, and if you have even a rudimentary knowledge of English, you should see a pattern in them. Exactly, they are all action verbs! God does not want us to passively for wisdom to find us, but He desires for us to 'search for her as for hidden treasures'. Isn't this exciting? We can do something about becoming wise!

   I also wanted to share some ways that I am going to use in my search for wisdom, just to get you started thinking.

         1.) The 'Five Fat Files' system- Elisabeth George recommends this system in her book "A Woman After God's Own Heart". The way it works is, you take five manilla file folders and on each of them write a topic that you want to learn more about. (My topics are: Biblical Femininity, Prayer, Health with a Biblical perspective, Time Management and Purity. Just to give you some ideas!) Then you read books on these topics, look up verses on them, listen to lectures on them, ask experts and I'm sure you can think of many other ways. As you glean information about each of your topics, you put it into your folders, and make them nice and thick! 

          2.) I am currently learning the Inductive Bible Study Method, from Kay Arthur's book, "The New, How to Study Your Bible". It is the most effective method of Bible study, and is relatively simple to learn. Since the Bible has the best wisdom you can find, learning a method of Bible Study, will be a huge benefit in your search for wisdom!

      What are some other ways you can think of to 'incline' your ear to wisdom? I would really love to hear some more great ideas for seeking wisdom, so feel free to comment!