“A woman’s heart should be so close to God
that a man should have to chase Him to find her.”
C S Lewis

Ways to Serve God as a Young Person

I'm Not Sure where I got this, to tell you the truth I think I was just thinking and studying about it one day back when I was at college. And of course, it doesn't just apply to young people.

1. Obey and Honour your parents Eph. 6:1-2
2. Obey Authority Heb. 13:17
3. Grow in Grace (Your Christian walk) 1 Peter 3:18
4. Grow in the Knowledge of the Lord 2 Tim. 2:15
5. Do well in School and Everything Else you do Ecc. 9:10
6. Use your Talents for Him Rom. 10:6-8
7. Share the Gospel (the Good news of Christ) Mark 16:15
8.Serve Others Gal 5:13
9. Encourage Others (Consolation) Rom. 14:19

My Girlhood

My Girlhood is a pleasant place
Where life and love abound,
For here it is that all I am
Is waiting to be found.
In play I spend an endless time
Where only I can go,
A child still inside the girl
A pure-white, budding rose.

My girlhood is a time for God,
His had, his voice, His face,
His steady stream of steadfast love
Within my days I trace.
I rest assured of this one thing
He’ll never leave my side,
For in my girlhood heart of hearts,
He always will abide.

My girlhood is all I need
To learn of servant-hood,
For here my Father and my Mother
Seek only what is good.
They take the time to teach me well
And help me understand,
That girlhood is a time of life
To lend a helping hand.

My girlhood is a priceless gift
A training ground, you see,
Where love for other, sisters and brothers
Will always be the key.
For God will cover my girlhood years
In all I do and say,
‘Til someday a woman I will be
When girlhood passes away.

A Continual Feast

All the days of the afflicted are evil:
But he that is of a merry heart hath
a Continual feast.
Proverbs 15:15

Do we realize how much Proverbs applies to our everyday lives. It’s easy to read a proverb every day, one for each day of the month. But sometimes it can become monotonous and we just skim the page out of duty and familiarity. (or maybe that just me) So I take a break from them every now and then, so that it becomes a little “fresher” the next time I read it.
I’ve been reading there this month and this verse stuck out today. Because of my latest bout of sickness and recovery I guess it took on a new light.
When you are afflicted with sickness, you tend to look at each day as another struggle, another day to “take it easy” and rest. Let me tell you, I got /am so sick of resting. Yeah, it’s nice to have a day or two to be lazy because you are sick, but after almost 4 weeks of it, your days seem to become evil. O.k., we should look at every day and say I’m going to have a great day today but when you wake up, still sick, you think “will these awful days ever go away?” Or maybe that’s just my carnality again…
So I looked up a merry heart in the concordance. Merry means good, a good thing. So the verse speaks of a good heart. The word heart is the feelings, will and intellect. I looked up intellect in the dictionary (yes, we know it but do we really know it?) Intellect is your ability to reason, think and understand.
The heart doesn’t exist on it’s own, it’s located in a body, and obviously we are talking of a human. So, here is my conclusion: (Suddenly I feel like a scientist)
The human that sets his mind up to have a merry heart, one that purposes to be good, despite feelings, self-will, and often out-of-whack intellect, is going to be a human with a feast. No, not turkey, stuffing and the like. Every day is a feast, one full of God’s mercy, love and grace on us. That person purposes in their heart: “I’m going to feast on this day, because God will help me control my heart and mind.” So despite the sickness and affliction in our life, we must purpose to have a merry heart and make every day a feast day.

School Helps Learned From College

Seven things needed to be a successful student:

1. A good Attitude
2. A teachable spirit
3. An obedient and submissive will
4. Have a right reason for doing things
5. A good work ethic (II Cor. 10:31)
6. A cheerful countenance. Be an encouragement to everyone.
7. Determination to do battle. Be ready to be trained.

Types of Goals to Set:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant - it needs to apply to you and your needs
Time-bound

Remember to check up on your goals every now and then, at the end of your time limit sit back and reflect.

Life Lessons Learned on the Way to Marriage- Part 3

Here is the end of this series of posts. Sorry it took me so long to post on here again. I want to start posting more on this blog again, but right now I only have internet when I go somewhere and get online.

• Never take for granted the way God has created you for each other.

I stand in awe all the time of how God has blessed me. I will be sharing my love story once things slow down a little(probably after the wedding) but take my word for it. God was definitely in control of my love story and my man of God’s. He was so persistent and I am so glad. But remember God created you the way you are to help the man that He created for you and vice versa.

• Be willing to be broken and molded into what God wants you to be.

Just recently an issue came up regarding something that I said I never wanted done to me as a bride, have a bridal shower. I was never crazy about them and most I’ve been to are inappropriate. My future sister-in-law wanted to give me one though but more like a house ware party. You must understand I am not one who likes to be the center of attention, I enjoy doing the behind the scenes work. I really struggled with it, talked with my fiancé about it, prayed about it until I let God break me. Matthew told me that I needed to just be thankful and let my church ladies be a blessing like they want to be. I’ll admit my pride was fighting really hard, along with a good dose of selfishness. I didn’t want people to give me things, I had dreamed all my life exactly how I wanted to build my home but other people had no ideas. God smote my heart with Psalm 78, my reading for my devotions that evening. God was providing for me and what was I doing? Complaining because it isn’t what I think I need. God wants us to be a moldable vessel through which He can flow, be willing to be broken and shaped.

• Take time to reflect on where God’s brought you from.

I am reminded of all those years of clinging to the verses in the Bible about waiting and trusting the Lord for a husband. I knew God had him out there somewhere. I read book after book on waiting and being who God wanted you to be right now. And now I can look back and see how each on e of those verses, books, quotes, and songs made me into the person I am today and prepared me for this moment. He brought me through that journey of my life, and oh, how some of those times were hard! But despite the hard times God remained faithful.
These are just a few lessons I have learned and wrote down in my devotional journal. I’m sure if I took more time I could think of many, many more, but this must be sufficient for now. May the be a blessing to you, whether you are in the engaged season of your life or still waiting. We never reach perfection, but we can always strive for it by keeping sin out of our lives.

Books that Helped Me During that Waiting Period

My Disclaimer: I don’t endorse everything in some of these books (those marked with an *) whether it be principles or Bible versions.
*I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris - these were a real eye opener as to how guys think in a situation and help to know how to guard yourself and thing things you do and say.
Stay in the Castle , The Seven Royal Laws of Courtship , and The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ by Jerry Ross - Excellent! By far probably some of my favorite resources on this topic. They are small pamphlet type books, very inexpensive but packed full of wisdom.
*Passion and Purity and Quest for Love by Elisabeth Elliot - very good, read slow and soak it all up.
Looking at Myself Before Loving Someone Else by John Coblenz - this was great, it is in the form of a Bible Study where you answer questions and fill in the blanks.
*Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones - I remember this having some very encouraging poems, though it’s been a while since I read it.
Just Friends by Cary Schmidt and Mike Ray - This is hands down one of the most amazing books written about relationships. I just found it about a year ago, but I wish I had been written when I was a teenager.

True Beauty

“We live in a world that has trained us to see nothing but our flaws. The first thing we see in the mirror is the volcano-sized pimples, crooked noses, and Dumbo ears. But when God looks at us He sees perfection - not because He sees us as we are, but because He sees us for who we can be in light of His love for us. His love makes us elegant. His love makes us beautiful. His love gives us purpose and reveals to us who we truly are.”

Exerpt from God Called A Girl by Shannon Kubiak

Life Lessons Learned on the Way to Marriage- Part 2

Sorry it’s taken me so long for part two of my article. Hope you enjoy.

• God will bring you to a point in your life where you will want to spend more time with your fiancé and less time with your family. “Now, hold on one minute!” I read your mind, didn’t I? Let me explain myself. I didn’t say you completely forsake your family and only spend time with your fiancé. That isn’t biblical, but I do believe this is a growing point in your life (please note, I feel this pertains more to the couple that knows God has intended them to marry). This is God preparing you for that verse in the Bible, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife;” (Mark 10:7) Those who know me know that my family is a huge part of my life, and it is comforting to me that God has brought a man into my life to fill part of that spot and begin a new family together.
• The wife sets the tone of the home, and you set the tone of your current relationship. I heard somewhere that the wife/mother sets the tone of the home. You’ve heard it: “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” I am not married yet but I am forming habits as we talk and spend time with each other. If every time we talk I criticize or complain (one of my biggest struggles), I am setting a habit for our future home. I know that is wrong and I know I want our home to be a haven of rest, security, peacefulness and evidence that the Lord is the Master there. Watch the habits you are forming now, and weed out the bad ones.

Quotes from 1000 Gifts

I was recently reading the book 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp but it took me a long time to read it because of school work and everything else. It was good, granted, read it with discretion. I will tell you that it
made me think about the things I see and experience everyday that I am so thankful for. I've started a list, I'm still so busy and with going back and forth staying at work I don't write in it everyday. But most days I see things and think of how thankful I am for it. I'm a simple person. Those who know me know that. I love the outdoors, the lightning bugs, the flower petals floating on the breeze, the breeze coming in the window that tousles my curly hair.
Needless to say I wanted to post some of the interesting parts of the book that I really enjoyed.

"The low heavens outside the paned windows fill with more snowflakes than start, no two stacked crystals the same; the trees in the wood draw in collective green breath to the still of January hibernation, and God in the world will birth ice from His womb, frost of heaven, bind the chains of the Pleiades, loose the cords of Orion, and number again the strands on my head.
Isn't it here? The wonder? Why do i spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it? Do we truly stumble so blind that we must be affronted with blinding magnificence for our blurry soul-sight to recognize granduer? The very same surging magnificence that cascades over our every day here. Who has time or eyes to notice?

All my eyes can seem to fixate on are the splatter of disappointment across here and me."
(P.31)

" I am a child again and tonight I have run to the end of the horizon and this time I have touched Him and I twirl in full apron skirt, spinning hem brushing the grass heads bowed and I laugh joy. It's dawning, my full moon rising: I was lost but know I am found again, Jesus, and I know what I want: to see deeply, to thank deeply, to feel joy deeply. How my eyes see, perspective, is my key to enter into His gates. I can only do so with thanksgiving. if my inner eye has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything? And if I can give thanks for the good things, the hard things, the absolute everything, I can enter the gates to glory. Living in his presence is fullness of joy- and seeing shows the way in.

The art of deep seeing makes gratitude possible. And it is the art of gratitude
that makes joy possible.Isn't joy the art of God?"
(P.118)

"Does he (her son) see me doing the hard eucharisto, counting the ugly as grace, transfiguring the ugly into beauty with thanks? Does he see?"

"The discipline of thanks only comes with practice"

"The practice of giving thanks...eucharisto... this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. We don't have to change what we see. only the way we see."

(P.135)

"Overwhelming grace drew me to the Christ full of glory that I might empty of the self. I empty to become full. Full of grace...to fully live."

"I began to see that nothing I am counts for anything, but all that I count of Him counts for everything- seeing eyes might illuminate the glory of Christ in all. I am all eye, seeing through life as glass to God."

(P.209)

"Out the kitchen window the sky rolls out. Apple blossoms fill all the orchard. The morning dove warms her bluing hope. I can hear Him, what He is telling the whole world and even me here: this is for you. The lover's smile in the morning, the child's laughter down the slide, the elder's eyes at eventide: this is for you. And the earth under your feet, the rain over your face upturned, the stars spinning all round you in the brazen glory: this is for you, you, you. These are for you - gifts- these are for you -grace- these are for you- God, so count the ways he loves, a thousand, more, never stop, that when you wake in the morning you can't help turn humbly to the east, unfold your hand to the heavens, and though you tremble and though you wonder, though the world is ugly, it is beautiful, and you can slow and you can trust and you can receive each moment as grace. Eucharisto."

(P. 224)

It was a good book and I would consider reading again, maybe with less distraction next time. I will put a disclaimer in that the style of writing is very different and hard to get used to at the beginning of the book.

Life Lessons Learned on the Way to Marriage

Recently I started getting an e-magazine called Ladies in Waiting by a single girl named Sarah Ann. I don't agree with everything that is said, and they do use the wrong Bible version sometimes. When you sign up as a member you have access to all the older magazine where there is a vast array of information in these articles. I only got them to read for a while but the magazine is made up of articles submitted by girls around the world. The one topic interested me, Content in the Here and Now. So I wrote an article for it. I really enjoyed doing it and the next magazine I wanted to write for, as it had to do with missions, but I was too busy with schoolwork.

I was very surprised by the topic for the upcoming issue of Ladies in Waiting,Preparing for Marriage and Keeping Pure, because I am in this stage of life.I've been wanting to post some of these lessons I've learned so I decided to post it in incriments like I wrote it for the magazine.

I am engaged to be married to the most wonderful godly man that could have been created to complete me. Less than four months remain until the wedding, and I am also graduating from Bible college in less than 3 weeks, my life is busy and sometimes I rush about so much I have to learn things the hard way. There are things you never really thought about or could really fathom as a single lady, that all changes when God brings that special person into your life. Your life has a whole new focus, you want to be the best person you can be for that person and this is where one of the first lessons comes into play:

1. To be the best person for your future spouse, you must strive to be the best you can for God.
   If I am living my life as the woman God wants me to be than I will be the woman Matthew needs me to be. Rather than trying to live to please the people in my life I must strive to please God and all other’s needs will be fulfilled.

Lessons From A Dandelion

One bright, beautiful spring morning a lady took a walk in the woods. She sat down to meditate upon the goodness of God in giving such a lovely world to His children. She thought, "How happy we should be in this life while preparing for the life in the world to come."

Her attention was called to a little well known plant growing nearby. It was the dandelion. There he stood, not with his sunny golden head, but his head already turned to snowy white. His short life was fast drawing to a close. The soft breeze caught up some of his white locks that were ready to fall and bore them away. August winds carried others away and still others, until at last the dandelion stood quite alone. His work was done. All that was left would soon molder back to earth and be forgotten.

But was about the little seeds among the white locks that had been carried away by the breeze? Some of them fell not far away, while others sailed and sailed in the air and fell nobody know where, there to take root and grow into other plants.

"Just so it is with our lives," thought the lady. "Though we shall live here but a brief period of time and may be seen by few people, yet our influence will reach here and there and far away because our words and deeds, when we have returned to dust and have been forgotten."

Just Be Who God Wants You To Be!

I was reading in my devotional book, A Woman From God's Perspective by Anna Mary Byler, and came across a quote she had from A. W. Tozer and thought it was really good.

"When we surrender ourselves to God's meekness, we will not care what
people will think of us, as long as God is pleased.
Than what we are will be everything;
what we appear will take its place far down the scale of interest for us.
Apart from sin we have nothing of which
to be ashamed."

Since I mentioned my devotional book, I thought I would put a plug in for other devotionals. Devotional books should not replace the reading of the Word for yourself, but they are a nice accompaniment. A while back I mentioned the book Being a Girl Who Serves, by Shannon Kubiak Primicerio and what a phenomenal book it was. My sister just recently finished reading it and also said that it was amazing. About 2 months ago I also found her other two devotional books for girls, God Called a Girl and Being a Girl Who Loves. I haven't had a chance to read them yet, though Liv is reading the latter. Not every writer you will read will right right on with you, you need to have discernment as you read these books, because they are just the ideas of a person, not the inspired Word. I just thought I would put a little word out there about what an encouragement a good devotional book can add to your quiet time with God.

"Each day we must live in constant communication (with God):

that is performing all our outward service

our inward self on it's knees (in humbleness)."

~Benneth Jones~

From With Heart and Hand

Old Love

Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple

clasping hand and pure hearts in the path of marriage?

Can there be anything more beautiful than

young love?

Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path.

Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped;

Their faces are seamed, but still radient;

Their hearts are physically bowed and tired,

but still strong in love and devotion for one another.

Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love.

Old love

Have You Had Your Beauty Sleep?

We’ve heard people say it all the time, “I need my beauty sleep.”
Now we know that all the sleep in the world doesn’t make someone become more beautiful,
…or does it?
After working the one week and getting very little rest I began to think about that saying, but in a different light. I found myself becoming very irritable and easy to spout off hurtful words. Then I noticed I became more emotional and run down making me feel like crying or just falling in a hole and sleeping for days. (Yes, this was the point I was at!) So I looked at that saying with a spiritual light, what are you like when you are tired and worn out?
God’s Word tells us that we need to guard our heart because that’s what comes out in our action.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23)

If I am not taking care of my heart that will be evidenced in my life by my actions. And if I am not getting the proper amount of sleep I am not functioning well. Which means I am not understanding what I am reading in my devotions and when I try to pray I become weary and tired. You see the point I am trying to get to is that when I am not getting the physical sleep I need, I’m not taking care of the body God has given me. I cannot live my life to please the Lord if all that is coming out in my actions(the evidence of my heart) is ugliness. Thus getting the physical rest we need is helpful to being a beautiful woman of God, not for physical beauty but to be spiritually beautiful.
Remember that spending time with God is important, and spending that time with Him will bring spiritual rest also. Spiritual tiredness puts a strain on our relationship with the Lord and deprives us of the blessings that we could have
.

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10

So be sure to take time to take care of the temple of God that He’s given you, you may not become more physically beautiful with sleep, but it will help you become a more beautiful woman of God. Being alert physically helps you become more alert to the spiritual truths God has to show you. Are you getting your beauty sleep?

Contentment - A Life Long Journey

Contentment- we are all in that stage of life. I realized earlier this year that we never reach a point in our life where we are completely content . You can try to convince yourself that once you get to a certain point, like marriage, you’ll be content. The Lord has shown me that it doesn’t end there. We are all human beings and most times very fleshly ones at that. We are always desiring something else.
Growing up it was my dream and prayer that I would marry a godly man, that God would help me know the right man without me “trying others” and being in a lot of relationships. This is a normal desire and there is nothing wrong with wanting to marry a godly man, but we have to be content where the Lord has us. If you are single right now, God wants you to be content there. And contentment isn’t just saying, “I’m fine with this stage of life because I have to be, I‘m supposed to be content because that‘s what the Bible says.” God wants us to be happy and joyful, serving Him, not worrying about our future with a godly mate. If we sit around spending too much time on ourselves we dwell on the things we don’t have. Want to know a simple cure for that? Busy yourself serving the Lord and being involved in the lives of those around you.
Recently the Lord has brought a godly man into my life and has worked it out that we and both sets of our parent have the peace of God about a relationship. So over the past few months we have spent time together, getting to know each other and the goals we feel God has for us. For some reason I thought once God brought the godly man He created for me into my life, it would all be great, no more dealing with contentment for a godly mate. Guess what? I was wrong, I found myself content in our relationship but waiting and longing for the moment that he would ask me to marry him. God had to remind me, “Anna, be content where I have you, in a wonderful relationship with a godly man, your engagement time will come.”
Little did I know that less than a month after I was praying about this my man of God was going to propose to me. And it was amazing… better then I could even dream, and now, the next project for me? Being content until the day God has for us to marry, August 20th. And I know that once we are wed I will have other issues of discontentment to deal with: homes, children, money, ect… It’s a normal part of our lives.
We will never reach the point of perfecting ourselves in the area of contentment, but this also means we have to keep bringing that sin to the feet of the cross and let God work it out in our lives.
Embrace where God has you right now, “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:7. Whatsoever state in the Greek means who, which, or what - that’s you and your circumstances. Content here means 1) sufficient for one’s self, strong enough or processing enough to need no aid or support 2) independent of external circumstances 3) contented with one’s lot, with one’s means, though the slenderest
Be happy with the things God has given you and the way He’s made you “…Be content with such things as ye have…” Hebrews 13:5. The word content in that verse can mean satisfied but also means to be strong in.
Lord willing this may have given you a glimpse of what to look “forward to” or the work you have cut out for yourself. There is great joy and peace from God that comes as a result of being content and rejoicing where God has you in life, who He’s created you to be. Remember- contentment is a lifelong journey, you’ll never arrive at your destination until we find ourselves in Heaven with the King.