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.