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