Everything for His glory?

Goodness, it's been a while since I've posted here!

As I was sorting through some emails, I came across a book excerpt which encouraged me anew as I read it today.

"Whatever you do-- whether to carve a door or to write a song that God inspires you to write-- do it all for His glory and the good of His people. Always do small things wiht great love, and be ready to take whatever He gives and give whatever He takes with a big smile." (Mother Theresa)

Because of Him, our futures are secure and we can smile. Though we sometimes don't feel like beaming about our life circumstances, if our heart attitude is one of trust and gratefulness, we will see our surroundings with new eyes and a bigger heart.

When we stand before the Lord at the end of our lives, the question will not be, "Were you married?" But rather, "What have you done with God's gift of life to you?" Every moment that He gives to you as a single woman (and perhaps one day as a married one) is to be lived for a purpose beyond yourself. Trust Him. Keep Him foremost in your heart. God will take the moments that make up our minutes, days, and hours and fill them with the fullness of His life. Be assured that as you are about your Father's business, He will be busy about all the things that concern you. I pray that you will hear Him say to you, "Let there be life in every breath, and may you live it freely and joyfully, every single moment."

Excerpt from Living Every Single Moment: Embracing Your Purpose Now ~ Angela Payne

A comparison, and thoughts on apathy

Ok, here's some great stuff I read today, and had to share here :-)

Over at the YLCF blog, there's some good masculinity v. femininity discussion going on.
Just a taste of this post:

A man's perfect strength, if it exists, inspires me (a naturally strong leader) to follow. A woman's perfect beauty will inspire a man to love. A respected man will grow stronger, and a loved woman more beautiful."

Do go read the other conversation :-)

The other is this, from Bob Kauflin's blog. Again, a taste :-)

I’ve been thinking about where my motivation for godly living comes from. How do we remain motivated to pursue a life of holiness and fruitfulness, regardless of our circumstances?

Here’s what happens to me. I’m doing well for a season. Quiet times are going great, I’m experiencing grace in resisting temptations, and seeing some fruit in my ministry. Then something, I’m not always sure what, takes place that shakes my “firm” footing. I wake up tired. My wife points out some sin in my life. Counsel I’ve given goes unheeded. I have a “hard” day. Whatever the reason, my zeal for God wanes. I’m not as motivated to pursue the things of God, and my spiritual life could be labeled as “borderline apathetic.”

It’s during these times that I usually pursue one of two courses...

Read the rest here: Living by the Righteousness of Another.
I could so relate to what he described, and the rest of what he shared was helpful to reflect on...

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh

While perusing blogs today, I stopped by Beauty from the Heart to see if they had posted anything new. I was delighted to find a post on something I'd been thinking about over the past week :-) In fact, my mom and I had just been discussing it this morning!

I do want to mention something before going any further:
I think that it is easy for single girls to take God's love in a romantic direction which doesn't seem to hold up to Scriptural scrutiny. Yes, God loves us. Yes, we can look to Him for the completion we desire (which, actually, only He can give). Yet, I have heard others talk about how God desires our love, and talk about how He desires to ravish us with His love. That was some of what was disturbing to me when I skimmed through Captivating :-/

Back to what I was going to talk about, though :-)
I try to focus on the Lord, but I get distracted- like, really easily some days!
The perspective I find helps me best describe how I want my focus to be is this:

When a person is in love, they think constantly of their beloved (or so other people tell me.) They count the minutes until they can see their beloved again. Is our love for Christ to be very different from this? Is He not supposed to be on our minds, in our thoughts, and His law written upon our very hearts?

Better than a girl who desires to be able to spend time with her Love, I can take time to spend with the Lord throughout the day, not "dependent on his schedule & prior commitments." He will never be busy with work or other things, and not be able to spend time with me. He will never be out of town. He will never have something unexpected come up & not be able to meet me. He is always there...

*happy sigh* That thought is presently very encouraging to my heart, and I simply had to share :-)

And, a link to the post, so you can read the rest of what Hannah Beth wrote: Waiting for the Wedding. (Some good thoughts on our always anticipating Christ's return shared at the end, which I thought were wonderful!)

Recent reading...

Where books & reading are concerned, I am reading such good books right now!! I am loving them, and learning so much!

Book 1: Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God With a Hope Deferred - Carolyn McCulley
I've read this book before, but it's been at least a year :-) Lovely encouraging gems:

(This she is actually quoting from Douglas Wilson)
"The time a person spends when he is single should be time spent in preparation for marriage. This is important even if he never gets married. This is because biblical preparation for marriage is nothing more than learning to follow Jesus Christ and to love one's neighbor. In other words, preparation for Christian marriage is basically the same as preparation for Christian living. Christians are to prepare for marriage by learning self-denial, subduing their pride, and putting their neighbor first." (pg. 50)

(This she is quoting from Paul David Tripp)
"...There is a direct relationship between expectations and disappointment, and much of our disappointment in relationships is not because other people have actually wronged us, but because they have failed to meet our expectations." (pg. 79)

(Quoting Robert Murray McCheyne)
"The four Gospels are a narrative of the heart of Christ. They show His compassion to sinners, and His glorious work in their stead. If you only knew that heart as it is, you would lay your weary head with John on His bosom. Do not take up your time so much with studying your own heart as with studying Christ's heart. For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ!" (pg .80)

The real motivation for guarding our hearts is not to be able to hand our husbands a relatively unscathed heart on our wedding day, as important as that is. The real motivation is to preserve our trusting dependence on God with a peaceful spirit, whether we get married or not. It's to keep a scriptural imperative: "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23) - (pg. 81)

There is so much more... This is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it :-) Also, if interested in reading more from Carolyn McCulley, check out her blog.

Book 2: Treasures of Encouragement: Women Helping Women in the Church - Sharon W. Betters
This I just started reading this morning, but it's quite good! The perspective is one of looking at how the church has been instructed to encourage one another, and then in Titus 2 where the older women are instructed to teach the younger women, and then taking it to a more personal "how do I do this?" level :-) To quote from the introduction:

...Its purpose is to help women:
1. Think biblically about their position in Christ
2. Live biblically as the treasures of encouragment emerge from this new way of thinking.
Part 1, "Thinking Biblically," lays the Scriptural foundation for such actions.
Part 2, "Living Biblically," looks at specific ways to encourage. Many women want to encourage but need help in figuring out creative ways to do it. Following Part 2 is an addendum of fifty practical encouragment ideas.

Each chapter opens with one or more true encouragement stories. Many women submitted to me their real-life stories, some of which have been edited to protect the privacy of the storyteller. Numerous personal acounts are also scattered throughout the text. Each chapter includes an Encouragement Principle, six days of daily devotions, and a specific way to practice encouragement or cultivate intimacy with Christ.

I'm looking forward to doing more reading, learning, and applying. This is a very timely book for me to be reading :-)
Oh, I forgot- there was a wonderful quote I noticed whilst skimming the rest of the contents ;-)

(Quoting Oswald Chambers)
"I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself." (pg. 128)

Book 3: Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change - Paul David Tripp
I am thrilled to be able to keep reading this book! A friend at church lent her copy to me so I could read it as part of the homework I'm completing for a course I took (Introduction to Biblical Counseling). I started reading it, but then my mom needed to read it to prepare for something, so I had to hand it over to her :-) However, as I was looking for a different book today, I discovered that we own a copy of this book. So, I get to continue reading the borrowed copy, and she will continue reading our copy :-)
Unfortunately, as it has been about a month since I last was reading, I don't have anything more to share about this book- yet! However, I'm sure I shall find plenty to share as I resume reading. As with the previous book, the idea is to help people think Biblically, and to be encouraging others to think Biblically as well.

Is training to be a "keeper at home" a waste?

Haha... When comments become too lengthly... :-)

Whilst reading a recent post at Beauty from the Heart about preparing to be a keeper at home, I read a comment which sent me to another blog to read a different perspective on things:

I believe young women should be learning and growing so they can impact their families and world for Christ. There is much more for you out there than cleaning and cooking! Please check out my blog at www.nomindhasimagined.blogspot.com for my perspective on this. I am worried some of you are making feminity/housework/motherhood, into an idol.

In writing a comment on the post I read there, I found myself typing a rather lengthly reply! Rather than leave a mile-long comment, I'm instead posting here :-)

After reading the comment on Beauty from the Heart, and the following post, I'm left agreeing with part of what was shared at nomindhasimagined, but also wondering if perhaps the author didn't get a full picture of what the young ladies at Beauty from the Heart are describing.

Yes, I think it is very possible for the idea of "being a wife/mother/keeper at home" to become an idol. Yet, is what they are describing doing unimportant? It seemed like the point being made was that they overemphasized that element of things. However, is that their entire goal, or merely a portion of it?

Reading this, it seems an unfair evaluation: They begin to dribble about learning to cook, mop floors, clean toilets and burp babies. The thought of university scares them and they write long reams of reason why going out into that big anti-christian world is just too much for them.

As somoene who has heard a lot of the teaching on "being a keeper at home," it can become too huge a focus. Yet, I think much of the emphasis on this idea has come as a response to the prevalence of the idea that girls ought to get away from home at 18, live on their own, embrace independence from parental authority, and go to school.

Is going to school a bad thing?
Depending on the reason for it, not necessarily. I think much depends on why one would be going, and whether it is worth the time/money to be spent.
Anymore, there is so much that can be accomplished through taking courses online, AP, CLEP, etc, meaning that a traditional 4-year college education is not as standard as it once was. Not only would such measures reduce the amount of time spent on getting a degree, but the amound of money spent is also reduced.
Right for everyone? *shrug* No, I don't think so. But, it is an option worth considering.

Looking at girls who are focusing on preparing to be a wife/monther, is it a bad focus?
To me, it seems like an equally important focus. Not that it should be the only focus (I think that's where things can become disporportionate), but I see it being an important thing to consider.

More than learning to cook, clean, care for children, etc, there are things a girl can be learning which will serve her in being a wife/mother, and also in the rest of her life. Learning better time management, learning to plan & budget, spending time deepening her relationship with the Lord and being involved in various ministry opportunities and other such will be useful throughout her life. Are there particular things she would like to learn more about? Why not take the time to study them the same as she would any college course?

Rather than elevating floor-mopping above studying physics, I see their desire being to elevate God-embracing femininity above God-denouncing feminism. Looking at Proverbs 31, I don't see a woman who stays at home drudging through housework. Rather, I see a woman who is using the talents God has given her (which she has spent time cultivating) to serve her husband & family, and to make wise use of her time & abilities- Be it at home, or in her interaction with others.

Spurgeon quote on service

Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity....The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing, "Make me to walk in thy commands, 'Tis a delightful road."

...Reader, let us put this question- do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

By the grace of God I am what I am (quote)

"I am not what I ought to be -
ah, how imperfect and deficient!
I am not what I wish to be -
I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good!
I am not what I hope to be -
soon, soon shall I put off mortality,
and with mortality all sin and imperfection.
Yet, though I am not what I ought to be,
nor what I wish to be,
nor what I hope to be,
I can truly say, I am not what I once was;
a slave to sin and Satan;
and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge,
'By the grace of God I am what I am.'"

~John Newton~

Love and iPods

I read this article last month, and the truth it contains made me think then, and made me think again when I re-read it today.

Laura Vanderkam's article, Love (or not) in an iPod world compared our relationships with people to our relationships with our iPods.

One of the biggest reasons for the trend of waiting longer to get married, she says, is that the modern approach to dating takes its cues from our digital music players. Marriage, on the other hand, is more like a car radio.

She quotes some from Jillian Straus's new book, Unhooked Generation: The Truth About Why We're Still Single (I've not read it, but I'm curious now), and draws several parallels between our views of love/relationships, and our view of iPods/amusement.

Her main points are as follows:
First, we live in a culture of infinite choice.
- Too much choice makes people less likely to commit.

Second, we believe it's all about us.
- After all, we can customize our playlists. Why not a spouse?

Third, we cherish our ability to skip to the next song/person.
- "...the fear of settling is based on the idea that demand for our company is infinite. Part of married happiness is realizing that your spouse is doing a lot more settling than you are.

More wisdom shared by Scott Haltzman (co-author, with Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, of The Secrets of Happily Married Men)

"On iPods we have just what we want, but there's nothing surprising. "You never get a 'Whoa! I haven't heard that song before.'"

"Marriage, like the car radio, is not as predictable, may not always have things in it that are to your tastes, but occasionally provides an experience that is deeper, more moving, and more exciting than anything you expected."

So, go check it out- and see what you think- Are the parallels there?

"Getting Serious about Getting Married" - book review

This book is fabulous. I read it a few weeks ago, and loved Debbie Maken's overview of how society's view of marriage has shifted.
If you look at this article over at Boundless.org on Rethinking the Gift of Singleness, it will give a gimpse of what this book is about.
Also, if you go check out Candace's review of the book at her blog: A Stouthearted Read, she shares some great excerpts.
I can't praise this book highly enough. I was a bit hesitant as I began reading, not knowing how she would approach the subject matter. However, having read it, I would reccomend it to anyone wanting to take a closer look at what a Biblical view of marriage is.

Rather than another book encouraging singles to just smile & be grateful for God's wonderful gift, she willingly addresses that sadness & discontent that many singles are dealing with. She doesn't stop there- she goes on to talk about how the desire for marriage is something that God has given- He is the one who instituted marriage. He is the one who gave us a desire for marriage. Ladies, does reading Genesis 3:16 ever make you wonder if that's why our desire for marriage can be so strong at times?

I love how Debbie states this: "When we ignore the fact that God made marriage for our benefit ... we deny our very nature. God created us for marriage. The reason singleness is disappointing, lets us down, and leaves us wanting more is because singleness isn't what God intended."

This was a refreshing book to read. Her willingness to be honest about the sort of feelings singles so often deal with was something I relished.

Here's a bit from the first chapter:

Why wasn't I content anymore? This was a question I hardly dared to ask because I knew being discontent about my single status just wasn't allowed. Raising poignant questions about singleness came with the guarantee of an onslaught of trite platitudes and glib, pithy sayings. "It's better to be single than to wish you were." "Marriage is a lot harder than it looks." "Bloom where you're planted." "It might not be God's will for you to marry." "God knows when you will be ready, and he'll send you a husband at just the right time." "Think of all the ways you can serve God by being single." Knowing what I would hear, I pretended I was happy with my singleness, though in actuality I was totally miserable inside.

Later she writes:

Let me assure you that what I've learned and what I'm writing about- no matter how radical it may sound at first- is based squarely upon the Bible and was accepted by Christian thinkers for centuries as the prevailing wisdom. As you read, let Scripture be your measuring stick for truth- not psychology, not culture, not what you've accepted thus far, not what sounds good or catchy. There is benefit in understanding where we as a church and as a culture have gone wrong. As the saying goes, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Knowing the truth offers the hope of freedom.

We have been told over and over that singleness is a gift. But it's the kind of gift that makes us cringe and smile politely while we desperately search for a gift receipt so we can return it.

If you're curious to read more, go to this site, where you can browse the contents online.

Quotes on life

I don't remember where I read these quotes. Shameful? *shrug* :-) They're both very good!

In thinking about how all that we do... all of our day-to-day life... that everything that's part of our lives can be rightly viewed as "serving the Lord where He has us right now," I was quite encouraged by the reminder of both of these quotes.
This first, from John Owen, is a reminder of the opposition we will face:

"There is no duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater its enmity to it. Thus those who seek most for God experience the strongest opposition.”

This second, from C. S. Lewis (whose writing I admire muchly!) is a reminder of what "real life" really is! It is so easy to get distracted, to think that other things interrupt my service of God. Rather... God is bringing other ways that I can be serving Him.

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life— the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination. This at least is what I see at moments of insight: but it’s hard to remember it all the time.”

"The Marks of a Godly Husband"

I read this wonderfully encouraging article by Jaye Martin entitled, "The Marks of a Godly Husband," (in pdf format) and want to share her opening paragraphs with you, as well as a link so you can go read the entire article. It is well-worth the time.

Her article is solidly Biblical, and helpful in grasping a better understanding of what a godly man looks like. Personally, I have found it easy to think in general terms ("well, he's a Christian"...) and not think about more specific indicators of what a godly man is like.

Her conclusion is a reminder to ladies to be a godly women, focused on the Lord, and seeking Him. Truly, that's what it needs to come back to, rather than merely "refining our search"!

If we are where God wants us to be, focusing on what He wants us to be focusing on, and more than anything else, delighting in Him & getting to know Him better... Can we not trust Him to bring the right man, at the right time?

The excerpt:

"As women, we have high goals and expectations for our future home life. From the time we are little girls, we dream of what being a wife and a mother are all about. We envision ourselves getting married with the beautiful white lace and all the extras, the little house we will live in, the two kids, the dog and, oh yes, the man we will spend the rest of our lives with. We dream of the day he will whisk us off our feet with romance, how we will be the center of his universe. We pray and ask God for just a glimpse of who he will be and try to fit most of those we meet into the slot to see if he fits... just in case.

We are looking for the ultimate person who will be everything that God intended a husband to be, and we are ready to commit our lives to him at the drop of a hat. We envision this mystery man to be the ultimate partner in every area. We want someone who will be the leader of our home, is a great listener, loves people, cares for others, is sensitive, has the respect of the community, provides for and protects his family and believes just like we do in every area. The fact of the matter is we want to marry someone just like Jesus.

That is a great standard. But, there is a problem. We tend to have standards so high that they seem almost impossible to meet. No one seems to live up to our expectations other than the Lord Himself. I remember that the standard was so high for my daughter (and we had instilled this in her since birth) that one day I just had to sit her down and have a heart to heart with her. “No one like Jesus is available. You are going to have to lower your standards.” Now I admit that this is one conversation that I thought I would never have with my daughter. I always thought that I would have to help her to raise her standards, not lower them.

The fact of the matter is that many women tend to lose their balance in one direction or the other — their standards are either way too high or way too low. Frankly, it is just not good either way. I had to help my daughter understand that men were human and that as much as she would like to find a perfect one, he is just not out there. I made sure she understood not to completely throw out the concept and that close to perfection was, in fact, a good way to approach things. You must look for someone who wants to be like Jesus, strives to live like Him and challenges you to do the same.

So, what on earth does a Christian woman look for in a man? It is a compelling question. I feel sure there are numerous books on the subject, but I’m too busy trying to be a Christian wife to search the stacks or the Internet for the book with all the answers. Besides, I am certain that the Bible is the ultimate manual on the subject, so let’s see what we can glean from the Word of God in order to know what to look for in a Christian man."

Read the rest here (in pdf format)

List of faults...

Nicole shared this fabulous quote over at the GirlTalk blog.
What a wonderful reminder of how to treat others... We've been shown so much grace- we ought to share grace with others!

"On her golden wedding anniversary, my grandmother revealed the secret of her long and happy marriage. 'On my wedding day, I decided to choose ten of my husband's faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook,' she explained. A guest asked her to name some of the faults. 'To tell the truth,' she replied, 'I never did get around to listing them. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, 'Lucky for him that's one of the ten.'"
~ Roderick McFarlane, in Reader's Digest, December, 1992.

A quote, a link, a blog post :-)

Firstly, a quote:

“I see my primary role to be my husband’s greatest supporter, his greatest prayer warrior, his greatest cheerleader and to come alongside him and to encourage him.”
~Gayle Fee


Secondly, a link:

Skimming through, there are some fabulous articles here: Southern Seminary Magazine

Thirdly, a blog post:

I'd been thinking about checking out Josh Harris' blog, as it had been a while since I'd visited it. His recent post on Abiding in Jesus (A Meditation on John 15:4-6) is phenomenal.
Go read it :-)

An exerpt here:

"Abiding doesn't come naturally to me. As I read this passage I was struck by how often I try to accomplish and achieve without abiding in Christ. I attempt to grow, to parent, to be a husband, to preach or lead, apart from the constant discipline of abiding in Jesus. It doesn’t work. Actually, it works for a while. But then it withers. Like a vase of cut flowers, self-sustaining effort can be beautiful, even impressive. But it never lasts. Without vital connection to and reliance on the Savior our best efforts die.

What is the opposite of abiding? I guess it’s moving on. Not remaining, pulling up the stakes and heading out. So often, my inclination is toward independence and self-sufficiency. This is never in the form of outright rejection. It is subtle. It’s self-confidence. It’s believing that I know how to handle what’s coming next.

It’s not that I think I don’t need Jesus, because I know I do. But I start thinking, “I need Jesus to get saved and to forgive my sins, and I will definitely be checking in frequently, but I can’t sit around and abide all day. Good grief, I have places to go and people to see and kingdom work to accomplish!”

To all this Jesus simply says, “apart from me you can do nothing.” Nothing is not a whole lot."
Read the entire post here.

"The Famous Love Passage"

I read this post written by Carolyn McCulley, and have to share the link with you all...
The excerpts from D.A. Carson which she shares are wonderful! I'll include just a bit here, and then you must click over to her blog to read the entire post :-)

"Love not merely does not seek that which does not belong to it; it is prepared to give up for the sake of others even what it is entitled to."

"If I must say in few words what is distinctive about God's love for us, it is that is is self-originating. When a young man reveals his heart with a passionate declaration, 'I love you!' at leat in part he means that he finds the woman he loves lovely. At least some of his love is elicited by the object of that love. But God loves what is unlovely. If, as John 3:16 tells us, God loves the world, it is not because the world is so lovely God cannot help himself: judging by John's use of the term world, God loves the world only because of what he is. And derivatively, that is how Christians learn to love: they learn to love with love that is, like God's, self-originating. Of course, unlike God's love, ours is not absolutely self-originating; but it is self-originating in the sense that God's grace so transforms the believer that his or her responses of love emerge out of the matrix of Christian character, and are correspondingly less dependent on the loveliness of the object."

More thoughts & quotes on Love

As I've continued to ponder what love is, what it looks like, and why it's so hard to truly love people, I have come across some wonderful quotes!

I have begun to understand more clearly some things about love. It seems that there are some realizations that must begin to occur:
- Realizing that loving someone doesn't mean that things will always be easy
- Realizing that there will be pain involved
- Realizing that loving involves risk
- Realizing that loving someone may sometimes require us to say hard things, though we would rather be silent
- Realizing that love involves sacrifice
- Realizing that love elevates another's needs above my own
- Realizing that love may be overlooked, taken advantage of, disdained

And yet, remembering our Example... (That thought always takes me immediately to Philippians 2:1-11) ...I am so encouraged to persevere. Why? Because when we truly love, we have begun to move beyond the sort of love that loves because of some return. We have begun to love with a God-fueled love, which loves the unlovable, and is willing to sacrifice for the beloved's good, in spite of the cost to oneself.

As C.S. Lewis so aptly said:
"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

Another wonderful quote, this from Gene Edward Veith:
"Love is patient, kind, and forgiving, but it is not particularly tolerant or permissive, as is evident with loving spouses and loving parents. Love is never content simply to leave the other person alone. Sometimes love is not nice."

When someone else gets what we want (article)

A post on GirlTalk merits posting here-

It begins:

Yesterday we contemplated the question: What do we do with a good, yet unfulfilled longing that won’t go away? First, we thank God that by His mercy we desire one of His good gifts.

However, we must also regulate our desires. We must not love or long for one of God’s good gifts more than we love or long for God Himself. If we do, then we have essentially made an idol out of this good desire and we are worshipping it instead of God. As teacher David Powlison paraphrases the eminent John Calvin: "The evil in our desires often lies not in what we want but that we want it too much."

Read the rest here: When Someone Else Gets What We Want.

Do single girls want to hear it?

Let's face it- nearly all girls have had their dreams about "one day, their knight in shining armor will come..." Yet, for many of us, he still isn't here!
When friends are in relationships/courting, somtimes it may be a little hard to hear about their happy relationship, since we are still waiting, still "very single."
However, does that mean we don't want to hear about their joy? Does it mean we don't want to know about their relationship, their man? So often, they assume we don't want to hear much about it, since we are still waiting.
Not so. Rather, hearing about their present happiness gives hope, reminds that God does bring things about in His time, and encourages a waiting heart that it is simply "not yet", not "never."

All these thoughts ended up here as a result of reading a post over at the YLCF journal. The link is a must-share: A message from one single sister to those fallen to twitterpation

I Will Praise the Lord

I rediscovered this article by Linda Warne, and was so encouraged by what I read! Praising the Lord, though sometimes so difficult, is essential when we have things truly in perspective and are remembering that the Lord is good- always.

On to the article-

"As I mature in my relationship with the Lord I see the importance of living a life full of praise to Him.

We live in a world where people are searching, stressed out, and often are joyless. As we live our daily lives, we can be a positive example and testimony by being people of praise.

Unbelievers are watching us and they watch our attitudes when we're in stressful situations. If we generate an attitude of trust in the Lord and praise to Him during hardships it may draw unbelievers to Him.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

God has a purpose for trials in our lives. God may be using the trials to purify our motives or stretch our faith in Him. As we draw closer to the Lord during trials and praise Him in the midst of the trials we can be positive witnesses.

We offer up our praises to the Lord because He is so worthy of it. When we are feeling down we need to remember the things that the Lord has done in the past and lift up our voices in praise to Him. It is an act of the will to praise Him.

We may feel emotionally like we don't even have the strength to lift up our Bibles, but if we start praising the Lord for our salvation, the roof over our heads, and food on our tables, we will find that our countenance begins to change.

In Psalm 42 the writer had a heavy heart. In Psalm 42:5 the writer spoke to his soul and asked his soul, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?" The answer for him was to put his hope in the Lord and praise Him. He had to remember the past and the mighty deeds that the Lord had done.

I have applied that Psalm in my own life many times. I choose to put my hope in the Lord and praise Him when I am feeling down.

Always remember that it was the Lord who delivered us from spiritual darkness, addictions, strongholds, difficult trials or temptations.

We may complain or be unhappy with our bodies. We may not be happy with our height, whether we're short or tall. We may complain about our weight or our chronic medical conditions. In Psalm 139, David acknowledged God as His Maker and Creator. David praised his Creator, the Lord Almighty. David stated, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well..."

God is full of wisdom and He made our bodies with all of the cells, nerve endings, etc. He knit or wove us together within our mother's wombs. We need to make a choice to praise our Creator.

The Lord gives us each breath and sustains us each day. I was told by my parent's that I almost died of asthma when I was two years old. God sustained me back then and He still is giving me each breath that I take.

I am making an effort each day to have a heart full of praise to the Lord. As I sit at Jesus' feet I realize how much I have to be thankful for. Let us all be people who love to praise the Lord. "

First Love

"Slow me down, Lord,
So I can linger in Your presence
Not just once, but often;
So I can feel Your loving arms
Embrace me all day, every day;
So I may harken when You whisper,
"Darling, I love you.
You are the apple of my eye."-
So I may thoroughly delight
In every blessing You send;
So I can rest, untroubled,
In every circumstance
And never weary of praising,
Extolling, and adoring You.
Lord, keep me and hold me-
Please don't let go of me.
I want to love You always-
Wholly, intently, ardently.
Lord, You are and always will be
My first love."

By: Jennifer Anne F. Messing

Real Men, Real Women

Read whilst perusing blogs this afternoon... The following was written by "Zack, Majordomo of LPW" in his post entitled "Masculine & Feminine: Real Men and Women Return!"
I thought it was right-on, so I'm posting it here.

It all comes down to purpose (now remember that my following definitions are by no means exhaustive--they are only enough to give you an idea).

Men are the loving leaders, the strong protectors, and the competent providers.

Women are the loving helpmeets, the vulnerable heart, and the sensitive nurturers.

Now it's important for men to compliment women when they are fulfilling their purpose, even if they're not married. Us men need to encourage our sisters to be feminine and womanly. We can learn a lot from women, too. They very often have keen insight into areas where we are virtually blind.

What about women? They need to support men in their roles. This may take form in several ways, as you have different strengths. One woman may be helping a friend to be more sensitive to emotions, another woman may help a man to be a loving, servant leader, rather than a dictator.

Now, mind, that these kinds of help doesn't always need to or will come from someone of the opposite gender. Just be aware of the various aspects of the strengths of men and women.

You can look at it from the perspective that we can help each other to became better husbands or wives for our future spouses by encouraging each other to fulfill our proper roles as:

Real Men

and

Real Women