The Blessing of Marriage

Earlier today, my siblings and I went to Chipotle, because we all had coupons to use. We sat next to this couple who looked like were getting ready for their wedding plans. A planner was there, talking to them, and it was so sweet! Marriage is a beautiful thing!
I've seen many Marriages and Courtships over the last couple of years, and it's been such a blessing!
In today's day and age though... what does marriage mean. ?
In Fireproof Michael is talking to Caleb, and he says, "The sad part about it is, when most people promise for better or for worse, they really only mean for the better."
Isn't this unfortunately the truth in many marriages...?! We love the good times, but when the bad times come, we don't fight for it. We give up so easily. Marriage is something worth fighting for! I haven't learned from experience. I've never been married, so, no, I'm  not an expert. However, I've had many friends give me words of advice and wisdom over the years. I've seen marriages and courtships fall apart, and I've seen them come together like they never had before. I've seen marriages have a closeness with the Savior, that they didn't have before.
What does the Bible say about marriage?
Ephesians 5:22-33

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,"

Genesis 2:24

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

Proverbs 18:22

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

Hebrews 13:4

"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."

Ephesians 5:25-33

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,"

They're are many more verses about marriage, but I loved these passages.
Marriage is a sacred and honorable thing!
No, I don't know everyone's circumstances. I know of quite a few ladies at our church who's husbands have left them for someone else. If you are married, let God work in you and your husband! If you're a man, let God work in your wife! God can restore your marriage, if you let him!
To the single men and ladies out their, God has your spouse out there somewhere! I know it's not easy to wait, but in the end, it'll be worth it! :)
Enjoy the song below called, "Restore" by Chris August!

When Will my Life Began? A lesson from Tangled

"Stuck in the same place I've always been

I just keep wanderin' and wanderin' and

wanderin' and wanderin' 

when will my life begin?"

-Tangled

I have heard the myth of "my life hasn't started yet" often since I graduated high school and entered the new phase of questions life.

You graduate high school and "just like that", the consistency is gone. No more of the steady continuation of doing the next chapter in a math or science book. Until advanced education courses start (or whatever path that God is leading you down) you inevitably begin to ask "what's next?" "what is my purpose?" "and what is purpose-filled?" "when will my life begin"? You cry out to God asking Him to Show you the path of Life (Ps. 16:11) and questions rise far quicker than conclusions are reached!

This post-graduation truth quest, though internally challenging at times, is an incredible blessing. The temptation is there to ask "when will my life begin"? And start to subconsciously insert "maybe when I get this job", or "maybe when I get married", or "maybe when I have kids..." etc. but the truth is that our life began at conception. It doesn't start with the new good job, marriage, a college degree, a dream house etc. (although all those things can be blessings and good). Our life began at conception!

Embrace the searching, knowing that it produces growth. But don't let it cause you to waste the moments that you're living now. Enjoy them, use them, fill them with meaning and purpose. Prepare for the tasks that the Heavenly Father has laid on your heart and as Proverbs says, get wisdom.

Use the season of questions to search deeper into what you believe - talk with parents, get together with mentors and most importantly, search the Word of God. Remember that each day is a blessing from the Father to serve and glorify Him, to use the talents and opportunities that He has given us for Him. To make even the most mundane of tasks a living sacrifice to Him...(do all things to the glory of the Father). Your task might be small - but if you do it with joy as unto the Lord, then you have done well, faithful servant.

Ultimately, let the questions lead you to the foot of the cross. Realizing that without our Heavenly Father we are nothing but with Him we have purpose in life! Our life began at conception and our spiritual life with acceptance and belief that He is our guide and Savior on this beautiful life journey, where He guides us with His commandments, precepts and the Holy Spirit.

With God we don't keep wandering, because our life has begun. In Him, our purpose is fulfilled, our questions answered, our hope found. What a privilege and joy to walk day by day in His guidance and always in His grace.

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go." -Abraham Lincoln

Jenna from: http://femininefarmgirl.blogspot.com/ wrote a neat post, and I thought I'd re-post it, as well as 

add a few of my own thoughts. :)

Leibster Award

I have been awarded the Leibster Award again by Alyssa over at http://bitsnspurs.blogspot.com/ her private blog awarded me, but she wanted me to go ahead and do her Bits and Spurts blog. Go check out her blog!.
Facts about me: 
1. I absolutely LOVE the heat! :)
2. I have naturally Curly hair.. and love it!
3. I went to Russia for a Conference a couple months ago.
4. I love to square dance!!!
5. I do the grilling at the house, as well as trim the lawn. ;)
 Most people are surprised by that... not sure why... 
6. We have a beautiful and stubborn Great Pyrenees dog! And, we don't care if her hair is on our clothes, or in our food... ;) I know, I know, it's gross at times, but we just take the hair off if we're bothered by it.
7. People say I'm a server.
8. I teach Piano and I'm studying to become a Doula.
9. I'm a clean-fanatic... which can get to be a pain at times when there's people in the house who don't like to pick up after themselves. :)
10. I love listening to speakers, pastors, and audio's.

Questions to me: 

1. Brown or Black? Depends... if it has to do with clothes or shoes, than black. ;)

2. Willow or pine trees? Willow! Definitely Willow!

3. Sweet or Spicy? Sweet! ;)

4. When you read, do you feel like you are in the story? I don't normally read fictional books, but when I do, than yes I feel like I'm in the story.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat? Chocolate! ... does that count? ;) Pizza and Taco's...

6. What is your favorite thing to do? Run Errands, play with my siblings, read the Bible, help my mom out... the list can go on, so there's not really "one" favorite thing.

7. Which do you think are cuter as babies: Lambs or Goats? Lamb!

8. Would you rather be in the country or the city? City!

9. What is your favorite flower? Hmm... the Colorado Columbine or a Rose.

10. Do you bird watch? No... not unless we're on a hike or something.

11.  Have you ever been to the beach? I have, when I was younger. I don't remember it now.

Rules:

Thank and link back to the person who nominated you

List 10 facts about yourself. Answer the 10 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you. Nominate bloggers (you can’t nominate the blogger who nominated you). If I didn't nominate you personally, than consider yourself nominated! ;) Ask them 11 questions. Let them know about the nomination.

The questions for the nominee's: 

1. Who is your favorite author? Why?

2. If you had one day to live what would you do?

3. What is your favorite bible verse? Why?

4. What pet would you own if you could own any pet in the world?

5. What is your favorite hobby? 

6. To you prefer the city or the country? Why?

7. What is your favorite dessert?

8. What has been your most embarrassing experience?
9. How big is your family?
10. How many states have you been to? Which ones?

My Nominee's:
Kaitlyn at: http://www.agentleandquietspirit.com/
Ellie at: http://cinderelliefashions.blogspot.com/
Heidi at: http://keepingupwiththejoneses-dee.blogspot.com/
Marianela at:http://desiringgodsdesires.blogspot.com/
Hannah at:  http://journalpagesfromhome.blogspot.com/

Questioning God's Sovereignty?

Today, our family had quite the scare. We got a call from my dad saying that he'd been in a car accident.
You can imagine what was going through our heads when we found out... "Is he okay?" "Is he hurt?" "Will he die?" "When can I see him?" ... all this and more was going through my head. After I got off the phone with my mom, I thanked God that he was okay!
Many people may ask the, "Why?" question. "Why did ____ die?" "Why did God take_____ away?" (fill in the blank.) Whatever the case may be, why do we question Gods sovereignty?
Psalm 115:3

"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."
Proverbs 16:9"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."
Job 42:2

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

We think that our ways are better than Gods. We think that just because someone is a "good" person, that nothing bad will happen to them. We tend to play this game with God... "God I will ___ , if you do ___..." "God I will take a break from my computer, if you give my mother back her life."
The thing is, Gods already got a plan, we just can't always see that plan. I've got news for you... life isn't perfect. We all have consequences for everything we do. When we have free will, it comes with the territory. You can't smoke for a couple years, and then blame God when you have to be strapped to an oxygen tank.
What if today, was my dads last breath on earth? Would I have blamed God for my fathers death? Would I blame myself? We can't play the "what-if" game. God IS sovereign, and He is ruler over everything! What he says, goes... yes, it may hurt, and yes, we will get wounded in the battle.
Keep up the faith! Fight the good fight!
I thank God for the gift he gave me... a dad! More than a dad... a mentor, father, spiritual leader, husband to my mom, leader of the home, visionary, and a Godly man! Thank you dad for taking the Baton and passing it along to further the next generation! I love you!!!

Think on these things

I'd like to address an issue, that I feel like has been laid upon my heart, in which I believe is crucial, in this day and age.
Movies... now before any of you exit out of this post, or un-follow me, I'd like you to hear me out.
Our family has set standards as us kids have gotten older. Yes, I'm almost 22, and yes, I'm allowed to choose which movies I watch, and yes, I've made some mistakes, and watched movies that I shouldn't have seen. Sometimes, those images stay in our head, and convince our minds that it's okay.
What bothers me, is when people go to midnight showings and watch movies that they KNOW will have "Sensual Scenes" or "F-bombs", they say, "It's okay, it doesn't bother me." or "I just ignore it."
To be honest... you can't just ignore it. We slowly give way to accepting what our culture watches.
At first, we may fast forward the "kissing scene..." maybe the next time, "we watch just a little bit of it"... slowly, we accept the fact, that kissing scene's are in every movie we watch, and we little by little become okay with it.
What once was a sin to see... still is... but, we accept it now. We justify our sin. We think that we won't be "cool", if we don't see the movie.
Can I ask a question?... how many of you look at reviews for movies? How many of you see what the review says, but still go anyway? You see that the movie has a couple "scenes", but...really? Just ignore it? I've talked with a lot of people on this subject, and they say, "it's realistic when they do that..." it doesn't matter if it's realistic or not... it's NOT okay. We can't justify it!!! Adam and Eve didn't have the kind of language we have today... they didn't call people the "S" word, or the "D" word! They might have gotten mad at each other, but...really?
You guys (gals), this is a spiritual battle! We see it everywhere today! And little by little, we've compromised! Little by little, we let things "slide" so to speak. It doesn't bother you to see a man and woman getting naked in front of a T.V. screen? ... it should! The Bible tells us in

Hebrews 13:4

"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."

Even if you turn your head for 5 seconds... once you've seen, it can destroy you! And when you go to a movie, the director's don't know that you "turned" your head... they think you support that movie. They don't know if you fast-forward scenes, or use "Clear-Play" to watch movies... although it's much safer to do that. You still support the movie. I'm not perfect! I do it too! However, I try to hard to remind myself of what Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-mediate on these things."
Is going to see "____", (fill in the blank) any of these things? If not, pray and ask God for guidance. You might have grown up in a family, where it's okay to watch whatever movie you'd like. You might have grown up in a family that would only let you watch a couple movies or no movies at all, and now you let things slide. Whatever the case may be... I ask that you PLEASE protect your mind, soul, and heart! Don't let this world steal your mind and thoughts. I'd recommend looking at:  http://www.pluggedin.com/ for a movie review. And please, don't take me wrong... watching movies can be great and fun! ... but in the end, are thoughts in your mind that shouldn't be?! Forgive me if I've overstepped by boundaries. But this is one thing, I can't let go by anymore. Thank you all, and may you be blessed! :)

Fear or Pride

This past Sunday, I was asked to play Piano for our Church Service. I politely agreed, and was extremely nervous, that I'd "mess up", and that people would laugh at that, and make fun of my "messing up", I started to turn selfish, and thinking thoughts about what people thought about "me". I started to realize, that it wasn't about me! This was all for God and about God!... or was it?! I was starting to make my Piano playing more about me playing, than about giving God the glory... no matter the outcome!

God was the one who gave me the gift to play Piano. It's up to me, to CHOOSE to give God the glory, and to play in honor and admonition of Him! God knows our hearts! He knows if we say, "To God be the Glory!", but our hearts say, "Yeah, I'm good at ____ " (fill in the blank) So often, we find ourselves in the trap of this world, and we fill our mind with pride. We may start out with fear... but it can easily turn into pride. That's what Satan comes to do... "... to steal, and to kill, and destroy..." (John 10:10)
So, after praying to God to give me a humble mind, and a heart full of Him, I showed up at church, ready to play... even if it meant that I might make a couple mistakes. But... when I asked if the Piano was hooked up yet, I saw a mom of 7 children getting ready to play Piano. To much of my astonishment, I was somewhat bummed... I was bummed that I spent all this last week preparing for worship, only to be early for church to find a mother playing Piano. It turned out there was a mis-communication, and I wasn't going to be playing for the month of June. :) I kind of chuckle at it now... little did I know what God was about to teach me! :)

The service started, and I felt at peace. At peace knowing that I was going to be blessed by the sermon, not having to worry about when to play and what to play. A peace knowing that God knew the whole time I wasn't going to be playing. A peace that passes all understanding!
I got to witness, this mother make some mistakes, and pretend, like nothing happened. I got to witness, that it's okay to mess up. People aren't going to laugh at you! I got to witness, that in the midst of playing Piano, you can still worship God! ...go figure, right?! God knew that I wouldn't be playing Piano yesterday, because I needed to learn a couple things! :) Wow! The things that God puts in our lives to teach us! So, yes, I had fear, and yes, I had pride. However, it's up to us, to repent of those sins, and to give God the glory He deserves! Forever may He be praised! :)