Flawless? | The Singleness Adventure

Hey Readers!

I didn't post as regularly through July as I would have liked - between the heat and the busy-ness of my life, blogging got shelved. But I have another post following on the heels of this one with more newsy updates.

First though, some thoughts on our many imperfections.

Sometimes I feel SO MESSED UP. I continually fail in my mission to be sweet and kind and meek and gentle-spirited to everyone in my circle of influence, especially those closest to me.

Sometimes I feel like a nasty, awful, horrible person.

Sometimes the bright sunlight catches on my shattered self and my flaws are glaringly apparent.

But. There is One who says to Him, I am Flawless. The filter which He views me through is grace. He has made me whole, completely without flaws - PERFECT.

He's my God.

And only He could do this. Because He truly is perfect. And He paid the ultimate price for me.



We saw this video in church on Sunday and it was heart-moving. I nearly teared up when the labels changed to read "FLAWLESS" over every single individual.
Now how does this relate to singleness?

Good question. Let's see... well, marriage is a partnership between two people who ARE going to mess up at some point. There will need to be generous heaping helpings of forgiveness served. And you know what? Before you can live with, love, and forgive a man...

You're gonna have to live with, love, and forgive yourself. And the ONLY way you can do that is to ask forgiveness from God first, and then you can be released to forgive yourself. And it feels so freeing!

I'm talking about the stuff that's just between you and God that nobody else knows about. NOBODY. But he knows. Everything. There's no hiding it from the one who knows your innermost thoughts. Why not give it a try and ask him to forgive you from that yuck? Then you don't have to carry around that self-hatred anymore.

Your singleness journey will be so much sweeter if you stop beating yourself up and start loving yourself, learning and growing into a deeper, richer relationship with God.

And can I say I needed to hear all that just as much as you needed to read it? Wow. :)

Have you experienced the healing power of God's forgiveness?

Love & Blessings,

{The Singleness Adventure} Introduction

It may take him two-dozen years, but eventually, God will get your attention one way or another. :) The past few weeks have taken me completely by surprise, as the Lord has revealed some amazing things to me. I'm going to try to put it into words - I'm a writer, after all, it's what we do. (Or try to do!)

Picture this: I'm sitting in our living room, which is alive with the presence of some good friends of ours. We've just had a Bible study taught by my dad, and now we're taking prayer requests and praying for them. And then I get this thought - I need to ask for prayer for my Future Husband. Ooh. Things just got real. I'm a really outgoing, bubbly person, but in certain areas I prefer to keep things to myself. I actually got trembly as I waited for my turn to talk.

So then the moment comes, and when I speak, it's a croaky whisper.
Oh dear. The trembling hasn't stopped, either. The good people around me could sense my emotions just under the surface. And here I'm thinking Where in the world is this coming from? One minute I was just fine and the next I'm all teary-eyed.

God was softening my heart.

Some of the ladies started asking me questions and it took an unexpected turn - suddenly we were talking about me. Not my future husband. ME. My plans. (Nebulous and vague at best) My goals. (Umm, what goals?) My ambitions. (Ha. Nonexistent.)

Something became painfully clear. Something I didn't want to look straight at and see, but when the spotlight shone on it, there was no avoiding it. I have nothing that I'm working towards.

So the men adjourned to the porch, where they prayed over another topic that had come up, and the ladies and I stayed in the living room and formed a tight little circle and prayed... for me. And something finally cracked through my walls and set my heart aglow. Or rather, someone.

As we prayed, and after we prayed, all these wonderful, astonishing, why-didn't-I-think-of-this-sooner ideas exploded around me. The women had some great suggestions - and I believe they were hearing from God and sharing it with me. Things were dropping straight into my mind as well. It's hard to describe exactly what it was like, but the closest thing I can compare it to is a dried-out little sponge getting sprinkled, splashed, and then doused with water until it swells full to bursting, fresh again and dripping.

Then, the opportunity opened up for me to visit McKenzie for a week! It was exactly what I needed. A chance to get away from it all for a little bit, clear my head, climb mountains, breathe the fresh woodsy air, swim in their pool, laugh - and learn. I was opened up so God could pour new inspiration and encouragement into my spirit.

Want to hear from God? Go stand on a mountain and listen. :)

Oh. And while I'm sitting at McKenzie's kitchen table, she just happens to mention this book - Preparing to be a Helpmeet - which I, on a whim, began to read that night. HOLY COW. Mind. blown.

I've heard this stuff for years, darlings. All my life. "You need to be a woman of God if you expect to marry a man of Godly character", yada-yada-yada-blah-blah-blah..... but this time it was like...
"BAM!" 
It wasn't so much the words, it was that they came at exactly the right moment. I was so full of zest to get started on applying everything I was learning anew, that the night I got home I grabbed a brand-new blank notebook that a sweet girlfriend had given me for my birthday and scribbled in it for upwards of two hours.

I'm on fire. I can hardly sit still. There's SO MUCH I want to do with my life now - my focus has changed entirely from what it used to be, which was along the lines of:

"Sigh, I, the princess, will try my best to be content and wait here, quietly, in my tall tower,

 until my prince arrives on his white horse, 

and I can finally decorate my own castle and have beautiful royal babies".

Now, I feel like I'm a secret agent and I've been handed a mission. To reach my objective, I've got to go out and get some things done! It's extremely important that I train myself accordingly - learn all I can learn, be all I can be. Time is short! This season is only a brief interlude of freedom, in which I can do these things without the added burden of a husband and family to care for.

I have to use it wisely.

Not only do I want to learn everything I should know, and do great and wonderful things and finish cool, amazing projects - I desire to cultivate a heart that is so sweet, so tender, so giving and so thankful, that it sparkles in a beautiful example of Christlikeness. Grow a character that is pure, righteous, and faithful - until I am the woman my man needs. 

Rome wasn't built in a day, folks. If I want to be all that, I'd better get a move on!

When that man comes along (white horse or not) I'm hoping he'll find a prize worth winning - a queen, who has benefited the lives of so many others within her circle of influence, highly skilled and fit for a king, to reign in splendor by his side - but is the picture of Christ, and the first to get her hands dirty and leap to someone's aid if she is needed.

I could go on, but I'll save the rest for another time - I think this is the first in a series of adventures in Singleness that need to be shared! :) Hope you enjoy following along!

Love & Hugs,

In Which I Was a (Barefoot) Bridesmaid

My sweet friends!

Life has been full for me this past month! One of the most wonderful events was the wedding of my dear friend, McKenzie. I could not be happier for her and was incredibly blessed to be part of her special day. 

In the craziness of it all, I didn't take many pictures (or even bring my 'real' camera!) so a few of these are snatched from facebook and uploaded from my iPhone, just so you know. ;) 

 Mason jars, twinkle lights, burlap, lace, candles, and some of the fluffiest baby's breath I've ever seen combined to make a DARLING reception at the bride's home, Pecan Pastures.

But I'm getting ahead of myself!

Ohhhhh, this picture. Every girl deserves to be the most beautiful woman in the world on her wedding day, and just look at her... wow. The pre-wedding bridal shoot was done by Kaitlyn Wright (whose pictures are fall-out-of-your-chair STUNNING, in my opinion).

Three of the nine bridesmaids, the bride's sisters and cousin (middle) - such gorgeous girls! 

It was a pleasure to create the jewelry for all the bridesmaids - more pictures later, in another post! 

The ceremony was held in this graceful old church - aren't the columns striking?! :) 

Hey there! (Haha - this picture makes me think of the scene in National Treasure 2 when Nicolas Cage is peeking over a huge bouquet at Abigail in an elevator in Buckingham Palace) 

Ok, this is possibly the most makeup I have ever worn in my life, but it was a special occasion and there was lots of photography involved. The very precious Beka Lavender touched up my face for me and even managed to leave my eyeshadow job (that I'd done myself) alone! She's amazing! :)

Katie!! She's too sweet, and I am so happy to have met her through this experience of bridesmaiding together. ;) 

Doesn't this puff of adorableness, otherwise known as the flower girl, just make you melt? She was towed down the aisle in a little wagon by the ring bearer, as she's still a baby. AWWW.

I could NOT have done this without the support and encouragement (and WOWZA hairstyling help) from my awesome mother. And doesn't she look beautiful in her pink dress? I was flabbergasted when we found that for her at a thrift store for $8, practically brand-new... score!! :D

And I couldn't believe it when I heard from my sweet online friend Courtney that she would be driving four hours to attend the wedding!! She and the bride have been penpals for ages. It was amazing to finally meet her in person!!

So many cute handmade signs at the reception! The bride's family worked so hard to get everything done, and they did a stellar job! 

Such loveliness! Under the pecan trees, on the green grass, tents and satin-draped chairs and sweet tea and lemonade and wedding cake! Not to mention a table heaped with southern goodies like cheese straws, toasted pecans, and chicken salad-stuffed crescent rolls. 

My first photo with the bride - and the groom photobombed it spectacularly. I CRACKED UP when I saw this picture. She's got herself a keeper, for sure. ;) I am so glad Daniel found McKenzie, they make a perfect pair!

:D They're married!

If Daniel and McKenzie have a marriage anything like my own parents, then they will be blessed indeed. :D I'm so glad my Daddy and one of my brothers could come to the wedding, as it was the first time I'd ever been a bridesmaid. :)

And yes. All of the bridesmaids were barefoot. *shrug* Not my thing for sure, but I'd do just about anything for McKenzie, and it was what she wanted! I was just happy the dresses were floor-length! Something about going shoeless in church was so strange! ;)

Stay tuned for more posts, I'm writing one as soon as I hit publish on this one, because a couple of days ago........ I was on TV. :)

Heart Songs

Hello Darlings!

This week looks exceedingly packed. I am working almost every day, and tomorrow (Sunday) we have an Ultimate Frisbee game and I'll be playing bass guitar for the morning worship service - did I ever tell you the story of how I became a bass player? I'll have to write that sometime. It was hilarious. :D

Anyways. I love it when life revs up like this and the days are jam-packed, a whirl of crazy color and music and laughter. It makes my heart dance.

The only problem with running here and there, to and fro, up hill and down dale, attending this gala and that garden party, is that in all the happy cacophony of noise, sometimes that still, small voice gets drowned out. :(
(ugh. The writer in me cringes at the amount of commas in that last sentence!) ;) Back to my point!

God wants you. Relationship, not reluctance. Communion, not carelessness. Prayer and praise, not procrastination. If you spend a little time each day with Him, life suddenly gets a whole lot sparklier. It's like tuning up your instrument... the song rises and swells until beauty bursts into every corner and cranny and the stress and worries all get squeezed out.

(Random photo of the Hillsong United concert we went to a few months ago, because it was overwhelmingly amazing)

My resolution for this next craaaaazy week is to do *something* every day that brings God and me closer together. Quality time with my father, savior, first love, and best friend.
Hopefully that means taking a few minutes to open the Bible app on my iPhone right after I wake up to sunshine pouring in my windows...
Having a few ongoing conversations with Jesus while I'm standing out in the middle of a field at the Rock Ranch watching exuberant kids on the giant jumping pillow...
raising my hand to lift His name high when I have a second in-between strumming a guitar string, or singing at the top of my lungs while I vacuum the living room carpet. :D

Being a believer doesn't have to be complicated, you know. Sometimes the best relationships in life happen when it's natural and unforced. There's still a choice involved, and it takes an effort on your part... but it's a two-way street. God meets you in the moments you turn to Him. :)

So be encouraged! Take some time to "be" with God this week, whatever that looks like! :)

Love,

How Sweet It Is: {Blooming}

*waves* Hey there!

Hi Everyone!

I know, right? It's been FOREVER! I haven't blogged in way too long. Mostly because I just kept putting it off, but for a few other personal reasons too. (Since that sounded more mysterious than I planned on - I was thinking that my one previous boyfriend might still be reading this blog, but I've decided I don't care. It's my blog and I'm going to blog on it.) ;)

I've been doing so. much. lately. I don't even know where to start, trying to get caught up on posting about things. Oh well! I'll just keep typing and see how it goes. :) The biggest and most wonderful thing? I'm blooming. Where I'm planted. As in... I'm actually REALLY happy about everything in my life right now. I've been having fun and enjoying my family and friends and reading good books and crocheting soft, gorgeous things and cooking great food and dancing and singing and laughing.

**insert big, huge smile**


AND LOOK AT THIS......!!!!

I had the incredible blessing of walking into a thrift store and finding this gem. Namely: a dress, that will be THE MOST PERFECT THING EVER to wear to the English Country Dance Ball I'm attending the weekend of my birthday. Which is next month. :) 

And it came with a wrap of the same pink satin that my genius mother can whip up some lovely wide straps with (which will be just the thing for my modest tastes).

And it was only $20. 

*SCORE!*

It looks much better ON, btw. Right now it rather resembles a flattened flounder at the top, but I assure you that when I'm wearing it it flatters my figure instead. Lol! 

Le Lace Closeup:

I have actually been really blessed in the area of finding modest, pretty clothes lately. ROSS actually had some gorgeous and modest and inexpensive dresses the last time I looked, and I ended up falling in love with (and buying) three! I think some fashion posts might be in order. ;)

A couple months ago, my family and I discovered IKEA.

*cue screeching tires sound effect*

HOLY MACKEREL. If you have never been inside an IKEA, get thee hither forthwith. Seriously. It is a wondrous land that is full of beautiful and contemporary and imaginative and fairly priced home decor, laced with the delicate scent of Swedish meatballs, cream sauce, and lingonberries.

'Tis where I found my new bookcases. :) (at last, my books breathe a sigh of relief as they no longer have to jostle with each other for elbow room, and get crammed in sideways on each other's ends!)

Yum and yay. I love them. 

I've been trying to earn a little extra money (even as I scatter it hither and yon like some spendthrift, on bookcases and dresses) - so I've been doing some special things like the Sweetheart Sale I did for Valentines' day on my jewelry stand:

Just today, actually, I went and babysat for a precious young couple from our church who have the cutest little one-year-old!! He's got blond hair and blue eyes and the most winning smile I've ever seen on a toddler. Also, their house is just too cute for words. I'll take a house and baby like that anytime you want to bring them along, Lord! ;)

And THIS precious one is Owen James. I had the opportunity to do his newborn photoshoot the week before last and his mommy said I could post photos on my blog. :) (But I didn't have time to watermark it so dude, if you steal it, may God have mercy on your soul.) :P

 And last but possibly most exciting, we started a connect group for the young people in our church called "Faith and Frisbee"! Daddy does a fifteen-minute devotional and then we have a game of Ultimate. It has been a blast, and I'm loving it!! (now to uh, actually get in shape so I can show these whippersnappers a thing or two.)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that little glimpse!! Let's see... before I go (and I hope to be back posting soon, but I'm not promising anything) I'm also going to be a bridesmaid in September for the first time ever, for my incredibly sweet and godly and amazing friend McKenzie, and this spring I'll be working the pony rides at the Rock Ranch pretty regularly. And I'm planning to be at the GHEA convention in June, so if you're there, look me up! :D

Oh yeah! Yesterday my brothers, mom and I went to see the movie "God's Not Dead." WOOHOO!! It was totally awesome. God is NOT dead, he's surely alive, and he's the lover of my soul, my closest friend, and the creator of the universe who is completely in control of my destiny and future. Heady stuff. :)

Love & hugs, friends! If you've missed me, drop me a comment and I'll reply! ;)

A Beautiful Beach Wedding

Our trip to Florida was wonderful, and we had such a fabulous time... but of course, the highlight of the trip was my cousin's wedding.

Denise is probably the cousin I spent the most time with. She is only one year younger than I am and we played together at every family gathering and Thanksgiving dinner when we still lived in Florida.

I remember when my cousins lost their house in hurricane Charlie, and Denise came up to Naples to stay with us for ten days while they were without power. It was almost like having a sister for a week-and-a-half. :)

I couldn't have been happier for her on her wedding day. I hadn't seen her for years and years, and my first sight of her was when she came down the aisle on her father's arm, her strawberry-blonde hair glowing copper in the bright sunlight... but her smile was even brighter! :D

Denise and Lewis are a very special couple with a unique story. When we heard it, we were all for their union, but it wasn't until I saw them together, standing underneath the bamboo trellis draped with a delicate chiffon cloth and a flower garland, looking so very much in love, that I knew how truly wonderful this match was.
God was smiling that day.

I felt tears brimming in my eyes when Lewis and Denise bowed their heads and Lewis began to pray, quietly, so that only Denise could hear him. 

The reception afterwards at my Aunt and Uncle's house was a sweet time of fellowship and celebration. Giant tissue-paper pom-poms hung from the branches of the palms outside and from the ceiling inside, and the table on the porch groaned under the trays of delightfully delicious snacks... plus there was a chocolate fountain with fruit-and-marshmallow-kebobs for dipping. Yum!

The beautiful cake was not only tasty, it was also symbolic. Chocolate and Vanilla, half-and-half... but one cake. :D

I hope you enjoyed that little peek at the special day! I have more pictures to share soon, so stay tuned. ;)

2011- It's been good.

I almost let the last day of the year slip by without a blog post to mark it. But then I noticed some of my sweet friends doing posts and thought it would be a beautiful experience to write my own on the last day of 2011. :D

First, a neat picture I snatched that perfectly captures the changing tides of these years...

This year, I.....

• Became a better blogger! My total of posts for this year (including the articles I wrote for MOHL) is 102! Counting this post. :D Last year I only wrote 34 posts for Julia's Journal, mostly due to my old XP computer that didn't work very quickly.
• Got a new very cute laptop that helped greatly in becoming a better blogger, email-er, and writer.

• Nearly finished my novel, Lissie, set in Jane Austen's Regency world and with a similar but completely different plot line than Miss Austen's works. (I almost finished it this year, but I'm not quite at The End yet... but I'm only about 5 pages away, which is pretty close!) I'm very excited about it and have lots of ideas for the sequel swimming around in my mind.

• Went to two beautiful weddings, my cousin Kristen's on January 1st, and my friend Lauren's on December 3rd.
• Learned of two delightful engagements, my cousin Katie and my friend Allison H.
• Crocheted an ENORMOUS - thing. For Katie's wedding present. :) I will share pictures of it after I give it to her... don't want to spoil the surprise. :D

• Became even closer to my infinitely sweet friends in the group of MOHL writers! They are the sisters I never had. The weekly IM chats we've started doing refresh my soul and make me laugh so hard that tears run down my cheeks. There's nothing like Godly sisterhood.

• Improved my homemaking skills!
• Enjoyed fresh produce from our garden all year long!
• Hid under my bed while my parents butchered our first batch of meat chickens. ;)

• Went to the GHEA convention, and ran a booth in the exhibit hall for my jewelry and ebooks, which was such an amazing, thrilling, tiring, enriching experience. Met so many nice people that I don't even remember them all - sigh.
• Began regularly homechurching again with a great group of friends 30 minutes away from us.
• Found more fun blogs to follow and read! A list might be forthcoming.

• Discovered Perry Mason! ;)
• Started reading the "At Home in Mitford" series aloud to my family in the evenings, and reading the Bible and discussing it for a short time every morning at the breakfast table. I have so enjoyed this and I feel like my family is more closely-knit than ever... such a warm and cozy feel! It's truly wonderful.

•  Turned 20 years old in the lovely, fresh month of April. :)
• Gave my bedroom a stunning makeover to celebrate my birthday. Thanks for doing such a stellar job on my curtains and pillows, Mama!

• Watched a million (or so) movies with my brothers. :D Love you guys. I am so glad I have brothers who enjoy an intelligent movie (like a Jane Austen) as much as a just-for-fun one (Like Cars 2)
• Helped abovementioned brothers sort their vast collection of lego bricks by color.
• Went to see Courageous in the theater! (It was awesome.)
• Improved my frisbee skills with a lot of practice and sweat and dirt, spending quality time with my brothers and our friends up in P.T. city.
• Read a bunch of books, finding a few new favorite authors and a few authors I didn't care for. Dee Henderson was one of the authors whose books I liked tremendously, especially the Uncommon Heroes series about Navy SEALs.

• Drew a little closer to God, for which I am unutterably grateful and thankful.
• Began rising earlier in the mornings, and discovered I get much more done in the day when I do.
• Went through 2 months of Daddy not having any work, and learned to trust that the Lord's provision will always be there for the things we really need.
• Kept scribbling in my current little real-life journal, continuing the record of my life thus far that I started at age 11.

..... And did many other things that I don't have room to share. (Well, technically I do, but super-long blog posts get a little old...)



Winter is here, but so far it's been mild. I am looking forward to the coming of Spring, and yet knowing there are some hard days ahead sprinkled among the easy ones. January's frosts and February's cold winds are coming, but so are March's blossoms and April's soft breezes.

 Next Year, I'll....

•  Take my driver's license test on January 10th. And finally be able to go places and run errands on my own. A sobering, yet exhilarating thought.
• Go to three homeschool conventions to sell my jewelry! I'll be in Spartanburg, South Carolina for the Teach Them Diligently convention, Atlanta, GA for the GHEA convention, and North Carolina for the NCHE convention. If you're going to be at any of those, I'd love to meet you!
• (hopefully) start going to a ladies' gym with my mom. We're still waiting to decide on that, weighing the pros and cons.
• Play some more Ultimate Frisbee.
• Visit my Grandma in Florida
• Get to meet my sweet friend Rachelle in person! Still working on the hopeful details of that, but I am praying 'extra hard' for it to work out.
• Participate in the His Word in Our Hearts challenge that Meditations of His Love is doing this year, all year!
• Read more,
• Work more,
• Laugh more,
• Love more,
• Live more.

I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be another beautiful year.

 Happy New Year!

Learning Never Ceases

Hello world!

Boy, sometimes it's scary thinking that anybody in the world who finds my blog can read what little me has to say. Then other times I laugh and say "Hello world, isn't it a beautiful day?" ;)

I spent a ton of money this week on beads. You see, after my last jewelry show I was cleaned out, and my little (okay, HUGE) stash of beads needed to be replenished with both some basics, and some fresh items to jazz up my existing inventory.

I was feeling euphoric when I walked out of Jo-Ann fabrics with a sack full of plunder a few days ago (they had a 40% off sale on their beads, woohoo!) But the order to Fire Mountain (the online place I get my basics like headpins, beading wire, and crimp tubes... you know, the stuff that holds my bits of glorious sparkle together...) left me feeling ukky. I cringed when I looked at the total. (gold and silver has gone waaaay up. Forget about through the roof, we're banging into the moon at this point) And then I sent up a devout prayer that I would sell enough jewelry to cover my expenses... and maybe, perhaps, possibly, make a teensy bit of profit. :D

I'm still praying.

As for other news...

I found this free wordart the other day and saved it for inspiration. :D



My mom and dad talked to us recently about 'the finishing process' and how their job now is to give us the final polish for us to be ready to be adults. ;) Mom compared us to a green tomato... how we're fully grown but not ripened all the way yet. :D It was very inspiring and I thought her object prop was brilliant. :D My mommy is so wise.

One of the gifts and skills Mama wants to pass on to me is learning to play the piano by chords, so that I could play for a worship service if I ever had the opportunity. I already play by ear but haven't learned my chords yet. Should be fun! :)

 She also wants to help me develop my voice. Mama is fully equipped to be a voice teacher, packing a double major in music and education. So now those teaching skills are going to be turned full blast my way. :) I'm looking forward to it. I love to sing, and I'm excited about polishing my voice.

Another thing I want to 'polish' is... my writing.

I hope to be back soon with a recipe for my very favoritest it's-so-good-I-could-just-sink-through-the-floor soup, made with a delectable creamy broth and ham and potatoes. Also celery. And we're having it for dinner! *dances*

Until then, I hope you have a lovely week!

I Went to a Wedding

.... and this is What I Wore... ;)

I don't get a chance to 'dress up' very often these days, so I made sure to get pictures while I was looking all fancy-shmancy. :D

 And the hair! Oh my! I wanted to wear it up, but was bored with all the buns I'd been doing recently, so I tried modifying a hairstyle that I first saw on Elizabeth Botkin. :D Anna Sophia actually told me how she did it. (You know, I may not agree with them on some of their doctrine and beliefs... but you have to admit, those girls always look so classy!) :D

I call it... "The Asymmetric Wad (which is half-falling-apart)".

When I had at last finished pinning the loose, silky mass to the back of my head, I surveyed the effect in the mirror, gave an "oh well" shrug of my shoulders, and proceeded to have my mother spray about a quart of hairspray on it to hopefully stick it together. :D

I was shocked, stunned, and blown away by how many compliments I got! :D I think I ended up explaining to fourteen separate people how I did my hair. Lol!

This post is interrupted to tell you how much I love, love, LOVE this outfit. :D

The blazer, which I adore and have worn to the past five or so formal occasions I've attended, I found at Ross. I think it was $20 and part of a set with a really short skirt, but the blazer was perfect.

The lacy top I'm wearing underneath it I found at Walmart a couple of years ago.

The dark gray wool skirt I found at Goodwill for $5 with the tags still on it, it's an Anne Taylor Loft and the original price tag said $85.00!!! Now that's the way I like to buy my clothes! I wish that kind of a deal smacked me in the face more often. ;)

The black not-that-high heels are from Walmart from a few years ago. They have cute little bows made from strips of leather at the corners.

And here's me with my handsome brothers! They looked seriously spiffy, and I just love how we all match... ;) See how I never feel that tall? They make me feel short. And I'm not. :D

Daddy and the boys... (This ^ photo has a funny story "behind" it. Mark leaped into place as I was photographing Steven and Daddy, and, liking the composition, I snapped the picture.) ;)

Such fine-looking menfolks I'm related to! I absolutely love those argyle vests we picked up from a Yard Sale, nearly brand new. :D I wish I could have gotten a picture of Mama, but I didn't have a chance before it was time to leave.

I also wish I had taken a few pictures at the wedding, which was lovely, but the bride had emailed me saying they were asking everyone to not take pictures so that their professional photographers wouldn't be bothered. Rest assured, it was beautiful. The colors were Apple Red, Black, and Silver-Gray... and the reception food was the best I'd ever had, and I've been to over 20 weddings at least. :D There was a chocolate fountain with things to dip in it like... strawberries, rice-krispy treats on a stick, bananas, oreos, marshmallows, and a host of other things that taste good dunked in chocolate. The rice-krispy treat was my absolute fave. :D

Anyhow, I'm hoping you enjoyed this little peek into my life as of late. :D

I am thankful for... Love

 Today, I am thankful for ...Love!

I wrote a post for Meditations of His Love that I would love for you to read. :)

To find it, click here.

Not to sound redundant, but I really would love it if you would come back and tell me what you thought of the post by leaving me a comment! :D

Find more 30 Days of Thankfulness posts at http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com !

Have a Lovely day! ;)

I'm thankful for those who "show Jesus".

Welcome to day 1 of my part in the 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge hosted by Miss Rachel! :)

This one has a story behind it. Recently I bought a new music album. I wasn't planning on it, but as soon as I listened to the previews on iTunes, I knew I had to have it. :D

The album was "One Song at a Time" by Jamie Grace. And this post is about my favorite song from the album... "Show Jesus".



And yaaaaay, I found a video of the song and lyrics on YouTube! You really must watch it, it brings a smile to my face every time I listen to it! :)
And wow. Do I ever wish somebody would write a song like this inspired by me someday. I want it to be 'written all over' my face, the way I love Jesus.

I am so thankful for the people in my life who 'show Jesus' in everything they do. You can just "tell". They know him. It's in the way they look, what they say, and what they do. It is so special, and so rare.

The world is watching, my fellow Christians. What will we show them?