I am thankful for... Protection

We are experiencing some stormy weather here in my neck of the woods today. There are tornado warnings for our area and a few minutes ago I heard the tornado sirens wailing. This kind of made my stomach do a few little flips.

But you know what? It's moments like these that make me grateful that I have a big strong God on my side. :) He is there to shelter and protect his children like me. And I am SO thankful for that.

So, have a nice day. I'm going to get a few flashlights together in case we lose power, and gather up a pillow and blanket in case we have to go into my little half-bath in the middle of the house. But I can do this without any fear in my heart, because My Father is watching over me and hears my prayers. :)

I'm Thankful for Forgiveness

Still going on with the challenge that is blessing me every day! :)

http://younghomemakers.blogspot.com

Today I'm thankful for Forgiveness.

Without forgiveness, the world would be a bleak place full of anger and revenge. Granted, parts of it are that way... but "There's a lot of love out there, you know, man?" - sorry, that's one of our favorite quotes from a fun movie we enjoy... :D *Inside joke alert* Ahem. Anyway -

Of course, the biggest, most important, breathtaking example of forgiveness is God. He forgave our sins and sent his only begotten son (Which means the only son that he begat, or came from him...) to die on the cross for our sins. And he did die. But then he rose again on the third day, completely alive and resurrected from the dead.

And while on the cross, he forgave. He took the penalty for us and died in our place. His sacrifice even wiped out sins that had not been committed yet! Our sins that we would sin over 2,000 years later.

But there's one thing we have to do to take part in that gift that he gave us by paying the price for our transgressions.

We have to accept his forgiveness.

We have to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we believe in him, and ask for his forgiveness by repenting from our sins (Repent means to do a 180 and completely turn your life around, which he helps us to do) And he already gave before we asked. So it's there, waiting for us to accept. What a wonderful thing!

And once we accept the forgiveness that God is offering, we are saved from a terribly painful and horrible eternal existence.

Then, with the Lord's help, we can become more like Jesus. We can offer our own forgiveness to others who have wronged us. And we're not doing it for them. We do it for us. You can either forgive somebody for a sin they comitted against you, or you can sin yourself by carrying around a black, stinking load of bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart.

I choose to forgive! Even though it's tough. And I am so thankful for the possibility to forgive, because I have been forgiven. :)

I am thankful for forgiveness! Are you?

The Dangers of Mr. Darcy

That must be one of my most intriguing blog post titles. :D I'm sure you're curious about what could possibly be dangerous about Mr. Darcy, the most popular hero of all the popular Jane Austen novels.

First things first! :)

Mr. Darcy, when we first meet him in the book... or in either of the two newest movie adaptations... is proud. With rather good reason... he comes from one of the oldest families in England and owns "half of Derbyshire". He's incredibly wealthy.

He's also handsome. And tall. With an inscrutable air of mystery about him.




And then he meets this girl... Elizabeth Bennett.

She's witty, and captivating, and beautiful. Three things that we all like to imagine ourselves to be. 

Mr. Darcy's heart is softened. He falls head over well-shod heels in love with this girl, Lizzy, who comes from a rather ordinary background. Just observe the look of tender adoration in his eyes in the picture above!

They eventually marry, and live happily forever after.

So what's wrong with that? What could possibly be so terrible about a wholesome story like this?

Nothing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this story. I actually enjoy it very much myself and own both a copy of the book and 2 different "Pride and Prejudice"movies.

 Herein lies the danger, my sweet friends:

One word - Obsession.

I've done it too! Before you start to think that I'm pointing fingers, let me say I am as guilty of imagining how wonderful it would be like to marry a man like Mr. Darcy as the next girl. :D

What is wrong with this whole situation is.... when we young ladies begin to absorb ourselves in imaginary worlds of fantasizing about now-perfect heroes, we lose sight of reality. (Now-perfect being even better than perfect, because he has learned his lesson and now will never fail us again) And therefore, when reality smacks us in the face as we blindly run into it while in some daydream about tall, dark, and handsome (RICH) men, we quickly grow discontent.

Girls, real guys are not like Mr. Darcy.

Real guys are not rich. They do not live in perfect mansions with millions of dollars in the bank and servants at their beck and call to banish every miniscule need. Most guys are not wealthy. The style of life which you would be accustomed to would not include your own maids.

This means... you have to do the cooking. And cleaning. And laundry. And when blessed with the incredible joy of children, diaper-changing, feeding, bathing, and all the many tasks that come with raising another little human. It's hard! There's a lot of work to be done! We won't be ladies of leisure if we marry "real" guys.

Real guys are not always "Cuuuuute!" or "Dreamy" or whatever word you wish to describe male perfection. Some of them are, yeah. The models and actors in all the movies and magazines are. But they have a team of makeup artists. And photo-editors that airbrush out all the blemishes and pump up the muscles.

Real guys are just that... real. They have faults. They have flaws. But guess what? So do we! Do any of us girls look like Elizabeth Bennett 24-7, all the time? Maybe some of us look 'as good' as her, when we're all dressed up with our makeup on. But we're not perfect. We have flaws and problems.

Real guys might have a crooked nose. Or a mole on their face. Or they might not be what one could call "handsome" at all. But you know what? If you marry a godly, sweet guy who treats you well and happens to have crooked teeth instead of the stuck-up, unchristian jerk with bulging muscles, you'll end up happier in the long run.

So ladies, don't measure the guys in your life against Mr. Darcy. Don't get  caught up in fantasizing and daydreaming about characters in your romance novels, and don't expect the real men to act like fictional products of imagination.

Okay! Sermonette over. Now let's go watch a period drama... :D

But tell me...

I've been pondering something lately. It might seem like a simple thing, or something that can be quietly put to the side once in a while... but we just can't do that. Our very character is compromised when we don't have Truth coming from our lips.

{I designed this image with wordart from summertimedesigns, and if you take it without asking I will not appreciate it} ;)

"...Tell me I'm perfect... but tell me the truth." I love this.

It is so important to speak the truth instead of lies, error, and falsehoods...

...Or even flattery!

There's an expression used here in the South for when someone is just spewing empty words of praise without really meaning it. It's called "Sloppin' Sugar".

I despise it! I would rather someone told me right up front what they really think (as long as they did it in a Christ-like manner) than have somebody 'cozy up' to me and say things that sound nice, but are not true. 

It is so sweet to know people who speak the truth. You always know what their true feelings are - they are honest, frank, and open. They are not without tact, and do not speak bluntly or unkindly, but they are not afraid to tell you their honest opinion. I want to be one of those people.

Jesus did not sugar-coat the truth with flattery, and I know he never told a lie.

From John 14:6 - Jesus speaking:
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.Jesus was truth. But he spoke the truth with love. As we should also.

Ephesians 4:14 & 15: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

(15) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

We should never speak harshly or unkindly, and we need to be careful that our opinions and beliefs line up with the Word of God. And we can never force our convictions on other people - they will have to make the decision for themselves whether they believe something or not. But we need to be forthright and honest, and speak what we know to be the truth.

With a heart overflowing with gratitude for the loved ones in my life I can trust to speak the truth, and the book I can always turn to when I need to know the truth, I wish you a blessed rest of the week!

Choose an Identity

Have you ever had one of those moments when something catches your eye... and you feel a little jolt as an unexpected thought enters your mind... and you realize it was God speaking?

That happened to me just the other day. I was leaving a comment somewhere and entering text into the comment box for the thousandth time, when something jumped out at me.

(See it? ^ Right there!)

...Choose An Identity.

Do you see those words up there in the blogger comment form picture? Choose an identity. Woah.

Immediately, I was reminded of this piece of scripture:

Choose you this day whom ye will serve.

Because, if you think about it - whoever you're serving is who you're identifying yourself with. When you completely align yourself with someone and decide to serve them, they become part of, if not all of, your identity.

If that sounds strange, it's not. We all serve somebody or something. Our selves, or our families, or our spouse, or our boss, or.......... God.

I knew that it the phrase I was thinking of, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve", was scripture, but like a lot of bits and pieces of scripture I have memorized... I didn't know where in the Bible it was. So I opened up my handy e-sword program on my laptop and searched for it in my electric King James Bible.

And found it.

It's from the book of Joshua. Chapter 24, verse 15. But the verse makes a lot more sense if you read the scripture around it and realize the context.

So here it is, unabridged - Joshua 24:14-18.

{Background: This is the last chapter of Joshua, a book chronicling the amazing story of the Hebrews' escape from the terrible slavery in Egypt, and all the things God had done for them in order to provide a way for them to leave. Joshua is speaking to the people. }
(14) Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

(15) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
(16) And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
(17) For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

         (18) And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.

*chills running up and down my arms* Wow.

WHO do I serve? Myself? I need to be serving God. And I especially do NOT need to be serving Satan.

"Woah-ho-ho", you might sputter, "wait a minute! You seem like a nice Christian young lady. Serving Satan? I mean, come on, isn't that a little ... dramatic?"

No. It isn't.

Every time an unkind remark proceeds out of my mouth and causes a disagreement, an argument, or even World War III, every time I shirk my God-given duties as a daughter and a sister, every time I turn away from doing something I know is right, and every time I do something I know is wrong and the Bible says is a sin... I am serving the enemy.

I wholeheartedly desire to serve my Lord and God. Sometimes I don't put my full efforts into living for Him, and at best act halfheartedly. But He desires (and deserves) my whole heart. So I'm giving it to Him.

Join me. Let's band together and serve the Most High God with every fiber of our beings, and choose an identity in Him.

Post-a-Day #15

You know, I am really enjoying all the comments my 'Post-a-Day' posts are getting! Now my problem is ... replying to them all! :D So ... don't worry if I haven't commented back yet, it's just because I have so many people to respond to. :)





Sigh. For lack of really 'interesting' subject material, you will have to put up with another old 'What I've been doing recently" post. :) Hopefully you don't mind too much......





Let's see... I have been drying flowers in my closet:



(Sorry about the awful lighting - ick...) My dad brought home from work the beautiful bouquet that these flowers came from - the Landscape Design company he works for also runs a florist shop on the side, and Daddy occasionally comes home with 'leftovers'! :D (I love it!)

I've also been reading "Just Jane" by Nancy Moser, a sort of Novel/Biography of Jane Austen's Life... I found it quite believable and most amusing. :)
From that book I also learned that there isn't really a portrait of Jane Austen - they created one after her death from an unfinished pencil sketch her sister Cassandra drew.  Interesting, no?

So, my readers, I have ....

A Question!

"What would you like me to write about?"



I'll be curious to see your answers. :) If you're drawing a blank, here are a few suggestions for you to choose from, if you so desire...

• Recipes
• More Photos
• Poems/Scripture
• Links to my fav blogs
• Random Ramblings (haha)
• My opinions on practical matters

That's basically all I can think of at the moment... hopefully there's a reader lurking out there who will be inspired to write me a stellar, bright, witty comment with lots of inspiration in it! :D

What Would You Choose?

Lately I read this book, "The Parting" by Beverly Lewis. It's about a young Amish girl named Nellie Mae. She finally gets the chance of a lifetime when Caleb, the very handsome guy she secretly has had a crush on for three years, asks her to 'go steady' with him. They fall in love. Meanwhile, Nellie's father talks to a relative who's recently been 'shunned' by the Amish community for daring to declare that he was "saved", a big no-no for Old Order Amish, who believe that it is prideful to 'boast' of salvation, and that you just have to live a good life and hope for the best. Well, Nellie's father talks to this shunned relative and ends up being convinced that there's more to God than he originally thought. He goes home and starts to read passages in his Bible that he's never read before, because his religion only believes in select parts of the Bible. He reads John Chapter 3, and is convinced that God does promise salvation. He shares this with his family.


Nellie is shocked. But then she becomes intrigued by this "New Faith" and desires it for herself. She's long had an empty place deep inside.

Only problem is... if she accepts this 'new faith', she'll lose Caleb. He's strictly "Old Order", and he will not be swayed from his position for anything.

Ouch. I got to thinking about this sticky situation. Can you imagine what a hard choice it would be to have to choose between a new faith and the very handsome young man whose attention you've always dreamed of capturing?

Of course you will probably say "Oh, well, I'd choose the faith" to reassure yourself.

Stop and think about it. You know nothing about this faith. You think you know everything about this handsome, blond, young man.

Which do you think is the right choice?

What would you choose?

I'd love it if you let me know by leaving a comment.

Blessings!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...Let Us Not Freeze...

In one week my family and I are driving all the way up to Michigan to visit my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and my cousins and their children. :) Above is a picture my aunt sent us of some of the snow they had recently... yikes. :D My two younger brothers are SOOO excited about actually building snowmen, snowforts, and having snowball fights! Woohoo!!

I, on the other hand, realize that all that snow means one thing. *COLD*!! And we grew up in South-Western Florida. Also my brothers and I have never seen more snow than just a light dusting once in Tennessee.

So I'm really hoping I'll be able to cope with the weather conditions! I'm planning on taking plenty of warm sweaters, thick fluffy socks, scarves, and mittens, a warm down coat, and yes... long underwear... so I think I'll be as prepared as possible. :)

Do any of you have tips on staying warm in cold weather? I could use some!

Blessings!

Julia

Currently I'm feeling: Peaceful.

VOTE FOR ME!

No, I am not running for president and I never plan on doing so and all political comments will be deleted. :D LOL. Not really, but please don't turn this into a political discussion.

This is what I want you to vote on.

Which template?

1)

2)3) The orangey one I have now.

Please, please vote! I like both of the new ones and am having an awful time choosing which one to try! :)

Julia

Hola, Amigas! :)

Fall is in the air!! It's so lovely outside, with the leaves just starting to change colors and a little cool breeze blowing around. I love Autumn! :)

(The Movie Quiz is still going! Leave your guesses!)

Love,
Julia

P.S.
HAPPY AUTUMN!!!

Exposing Narnia

Now hold on, before you get all riled up and mad at me I want to say that I do not want to offend anyone or start a long involved conversation on C.S. Lewis's background and religious beliefs. :) But there is information out there that I believe needs to be considered. I have just found a good source of info at this blog, Exposing Narnia, and it has some very important information about certain aspects of the Chronicles of Narnia that are quite disturbing...and true.

Please, if you have read the Chronicles of Narnia or watched any of the movies or are in any way interested about knowing more about the things behind it, please click here and read this blog thoroughly, especially some of the links.

I'm praying that all of you who read the blog will be enlightened as you peruse the information. Form your own conclusions...I've formed mine.

Blessings to all of you, my dear readers.

Julia

I Got An E-mail The Other Day...

...And it was quite a shock. It was a quiz of sorts, of how "Girly" you were. I am really out of touch with our culture if this is the typical "Girly" there is out there.

Many of the items (The majority, I'd say...) on the list were decidedly worldly, immoral, and most UN-Biblical. These I mentally labeled as fitting with the "Worldly Girl" stereotype.

Some of the items on the list were neutral, and what I consider completely a personal preference, i.e. if you love horses or if you just don't care for them too much.

Lastly, a very few items on the list squeezed into fitting with my idea of a Biblically feminine young woman.

Here is the original list:

How Girly Are You~
Check what applies to you:


[ ]my fingernails/toenails are almost always painted

[ ] during the summer the only shoes I wear are flip flops

[ ] my favorite toys as a child were Barbie

[ ] my favorite color is PINK or PURPLE

[ ] I did/do gymnastics

[ ] I love skirts

[ ]Hollister is one of my favorite places to shop

[ ] I love tight jeans

[ ] I love chocolate

[ ]I've never had a real job

[ ]my hair is almost always straightened

[ ] I have a myspace

[ ]I would love to hang out at the mall with friends

[ ]I have a real diamond ring

[ ] I've gone to a tanning salon

[ ]I've gone to the beach to tan

[ ]I have more than 10 pairs of shoes not including slippers

[ ] I wear a shower cap

[ ]my cell phone might as well be part of me

[ ]I wear mascara everyday

[ ]I've been or am on a diet

[ ] bathing suits are cute

[ ] I don't know the difference between a sheep and a goat

[ ]big sunglasses are really cute!

[ ]I have gotten my nails done before

[ ]I own over 10 purses

[ ]MTV is one of my favorite channels

[ ]all I want to do at sleepovers is talk about boys

[ ] I love to have people do my hair

[ ] I give and receive hugs from all my friends

[ ] I hate bugs.

[ ]carnivals are so fun!

[ ]Summer is the BEST!

[ ]I'm waiting for my knight in shining armor

[ ] some musicians are hot

[ ] I am self-conscious

[ ]I cry often.

[ ]my car smells like vanilla or cherry

[ ]my dishes get washed more than once a week

[ ]I don't do sports

[ ]I don't like to run!!!

[ ]I squeal when I'm surprised.

[ ]I eat dried fruit as snack

[ ]I love romance novels

[ ]I dance around the house

[ ]I usually spend an hour or over to get ready to leave my house

[ ] I only have like 5 billion hair products

[ ]I love to get dressed up.

[ ]every part of my outfit needs to match

[ ] I talk on the phone at least once a day.

[ ]I apply lip stuff 50 times a day

[ ]I wish I looked like a model

[ ] hip hop is the best music

[ ] I pop my collar

[ ]I like to be the center of attention

[ ] guys with mohawks are weird

[ ] horses are beautiful

[ ] I'd rather not pay attention in school

[ ]kittens are adorable

[ ] I write my own music

[ ]I'd love to visit Hawaii

[ ] Valentines day is cute!

[ ] white is better than black.

[ ]my closet is CHOCK FULL of clothes. (I don't wear half of them though)

[ ]I love to read magazines.

[ ] I love to talk

[ ] I had Lisa Frank folders/posters/notebooks as a kid

[ ] my bubble baths are 1-2 hrs long

[ ] I have or still do plan ahead for my wedding

[ ]my friends and I are in a tight group

[ ] I like little kids(sometimes)

[ ]diet drinks are the best

[ ] I'm all about being vegetarian

[ ] I try my hardest not to eat McDonalds

[ ]I check my myspace/bebo/email daily

[ ] I love life, every second of it.

[ ] I have a lot of jewelry

[ ] my screen name(s) have x's in them

[ ] I have a friend named Ashley

[ ] anything can be cute.

[ ] it rocks to be a chick

[ ]it's not what they said it's the way they said it.

[ ]it's not what we should do it's what we shouldn't do.

[ ]pillows are soft and fluffy, I have more than 3 pillows on my bed

[ ]you love to play card games

[ ]you'd rather go shopping than on a hike.

[ ]something is fuzzy or soft...you gotta have it!

[ ]you love roses

[ ] you've cried in a movie.

[ ] boys are either jerks or really nice.

[ ] it's bad when something happens and it's still bad the next day.

Some of these things shocked me. (Can you guess which?) Some I was okay with...I happen to love roses...and some were iffy. I could say SO much more about these topics but for now I'm just asking for your opinion. What do you think about the items on this list? Does any of it mirror you? What did you dislike the most on this list?

Please let me know.

Julia