Summer

Summer is great, yet no one is around anymore to hangout with! So i have resulted to summer classes once again, also not a good idea if your wondering! World Lit is providing a new challenge for school. Whether or not to read books that go against everything I stand for and to agree with what the teacher wants to hear or actually speak what I believe. To sum up world lit so far, I have read 3 of the 4 books so far- because morally I just couldn't bring myself to fill my mind with the horrors of our 4th book.

May was a busy month for me...rephrase INSANE month! Finished up my semester on the President's List with a semester 4.0, then packed my bags and headed for Florida with my Reformed University Fellowship friends for a week. I needed the break, the last semester was the hardest yet and I week of discipleship and relaxing was good for me! Then I went on family vacation with my parents and my cousin Camber to Boston. It was great we saw the so many things. The highlight of the trip was the last night and getting to whale watch. Though we did think we were going to die because it was sooo cold and the wind was horrible. But we survied and I got some awesome pictures! But in all the last 2 months have been crazy but so much fun! :-)

Crazy Day in the Life of Annie

Wow this semester so far has been one long ride! Between tests, 3 jobs, RUF and church I'm kinda running on empty i feel like. I really want to get back into blogging weekly! Today I was really convicted about being ready in and out of season to share my faith. God literally put an opportunity in my hands and I didn't take it. I walked away.... I got a nice size slap on my hand when the person came back up to me to chat. Even through me walking away God still accomplished His purpose of me talking with this person today. It so convicted me of my pride and unwillingness to be used. Plus truly amazed me that once i realized why He wanted me to talk to the person the words and scripture He brought to mind! God truly used today to refocus me and greatly encourage!

Psalms 145:16-21
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;He will also hear their cry and will save them. The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Fit for the King

A woman of virtue
In our post-modern culture of today, added with man's sin nature we have this mind set that the outside beauty is all that matters in any relationship. The world sees that you "catch" a guy with looks, yet that's leading down the road of destruction and great heart ache. Five, ten or 2 years down the when one prettier in the worlds eyes comes along, what do you think will happen?? Take Ruth for example, she proved herself to have a virtuous character, through her husband and her father in-laws deaths then following her mother-in-laws to a foreign country, to live and work. Yet what did Boaz notice, Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. Ruth 2:10-11 He noticed Ruth's character over her looks, a godly character is far above rubies, and will last when the outward beauty is faded, the inward will shine through. A woman of virtuous character will be irresistible to a man of godly character. Yet this is not the reason we should strive for a virtuous character, this is just a second blessing. The real reason is to please our heavenly Father.
Our world today seems to only see the outside, with the influence of Hollywood and the must be perfect mindset. Yet God has provided a real description of beauty in His word. "Your adornment must not be {merely} external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3;3-4
This is the only form of beauty that grows as time goes on. Also think about this, Proverbs 31:10-31 has 20 verses describing God's picture of a beautiful woman, how many talk about outward things? One and only one verse does. See if a woman would spend 1/20 of her time on outward beauty and 19/20 on the inward, the amount of Proverbs 31 women would we have in this world. King Solomon in Proverbs nailed this point on the head, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, {But} a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30 Do you really think a man of godly character wants to spend his days with a shallow woman only focused on her outward beauty. This inward beauty is not something that comes with age or when there's an engagement ring on your finger, its a life long goal, which should be worked for, for all a woman's life. Looks are just a outward snare that are superficial, but a woman of character won't fall into this snare if she is seeking virtue diligently. In all things being Spirit filled as it says in Eph. 5:18 is the first step in seeking this pearl of great price of a virtuous character. The imitation pearls over time will crack and break but one who allows the Spirit in will not.

The Pearl
In every oyster there lies the ability
to produce something rare
Truth like a grain of sand will produce
the pearl that is hidden there.

Young woman you are often mocked and scorned
And told you never should have been born
You want to run away to hide your hurt
Your heart is wounded, bleeding and torn.

God makes not mistakes
every life is special,
every life is planned.
Seeds can sprout in sand.

Open yourselves up to the Spirit of God
Grow in grace and maturity
Be what he wants you to be
Your beauty your strength lies deep within you.

Young woman, young girl,
open yourselves up to God
Allow Him to reveal your pearl He placed within.
Unknown

"Like a lily among thorns"

A few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking…the conversation turned to passed mistakes and those childish crushes we have all had. Then the conversation turned serous, when we started talking about were there really any guys out there still ~Set apart by God~. My answer to her was yes, yet it got me to thinking. As we look around today, in our culture of dating, breaking up and heart ache..it looks as if I was mistaken. Yet I know I wasn’t. Where our frustration comes in, is that from childhood we as women are taught to be leaders, take control, have a career and put it first, pursue guys, not to wait, conform to what the world thinks is right. In many cases, this leaves women heart broken…our cultures theology has a nice way of backfiring on us. Laying it all on the line, is today’s culture….not holding back, heaven forbid we be called churchy and pure. Yet getting called those names…should be an honor.(even if they are not meant to be) As Christian women, we are called to give to pen to our lives back to God, He writes our life story not us. Allowing Him to provide is the only way to not fall into the trap of today’s culture. Since we are called, in Romans to be set apart,

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:2

If we as women, hold back…grow in our spiritual lives, and trust God’s wonderful plan…a lot of headache can be avoided. Keep your standards high, Gods standard is the only one to live by. Most girls of today, give up those values of Biblical standards, for what our culture tells us is *acceptable*…this is not what we should be living by, the “acceptable” but the pure and holy. As it says in the Song of Solomon “"Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens." Holiness and purity, a white lily…is what we as women are called to.

To realize
The value of a sister
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when
you can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.