Today, I Fell in Love

Looking at the title again, it is, admittedly, a bit deceptive.



However, you are reading this, am I not correct?



Okay, so I really didn't fall in love today. It's more that I've been thinking about the love I'm already drowning in. But no, for those of you who are still wondering, I'm not actually in love. At least, not in the traditional sense. But while we're on the topic, why is 'falling in love' so important to us? Have you ever noticed that when someone gets engaged, or even just starts dating, it seems to be the juiciest news?

Why are we (human beings in general) so concerned with people's 'love lives'?
Because we are relational people. We need to love. We need to feel loved. It's the way God made us.

But I look around at so many young people who are already involved in dating relationships, and even at my own heart dreaming about what it'll be like 'some day' after I get married, and I can't help but think that God must have had something better in mind. He must have had a better reason for making us people who need to be loved. Of course, He does. He has given us a 'God-shaped hole' if you will-- a need to be loved by Him. Listen to Romans 5:18-21:

"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more."

Just to say it now, I love these verses! Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. That's the way God saved us. The same way that we first sinned against Him.

And listen to Ephesians 3:17-19:

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

How wide! How long! How high! How deep is His love! In the presence of such love, how could anything else even seem important? John Piper once said, "Following Jesus is first and foremost not heroic!" Following Jesus isn't something that should deserve accolades and awards. I'm often tempted to think that I'm doing something great by simply following Christ; as if I'm so much better than those who don't follow Him. But it's not heroic-- it's the natural and reasonable response to such great love!


I agree with C.S. Lewis when he said, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

We'd rather have 'true romance' than this eternally wonderful, satisfying love that's right here. We're so easily satisfied!

So, I guess all in all, I didn't fall in love today. Sorry if I disappointed you. :) But I have found the greatest love ever, and I can't wait to worship Him forever and ever. And I pray that I would never think of following Him as heroic. But that instead, I'd follow Him as what I truly am: a sinner, desperately clinging the cross and seeing how deep, how wide, how long, and how high His love is.

Godly Femininity

My friend Haley, over at Singin' in the Rain, recently wrote a post on godly femininity vs. feminism. In a way, it inspired me to write this post. I hope that you'll enjoy and that you'll leave a comment with your thoughts. I'd give you a penny for your thoughts, but, that might be a little hard over blogger. :)



No matter where you are, if you are a young, teen aged lady-- in particular, a Christian one, then you are probably surrounded by many different expectations. On one end of the spectrum, you're probably bombarded with the world's standards of true 'beauty' (You know, you have to look like all of the actresses in Hollywood), and the idea that if you don't have a boyfriend when you're sixteen that you're missing out on all the 'fun' of your teenage years. Even if you're not in public school, you can hear these things from neighbors, movies, just about anywhere. Sadly, these ideas are everywhere. On the other end of the spectrum, you may be from a conservative Christian home (as am I) but are sometimes overwhelmed because it seems that many Christians deem it 'ungodly' if you wear pants or don't know how to sew or that you need to marry or you're not obeying God's commands.


Is there something wrong with both of these pictures? Yes. Do they need to be addressed? Certainly. I want to talk a little bit about our world's feminist movement that is growing alarmingly quickly; and I'd also like to look at how some Christians view femininity and what the problems are with that view.

Now, first off, I would like to tell you a story. This took place about four years ago, shortly after my twelfth birthday. I was with my dear friend Haley lying on her bunk bed and thinking carefully. We were having one of our long, serious discussions about life, God, things we would do when we grew up, etc. and I told her that I wasn't sure if I would ever get married. At the time, I couldn't really see myself in a wedding dress and saying "I do" mostly because I was so sure that I would be a missionary (something I still feel called to, and will do, if God leads) and being a missionary who was--single. I had thought about this before, but I don't think I had ever voiced it in so many words.

"Oh, don't worry, dear." She said (or something to that extent.) "I'm sure you will."

I looked at her. "Why?"

"Well..." she reasoned, "because I think most girls do."

I nodded contemplatively.

Now, I have changed my mind quite a bit since that time, and now I can definitely see myself getting married. I want a family, I want to be a homeschooling mom who teaches her children to love the Lord, as my mom has done.

But I share this story because I want to write this not just as someone who wants women to have a husband and children, but also as someone who wants young ladies and women of all ages to serve the Lord first and remember what He says about marriage, femininity, and the distinctions between men and women. If you think you'll never get married, I understand where you are coming from. I'm not a girl who thinks that if you do not get married you're not following God's plan for your life (yes, I really HAVE heard things like that before). So, with that in mind, please read on.

I think one of the main problems with the modern feminism movement is that women are always saying they want "equality" with men. The problem is, we were made to be different.

Ephesians 5:22-33 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. "

And Colossians 3:18 "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord"

Notice that God never gives the command for husbands to submit to their wives. No, that was not His plan in marriage. His plan was, and is, for women to submit to their husbands. Women have different and distinct roles from what men do. At the same time, we are all equal in our value to God.

Galatians 3:8 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

In Christ Jesus, in God's love and forgiveness, we are equal in worth. So I guess that you could say the main problem with the feminist movement is that feminists want women to have their value expressed in the same way as men's value. The main point that they're missing is that we can be of equal value without doing all the same things. A quick example. In 1 Timothy 2, women are forbidden from being Pastors, spiritual leaders and teachers, etc. over men. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” However, I do not believe that this means women should never evangelize or minister to others, rather, she should leave the spiritual teaching and training of the church to men. Here is a paragraph from http://www.gotquestions.org/women-pastors.html if you have time, I would encourage you to read the whole article. But I will only quote the second-to last paragraph.

"God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers, or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case). It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching men or having spiritual authority over them. This logically would preclude women from serving as pastors/preachers. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them."

On the other hand, some Christians are combating the feminist movement by having many rules that are not necessarily Biblical. Sometimes this can feel discouraging as well, because young ladies in Christian homes that read Christian books will come across these somewhat legalistic rules at some point or another, and even if they love the Lord and serve Him and try to obey Him, they might feel discouraged by their lifestyle from the words of legalists. This is not healthy, either, and I have one comment about it before I wrap up. I think that as Christians, we need to be careful that the rules we have come from God and that we are not being 'old-fashioned' simply for the sake of being old-fashioned, and calling it godliness. What do I mean? Well, just because it's old-fashioned does not make it godly. Some things that are godly will be labeled 'old-fashioned' by the world, i.e., Christians who wait to have a relationship with the opposite sex until they are older so that they can protect their hearts will often be called 'old-fashioned' or things to that extent-- but it's important that we are determining what our convictions are and not just doing things because they seem old-fashioned and therefore we assume they are Biblical. In the simplest terms, godly things may be called old-fashioned, but old-fashioned things are not necessarily godly. I hope that makes sense.

In closing, I would like to encourage all the young ladies that read this blog to keep aspiring after godliness and biblical femininity. God is so awesome, and He loves you so much. I appreciate all the wonderful, godly young ladies that I know who are aspiring to do His will for their lives. I'll close with a Bible verse,

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." ~ Titus 2:3-5

Your First Love

I wrote this post a while ago, but it still rings true. Let my love burn with passion for you, Lord!

Billy Graham said this prayer for our nation:

“Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your word says, ‘Woe to those Who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we’ve done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that. ...
We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism;
...We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism;
...We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle;
...We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery;
...We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation;
...We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare;
...We have killed our unborn and called it choice;
...We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable;
...We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self- esteem;
...We have abused power and called it political savvy;
...We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition;
...We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; ...We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will, to open ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Is our society really one that is ambitious, pluralistic, and enlightened? Or is it simply one that does not properly fear God? My heart is saddened by the words of Matthew 24:12 “Because of the increase of wickedness the love of many will grow cold.” Sometimes I wonder if our love as Christians is growing colder. Oh, I’m not saying that we’ve deliberately or completely stopped loving the Lord. As Christians, that is our greatest command! But I do think we have stopped loving Him completely in different ways that may seem to us very small, but indeed are not. Think about it. Whenever sin seems "normal" to us, our love has grown cold. Whenever we are not bothered by things strictly forbidden in God's holy Word, our love has grown cold.

In my devotions a few days ago I was reading Revelations, and I was struck by this verse (2:4), "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Have we, too, left our first love, Jesus Christ, by letting our love grow cold? This sincere cry of my heart: Let not my love grow cold, oh Lord!

Something Even Greater Than Worship

"No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshipped; no other man has been so devoutly loved."

--John Knox

In Ancient times, and even still today, many people worship(ed) false gods whose whims 'demanded' human sacrifice. When Jesus came to earth, He proved, through humbling Himself, that He not only wants to show His power and glory to gain our worship-- He also desires our love. You can worship, like the pagans, out of fear. But you can only love out of love.

Is It Love or a Corset?

There is a book that I read about a year ago called, A Proper Pursuit. It's basically about a shallow but naive twenty-year-old girl whose mother ran away when she was a child and whose father is about to be remarried. She decides to go stay with her grandmother and three great aunts for a while to search for her mother-- the catch? They each have their own idea of what they want Violet to do with her life. Her grandmother just wants her to marry a pastor. One great aunt just wants her to marry well (read: someone rich). Another great aunt just doesn't want her to marry AT ALL. And the last great aunt-- well, she just encourages Violet to marry someone she loves. By the end of the story, Violet has completely changed and becomes a Christian.

Now, Violet is quite the humorous young lady. The only knowledge she has of the world at large comes from reading romance and mystery and adventure novels. *Ahem* dime novels. Below is a section of her thoughts during a lecture that one of her great aunts took her to. I hope you find it as amusing as I did. By the way, this story is set at the end of the 19th century and is written in the first person.

"'Ladies,' she began, 'I'm well aware that the majority of you are, at this very moment, trapped in the confines of a whalebone corset. But you might be shocked to learn that, according to my research, your tightly laced corsets are responsible for more than fifty female ailments.' She proceeded to enumerate them, one by one, but my mind began to wander after 'heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, and lightheadedness.' The symptoms sounded suspiciously like a romance novel's description of love. Could it be that thousands of women had married their husbands in the mistaken belief that they were in love, when all along their corsets had been too tight? How disappointing to watch their love mysteriously vanish once their corsets were unlaced. I made up my mind that if I ever felt love's symptoms, I would loosen my corset immediately before accepting a proposal of marriage."

A Revival

For Easter I received a book called Though Waters Roar. All in all it was interesting, but far too sad for my taste. Anyway, that's not the point of this post. In fact, I only bring this up because the last few pages of the book are more than worth reading. Basically, this book is about a girl during prohibition helping her poor friend who was tricked into transporting alcohol from Canada to a saloon in the States. However, the friends have two young children and they cannot risk getting thrown in jail because the husband will never get a job and they are broke already. Long story short, that's where the heroine-- Harriet-- comes in. Harriet volunteers to deliver the alcohol herself under the condition that they agree to never, EVER, do anything like that again. Gratefully, her friends accept her offer, but in an unfortunate turn of events, Harriet is caught with the alcohol on her way to the saloon and thrown in jail. After she proves that she is not in to make money for herself by helping the police capture the still, she is freed and she goes to her grandma to tell her about what has happened. The problem? Her grandmother has fought for prohibition and against alcohol almost her entire life because her husband was an alcoholic.


All right, sorry that took so long. Now we have finally arrived to the part that really matters. At almost the end of the book, Harriet's grandmother tells her, "Jesus' harshest words were for the moral guardians of His day-- the Pharisees. They wanted to dictate morality, too, but Jesus called them hypocrites and whitewashed tombs. It isn't our calling as Christians to write laws that force people to live moral lives. As much as our communities might need it, and as bad as things are, imposing our morality on others isn't the answer. It doesn't work. People may be forced to give up alcohol, but they are still going to hell. That's our calling-- to bring people to Christ-- not to force them to behave the way we want them to or to solve all their external problems." She goes on to tell Harriet about different laws in the past that couldn't make people's hearts change. The Emancipation Proclamation set the slaves free, but it couldn't make people treat the former slaves as their equals. Prohibition could make drinking illegal, but if people's hearts were evil then it wouldn't really make a difference. They would still be wicked.

Now, please don't get me wrong, I do not say this or repeat this because I believe we should never have laws. God has laws, and I believe that our country should hold laws that uphold the laws that God gave. I believe this sincerely. What I am saying, however, is that laws do not change people's hearts. If one made all the laws in the world, it would not change the hearts of the people whose responsibility it was to uphold these laws. Only God can change hearts, and we must be willing to share the incredible news of the gospel with others, through evangelism and discipleship. Do you think that it's possible that sometimes Satan might distract us by getting us so involved in other causes, whether noble or not, that distract us from our ultimate goal-- to tell people about Christ and become like Christ?

I used to pray sometimes that God would change some laws in America. That He would change American's standards-- because it's always nice to live in a more moral society, right? But you know what I'm praying for now?

A revival.

A Hungry Baby

I have not posted my '$15 or Less' weekends these past two weeks! I have completely forgotten... so sorry.

With that said, I would like you for a moment to please think of the worst sound you can imagine. For mothers, I would imagine that there are few sounds that are worse than that of their hungry baby's cry. The cry of a truly hungry baby is something that plagues many areas, even today. For $9, one can provide food for a starving child for a whole week through Samaritan's Purse International Relief.
(Photo credit: Samaritan's Purse International Relief: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/)

God bless you all!

Where is the Cross?

Recently in World Literature, we read the story "The Mansion" by Henry Van Dyke. For those of you not familiar with this work, it is about a very wealthy man named John Weightman. He gives, and gives, and gives to many different charity organizations. This seems noble enough, yes? Until one reads further and Mr. Weightman proudly states that he has given and 'invested' his gifts into organizations that he is sure will more than pay him back, through either prestige or admiration or respect or something of that sort. One night, he has a dream. He dreams that he died and went to Heaven. When he gets there, he meets many other people who are also preparing to see their mansions. Among them is a widow with several children whom she raised in purity and love; a nurse who took care of cancer patients; a teacher whose whole life was dedicated to training his pupils to grow to be strong men; a doctor who could have had a brilliant career but gave it all up to work as a medical missionary in Africa; a gorgeous girl who gave up her desire to marry so she could care for her hurting father; a poet who worked merely to cheer people; and a lady who, although an invalid most of her life, had but one goal that she accomplished-- giving others a sense courage and love from being around her; and others who had had the one pure ambition of pleasing Christ.
Although Mr. Weightman believes that the good these people did is of some impact, he is sure that none of them can compare to the great things HE has done. So one by one, all the people are shown their beautiful mansions. Finally, it is just Mr. Weightman who has not yet seen his mansion. When he reaches his 'mansion' he is sure that there has been an error. It is not so much a mansion as... well, as a hut. Here is the conversation that ensues:

"'But how could such a house be prepared for me,' cried the man [John Weightman] with a resentful tremor in his voice-- 'for me, after my long and faithful service? Is this a suitabel mansion for one so well known and devoted? Why is it so pitifully small and mean? Why have you not built it large and fair, like the others?'
'That is all the material you sent us.'
'What!'
'We have used all the material that you sent us,' repeated the Keeper of the Gate.
'Now I know that you are mistaken,' cried the man, with growing earnestness, 'for all my life long I have been doing things that must have supplied you with material. Have you not heard that I have built a school-house; the wing of a hospital; two-- yes, three-- small churches, and the greater part of a large one, the spire of St. Petro--'
The Keeper of the Gate lifted his hand.
'Wait,' he said; 'we know all these things. They were not ill done. But they were all marked and used as foundation for the name and mansion of John Weightman in the world. Did you not plan them for that?'
'Yes,' answered the man, confused and taken aback, 'I confess that I thought often of them in that way. Perhaps my heart was set upon that too much. But there are other things-- my endowment for the college-- my steady and liberal contributions to all the established charities-- my support of every respectable--'
'Wait,' said the Keeper of the Gate again. 'Were not all these carefully recorded on earth where they would add to your credit? They were not foolishly done. Verily, you ahve had your reward for them. Would you be paid twice?'
'No,' cried the man, with deepening dismay, 'I dare not claim that. I acknowledge that I considered my own interest too much. But surely not altogether. You have said that these things were not foolishly done. They accomplished some good in the world. Does not that count for something?'
'Yes,' answered the Keeper of the Gate, 'it counts in the world-- where you counted it. But it does not belong to your here...'"

How powerfully this speaks! Although I know that God does not need our money to build a mansion in Heaven, I really don't believe that this is the point of the story. The them of this story (stated as a question) is : What motivates you to do the things you do? What is the motivation for the actions you take? You could be the most giving, mature, kind, patient, and loving person in the world-- but if you were not doing these things for God's glory, aren't they useless? Isn't any work that we do apart from God's grace of no use? Think about it. Our patience, if used for our own glory and not for the glory of God who has changed our hearts, can quickly become something that makes us proud. Our giving could either be for God's glory, or for our own: so that we are praised, recognized, and shamelessly promoted.

Recently I've been challenged with this. Having character is not just doing what is right; it is doing what is right simply because I love the Lord with my whole heart. It is doing what is right not because anyone else will ever know about it, but because the Lord sees everything I do. It is doing right because I have my eyes fixed on Jesus and what He did on the cross.

I want to quote the final section of Mr. Weightman's dream before He awakens.
"'But how have I failed so wretchedly,' he asked, 'in all the purpose of my life? What could I have done better? What is it that counts here?'
'Only that which is truly given,' answered the bell-like voice. 'Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in whcih the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself.'"

If I am not willing to forget myself, follow Jesus, and take up my cross; I am not worthy to be His disciple. Anything that I don't do with my mind on Jesus' cross, I am doing wrong.

God, will you dance with me?

From the heart of an unknown author—
"When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing “dance” at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance. When I saw “G: I thought of God, followed by “u” and “i”. “God, “u” and “i” dance.” God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.
And I Hope You Dance!!!!!!!!"

After reading this, I decided that no longer should I just casually follow God. I'm going to dance, and let Him lead.

On the balcony in Haiti!

So the story behind this picture... the Infimel vitamin company donated vitamins to us to give to GLA, so we were taking pictures of the kids with them. I love this one cause it looks like they're all under interrogation!

This little one is so skinny-- I'm sure you can see from the picture, but his legs were also very thin! He was adorable and had the cutest personality!

Sitting in the Bumbo seat

She was ticklish!

Oh, she was such a sweetheart.