One Word 2011

On one great blog I follow I saw this button.

I thought it was such a great idea that I wanted to share it too. Basically instead of making New Year resolutions that are sure to fail before the year is over, pick one word that you want to meditate on. Pick one word to focus on that should help you make good choices and grow as a believer. Pray about what word God wants you to choose. "Joy", "Love", "Faith", "Pray", whatever word is on your mind, or maybe you'll have to narrow down a whole list of words. I can't wait to see how God will use my one word.



PS. Thanks Ashley, for sharing this great idea!

Rest

So often times we find ourselves being caught up in the busyness of our lives and we forget what it's like to just to be able to sit back and just find peace in our Heavenly Father's arms. Our minds are most often focused on the next thing we need to do or the next place we need to be and we often forget to hear Him calling us, telling us just to rest. There are times when we need to just sit down and take a break- to just stop and spend time in prayer, to sit at His feet and to simply listen, instead of always trying to run, and be doing things.
He wants us to take minds off of our busy day and just rest. Just resting in Who He is. Not always praying about all of the problems and the things that are going in on our day, but simply resting, just trusting Him. Knowing that He will make everything alright. Know that He has put us in our situation to teach us a lesson or to bless someone else.
Listen to Him, and all that HE is saying to your heart. Listen, and this time drown out all the other noises and the voices that are going off and are buzzing around your head. Until everything is quiet in your heart and in your mind.

Matt. 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Song and Poem

Okay the song and poem aren't really related but I thought I'd put them into one post! ; )

I'm not a big fan of Toby Mac but I love the message in this song of his. (There weren't any good videos on youtube anyway!) So the lyrics are all that I'm putting for the post.
Joy (This Christmas)

Now Johnny's never got his wish on December 25th
That's what he said when he left the orphanage
9 years old, but Johnny was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home

Showed me a picture that he drew the night before
Was a picture of a man standin' outside a door
I asked him who it was and he said someone I only see in dreams
Comforts me when I cry myself to sleep

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas.

"Believe in angels?" Johnny asked me starin' at the sky
I said, "I do" and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend respondin' to the season
Took the chance that giving's better than recievin'

Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer
We laughed and sang, came on a midnight clear
We gave, received, and as we headed to close
We looked to the heavens and it started to snow down blessings

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas.
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas.

Religion that God our Father
Accepts as pure and faultless is this
To look after orphans and widows in their distress
Merry Christmas everyone!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Heaven and nature sing (4x)

You ain't livin', you ain't livin'
Father, this Christmas
You ain't livin' till you choose to give


And here is the poem:
Once in royal Davids city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;
Day by day, like us, He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us He knew;
And He cares when we are sad,
And he shares when we are glad.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above:
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone

Pure Religion Before God -Part II

James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

Every two seconds another child becomes an orphan,

Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son. . . to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name

Our adoption by God is the ultimate expression of His love, and was the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ life on earth and death on the cross. This is truly the Gospel of Adoption, and it is written in Galatians 4:4-5 and John 1:12

If orphan children never experience a family’s love, how can we expect them to comprehend God’s love?
Adoption by a Christian family is the best way for orphan children to become adopted children of God. Not all are called to adopt, but anyone can love and minister to orphan children by helping other families adopt.

Pure Religion Before God -Part I

James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Did you know that in America people spent $15 billion on bottled water last year?

Americans spent over $7,000,000,000 on beauty products and well over $10 billion at the movies?

Because America produces twice as much food as needed per person 40 percent of all food produced in America is not eaten!

And still 5 million children will die of hunger or hunger related causes this year.

Did you know that 1.1 billion people live on one dollar a day, and that more than 3 billion people live on less the $2.50 a day? That’s almost half the world!

Did you know that:

Well over 80% of people live on less than $10 a day,

22,000 children die each day due to poverty,

An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS,

and that one in every two children are living in poverty!

For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world there are:
640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)

400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)

270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)

The Lord can use you! Through your life, your prayers, your giving!

26,000 children die of easily preventable causes, every day! That ought not be!

Matt. 25:40,45 ^"And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ... Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ "

(emphasise added)

Most people would agree that Americans are a little spoiled. Or they might say that Americans are "blessed". It is more blessed to give than to recieve.

For the Beauty of the Earth

I've never been a fan of Barlow Girl, but I did like the way they sang this song better than anyone else did on youtube. I hope you like it too!
(Don't forget to pause the music on the side!)

When Love Takes You In

I really like this song, and I hope you do too! I like all of Steven Curtis Chapman's songs, but this one especially because it's about adoption!
(Don't forget to pause the playlist on the side of the blog first.)

Run!

Why does there seem to be no growth in the lives of Christians, no victory? Why is there the same divorce rate in the church, as there is in the world? Is there no conviction? If there is conviction, does it take no hold, have no affect? We need to make a stand for Christ not be like the world “in order to win them to Christ”. Jesus has already told us “Be in the world, but not of it”.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
　
We need to run the race we that has been set before us! 1 Corinthians 9:24- “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”
We need to be different. To be salt. To be light. We need a faith that stands firm! A faith that endures. Without faith it is impossible to please God!(Heb. 11:6) Hebrews 10: 36-39 says “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
“ For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
Are we those who draw back? Are we those who the Lord finds pleasure in? He is coming, life is short. “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”(Heb. 6:11,12) Don’t grow sluggish, do not get tired of this life, of this walk, of this battle! Be diligent. Rejoice in the hard times. Romans 5:3 “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” The hard times bring perseverance and character and hope!
A runner who really seeks to win loses as much weight as possible without hurting performance. This race we run in is not a physical race, likewise the weights we have are not physical weights. Back to Hebrews 12:1 up at the top, we read “let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” Let us lay aside things which slow down our spiritual growth: anger, covetousness, pride, filthy language out of your mouth. (To name a few.) Such things will make "running the race of faith" difficult, if not impossible!
“And let us run with endurance” The "race of faith” is a marathon, not a sprint. It does not require one quick burst of energy, in which the race is soon over. This "race" requires a sustained effort over a long period of time. Do not loose faith. Gain, strength, hope and resolution.
Jesus told us ahead of time that we would need patience. “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt. 10:24) “But He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Mt. 24:13) He gives us Abraham as an example, “after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”(Heb. 6:15) Our patience will grow through Scripture(Rom. 5:14) “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
As we read of the faithfulness of God Who fulfills His promises and of the ultimate end of those persevered in faithfulness we can see that endurance is required for successfully running this "race of faith"! Paul wrote that eternal life would be given "to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality"(Rom 2:7)
Our best example is Jesus: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” (Heb 12:2-3)
If you want to be distressed -look at yourself! If you want to be defeated -look back! If you want to be distracted -look around! If you want to be dismayed -look ahead! If you want to be delivered -look up! We must consider how He endured. His time on the cross and His time before! How He "endured such hostility from sinners against Himself" This hostility is something He was constantly experiencing. Meditating upon our Lord will prevent us from becoming "weary and discouraged in your souls". But as we consider the Lord and His example (a form of "waiting upon the Lord"), we shall not grow weary nor faint Because when we wait on the Lord, we will renew our strength, “mount up with wings like eagles” and “run and not be weary”.(Is. 40:31)
Get going! Run the “race” with endurance and strength. Make a difference in the lives of others.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day reminds me that a grateful heart is a Christian woman’s best medicine! It makes the continual adjustments we inevitably face in our day to day walk with Christ easier to handle. Gratefulness is a like a great view of life. It enriches our lives, allowing us to enjoy any size blessing, not just the biggies.
Gratefulness accepts each and every situation, allowing us to see how it enriches our lives. Gratefulness isn’t visionary, it accepts what is instead of longing for what could be. Gratefulness cannot dwell in a heart filled with bitterness or discontentment.
Like internal fog, discontentment and ungratefulness obscures our spiritual sight. It keeps us from enjoying what God has given us.
When we are grateful for the good things God has already given to us we are able to see more clearly the other blessing that may have been block by the "fog". On the other hand, when we are ungrateful, we tend to shut ourselves off from the blessings we might otherwise experience and lose a time of growth.


There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~Robert Brault


God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

Live out your gratitude, today. Keep a biblical perspective, giving thanks in all things! If I could use only a few words to speak to the LORD, I wonder what I would say. "I'm sorry." "I love you." "I surrender." "I'm Yours." I think I would say "Thank You, LORD!" For there are not a few words to describe what I feel about the Gift given to us. But, "Thank You, LORD" seems like a start.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Touch of the Master's Hand

It was battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
And many a man with life out of tune
All battered with bourbon and gin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
Myra Brooks Welch

Tick Tock by Chris Rice

I'd love to say something along with this song; but he says it all! I hope you enjoy it! Oh, don't forget to pause the music on the side, before playing the video!

~Ashlin

Just a Coincidence

I went to a worldview class today and we were learning a little about ways to "prove" the Bible. I thought you might like to hear some neat facts!

Let’s consider the odds of all the prophecies about the Messiah in the OT being fulfilled by someone who walked the earth since the beginning of time until this day. If it wasn’t divine intervention, then perhaps we can measure the odds of it happening by chance. Well, there are 109 direct prophecies the Messiah must fulfill according to OT Scripture. (There are over 300 if we included the indirect prophecies He fulfilled) The odds of anyone fulfilling just 20/109 are 1/12,000,000,000,000!

What about probability that one single individual since the beginning of time until now could fulfill just the eight following conditions?

1. Come from Bethlehem: 1 in 10,000 (rough estimate)
2. A messenger will prepare the way for him and then the Lord will come to His Temple: 1 in 1,000 (rough estimate)
3. Ride on a donkey into Jerusalem and be declared as a righteous king having salvation: 1 in 10,000 (rough estimate)
4. Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver: 1 in 1,000
5. Silver returned, thrown into the Temple and used for the Potters field: 1 in 100,000
6. No defense though innocent: 1 in 1,000
7. Crucified (predicted before it was invented): 1 in 10,000
8. Bones not broken: 1 in 100 (rough estimate)

That makes the possibilities 1 in 10 to the 28th power. You do the math! To be fair, this could have been fulfilled by anyone who has lived since the time of these prophecies which would include 8.8 billion people. Of course the Temple must be standing, so that could slice 2/3 of history off this exponential number, but let's not.

Therefore the odds of these eight prophecies happening by chance to one particular man within that time frame is found by dividing 10 to the 28th power by 10 to the 10th power, which gives us 10 to the 18th power.

How big a number is that? Let’s take a silver dollar. So let’s look at that huge number that is required in order to make eight of these prophesies come to pass in one man since the beginning of time up until today. Let’s pretend that you had 10 to 18th power silver dollars. Do you know how many that is? It is enough to fill an area two feet deep. How big is the area? We would need to take the whole state of Texas and cover it with silver dollars to a depth of two feet. This area is 268,581 square miles and remember that it is filled two feet deep with silver dollars. That is an unbelievable amount of silver dollars.

We aren’t done yet. The next step is to mark one of them, randomly place it somewhere in the state of Texas. Finally we would need to take a blind man or women, and let the blind person go anywhere in the state and pick up one coin. The likelihood of that person picking up that marked silver dollar on the first try is the same as the odds of just these eight prophecies coming true in one person without divine intervention. Impossible.

And if we wanted to only chose 8 of the 300+ predictions...

Scientists tell us that the range of total atoms in our entire universe are somewhere between 10 to the 66th power and 10 to the 80th power.

That means you would have much more of a chance to randomly picking one atom out of the whole universe than all of these prophecies coming to pass in one man without it being controlled by God. Amazing. Breath-taking. Awesome. What can describe it but God's miraculous intervention.

In the field of physics, it is assumed that any probability smaller than 1 chance in 10 to the 50th power being selected on the first try is manifestly absurd.

To say Jesus Christ fulling just eight of these prophecies is "coincidental" is absurd. Every one of them have come to pass in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Praise be to God!

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
~ C. S. Lewis

For this I also used work from Dr. Chuck Missler, from his book, Cosmic Codes, Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity, chapter 16, titled “Measuring Confidence” (pp.217-230).

Take It All, LORD. I Surrender!

"Take all away. I am content to know
Such love is mine-for life is all too brief
To grieve for pleasures bringing only grief;
Give me but You; it is enough just so."
-Ruth Bell Graham

"The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. "
~ A. W. Tozer

All to Jesus I surrender;
all to him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust him,
in his presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all,
all to thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender;
humbly at his feet I bow,
worldly pleasures all forsaken;
take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender;
make me, Savior, wholly thine;
fill me with thy love and power;
truly know that thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to thee;
fill me with thy love and power;
let thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;
now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to his name!

I surrender all, I surrender all,
all to thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

"I wish Thy way.
But when in me myself would rise
And long for something otherwise
Then, Holy One, take sword and spear
And slay."
~Amy Carmichael

I pray the LORD God will bring me to my knees and let me see my own nothingness. For when I am not the center of my life it is then that I will see God in everything.

If I Can Make a Difference

I don't know if you've ever heard the story of the boy and the starfish. But it recently came to my mind.

Many starfish washed up on shore one morning. A young boy started picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean. Someone saw what he was doing and told him that it was pointless, that there were too many to save, that it really wouldn’t make a difference. Throwing another starfish into the sea, the little boy responded, “It makes a difference to this one.”

It is easy for us to go through life doing nothing, because we think there is nothing of importance to do. We may say that there is no way we can "save all those starfish". But I think it is more about the little things we do, than the big things. If we continue to do the next -maybe small, hard, or seemingly piontless- thing, and we do it as unto the LORD, although we may not see, we are making a difference.

"The greatest mistake is to do nothing because you can only do a little."
-Sydney Smith

One verse my mom likes to recite to us is Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." We need to give 100% in whatever we do. Even those "pointless" tasks. Those are often the most important of all because those "small" things are what make us ready for the "big" things. Didn't Jesus say "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."(Lk 16:10) We must not, in thinking about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make. Over time, they will add up to big differences that we more often than not are unable to foresee.

I recently read this quote: "It is during adversity when one can really make a big difference. But making a difference is not about being a big hero. It is simply about leaving the bathroom a little cleaner going out, than when you came in." I do not know who said it but I thought that it fit right in with what I was saying.

This is a hard lesson to learn. But when we remember to keep it in the perspective that GOD is the One giving us these "small" or tedious tasks to do, we should be willing to surrender our all to Him - always.

Just because you can not do everything, does not mean you cannot do something. Do something today to bless someone else. Do all that you do today with your wholeheart, do it as unto the LORD.

Smile! One Size Fits All!

A smile is a beautiful thing!

Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. ~George Eliot

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.

Psalms 89:15

"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light"

Matthew 6:22

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Proverbs 15:13

It takes only seventeen muscles to smile but forty-three to frown.

~My Grandpa

"A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones."
Proverbs 17:22

"One who smiles rather than rages is always stronger"

Japenese Proverb

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.

If someone doesn't have a smile, give them one of yours!

I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.

~Unknown

"Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart"

~anthony d'angelo

"Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!"

Psalms 144:15

A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.

~Anonymous

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalms 32:11

(Don't like to shout? I guess the next best thing would be a smile!)

It is almost impossible to smile on the outside without feeling better on the inside.

~Anonymous

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered alonglife's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

~Joseph Addison

Remember even though the outside world might be raining, if you keep on smiling the sun will soon show its face and smile back at you.

~Anna Lee

A smile is as infectious as the flu, or the common cold. The only difference is a smile makes people feel better, not worse!

If I Marry

If I marry: He must be so tall that when he is on his knees he reaches all the way to heaven. His shoulders must be broad enough to bear the burden of a family. His lips must be strong enough to smile, firm enough to say no, and tender enough to kiss. Love must be so deep that it takes its stand in Christ and so wide that it takes in the whole lost world. He must be active enough to save souls. He must be big enough to be gentle and great enough to be thoughtful. His arms must be strong enough to carry a little child.

-Ruth Bell Graham

Only You!

Dusty my soul tonight.
Earth has been dear.
Bewildered, I come to You,
Father God, hear.
Idols that charm me,
dreams that allure,
pains that alarm me,
suspense to endure,
memories that linger,
thoughts that ensnare,
a heart that is aching,
all crumpled by care,
unsatisfied, restless,
scarce able to pray—
everything, everything
take it away.
Only You,
none but You,
Jesus alone:
ashes the rest to me,
songs with a groan,
take them each one away—
mind not my tears—
lift me above this earth’s
joys and its fears,
give me Yourself alone—
nothing beside—
so will I be with You,
content,
satisfied!
-Ruth Bell Graham

A Matter of the Heart

I was asked by someone to write another blog post on modesty. I am so glad that they asked because I was thinking about it myself. Modesty is a difficult topic for me to post about. There are so many different views on the subject. I could go to one extreme and say, "I don't think it matters how I dress, I mean God see's my heart. If a guy looks at me, thats his problem." Then I could go way over to the other side and say, "We all need to wear long skirts all the time without any bright colors, with high colars and long sleeves. I think it is wrong to try and make myself attractive." Both extremes are deffinantly wrong. We do need to dress modestly but, that doesn't mean we have to be strict and never wear anything that shows skin, never wear pants, etc.!

Modesty can be a difficult concept to grasp in our day and age. When so many young women in our culture have thrown out the concepts of modesty, purity, and chastity and turned toward a more provocative form of dress and behavior. A great many questions may float around in our minds: How can I dress modestly while still dressing attractively? How to embrace the femininity God has given us without enhancing it in a sensual fashion? How to be attractive without attracting the wrong attention? Etc. I mean, there really are no set rules! Just saying “dress modestly” doesn’t cover how snug, how short, how long, how loose, how bold, how plain (and the list goes on) our clothes need to be.

But when I think about it, I am reminded that the quest to dress modestly should never start with a rulebook… it should begin with the heart. To be modest really just means showing humility, not having or expressing a high opinion of your own achievements or abilities, not showy, elaborate, or pretentious. That seems to have more to do with the character of person than the dress of a person. Two different passages that concur on this subject are
1 Timothy 2:9-10:
likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
And 1 Peter 3:3-4:
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

The start of true feminine attractiveness cannot be found in a set of rules and regulations; the foundation of true feminine attractiveness is the heart. As soon as we realize that our inward beauty will spread through into every area of our lives… and dress will be no exception.

I am not saying that we will automatically know when something is immodest and we will never need to ask advice, as sinners we will always second-guess ourselves! What I am trying to say is if you make your wardrobe choices based on a true love for Christ, a heart submitted to His will and to the encouragement of other believers, a heart passionate about the gospel, then you have begun a very firm and reliable foundation.

Modesty starts in the heart. Let the Lord lead your heart.

~Ashlin

Lord, Give Me Love Like This

Many crowd the Savior's Kingdom,

Few receive His Cross,

Many seek His consolation,

Few will suffer loss

For the dear sake of the Master,

Counting all but dross.

Many sit at Jesus' table,

Few will fast with Him

When the sorrow-cup of anguish

Trembles to the brim.

Few watch with Him in the garden

Who have sung the hymn.

Many will confess His wisdom.

Few embrace his shame,

Many, should He smile upon them,

Will His praise proclaim;

Then, if for a while He leave them,

They desert his Name.

But the souls who love Him truly

In woe or in sweet bliss,

These will count their truest heart's blood

Not their own, but His;

Savior, Thou Who thus hast loved me,

Give me love like this.

-Amy Carmichael

Nice, Even 10!

Hey Readers,
I have posted 10 times (excluding this one)!

Would believe me if I said I were stumped? 

I'm sure all of you, Wonderful Followers, have many wonderful ideas! You wouldn't want to keep them to yourselves, why don't you share them with me!

Well, sorry about that! I will have something tommorow.

♥Ashlin!

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, Its about learning to dance in the rain!

Matthew 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." It says when the persecute you not if they persecute you. We were called to suffer. Something about suffering helps us to draw nearer to God. Suffering makes us realize we need Him. James 1:2-4 tells us, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Again it says when the trials come not if.

A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.-A Chinese Proverb

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5) In all of these passages God shows us the end result of our sufferings: “great is your reward in heaven”, “that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”, “tribulation produces…hope”.

Although it may seem like these times when we suffer last forever, remember what the Lord says "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

Everyone will have suffering in their life. Suffering brings growth. It truly is a blessing in disguise. But how often does one find themselves praying for hard times. I believe that when you pray and ask God for trials (and His strength to get through them), we are asking for a very good thing. After all, long suffering is a fruit of the Spirit . Galatians 5:22 lists it as number four on a list of 10! Long suffering is a part of God’s character, a part of His image and a part of His nature. The Bible tells us He has “great kindness” and that “His mercy endures forever”.

We need to strive to be like Him, we need to add to our character patience. Long suffering is joy that endures in all circumstances. In 1 Timothy 1:16, Paul says, “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” We need Jesus to live through us so that He may “show all longsuffering” through us.

Long suffering is always associated with hope and mercy. Psalms 62:1 Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.

“If you have great challenges, have greater faith”. Leinani Kamaka

1 Thessalonians 1:3 “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father” What will you be remembered for?

My Hiding Place

Psalms 32:7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalms 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.


Psalms 94:22 But the LORD has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.

Psalms 71:3 Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

Psalms 61:3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.

Psalms 143:9b
In You I take shelter.

2 Samuel 22:47 “The LORD lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The Rock of my salvation!

Psalms 30:4-5

"...every night, however long and difficult, ends in a dawn of gold." -Amy Carmichael

How Can These Verses Be Applied To Us?

When I as a single young person look at commands in the Bible for a wife (or husband), I ( and others) sometimes think , this is not for me. As I was reading Proverbs 31 in my devotions this morning and the Lord showed me this verse;



"She will do him good and not
evil all the days of her life."
Proverbs 31:12


It does not say, when she was married, but all the days of her life. That means, that we should be preparing ourselves for and waiting for that one person that God has for us every day.



When I see this verse (and verses like it), it can remind me that pure love waits. But how do I apply it in all of the days of my life? How do I apply those "Honor Marriage" passages to me and to my relationship with God? The Bible gives us Jesus' relationship with the church ( all believers), as an example on how we are to treat our spouse?


"Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God.
Wives submit yourselves unto
your own husbands, as unto
the Lord. For the husband is
the head of the wife, even as
Christ is the head of the church:
and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to
their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives even as
Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it; That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of the water by the word.
That he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without
blemish." Ephesians 5:21-27


Wow! What an example we have to follow!


I think we can reverse it and think "if our reationship with Christ is like marrige, passages about marrige can be applied with our relationship to Jesus."

I can serve the Lord the way the Bible commands us to serve our spouse.


May God bless each and everyone of us to be pure and blameless before Him!

September

It is the very first day of September. I know that means it will begin to get cooler, the leaves will start changing color, my brother will have another birthday, etc. Life is alway chang and the days seems to just fly by!


I may not be a very faithful poster and hope you will forgive me.


I was deciding what to post and I thought how about a poem! I hope you are blessed by:


Flame of God

by Amy Carmichael
(I epsecially love the last paragraph. I know it by heart)




From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.




From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary
O Lamb of God, deliver me.




Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod;
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God




Happy September! ; )

The Power of Feminity

I saw this in an email I got and thought I would share it on my blog.

The topic of dress is so fascinating to me! There are debates about what is modest, what is unacceptable, what is too masculine, etc. Feminine dress seems often to be regarded as an outdated fashion that we were able to "throw off" thanks to the feminist movement, left only for the ultra-conservative, jumper-wearing crowd.

Too often we get caught up in the "pants versus dress" argument which I think is just a distraction. I don't want this blog post to be about that!

In a culture where gender lines are grossly confused, and women have finally achieved the "freedom" to dress as they please, I think a fun look at "the power of feminine dress" is in order.

What if women realized that their real power lay in what God had already given them...their femininity? What if we considered it a privilege to be a woman and we weren't afraid to show it?

A woman in a skirt or dress looks feminine. There's something almost mystical about that. Skirts make men stop and think. "She's a lady, not just a female clone trying to act like a man, or imitating a man.

"Oh" some girls say, "pants are more practical".

Sure they are. . . but we lose something.

"But", some ladies will say. "My job requires body positions that skirts interfere with.


"Really? Pioneer women WALKED (not rode) alongside covered wagons going out west. And they wore skirts. They had identity as women (distinct from men)


Queen Elizabeth (the first) wore gowns....not pants. She was powerful.And if skirts make your job more difficult there's a feminine alternative: Long pants sewn with wide legs....in silky fabrics and soft colors....and almost as feminine as a skirt.

Of course, if you're a woman who only cares about the masculine value of "efficiency at all costs", if you don't cherish your feminine power,as a woman; not a clone of men.....then by all means, keep wearing those pant suits." -Fred Bear

~Ashlin

A Woman's Heart

~Ashlin

Beautiful

What is beauty? It isn’t the external beauty that matters it is the internal. True beauty comes from God. Psalms 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.

Jesus is beautiful because He shines with God’s perfect beauty. And even though beauty is found in Jesus it is not found in any other man. Although many people may seem to us to be beautiful on the outside, inside we are all filthy, ugly and evil. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” No matter how hard we may try we can never achieve perfection, therefore there is only moral deformity.

You may say that there are “good” people. What about Peace Corp, Modest Needs, etc.? Those are not religious charities yet they do a lot of good. Isaiah 64:6 tells us “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” No one is good but One, that is, God. (Mark 10:18) The only reason we has desire to do good is because we were created to be like God; we were made in His image. Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” There is nothing beautiful in our flesh. In Christ alone is true beauty.

The only way to be made truly beautiful is to have forgiveness of sin which only comes from the blood of Jesus. If we continually turn our lives to Him through worship (Psalms 29:2b Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.) the Holy Spirit will continue to make our hearts beautiful. We need to stay close to God so that He can stay close to us. Psalms 90:17a And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us.

Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.” Physical beauty will not last forever. Continue to grow in the Lord and you will grow more and more beautiful, and it will shine from the inside out!

~Ashlin

      Hello Everyone!
Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy my posts on a Christian's walk with Christ. I may sometimes go a few weeks without posting. I might post random things every once and a while but I hope that you will be blessed by reading my blog not because I am a good blogger or writer, not because I am a good person, I am not any of those. I hope you are blessed by this blog because I want Jesus to shine through all that I do, say, think, and blog!

~Ashlin