Quote on Courtship

Last week Renee and I were corresponding through e-mail about a topic she wrote on in Hope Chest Magazine. Although our stories of our broken courship were very differant, we both experianced heartache. The wisdom she shared with me through e-mail helped me so much that I wanted to share it with my blog readers. I hope this insight blesses you!

"Unfortunately in our type of circles, courtship is held up too often as a formula to follow and adhere too. The reality is that relationships that are truly vulnerable and honest, never fit into a formula of ideals. Just like people are flesh and blood, joy and sadness, turmoil and peace - so are relationships. A courtship relationship should never, ever be held up as a demand of perfection on individuals. What is courtship exactly? How do we view courtship? What are people & how do we view people? These are relevant questions to consider and ask ourselves, I think.

Do not berate yourself for having gone through a heartbreaking relationship. Did you make any mistakes? Most probably. Did he? Most probably. Did anyone else involved? Most probably.. Does that mean your relationship was a mistake? Most probably not. Mistakes are not bad things, if we allow God to take our mistakes (like we should every aspect of our lives) and guide us by His Holy Spirit, refining and nurturing us into women of God." ~ Renee Pratt

Sighting in My Scope

For years the guys in my family have loved to hunt. Winter time in their mind means deer, hunting clubs, and guns. Right before hunting season comes around my dad and two brothers will eagerly pull out their guns to prepare them for the spot. They polish them, grease them down, and then try them out on a target. If they miss the target they know their scope is most likely out of focus and needs to be sighted in. Once their scope is set aright the target is a lot easier to hit. Throughout the season they have to carefully guard their fire arm because any little bump will knock the scope out of focus.

Last week I realized my scope is out of focus. No, I don't own a gun. I'm referring to the way I view life. This week it has been reset and now the target is so much clearer!

It all started Sunday morning, the beginning of our church's mission conference. Four native missionaries came to our church to share their burden with us in hopes that more souls might be saved. They came from Vietnam, Kenya, Chile, and the Philippines. Although from different countries and lifestyles, during the meeting these men joined their hearts in unity and sang about the God they all served. Since I am a lover of music I noticed that they were not always on key, and no, there were no four-part harmony. But since I am also a lover of God and those who love Him, I also noticed that these brothers in Christ were singing with their whole hearts in love towards their Savior. I believe God was more pleased with their offering of praise then any church choir I've ever sung in where the harmony and timing were perfect.

Throughout the four day conference I had the privilege to hear these missionaries testimonies of heart ache and victories. I can't imagine what it would be like to know that my father died for preaching the Word, and then go on and preach myself. I can't begin to comprehend the joy one dear brother experienced when he left a life of serving idols to become a follower of Christ and a leader to his family who followed in his foot steps.

The missionary from Vietnam preached on setting your heart on things eternal rather then things that are temporary. I couldn't help but examine my life and ask, What am I doing that matters to God? Working at a hospital and going to college for Medical Billing is not helping souls come to Christ. Singing for God is a good thing but can easily become very routine and commonplace. What am I doing that will make a difference? What am I really living for?

I have discovered that when I have something to live for - when that something is God's will - my whole life becomes fuller! I now have a reason to work hard because that hard work will turn into money that I will be able to give back to God. I now have something I can give my hobbies and talents too. I now can make a difference as I strive to serve God!

All week my mind has been going back to the scripture the missionary from Vietnam read. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. When that day comes I don't want to be ashamed because I have no reward to lay at Jesus' feet. I want to build up treasures where ti counts the most. So I keep my heart in check, sight in my scope, and try to reach the target!

Wetting Your Appetite

"And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12

What will your reward be?

Look for an article on this to come . . .

Another Update

For the past . . . maybe 15 minutes . . . I have sat at my desk racking my brain trying to come up with something half way interesting to write about. (I have diagnosed myself with WRITERS BLOCK!) I never wanted my blog to be a place where everyone could hear about what is going on in my home, work, etc., and go away with nothing to gain from it. I try to post articles and posts that may be encouraging to my readers and beneficial to their spiritual life. However, I am learning more every day that not much (let me reword that) pretty much nothing goes the way I want or expect it! God has his own plan for me and I might as well let go and let Him lead. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." (Pro. 16:9) The LORD could not have directed me to read this chapter in a better time then lately!

This week has been crazy at work which makes me see just how much I need God in my life every day. Today wasn't quite so bad, but I am still eager for the weekend to get here! Last night mama, Bethany, and I heard a really good message on honor. Interestingly, some of the points he spoke on were things that God has been pressing on my heart. I felt like God was reminding me of what I need to be doing or confirming that the way he has been leading me is the best way for me. I hope I will keep this mind and try to go forward in the right way.

For now, I'm going to straiten up my room and maybe get some crocheting done. By the way, does anyone have a cure for writer's block? I may be able to diagnose myself but I'm not so sure how to treat the illness that I carry :) Hopefully I will have something to write about in my next posts!

Seeing the Glory of God

"We can only see the stars at night. They're there during the day, when the sun bathes our world with light. But we can't see them until the sun slips away, plunging us into darkness." ~ Excerpt from Heaven Without Her by Kitty Forth-Regner

When I read this I instantly grasped the concept! I have gazed up into the blackest skies many times and admired with silent awe the flickering stars that seem worlds away. I don't exactly know why little white dots against a black back ground are so amazing, or why my soul is flooded with such feelings. When I gaze up at the huge sky I feel very small and insignificant.

It was always during the dark times in my life when I saw God's wonderful amazing glory. I would sometimes sit back and reflect on what had taken place in my life and try to grasp what God has done for me. I would feel very small and insignificant and realize how BIG and GREAT my God is!

Do I wish there were never nights? Of course not! If that were so I would never be able to see the beauty of the stars against the dark sky. Do I wish I had never been through my trials? No. If I hadn't, I would never know how much my LORD really does love me. "We can only see the stars at night."

Setting Aside

Wow! Has it really been 10 days since I posted anything? I have to be honest . . . I have really become relaxed lately. Maybe too relaxed. After 5 years I quit publishing Looking Heavenward, a magazine for young Christian girls. That has really taken a load off of my mind and has freed me up to look unto other things God may want me to focus on.


Another posotive in my life is how well college is going. (Did I mention that I went back to online college for Medical Billing?) It is going a lot better then it did at first! I am starting to understand it more so I don't dread studying so much and now I can actually see myself getting somewhere.


So what have I been doing while I wasn't blogging? I've actually been doing a lot of reading, something I haven't done faithfully in a long time. Heaven Without Her by Kitty Forth-Regner is about a women who, after her mothers death, is trying to discover what was so wonderful about her mother's faith in God. The first 5 chapters have been very interesting and insightful!


For the past few weeks I have been weighed down with worrying about something that is not in my controll and may not even be in my near future. When I put it that way it sounds really silly, but at the time I thought this was something that I really needed to figure out. I didn't realize how much this was weighing me down until last night when I finally layed it at Jesus' feet and decided not to worry about it. Today I have had a surprizingly good day which caused me to look back and wish I had done this sooner! I often wonder if I will ever come to a point in my life that I will always cast my burdens on Christ because of past experiances. As for right now, I know that God can take care of everything (like He's done before) but I still want to hold onto things that are precious to me. I don't completley trust Him. Right now I feel vicotrious for giving up those things that did not belong to me, but I know that I will fall again and take hold of things that will only weigh me down. But for now I am going to try to run the race with all diligence!


"Wherefor seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin wich doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the reace 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 crosss, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand ofthe throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

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This weekend I bought the Pride and Prejudice piano book, with music written from the 2005 edition of P & P : )