Choosing Courtship

 

My family was introduced to the idea of courtship quite a few years ago through the stories and testimonies of other Christian couples.  During that time we all agreed it was definitely the route to go and through the years found several good resources concerning the topic.  Some of my favorite books include I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris along with his other book Boy Meets Girl (Say Hello to Courtship) and Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally.  On my 13th birthday I made the committment to remain physically, emotionally, and spiritually pure not only for my future husband, but for my parents and most importantly for my Lord Jesus Christ.  As a teenager I always knew I would never have a "boyfriend".  Rather, I would wait until the season of life when I was ready to be married before any kind of relationship would ever begin. On my 16th birthday I decided to have dinner with my parents in order to spend that time further discussing what all we believed exactly in regards to courtship.  It was at that time that I made the committment to steadfastly pray for my future husband, with the realization that God intends for a prospective wife of noble character to bring her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:12)  Since then I have remained content in fulfilling the callings God has placed on my life by serving my family at home.  I've always known and trusted that if it was the Lord's will for me to someday marry, then He alone would be responsible for writing my love story.  This was something I determined to leave in His hands in order to avoid involving my own self at all.  I even prayed for Him to make me completely "oblivious" and "unaware" of the young man who would someday become my husband until just the appropriate time.  I didn't want to deal with the struggles of fantasizing over 'every Godly guy' that came my way prior to that, and it was important to me that my love not be awakened until it so desired. (Song of Solomon 2:7, 3:5, 8:4)  In other words, it's been my prayer that the Lord would keep my heart guarded and that He would prevent me from ever prematurely romanticizing in any kind of way.  ...And that prayer still stands today! ;-)

"Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:

do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."

Song of Solomon 8:4

TO:

Daddy

FROM:

Me :)

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Okay, I know Father's Day was almost a week ago...

but I just couldn't resist posting this picture!

Unfortunately, Dad is still having trouble with being confused and not always understanding what we say. He's also having a hard time communicating with the right words. So... whenever we try to tell him something and he starts getting frustrated because he doesn't understand, we just say,

"I love you!"

And he smiles and says, "I love you."

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Daddy, I can't wait for you to get better. I know you like to take a peek at my blog every now and then, so I'm leaving this here as a surprise for when you are well and come back!

These past few weeks have been tough, and I realize at this point it's not yet over. But I am confident that God will restore you to good health soon. I know He has a purpose and a plan that is being carried out, and we all trust that His will is going to be accomplished. And I pray when that time comes we will all be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Until then... "Press on!" :)

I love you.

And I ALWAYS will.

_____________

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive a crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

James 1:2-4, 12

Just So You Know...

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that as of this Friday I will be taking at least a month-long break from blogging. :) Our family has started a study on Biblical holidays together and we're really excited to learn more about the significance of Christ behind Jewish feasts and festivals celebrated in the Bible. The holiday that is coming up next on the Jewish calendar is Pentecost, which occurs during the month of Sivan. So, we've decided that we'd like to fast from all electronics for the month of Sivan (which starts this Friday) and spend more quality time with each other and studying God's word. :) There is so much to learn about and we're really ready to dig in! I know this will honestly be a much-needed break for us all. (I'm sure once we start we'll realize just how much of our days are spent using some kind of electronic device! :) I don't think it will be too difficult of a challenge, but I am definitely going to miss reading everyone's posts for the next month... I always enjoy logging into my blogger dashboard and finding new updates! ;)

Anyway, I'm planning on writing at least one more post before I go. (I have a few more tags and awards I need to do! :) So this won't be the last time you hear from me. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up!

I hope that you are all enjoying your week. Have a blessed day!

Some Fun with Family...

Hi everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying your week. I know I have. :)

Last Friday my mom's brother and some of his family came down to visit and we had a really great time while they were here! This morning we all got up bright and early (6:30am) and said our "good-byes" and "I-love-you's" and then watched as they drove away. :( It's always sad when it's time to say goodbye, but we were so glad that we got to visit with them! (The last time we saw them was in 2007.) The only regret, though, is that two of my cousins weren't able to be here this time because they are both working and one of them is a sophomore in college now... My, how time flies!

Anyway, I thought I might share a few pictures that I took while they were visiting... :)

Here's an interesting shot I got of my Mom while she

was preparing dinner for all the family last night. :)

.

(I was really doing a test shot with my camera sitting on

its stand on the table, because we wanted to get a group picture

with everyone later on. It ended up turning out really great! ;)

Now here's Sis #1 and our cousin again.

(Yes... they're using a broken desk chair as their "table"! lol)

The three of us stayed up until about 2:00 each night

playing card games and watching movies. We had

a whole lot of fun together!

Here's my uncle fishing in our pond. :)



(Yes, they're playing ping-pong on our dining room table! :D)


And here they are jumping into our swimming pool
with Sisters #2 and #3...

Can you believe that they actually went swimming in April?!

The water was FREEZING cold and the pool wasn't as

clean as it should've been, but that sure didn't stop them!

They had a blast anyway. :)

(I love how the trees are all turning green again! It looks

so much nicer that way. :)

And here is Ty. :)

He was SO happy to have a boy that would play with

him while they were here. He just loves running around

outside and none of us will ever do it with him!

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Well... I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I wanted to give y'all a quick "sneak-peak" from our lovely week and weekend. :) We really did have a wonderful time with our family and I'm so glad they came. We have LOTS of fun memories of when all of us cousins were younger, and now that we're all getting older I'm cherishing the times we have together more and more. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see each other again, though! ;)

Have a blessed rest-of-the-week, everyone!

This is Sis #1 and our cousin playing "War"!

A "Pictorial" Explanation...

For not posting in almost a week! :)

Hi, everybody! I can honestly say that the past couple of weeks have been two of the craziest weeks I've experienced in all my 17+ years. :) We finally started the full therapy/diet and our days are now busier than ever. It includes making juices at least every hour (in the morning it's more often) and also preparing meals that take a lot more time and effort than they used to... among many other things. I must say it's been a challenge for us all. It's difficult finding enough time to get much else done throughout the day, therefore we are having to learn to work in shifts. We made a schedule for ourselves to keep up with what has to be done and when (including our chores, schoolwork, etc.) but it needs a little adjusting. The first week I tried waking up at 6am and finishing my schoolwork by 8am which is when we have the first juice and our breakfast... Well, by the time the afternoon rolled around I was just exhausted! So I really need to figure out a new way to get my school accomplished. Hmm...

Anyway, after our first juice of the day (which is our yummy orange juice) comes the awful and dreaded...

Green juice! It includes:

Romaine lettuce, bell pepper, apple, chard, endive,

escarole, & red cabbage.

The next juices are the tolerable...

Carrot and carrot/apple juices!

Which obviously include carrots and apples!

All three of these juices are then used throughout the day.

After each juice we end up with lots of pulp which has

to be thrown in a bucket outside because we recently found that

just throwing it all in the trash can inside makes it WAY too

heavy to carry out. :)

Now, here are a few vegetables we use to cook for our meals quite often...

Broccoli

(It's a family favorite now!)

Fresh Garlic

Leeks


Onions

Celery Root

(I had no idea that was edible. lol!)

Potatoes

Tomatoes

And occasionally we even get...

Yes!

Organic chocolate bars for each of us girls. :)

What a YUMMY treat!

Thank you SO much, Mommy & Daddy!

The last juice we make is at 7pm and that's also when we have dinner.

By the time we get get everything cleaned up, we're ready for some relaxation! :D For me that often includes watching a movie, reading a book, getting on the computer, reading my Bible, and going to sleep. :)

We're starting to get used to this whole thing now, and it's actually been going pretty well. At first I worried because I didn't understand how we'd ever make it through a day, but the Lord has been sustaining us with the energy to get it accomplished. I know that it's definitely worth all the time and effort. We're already seeing some good results with my Dad's health, which is a praise! Please pray that things will only continue to improve and not worsen. It's easy to start worrying, but we are always reminded to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. He is still in control! :)

Thank you so much for your prayers, everyone! I hope you've been having a wonderful week!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him

and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Picture credit: Google Images

~ Home At Last ~

I'm SO happy to report that my parents came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon!! My Dad is doing much better now and he didn't need the in-patient rehab after all! The doctors said he could come home if he promised to use his walker. So far, he's being very obedient. :) They are also scheduling him in for some out-patient rehab to work on a few things, though. Anyway, it's a huge relief to have them home now... after being without them for almost three weeks! They are very exhausted, though, and plan to spend the next few days resting and catching up on some much-needed sleep! Here is one pup I know missed his Mommy and Daddy a lot while they were gone...

...Our 3-year old black lab... Ty.

He did a wonderful job taking care of his four sisters, I must say. ;) But he's really glad to be sleeping on the bed with his Mommy again! :D

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!! We are so thankful that Dad is doing well again and we will continue to pray for God's healing hand to intervene in his life. (As we know it already has been!) He is sovereign and he is in control.

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH! :)

Farm Life...

With my new camera! :)

We have chicks of all sizes!

There are about 50 of them to be exact.

This is Darcy.

And here is Molly.

One of the "ladies" fluffing her feathers. ;)

The gorgeous sunset!

Sister #1 taking her own "Molly-Darcy-Hamburger" pictures! :D

Oh, yes... and let's not forget the big tough rooster. :)

"The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways."

Deuteronomy 28:8, 9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision."

Psalm 144:13

Thanksgiving Pictures

Our family had a very nice Thanksgiving.

We first celebrated last Saturday (a week ago) with my Mom's side of the family. It was held at a community center nearby and there were around 50-60 people there--with tons of food and dessert! It was delicious! :)

Yes, this is me... and that's my Dad's arm in the background! lol

Swinging on the swing outside... it was a beautiful day!

Sister #2 sitting on the bench watching the kids play ball.

The bright blue sky!

We had a chance of rain, but thankfully we didn't get any!

The children playing "20 Questions" together. It was so cute!

My beautiful Mommy & Daddy :)

When we got home that evening, we enjoyed ourselves by sitting around the fireplace. It had gotten a little chilly outside!

Apparently, Ty was enjoying it, too! :)

(Sorry about the spots in the picture. The camera just does that sometimes.)

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~ Thanksgiving Day ~

We spent Thanksgiving Day with my Dad's side of the family. The gathering was held in a family's airplane hangar... how interesting! :)

It was actually quite neat. Behind all of the neighborhood houses there was a runway for the planes taking off and landing. We decided to take a few fun pictures...

This is Sister #1 jumping high in the air!

And here, Sisters #2 & #3.

I thought Sis #3 looked so cute here! lol

Now, I'm sure you're wondering if "big sis" gave it a try. Yes, I did in fact. But there is no way I'd ever let anyone set eyes on the picture! Let's just say I'm not quite as talented when it comes to jumping... I guess.

Another BRIGHT blue sky!

L to R:

Sis #2 - Me - Sis #3 - Sis #1

I hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving! I'd love to hear how you spent your day!

"PRAISE THE LORD. GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD; HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER." Psalm 106:1