Posts

Do You Remember?

Image
Do you remember: Lego wars and dirt tunnels, Sand fights and sword battles? The tire swing and trampoline, Freeze tag and laughing? The Four Musketeers, were we. Do you remember: Golden rays cascading upon blue eyes, waiting? Laughing and running, Blissful innocence? Swinging and swimming, Blue waters shimmer, And underneath, the dreaded pool monster? Three girls growing and learning; Sisters by bond. Do you remember: Singing in choir, side by side, The time you forgot to ask your mom if I could come over, And I arrived, sleeping bag in tow? The flower you taught me to draw, And the games of tag played? Friends, were we. Do you remember: Saddles creaking, sweat falling, Dirt billowing? Bursts of speed, chomping bits, Bugs in eyes, star filled nights? Spurs clinking, heavy accents, Dreams awakened and shared? Shy smiles, ill-behaved horses, Tall hats and proudly worn belt buckles? Horse trainers, were we. Do you remember: Nervous giddiness, all in a

So.... Is Marriage or Singleness Better?

Image
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 Generally speaking, being single can be viewed as being better suited for ministry. But is it? As the Bride of Christ, we are serving him and awaiting for His return. We don’t view it as being worse than when we were “single” (separated from Him), but we sometimes view marriage as less than being single in ministry because you have more time as a single person to “do stuff dedicated to the L

16 Things I Learned From a Year of Consecration

Image
These past 12 months (April 2016 - April 2017) were honestly the most painful and yet best I have ever had. They were challenging in ways that I didn’t expect and joyful in ways that were surprising. My heart felt like it was constantly in a time of being broken and then built back together only to have it broken and put back together, stronger than before. And not always broken in bad ways, but simply having preconceived ideas and dreams challenged and things stripped away and replaced. And it hurt! But God is good and He makes things new! When I used to hear people say, “I’m in a time of consecration” I’d just think, that’s kind of odd…. Isn’t that just the way singles are supposed to live? What’s the point? Ha ha ha….. This year: I’ve discovered is that it is very hard to be mentally “not available” when I technically am available (single). Before, there was pretty much always the thought in the back of my head of, “ What if he shows up soon?! ”. It took time

Spring Blessings

Image
“ It seems like blessings keep falling in my lap…. ” So. Many. Blessings. God really enjoys giving the desires of your heart when you seek Him. The things you’d like to have, but you don’t think you’ll get. And a lot of the things aren’t needs , they just make life a little sweeter. I was feeling kinda down. Just kinda tired with some things going through my head. Jesus, I would like some encouragement! Nothing happened. I went through a couple weeks just feeling funky. Nothing was wrong, just something felt “off”. What is going on?! This isn’t normal… My friends were praying... then it slowly went away. I still don’t know what caused it; it was weird. Life continued. Our newest 4 legged member, Shimmer. She's 3/4 Welsh Mountain Pony & 1/4 Halflinger And then over the last week or so it’s been as if God decided to answer all the quiet desires in my heart at once! I was praying for a desk for my side of the room. BOOM! One of the families

Marriage Expectations

Image
“We’re not perfect, but we’re perfectly imperfect for each other”, she replied, smiling as her eyes divulged the many emotions she was feeling. Today I was thinking about couples that I know. Some are together, some just had painful break-ups, some are in the process, and some just smile at each other from across the room. The friend that I was talking to that said the above quote is in one of the more pleasant categories and I’m excited for them! Not just in a, “Oh! Its another cute couple!” but in a “I know they’ve prayed a lot about this, they know each other, they’ve been friends, and they don’t have unrealistic expectations” way. I’ve seen so many couples going into relationships with unrealistic expectations, only to have their heart broken because the other person didn’t fulfill them in the ways they wanted, or they discovered that they were a sinner, or maybe they just plunged in too hard too fast without really knowing the other person and the direction they

A Monkey Eulogy

Image
2006 My dog was put down on Thursday. For those of you that didn’t know Fanci, she was my white schnauzer that I’ve had for 10 years. She was my shadow - she’d do homework with me, sleep in my bed, everything. I could hold her upside down and she’d be completely content because she trusted me and knew I would never hurt her. If I left for somewhere overnight, as soon as I returned home she would be ecstatic! She hated when I left. And then I started doing missions and I could never explain to her that I’d be gone for months at a time. So every time someone would get home, Fanci was there, waiting for me, but I didn’t come back. So she waited, and waited. My mom says she was depressed waiting for me. Fanci had never been depressed, but she was. I broke her heart. And when she should have been in comfort, sitting snuggled in my lap for her later years, she was confused because I wasn’t home. But all of that is ended now. When I was briefly home last month in-between mi