Forever For His Glory

I remember when I first got my purity ring. It wasn’t something someone told me to do - I wanted to do it.  I remember looking online for the perfect one, and then receiving it for my birthday. Ah, I wore it proudly! As did the other girls in our homeschool circles. The silver band sat glistening on my right hand, because the left hand meant you were married, and you couldn’t have people [aka guys] thinking that! Though I knew a couple girls who wore theirs on their left hands (aka the radical ones).   The ring symbolized a vow to the Lord to keep oneself for one’s spouse. It was something that you’d keep, and then give to your spouse. It was a symbol of purity; a gift. Years went on.... I still wore my ring (though I had since exchanged it with a delicate silver band that my brother made). When I went out of the country to India and St. Vincent I moved move my ring to my left hand so that guys would think I was taken. And during the 4 months I was in St. Vincen...

So, one of the main things (if not the main thing) that single girls look forward to in life is marriage (I'm not a guy so I can't speak for the single men in our midst). I've wanted to get married since I was 4, and I can't imagine how many hours I've spent talking and thinking about the subject. The subject was recently once again brought to the forefront of my thoughts as I've been thinking about various things. But this morning I was listening to a message by Mike Bickle and it was about having God first in our lives, what that means, etc. After the message I was talking to God about it, asking that He would be my one love that all of the rest of my love came from. And God of course always goes to the heart of the matter because He knows what I've been thinking, and so He said, "All of this will fade away - your marriage will not last for eternity. I will survive for eternity. Your relationship with Me will last for eternity. Don't look...

Love. Probably the most misused word in our English vocabulary. I have spent many hours pondering “love”; what exactly is it? And how is it shown? Growing up, I watched the Disney Princess movies. I know, I know, if anyone has an incorrect view of love, it was them. Boy meets girl (via her singing or dancing, or being locked in a dungeon, etc), becomes smitten (fights off dragons, angry mobs, and jealous stepmothers), and ultimately gets the girl. In my 8 year old mind, I thought it was so romantic that Sleeping Beauty was awakened with a kiss (of true love!), and that Cinderella’s Prince fell in love with her during a dance. I thought it was so sweet! As I have grown older, I have been thinking about those relationships, and how carnal they were. Extremely handsome Prince meets beautiful Princess. Immediately becomes smitten and would do anything to save her. The Disney Princes were any little girls dream guy. They were kind, considerate, dash...

In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 These verses and I have gone back and forth a lot. Most of the time, I read a verse and it quite simply states what to do, so I do it. This one was a little harder... For one, people have different ideas about what “modest” is. Some say you have to wear skirts all the time, others say loose-fitting jeans are okay. Some only wear loose blouses, while others wear more form fitting. And back and forth it goes. I was getting quite exasperated as I tried to figure out “modesty”; and that is just the first part of the verse! There is a lot more to it.... “…with propriety and moderation...” Our ‘76 American Heritage Dictionary lists “propriety” as “ the quality of being proper; appropriateness. Conformity to prevailing custom...

All was going well. I was learning about becoming a woman of God, home-making skills, and how to love and serve God better. And then I read these verses in Isaiah 54 and a new journey began.... “Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the place of your tent... Do not spare...And strengthen your stakes.... For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer... the God of the whole earth..." "For your Maker is your husband..." It was something I already knew; Christian's are the Bride of Christ. It was something that I had been learning about for quite a while, and as I had always understood it (for my life) it was my training ground (if I can say that) for when I would be married someday. And then God asked me something that would change my aspect o...

   "How to be a godly lady" - sounds like the name of a book, huh? Yet it is something I have been wondering about for quite a while. For the most part, I viewed ladies as elegant women at least in their late 20's (or 30's) that were very refined, and to a point didn't do a lot of outside activities (besides tea and crumpet's, of course). And to tell the truth, drinking tea and eating crumpet's all day did not sound very interesting, at least for me. And to become a true woman of God also left me quite in a pickle, because it seemed like you had to do so much! But, let me back up a bit.         I have two older brothers, one is 7 1/2 years my senior and the other is 5 years my senior and no sisters. So, naturally, I grew up doing most of everything with them. Whatever they did, I did too. To a point I wanted to be exactly like them, between eating whatever they ate to playing whatever video game was popular to tagging along with them in...