Just ask!

Well...at least I'm writing this within the month of the last one! haha!
God has really been ministering to me to write on this more..even if it's just short little things! I know it makes a difference! :)
I realized something last night that was small but really stuck out to me! I had stopped asking God for things that I wanted in life for the most part!
It is SOOO easy to get in the habit of completely relying on ourselves and our own abilities to accomplish and get things but why stop asking God or only ask him when we are in desperate need?? He is ALWAYS there!
My eyes were actually opened to this when I was thinking yesterday that I REALLY wanted to go to Hawaii sometime and wondering why I had never been...??
God then showed me that...duh...I hadn't asked Him for it!! I was just assuming that someday I'll eventually get around to going there..but who knows when! I almost saw it as impossible because I was looking at it in what I could do in my own strength and ability! So I sat down and said "God I'd like to go to Hawaii! I thank you that YOU have provided for that!" We simply need to ask! What in your life have you put on the back burner because you were only looking at in in how YOU could accomplish it rather than how God can work it out??? He is really opening my eyes now to how I've settled for less because I haven't looked to him as MY FATHER!! Wouldn't you ask your dad to provide for you in ways that you couldn't?? He is SOOOO far more faithful than any earthly father! Imagine that! :)
I love you all!!

Are you pursuing money or fulfillment?

My friend's and I were talking about making money today and it really got me thinking...
What is our end result/goal/focus in what we are wanting to be when we get older? Is it to make more money?

I was looking at my finances last night and started to think...I want to make more money...what can I do to do that? Start up new businesses, do a workshop? But I had to stop. My goal was JUST to make more money which is most certainly not my end goal!
I HEARTILY believe in using your money wisely and making it grow...but when that is my only focus and the reason why I live...is to do that..I'm missing it completely!

When I was younger I wanted to be a lawyer, graphic designer, and finally an architect solely because they made alot of money! Finally when I found one of my callings, photography, all the doors started opening up and I was doing it NOT because of the money but because I loved it and because I loved creating beautiful work and seeing people enjoy it!

This generation is SOOOO focused on making more money that we are NOT fulfilling our actual callings! I was driving down the street the other day and saw a lady sitting in her car all raggedy and looking like she hadn't slept in days and realized that she probably is not in her calling and then looked around some more and realized that probably 75% of the people I was driving past were not even in THEIR callings either! Whether they were driving a nice car or not!
They could be driving the nicest car, living in a mansion..yet still not fulfilling what they are called to because just making money is the focus!

If all we focus on is wanting to make more money we will literally NEVER be fulfilled! That's why so many people are lacking fulfillment and it's a total rat race because they think that having more things and money will bring that..yet it is never satisfying!

I really feel like if we find out and pursue what God has called us to do the doors will open for us and the money will follow! That the end result is NOT adding another dollar to the bank account but making a difference and impact in this world! That's why were here anyways right??

It's so incredibly awesome that you are at this stage right now and most likely haven't even entered that whole world yet and are finding this out now so that you don't have to get into that rat race! You can enter right into your calling! It's so easy right now!:)

What do you want your end result to be in your future job or career? If it's making money...you should PROBABLY be rethinking your life...and career! We're not just here to survive....or even to survive well...we're here to fulfill our callings and destinies, and through that we really will change the world!:)

"I'm fat, I'm fat, I'm really really fat..."

I used to sing these words when I was about 5 to an old Weird Al song. I don't know why but I LOVED this song! I didn't really understand it but thought it was cool! lol! Pretty sad huh??
Anyways, I've always struggled with believing I was overweight..and guess what?? alot of the time I was!

Now if you don't need to lose weight this post is still for you! It's so important to have a healthy eating style(diet). I am from a very healthy food eating family so I never would eat a ton of junk food but the thing that I JUST realized over the past couple weeks was even though I was eating healthier foods I would eat ALOT of it!! We had some friends over and I saw how much they ate and then looked at my plate and was like “I look like a pig!!”

My mom told me a couple months ago about some guy who was whining that he was overweight and finally God told him that he was just eating WAY too much! When I heard that story at first I got defensive and said “Mom, I don’t want to be anorexic! I eat just the right amount!” After a couple weeks of thinking about it then having those friends come over and seeing the portion sizes…I decided to just try cutting everything in half that I put in my mouth and not eating the other half! It was hard but I did it for a week and ended up losing about 3 pounds just that week! I thought! This must be it! This must be why I need to lose weight…I’m just STUFFING myself like a turkey!

You see us as Americans think that at each meal we aren’t going to eat for like the next 12 days so we eat and eat and eat until we are full or even stuffed! When guess what! We have the next meal in only a couple hours!! We aren’t going to starve! I think we all or most of us at least have caused our stomachs to grow because of our portions so that first week was hard because I was shrinking my stomach back to its real size which is only the size of your fist!! After that it became continually easier and easier until I started getting “full” on the half portions!! It was AMAZING!

So look at your portions this week…are you stuffing yourself? Do you feel bad leaving things on the plate? Guess what?? DON’T it’s going to end up in the same place anyways whether you eat it or it goes in the trash! LOL! It’s true!! So just eat until you have taken off that hunger burn and a little bit more than drink lots of water! It’s amazing what happens when you become disciplined in your eating habits!! I have sooo much more to say about this but this post is already pretty much a book! Haha! I love you all!! I’m going to be writing on here a bunch more because I have all the topics that I want to write about written down so I know what to write next! Fun times!!! Happy eating! :)

What's discipline?? Do I even have it?

Hey beautiful girls!!
I'm am terribly sorry I have neglected this place for so long but the reason why is what I will be dealing with in this post, discipline..or the lack of it! haha!
The past couple weeks I have been noticing my office, bedroom, and life just getting messier and more cluttered!
Ugh!! Not cool! Especially when I have alot on my plate and to have disorganization everywhere, makes it hard to think or even process things!
What is the purpose for discipline anyways?? Why would I want it? Ok well say your going running, you get on your shoes, you know where your going, but this time you just decide not to tie your shoes! What will happen the minute you get out there! YOU trip!! Discipline not only helps propel us forward, but helps us get there quicker and in one piece!! haha!!

The best thing to do in many areas, to change a habit or cause a good change, is start small. I examined my life to see what was out of order and the first thing that came to mind was that I would just wake up whenever, get on my computer in my pajamas and work like that most of the day. Duh, why everything is out of order! lol!
I was praying awhile ago how I can adjust this and the first tip was a good but easy one that God gave me! Basically set office hours and don't go up there until then and when I do be fully dressed as if my office was out of the house! That DEFINITELY helped, so I put that in place.

Now for the next step!!! uh oh! lol! I prayed last night that God would wake me up when HE wanted me to wake up to have my devotional time. Well...guess what time that was??? 5:30!! But the awesome part was since he woke me up I was able to get up right away with no trouble even though I went to bed last night at midnight! I'm excited about this next step toward discipline in my life!

Do you think the president sits around in his pajamas all day and wakes up at any time??? NOPE!! He has set MANY disciplines in his life and it's taken him where he is today! I know discipline is a pretty harsh word and doesn't sound very fun! But really it takes ALOT of discipline to put the things in place but once they are there and become habits it's much easier and it can take you to the next level!! BUT guess what!! It's terribly hard to do or stay consistent on on our own! I've had MANY failed attempts at that! It helps SOOO far more when the Holy Spirit is guiding you in what to set in place and how to keep it there!

What small bit of discipline can you start to put into your life??? Find out what that is then ask God to help you with it and keep it there!! I love you all and am so excited for this journey!!

Captivating!

So I just finished the book Captivating yesterday and it is seriously the best book I've ever read(besides the bible of course)!!! It took me about 6 months to read it cause when I read I like to really dissect the book so I get all that I can out of it, and plus I it was the busiest time of my life!! lol! Anyways, I highly highly recommend it to every woman!! It has totally changed my life! When I went on my little retreat a couple weeks ago this is what I read most of the time because it just really speaks to a woman's heart in a way that I have never seen another book do!
The 3 main things that the book talked about that a woman's heart longs for:
1. To be romanced
2. To to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure
3. To unveil beauty
The way it talks about doing this is unbelievably simple but so important!
One of the things is offering your true heart to people without fear of being rejected, it's risky but God did not give us these hearts to hide or bury but to come alive and to minister to others with them!
Another very important part that I read and God is really working in me right now is worshiping.
I have found that whenever I really like something I LOVE it and it becomes almost a god in my life! I remember I used to like a band when I was younger and it just became all that I would talk and think about! I was just sharing what I thought this fault was in my life with one of my friends yesterday and she said "THAT IS YOUR STRENGTH!!" I was taken back for a second cause I could not see how this could be a strength! But she went on to say when you turn that same attention to God that's when it is your strength! So my weakness then becomes perfected into my strength!
Lastly, in this book it talks about how a girls never ending question is: Am I lovely?
And it shows that we really try to get this question answered by everyone else but really the only one who can truly answer it is Jesus!
So yeah..Incredible book..drop everything you're doing right now and go out and buy it! The authors also have a book for guys called Wild at heart I haven't read it but heard it was excellent! I love you all!! Have an amazing day!

Aaachooooooooo!!!!

Oh man!!! Well it's that most wonderful time of the year...everyone seems to be not feeling so good:( We have the holiday's to thank for it partly because we eat so much sugar that it weakens are immune systems so it can't fight as hard, then the weather sets in and it's just a fun mess of Kleenex!! haha!
I know I haven't really dealt much with health on this blog but now is definitely the time!
The absolute best thing to use is scripture....haha! Yeah I know..may sound weird you probably thought I was going to say like half a cup of warm water, some lemon and honey(even thought that IS really good for you) the very best thing is to dive into the word and get your faith built up! :)
My dad, two years ago was dealing with a never ending cold which he found out later was most likely pneumonia!! It just kept going on and on and on! For over a month! Finally he went to our pastor for prayer, our pastor prayed and my dad started feeling better but then it came back full force again. Later that night our pastor called him and said "You know whenever I feel those symptoms start to creep up on me I just take 4 or 5 healing scriptures and say them in the morning and at night!" And it works!!!! Seriously! It gets your faith built up in the area of healing so your taking what the devil meant for bad and turning it into good by getting that area that he is attacking built up!! When I broke my ankle I immediately got on those healing scriptures and started getting built up in the area of healing and even though I wasn't able to walk over night it healed up exactly how we had been praying and the doctors were very pleased how well it healed(cause I was going to need surgery!! But the doctor decided not to do it! Which in itself was a miracle)!!
So take that scripture like you take medicine! And with this there are no bad side effects either!! Only good ones!! So even if you're not sick I recommend start just confessing healing scriptures it will get you built up in that area so that when the devil wants to try to attack you have a bigger wall against him!!
Here are some healing scriptures that I have been speaking and you can use these too!
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
I pray that you all have a healthy happy amazing new year!!
I love you all!
Sarah

A time to talk and a time to SHUT UP!!!

I'm sure it has happened to you many times before when you say something and a couple minutes later you are beating yourself up about saying it! Ugh! It's one of the worst feelings ever! Almost like letting someone down!
An awesome verse that really applies to this is: Proverbs 10:19 - Where words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
Us as girls have no problem talking and speaking our minds! I actually was trying to find a comic strip that my dad told me about that perfectly illustrated this. Basically it was a picture of a guys mouth and brain and a girls. The guys had this big maze that the words had to go through before he spoke it and the girls just had one big pipe!! LOL!! It's really pretty true though! Not saying at all that guys don't have to watch what they say but especially us girls!
I was sitting down last night talking with my parents about some things I was struggling with and finally realized that everything I was dealing with directly related to me talking to much! I am a pretty open person about things I'm going through(instead of gossiping about others I find I gossip about myself!! lol!) so when I tell people they voice there opinion which isn't bad at all(it's usually helpful) But I realized that I would take their opinion over what God had told me!! It happened over and over again until I realized that it was affecting my everyday life!
So the moral of this is before you speak think, will I regret saying this later on?, is this building the other person up at all or just satisfying my need to tell some "juicy" story?? Psalm 141:3 -Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.
As you can see in this verse it is very serious business what you let come out of your mouth!!
One of the best most practical ways to keep your mouth shut when you want to let it all out is to ask the other person questions and keep them talking! It will keep you from the temptation of telling what you would hate to have said later on!
Ask God to give you wisdom on what you should and shouldn't say! Then the holy spirit will give you a little check in your heart about what you shouldn't say!! It's awesome!! Thankfully we are not alone in this whole thing!!
I love you all!

Is it ok being single?

OK!!!! Wow!!! Welll I'm so sorry it has taken me close to forever to write on here! hehe! I have had one of the busiest months ever! But I'm going to have alot of down time in the next couple weeks so hopefully I'll get to post more! :)

The biggest thing that has been coming up in conversations and that I have been thinking about is the topic of being single! Who would have thought?? lol!
Let me just start off with saying that I have ALWAYS been single so this is coming from that perspective.
Ok..so we all admit it being loved, cared for, needed, and adored is soooo amazing! That is what we get fulfilled in dating! That is why people normally would much rather be with someone than be without! And that is very valid because God put that desire in us! And it will be fulfilled someday through the person you will marry!

The thing that I have been thinking about lately is that it seems that the world puts so much pressure on us to not be single to always have SOMEONE that we never actually have a chance to become who we are separate from another person! I have seen it happen all to often where people jump from one person to the next without taking a break and becoming who they are in Christ! Becoming who we are in Christ and having THAT relationship be #1 in our lives is soooo important! If that relationship isn't strengthened than all our other relationships will fail! I am really enjoying being single right now cause I can completely focus on what I need to focus on ESPECIALLY my relationship with God! It's amazing how freeing it is! :) My friend Sarah and I were just talking about this last night and she shared with me this AMAZING poem that she found and I think it completely sums up what I have been talking about and my heart! Enjoy!

Saved & Single
What makes you think that just because I am an attractive woman of God that I'm incomplete without a mate? Who told you that without a man somethings missing from my life? And if so, what would that be?
Love? I love myself and more importantly I love the Lord. He told me that when I delight in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart.
Security? I have everything I need according to His riches in glory.
Intimacy? Now, how's a man going to get to know me when he doesn't even know who he is in the Lord.
See my Father told me I'm above a ruby's worth and a gem does not seek, it is sought. I'm single and that's all right with me. See, it's not that I oppose relationships it's that I detest co-dependency. As a woman I know it is not my role to chase after any man. Esther 2:14 reads that I am to wait on my king and when he's delighted in me he will call me by my name.
My Lord does not intend for me to be needy or desperate. I am to be cherished, Relished, Valued, and Honored. It's not my job to convince him or convict him of that. My mate will already know it and consistently show it and he will stay on his knees daily - not just to adore me but to praise the Lord for the virtuous woman he has found.
So, when you see me by myself - I'm not alone. I know what I have coming to me. I'm single and saved, and right now that's all I need to be!- Author Unknown

True Beauty?

Hey girls! I just saw this video and it's a real eye opener! I know as girls we are always trying to live up to the beauty standards we see in all the magazines but really alot of them are fake!! God has made each one of us absulutely beautiful! And even better we are made in his image! I will talk more about this in another post:)

Compromise

A couple weeks ago Natalie and I were talking about compromise and justifying things.

I have noticed a ton of my friends in the past years get deeper and deeper into things they shouldn’t be doing! I realized that it all started from a little seed!

They were on fire for God and they let in just a little something and it grew and grew until now it’s effecting their everyday lives!!

Setting boundaries and sticking with them is so important! It’s one of the most important things you can do in your life! It’s a part of self control.

Whether it’s with movies, food, relationships, even the way you talk SET BOUNDARIES!!!

I have seen it happen way to many times where friends decide to say one little bad word…no big deal!! They think. Now they don’t care what they say!! Just from that little seed! Same with movies and other things! “Oh! This movie only has a little bit of ‘stuff’ in it…I can handle it!” Now they are watching some of the worst movies I have heard of! I’m not condemning them..because it’s their decision. But their decisions effect others and themselves!

Normally if you have to justify things for yourself it probably not the best thing to do! Trust me! Don’t start opening that door because once it’s open it just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Set guidelines for the things that you let in you! Remember that you are the temple of the holy spirit! What kind of house do you want to provide him with? One that is filled with trash? Or one that is clean!!?? Watch what you put in your eyes, ears, and even mouth! What goes in WILL come out!!!

I love you all!! I’ll try to post WAY more often than I have

A new outlook.

I was just having my devotional time this morning and God was speaking to me about my example.

He was showing me that I might be the only picture people see of Him! WOW!! You might be the only picture or example that people ever see of Jesus!! That carries more weight in the way we act, dress, talk, think, etc…

In the Bible it says they will know we are Christians by our love….but what if they already know that we are a Christian and we’re not loving or setting a good example? They’re going to get a bad taste in their mouth about Christians in general!

We need to in every area represent Jesus!

The way we act: What do you do that represents Jesus or doesn’t represent him? Take a minute to think about how you act in general. How does that represent God? If it’s not good then ask Him to show you how you are supposed to act the brings glory to Him not to yourself. Even if it's just smiling at people!! That makes their day and show's them God's love!!

The way we dress: How are you dressing? Does it cause guys to stumble? Does it look like you just got out of bed? How you dress also represents you AND God!! Because it’s how you come across…one of people’s first impressions of you! When you’re getting dressed each morning think, how does this represent me and God? Remember, you are a princess and you represent God in that way. So dress like one!!!!!!!

The way we talk: We need to make sure that the way we talk is reflecting God! I KNOW that this is hard sometimes cause we like to talk A LOT!! Lol! But know that in everything you say, it is a reflection of what’s really in your heart! When the world see’s us gossiping, swearing, etc. there is nothing different between us and them! But…when they see us building people up and responding in love it sets us apart and they then see what God is really like!!

Remember that God made us in HIS image and we are to look just like Him!! I recommend studying the Bible about love because that’s where it all starts! When you love others it comes out and that is when people truly see God. And the glory then goes to him! And that’s where it should be in the first place because we love Him so much!!

So take that to heart…show God to others today in every way! Let them see Him! You never know it might be their first time!!!!

Love you all!!

Sarah

A heart after God's heart.

Hey girls! Wow! I have had one busy summer so far!! No, I haven’t forgotten about you all!!:)
I had posted earlier that I was going to go through the whole Proverbs 31 verse by verse…I decided that I’m going to switch it up a little and just write what God speaks to me..and when it’s about Proverbs 31 then it will be about that…but I’m going to jump around on different topics again, including Prov. 31 Enjoy!!

God has been ministering me a lot lately about having a heart after his! A heart that is molded to be just what he wants it to be! It is so easy to start doing what we want and pray for the things that WE want…but what is God desire for us? I struggle with this all the time and I always have to come back to God surrender my plans and ideas to him. Letting him clear away any junk that I mixed into it and let him shape it into what he wants it to be!

I want to hear God so clearly and when my plans and ideas start getting in the way it is soooo hard to hear him! I fast every Wednesday just to get away and surrender everything to him. It is so important to do this! Even if it’s just sugar, tv, etc. Surrender something! It helps so much to kill that flesh that would try to rise up and get in the way of God’s plans! Fasting is like a form of death….in the sense that your giving up self and surrendering to God. When that “self” is dead it can’t get in the way of God speaking!

Another way to have a heart after God’s heart is to be a servant! God was just speaking to me yesterday about this! Being a servant is humbling and will shape and mold your heart to exactly how God is! This is one of the most difficult things for me…because I have 6 younger brothers and sisters..and when I want something and they are just sitting around I ask them to do things for me…sometimes it’s fine.. But when it becomes a habit of other people doing things for you, you get out of the habit of serving others!! So yesterday I specifically did things to kill that “flesh” even more by serving and helping out! Even though it is hard sometimes it is so worth it in the end when your heart is pure and clean just like God’s own heart!
I love you all so much!! Have a wonderful day!
Sarah

Confidence

Hey girls! Sorry I haven't written in awhile! I miss you all! I am sitting on a porch looking out over the mountains in the Dominican Republic it's gorgeous! Ok let's dive right in!

Proverbs 31:11- Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing in value.

How can we apply this to our lives right now??

Her husband has FULL confidence in her. That means that no matter what he can fully trust her!! He can trust her with hard responsibilities and to manage things; and he can trust her with sharing things with her!

This means that we should be so faithful and do things with integrity! No matter what! Even if it's a extremely hard task or responsibility people know that they can come to you because you are trustworthy and they know that no matter what you can get it done and they can fully trust you to do it! How awesome of a reputation would that be?? People have full confidence in you! In every area!

Every area!! hmm..that also means with our tongues!! Uh oh!! Hehe! When people share things with you, you keep it in confidence so as to not ruin their reputation or yours! I know this is so hard for us girls because we LOVE to talk..and often it gets into gossip, but how much better would it be for people to know you as someone they can come to and trust! And know that after they tell you the whole world won't know by tomorrow?

Full Confidence! People have no worries when they are around you because you put them at ease! And with this they lack NOTHING of value! In another translation it says "Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life." Wow! So we enrich people's lives through being trustworthy!

Be a person of integrity! It stands out!! Believe me! People will notice that no matter what they can trust you with anything! But don't just do it to be praised! God loves it when we show integrity! So it's a win-win-win situation! You are helping people, building a good reputation, and pleasing God! All at the same time!

So next time someone trusts you with something to do..don't just do it 100%!! Far surpass their expectations!! Let's GREATLY enrich people's lives!! That's why we're here!!!

I love you all!!

Sarah

Ps..Oh yeah! My friend Jake reminded me of this too!! Can not forget this!!: Also, part of having full confidence is knowing that you won't have "wandering eyes." Looking at EVERY guy thinking hmm.."Is he the one".."Oh!! he is sooo cute!!" I do it alot! But it's a habit that we need to work on breaking so that we don't do this in our marriages!! So many people have told me that once they get in that habit of being "On the prowl" it is very harmful after marraige! So trust God!! He will bring that person to you! It's alot easier that way!!...now I have to majorly work on that too..so you all aren't alone!

Rubies! - Proverbs 31:10

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”

What in the world does this mean?

First even though you may not be a wife or even become one soon you still have to work on these qualities because they are God’s plan for how a woman is supposed to be!

First we’ll look at noble character. Noble means having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: a noble spirit. It also says in a different translation a virtuous woman. One of the meanings of virtuous means to be pure! Untainted or corrupted. Also someone who has saved themselves for their husband.

So basically in this verse it is saying who can find a girl that has strong character all the time and who is pure! The thing is is that it’s not popular to be pure or to stand up for what you believe is right! The world wants us to be passive and just go with the flow! YEAH RIGHT! We need to go against the grain! If the world was heading the right direction then it wouldn’t say in this verse “Who can find?” but because hardly anyone these days stay pure and have that strong noble character, we’re hard to find!

Even if you haven’t stayed pure in the past there is hope now! God can totally wipe your slate clean! All you need to do is ask for forgiveness It’s worth it!

Be that needle in the haystack! Or ruby in the haystack! Build that character up! Work on the fruit of the spirit! Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. The way you know how your character is is how you act in the middle of situations! If you react mean and harsh then you know that you need to work on love and peace! If you can’t stop eating those doughnuts then you know that you have to work on self control! Every time that you react right and with the fruit of the spirit it is building your character! Ask God to help you to strengthen that character…and watch out it won’t be easy! But it will be worth it because you’re a ruby being shined!

I love you all!

Proverbs 31!

For the next couple weeks I'm going to be doing an indepth study on here on Proverbs 31! I'm really excited about this because it is what God has called us girls and women to be! Even if we are not married we can still work on these qualities, because I guarantee you that if you don't have them now they won't just appear all of a sudden when you are married! Some might with God's grace...but most of these things need to become habit now! As I said in an earlier post that for a whole semester my dad taught me on the Proverbs 31 woman. It was such an eye opener! Prov. 31 is now definitely my favorite chapter, probably because God has given me such revelation about it! Now to put it into practice! So for this first post about it, I'll just post the whole section so you can get a feel for what we'll be going over! :)
Proverbs 31:10-31
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Low times.....

What do you do when everything seems to go wrong?? You don't feel like talking to God, everyone seems to be edgy(especially you), and nothing seems to flow! It happens to me every once in awhile! Like just now I typed up this whole thing and then accidently deleted it and had to write it alll over! It can be really depressing!
How do you handle it!!??
First, keep your joy!!! For instance say you totally messed something up, don't let the enemy steal your joy from you. With a bad attitude it will make the situation far worse but with a joyful attitude you can turn that situation around! Even just smiling or laughing will help! I've broken down on the highway a couple times and both times just laughed the whole way through, which actually made the situations kind of fun even though they wouldn't have been fun normally!!
Second, check your heart. See if there is anything that might have opened the door to these situations happening. If God convicts you of anything just repent. Don't leave any open door for the enemy! Third, pray! This will draw you closer to God and turn the situation around! Especially since this is normally the time that you really don't feel like praying and usually it's the time that you need to pray the most!!! Fourth, KEEP YOUR JOY!! I know this was #1 but is should be on here again because it will so improve the situation, your outlook, and your life!! No matter what happens keep that joy!! Smile, keep your chin up, and trust God! No situation is too hard for him!! :)

Lemonade stands???

Ok...so let's see...I'm believing God for: studionewcameraequipmenthousetorentouthusbandclothesstrongrelationshipsetc!! Did you get all that? lol! Ever since I was little my parents taught me how to believe God for things. When I was 7 I wanted an American Girl doll sooooo bad!!! Allll of my friends had one but my parents wanted me to earn the money to buy one. Well...I could have a lemonade stand everyday for the next 10 years to possibly earn the money for one....or I could believe God for one! I choose the latter...or I might still be running a lemonade stand today!! The first thing I did was pray and ask God for the doll.. then I gave one of my favorite dolls away to someone to sow that seed for the next doll! When you sow you reap! It definitely didn't happen overnight it was a couple weeks or months until it finally manifested!! My parents one night asked me if I had $100 what would I do with it? Now for a 7 or 8 year old that is ALOT of money! I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do!! Buy that American Girl doll! My uncle had passed away and left every niece and nephew $100 and I was able to get the doll!! All it took was faith, prayer, and sowing!!! Sometimes God will give you wisdom if you are supposed to do something, like before this probably when I was 6 I wanted a different doll, so I gave another one away, prayed and had a lemonade stand! I had that doll by the end of the week!! You can't just be lazy and hope that what you are believing for will fall out of the sky!! God set these systems up for us to use! Not just hope that sometime in the future maybe what I want will happen!! NO!!! Get on it today!!! What are you believing God for?? Get a scripture for it, pray it, see if you need to sow anything, and start thanking God for that harvest!! Don't give up until it happens!!!! God wants to be involved in every part of your life even the things that you think are little he is there to help!!! Because he loves you!!!

My first love.

You know how when someone falls in love with someone else they are so excited? They can't stop spending time with that other person, all they talk and think about is them? Well I noticed the same type of thing happens when someone gets saved!! They get sooo excited about God all they can do is talk about him and they get so excited about his word!! I noticed though that usually the people that this happens to are those who get saved later in life, who notice a huge difference in everything. What about those who got saved when they were really little!?? What do we do? We didn't necessarily have any major turnaround, we just said the prayer after our parents or whoever and knew that we were going to heaven! Yea! BUT!! What about being totally and utterly in love with God? For me I really started noticing it a couple years ago...
I wasn't in love with God...I hadn't even had that first love experience like so many people have had! So one day I cried out to God and told him exactly how I felt: that I loved other things more than him and I wanted him to be my first love, to fully have my heart! Sooo...he had me do something drastic! Our old pastor after every service would do an alter call...and for a couple weeks God was ministering for me to go up!! Yeah right! I was a Christian! Those were all sinners who were going up! Finally, that morning that I cried out to him, he spoke to me to go up that night to rededicate my life to him and to get baptized! Well I just got sick! What would people think of me!?? OMG!! That couldn't have been God telling me that! I couldn't do anything that day because I was so concerned and finally my parents noticed and asked what was up....I told them...and..they agreed that they thought it was God!! Ah!! So I did it that night! It was one of the hardest things ever but I had to get out of myself and make that public declaration! And trust me it wasn't overnight that all of a sudden I was sooo in love with God. It has been a process but an awesome one!! I'm am not saying at all that you all have to go up to the alter to rededicate...that is just what God gave me to do. He might give you something else. But the real question is: Is God your first love?

Modesty! Does it even exist?

Well that is up to you!!
I know I know! When you go to the store you see the CUTEST shirt, perfect color, perfect style and everything! You go try it on in the dressing room and it's just a little hard to get on, but it's all good it will stretch out in time. You look in the mirror and WHOA!!! You're sexy!!! It just shows a little bit of cleavage but it's ok it's not THAT much and it's a little too tight but once you wear it everyday by the end of the week it might be a little less tight...
Does this sound like what happens when you shop??? Come on I know!! I confess I have done this!
What is the problem with showing just a little bit?? It can't hurt anyone!! Everyone else is wearing it!! It is soooo hard if not impossible to find modest clothes!!! Guess what!!! It can be done!!!
Whenever I'm feeling super discouraged about what to wear, thinking there is nothing out there, I go spend some time with my cousins!! LOL!! The Barlowgirls!
Something that I have learned from them is layers are VERY good!! Long undershirts and regular t-shirts can both be put under those really cute shirts! Be creative!!
What is the reason we don't want to show all this?
For me the reason that I try to dress modestly is because I don't want guys coming after me for the wrong reasons! JUST for what I'm showing! Girls, guys are motivated by vision!! When they see that, it is really hard for them to not take notice! We need to protect the guys around us and love them enough to not cause them to stumble!! It's worth it! Would you rather have a guy like you for who you are or for what you are showing!??
I'm definitely still working on this! So not everyone is perfect! The area that I'm stuggling with is finding shirts that don't show everything when you lean over!!! Ah!! But it can be done!!
So just go out and buy those longer shirts that cover your stomach and higher shirt's that cover that cleavage!! Save it for after your married!!! Not everyone needs to see it!! :) Plus we get to SHOP more!! Who doesn't love that!!

Boys Boys Boys!!!

Ahh!!!! What do we do!!??!?!?! I think I started liking them at like 3 years old!!
I can't even count on two hands how many boys I've liked....
Justin, Steve, Joey, Louie, John, Bryan, David, Andrew, Jordan, etc...goes on and on!! lol!
(....most of them never even knew that I liked them!!!!)
A while ago I just cried out to God because even though it's fun to like someone....it is TIME consuming!! God showed me that each of these crushes were like tests!!! What!!?? How could it be a test? He showed me that with each guy that I would like I would think about, talk about, dream about, etc. allll the time!! So the test was whether I can keep God #1 or is the guy going to be #1!?? Hmm...well I most definitely failed everytime!!! And it just kept drawing me farther from God because all these guys were getting in the way! So that is why I cried out to God..at first I was like I just don't want to like anymore guys for a awhile!! Well...that didn't happen...but the way that I handle it is different now! :) Everytime that I think of that person that I like...I pray!!! And believe me I pray ALOT now....but it is building my faith, helping the situation, strengthening my prayer life, and drawing me closer to God rather than farther away!!
I also realized that I can't put my hope in any guys...because I will be disappointed...It says in the Bible to put your hope in God and you'll NEVER be disappointed!!! Which means my hope can never be in any guy even if I end up marrying him...it still can't be in him it has to stay in God!! Trust me this is super hard but worth it!!!
Soooo....I challenge you girls...(and even guys!) that everytime that you think of that awesomely amazing person that you think is the cutest thing that ever hit planet earth!!!!! Pray!!!!! Pass this test!! Don't let God be put on the backburner!! Show him that he is number #1 in everything!! It will MAJORLY help!!