Picture Perfect

    
    

     I was reflecting the other day about the many blessings in my life and how this picture alone says much about some of these blessings.  This picture reveals some of the abundance that God has poured into my life.  With all of the beautiful green grass and tress in the background, my loving husband that has always supported me standing beside me, and our bundle of joy that we are in love with, many may assume that things are perfect.  Although this picture gleams of that notion, there are some things that are not shown in this photo.  Yes the grass and trees are a reflection of the beautiful Spring time, yet someone had to mow and care for it to make this picture colorful.  Yes, my wonderful husband is standing beside me supporting me on this joyous occasion, but there have been times that he had to exercise extra patience and love to deal with some of my moodiness. There have been times when my own smile was not there for him because he was testing my patience.  Yes, I am rocking the Cap & Gown after receiving my Master's Degree, but many people have no idea that this journey started exactly twenty years ago.  This picture does not show the many tears and times that I felt like giving up on my journey to graduation.  This picture does not show the times that I was discouraged by outsiders to forfeit my goal.  This picture also does not show a wife caring for her family and delivering our newborn in between classes while typing papers.  This picture does show our special addition to our family, our precious baby girl.  Yet, this picture does not show the years of heartbreak behind two miscarriages, a failed adoption, and the final surrender before we conceived again.  Although those things aren't shown in the photo, it is those things that I am most grateful to God for.  I do believe that God allowed me to conquer the ups and downs so that I can tell a testimony of his goodness.  I guess you can say that this is the Picture Perfect Testimony.  To God be the Glory!

Beauty Is .............

     As young girls, we often look at the women in our lives, mainly our moms to get our beauty barometer.  If these ladies have an obsession with what society says that we "ought" to look like, then we will often follow in their foot steps.  As young girls, we have found ourselves looking in mirrors while turning to the side and trying to figure out how we can make ourselves look skinny.  We pull on our hair to see how long it would be if it was naturally straight.  We look at the television commercials and convince ourselves that we will be more acceptable if we use the same beauty product that the model used that gave her that special glow and that smile that attracts anyone.  The unfortunate thing about this is the fact that this poison gets more intense as we become older.  More and more women are flocking to stores to empty the racks of high fashioned weave that does not even closely resemble their natural hair texture.  The cosmetic industry rakes in billions annually for the sake of helping us become more "beautiful".

    I wont even begin to say that I do not like to play in make-up or have worn weave before.  However, I am coming to a point where my definition of beauty comes from the biblical standard versus the worldly standard.  After all, it is God who made us and has given us a standard of how we should be.  Before we continue to stress ourselves about the latest and greatest in beauty trends, we need to look at the true priceless beauty that is described in his word:

-Proverbs 31:30: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be 
     praised.
   
      It is important to keep in mind that the fear of the Lord is important and precious to him.

-Peter 3:3-4: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

    Of course, this does not mean that you can not braid your hair or wear gold, but that what is more
     important to God is the inner beauty which is a gentle and quiet spirit.

- I Timothy 4:8: Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is more important, for it  
  promises a reward in this life and the next.

    Of course it is important to take care of the only physical temple that we are blessed with, but what
    is more important is the spiritual exercise.


    Although, we should take pride in keeping our temples fit and  God honoring, we need to remember that it is not the size of our bottoms or the length of our hair that makes us beautiful, but on those things that are important to the Lord.

Top 10 Things That I Learned From Deployment

    

 

 



     As is with military life, deployments are a part of the routine.  However, the Lord blessed Mr. Awesome and I to enjoy wedded bliss for three years before he had to go off and sail the horizons for 7 months.  As many spouses do, I had to put on my "big girl drawers" and get ready for the journey ahead.  As expected, the deployment stretched me in ways that I did not anticipate, but during the time that hubby was gone, I learned and grew a lot as a person.  Here are the top ten ways that I grew in the time that my hubby was gone.

1) My reliance on the Lord increased as it already does daily.

 

2) The great love that I had for my hubby grew exponentially.

 

3) I had to take out and dust off Ms. Independent a few times to get some business done that hubby would normally have been here to take care of.  However, it was not the same.

 

4) There are some really caring people in this world who understand the plight of military family sacrifices.

 

5)  The lawnmower and I do not (and will not) get along.  It is definitely not my favorite member of this family.

 

6) Raising a teenager "alone" is no walk in the park or on the beach ........ It's just not fun.  Lord, I learned a lot more about parenting during this time.

 

7) The stove/oven gets a much needed break during deployment, lol.  What choice of cereal do I want to eat?

 

8)  I was reminded of what Paul speaks of when he says that we can give undivided attention to God when we are not consumed with the cares of daily married life ( I Corinthians 7:33).

 

9) I learned how to be busy to help the time of deployment "pass quickly".

 

10) Mr. Awesome is such a great husband even on deployment.

 

 

About Feminism

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised - Proverbs 31:30

 

   "I'm a grown woman. I can do whatever I want."  This is a chorus verse from a song of one of the most famous feminists entertainers that is out today.  Whenever I think about the influence that this entertainer has on many women in this society, it is heartbreaking to know that so many idolize her.  At first thought, the lyrics may sound fun and cute, but these lyrics do not match up with the more personal side of her life.  This entertainer has a husband.  This entertainer has been seen in nurturing positions with her offspring.  Yet, this entertainer is swaying thousands of women to adopt this attitude of "I can do whatever I want to" and "girls rule the world".  This leaves many women confused as they take on a type of persona that does not bring true contentment.  It leaves me to wonder if this artist says these words to her long-time husband at home.  I wonder if she is at home teaching her daughter to hold this type of undisciplined attitude.  I believe that I can safely conclude that her lyrics do not display what really happens in her home.

     In my late teens and my early twenties, I adopted that type of attitude of being "grown" and being able to "do what I want to do".  I was all about "girl power" and I was trying to rule my "piece of the world". After I held this believe for a few years, I was left feeling confused and depleted and wondering why was I in a state of discontentment. This is when the Lord began working on my heart and I learned that true contentment comes from my God-given assignment and roles, not the role that society had pushed upon me.  After submitting myself to God's definition of my role as a woman, I began to breathe easier. I was able to relax in the fact that by accepting and embracing God's gift of my feminine nature, I was no longer fighting to be a true woman.  No longer did I have to feel the need to fuse my womanly nature with accents of the masculine attributes that society says that women need to carry.  In fact, now that I am married, I feel relieved to be able to embrace true femininity as I'm under my husband's physical protection.  I feel comfortable being under his priestly provision.  I feel relieved to be under his umbrella as the provider of this family.  As my husband does many things for our family, I am glad to be able to embrace my womanly roles in our family.  I am glad to be able to be a the soft feminine being that God has called me to be and not that confused masculine version that the world wants us to be. 

Special Gestures

 

 

          The first official thing that Mr. Awesome did to let me know that he was ready to take our friendship to the next level was to send flowers to my job.  I remember seeing the flowers for Valentine's Day and I became speechless. He made the nicest gesture of getting my favorite flowers {Tulips} sent to me.  It was the beginning of something special.  As time has gone on and we have just celebrated our third year of marriage, it would be easy to believe that there is no need to do these types of gestures anymore.  But as the saying goes, " you need to keep doing what you did to attract the love of your life even after you get them".  If I had to remind Mr. Awesome of that, this blog post would be different, but it isn't.  Over the course of our relationship, he has kept the flowers coming.  He still opens the door for me.  He still does all of those things that I found attractive in him in the beginning.  In fact, the other day he sent the Tulips in the picture to my job.  I was given many compliments and was asked many questions. "Is it your birthday?"  No, my birthday is in October.     " Are you mad at him?" No.  "Is everything OK?" Yes, these flowers are something that my hubby does on a regular basis. I thought that the questions were funny, but I couldn't help but to feel proud that my husband still goes through the process of showing me how much he loves me.  Although these gestures are not special for everyone, Mr. Awesome knows that they are special to me.  In no way do I take this for granted.  I am highly thankful for my husband and all of the ways that he shows his love for me.  More than that, I thank God for choosing to place us together as he did.   

 



Love

 

 

 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
-I Corinthians 4-7

     On a recent trip to the city of brotherly love (Philadelphia) to visit with family that I haven't seen in a long time and to get some authentic Cheesesteak sandwiches, we stopped to take a pic with this all too famous sign.  As we braved the type of cold that Philly is also famous for (at least in my book), we were able to get some other nice tourists to capture this moment for us.  Although the original designer of this sculpture, Robert Indiana, did such an artistic notion by making this display, we have to give all honor and credit to HE who constructed the concept of LOVE in the first place.

    Many times we think of love as that "tingle-in-my-spine-and-butterflies-in-my-stomach" feeling that we get when we see that special someone that we are enamoured with, but love is more than that.  In God's definition, it involves more action than anything.  It involves sacrifices with the perfect example being that of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins.  Although, we can never display that type of love, we must strive daily to adhere to the definition of love that our father has given us.  With that, I do hope and pray that I am able to continue to love my husband in the way that our father would have me to.  I pray that I will love my Bonus daughter in the way that he will have me to.  I pray that I will display this love in my daily walk out in the world.  But the humbling thing is to know of the depth of love that he has for us all.

For My Girls

     It is often that I thank the Lord for my husband.  I look at my blessing and I thank the Lord that he blessed me with a God-fearing husband that treats me like nothing less than a Queen.  I would be a fool to consider hubby less than anything but the King that he is.  As I think of this blessing, I also can't help but think of many ladies who are still praying for Mr. Wonderful.  From some of my closest gal pals to others, I often pray that they too will experience this type of love.  When I was a  singleton, I had a friend who prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed that God would send me a God-fearing husband.  Some twelve years later, he did (only on his time).  For those that I know who want the blessing of a God-fearing husband, I send up this prayer:


     Dear God,

     Today, I pray for those friends, family, and ladies in my life that have been praying for the blessing of a good husband.  I pray that you prepare them as well as their future spouses for the art of Holy Matrimony.  I pray that their hearts  will remain pure and healed from any hurts that may have happened along the way. I pray that they will completely forgive any and every perpertrator that has ever come to try to rob them of their innocence.   I pray that they will take out the time to seek you first in their decision making when it comes to giving certain people a piece of their precious time.  I pray that you will give them peace and contentment during this phase of life for in your word, it does command us to be content in whatever state we are in.  I pray that you will protect their minds, hearts,and bodies as they are being prepared for Matrimony.  I pray for physical purity during this time as it very hard not to give in to fleshly desires.  Lord, I pray that they will take this time to seek your face as this is the time of life where there is nothing standing in the way of complete devotion to  you.  I pray for complete discernment in their lives as well as the patience that is needed to go through the chiseling and grooming process.  Lord, I pray that they will see the beauty in holding themselves to a higher standard, knowing that pearls are not for pigs. Lord, I did not make all of the best decisions during my time as a singleton and you still saw fit to bless me.  I pray for the same grace on these ladies.  More than anything, I pray that these ladies will be at peace, filled with faith and hope, and know that this is ultimately for your glory.  To you we give all of the honor.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.