Marriage, Photography, and more..........

Happy Friday Eve!! Ha! I've not been doing so good about keeping up on posting my quotes lately. Hopefully I'll fix that over the next week or so! For now, here's a bunch of random ones........since they're arranged in my folder in alphabetical order, sometimes a bunch of similar ones end up together.

The theme of the evening? Marriage & photography.....plus more. Told you it was random ;)

This is so ME!!!! I love driving long distances by myself, windows rolled down, music blaring!

So, so true.

This is one of those personal hard-to-share ones.

Couldn't be said more perfectly.........your photographs reflect your worldview.

Encouraging!! Or intimidating??

Ugh, I hear this ALL. THE. TIME. Never responded quite like this, though.......

Beautiful.

Maybe not always true, but funny nonetheless :D

Comparing marriage to music.............does it get any more lovely than that?

Girls - remember this.
Lisa - remember this.

 Goodnight, friends!! xoxo

A Beautiful Girl

Girls are an odd thing, you know. 

All of us love, just love, to be told we're beautiful....that what we're wearing is cute....that that color looks good on us. All of us want to be thought of as physically attractive.

But all of us, deep down, are mortally terrified of only  being loved for our mere physical appearance. 

The thing we long for, is one of the things we're most in dread of.

Girls.....YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Don't ever doubt it. God made you exactly how He wanted to fulfill a very specific purpose He has for your life. He has a mission for you to perform, and you are created perfectly to do it. 

Long Live Chivalry

She was just a Child...no more than five years old. Her greatest hero was Peter from C.S. Lewis' Narnia series.....hours upon hours were spent daydreaming about finding another world, and having a dashing big brother with a sword who could conquer all wrong. Men and boys were idealized in the Child's mind as brave and daring creatures who rode horses and saved damsels in distress.

The Child grew, and became a Young Girl, and as she neared her tenth birthday, she began to realize that things may not be quite how they seemed. The boys she knew were...different....than how she'd imagined.

The Young Girl grew still more and became a full fledged girl....a Teenager. She had changed drastically from the Child she was originally. Experiences had taught her that most boys weren't heroes....in fact, most boys didn't give a rip about the fact that she was a girl. It shocked her at first. She expected to be recognized as a woman and to be treated as such. But none of the boys she knew even bothered to open the door for her.

Hurt and confused, the Teenager lashed back in the only way she knew.....pride. Her naturally competitive spirit egged her on to be better than all the boys she knew. Whatever they did, she would do....plus some. To be considered "one of the guys" became her goal. If it was a water fight, she had one of the biggest guns there, and would be sure to emerge one of the dirtiest. She rode horses, slung hay bales, wore boots, and laughed at any boy who didn't drive a truck. She gloried in her strength, her knowledge, her fearlessness, and her ability to get banged up and bloodied without a tear.

Then one day, God decided she need an attitude adjustment.

Slowly but surely, He started the process of transforming her from the Teenager she was into the Young Woman who He had in mind. One by one, He sent some very special boys into her life.

But no, to be honest, I can't call them boys. They were men....in the truest and best sense of the word.

Men who knew to treat a girl differently than their guy friends.
Men who refused to be intimated when their offer of help was met with her brusque "I can get it."
Men who knew to say, "Oh, I know very well you can get it. But you're a girl, and I'm a boy, and as such, I'm not going to stand here and watch you carry the heavier load. Now hand it over."
Men who opened the door for her...not just once, but again and again and again until she stopped fighting and just let them do it....and then, finally, came to appreciate it.

One morning, the Teenager woke up, and suddenly realized that she was now a Young Woman. No longer did strength or knowledge hold the highest place in her esteem.

She had been humbled.

She was no longer ashamed to like pretty clothes and wear earrings. Dressing up didn't horrify her like it had at one time. Things like emotions and tears and weaknesses weren't brushed off as "girly". Oh, she could and did still wear boots and throw hay,  but there was a difference in the attitude with which she did it all. And oddly enough, her idea of men and boys and heroes and chivalry....well, it was pretty close to what the Child had believed about it all. But it was different, too.

The Child thought of heroes as men with flashing swords and big horses.
The Young Woman saw them as normal people doing unusually wonderful things.

The Child dreamed of experiences that only happened in fantasy books.
The Young Woman gloried in real life experiences...and found them so much more fulfilling.

And so, she came to realize that chivalry was not dead. It was nearly forgotten, but it still lived in the hearts of a few special men. And with God's help, those men, though maybe unaware of it, slowly shaped her into a more gracious, humble, and accepting person.

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In case you hadn't guessed, the Child, Young Girl, Teenager, and Young Woman.....those are me. This post http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/01/13/chivalry-is-out-of-style/ got my wheels turning and made me take a closer look at the long journey I've taken to get to where I am. Looking back, I shudder to think of how I viewed chivalry when I was 15 years old. While I hated it, at the same time, I longed for it. God slowly and graciously peeled my hands off my eyes....forcing me to see that no man is perfect, but many are trying very hard, and the least I could do was accept their efforts. 

Girls, never turn down the offer of a helping hand. It makes the guy feel like a million bucks, and it certainly doesn't hurt you!

My conclusion?

I've heard so many times about the tremendous influential power girls have on the men in their lives. And while I believe that is true, I think it's often underestimated as to how much a man can influence the girls in his life. 

Men, please, please don't ever stop being chivalrous. As stubborn as us girls can be, we truly love it and are blessed by it. So please don't be discouraged...

Long live chivalry!!

Boring Men

Guilty as charged.

I mean, honestly, what girl doesn't imagine that ultimate breathtaking proposal...saw this on Facebook the other day and thought it was awesome.

That is, until I read this article. 

The Real Truth About Boring Men - And The Women Who Live With Them

Convicted! As awesome as overwhelming experiences and romance and surprises are, they're not what's important. 

Here's some clips from the article.....but if you have time, go read the whole thing. It's worth it.

How a man proposes isn’t what makes him romantic. It’s how a man purposes to lay down his life that makes him romantic.

The real romantics are the boring ones — they let another heart bore a hole deep into theirs.

Get it: Life – and marriage proposals — isn’t not about one up-manship — it’s about one down-manship.It’s about the heart-boring years of sacrifice and going lower and serving. It’s not about how well you perform your proposal. It’s about how well you let Christ perform your life.

Pride And Prejudice - The Homeschooled Version

This is funny...it really, honestly is. I got a big kick out of it and thoroughly enjoyed it despite what I'm about to say.

Go see for yourself! http://www.rachelcoker.com/a-truth-universally-acknowledged/

However, as humorous as that was, it's something I believe we need to seriously take into consideration. Girls, do we sometimes act like little Mrs. Bennet's? Okay, maybe not to her extreme, but in our hearts, it's the same thing.

We need to think of our brothers in Christ as, well, just that...brothers. NOT potential spouses. Keeping the eternal perspective is so important because only when we see things in light of eternity can we really understand how life works.

Keep your eyes on Him and furthering His kingdom!

It's The Thought That Counts!

Can you imagine if everyone could read your thoughts? You know, like those funny little thought bubbles you see in cartoons - what if one of those always floated above your head, broadcasting your thoughts for all to see?

Disturbing? I agree.

I was talking about this with a good friend a few weeks ago, and it's been rolling around in my mind ever since. Of course, we all know that what we think is just as bad as what we say, we all know that God reads our thoughts, and we're all very careful not to say more than half of what we think.

Why is it that it's so easy for me to keep my mouth shut, but so hard to take my thoughts captive?

Girls, I think it's especially hard for us. We, or at least I, have a tendency to fantasize. Everything. We easily function based on our emotions - rational or not. One little thought can send us spinning off into...well, that's just not stuff you say.

And it's not stuff you should think.

This can range anywhere from a romantic-type fantasy all the way to getting in an argument and holding your tongue, but thinking oh-so-terrible things about the other person.

Two verses that really hit me about this.....

1 Chronicles 28:9 "for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts..."

Romans 2:16 "....God judges the secrets of men according to Jesus Christ."

Should our attitude be "if it's not nice/edifying/pure/profitable/you-name-it, don't say it" or "if it's not nice/edifying/pure/profitable/you-name-it, don't think it"?

I'm starting to realize I've been way too lenient with my thought life. What are your thoughts (no pun intended) on all this?

That Kind of Woman

The kind of woman who wakes up and instantly puts on the whole armor of God....

The kind of woman who is constantly meditating on God's truths throughout the day and applying them to her day-to-day circumstances...

The kind of woman who is "more than a conqueror" - which means that she can not only take what the devil throws at her and persevere through it, but that she can take what he throws at her, and turn around and use it to glorify God.....

The kind of woman who spends more time in her Bible than in front of her mirror....

The kind of woman who is striving to bless the men in her life through her femininity and her encouragement (father, brother, husband)....

The kind of woman who brings smiles and joy into a room when she comes in....

The kind of woman who little children trust and bring their troubles to....

The kind of woman who is strong - up early, down  late, working hard all day to help her husband (or father) with the family....

The kind of woman who is prepared for whatever circumstances may come....

The kind of woman who is a good listener, and will then cry with you or rejoice with you....

The kind of woman who knows that her walk with the Lord is more important than anything else in her day....

The kind of woman who is a prayer warrior....

The kind of woman who isn't afraid of dirt - who will hug her little boy when he comes in crying with a scraped knee, but will then brush him off and send him back out....

The kind of woman who tries, in everything she does to glorify God....

Lord, help me become that kind of woman.

Where in the world is Prince Charming?

This post is a post for girls. But not just any girl....for a specific type of girl who may be going through Prince-Charming-itis. Prince-Charming-itis is a common ailment among young Christian homeschooled ladies who are trying to go back to the Biblical principles of marriage, family, and courtship.

But said young ladies sometimes get tired of waiting. They look around at all the young men who are mostly either one of two options.

1. Foppish, wimpy, effeminate guys who don't know how to give a hearty handshake, get grossed out at the sight of blood, and overall excite no feelings of admiration in a Godly young lady looking for a real man.

or

2. Blustering, loud, look-at-me-I'm-so-tough, weight lifting dudes in their muscle tops who are really just insecure, but excite no feelings in a Godly young lady except for a sincere eye roll.

But I digress.

These young ladies observe either Mr. Effeminate or Mr. Bravado, and heave a sigh of despair, wondering where in the world is Prince Charming.

Thus this ailment, Prince-Charming-itis. 

So how do you know if you are one of those young ladies that is affected by this ailment?

If you have ever.....

•  Thought, "Wow, I'm old enough to get married now. So why isn't it happening?"
• Watched your friend(s) grow up, fall in love and get married and rejoiced with them. And then come home and gone to bed...laying there praying and wondering (and yes, even crying), asking God to do the same for you.
• Gone through phases when you think, "Okay...I'm good where I'm at. I'm content, I'm happy, and I am fine to wait for God's timing." And then those random days pop up when you think, "What is wrong with me? Why am I so discontent and wanting to be married?"
• Prayed that it is God's will that you be married one day, and then think, "I want to be married so bad that maybe God is going to make me wait a long time or *gulp* maybe stay single just to teach me to leave my life in His hands."
• Wondered where in the world is your knight in shining armor? (or, as in the case of my beau ideal, your knight in dusty leather)

If you've ever done any of those things, then you're just like me, and, girlfriend, this post is for girls like us. Believe me, I am so not saying that I have anything resembling an answer except for this...turn to the Word. And talk to other Godly girls who can give verses and thoughts that have encouraged them. And, of course, talk to your parents.

What I thought I would do is this...(*note* this idea popped into my head the other night as I was falling asleep and thinking over these things, so there is no guarantee that this is going to make much sense. Beware of inarticulate ramblings)...I will just post and share some of the verses and concepts that have helped me. Many of these are not original to me, but have been shown me by other sisters.

But you have to do something for me in return *evil chuckle*

You have to comment and tell me if you have a verse or idea that encourages you in this area! (Guys, you can comment too if you have any encouragement for your sisters)

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~ "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content..." (Phil. 4:11)


~ "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You." (Ps. 73:25)

~ "Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; Forget your own people also, and your father’s house; So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him. The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You. With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; They shall enter the King’s palace." (Ps. 45:10-15)

~ "For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the Lord has called you..." (Is. 54:5-6)

~ "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jer. 29:11)  

~ "The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband." (1 Cor. 7:34)

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~ If I, as an unmarried young girl, cannot be content in the family situation I am in right now (as a daughter and sister), what makes me think that I will be content in a different family situation (as a wife and mom)?

~ Marriage is a huge, HUGE commitment and change in lifestyle. I should not only be "content" to wait for God's timing, I should be desperate for and thankful that all the responsibility (so to speak) is His, and that He's got it all figured out.

~ Just because we are trying to return to the Biblical beliefs about marriage being good, children being a blessing, staying at home being right, etc., doesn't mean we can idolize marriage as "the supreme state." We can't bewail our fate if God's will isn't for us to be married later or not married at all...it's His plan.

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Those are some of the things that have encouraged/helped me when I feel the symptoms of Prince-Charming-itis coming on. 

Any other ideas or input??