Joyfully at Home: Chapter Nine

Overcoming a False View of Self

On this subject, Jasmine Baucham writes:

I believe that, many times, we as young women become discontent in singleness because we get tired of our sin natures. We chalk up every frustration we have in our lives now, and imagine that marriage will reverse that frustration. This is somewhat linked to our false view of husbands, yes, but I believe that it goes much deeper than that: We have a false view of ourselves. 

We tend to view marriage and men as something we can throw together on an assembly line. I'm this way, so he'll be that way. I like this, so he'll do that, I don't like this about my life, so when I'm married, life will be this way...And if we can get the perfect combination, the sins we struggle with in singleness will vanish in the light of love, compatibility  and planning. Because everyone knows that the sins we struggle with now aren't our faults; they're caused by our surroundings. A change of pace would eradicate them completely, yes?

In doing so, we miss the big picture:

Marriage entails sanctification.

Which means that while, in a sense, your husband might be the corresponding half that will make you whole (to wax a bit poetic), we can't expect the pieces to fit together perfectly, because we're flawed human beings who, in every season of our lives, will experience trials that will drive us to the cross. If our marriage could remedy every sin and discontent in our lives, we wouldn't need the gospel. Marriage does not bring automatic righteousness. We will not suddenly wake up one morning manifesting the fruit of the spirit just because we've said our wedding vows. 

Growth and character are things that we can pursue right now, in singleness, and things that we should be pursuing. And pursuing them will keep us so very busy that we will have little time to pine over Prince Charming knocking on our doors. In fact, pursuing them will make us much more capable and realistic wives if Prince Charming should come around.

....Instead of waiting for marriage to straighten us out, let's endeavor to seek the Lord's will now as He grows and matures us, by His grace. Single or married, it's something we all need to do! The gospel is the only "cure-all" there is--I'm so grateful we serve a sovereign King who will bring the work to completion (Phil. 1:6). 

check it out.

true beauty.

                                           
                                                                          // Source via Pinterest //

a sister ride and some blessings.

She gets home early.

I ask if she would like to go for a ride. She happily agrees.

We pull on our brown Justin's and off to the tack shed we go.

We brush manes and coats and throw the saddles on their backs.

We put the left foot in, and swing ourselves up (not before snapping an Instagram picture, of course :).

We take off--anxious about the adventure that is sure to be had--just us sisters.

Blessings abound.

sister coming home early and going riding with me

We cross the street and settle ourselves in for the lengthy ride down the country road.

Neighbors pass and we wave.

A lady yells to get our attention. We stop. She wants her granddaughter to touch the horses. We even offer to let the little girl ride. It was her first time to be on a horse. The smile on the little girls face was worth it.

Heading back home, we pull out the iPhone to play some tunes.

Who cares the sis and I were singing like nobody was listening.

We head back down our sandy driveway--singing.

Thinking no one was watching, we choreographed some silly moves to the song while riding our trusty steeds.

We look over, and there was a neighbor man swinging his little one. Laughing and smiling at us, it was obvious he was quite entertained by our silliness.

Blessings abound.

horses who roll and get dirty

We arrive back at the shed and tack down.

The horses are free to roam yet again.

Before they head off to the woods, they lay their massive bodies down and do what they always do after being tacked down.

They roll, and roll, and roll, and roll.....

Oh, how it makes my heart happy.

Blessings abound.

woods in the backyard

//more blessings here.//

blessings and yesterday.

Yesterday was a good day.

It started with an early morning (5:30 to be exact ;) and then a full day at the workplace.

The traffic was the usual and the blessings abounded.

new stripes on a freshly paved road

The day was great...busy and quick.

5:00 p.m. came. I. was. free.

The blessings abounded.

punching the time clock at 5

Arriving home, I ate dinner and then waited.

I texted and they responded that they were on their way. "They." The brother and sis-in-law.

We loaded up in the Chevy Silverado and hit the road.

40 minutes later, laughing and carrying on, we arrived at our destination.

The Tahoe purchase was made.

The blessings abounded.


The sis-in-law needed sinus medicine.

We stopped at Wally World.

That store will never be the same.

Blessings abounded.

times spent with the bro and sis-in-law

//see my updated blessings page here.//

little things.

                                                      
                                                                                // via Pinterest //

Joyfully at Home: Chapter Eight

Overcoming a False View of Husbands

Jasmine Baucham hit the nail on the head when she said:

...I'm going to wake up one morning (not right away, perhaps, but eventually) and realize that we were made to be the suitable helpers of flawed men, and not the other way around (Gen. 2:19-25). Beyond that, we're flawed women who react to flawed men, sometimes, in very flawed ways. Some days, there will be trouble in paradise. And beyond that, we're not goddesses to be worshiped  but helpmeets who are going to be in the trenches. If we go into a marriage looking to have our needs met, we're eventually going to realize that marriage, like every other area of our lives, isn't all about us.

In fact, in many ways, marriage is less about us than singleness is.

We should not develop the habit of placing all of our hops in fallible human beings, because they are sure to disappoint us. Christ should always be the center of our joy (Deut. 6:5), in singleness or in marriage. And, whether or not the Lord has marriage in our futures, that's a lesson we need to learn right now, because it's a lesson that will keep us focused on the Lord whether single or married. As single women, we need to learn to place our needs and desires at the foot of the cross, not on the alter of the perfect husband-to-be.

Marry Kassian writes in her book, Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild, in light of the nature of women and their complementary difference from the men in their lives:

So here's my advice to you--unmarried or married--who 

want to be Girls-Gone-Wise:Let him drive. Wait for him to

pick up the keys (physically and metaphorically). Hold back.

Don't rush in. Give him a chance to initiate. Welcome his

leadership. I know that nowadays, men are plagued with the

sin of passivity. This is primarily due to their sin natures, but 

also in part because women have shoved them out of the driver's

seat and brashly taken the wheel. I know that many women 

ache for their men to step up and be men. What I advise all

the [young women] crying on my shoulder is this: "Reclaiming

your womanhood is the best way to help a man reclaim his

manhood." We live in a world broken by sin. So this isn't easy.

But a Girl-Gone-Wise inclines her heart to embrace her role as 

a woman and follow God's design.

Believe it or not, our desire for certain things in life will not be wholly satiated once we're married. Some of us may wait anxiously for the children the Lord will bless us with. Some of us will then wait anxiously for the milestones in that child's life. We might wait for a financial issue to be resolved, or we may wait for a certain ministry opportunity to open up. The opportunities for waiting--for longing--will continue till the day we die. We need to find our sufficiency in Christ during these longing seasons, to dwell on him, to seek his heart. When Hannah longed for a son, she had no way of knowing how the Lord was going to answer her longing, yet she trusted him, even as she cried out to the Lord (1 Sam. 1).

You know what I like to think about even more than being a blushing bride, looking down the isle at the man I've waited for, knowing by then his side of the story (although that sounds heavenly as well)? I like to think about having been married for fifty plus years, having been loved purely and freely by my best friend for the balance of my days, having sought hard after the things of the Lord together, having faced life's trials and triumphs side-by-side...I think I'll look at him one day while he's doing a task I've watched him do a million times, and I won't think of the wait so much as I'll think of the fullness of our time spent together. And I think what I'll feel and what I'll know then will be worth all the wondering I may have experienced before he came on the scene.

I couldn't have said it better.

order

something new.

So.

Y'all remember this post when I mentioned that I had a proposition? A favor to ask?

Well, Rachel over here was one of the very first people to comment saying: 

(and I quote) "i don't know a ton of stuff either but i'd love to help you in any way i can!!! :) (end of quote).

(I don't know about you, but I am now under the impression that Rachel knows TONS of stuff about bloggy redesign and she was just being too humble about all her knowledge. ;)

So, I chose Rachel.

Little did Rachel know what she was getting herself into. 

After corresponding by email, she took on the challenge of giving my blog a face-lift.

21+ emails later, I couldn't be more in love with the new design.

Rachel, you are so awesomesauce.

the first 5k.

Guess what?

Today, my mom, sister, and I tackled and conquered our first 5k. 

For the past few months we have started running for exercise  After working up to where we could run a longer distance, we decided that it was time for us to pay the entry fee.

I never thought that a 5k could be so much fun.

Oh, and you feel so good and accomplished after you pass that finish line with your time flashing.

It made me think, am I running the spiritual race that I ought? 

Are we really living our lives as He would want us?

Are we running as hard as we can toward the goal, Heaven?

May we, as God's people, live and run the race.

Crossing the finish line, flashing the "I Love You" sign to the camera.

We are even talking about the next one we'll run.

Let's do this.

Stats for my info:

Chip Time: 33:36.0

Gun Time: 33:54.0

Age Division: 20-24

Place: 3rd out of the 7 in my age group

kind. smart. important.

                
                                                           // Source via Pinterest //   
     

so.

I have a proposition.

A favor to ask.

All of you who are smart and know how to work all the HTML codes and all that fancy schmancy stuff (in which I haven't the slightest idea on how to do), this one's for you. :)

I have thoroughly enjoyed the design that Lindsey did for me last summer. I can't even describe how much I have enjoyed her design. But,

I would love a new bloggy look for the new year.

I kind of have in mind what I would like....simple.

If anyone is interested, please comment (all comments are moderated) or contact me at purposelyathome@gmail.com.

Y'all are so the bomb-diggity.

family is da bomb.

Who cares these pictures were taken last month. =)

I just love them and am so glad we captured these at this time in our lives.

Everybody is growing up and we're not the "little cousins" running around Nana and Grandaddy's house playing Sardines in the backyard anymore. I'm soooo excited about this new phase in our lives and it's fun to see how our family is growing and we're constantly adding new members (brother and cousin got married this past year to their brides). ;D

We're at the farm. Uncle Brent's cattle farm.

Here we are...the crazy mom's-side-of-the-family.

Grandaddy and Nana

The "cuzzes"

 

The two "newlywed couples" in our family celebrated their first Christmas this past December. ;)

Oldest to youngest...

Best Daddy and Mom ever!

3 Generations

That's us! :)

Joyfully at Home: Chapter Seven

Overcoming a False View of Marriage

Jasmine Baucham writes:

...Envision yourself in your fallen state, striving--by God's grace--to uphold the precepts in the Ephesians 5:22-6:4 passage. Envision your family and other Christian families you know as they sometimes falter along this journey, purposing to honor the Lord as husbands love and lead their wives, as wives respect and submit to their husbands, as they guide their children, who are to obey them as unto the Lord.

Envision life right now as what it is:

A training ground for the dream you are holding so desperately in your heart. See your parents as disciplers who are, by God's grace, helping to mold you into the woman whose worth is "far above rubies" (Prov. 31:10), that wife who is a "good thing" (Prov. 18:22). See your household as a training ground that will teach you the homemaking skills that you will need to succeed (Titus 2:3-5). See your precious siblings in all their sin nature, and realize that whatever work you help your parents do with them is training for the work you will do with your own little "cherubs" someday (Eph. 6:1-4).

See life for all its beauties and all its hardships...

And put those dreams in their proper place.

Desire marriage in its proper context--as a vessel for God's glory--more and more, and you will grow to realize that it is nothing to sigh over. It is a battlefield to prepare for. We are God's children--we don't have to wait to fight the battle. We're fighting everyday in singleness, for joy and wholeness in whatever state the Lord has placed us.

Order a copy to read the rest! :)



let's do this.

Today is the day.

The day where two teams will come together for the National title

The BCS National Championship.

via

                                                

vs.

via

One more thing...Roll Tide!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Post update:

Wellllll, they did it.

The Crimson Tide won their 15th National Championship Title.

The score:

Alabama-42 Notre Dame-14

Oh yeahh.

 

2013.

Well, here we are. Another new year. A fresh start. A new beginning.

It's exciting...to see what the Lord has in store for the year 2013.

I pray everyone has a blessed and prosperous new year!

And while we're on the subject, here it is...my year in review.

What did you do in 2012 that you've never done before?
I guess I played it safe this year. Haha. ;) Right now, I can’t remember anything that I did/accomplished this past year that I have never done before….

Did you keep your new year's resolution? Will you make one for this year?
Sort of… I always make them and never write them down. I’m the kind of person who keeps them in her head. ;) I’ve made some that are stashed in my brain….

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Ummm, that would be a no.

Did anyone close to you die?
This past December, we lost a man who was a member of our church. That was just like losing a family member...it was a total shock and was so very sad.

Did anyone close to you get hitched?
Yes! Yes! My best friend, Lori Lynn got married in May, my brother got married to his bride in July, and another friend of mine, Lindsey, got married in December.

What countries did you visit?
The United States of America.

What date(s) from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory?
- July 7^th-the brother’s wedding…I’m sure there were others, but that’s one of the major dates for this past year that is “etched upon my memory.” ;)

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
-The excitement of being less than a year away from completing my B.S. degree.
-The opportunity to speak more to young ladies about modesty and their purity while waiting for their Prince Charming.                                                                                                                                                                              -Contentment

What was your biggest achievement this year?
Working up to where I can jog 3 miles (I know for some of you, that is not a lot, but I’m still working on it. ;) and losing some of those extra pounds.

Biggest failure?
Ummmmm…..

Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Praise the Lord, nope.

What was the last thing you bought?
A Disney T-shirt for the brother.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
This question always stumps me…

Where did most of your money go?
Gas for my Navigator and the Redbox kiosk

What did you really get excited about?
It was probably all the weddings that went on this year. Oh, and watching my little sister’s excitement of being in a relationship with the man of her dreams. ;)

What song will remind you of 2012?
A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Happy! Happy! Happy!

What do you wish you had done more of?
I wish I had given more and performed more random acts of kindness.

What do you wish you had done less of?
Spending time on the computer.

What was your favorite TV show?
Well, we don't watch much TV (since we only have one TV...and it's in the parents bedroom). I guess the show I love to watch anytime I could (I watch it every now-and-then on YouTube) is 19 Kids and Counting. LOVE the show!

What were the best books you read?
Choosing to See
For  Women Only
and yeah, then there’s all my schoolbooks.....

What was your best musical discovery?
Jamie Grace and Holly Starr

What did you want and got?
Another opportunity to speak to young girls—Girls Purity Day at Camp Wetoga in Georgia in November.

What did you do on your birthday? How old did you turn?
Shopped all night the night before on Black Friday, came home and slept a couple of hours, and then went bowling with the family. I turned the HUGE number of 21.

What one thing would have made this year more satisfying?
I have no idea.

How would you describe your personal fashion?
Home: Workout clothes or jeans and a T-shirt
Going to town: A comfy pair of pants or skirt with a cute top and accessories
Church: A skirt and another cute top or a fashionable dress ;)

What kept you sane?
My sister and our chit-chats

My mom and her help through life
My jogs to clear my head                                                                                                                                                     Horse rides down the country road

Who was the best new person you met?
Whew, I met so many “best new person’s” this year! I’m thankful for each and every one of them and that God saw fit that He bless me with their friendship.

What was a valuable lesson you learned?
Always bring your troubles to God...He always hears them whether we think He does or not. If you want to rush into something, God's answer may be a "no." Be content in the "waiting room" He has you in....if it is His timing and His Will, He will give you that answer you have been waiting for.

And just because a post isn't complete without a picture.