how are you.

"how are you?"

how many times do we ask this question a day?

"how are you?"

"oh, i'm fine."

how many times is asking the question "how are you?" an automatic thing when we come in contact with an individual?

do we really care?

truly care

about what is going on in the person's life that we just addressed with the question?

how many times do we accept the "i'm fine" answer and just carry on or walk away when we have the feeling that the person is not truly "fine"?

a few days ago, i was at an event and i saw someone that i knew.

we approached each other and happily greeted one another.

i had already begun the automatic routine of asking her, "how are you?" when she also ask the same question at the same time.

and we both, also at almost the exact time, answered, "i'm fine."

after walking away from the lady, it occurred to me:

i am in the habit of asking the famous question:

"how are you?"

and not. even. listening.

i asked the question with the mindset of it just being "routine" in the greeting process.

what if that lady was just searching for a person to pour her heart out to?

what if she was yearning for some "girl time" to be able to just talk?

via

this was a huge eye opener for me.

it made me think:

how many people in the world answer the typical "how are you" question with a typical "i'm fine" when really they're not?

what if they're really and truly hurting inside?

what if they are experiencing heartache and sorrow?

i know for me, it made me want to really look out for the feelings of the individual who answers, 

"oh, i'm fine."

i want to stop and really listen to their answer instead of asking the question and hardly slowing my pace.

i want to be the kind of person who will be there...i want that person to know, truly know, that they can truthfully answer me in the way that they are really feeling.

i want to be able to be available.

to be able to comfort.

to be able to pray for.

to be able to laugh with.

to be able to rejoice with.

so truly, how are you?

remember,

you are loved and you are treasured.


xoxoxo.

to save a kiss.

i turned on my music and set my running app. my ear buds were in my ear and i was ready.

i turned the bend and began running, settling into my routine at the running track in the community.

in the middle of the track are soccer fields.

in the distance, i noticed a high school "couple" sitting on the soccer field bleachers to my right.

as i drew closer to where they were sitting, i was shocked at what i saw.

the guy and girl kissing.

passionately kissing.

i continued my run and every time i made another lap and rounded that bend, the girl was either sitting in the guys lap, smothering him with her arms wrapped around his neck, or just majorly flirting with him by her actions.

i was shocked.

i mean, sadly, in our world today you may say: "big deal, they're kissing."

but, ladies and gentlemen.

it's a big deal.

click here to read a story of a girl who saved her first kiss.

your kiss.

the thing that you would never give away to a gross boy in school.

(after all, boys had cooties.)

the thing that only went to your mom and daddy when saying "goodnight."

the thing that was saved for prince charming and him only on your wedding day.

what happened?

how in the world did we go from thinking that "your kiss" was saved for your husband and only your husband to giving it to whichever boy would come and meet you at the soccer field bleachers after school?

i am passionate about this subject.

(read my story here.)

why can't we encourage the warrior poets in our life by setting the bar HIGH?

tell your boyfriend or fiance that you would like to save that piece of your heart until marriage.

girls, whether we realize it or not, we have a major influence in the lives of our guy friends.

when you make this major decision to be a set apart girl and save your first kiss, if the guy respects you enough (and if he doesn't, run far far away!), he will be happy to stay away from your first kiss.

he will be honored to honor your request. 

and if he's the right man God has for you, you both can share in that beautiful moment on your wedding day. 

if he's not the one, you can know that you are still a beautiful wrapped package without any tears,

saved and whole for your future prince charming.

i love you ladies and i know this is hard.

believe me, i do.

but guess what?

it will be worth it.

i cannot wait until my wedding day when i can give my first kiss to the one and only man God made just for me.

i pray so hard that God will give ladies the strength and courage to live a life of purity... 

with no regrets.

XOXOXO

the Maker's handiwork.

it is true.

"...i praise You because i am fearfully and wonderfully made;..."

psalm 139:14

your body was fashioned by the One who created the millions of galaxies of stars.

your hair number--each strand--is known by the One who knows the exact number of grains of sand on the beach.

every single one of your prayers are heard by the One who helped Moses cross the Red Sea and who closed the mouth of the lions in the lions' den to save Daniel.



who is your favorite artist?

we are made by the greatest artist.



please,
don't let people tell you that you aren't pretty.
don't let people tell you that you aren't popular.
don't let people tell you that you can't make a difference.


know that you are gorgeous in your Heavenly Father's eyes.
(and that's all that really matters)
know that you're known by God.
(you know. the same God that had regular conversations with Abraham.)
know that you can make a difference in the lives of all your friends and family by living out the Christian life.
(no matter how hard or challenging it may become)

you are special.

you are amazing.

there is not another Sally, Bob, Rachel, Fred, Betty, Sarah, or whoever you are, like you.

there is only one you in the world.

you are God's incredible handiwork.

life is beautiful.

A sister's friendship.

A baby's cry.

A shooting star.

A brother's goofiness.

A faith and hope for so much more.

A father's love.

A mother's prayer.

She sits there.

Knowing that I need her presence, she silently loves me by being there.

She's been there for me as long as forever.

A sister's love.

He is there watching her every move, encouraging her to press on toward the goal at hand.

Then the tiny blessing is born.

The sound is sweet to the mommy and daddy...

a baby's cry.

It's a clear crisp night.

They are bestowed the gift of being outside underneath the shimmery, God-made, blanket of twinkling lights.

And then it happens.

A shooting star.

She sits there in her chair.

It is early morning and the family is still in bed.

She takes out the Holy Word and dives in.

Along the way, she accomplishes one of the tasks that helps to hold a family together.

A mother's prayer.

Have you ever just stopped?

Stopped to see how beautiful life really is?

We have it all.

(ps. october baby is an amazing movie about life.)

it was a girls weekend.

This past weekend, my sister and I were honored to be able to go to Georgia to speak at a Girls Purity Day. We had so much fun and learned a ton. We loved being able to spend time with other like-minded young ladies--all having the same goal...Heaven.

The topics were modesty and keeping yourself pure. One lady from Faulkner also taught on Happiness. This one really hit home for me. She pointed out that no matter how our day is going, we need to keep a smile on our face.
Which would you choose? A smile or a frown?

A few words to describe the weekend....
picking Mrs. Melanie up and getting a box of doughnuts from Mr. Billy, getting lost using our Mapquest directions, lunch at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, studying God's Word on the way up, finally making it to the camp with a dirty back window, meeting new friends and getting acquainted with old ones, making our beds in the cabin and settling in for the night, a light bulb that would not work, conquering my fears of grandaddy-long-legs, butterflies in the tummy and a prayer circle, the amazing fire pit, young ladies lifting their voices up in song and getting goose bumps because it was so beautiful, a new blue T-shirt, finding out that there is over 2400 calories in one Krispy Kreme doughnut and that all the "stuff" that is in them stays in your body for seven months, losing my phone and panicking and mom finding it, eating dinner at Zaxby's, getting stuck in traffic in Atlanta, having to yell out the window to a worker for directions, cuddling up to watch Pride and Prejudice on the laptop with the sister, arriving at the Bush's house but playing a trick on the guys by passing the house, arriving home, setting our clocks back with that wonderful feeling of another hour to sleep....

"Where's the podium?" ;)

Mrs. Melanie (friend who came with us), Memory, and Mom

After the general assembly, we all divided up into four groups and went to four classes.
This was sweet Joanna's class.

Not only did the men cook and prepare the yummy tacos for lunch,
they decorated these adorable little daisy cupcakes. :)

The Stumbling Block illustration

With two of the greatest women on earth....Miranda (left) and DeAnne (right).
These were the women who organized the Purity Day and made it all happen. :)
Note: That is the immodest mannequin in the background.
We also had a modest dressed one on the other side of the stage to show the difference of dressing modestly and immodestly.

Me, Memory (my sister), Krista, Joanna, and Kristen
These were the young ladies from Faulkner University that taught the classes.
They all did a fabulous job and meeting them was such a joy.

What a wonderful weekend.

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

Here are two truly amazing videos that were shown at the Purity Day.

I was definitely touched and moved by them.

Young ladies, what are our clothes saying?

Are we dressing the way that would lead a guy to Heaven?

Or are we dressing in a way that would make him lust and sin?

What will you choose?



The Death of Pretty

A few months ago, a friend of mine sent a link to this article to me. I have been meaning to share it on the blog. So, without further ado, here you go....

(Although, I do not agree with all the religious concepts this blog has to offer, I whole-heartily agree with this post....)

This post is intended as a lament of sorts, a lament for something in the culture that is dying and may never been seen again.

Pretty, pretty is dying.

People will define pretty differently. 

For the purposes of this piece, I define pretty as a mutually enriching balanced combination of beauty and projected innocence.

Once upon a time, women wanted to project an innocence.  I am not idealizing another age and I have no illusions about the virtues of our grandparents, concupiscence being what it is. 

But some things were different in the back then.  First and foremost, many beautiful women, whatever the state of their souls, still wished to project a public innocence and virtue.  And that combination of beauty and innocence is what I define as pretty.

By nature, generally when men see this combination in women it brings out their better qualities, their best in fact.  That special combination of beauty and innocence, the pretty inspires men to protect and defend it.

Young women today do not seem to aspire to pretty, they prefer to be regarded as hot.

Hotness is something altogether different.  When women want to be hot instead of pretty, they must view themselves in a certain way and consequently men view them differently as well.

As I said, pretty inspires men’s nobler instincts to protect and defend.  Pretty is cherished. Hotness, on the other hand, is a commodity.  Its value is temporary and must be used.  It is a consumable.

Nowhere is this pretty deficit more obvious than in our “stars,” the people we elevate as the “ideal.”  The stars of the fifties surely suffered from the same sin as do stars of today.  Stars of the fifties weren’t ideal but they pursued a public ideal different from today.

The merits of hotness over pretty is easy enough to understand, they made an entire musical about it.  Who can forget how pretty Olivia Newton John was at the beginning of Grease.  Beautiful and innocent.  But her desire to be desired leads her to throw away all that is valuable in herself in the vain hopes of getting the attention of a boy.  In the process, she destroys her innocence and thus destroys the pretty.  What we are left with is hotness.

Hotness is a consumable.  A consumable that consumes as it is consumed but brings no warmth.

Most girls don’t want to be pretty anymore even if they understand what it is.  It is ironic that 40 years of women’s liberation has succeeded only in turning women into a commodity.

Something to be used up and thrown out.

Of course men play a role in this as well, but women should know better and they once did. 

Once upon a time you would hear girls talk about kind of women men date and the kind they marry.  You don’t hear things like that anymore.

But here is the real truth.  Most men prefer pretty over hot.  Even back in 6th grade I hated the “hot” Olivia Newton John and felt sorry for her that she had to debase herself in such a way.  Still do.

Our problem is that society doesn’t value innocence anymore, real or imagined.  Nobody aspires to innocence anymore.  Nobody wants to be thought of as innocent, the good girl.

They want to be hot, not pretty.

I still hope that pretty comes back, although I think it not likely any time soon.  For every Taylor Swift, there are a hundred Megan Foxs, or Lindsay Lohans, or Miley Cyruses etc.

Girls, please, bring back the pretty.

Words written by: Pat Archbold

Words borrowed from this site.



credit



What about that bikini?

A dear friend of mine shared this video with me the other day and I could not agree with it more. I wish every single young lady in the universe could watch this short 4 minute video.

Believe it or not, ladies, it is possible to find modest swimwear. You may have to spend a little bit more denero for it, but believe me, it is definitely worth it. :) There is a link on the left sidebar of my blog (it is kind of toward the bottom :) to a modest swimwear website. Or, you could use the handy dandy search engine Google and find boocoodles of sites. ;)

Just a thought before you watch this amazing video...(and I say this with love) Wouldn't you rather help your fellow Christian brothers get to heaven rather than making them sin by lusting after your body?

I pray that you will be able to make the right choice on this issue of modesty.....the choice that God would want you to make....I love you dearly and pray for the best for you....

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Jason? Why or why not?

some "dressing modestly" words ;)

"God had not formed woman out of the head, lest she should become proud; nor out of the eye, lest she should lust; nor out of the ear, lest she should be curious; nor out of the heart, lest she should be jealous; nor out of the hand, lest she should be covetous; nor out of the foot, lest she be a busy body; but out of the rib, which was always covered",

indicating that women should dress modest.

-Ancient Jewish Rabbis

This is a picture I found online.
Doesn't she look so fashionable and lady-like?

Do you want to be fake?

Allie over here posted this video on her blog and I thought I would share too...

How many times do we see a young woman in a magazine and think, "Wow. I want to look like her"?

Far to many girls and women think this thought in today's world.

This video really opened up my eyes.

I pray that you will be able to see yourself as "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God Himself.

You are beautiful...

Note: You might want to scroll down to the bottom and pause the blog music. :)

Answering the Guy Questions: Chapter Four

click here

Chapter Four

Heroic Womanhood

Christ-built femininity is a force to be reckoned with. When we allow the purity and power of Almighty God to radically transform our entire approach to womanhood, the men of our culture will step back in wonder. Every godly guy I've talked with has told me that when he encounters a young woman who is wholly consumed with Jesus Christ, she captivates him far more than even the most beautiful supermodels ever could.

Though most modern guys might appear to want women who are aggressive and easy to get, this kind of femininity is not what will capture the heart of a true warrior-poet. God designed men to diligently and valiantly pursue and woman. Guys are naturally intrigued by a woman with mystique--a woman who isn't willing to auction her heart and body to whomever passes by. if a man actually has to work to win a woman's heart, he will be far more likely to cherish and appreciate the gift he's labored so hard for. On the other hand, if a woman throws herself at him, though he might initially respond, he won't have much respect or appreciation for such easy prey, and he will never learn how to tenderly cherish the treasure of her heart.

Don't divulge all your deepest secrets, longings, fears, and desires right off the bat. Let God direct you in the gentle opening of you heart and gradual unveiling of the deepest treasures of your soul. Allow trust to build slowly and gradually. Share more of your heart with him the more he showcases the nature of Christ in his interaction with you. Allow him to seek out the inner workings of your heart. Maintain a sense of feminine mystery and guard the sacred things for sacred moments. This applies to both emotional guardedness and physical purity. Eric and I didn't hold hands until we knew we were in a relationship headed toward marriage. We didn't exchange the words "I love you" until the night of our engagement. And we didn't kiss until our wedding day. It may sound miserable and restrictive, but it was truly like a fairy tale. Because we kept sacred things sacred, it was mysterious, exciting, and beautiful--completely different than the careless, unromantic love stories so common in our modern times....

...even if you have been living far from the path of heroic femininity, Jesus Christ is ready to shape you into His likeness, starting today. So don't wait another moment before yielding to His perfect way. You'll never regret such a decision.

~Leslie Ludy