Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Power of a Positive Word

Don't worry. I'll get back to my P31W posts eventually. I keep getting distracted. (No surprise there...heh...) But I'll continue soon. I just want to share with you guys how awesome God is and how He times things perfectly and how God blessed me through a very unlikely source.

A while back I posted about the power our negative words have on people, but I didn't really look at how our positive one affect people too - total oversight on my part. I had an experience with an eight grader from my school on Friday night that reminded me the of the power in a positive word and how important it is to be aware of when a positive word should be given.

You need a lil' background to understand why this blessed me so much. Ever since I was  a little kid I have valued my singing voice probably more than anything. Recently, I have been pouring tons of time into learning to sing new styles and songs. Well, I've been really discouraged because I feel like I practice for nothing. Like I sing at convention, and I sing at home...but really, no one benefits. So I'm just practicing to practice? Whats the point? On top of that, I feel like I'm never going to get any better, which is a serious serious issue. If I don't -- I need to, I'll leave it at that. I believe I've kinda been losing faith in God that He has given me passions and abilities for a reason. I've let myself slide into thinking that it's all for nothing and no one is going to profit. (Which is dumb when you think about it because I'm singing for the Lord. O.o)But this post is about him not me.

So Friday night at the Alumni game I was obviously singing. I don't really remember though. Wait! now that I think about it - I think I was singing "When You Believe"...It was stuck in my head all day long. Everyone was leaving and this eighth grader (I'll leave out his name) stopped beside me and gave me a really sweet hug.  He said something along the lines of, "Ashley, you have been gifted with such a beautiful voice. Really. God's really gifted you."

I wanted to squeeze him until his head popped off. On top of the fact that he is SO ADORABLE! Lol. I have a bunch of eighth grader buddies.

God knew how much I needed that. My friend did not. He was simply being nice. If I had just sang my convention solo at performance night, I wouldn't have been have as complimented or blessed - it was the fact that a younger guy randomly said it. I almost burst into tears.

God used that little thing to remind me that I haven't been trusting Him. That I've been so worried that my practice and stuff has been in vain and for no reason, but God, doesn't do stuff like that. He doesn't give us deep deep passions like that and never let us use them in some way. God gifts people and as Christians, we are called to use them.

I am so glad that God cares enough about me to remind me that He always has a plan - and I never do. ;)

I am encouraged by my friend to compliment people more and go out of my way to say a kind word because we don't know people's hearts and we can never know what they are going through. The slightest comment or even a smile could brighten someone's day. And the reverse affect - if we unknowingly tease someone about something they are embarrassed of, we could ruin them. Like one time when someone said something negative about my voice - it took me forever to sing after that.

I'm not makin much since...sorry. I'm going to try to start complimenting people more. Not flattery though - there's a difference. Or even just really acting like a care instead of just floating from person to person. You don't know who's watching. You don't know people's hearts. You don't know their stories. And you may never know who you're blessing. That's an inspiring thought to me.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Of Rejection Letters and Despression....Well Kinda....

I don't know if you've ever gotten a rejection letter in the mail, but it's annoying. I have for the first time - today. Camp Barnabas officially rejected my application to come on as a staffer for the summer. I tried really hard not to, but my hopes were really high about this and then...*splat* I guess that's my own fault though.

I know God has a purpose though. That's hard to remember don't you think? I know it is for me. Sometimes I have such a hard time just trusting the Lord. It's ridiculous. But He's a good reminder...thankfully! Although, I was tempted to be depressed or sad about it, God found a way to really encourage me.

If there is one thing I would rather do than being on staff at Camp Barnabas, it's going as a volunteer and taking other people. God knew this and when I went to the Alumni game tonight, a friend came up to me and told me that she was sending an application in. Talk about perfect timing! That was the spirit lift I needed. On top of that, three other people are very seriously considering coming.

I'm sad about not going as a staff member, but I have never been happier about going as a volunteer. I mean, after two years of going by myself, I'm ready to take some people! It's sooo life changing. I hope that is why I was meant to stay back, to encourage others to go as volunteers.

BY THE WAY! If you might be interested, look at this site for more info. www.campbarnabas.org and email me. We'd love to have you join the group!!! 

I think people can wave off the verse Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes." But the closer I grow in my relationship with God, the more I see the truth in this. As His children, all things DO work together for good. It doesn't mean that things are going to be easy and go our way (Obviously. I wasn't accepted on staff!) but "good" can be something as simple as learning a valuable lesson or growing in Christ. You know that God's #1 desire for you is to be like Him and do the will of the Father? Whoa. Think about that. That kinda explains why bad things happen to Christians. It's during the hard/disappointing/annoying times that we grow the most.

I know I don't always have this attitude, but think about how much easier life would be if we thought this way all the time and tried to find ways that we can grow spiritually in everything - even something as simple as being caught in rush-hour traffic. Can we take every moment and ask ourselves, "What is this situation teaching me?" and make it help us become like Christ?

I know that I sometimes just float through life and don't actually TRY to learn something everyday. Bad. Bad. Bad. That's a dangerous trap that I don't want to fall into. The moment I stop growing is the moment that I need to beg God to teach me to be like Him no matter the cost. We should try to live our lives boldly like that - asking God to teach us to be holy no matter what the cost may be. I would like to see our lives after praying that sincerely. Perfect? Heck no. If you want to be like Christ...you're life will be far from perfect. Happy? In the Lord - yes.

I pray "God help me be like you." a little to nonchalantly. I don't think I realize what that means. I do want to be like Christ, but when I pray that, I'm asking for a life of hardships and disappointment. Don't believe me? Read the Bible. Read about Jesus' life. He had everything, but it wasn't exactly a cup of tea.

WOW I'M OFF TRACK! I'm just typing. I'll stop there. I wanna try to live radically. To be like Christ no matter what and to grow in every situation. I think those two things mixed together will be a very good combination if you are striving for holiness...don't you?

Friday, February 25, 2011

Photography Dilemma: I need your professional opinions....heh

I am entering some photos at the annual competition our school enters. I'm having an issue with a few of the pics. I took one that looked really great into Wolf Camera. They were so nice and printed it twice for me, but its a black and white still life and for SOME REASON the contrast was really bad and when they tried to fix it it looked horrible - the words stood off the page and made the rings BLACK! Anywaysss, I tried to re-do them with better lighting. I did these at my back door with my huge floor lamp on the ground and a big mirror reflecting the light back on the rings to hopefully lighten them up a little. I could just enter a different b+w...but I really like the theme of this picture. Which one do you guys like the best? Any ideas how I can get it to look better? I've tried everything I can think of... I think I have the right idea...it's just not working. I don't know if any of you out there are photography people, so that's why I'm asking. I'm totally not. I can come up with good ideas, just can't execute them very well...




Here is the Black and White Still Life I'm going to enter if the other one never works....


Finally, here is the Color Still Life I'm entering. It printed greater than it took. :D YAY! 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Purity is a Process

On the topic of sexual purity, I'm going to diverge a little and steal someone's thoughts and ideas - giving credit where it's due of course. Once again, I'm referring to Dannah Gresh's book, and the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity. She is phenomenal when it comes to explaining things that we can remember when it comes to remaining sexually pure. She lists seven secrets, which I would like to run over briefly with you girls. They surely helped me. Then, I'll add my little thoughts and stuff on it.

Her first secret is: Purity is a process. It may surprise many of you, but you weren't born perfect or innocent. You were born into sin, and therefore were born as an impure being. This is one of the reasons I hate saying that we need to stay "pure" because, like Dannah Gresh tells us, we aren't born pure - it's a process. In my opinion, saying that someone has been impure, sounds like they have contaminated themselves. Don't get me wrong, I use the word - just sparingly.

Lets go back to a really basic verse. Romans 3 :23 "For ALL HAVE SINNED and fallen short of the glory of God." You and I were both born with a sin nature and before the eyes of God the Father - that is impurity. And being pure is not refraining from a certain action, but becoming more and more Christ like. To me, that is a liberating thought. I'm "purified" as I become more and more like Christ.

The one and most important thing that God desires from His children is for us to become like Him and to do the will of His Father. According to Dannah Gresh, our life is like a spiral and purity is in the very center. Little enemies like lust are on the outside of that spiral. And as we travel around the spiral of our lives we keep facing that lust. And it is the ugliest monster we have ever seen. When you pass him you may breeze by with God's help, struggle for a while, or get stuck for quite a long time. Then once you move on, you end up seeing him again, and again and again and you constantly have to battle with him. But the good news is that each time, lust is going to look less scary because God has helped us win that battle in the past.

See the process? Every area in our lives is like this if we are actively growing in Christ. As we go on, lust, jealousy, anger problems ect. are going to get easier and easier to overcome because we are growing in Christ and into His image. That's exciting for me to think about.

That is the process of purity.

We may have given our virginity away, but that doesn't make us something we already weren't - in the spiritual since of the word. We were born innocent of any actions, but impure by nature. And when we die and are raised with Christ...that's when real pure pure purity will be ours. That's when we can say, "I am pure. Not because of my own strength,but because of what Jesus did for me."

You can look at purity in two different ways. 1: refraining from pre or extra marital sex or 2: an attitude of your heart. Some girls think they are pure because they haven't had sex, but they lead very impure life styles, by the way they talk, dress and treat others.

Personally, I believe that a P31W is going to think of purity as an attitude of your heart. Even  if you made mistakes, but are actively becoming like Christ - isn't that what should matter? Being like Christ at the end of it all? I hope hope hope that if I fall off the path and really mess up that people will encourage me to find healing in the Lord and remind me. "Ashley, where is this going to take you? It can ruin you, or you can strive for purity." And I hope people encourage me NOW! I can't live thinking I'm high and mighty and living perfectly because I've stayed pure from un-biblical sex. God forbid! I want people to be telling me NOW, "Ashley, purity is a process. You are no where close to pure yet. Work harder. Be more like Christ. Cleanse yourself of every evil thought and deed. You haven't met the mark!"

A P31W knows that she hasn't become really "pure" yet. Not until she is present with the Lord. She knows that she can make fatal mistakes, and that lust is lurking around every corner - but God helps her win the battles and she daily...not every once in a while, but daily...becomes more purified and more like Christ.

Purity isn't something we lose. WE NEVER HAD IT! Wanna be a pure Proverbs 31 Woman? Start today! What are some battles in your life that are keeping you from being like Christ? Tackle those! Those are the things keeping you from purifying yourself. :)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

I Now Have a Forum...O.o

Striving for a Crown now has an official forum. It's new and under working process, but come and sign up! You will receive a confirmation email and then be granted access. I'm so excited. Check it out by clicking here or visiting the blog page that says "The Forums".

P31W: On Sexual Abstinence

(Please don't read this post if you get easily freaked out about this type of stuff, because I don't intend on watering it down.) 

Abstinence: A word that most people are familiar with. Some people look at it with respect and others feel like it is a stab to humans who haven't been abstinence.

If you have been reading the last posts, we are talking about how we can be Proverbs 31 Women TODAY and how we can be doing good to our future husbands even if we haven't met them yet. And one way we can do this is through sexual abstinence.

For those of you who may not be familiar with this, abstinence (aka purity -I try not to use this word as much in posts because it brings a bad taste to people's mouths) is the decision to wait until marriage to have sex. It's deciding that you want to be a virgin until you are married.

The Bible condemns pre-marital sex. It says in Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."  

Why is it that the meaning of sex has been so devalued and defiled. It's the norm to get in bed with someone you just feel physically attracted to and call it love or even worse have "friends with benefits" who can just satisfy your current needs. This mindset is because we have lost the meaning of what the marriage bed really means and why it was created.

I read "and the Bride Wore White" by Dannah Gresh. She offered some great info on the heavenly picture of sex. In biblical times a bride and groom were given a set of white sheets that they were expected to sleep on. When they did, the woman would bleed (all virgins will the first time expect in very rare cases) and the couple could show the sheets as proof that they were virgins (Okay, I know that's gross, but it's what they did!) It's a blood covenant between us, our husbands and God.

When a jewish guy wanted to marry a jewish girl he had to have a meeting with her father and he had to pay some sort of "price for her". Once the payment was made he had to go build a house for her. During this time the bride was to be waiting with a pretty dress by her side, cleaned and smelling wonderful! Her oil lamp was to be kept burning at all times to let him know she was ready. The moment the house was done they were married - no matter the hour! Then they consecrated their marriage and the celebrating began. (See Matthew 25! This is a great parable about the ten virgins who waited for the groom!)

This is a beautiful picture. God came to earth and paid a very very high price for us. He bought us and sealed the covenant with his blood. He has left to prepare a place for us and we will leave with him to celebrate eternally. What powerful symbolism.

Read this quote by Ed Wheat that Dannah Gresh sited in her book, "The sex relationship recieves such emphasis in the scriptures that we begin to see it was meant not only to be a wonderful continuing experience for the husband and wife, but it also was intended to show us something even more wonderful about God and His relationship with us. Ephesians 5:31-32 spells it out: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery but I speak concerning the church." Thus, the properly and lovingly executed and mutually satisfying sexual union is God's way of demonstrating to us a great spiritual truth. It speaks to us of the greatest love story ever told - of how Jesus gave himself for us and is intimately involved with and loves...those who believe in Him."

Girls, this is what Satan is doing everything he can to destroy. He doesn't want this holy covenant fulfilled in our lives. He wants us to forget the meaning and live by the seat of our pants, giving "love" to any young man that steals our hearts. Just like God should have our whole hearts, so should our future husband. And if we wait, we will get to see this covenant and vow fulfilled. That excites me and make me more determined than ever to wait! 

It's hard when all around you people are having sex and doing what just "feels right", but the rewards for you and your husband will be tremendous. And proudly proclaim your decision to others - it's not something to be ashamed of. For many girls, this could mean a promise ring, a journal about it, a written commitment, helping friends...whatever. My promise ring reminds me. I have been asked a few times why I wear it on my left ring finger instead of my right. I love answering this question. I wear it there to remind myself, that I am currently taken by Christ and no man can have me till He gives the word. No man can steal me away from my Father. When I get engaged, I want to put it on over my engagement ring and then at the alter replace it with a wedding band.

A Proverbs 31 Woman will save her gift of virginity, delight in waiting and dream of her future. Dream of your future. Think of the day when that covenant is fulfilled. You can say in gratitude to your helping Lord, "I did it. You got me through. I'm here and beautiful symbolism has taken place in my life."

What reward will compare?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

P31W: All the Days of Her Life

Here is my favorite, but most challenging verse in Proverbs 31.

Proverbs 31:13 "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."

I hear the groans. I know, I know, I'm single too. So what's the application to this verse? No Mr. so I can't really do him good yet. Ah, I don't think that is true. We can either put the focus of the verse on the "doing him good and not evil" or on the "all the days of her life."

For me, in the manless-high-school-aged state that I am in the emphasis on this verse is the "all the days of her life." It doesn't say, "All the days of her life from the second she is kissed at the alter". Its simply "all".

Did you know that you are in a battle? Yes, that's right! A battle! An enemy is on every side and they want to steal the good things that God has given you. They want to take your innocence, your love, your integrity and your heart. And we are called to prepare ourselves to fight. Ephesians 6:13 says, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Being in Christ does not give us a right to passively float through life - we'll get into lots of trouble if we do that. If we want to be a P31W then we must be ready to fight for the things that God has given us as precious gifts to give to our husbands one day. I believe with all my heart that one of the number one things Satan wants to destroy is marriages because they are perfect pictures of what Christ has done for His people (which maybe I'll post about eventually).

So what does this battle have to do with "all the days of her life"? That spiritual battle we are in will benefit us for the rest of our lives. If you were to be captured in battle now, think of what it would do to the rest of your life. You'll have scars, wounds, memories and it will take you a very long time to heal, if you do. So this battle to keep those marriage gifts is doing our husbands good. First of all, we will be saving those things for them (and I'm talking about more than virginity people), and we will be preparing ourselves to be the woman that we need to be for them.

If we think that little things in our life don't affect the scheme of things, we're wrong. They do! Like in a car - going 60mph, the smallest jerk of the wheel can send a vehicle somersaulting.

This fight will benefit our husbands. If we persevere through this battle our husbands will be blessed and we do them good! Hey, that's cool to think about. Not only will we experience rewards in heaven - which will be greater than anything on earth - but we will see the fruit of our efforts here on earth.

So this thought raises a question: How is it possible to do good for a man we very likely haven't even met yet?

Let's start with a list and then the next few (or many) post can get into those a little deeper.

-Sexual Abstinence (Pretty basic.)
-Spiritual Devotion (Something that will affect and reward every area of our lives, but I can't see how anything will benefit our husbands more than us finding our own value and satisfaction in Christ. Talk about a P31W!)
-Emotional Health (Or purity, whatever - this is a biggy for me and all you P31Ws out there. This goes so much deeper than any of can imagine.)
-Mental Protection (Guarding our so impressionable minds from what the world has to offer.)

And yeah, those hit a LOT of areas, and I won't do them justice, but I'm hoping that I will be able to help you look at this time in our lives differently. I know my view has been changed, and I'm so glad. I'm glad that I'm a man-less chick because there are so many of these things that I still don't understand.

Okay, I'm getting so excited about the next posts. Stick with me here! I'm going to have to try and cut these short, because I don't want them to be too long!

Bacon, 3D Glasses and Lint *laughs obsessively*

Okay, so me and my three best friends (Carlee, Jessy and Becca) have been establishing a blog. It's been under working process for a couple weeks now and is still not totally done, but I wanted to get the word out about it. It really has no purpose except a place for us to post our videos (We are rising film makers...haha...right) and just be...us - which is sometimes scary, so read at your own risk. :)

I love these gals. The things we come up with are raaandoooom.

Click here to enter the Wones' Blog. www.weepyourtearsintothechannel.blogspot.com

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I'm a Junior...Suddenly...

Okay, two things. First, all of my readers who are hanging with me through the P31W posts need to go read this other post on a friend's blog, Letters From LoVizzle. Logan has a really great blog and his latest post was about Prudence. It's great! Go read it, leave comments and support him, okay? Okay.

Second, I think I need to announce to all of you all that I'm an official junior this year. Yes, yes, I know. I am NOT graduating this year. 2012 is my year now. I could graduate. I have enough credits and all, but I think that it is in my best interest to stay back another year - for various reasons. Some of them being I don't want to have to leave for college yet, I just turned 17, I want to do some dual credit and take some more time to really fine tune and focus some of my talents and interests.

I just wanted to post that so I don't have 7o,ooo,ooo people asking me the same questions over and over again - it can get annoying. Yeah, this is about an epic a post as I have energy for....

Monday, February 14, 2011

A More Beautiful You

Often, I look in the mirror. I don't like what I see most of the time. That's just me being purely honest. So much of the time I feel like blemish, like God messed up on me or something. I have blemishes on my face, I could lose a few pounds and get in shape, my hair never looks right...and I could go on. I look at myself and say, "Ew - I am disgusting. What happened?"

If you haven't seen the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." I would encourage you to watch it. It was my favorite book out of the Chronicles of Narnia and the movie was great too. Honestly, a part of the story really convicted me. It was when the main character Lucy, was looking in a mirror that was on a page of a book of spells. It said, "An infallible spell to make you she, the beauty you've always wanted to be." When Lucy looked into that mirror - her face transformed into her older sister, Susan's. Lucy thought that the mirror had made her beautiful and she felt good about herself when she looked into that mirror. So she tore the page out and looked into it all the time. It consumed her.

At this point in the movie, I had thought about all the girls who I have wished I could look like - one being my OWN older sister. How much time have I spent worrying about my own little problems and wishing that I could look like someone else? 

Later, Aslan let Lucy see what it would be like if she really were Susan and the simple fact was - there would be no Lucy. None. And Narnia wouldn't have come into their lives because Lucy was the one who discovered it.

It's okay for women to want to be beautiful. I think a Proverbs 31 will be beautiful. She will take care of herself and be beautiful in her own unique way. Even the Bible acknowledges that women are gorgeous creature full of grace. So it's okay to want to look good. I want to smell pretty so I get spray that will make me smell nice and I use hair-spray in my hair. That's good. I think it's feminine to be considerate of your appearance. But we come to a point where this "lust for beauty" is overcoming us. I know it has me, at least. I am constantly facing pressures to be the "hottest one out there". Porn, latest styles, TV, magazines and care-products are all saying, "You have to be the best. You have to be the one to get the cat-calls. You have to be the one the men drool over. You have to be the one every girl is jealous of. Look like this...or her...or them..."

It's overwhelming.

No. Simply no.

When I fussing at myself, it doesn't help when someone laughs and says, "Beauty isn't what matters." Because I know that, but it's still hard. The only thing that has really helped me with this problem is this verse - one of my favorites.

Song of Solomon 4:7 "All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you."

The sound like the words of a man madly in love with a woman. They are. Do you realize that someone is madly in love with you? I have proof! He told me He was! Ladies, Song of Solomon is a love letter from God to His people. With one "glance, we ravish His heart." God is pleased with us. He calls us to come and be alone with Him.

Yes, outward beauty is perishing and it isn't key in our lives, but you are beautiful.

When was the last time someone told you that and really meant it, not just saying to to clear your mind? Well, I'm saying it to you now and I have NO CLUE what you may look like.

You are beautiful. Your eyes. Your soft hair. The way you smile. Your hands. You're beautiful! If you don't believe me. Take it from the Big Guy. He says it in Song of Solomon several times. Write SOS 4:7 on your mirror. Read it and highlight it in your Bible.

I'm ashamed to say that I've wasted time envying other girls. Like Lucy, don't wish yourself to look like someone else. Because then there wouldn't be a you and there could never be a more beautiful you.

Ya know, the thought occurred to me one day that God isn't up in heaven looking down on me saying, "Whew! What was I thinking? Man, I sure messed up on that one!!" God doesn't make mistakes. That's a comforting thought.

There is a song that I really like by Johnny Diaz. Listen to it. It's got great words.



I will hopefully have at least one more post about this soon.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Dancing Solo - And Loving Every Minute

She comes home from work. Butterflies are in her stomach. She has told herself a thousand times not to hope to much, but it hasn't worked. Valentines Day is a day when a lot of people reveal their true feelings about each other. Although she tried not to, she dreamed about a special letter coming in the mail. One confessing affection....even if it was a secret admirer. Just to know that someone thought she was special - would be enough.

She pulls into the driveway and parks. Then jogs across the road to retrieve her mail. Her hand hovers over the lid of the mailbox and she prays. "Please...let there be something. I need to know that someone thinks I'm special."

She grips the mail and pulls it out. Right there, she flipped through the mail.

Nothing but bills and advertisements.

She shuffles back to the car. She isn't one to be negative but she mutters to herself, "Another Valentine's Day and I'm still a nobody to everyone."

Valentines Day is hard for singles. Especially if your the hard-core romantic, dreamer type (like me. :D). I dream of having a guy head over heals for me. What a special thing that will be. And Valentines just seems like the perfect day to start a relationship and be in love. So many people are, everyone but yourself it feels like. No fair. Why is it always me, right?

She plops onto her couch and stares at the ceiling. She feels like nothing will ever change and her mind wonders off to a handsome man of her imagination and wonders if he exists. Is she always going to be like this? Is anyone ever going to love her?

She fights angry tears. She is mad. Mad at herself for being so boring and plain. Mad that she - Her thought gets cut off by something on her dresser. She walks over. A single rose and a worn piece of paper lie there. The paper simply reads, "I love you and that's all that matters. Wait. With love, Your Father"

I think sometimes we forget that this time in our lives is a growing period and many times significant interest in the opposite sex will only distract us. I know I forget that right now, I'm the center of Christ's affection and that's all that matters. And He needs to be the center of MY affection. No one else. If we are striving to be men and women of the Lord, then the best thing we can do is be happy where he has placed us. And you know, there is a lot of things you can do as a single person that you won't be able to do as a married one. So take advantage! Don't let those opportunities pass you. You are preparing for the rest of your life - now, so act like it. If you are single, then blossom as a single person.

Sometimes, i think of it this way. A dancer can dance beautifully with someone else. Dances between a man and a woman (especially on ice) are so beautiful. They can do some really cool things together. But think about it, they have to work together and maybe not do the dance the way they would like because they have to gel with that other person. But, a solo dancer can do some really incredible things too. He or she doesn't have to worry about messing up or being out of time with each other. They can do the dance from their hearts and let it take them wherever.

We should look at our singleness like that. No telling where God is going to take us, so just dance your dance with all the heart you can muster and let God. He is going to bring someone else on the stage soon enough. Until then, choreograph your routines, practice your jumps, and be creative with your path and enjoy it! You won't be a soloist again (Unless there is a tragedy but lets not think about that because it will depress this post.).

Right now, we have one person to dance for. Christ.

Yeah, it's going to be disappointing when Monday comes and goes with no special card or chocolate, but let's strive to think about God's huge love for us and be inspired. 

A "Lovizzle-Comment-Inspired" P31W Post!!!

People, this is why I love feedback on my posts. If you don't agree, or having something to add, correct or can offer a different view, I want to hear about it. Things (especially in the Bible) aren't always so black and white. We often had to scratch our heads and wonder "What in the world?" And other Christians have better insight than me a lot of times (or most of the time. :D I'm glad for that though). I was so happy because a fellow blogger, LoVizzle, left a really awesome comment on one of my posts that provoked a lot of thought in my mind and offered a great way to look at a verse. He's got a great blog, btw...check it out. Letters From LoVizzle

We are trying to learn about the Proverbs 31 Woman and were looking at verse 11 that says, "He has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." 

LoVizzle brought a great thought about it. Here's what he said. "From a guy's standpoint, I had always seen that verse as talking about the man. The new NIV says, "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value." In order to grasp what we're dealing with, this sentence can be broken down to "Her husband lacks nothing of value." I guess it could be saying that her husband has her to value (which is true, remembering the previous verse about rubies!). But I think this one is about the husband, which means the verse is saying that a "wife of noble character" will have a great, awesome husband. Think about how true that is: Have you ever seen an amazing woman marry a scumbag, drug-dealer, or lowlife? No! Any wise, noble, trustworthy, pure, intelligent, loving, kind, valuable woman would want to marry the cream of the crop, right? That's the only thing that makes sense to me. I don't see a P31W falling in love with a drunkard, jerk, abusive man. I see P31Ws falling in love with loving, selfless, strong (yet sensitive), determined, trustworthy, righteous, pure, wise man of integrity. I think that's what it means."

I think that is really good application to that verse. So, that holds a lot of value for the girls and the guys. Girls, I know, I do it too, but we often freak out over guys that in reality, would not make good husbands. We are not supposed to play with hearts and if we aren't looking at someone as a potential marriage partner, then we don't need to be in relationships (well, deeper than friendship anyways) with them. That's hard to hear, but think about it: Life is not about seeing how many guys we can be in a relationship with, but rather to save our whole hearts for that special someone. So I believe its important to KNOW what we want to see in a guy. What is important for YOU to see in a husband? I was challenged to make a list of those things by Dannah Gresh in "The Bride Wore White." She said, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it." Know what you want in a husband, not a boyfriend, and only  look into guys like that for potential husbands. (And this is for girls ready for that, unlike me. I need some time being single.) Actually, between us, it can be kinda fun looking at guys' character. DISCLAIMER: This does not mean to judge the guys, by any means. We aren't called to judge anyone. And it doesn't mean if they are lacking in one area that we scratch them off the list (because time changes people - whaddaya know?)  It also doesn't mean that we shouldn't invest any time in the "not perfect guys" because you will live a guy-less life until you die at age 1,000 if you do. And this ALSO doesn't mean that every guy who shows potential you should hear "wedding bells" about, either. God knows who that man in your life is going to be, so you don't have to worry. I'm just encouraging you girls not to date someone you wouldn't marry. 

Okay, now about the guys. *evil glares* There is a lot I could say right now, but I'll refrain. Lol. I do want to briefly want to say a few things that are great to see in a guy, but I'll make it brief. You boys should learn from other boys, not girls. But I'll name a few things that I feel like is so lacking in the world of Christian men and all girls wish to see.

Be leaders. Please, be leaders. Don't wait for a girl to volunteer to pray, be the one to help out with a project, be the one to encourage others in the Lord. Sadly, I know so many more girls like that than guys. A bunch of people complain about how girls are taking over, but I can't help but think, "I agree, but the guys have let it happen..."

Spur Godly convos. I'm telling ya. You want a Christian girl to turn her head? Having the confidence to talk about Christ, your weaknesses, and life (deeper than ESPN, which girls totally don't care about) is something a lot of guys miss.

Watch your mouth. When a guy can go without being negative of other people, or saying something perverted, or being disrespectful...I'm impressed. The Bible says that the tongue is a bridle for the whole body. If you learn to direct it, it will change your life. THAT'S SO COOL!!

I'll stop there. EDIT: I realized this may sound brutal on you guys. I don't mean for it to be. We are truly appreciative of Godly men and I know many who are such an inspiration to me. Just thought I'd clear that up.

LoVizzle, thanks so much for "inspiring" this post, and thanks for being so faithful to read my posts and give great feedback!!!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Can You Believe This Snow?!?!

Live feed from the Jones' front porch. Someone's truck and trailer jack knifed in the middle of the road and people are stuck in front of our house. It's been like this for almost two hours. Poor people.




Snow is beautiful and dangerous. Be careful on the road, but don't forget to be amazed at the creativity of our Father and praise Him for His acts.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Confession

Whoa. I had one crazy day. It was about a 12 hour day. I'm exhausted. But, instead of going to bed, which would be the sensible thing to do, I'm going to bore you all with the news about my day and confess something depressing.

I was not a Proverbs 31 Woman today...more specifically, this evening.

To start at the beginning, I had classes today and was at school for a really long time. Then, I got on the fun bus with Mr. Counts. Very fun, but terrifying experience. He makes me nervous driving. He...well, I won't say just in case any parents read this blog. I wouldn't want to tarnish his reputation. *laughs* He is so cool.

Here is a picture of him driving. This is about reality folks. Really. Lol. Oh yeah, speaking of freaky pictures. Her is one Becca took of me this morning. I try not to be embarrassed about bad pictures of me, so I'm going to share it, solely because it is SO funny, because this is what I look like probably most of the time: mouth slightly ajar and confused. I laughed hysterically when I saw it. Lol. It's good and freeing to be able to laugh at yourself. FOR REAL, I'm confused all the time. I really try not to be, but I just feel like I'm the last person to get the memo. Do you ever feel like that? Okay, WOW! I'm off track.

About the basketball game. We played, well, I'll save the team name, and I did the stats with my bestie, Carlee. Well, I'm not very good at stats anyways, because, I've never done points, I mainly just do fouls and "unofficial" stats. It's lame. I love it, but the full version, totally threw me off, not to mention that these refs weren't coming to the center to tell the table about fouls - they were calling it from the other side of the court and BOTH coaches were standing, so I could not see either of the refs at all. First quarter, I was a little bit behind. I was short two or three fouls for the other team. I didn't know who did them. So, I asked the other guys keeping stats. It  was stressful.

They told me, but come the end of the third quarter, they told Mr. Counts (team coach) that Iain, our starter (and one of the best, at that) FOULED OUT! And of course, Mr. C is freaking out and wondering why we didn't tell him that Iain had four fouls? And I said, "NO! NO he hasn't. He has three fouls."

Well, the other guys pulled a card and kinda used it against me about how I wasn't "keeping fouls for the whole first quarter", which maybe I AM bad, but that's overkill. Well, coaches and refs started yelling and I felt bad, like it was my fault because they BENCHED IAIN! And I was stressed because if I hadn't asked the dude for his foul record, then if wouldn't have happened. This would not have been as big a deal if the game wasn't so close and so intense as it was. It was very close. 

Anyways. As you can probably imagine, I was very stressed and VERY irritated/annoyed/mad/sad. Well, we ended up winning by a few points, and it turns out that both stats people were wrong. He didn't have three or five. He had four. *shrug*

I went into my game a little out of sorts, and it didn't help when I realized that team we were getting ready to play the Goliath descendants. Lol. No, they weren't that bad, just very good and extremely well coached. Anyways, I don't think my attitude was that of a Proverbs 31 Woman, and I know that I wasn't encouraging to my team when they needed it most. I hate it when I do that. I just want to punch myself square in the face. Because that verse comes to mind - always too late it feels like - "For whatever you do, do ALL unto the glory of God." I had to ask myself, "Was my attitude God glorifying?" And, no, it was not.

Luckily, toward the end of the game, I was more chilled (but still irked at the refs because they weren't calling anything). And lets not even mention the score. LOL! They KILLED US! No mercy. Trampled us into the hardwood floor. But, it was all good.

I get annoyed with myself when I am not the example for Christ that I should be, but I'm glad that He is a God of forgiveness and never-ending chances and renewed mercies. Like they say, "Live and learn."  

I'm living and never failing to learn. Sorry, to any of you who had to witness my madness, I'll try to do better next time. Feel free to remind me at the next game if you happen to think about it.

I'll say though, I play better when I'm mad, I must'a had at least three fouls. Someone said four. :p

Monday, February 7, 2011

P31W: He Will Have No Lack of Gain

Today, the Proverbs 31 Teens of the world tackle a challenging (at least for me) phrase. Let's read it.

NKJV - Proverbs 31:11b "So he will have no lack of gain." 

WHAT IN THE WORLD? Okay, I'm sorry, maybe this is just a dumb thing, but I cannot wrap my mind around the "lack" of "gain" thing at all. Every time I try to break that down in my mind, something happens and I fail and end up horribly confused. I'm pretty hard core in love with NKJV, but today, I will venture out into new horizons.

KJV "And he shall have no need of spoil." 

NASB "And he will have no lack of gain."

Hmm. This is interesting. It's my language. I like it. NLV "And she will greatly enrich his life."

NIV "He lacks nothing of value." 

Much better.I totally understand what that means now. Remembering that we are breaking down the qualities of a Proverbs 31 Woman, this verse makes lots of since. Especially in light of the phrase before it, "The heart of her husband safely trusts in her."

When I picture someone having no "lack of gain" or "lacking nothing of value", I think of someone with great prestige and wealth and riches and stuff. But I don't think this is what this verse means. The Bible has said many places that the most important things don't have anything to do with prosperity, but rather they have to do with the state of our hearts and how much we love God.

Now, isn't that interesting? If we are trustworthy women (see previous posts), then the people we are intimately related with aren't going to be lacking. I thought about this for a while. What about that Bible verse, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

We say, "Ugh, being a trustworthy P31W is a really hard task. What is the benefit?" Here is one practical reward. If we are trustworthy, people around us are going to trust us and be affected by our actions. According to this verse, in our married lives, being trustworthy with our husbands, is going to supply him with much!! That really shows how valuable a P31W really is. Not only is she rare, but she supplies good things to her husband.  A good place to start being trustworthy and seeing those benefits is right now, right here.  

That's all I got on that phrase. Sorry, laaame. Interesting to think about, but kinda hard to explain. Tell me your thoughts and let me know if I missed the mark! I'd love to hear them. I know you guys will have better insight than me.

Check Out a Friends Blog!!

Hey, a friend of mine just started blogging! He's got some really awesome stuff so far. Let's give him some encouragement and subscribe? Okay? Okay!!

Jonny's Blog

Sunday, February 6, 2011

DUDE! I found these on YOUTUBE!! This is our large and small ensemble at UCA! We competed and got first place. Wow. We aren't that bad (but we have a good teacher)... Not that I'm bragging. I'm having a really hard time not critiquing everything. Like the sopranos are NOT together (my section)... Enjoy!

HAHAHAHA!!! We all look mad. We have sang this 500 times and you can tell by our faces. good thing you can't see me!!!





Saturday, February 5, 2011

Trustworthy P31W: On Gossip and Slander

(Wow. My fingers feel so weird. I've been playing guitar for two hours and I am not a guitar player. Ow!)

If you have some delusional thought in your mind that gossiping and slander isn't going to be judged harshly by God - then ditch that thought, right now.  Read these next few verses. Don't think God is serious when He says bridle your tongue?

James 3:2-10 "For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. ..."

1 Peter 3:10 "For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.""

James 1:26 "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless."
 
Wow.

Matthew 12:37 "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 

There are many more I could add, but I didn't want to make this post too long. Man, these Scriptures speak for themselves though, majorly. If we want to be Proverbs 31 Women, then on thing we must must learn is how to control our tongue and we must have knowledge of what type of power lies in our words. Proverbs 12:18 says, "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." According to this verse, our tongue holds the power of life and death (Also see Proverbs 18:21). We can tear someone down or build him up, heal her or make her sick.

Skipping ahead in the chapter, Proverbs 31 tells us, "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." If we want to be P31W we have to put this into practice in our lives and constantly evaluate what exactly is on our tongues. I know that I'm often found with slander and gossip on mine. What about you? Let's get honest with ourselves and really think about this. Don't try to down-play your problem in your head if you have one. Many girls, and guys too, have a problem with slander and gossip and forget that the power of life and death is on our lips. We forget that one day we will have to stand before heaven one day and account for it. So what is gossip and what is slander? 


Gossip: According to Google, gossip means "a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people". And that is exactly what it is. "Hey, Sally, did you see how Jack and Jill just hung all over each other at...blah blah blah?" Yep, that's gossip.

Let's think about it this way. If we are striving to be Christ-like then we are going to be doing the best good for the most people and constantly be pointing them to Christ by our words, actions and deeds. When I say, "Hey Sally, guess what?" Who is benefiting? Who is being uplifted and encouraged by my words. Yes, Sally may know a little more than she did before, but at who's expense? Jack and Jill's. Whether we admit it or not, people we talk to are affected by our reports. Sally is not going to feel the same way about Jack and Jill after I tell her what I saw. Ephesians 4:29 puts it simply in one sentence, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  Before we speak, we have to ask ourselves. WHY am I saying this? WHO will benefit from this? And HOW can I be a light for Jesus Christ?

Slander: According to Google, (good ol' Google), Slander is an abusive attack on someones character or name. Basically, words said with the intent of hurting someone. This could range to a lot of things. Starting rumors, talking behind someone's back, or even something as seemingly small as being discouraging to someone.

I think slander comes from a deep place in our hearts. Most of the slandering that happens, comes from very insecure people. I think that (and I've felt and done this before to, I'm ashamed to say) when we slander others, we do it so we can stand higher. I've heard someone say it in a very understandable way. To paraphrase: We beat each other down with our words so we can step on their carcasses and stand higher. We want to be noticed, so we make sure that everyone around us, looks like nothing compared. I once heard a story about a man, who owned a company and he wanted to look handsome, so he employed the nastiest, ugliest people he could so that he would look like a model. I think this is kinda the same thing. We want to be heard, noticed, appreciated and pat on the back for being such a good kid...so what's better than making other people look bad, right? No, ladies. This is not the answer.

Once again, we will give an account for every idle word we speak.

So, you want to be a Proverbs 31 Woman? She is a woman who encouraged and spoke words of wisdom. She builds others up and stands up for her friends. She is a woman you can trust, because she will never speak an unkind word about anyone. She will never beat people down. When she speaks, people hear the Love of the Father in her mouth. You want to be a Proverbs 31 Woman? I do. I never will be, but I can try.

A Practical First Step: So yeah, we DO want to be P31W, but how do we do that when it seems like we can't even go in the bathroom at school with out someone saying,"Guess what?" Well, I have an idea. Whether it will work or not, I'm not sure. But we can try it. (I can't remember if I got this idea from someone else or if I thought it up? I'd like to think I did, but, oh well! Maybe it was Carlee who told me. I give her credit for all my good ideas, because she is the second half of my brain that I lost a while back...) I just put a rubber-band around my wrist. Not a hair-tie. A rubber band. For the next 30 days, I am going to purpose to not say a negative word about anyone, UNLESS asked by an adult with good intentions, someone is endangered, or it is mutually helpful to that person (like pointing out some areas people could do better in their dialogs. I have to do that.). And any time I forget and break that resolve, then I will snap that rubber band on my hand and stop talking, even if that means stopping mid-sentence.

Bathe this endeavor in prayer. Pray that God will cleanse you and put His words in our mouths instead. Will it be easy? NO! We're girls, of course not. So, get an accountability partner and have them do it with you. Maybe they will snap it for you when you forget. Hey, that'd be cool. Hopefully, after the 30 days, we will be trained not to speak a word of evil. Through this time, meditate on verses about our tongues and be thinking of ways we can intentionally build someone up!! Hows that for a reverse? 

Listen to your conscience, girls! If there is this part of you that says, "Perhaps, I shouldn't say this. DON'T!" You conscience is a gift that often (not always, though) will keep you our of trouble. If you feel something trying to stop you from speaking, then don't say anything. Our conscience is one way that God uses to teach us. It's your conscience that is going to remind you mid-sentence about the rubber-band on your arm. Rejoice that God has given you something that is constantly made more like His mind, so you can think clearer and make better decisions.

I'm glad I wrote on this topic. The Lord has used His Word to convict me and I'm looking forward to this crazy challenge. I'm praying for all of you girls (OR GUYS WHO MAY WANT TO JOIN US *HINT HINT* lol.). 

Psalm 141:3 "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" 




An Opportunity to Give Back to God

Hi everyone,

These are the testimonies of people who have been blessed by the scholarship program at Camp Barnabas.

"I cannot tell you what the scholarship funds mean to our family, without them camp would not be possible. Camp is the one week that my husband and I have a chance to focus on our relationship, it means so much to us to have this week. Because of our child’s illness, I cannot work. I provide care for her constantly but, thanks to the scholarship fund, we get to give our daughter a wonderful week at camp and our marriage a recharge. Thanks so much for the help.”  - A mother of a special girl with a rare genetic disorder
"Camp is the best week of my life. I realized at camp that God really does love me just the way I am and I want to go and tell everyone about God and my relationship with Him, but I think I am too shy. I am so thankful you have a scholarship fund that helps me be able to attend camp, it is the best place in the world, I think maybe it is a lot like heaven.”  - Ashley (young camper with spina bifida)

I am helping an organization called Camp Barnabas raise money for their camper scholarship program. Camp Barnabas provides life-changing opportunities for people with special needs and chronic diseases in a summer camp setting. These incredible people learn that they are uniquely created with abilities as they enjoy swimming, canoeing, horseback riding and lots of summertime fun.

More than 60% of the people who come to camp receive at least a partial scholarship. No one has ever been turned away from camp because of a financial need and it takes over $300,000 to make that possible.

I'd like to be able to count on you to make a donation to the organization so that I can help them fulfill their mission. So visit my website!! http://campbarnabas.donorpages.com/PersonalDonorPagesforCamperScholarshipFund/AshleyJones

Giving is easy! Simply click on my Fundraising Site address below to visit my personal fundraising page. You can read more about what we do here as well as make a secure donation online.

Thank you for your support! God is using your financial gifts to change lives! Please forward this message!

Ashley Jones

(Email me with any questions: faraboverubiesatattdotnet)

My Fundraising Site:

http://campbarnabas.donorpages.com/PersonalDonorPagesforCamperScholarshipFund/AshleyJones

Friday, February 4, 2011

More On A Trustworthy P31W

This is a continuation of the post below. It was long and a little hefty, I decided to break it apart. Here's this post. Be expecting more, soon!

Keeping Your Promises: His heart trusts her. He KNOWS that when she says she'll do something she will. This hits home for me, because I have the WORST memory. It's bad. I can't remember how old my friends are, what I ate for breakfast or what day it is. So it is very easy for me to forget to do what I say. Mom says, "Ash, do thus and so for me." No prob, I don't mind helping her. I reassure her that it will be done....right after I'm done with what I'm doing at the moment...which could take a while. Two hours later mom comes to me and says, "Ash tell me you did thus and so." I freeze. HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN?!?!?! I meant to do it, I really did. I often wonder how the P31W would handle things like this. I imagine that she would write herself and note to remind herself, or do it right then and there.

Their hearts trust her. They KNOW that when she says she'll do something, she will.

Keeping Secrets:You promise Sally you will not tell a soul what she told you about her family, but Jack and Jill were pressuring you, so you gave in and told them. She'll never know you told.  The P31W would seal her lips. When people confide in her, they know that she will never tell anyone because she cares about them. Guys, really. Don't tell other people's secrets. Think about how you would feel and try to live by the golden rule. The Bible says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In the case of telling others' secrets, I believe it boils down to how much you care about other people. You say, "I love people." but then blab their secrets? Hm. Not very P31W-ish to me. This is hard for us girls, I know. It's just irresistible to tell Jack and Jill about Sally's insecurity issues, but don't do it. Again, we have to remember that we will give an account for every idle word we speak. Hearts trust her. They know that when she says something, she will do it. If she says, "I won't tell" or "I'll get it done." She will. I want to have that reputation. To the point that if someone needs someone to talk to, they will KNOW that they can come to ME because there is not ONE DOUBT in their mind that I will keep their secrets and care for them.

Following Through: This section would be similar to keeping your promises. If you say, I'm going to do this. Do it! Don't get half way into a project and stop. The P31W makes a decision and perseveres through it.

If we want to be trust worthy, I believe that one thing we have to think about constantly is Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken."

I have more on this topic of trustworthiness, but I'll have to post on that at a later time. It's LATE! In the meantime, if you have any elaborations on this, comments, or extra thoughts, even tips on how to make my writing better...please share.

Haha, it's funny. I'm doing this thing on Proverbs 31 Women and most of my readers are guys. Lol.

A Trustworthy P31W

Oh, I really don't feel like posting right now. There are a bajillion things on my mind and I feel like I'm going crazy. Actually, I'll admit that I'm having a hard time trusting the Lord right now, so please, please pray for me. In the meantime, I'm going to post because I think it will do me some good. :)

Proverbs 31:11 "The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain." 

Okay, if I acted like I knew what this verse meant, I would be lying. Because the truth is, I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around the last phrase. No lack of gain? What does that mean?

Wait, wait. Let's just start with the first section. "The heart of her husband safely trusts her." 

When I am studying scripture, one of the first things I want to do is read different translations of the same verse. The translation above is NKJV (my personal favorite) but lets see what else we can find.

NIV - "Her husband has full confidence in her." NIV is the only thing I could find that was different. The other thing I like to do while studying is get my handy-dandy Strong's Concordance out and look up key words in the verse. Believe it or not, this will help you understand many verses a lot better. In this case, I looked up "heart". And heart in this since is referring to the intellect of the husband. I don't know why that is relevant, I just thought I would throw that out there.

Okay, this verse suggests something HUGE about the Proverbs 31 Woman.

She is trustworthy. When people talk to her, they trust her not to spill their secrets, or tear people down. They trust her to back her words up and always treat people the same way.

*ouch* Does any of this sound familiar? It does for me. I know that I am guilty of at least one of those things every day. So what does it mean to be trustworthy?What are ways we can be trustworthy? Or NOT trustworthy?

Here are some of the areas I think trustworthiness covers. All of these I'm guilty of.
- Not lying, but telling the truth. Duh.
- Not slandering other people, but always building people up. In front of them or behind their back.
- Keeping your promises.
- Matching your walk and talk.
- Following through your commitments instead of not finishing what you start.
- Keeping secrets.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of for now. So, the obvious step from here would be to talk about how we fail in these areas and what are some practical ways that we can change.

Lying v. Honesty: Your mom comes home. You are annoyed that she is home so early. You haven't gotten much stuff done and you have lolly-gagged like crazy and now, she's home and she is going to ask you what you've been doing? You go in your room to avoid the question. But she asks anyways. "So, what did you do today?" You reply, "Oh, English."

"Anything else?"

"No, just English. It was really hard today, so I didn't get much done." Little does she know that that was a total lie. Today, in English you reviewed antecedents and it was a breeze.

Listen to what the Bible has to say about Liars. Proverbs 19:5b "And he who tells lies will not escape." Wow, creepy verse. Let ponder that. We may get temporary relief for not having to deal with our mom and her rantings, but in the end of times we are going to stand before a holy judge, THE HOLY JUDGE and have to give an account for every word we speak. "But that's hardly even a lie!" Some may say. But God has told us, as Christians (and Proverbs 31 Women) to live holy, set apart and sanctified lives and that means that all lies, big or small should bother us and drive us to repentance. Because God wants to put us on a guilt trip? No. God wants us to become like Him. That established, lets challenge ourselves. Every time we feel like exaggerating the truth or telling little white lies, let think about this verse. Proverbs 19:5. Better yet, lets memorize it. The way we defeat sin in our life is with the word of God (and His Grace of course). Pray that when exaggeration or lies are on your tongue that God would bring this verse to you and stop you. He will. It's annoying when He does that. It's happened to me. But think about it, each time you decide to be truthful, you become more like Christ and that is rewarding!!

I'm feeling as though this may have to be a multi-part post.