3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!

As an adopting sister, I have been counting the days since the very beginning. And I'm sure, if you have ever adopted, you understand the feeling. Six months can feel like a year. So even though six months is actually a short time frame for an adoption, it felt like a lifetime of waiting, going through every day of Gabe and Levi's adoption. And since Kole's adoption process has hit it's 7 month mark already, and he's still not home, it's like going through torture. Butttt, the good news is, he will be home really soon! I know we keep saying that, but this time I mean it. My parents are traveling in 3 days!! Which is exciting and exhausting all at the same time. Because we only had nine days from the day we got our DAP appointment date, we (my mom) have been running around like madmen, trying to get all last minute shopping done, packing, and between us just now starting school, that's an extra 10 pounds of weight added to their shoulders. But man is God providing! Just a couple months ago, we were about $6,000 short and it took nothing but a small miracle, a big God, and amazing friends, family, and support to shrink that number. Not only did we shrink it, but we vanished it. Gone. Fully funded.

So, won't you join us in the count down?

3

2

1

BLAST OFF!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

Purity Comes at Costs

Like it or not, especially this day in age, in order to stay pure and follow the Lord, you sometimes have to give up stuff you love. Because this world is full of sin, almost everything we do has a string of sin attached to it. Like Facebook. The internet is a great invention, and it is a blessing. But unfortunately it can often be miss-used. There are so many inappropriate pictures, videos, comments, etc. out there that we as followers of Christ should be ignoring. The Bible tells us to guard our our eyes, ears, hearts. We may not realize it, but those things are very important. We can accidentally see the wrong thing, or hear a bad song, or give our heart away to someone we hardly even know. The past few days I have really taken that into consideration. As this was all on my mind, I decided to get out my handy Before You Meet Prince Charming book. Little did I know that the chapter I was about to read, would make that decision for me. They covered the exact subject. I felt that was a pure sign from God. I couldn't ignore it. Therefore, I prayed and asked God for his guidance. The next morning I made the announcement. I was overwhelmed with the positive feedback I got. Several people told me I would be missed, but they highly respected my decision. I felt that was also a God moment. He is constantly reminding us that if we follow in His foot steps, we will be blessed. That He will take care of the rest. No worries or harm will come our way. And I really felt that reminder that day. 

So this afternoon, I took what may seem like a little step, but in God's eyes, a leap of faith. I deactivated my account. Which means no more temptations or time consuming activity. Of course there will still be many temptations and traps that Satan casts, along the way. They aren't just online. But by getting rid of the online temptations I am slowly erasing them. And I can proudly say that I am doing that with God by my side :)  

Before You Meet Prince Charming: Week 1

I am currently reading the new book my parents bought me, called Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally. I am only 7 chapters into it, and man has it changed me for the better! Sarah is a young woman who has a heart and a gift in the area of educating young ladies in pure, wholesome, God oriented love. She even appeared on an episode of TLC's 19 Kids & Counting, after several of the Duggar girls read her book. They were all inspired and challenged by her amazing book and testimonies, and so am I. Even though I'm only half way through it. But any way, since I think every girl in the WORLD should read this incredible book, I have decided to keep you all up to speed about some of the things we cover. So tune in every week, to get a little update on where I'm at in the book, and what speaks loudest to me.

Week 1- first 7 chapters

Sarah talks a lot about saving your whole heart for your husband, and committing to not dating. Now you might be thinking, "Not dating!?!? How would I get to know a person, or find out which guy is right for me?" There are plenty of other ways to get to know a guy/girl, without the dangers of dating. Sarah covers this topic, in her chapter Dangers With the Dating System. This chapter really made me realize that I don't want to be one of those girls that goes through boyfriends every month. And she showed me that I don't have to be! I never really knew how pointless dating was until now. I know I'm only 12, and surely things will change when the times comes for me to even think about marriage, but I have committed to not date. When I am of the age my parents and God think is the right time for me to start looking for a husband, if the right (godly, strong Christian, devoted, selfless, etc.) man comes along and asks permission from my mom and dad to court and my family and I see he's the right one, then I would agree to get to know him better. But this is not a game. You don't go around trying out and experimenting on a dozen different guys just for fun. I don't want to give away little bits and pieces to different guys, instead I want my future husband to have my whole heart. Sarah also uses the pure white rose as a metaphor of our heart. She says to picture our hearts as a white rosebud. It hasn't nearly bloomed yet, and if we try to force it open, we will break apart the little pedals, that could eventually be big, soft, beautiful, white pedals to a fully blossomed rose. Our heart is not yet ready. God has our whole entire life planned out, and he is telling us to wait. Wait until our hearts have fully blossomed and are pure and white, with Jesus. Don't try to force it open, and tear little pedals off of it. 

She also talks about the waiting season. And how difficult it can be for young ladies to wait for Mr. Right. But how the time of waiting is the most important time of all. There are many Scriptures on waiting in the Lord, and serving Him while we wait. She points out that waiting is the best time to look into ministries. That while God keeps us single, He has work for us to do. Many young ladies have given their testimonies on how they've done things through ministering, things that they would have never been able to do married. That makes me even more excited about advocating and doing outreach now. Think about it, if God wants me to get married in my twenties, then that leaves me about another 12 years to do what I love- speak up for the silent, reach out to the orphans, and the poor. Now I could be completely off, I don't know God's plan, but as we're commanded to do I will let go and let God. I won't get in His way, I surely do NOT want to mess up His marvelous plan for me. I will stay out of His way, and do everything I can to bring glory to Him.

Modesty

"And the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,"
1 Corinthians 12:23 NIV

I've been thinking and hearing a lot about modesty lately, and decided to discuss the subject here on Living Out Proverbs 24:12. What does modesty mean to you? To me, it means covering up your body and not showing off the things that don't need to be seen. That doesn't mean you have to cover up every inch of your body, or go to extremes. You can still dress outside your box, but in His book. For example, don't wear shorts that look like underwear, or shirts that show off your belly button. For me, I feel comfortable in long shirts. I do wear shorts, just not super short. Skirts, jeans, and capri's are great if you want to go longer then shorts. My good friend, Alyssa, has decided to fast from jeans for the month, and live on skirts. 

 She's committed to keeping her body pure, and dress with God in mind. Which in this generation, is not easy to do. She also introduced me to a blog called Fresh Modesty 
which was created by a teen who also wants to stay modest and pure. 

 So you see, you can be cute and covered at the same time! I 
have just gotten into maxi dresses and skirts, so I would wear one any day! It's a great way to be comfortable, modest, casual, and classy all at the same time!

One of the main reasons girls choose to dress in-modestly, is because they want a guy's attention. Well first of all, if the only reason a guy is attracted to you is because of the way you dress, you've got the wrong guy. When you are at the appropriate age and looking for 'Mr. right' then you should look for a man who will love you for you. Not your outward appearance, but the inside, your personality, your heart. Because styles and fashions always change and fade away, but your heart shouldn't. You need someone who will love you for YOU. 

So cover up and keep your body pure!!

Dear God,

Dear God,
I know you have a plan for each and every one of us, and it's bigger then any of us ever thought possible. I know that since I am strong in you and have faith, you will help guide me through this big maze/journey/life. Just like you said in Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." You had our lives mapped out before we were even created. Only you know the exact number of days we are here on earth. And the exact time we'll go to you for eternal, joyful, non-sinful, life. In Heaven.

I believe, that everything happens for a reason. For you don't cause the bad things to happen, but you bring good out of them. I know you are always there. During tragedies, you're there. During happiness, you're there. During sorrow, you're there. And in every single second and moment of the day- YOU ARE THERE. You are here, with us, holding our hand, guiding us in the dark and celebrating with us in the light. When people ask why bad things happen, my answer is, "Honestly, I don't know. Nobody does but God. But I do know that this world is sinful, and there is a Devil, which is one of the routes to tragedies. AND, God will provide, and prevail, and shine a light through every tunnel we walk through. Sometimes, a lot of times, He does it in ways we don't fully understand or see, or expect. But He is always there for us, here with us, and loving on us. We were all made by God, choose to believe it or not, and we are on earth to serve him. We are on a mission. We are special agents, to the all-mighty, all-powerful, Glorious, God. Each day, we encounter a mission, and only He knows when our mission will end. There will be a day, when our mission will be complete, finished, over, and we will receive the ultimate reward- eternal life in Heaven. If we were only on a mission for Jesus, to follow His path and plan, and to serve where He calls us to serve, then we will eventually go with Him. Go HOME. And rest in His arms. As he whispers, "Mission accomplished."

Wake Up Call

I am a 12 year old girl, with emotions, hormones, and attitude. I am a sinner, just like every single person on this earth. Despite my joyful, random, giggly, shy, compassionate personality, my heart is full of sin and ungratefulness. No matter how much I go on about the things I'm thankful for, I get tangled up in the world's many webs of ungrateful, bad attitudes, and arguments. In other words, I disrespect my parents, start arguments, butt heads, just like everyone does now and then. And that's simply because we were born into this world, sinfully. Thanks to Adam and Eve, the world is sinful. But that's another story. What I'm trying to say is, I AM thankful for everything I have, and I know I don't deserve it all. But when I do disrespect and get in a bad attitude, I forget all that. I forget that I am way beyond blessed by God. I forget that there are others out there that are not as fortunate as me. I know you're probably thinking, 'what is this girl talking about??'. Mainly because I am a major advocater and am involved in orphans and special needs. So why would I be admitting to the fact that I can be unthankful and selfish? Because I am human. I was created by the perfect, king of kings, the unconditional loving, Father, yet I live in this world. In which we all know, is unGodly and in no way, perfect. And I just have one thing to say to those who want everything they see, and think the world revolves around them- IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. It's not!!! You're blessed if you have clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and food and water. Somethings some people don't have. Some people around the world. Foreign countries, no matter how fancy or beautiful they may be, are not as fortunate as America. Believe it or not. And that's one of the reasons I choose places like Europe to advocate for, or adopt from. But we all know, Africa is one of the most poorest and famished continents. Recently, while I was scrolling down Facebook's home page, I stumbled upon this picture. I have seen several pitiful pictures of people in Africa, in desperate conditions. But when I saw this, I literally froze. My draw dropped, and I stared at the two unbelievably skinny and starving children in the photo. These two were nothing but skin and bones, hardly any skin. With hearts aching and reaching out, desperately asking for help. For food, water, aid, ANYTHING. You can just see it in their eyes. The sadness and hopelessness.



And so, this is my heart. This was me pouring out, sharing my thoughts and feelings. And hopefully, a wake up call to you.

Friday Morning Adventures

Just a little bit of our Friday morning.....

So basically, this morning, my mom had a lot of adoption errands to run. On the way to town, she drive past a huge turtle, and turned around just to show me. The picture doesn't do justice of it's size, 'cause it was THE biggest turtle I've ever seen (besides at aquariums, zoos, and such). And before we left, we broke out the pinini presser. A friend of ours handed it down to us, thankfully, because this thing is like a little piece of heaven. It came with a book full of different recipes and ways to press. Seriously, your possibilities are endless with this!