This one is for the boys too

When I’m stressed, I write. I’m stressed.

Over the past few days, my Twitter and Facebook feed have been overtaken by one video- The Proverbs 31 Movement. I have even re-posted and watched it several times. I think it is wonderful! What a beautiful picture of guys saying that they don’t desire this stigma many girls strive to be. The saying goes “I’d rather have a Proverbs 31 woman then a Victoria Secret model.”

I think this is wonderful, like I said. And in no means am I going against that. I pray that my future husband wants that too. But isn’t there more?

Here is the passage of Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31, ESV

“An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.”


I know that people might be upset about what I’m going to say, and that is not my intention. I simply want people to think about this from a different view. I’m also not disagreeing with the Bible at all! I strive to live a life describe in this passage as well.

Think about all the ladies and women of God in the Bible.

There was Rahab, a prostitute. In need of redemption. God redeems.

There was Ruth, a widow. In need of husband and went outside of what society told her to do. God provides.

There was Esther, an outsider. In need of saving her people. God made her queen.

There was Deborah, a judge. God gave her authority.

There was Hannah, barren. God heard her prayers.

There was Leah, an unloved wife. God loved her.

There was Rachel, a loved wife. God made her wait.

There was the woman at the well, an outcast of society. God saved her.

I don’t know what the lives of these women looked like, except the part that is given to us. But I do know that each one of these women was created in the image of God.

Proverbs 31 is a beautiful picture of a kind of picture of a woman who loves the Lord. But I feel like it is a kind, not the kind. Think about the Scripture as a whole. Doesn’t God say that He makes everything beautiful in its time?

Doesn’t that mean that all the women in the Bible, from the Rahabs and Tamars to the Ruths and Rachels, are beautiful?

God made them in His image. They too are praised.

God doesn’t call every woman to be a mother or a wife. But each woman is still made His image.

When we read stories about the women in the Bible, we don’t know if they would be described exactly like the Proverbs 31 woman. And I’m not saying that women shouldn’t pray and strive to exemplify those qualities either. But remember, every woman is created in His image.

I feel led about this because some girls out there I know don’t feel called to be a mom or even a wife. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t women of God.

I just pray that men of God don’t push the saying “Proverbs 31 woman.” Each Daughter of the King is their sister. This could hurt their sisters.

And women, don’t worry.

I know lots of girls, including myself, that get completely caught up in the Proverbs 31 woman idea. Each verse becomes more like a checklist then a lifestyle. Don’t grow weary. Seek the Lord and His wisdom. I truly believe that when you are right with the Lord and are seeking and desiring Him, the rest will follow.

For the women who don’t feel called to be a mom or wife, remember that you are the Bride of Christ! Need I say more!? Again, I feel like if you are seeking and growing in your relationship with God, this will come. I encourage you to not skip over this passage of scripture, as painful as it may be for some. It’s in the Bible; it is living and active and inspired by God. He wanted it in there, for a reason.

Again, I’m not bashing and putting down the Proverbs 31 Movement. I find it encouraging that there are so many men of God out there desiring to find their sisters as women of the Lord and Daughters of the King. But don’t become obsessive over the saying “Proverbs 31 woman.” Remember, each daughter is beautiful in the eyes of her Father. Her story might not be what you’ve imagined. Remember the women God used throughout the Bible and is continuing to use.

Humbly yours,
His servant

The World Series, The Author of Life

So I haven’t written anything in a really, really, really long time. I hate that. Writing is something I absolutely love!

God has really taught me a lot over the past few months. And I have so many things I want to write about, to be honest I don’t know were I’m going to go with this.

Right now, what is the one thing that everyone seems to be talking about? The World Series, right!? I love baseball! I love the Rangers! And of course, I love the Word Series! (Yes, I’m a girl and know just as much about sports as most guys.) But the World Series is awesome!...Even if you don’t like baseball and could care less.
The World Series brings people together all over the nation (and even the world..total speculation, I’m just assuming!)

The World Series takes place every year. We know that it’s always coming around at the end of October. We know that one team will walk away as champions. We know that pitches will be thrown, batters will hit, bases will be loaded, and runs will be scored. We know all these things will happen. However, there is a lot of uncertainty too, right? Like who will win? Will this batter hit a homerun or even a grand slam? Will this runner get out before making it to second?

I couldn’t even imagine playing on a team that was in the World Series! I’m a nervous wreck sitting on the couch watching! My mind quickly goes to the uncertainties of the game. I’m always thinking, “Oh, I hope he hits this one out,” or “Oh, he needs to strike him out.” Never do I sit there thinking, “Oh, well, someone is going to win this game!” You know what I mean? Maybe you’re that person too. Not a negative person. I just tend to automatically think and dwell on the uncertainties in any sporting event.

As I was watching Game 5 last night (Rangers won…just FYI!!!), I realized that dwelling on uncertainties isn’t just something I do in sports. I do it with everything.

School-grades, professors, tests and assignments. Extra curricular activities- time management, social life, showing my best….this list of things could go on and on.

I am constantly dwelling on all the uncertainties in my life. Things from a grade on a test a took, how the Aggie football game is going to go Saturday, or where will I go and what will I do when I graduate in a year. I let these things, big or small, sit on my mind and practically drive myself crazy.

But what I’m a forgetting? The most important thing of all: God is the author of my life and His story is so beautiful. He has a story for me, and you, that He has written just for us! How comforting. Knowing that the pen is in His hands and not mine automatically brings me comfort.

However, it wasn’t always like this. I never wanted to release control of my uncertainties to Him. When I confessed them over to Him, I always seemed to keep a few just for me. These were the areas that I felt I could write in my life. HOW STUPID!! I could write my life and decide things, or I could let the creator of the universe write it. You pick.

Someone told me something this summer that made me think. She said, “I wonder how hurt the Holy Spirit must be when we choose to make decisions on our own. I mean, the Holy Spirit is inside of us waiting and wanting and right there to lead us. But we continue to do our own thing.”

This really made me realize that I can’t dwell on all these uncertainties in my life. Yes, I might not know where I’m suppose to go after I graduate or how will win the World Series. But I do know that God knows! Take comfort in that.

Humbly yours,
His servant

He sees right through it

Why do we, meaning ladies, spend hours in front of the mirror perfecting our makeup and hair? Why do we stand in our closet full of clothes screaming we don’t have anything to wear for an hour each morning? Why do we spend money on haircuts, expensive makeup, and fabulous designer clothes and accessories?
After several conversations that I have had just within the past week with some of my girlfriends, questions like these keep popping into head after talking with them. We ladies love looking fabulous! I mean, who doesn’t!? Shopping for the perfect outfit with all the accessories, expensive makeup, an awesome haircut, and of course a mani and pedi are things I love! But why? Why do we like these things so much?
At first (and honestly my life) I thought that we just enjoy pampering ourselves. When you are a little girl, you are princess. Princesses have to have all these things to feel pretty. Or that’s what we were all told. Then comes the junior and high school years where you just have to have all the right stuff to fit in with everyone else. Now in college and even into our adult lives we still find excuses of why we need all these fabulous things. However, they are excuses. Still the question remains, why do we…?
Like I mentioned earlier, this past week has been filled with glorious conversations with wonderful and beautiful ladies of all ages. Talking mainly about girl stuff and things going on in life like school, boys, stress, tanning, nail polish, summer, flowers, the Royal Wedding, baking and so on…you know the normal girl stuff! Each lady I talked to the topic of playing a certain role in life came up. After each conversation I really started to think and wonder why we go through all we do to play a certain part. We must wear the perfect outfit, our makeup must be flawless, our hair must look like we just stepped out of the salon, why? Because we are each playing a role in our lives. These roles probably only exist in our head and in no one else’s. Most of my girlfriends told me that these roles were to please someone else, of course that someone else being “their better half.” However, I felt that this role play still wasn’t the true reason behind the question why.
I continued to think. I thought about my own life and why I really feel the need to be perfect all the time. Yes, at times it is to please someone else but ultimately it is fueled by something else. That something else: fear, insecurity. The fear of failing and the idea that I’m not good enough and that I must present myself as perfect as possible to try and covered up my imperfections.
Insecurities just fuel our fears inside. Many girls I talk to have this complete wall of fear in front of them when it comes to guys, a fear of being rejected and not loved by a guy. This is a perfectly good reason to be afraid. I mean, every girl wants to be loved and accepted, not rejected. To coop with this fear we get the idea that if everything is just perfect on the outside maybe we can hide what we are feeling on the inside. Maybe they won’t see the real us. The real us that is so desperately desiring to be loved and accepted while constantly knowing that something about us isn’t perfect.
Just last night, a person that is very special to me told me something that really made me think. I was sharing the struggle of insecurities I have and then the fear that flows from the insecurities. This special person reminded me of the story of David, saying that David had been chosen to be king of Israel. David was the youngest and weakest of his brothers, the unlikely choice; however, God wanted him to rule over His chosen people. Throughout David’s life he failed. He wasn’t perfect. He was far from it! This person who was reminding me of David brought up the book of Psalm in the Bible, stating that as you read it you find David in many emotional states. He was happy and joyful at times and then scared and fearful at other times. David had insecurities. David feared things. David wasn’t perfect. Yet God calls David a man after His own heart.
These insecurities are not going to just go away. Only through prayer and close relationship with your Father will get you through it. He is consistently here to remind you that you aren’t going to be perfect, to stop trying so hard to cover up flaws and hide behind all the things we think shield us. He desires us. He loves us. There is no need to use makeup, clothes, and the rest of our girly stuff to help us be more accepted and loved. He is enough. He sees right through it! And honestly, I find that comforting!
Humbly yours,
His servant

"It's Friday, but Sunday is coming!"

True love. Every person longs for it, maybe in different ways. But deep down, haven’t you always desired and wanted that someone to share your thoughts, hopes, and dreams with. I don’t really know how guys desire true love, but I can tell you how girls just long for that true love. Sometimes it even becomes a passion of ours to find that true love. Now that can be a whole other topic, but I want to talk about our True Love.
Today is Good Friday. Easter Sunday is so quickly approaching. Have you ever taken time to just stop, meditated, and realized what actually happened today about 2,000 years ago? It is really hard for me to put all of this words (which is very rare!) Here is how I think about it: Jesus had been living among the people (including Jews) not causing political turmoil but just living a perfect life sharing truths with people and performing miracles. He did gain many followers during his life. However, the Jews wanted their Messiah to be a mighty man who would overthrow the Roman government and bring peace for them. God had different plans. Jesus didn’t come to earth to live a perfect life, perform miracles, and cause the Roman government to fall. No, He came to live this holy and blameless life, show us how to live, and then die so we don’t have too. He rose from the grave and is now sitting beside our God in Heaven.
Read in the gospel of Mark, chapters 14 through 16.
Mark describes the end of Jesus’ life so beautifully. His words are cut and dry and I love his writing style. Think about our Savior. He stood being tried and then convicted of nothing but sentenced to death. He was whipped, beaten, belittled and wore thorns around His head, taking on all my sins. For me. He carried a heavy cross through town after being put through the most torture the government allowed without physically killing the person. Carrying the cross on His back, the wood that would support His perfect and blameless life He lived, but then dying on it taking on the sins of all humanity.
Before the Jewish leaders came to the garden to arrest Jesus, He was praying. I hadn’t ever analyzed or really looked at that prayer until recently. He cries out “Abba, Father.” Abba is the most dearest thing to call your father; like calling out for your daddy. Mark describes what happens so beautifully! Jesus calls out for His daddy saying, “ everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” This time of Jesus praying Mark uses to show us that He is distressed. Jesus isn’t necessarily worried about the physical death. He prays that this “cup” would pass. Cup meaning hour, that this hour would pass. Now, a brief little history lesson. In Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets in the Old Testament use the word cup. When they did, cup represented the wrath of God. Jesus isn’t scared of dying, but rather taking on our ransom, the ransom for all humanity, for all ages. Think about that. Jesus said in chapter 10 of Mark that He is that ransom. That ransom in dying for us separated Him from His father. He had never been separated from His daddy before. He had to die. This terrified Him. But He did it. He knew He had too. It was what He was sent to do. So you could have a relationship with Him. So you wouldn’t die (because Paul tells us in Romans that we deserve death).
This is True Love. I don’t know about you, but when I think about this, no other true love could do this. He did though. For me. He can be your True Love too. He wants to be.
Let Him be your True Love.
“It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming!”- Ben Stuart, Breakaway
Humbly yours,
His Servant

Fabulous Princesses

Right now I am sitting at a Starbucks in College Station right across from campus; I’m listening to my favorite music, drinking a refreshing Passion Fruit Tea, and the weather is just fabulous. It’s one of those days where everything is just perfect! On days like this I know that my life is just fabulous and I feel like a princess!
Fabulous is one of my favorite words. Fabulous. There are so many different ways to say it: you can see it long and drawn out when being a princess or say it in British accent when being well again a princess. Princess. Many people tell girls this when they are being over dramatic or high maintenance. And yes, my family and friends do tend to tell me this on a regular basis. But I don’t care; I love it!
So yes, I might act like a princess at times, but why not? Why not expect the best? Growing up, my parents encouraged me to be a princess. If I wanted to play dress up and act like a princess all day that was just fine. For me, a pair of red cowgirl boots normally accompanied my dress. I read the book Captivating not long ago. If you haven’t read that, I strongly encourage you to read it. Anyway, in the book there is an entire chapter set aside for girls who were raised as princesses. This is not a bad thing, contrary to popular belief!
Being raised as princess means that a little girl was able to express her femininity while growing up. For some girls, showing this femininity doesn’t guarantee acceptance from your family, particularly from a little girl’s father. I was so incredibly bless to have a father who I knew would accept me; he told me I was a princess. Some girls grew up in homes where their father might have abused them in different ways, shunned their femininity, or just ignored them all together. My heart breaks when I think of this. Being a princess is impossible in a home like that. For a little girl, all she wants is to be cherished, loved, captivated, and known by her father. Every little girls desires for her father to tell her that she is fabulous, that she is a princess.
I have a heart for these girls who are now grown, but still carry around these wounds. These wounds run so deep.
But the joyous and most precious story is for every girl, those told that they are princesses or those who have never been told that before. Our earthly father might have failed us. Our Heavenly Father will not! He is our Father, our Daddy. Numerous times throughout the New Testament the phrase “Abba, Father” is used. Best translation: Daddy. So sweet. He desires us. He cherishes us. He loves us. We are His princesses. We are fabulous to Him.
Romans 8:31 and 32 are some of my favorite verses and put this whole idea into the perfect words. It says, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” This not only shows God’s beautiful and unconditional love that he gave His son over to death for us, but it shows that He desires to give us the best. He desires the best for us! I just can’t quit saying that. It is so amazing once you actually realize it.
We are His princesses. We are fabulous. Live knowing that you are loved by a Father, unconditional, who desires you and wants you to be a princess and fabulous. Have a fabulous day filled with delights of a princess!
Humbly yours,
His servant

Failed or Fulfilled

Expectations. We expect so much in our lives. We expect people to be nice to us. To wait on us at restaurants. To listen to us when speak. To treat us with respect. To keep their promises. Am I right? We expect so much without even realizing it sometimes.

Have you ever gone into a restaurant and had a terrible waiter? I have! There is a restaurant back home that I just absolutely love; I eat there every time I go home to visit (and sometimes I visit multiple times in one weekend!). It’s just that good! Well, a few weeks ago when I was in town I went. The waitress was a young girl I didn’t recognize. I know everyone who worked there because I’m in there so much. The service is always perfect! I don’t even have to order my drink; they just bring it to when they see me because everyone just knows! This new girl didn’t know what I wanted to drink, to eat, and was moving at the pace of a snail who was stopping to smell the roses on the way. I was getting very agitated to say the least. I had waited weeks to eat here and I was hungry! I was disappointed in the waitress. When I left, I stormed out of there angry.

Looking back this is so silly! Why had I gotten upset with waitress? Because I had expectations and she didn’t fulfill those up to my standards. Yes, it was just a meal and I over it as soon as I got back in my car. But it did make me think…how many times do I get let down or disappointed because my expectations were out of line. When do I put my expectations in something, only to be let down?

Now, expectations are not a bad thing, but also don’t get them confused with standards. This is tricky and sticky! It is a very fine line sometimes. Having expectations is not a bad…that’s not what I’m trying to say.

I have experienced that by putting my expectations in anything of this world has let me down. By putting your expectations in something of this world might be hard to comprehend, and you might not even know you do it. But here’s what it can look like: if you are in a relationship with a guy, you might expect him to do certain things for you, like send you a text every morning, having him call you at certain times throughout the day, always having him spend a certain amount of time with you, having him say those sweet, securing words. I feel like girls, including myself, get so caught up in these things before we know it, our expectations are fully and completely put into a guy. It can be so easy to do. They are here. They can give us a hug, say something sweet to comfort us. Why not put our expectations in them? They make us happy! They bring joy! But what happens when we are not having a good day and they don’t see it. They don’t respond how we want them too. (I mean, be for real girls, we can’t expect guys to read our minds and emotions when most of the time we don’t even exactly know what we are feeling!) They let us down. They don’t give us the satisfaction we need, the comfort we want, the love we desire, the joy we long for.
But it’s okay! They shouldn’t be the ones that our hearts lean toward for those things. Who should our expectations be in? Jesus Christ! When our hearts are turned toward Him, He is our everything! When our expectations are in Him, He won’t fail us! There is great rejoicing and encouragement and peace in that. He gives us that satisfaction we need, the comfort we want, the love we desire, the joy we long for! And the crazy part is that He wants to do that for us! He wants to be loved and desired by us! He is just waiting for us to run to Him; waiting with His arms opened and smiling when we realize that worldly things don’t satisfy us and we desire Him!

It isn’t always easy. Sometimes (most of the time for me) it is so easy to say and even pray. But actually getting your heart to that point, the point of fully desiring Christ and putting our expectations in Him and nothing/no one else, can be so difficult. I wish I could give you steps to follow to get your heart to that point, I really do! But the truth is, I am dealing with it daily. Every hour (literally) I am having to just pray and surrender my heart to Jesus. Praying that He is my one desire. Praying that He is my love. Praying that my expectations are in Him alone.

A very wonderful, sweet, and loving cousin of mine once told me (it was almost a year ago when she told me this, but I’m just now starting to understand what she meant): “When our expectations are in something not of Christ, it will fail us; it will, without a doubt. When our expectations are in Christ, He will never fail us. Never. Ever. He will never fail us!”

Humbly yours,
His servant

Craving Cupcakes

Crave. To crave something is to desire it. Wouldn't you agree? Sometimes we crave chocolate, sunshine, or precious time with someone we love. Is craving something too much a bad thing? Does craving something so much turn into a passion?

This is a constant struggle. Sometimes the world can present these cravings to us in a beautiful way. Just think of a cupcake from a gourmet cupcake shop: it is the perfect size. The frosting is perfect and whipped without any flaws. The colors are fabulous. And when you take a bite, you have died and gone to heaven! The world shows us how wonderful and appetizing all these cupcakes can be. After that one cupcake, you just want another. Days later you still think about how wonderful that cupcake was. You state planning your day around going to that cupcake shop.

I know that that might be a bit of an extreme exaggeration! And you might not be able to relate to it at all, for me it is easy. I love cupcakes! I love baking and decorating, and one day would love to own my very own cupcake shop. Although that was an exaggeration, the world can work the same way. Before you know it, you can be completely consumed with the world's craving: it is all you can think about, it is all you talk about, it starts to slowly take over your life.

Intending this blog to be read by ladies, it can be so easy for us ladies to get a craving for a guy. Having a relationship gives a lady (notice I always say lady; it is classy and you are not 14 anymore!) a tangible object to touch, hug, kiss, talk to, hear from, and even call. Guys are here. It is always on my heart when I see a lady become so consumed by a guy that she is continually running to him with everything going on in her life. Her craving: that guy.

Maybe your craving is your body. You want a perfect body size and form. All you do is continually work toward that perfect image. Whether it’s eating certain foods or forcing your body into extreme physical workouts, getting the perfect body has become a craving.

Why do we crave things that are physical objects in our life? Do you realize that if you are Christian and have accept Christ as your personal Savior, then you are a Daughter of the King, the Risen King! The Holy Spirit dwells inside of you.

If the Holy Spirit dwells within you…have you ever thought about that? Dwells within me. Wow. He couldn’t get much personal or closer then that. He is with us all the time, never leaving. Do your cravings have any involvement with the Holy Spirit? After all, He is with you 24/7/365.

Once we realize this, every craving should be from God. Not only from Him, but also in Him. If we are totally in love with Christ and He is our number one go-to-guy then we should crave nothing else. If we crave something, it will be from Him or more of Him.

Being completely in love with him is challenging for some; it is for me. But that’s for another story!

Humbly yours,
His servant