Anyone out there?

Just a quick note to see if anyone's out there.

Still interested?

Meggie

Fear VS Perfect Love

A Bridegrooms love for his Bride is only a reflection of God's Perfect love for His Church.

Perfect Love - Agape love, a love that only God can show. Love that can never fail. A Love that defeats fear. Fear - fear, dread, terror a) that which strikes terror ...a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Have you ever experienced fear? I have. The things I fear the most usually come in the form of thoughts...little lies that have a bit of truth in them or questions. The devil knows how to work, he plants a thought and lets it fester for awhile and then comes back and picks at it and on top of that pours salt in the wound.
  I am going to try to make this short and sweet, I have actually been writing this over a period of about three weeks now, but I kept getting interrupted (that happens when you live in a family of five adults and one teenager). Lately I have been struggling with a lot of fear in my life, fears of the future, fears of not choosing correctly in big decisions, fears of one day becoming the woman that I swore I never would be, fear of being a bad wife and mother, fears that my body will never be perfect and that no man would ever want me, fear after fear had overtaken me, consumed my thoughts to the point of deep depression. A lot of it could have been dealt with had I just taken it to both of my Fathers (heavenly and earthly), but instead (as always) I tried to fix it on my own. I worked and worked at it for weeks, but instead of getting better my brother, sisters and Dad started to notice I was very snappy, I never smiled, I couldn't communicate with them and I was just all in all miserable. My Dad asked me one day why I had not talked to him about these things, at first I was annoyed, why would I want to talk about these things in my life that scared me so bad? Why would I want one of the people that I try to please the most to know my faults and fears? But it was through him that I realized that God wants us to communicate our fears to him and our earthly authorities. It was only then that I could see the folly of these thoughts, fears, and emotions. God does not want our lives to be ruled by fear, if He did why would He have sent His one and ONLY Son to die for us, when we could have just continued to sacrifice and live as best we could and only hope that we had done enough to appease God and get into heaven? Why would He write a love letter to each and everyone of us? Why would He love us that much? Why? Because He is our Father, our Creator, our Bridegroom, our Last Adam, our Perfect Love, our Jehovah-Jireh, The Great I AM. Only God can take my fears away and turn them into His strength, just like Paul's thorn in the flesh (see 2 Cor. 12:9-10). I really believe that is all I can say in my own words, but I think that the Word will have some light to shed on this...so without further ado, here is 1 John 4 to finish off this post: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.   Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also."

New Look, Help?



Picture from Pinterest. Click for link.



Well, I'm trying to revamp things around here. What do you think?

What else does it need?

*looks*

*Contemplates*

Ah yes!

A new Header!

If you've been around a while, you'll remember a previous request I had.

I would like to have one made up of us!

Would you lend me a picture?

It doesn't necessarily have to have you in it. Send a picture of your wash line, your sink full of dishes, Maybe the soapsuds or dirt up your arms. What was the funnest homemaking thing you did last week? Did you take a picture?

If so, would you lend it to me to put in the header?

I think I have two from last time, so I need quite a few more to fill one up.

Send your submissions to Avonleamountaindreamer[@]hotmail[.]com (remove brackets)

Can't wait to see what you've been doing!

~Meggie

Finding Your Romance in Christ

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing..." Proverbs 31:30a



Who Will You Choose?



I have been thinking on this post for a long while, but it seemed like every time I wanted to write it I would get interrupted. I want this to come from the LORD and since I have had a while to think on and write this I think it is He who is using my hands to write this.

Prince Charming V.S A Real Man

  To me, prince charming is a man who may look good on the outside but on the inside is full of lust and deceit and will only do a woman harm. He will promise you everything including changing his ways, but inside he just wants to use you and throw you out with the garbage. Is this the kind of man  you have in mind to marry?

  A real man is a man who sees the needs of others weaker than himself and is able to compassionately fulfill them or give it his best shot. He is kingly and gives his service as much as his orders. He is easily given to falling on his knees when he needs to talk to his LORD. He may fear many things but God is his comfort, shield and the giver of his strength and courage. He knows when to use his sword and when to put it away. He may not be able to give me the world, but he often talks with the Creator of the world and to me that is all that I need.

  I would rather have the latter man than the first, wouldn't you?

Finding Romance in Christ

  Many times throughout my life I have thought that one day this "perfect" man would come along and sweep me off my feet, we would never disagree, we would always be the "perfect couple". Now when I think back on those thoughts I want to slap myself silly. Really? I mean I was putting an awful lot of pressure on the man who is to one day be my husband. I hadn't planned on changing, so that meant he would be putting in all the effort while I took everything he gave.

  I have been given so much more wisdom since then (through various elderly people including my Father), although only a tiny bit compared to others. I have learned that in a marriage you have to give 100%, this sounds harsh to our human ears. But, did not our LORD do the same? He came and died for us giving up his life for ours, He gave 100%. Can we not do the same?

  I think one thing that inspired me to write this post, are all the young girls out there who think the same way I did at such a young and impressionable age. I want them to realize that first of all we need to take our focus off of marriage. We girls tend to fantasize a lot and more often than not this can be as bad for us as pornography is for men. Constantly thinking about marriage can be detrimental.

For us as young ladies what we need to be doing is focusing on our relationship with Christ, serving our family and learning all we can from our parents. Only then can we truly be ready for marriage and from what I have seen and heard about courtships, is that it will come when your not looking for it. So quit looking for it.

  I noticed a great change in my life when God asked me to give up the thought of courtship. Now don't get me wrong, I still believe that the LORD has a man for me, but I was always thinking about who or where he was or when it would all happen and I realized that instead of filling my head with scenarios about the future, I was able to be of a lot more use to my family, start my own business, and first and foremost be able to get closer to my LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. When you give up the thing you "think" you want most in life, the LORD reveals the real treasure you had been looking for all along. God will bring your husband to you in His time, but be patient, don't wish time away, instead make it a useful learning period in your life.

  I am not perfect, in fact I am far from it, Christ has brought me a long way in my journey. I am so glad that I don't have to fill my head with thoughts of a man or romance, for right now God is my only romance. I will gladly accept the right man, when He comes along...but know that I am not out "searching" for him. I am out among friends and family doing what God has asked of me. I do gladly and willingly await the day that I can have the wonderful title of "wife" to a Godly man. But, if that takes several more years I am ok with that and you should be too.

   Don't be to quick to search for a Prince Charming, they are everywhere and easy to find, But waiting on a man of God to seek you out is the greatest treasure that can be found. I pray for all of you that you find your romance in Christ first and then you will be able to love your husband in a better manner than you ever could have before Christ.

  Look to God and His Word and you will find real romance, you will learn how to really love your future husband by loving Christ first!

Notes:

I'd like to thank Meggie for this great opportunity to be a guest writer on this blog, it is so inspiring to see other young ladies that are aspiring to be Godly Titus 2 & Proverbs 31 women. Keep up the good work!

You can read more from Elisha by following her on her own blog, she is the Daughter of Vision.

A New Contributer

I would like to ask you to give a warm welcome to Elisha, the newest member of the SahD writing team. Getting to know her has been a joy, and I hope you will feel the same. Here she is to tell you a bit about herself.

 I am a 23 year old young lady, seeking to serve my earthly and Heavenly Fathers to the utmost. I am a homeschool graduate, an herbalist, a writer, avid gardener, country girl and a dreamer. 

 Since my Mama died in '97 of inflammatory breast cancer, I have been the homemaker in our house, although I miss her very much I have learned so many things about running a household and I love every aspect of it, I cannot wait until the day that I meet the man that God has made for me and we are able to have our own quiver full of children.

 Since I was very young I have always loved words, I loved to read and I loved making up stories. I decided in '09 to put my words to good use and created a blog, I have been blogging ever since and love it. I hope to one day write my own book or two. You can read  and/or follow my blog at http://daughter-of-vision.blogspot.com

It's Done!

Well you asked for it and here it is!

It took me a while to do it, because I wanted to take my time and do it right, but we now have a website and a facebook page!!

Please, add as many friends as you think would enjoy this, and tell as many people as possible.

Let your Titus two ladies know as well! They're always welcome to help us out!

 Facebook

Website

Sticks and Stones: My Bullying Testimony



Picture from Pinterest



Usually, I don't talk about my past, here or anywhere else, but today I feel I need to. Perhaps someone needs to hear.

What I'm about to say has been in every newspaper, schoolroom, neighborhood, and even Church.

Headlines read of suisides and hazings.

Yup, that abominable act of Bullying.

It has caused so many children to have sleepless nights, tears that shouldn't be shed, and some of them even their lives.

No, I'm not going to talk about that Mayberry type bullying where the kid says he'll beat you up if you don't give him a nickle. This is worse.

So I guess I'll begin at the begining.

My story. I can remember being "Bullied" from the time I first stepped onto the playground.. yup, even at Christian school (or should I say "especially") But this was rather more "Mayberry" stuff. Things that every child is going to hear if they are in school. Things that can be overcome and forgotten about.

But stepping into high school was a whole other story. Now let me explain something. In my school, the transition from grade to grade meant simply changing rooms. And in the case of middle school, moving upstairs. So the atmosphere was pretty well the same. There was no having to ask directions and getting sent the wrong way just for kicks. Though I have heard of this happening in public schools.

So here I was, sophmore year. Yes, I've had my fair share of being on the receving end of cruel words. Not to mention being on the other side and saying things. But that year something changed. I went to a re-enactment that summer (the day after the end of freshmen year) and fainted. It was a combination of problems that included being too hot and dehydrated.

That threw me into a downward spiral. I started having panic attacks every time I started to get too hot, fearing passing out. Then it got worse, I got so scared of the panic attacks I would have them just for fear of them. If I had, had the support of my peers I could have dealt, but since I didn't, I couldn't. I carried a frozen water bottle with me at all times, kept "calm down" pills from the health food store in my purse. I never wore make-up, and my hair was always in a pony tail. I couldn't wear long sleeves or socks. All for fear of being hot.

This is when the bullying really got bad. I had that water bottle timed, if I froze it the night before it would juuuust last until 3:00. And of course the air conditioning in the school went out. One of the worst days of my life was when someone hid it from me and put it in the window sill. Needless to say the ice didn't make it to 3.

Picture from Pinterest

People CONSTANTLY teased me and poked fun. And because I was alread down, I couldn't get up. I can't remember a day when I didn't come home crying. A lot of the teachers werre un-suportive, asking when I was going to get over this, or "Why couldn't I just..." I'm not going to say they were all like that, but none understood.

It all came to a head when someone took the teasing too far. I was compaining about some ailment, (Yes I won't lie I DID complain. I WANTED people to know what I was going through, thinking it would help) And someone piped up and said, "Well if it's that bad, why don't you just kill yourself and get it over with." Trying to be strong I replied, "Well it's good to know I'm worthless."

The reply?

"Well someone had to say it."

I wasn't one of the ones who kept this to themselves, my mom and I spoke to one of the teachers about it and the only answer I got was, "Well you know 'so-and-so' I'm sure they were just joking"

I'm sure they were.

But folks, you don't just "Joke" about someone's life.

I'm saying this because I know this goes on everywhere. I was one of the blessed ones, I knew God had something for me, and I knew I was needed HERE. But some don't. Some people would rather face death than another comment, another humiliation, or another hurt. There are so many times I look back at things that I said and regret it. I could've driven someone to that.

So, jump foreward to today. I'm nearly 21 years old, and I've realized that those old people ARE nothing. They have nothing over me, or power in my life. Do I still have scars? Yes. There are still things I'm hesitant to do because of comments that were made to me in highschool. There are times when I'm at my lowest that Satan throws that old taunt from above back at me.

But the most important (not to mention the hardest) thing I've learned from this? Forgiveness. Keeping those grudes and carrying that hurt only hurts YOU. They're going to dissapear from your life, why not let them. You CAN move on, even with the scars. If Jesus can walk away from the grave, WE can walk away from the bullies.

Lastly, I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm as much to blame for what I did to others as for what they did to me. I only seek to inform, and perhaps help someone who's going through the same thing.
　
　
　
Well.. You have no idea how hard it was to write this... it's going to be even harder to make myself post it. So if you needed to hear my story, please let me know...