Not Just Any Perfect Love Story

Every girl wishes for that perfect love story. Where the guy is the most handsomest specimen you've ever seen, and it just seems like you both will overcome the world and anything it will send your way. Okay, so that could be a little exaggerated if you are thinking more rational. Other girls don't see any hope on the other hand. You might just look at me and say, "Um, have you been to my school? Because I can't even get a guy to hold a door open for me." And I totally agree with you. What is this? Do we need to go back to the 14th century where knights have the most unthinkable chivalry moves? Because I'm all in. Just kidding, I'm not. Because I've made a discovery, girlfriends. One that I want to change your perspective with.

First of all, I want to start with a quote that validates everything.

"Ladies, a real man opens more than a door. He opens his bible."

You want the perfect prince charming? Then number 1) He better be a Christian  and number 2) He better be the guy God has made just for you.
When we surrender everything to God, always seeking His will for our lives, God blesses us with the only the best. That's what we deserve. Because we are His children. That he loves with an everlasting love. Satan may do a lot of damage and havoc down here, but he's not in control. And that doesn't mean God doesn't want us to have a joy  filled life. On the contrary, He wants us to live to fullest, to be joyful, thankful, and prayer filled.

“A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.” ~ Maya Angelou

Entirely true. A guy shouldn't just see you when he glances or even stares at you. One of the first things that should go off in his head besides "Wow, she's beautiful"  is that you are a beautifully strong woman of God. And what should grow on him, is his admiration to how faithful and pure you are. Those are some key things that will be part of his growing love for you.
When God is your all, and you live with your identity in Christ, then it will be the most gorgeous thing that he just can't seem to get his mind off of. Because that's you. That's who you are. And it's breathtaking. Believe me when I tell you that he will admire it for the rest of his life. Every day it's something he's just gonna love; it will never get old!

Something else pretty attractive...the proverbs 31 women.

"A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies."

What girl doesn't want to feel and be worth more than rubies?! To a girl, that is like, one of the best things ever that could happen. And the good news? You can be! God is constantly working through us, is he not? And with habitual prayer, and the desire that he places in your heart, you will be one. God never gives up on us. But we tend to give up on him. And is this not admirable? You may have already re-read that, at least a couple times already. Like me. Like every time I ever come across it. Just imagine how much more your future husband will value it.

"Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value."

I love this. I desperately want to be that woman and wife who walks with confidence in herself because of her intimate relationship with God. Girlfriend, I want you to walk virtuously, purely, more than gold, as a  princess of the most High King. It's what God expects of you, because girl, we see ourselves too lowly. This is how God sees you, ultimately. And we need to see it ourselves. Because only then, will we live and walk like it. And feel a more stupendous sense of freedom and joy. These are key to how your future husband will have "full confidence" in you. He will marvel it. Relish it. Boast about it! And it will make your marriage a step easier. One step closer to the perfect love story.

Friends, a perfect love story begins where serving ourselves ends. You have to be a Christian that really serves God as you surrender everything to Him. You need to have an intimate relationship with God, as should your spouse, because a relationship with God is the foundation on which your marriage will stand. Loving God above all else, will make life more efficient as your purpose is to please God. When your focus is on God, everything else falls into place. Perfectly.

And one more thing...

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."

    

You want to surpass them all? All those other beautiful women in the world? You want to stand out to your husband? Including the first moment he lays eyes on you? Then be a woman of integrity. Besides all that has already been mentioned above, you should stay true to your future husband at a young age. God has already matched you with your match; you are a future couple. So live like your already taken.
What you do now will effect your future. Your oh-so-wanting happy future. If you want it badly enough, you'll stay true, genuine, and pure at a young age. I know, this is hard. But I also have found a way to make it a ton easier.

Start developing a love for your future husband now.

It's like beginning your love story now. Every girl can't wait for it to happen. Well friend, you can start early. Like all things, these things take time. And the more you practice it, the easier, better, closer to perfection it comes. Even when you're married, you're still going to feel like you are perfecting it. But that's also part of the journey. The catch is, you will be saving yourself a lot of heartache and hurt emotions by starting now. And it should be fun. Your love story can be a blessing from God if you let Him lead you.

Here's a little analogy to help it feel all the more possible:

You know how we love God with all our hearts and yet we don't see Him?

 The same could be applied to our future husband.

Does that change your perspective? It surely changed mine! This is as much a promise to your future husband as it is to God. To help me in any sort of temptation Satan may fling my way, I bought a promise/purity ring. Because I always see it, see it glimmer in the sunlight, or how beautiful it looks on my finger, it never fails in reminding me that's how gorgeous and beautiful I want to look in my husband's eyes. And not only that, but that I have made a promise. A promise of commitment. A promise to make a perfect love story for myself!

Think like this...

I am the only one my future husband deserves...anyone else wouldn't be God's best for him!

And I don't deserve anyone short of him that's not God's best.

Girlfriend, don't sell yourself short of God's plans for you. Let God's dream for you be the dream for yourself. When you let the unthinkable happen with God in the drivers seat, you start to believe there is more to life than just any other marriage. You will realize you don't have to read romance books, watch romance movies, or travel in a time machine to the 14th century of chivalrous Knights to swoon over an amazing love story. You can have your own.

So let me ask....

Is your Prince Charming worth it all?

When the Rock in the Hard Place... Is All You Got

Check out those hills...they do NOT look fun to climb. At all. They look like they could be rugged, sharp, jagged; just over all unpleasant.

We would not like to climb these annoying rocks any more than we want to climb the rocks of life. We hate when our life goes down hill, goes "rocky," slanted, because we seem to have a hard time of controlling our life. But whoa, there's the first problem. It's not our life. It's ultimately Gods. There's a verse in the bible where it says that when we give our life to God we die to ourselves and he lives in us.

The next thing we know life, like rocks on a cliff, seems to be tumbling downward, and gravity has full reign.

Then what? The next problem: we blame God. We blame God for doing ___ to us. Why would he allow bad things like this to happen? Doesn't he love you? We like to play the blame game--where its never our fault. The funny thing is, you know you're not perfect. And yet, you never can convince yourself that maybe just once an action of yours caused it.

It's on auto for our brains to automatically blame God. But you know what? God doesn't do any of it to you. Satan does. Then you ask why does he allow it then? Because, in this world, just like the bible says, God uses everything to bring out the good in the bad. He uses it to make u stronger, so that there is only room for victory. But first, you have to allow him to. With God, God always wins, the problem is with us. We lose faith that he'll pull through, because it seems that he's failed you, every other time. Well, did you notice a pattern? Every time it seemed that He failed you, you quite, left him hanging, in the middle of it all. God doesn't finish something alone that he wanted to use you in, because you were his perfect choice. He wants you part of it because he wants to show you the good thing coming out, so when its all said and done, you can step back in awe, instead of disappointment.

God doesn't disappoint us. We just aren't patient enough to see it. Why? Because in your weakness, you let Satan control you. So, in all, it was never you who had control, it was Satan, and he leads you on to believe it, giving you this sort of "freedom" until everything comes crashing, and you realize you just sold yourself short of what you deserve. That's the thing, we don't deserve to be saved by God, we don't deserve, to call him Father or Lord, yet it's because we are His. We are the Almighty's. The Almighty loves us.

So as you fight that rock in the hard place, when you hit bottom, maybe in your hole of misery, where your trapped, you should just stop and be quiet for a moment, and analyze everything from the first spot Satan took the lead on you. I almost wrote, you taking the lead, but I caught myself. It's not technically us, its Satan, and even I'm learning to get out of that human way of thinking, and into God's.

Anyway, once you stop and take a real good look at that rock, you'll learn that it's God. You'll learn to stop fighting your loving creator that you failed. If anything, your the one who deserves to be left, yet he doesn't want to leave you. Why? Because he knows you too well. He knows that your born sinful, you didn't choose it, and there is still much hope!

God waits for us to choose him, to run back to him, to let Him be your solid rock on which you stand. Your faithful foundation in which you need to build your life. Over time, once you give it a chance to prove it's loyalty to you, even in the storm, you will start to see a new pattern. One where God is always there for you, and that you don't want to leave because you know the genuinity of it. Why does he allow you to freely choose him? Well, wouldn't you not like him even more if he didn't? Exactly. He loves you so much he gives you the choice, and because He knows you better than yourself, or had a plan for you before you existed, ...I think that pretty says it all itself of how much he wants you to grow in a relationship with him. He's willing to something like that, just to capture your heart. Will you let him?

When the rock in the hard place is all you got...take a real good look at it...hidden, you'll see your name...and next to it..his words of wisdom, such as hope and love. Knowing this should make you feel more special, and if anything, really glad that you don't need to fight the rock. Who wants to fight? So turn around, embrace this solid truth, and hang on tight. Don't let this be what hurts you, when he is always there for you no matter what.

Genuine Friendships: A Bond that Lasts

It's funny. Before this year, I was unsure if lasting, forever friendships truly lasted. Call it ironic, but I have two best friends since kindergarten and 1st grade from public school...a best friend from church...and one from SusieMag, a Christian girl magazine.
I wondered as I got older, and grew out of movie fairy tales, what it would take to keep them secure. As I matured, it grew from, do we have attend the same college so we're always with each other? to are drama and impulsive, unreasoning feelings going to destroy it? These seem obvious answers, but they aren't to the person worrying. Their perspective is held by Mr. Frightening. Know him?

It hasn't been until this year, that my eyes have really opened; to something big. A genuine friendship you don't work for. Just like you don't work for salvation. A genuine, lasting friendship, you earn, deserve, with grace. Ultimately? A genuine friendship comes when you're both followers of God. God is all about truth. About being genuine. Genuine Truth. There's no compromises...no lies whatsoever.

A genuine friend doesn't steal your boyfriend...doesn't divulge your secrets...or spread rumors. Nope. Their way more than that. They are the people that you say are too good to be to true. That your not worth having. That may seem better than you...too good for you. Wait, stop. What are those sentences...hm, yes, compromises. That my friend, is the kind of friend we all need. We need that kind of person who will help us become genuine. How do you think people become genuine? All on their own? Certainty not! Those kinds of people have a powerful secret that allows them to be genuine. Before, they were just like you any one else in the crowd. Genuineness stands out. Does it not? Do you want to? Again, is that too good to be true?

Before you answer heavily yes, know this: their secret is God.

I can't tell you how awesome of a thing that truly is. I know you may want to roll your eyes or regret reading this after I say it's God...but it doesn't have to be a bad thing, at all. I wouldn't be wasting my time writing all this if I didn't discover the secret myself. Because, honestly, not that long ago, the same thoughts of yours were running through in my brain. But seriously, hear me out.

Do you know someone who all they do is encourages you? Who can feel your pain, who will give up going to a party, even a date with her boyfriend to comfort you...To me, that sounds like a person who cares so much about you and loves you that they willingly put you before them. They aren't selfish. And their life isn't all about them. They are the type of girlfriends where when its midnight, and their exhausted, they ask if you want to talk about it, and sacrifice their essay that's due the next day...just to be there for you. And they don't have to. You know that. They could have many options. They can just text ya tomorrow...email you in the next day or two, call you sometime...when they can find time. In other words, they just shrug you off, like their socks at night that they throw on the ground telling themselves they'll put them in the hamper in the morning. Well, aren't you special. Guess what...

You're better than that.

Your better than what they don't want to give up. You think that's obvious? Then why don't you feel that? Feel that way all of the time....

Some of the most genuine people, like Amy on here, I've gotten to know really well. And I can promise you something. God is so concerned for you that he'll give you friends like these. Pray about it, I'm sure he's actually eager to answer! Besides, your also his daughter. And he even knows the genuine you...and can't wait till you discover that phenomena. Amy, just one person, has changed me. I can tell that I've gotten more genuine. I praise and thank God every day for her! She always felt my pain...always knew how to make my days, knew how to make me laugh at loud, knew how to make me smile so wide in global class at school...and this list just goes on and on.

Friends, happy moments are like fairy-tales. Hard to keep lasting and come by. Genuine friendships, the kind that lasts and bonds you in Christ is a reality. But it won't be a reality to you until you make it one. Christ is the one where we get our sympathetic hearts, our caring and loving spirit because he IS love. If you don't have a relationship with God...then you won't have a genuine relationship with another person. The world isn't a cruel place...it's the people you choose around that make it one to you. You have a choice. I encourage you to live one of the many happy Christian lives that so many at this minute live. Find those genuine friendships. They are out there. I promise. You have the power to reach out, step out. God is with you.

Something else...Stop dreaming. We tend to wish for things more than act on them. Genuine friendships are waiting for you...don't let your hurt or worry scare you. Scare Mr. Frightening away yourself.

Determination is the key.

Resisting the Devil

After I had been battling what seemed mind boggling things for the past week, I read my friend's email, hesitated noting the time, but figured I would respond. And wow, I am glad I did. The holy Spirit had something in mind for me; something to learn and to teach.

How many times as a Christian do you struggle in walking with Christ? Growing in him? Perhaps trusting? Well, I can guarantee you that we have all have been there. Everyday. We fight the devil everyday trying to stay true to God. If your honest, you'll say (reluctantly) many times you let Satan win. Well, I got some news; you don't have to accept that.

Satan does not control you. He can not control you unless you let him. Wow,..feel that small spark of hope? It's real. It's real because it's possible. Because it's true. And you want to believe it. Before that sounds too weird for you, consider why.

It is a weakness, is it not, to give in to Satan's whispering in your ears, being your conscious. You may ask yourself why it has to be so hard and why you are always fighting a never ending battle. Guess what? If your on God's side, you don't need a battle, you have already won. I tend to ask myself how that is possible. But the truth his, you are never alone in your battles, God is beside you, and the sad part is this: You were on God's side but switched to your own devices and lost.And now your stuck in a raging battle that always seems to leave you forfeiting. And yet, God is merciful, and is with you all the way. He may feel distant from you at those times, but that's because you left him. You wanted to be in the drivers seat, with all the control. And how did that work out? Not too good. You are in deeper than how you impulsively pictured it beforehand. And you wonder why it doesn't feel right...

Before you way all the guilt down on your own shoulders know this: Satan is the reason. He is very persistent on not letting you get over this having control weakness and making you think you are to blame. He certainly lives up to his name, the devil. The bible says he prowls around like a hungry devouring his prey. 

A vivid picture:

Think of yourself standing against the pole, on God's side, in bright light, and look down to see a bright red line on the ground making a boundary of safe zone that encompasses. On the other side there is complete and utter blackness representing Satan's side. The red line symbolizes the blood of Jesus as he became the ultimate sacrifice when dying on the cross for our sins. That line holds many things, two being mercy forgiveness. Because your not perfect, God knows you will cross that line many times giving in to temptations and sinning against God, which means separation from him. And if your a Christian, you know that is why he died for you, so we wouldn't have that separation, and we could have a personal relationship with God, who loves us. Now, sighing blissfully against that post, as free as ever, to the point your soaring, you see something moving in that darkness, and your muscles stay firm. You feel but can't see Satan pulling you away from that post so now your stature is determined. You firmly say, "Your crazy, Satan. It's impossible for you to win. " He tries with all his might and breathe, to the point his face is red with temper to push you away from the post, but you lean against it with your eyes fixed upon God. He's failing, and for once your laughing in his face.

Some more hope:

Because Satan is persistent on not letting you win, and ultimately God, he seems to refuse to not let you win. And more than determination, I prefer to see him worrying. That's right Satan, worrying, that he won't have control over you much longer. In factual truth, he knows that his chances for winning are very slim. He's worrying as to what I type out in the open right now will strengthen your resolve, and the little power he has over you will clatter- clash - to the bright red line. And then it'll all be over, on more battle in this world he has lost. A world that he struggles to control. He knows for a fact the he's losing. Why not? He once knew God. He was a favorite, and has been around him! That something even us, his precious children, haven't gotten to do yet. Therefore, he knows full well God's Almighty-ness.

So, Is it really too good to be true?

Or is it so good that you can't but say it's true?