I am a girl.

If you are like me, you grew up with the notion that women don't become pastors. Women in ministry used to be so unheard of. I remember that the small town I grew up in only had women pastors... well besides my dad, and I used to think it was the worse sin you could ever commit. It was bad. Women were not supposed to lead churches.

I believe that women can be in ministry. I believe women can be pastors. And I believe that I have been called by God to step up in ministry and be a passionate leader for the Kingdom of God. I KNOW that God has called me into ministry. I know that He has called me to be a communicator and a missionary and you can bet your bottom dollar that I fully intend to run towards the calling that He has placed in my life.

I understand that there are some people out there who don't believe that women should be in ministry. Some think that much like the way a household is run with the woman submitting to her husband, women should be submissive to the teaching of a male pastor. As a husband is the head of the household, I think that men should also be the head of the church. Though there are areas in the church where women should be allowed, and encourages to serve. I would even venture to say that if a woman feels called to be a associate pastor or a youth pastor she should. Especially if she has been called.   However, I still hold my position that women in ministry is a good thing.

Have you seen Joyce Myers? I have watched her a few times, and I kinda like her. Sometimes I feel like she yells a lot. But Joyce Myers is a woman in ministry and she is a warrior for God's kingdom. She is following Jesus' last commandment by going and making disciples. She is obeying what she has been charged to do. And who are we, as Christians, to say... actually no you can't do this because you are a woman.

Wasn't one of Jesus' friends a lying tax collector? Didn't Israel's chosen king murder and commit adultery? And wasn't there a prostitute in the line of Jesus?

If God can use all those people for His glory, He can use women.

The Holy Spirit has given all of us special gifts that we are supposed to use for His glory. So, I want to say this. I feel that God has gifted me to be a Christian leader and Speaker. I chose today that however He wants to use me, I will let Him do so. Please pray for me my friends. Please pray that Jesus makes my path so light. And I pray the same for each of you. And I pray that you too can learn to use the  gifts that God has given you! You are His beloved Children.

a dream is a wish your heart makes

My dear friends,
             It is time to share my biggest dream that has recently developed. But I have to start way at the beginning.

Once upon a time there was a classy little girl who loved the group Celtic Woman! (Okay so I wasn't actually classy I mean I wore Tweety Bird overalls!)

 Cute Right? 

Anyways, I loved Celtic Woman. My dream, okay maybe it still is, was to sing with Celtic Woman. 

Because of my love of Irish folk music, and the beautiful scenes of Ireland pictured in movies, and my 9 page research paper on Ireland Jr. Year.(Plus also i loved the Veggie Tales episode where lutfi's fanciful flannelgraph tells the story of St. Patrick and green is an awesome color... )

I have decided that I wish to move to Ireland. 

TADA! (Look at the goat! Isn't it a cute goat?!)

That is correct I want to move to Ireland. I pretty much want to be an author already, so living in a cute little cottage in a foreign country sounds so exciting to me. Plus I love the color green, I am a fan of leprechauns and honestly I don't like potatoes that much anyway! If I disappear one day you will surely know where to find me! 

But I don't want to be alone. Moving to Ireland is only half of my new dream! I also want to get a donkey! 

 I want to name it Clementine, Fredrick or Maywen (Bonus points if you know who this is!)

Maybe I can get three!! 

I also want to get a cute little calico Persian kitten! (Plus I can shave him if my daddy visits) 

I would name this little cutie Gilbert! 

And the three(or 5 depending on number of Donkey, plus more if I get married) will live in a cute little cottage like this. And we will wear green and roll in fields of clover located at the end of a rainbow with our friends Ava, Liam and Conor the leprechauns. 

The End. I hope your night is full of magical wishes from finding three leaf clovers. And come visit me when my dreams come true. 

wishing

I wish i was irish.

Where am I?

Here I am. Laying in bed. While the snow falls outside my window. Guess what I want to do?! Blog. What else. 

I realize that I am a relativity boring person. I don't do much other than watch TV, do homework, write and pin on my wedding board.... So what have I been up to? 

Well lets see: I started second semester of freshman year. I am enjoying it! After switching my major from intercultural studies to English Education, I enrolled in an English class and an Education class and OH MY! I love it! I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but I do know that for the time being I am super happy with where I am at. 

I moved off of Bethel's campus to save money, among other reasons, so I currently call my grandma and grandpa's house home. I love living here! It is so refreshing. I burn candles almost every day, I get to cook and I can do my laundry anytime I want. Not to mention, I have my own bathroom and a walk-in closet. Talk about living the dream ;)

I have been sick since Christmas which is no fun at all! Each time I start to feel a little bit better, it hits me again! So it hasn't been that  exciting feeling tired and weak all the time. 

God has been teaching me a lot the last few weeks. He constantly reminds me that I am here with a purpose and He has a plan for my future. He keeps reminding me that patience is something I need to work on, and trusting Him is going to be a part of my life, for the rest of my life. 

So that is where I am now. Lets see where I go ha!

My Bucket List

I never really had any interest in making a bucket list, but they are kind of fun! Let me know if you wish to embark on any of these adventures with me! Here goes:

1. Call my best friend from inside a telephone booth in London:

 2. Set off a thousand or more paper lanterns:

 3. Be kissed in the pouring rain (totally cliche i know!)

 4. Get all of the Disney Princess' signatures:

 5. Marry my best friend:

 6. Grow my hair as long as Rapunzel's (haha... not really THAT long)

TO BE CONTINUED.

Love... what else!

Well my dearest friends... It is time for me to admit that I am in love! Now please go a head and scratch  your heads and ask yourself "Isn't she still single?" To answer that, YES I am still single!

You see for years I have been praying about the man whom my soul will love! I started a box when I was in tenth grade and I have filled it with love letters to my future prince charming. And each time I write to him, I fall deeper and deeper in love.

I never have understood why girls date SO many boys. I don't understand females who need a boyfriend all the time, every week. For me, that was never the goal. I like to think that I have never had a boyfriend because God has me on reserve for this really special guy!

So while I am waiting, I pray and ask God to help me be patient. I spend a lot of time telling God the desires of my heart, praying for my future hubby, and praying for patience.

If you are single, and sometimes you feel lonely and impatient while waiting for Prince Charming to hurry up, I would encourage you to write him a letter. It can be about anything you want it to be about! The future or what you are like right now is a great place to start. And pray that God would help you be patient while you wait for the one whom your soul will love!

P.S. Prince Charming if you're reading this, I can't wait to be your princess

Boys aren't stupid... Point 4

Point 4: Men are intelligent. Don't let the media fool you.
I grew up thinking that my dad, Roger, was the greatest man in the whole wide world. (I still think you are daddy) I grew up watching him make decisions for our home, and being a major part in both mine and my sisters life, and for that I am truly blessed. But as I have gotten older, I have seen society portray men as stupid, indecisive, lazy, idiots and I gotta be honest with you, I am sick of it. It actually disgusts me. I don't know when women decided to think that they were greater than men, but it. has. got. to. stop.

You know the show Full House? I love that show. And I love it for one reason in particular... Danny, Joey and Jesse were all stand up guys (Okay Uncle Jesse could be a little but questionable at times). They were respected, they helped the girls make good choices, and they were involved in their lives.

Compare that show to some of the commercials and TV shows that we have today. Don't pretend like you have no idea what I am talking about. There is almost always one man who is portrayed as an bubbling, good for nothing, idiot. And who gets the glory, his wife or girlfriend.

Women are portrayed as the smart ones, the ones who can make decisions, and know what's going on in the world and it's kinda sad.

I think it started in Bible times. You know like way back at the beginning when God told Eve that Adam was going to be in charge and she had to be submissive to him. And its like women since then have wanted to defy that and they have wanted to be in charge.

Women, support chivalry. When a guy takes time to be a gentleman, thank him. Make a big deal out of it. Its an incredible gesture. Remind your loved one how special he is to you. Let him know that he is loved and needed. Most importantly, respect him. Seriously, and if you are married, submit to him, let him call the shots, or wear the pants in the relationship, or whatever its called. Its kinda a big deal.

So I just want to say to the men out there, I am so sorry for how the media portrays you at time. We, as women, are blessed to have you. So please prove society wrong and step up to be the super cool gents that you were created to be. I believe in you and maybe one day this public image will be turned around.

POINT 5: Coming Soon!

Mwagge. Mwagge is what bwings us togever today... Point 3

Point 3: When everything is so easily accessible... why get married?
In the old days, marriage wasn't an option. Marriage was special, well I guess sometimes it was forced, but it held a sacred place in society. Now the divorce rate is like 50%. That means that half of the couples who get married, won't even get to grow old with each other... Isn't that sad?

Now I know that times have changed. I means, women used to ONLY wear dresses, at least now we have sweats, but why has the sacred act of marriage changed?

I think a lot of it has to do with relationships in our society. In the secular world, every wonderful thing that you get to experience inside a marriage, you can easily participate in outside of marriage. Its like when you played house as a little kid... today you can live with a significant other, maybe test the waters, see if your compatible AND you don't have to risk a divorce! GEE what a deal... but ya see, this isn't how our Creator pictured it.  And He is kinda the coolest thing ever, so lets break down what He says about marriage...

First off, He thinks its pretty sweet. I mean He made Adam, and He was like: Yeah, this is good! Then He realized that Adam would get lonely so He created Eve. And guess what She was good too! So you now have these 2 human beings, who are both fantastic, and they are made for one another, just like God intended. He says in Genesis two that male and female are going to grow up, and leave mom and dad's house and they are going to become one person, one family, one relationship that God designed (this was totally paraphrased by me, but you can check out the real thing if you don't trust me). Marriage is God designed.

Next, God tells us, humans, that what He brings together, Let No One Separate. Its a command. And one that is so easily broken today. When God creates a relationship, He wants it to last. He made a perfect society, and sin broke that. Divorce and separation was not a part of His plan. It breaks my heart that it is so easy to end a marriage now. It wasn't how God designed it.

Marriage is so important to me. It's not because I'm desperate, or because I think I can't make it on my own, but its so exciting to think that for the rest of my life, I get to share everything with one person. I get someone who will be a constant friend, a father to my children, and most importantly, I get to serve God beside someone who is just as crazy about HIM as I am. I think that marriage is the greatest gift that God could have given us.

I wish that marriage wasn't just a piece of paper that could easily be torn up, marriage is sacred and wonderful. I wish that every couple could truly understand what a gift it is.


Point 4: To Follow

It is a truth universally acknowledged... Point 2

Point Two: Women complain that men treat them like objects, well when you choose to "put yourself out there," what do you expect?

Okay lets talk about how men treat women like objects, I am not denying that it doesn't happen. There are some real jerks out there. However, I think that women can easily add some unneeded temptations to the mix that scream:"I am desperate and available." When you send that kind of message, what do you expect guys to think? It boils down to one word: RESPECT. I have seen in my friends, and even my generation as a whole, that girls don't respect themselves. It can be seen anywhere how girls wear tight clothes, low cut tops, short dresses, copious amounts of make up, 9 inch heels, fake hair, fake tans and about a billion other things to get guys attention. When you decide to wear a dress that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, you are doing yourself a disservice. In a way, you are asking for attention, and you are going to get it. But the guys that are going to give you attention, aren't the type you want to attract, unless you really, completely, absolutely want to have a jerk drooling over you. Its unladylike, and honestly, it makes you really seem like an object.

I am not a guy, so I am not totally sure, but I think most respectable guys actually like a woman who respects herself. I know that even as a female its more fun to be with a friend who respects herself, and portrays confidence then it being with someone who will do anything for attention.

So if you don't want to be treated like an object, prove it. Cover up the areas that should be hidden, don't go insanely overboard on the makeup (I mean don't look like an oompa loopa who was mugged in an ally), and try to have your outward appearance reflect how you feel inside.

Being called pretty is a much better compliment then being called hot. And I don't know about you, but I would rather be classy than trashy. Go ahead, put some more clothes on, find something comfy to wear. And remember that RESPECT from guys begins when you have respect for yourself.

Part 3 Coming Soon!!

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a 

single man in possession of a good fortune 

must be in want of a wife"

~Jane Austen

I suppose the above quote could go both ways, and in our society, it feels like the quote should read: It is a truth universally acknowledge that a girl of a certain age, and under the pressure of society, must be in want of a husband." You could even take it a step farther and say: It is a truth universally acknowledged that single desperate girls (or boys) must be in want of attention. 

This is one of my absolute favorite quotes of Pride and Prejudice. It is true that deep in our soul we all have a desire to be wanted and loved by someone of the opposite sex. However, our society has maybe taken everything and twisted it little by little. Some people no longer want to get married, young women use their bodies to gain attention, and young men just wanna "hit it and quit it." Its a sad reality in our society, and one that someone needs to step up and address. 

AGAIN, I would like to state that I have NEVER been in a relationship, so everything I post simply comes from an outsiders look at intimate relationships. 

Point One: My generation (and even generations before mine) lives in a sex and lust obsessed world, making it easier and easier for children, tweens and teens to loose part of their innocence 

Have you seen some of the TV shows and commercials that are aired on TV now? Everything revolves around sex. There are songs that sing about it, people who write books about it, and movies that glamorize it. You have shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and even Sixteen and Pregnant, that are shoving the idea of sex at tweens and teens. And worst of all, they are buying into it. It is unbelievable. Sex is used to sell everything on TV. 

Its hard in our society to turn a blind eye to what is going on in media, its hard to shield your eyes when companies put it all out there, and I know for me, its hard to block inappropriate songs from infiltrating my brain. We hear it and see it all the time. 

So what can we do about it? I have really had to think about this and pray about this one. We can't call every company that glamorizes sex and demand for it to stop... what good would that do anyway? I think the best thing we can do is shelter ourselves from it. I don't mean become a hermit and live in a box to try and avoid it, however we can chose not to participate in it. Don't watch shows that glamorize, or even joke about sex. We can turn off those tunes that sing about sex, and put down the books that contain intimate story lines. And I know its hard, even writing this I realize that some of my favorite shows fall into these categories, but I feel that in the long run turning off a show, or movie or song will be so much better than buying into the sleazy message it's sending. 

Point two to follow. 

Prompt 3

Prompt: You are an adult who is afraid of the dark. Explain why this is a legitimate concern so that your friends will not laugh at you.

I suppose that you of all people will understand why a sophisticated person such as myself is afraid of the dark. I suppose my fear of the dark started in the summer of 95 when my family decided to take a camping trip to the smokey mountains. This wasn't our normal summer road trip... But we were all ready for the adventure. Everything was perfectly fine, we had a nice campfire, the stars were gorgeous, and I had made the perfect marshmallow. You know how the night air really does me in though. I decided to hit the hay before everyone else. Being the youngest, I crawled into my new Blue's Clues sleeping bag, said my prayers and prepared for bed. Sometime after I fell asleep, I awoke to the strangest sensation in my toes. I sat up with a jerk of my head, and found myself peering into the eyes of a demonic, red eyed bunny rabbit. "Get out of here!" I screamed at the fluffy minion trying to devour me. However, it turns out demonic rabbits are apparently fueled by fear, and the screams of tiny children. It was very hard to tell exactly what had happened next because it was so dark to see, but I think the rabbit grew ten times in size and my screech must have summoned more red eyed, blood thirsty rabbits because they begin tearing through my tent eager to sink their buck tooth fangs into my limbs. Luckily I am a fast thinker and grabbed the closest weapon to me, which happened to be my blankie. I didn't waste anytime tying that blankie into a lasso. I began to wrangle all the fluffy flesh feasters into a sleeping bag before tossing it into the lake by our tent. Satisfied with myself, I turned to walk back to the tent when a giant man eating raccoon charged towards me. I tried to fight it off with my blankie, but it would not suffice. I was soon in a wresting match with the only woodland creature I truly despised. We rolled, and clawed, and bit, and scratched for what seemed like hours and finally he over powered me. I curled into a ball to meet the ultimate destruction: death by coon. I blacked out and I saw the light.

I opened my eyes, fully prepared to see the Pearly White Gates attended to by Peter, but I was shocked to find myself staring at the light streaming in the tent. It was in perfect condition. Not only had the coon not killed me, I was in perfectly good health. I ran out of the tent to check the damage of the rabid bunnies, but nothing was there. I told my family of the travesty, but they only laughed and insisted it was a bad dream. I laughed too as we packed up our camping equipment into the car. We all piled in and headed toward the exit. As we were leaving, I turned to see 29 red eyed bunnies popping their heads out from under the misty water of the lake. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, it had to have been a hallucination.  When I looked, a giant raccoon sat, his mouth dripping with red juice that resembled blood. He seemed to be mouthing the word soon, he gave his snarky coon grin. I never wend camping again and you better believe that I always sleep with a light on at night.

SOON.