Being a Stay-at-Home Daughter Means...

Being a Stay-at-Home Daughter Means:

Doing laundry. Lots of laundry. In fact, doing more laundry than you thought 4 people could generate.

Sometimes trying to help with the cooking. Even if it does take you twice as long as your mother, and you make even a bigger mess than your father.

Cleaning: Vacuuming, polishing, and dusting. And trying not to break anything in the process.

Driving your brother around when your parents can't.

Spending time writing that story that you just know will be a national bestseller someday. ;)

Teaching lots of piano lessons. And realizing the interesting ways God answers your prayers for patience.

Babysitting & nannying for church families. Getting invaluable experience for when the kids you spend time with are your own. : )

Playing the piano for an hour at a time...just because you can and you love it.

Getting to know Jesus more and more every day.

Realizing that God's plan and timing are PERFECT.

Making new friends and cherishing old ones.

Realizing that no family is perfect, not even yours, but yours is pretty amazing anyway.

Diving deeper into God's word.

Communicating with God daily through prayer.

Realizing that as great as your dreams and plans are, it's not about you. It's about bringing glory to God.

The 2012 James 4:8 Challenge

Wow. My first blog post of 2012. How exciting. It is also my first blog post since Thanksgiving, I'm a little ashamed to admit. Well I just wrote out a new list of goals today, and one of them is to post on here at least once a week. So, Lord willing, you'll be seeing a little more of me. Of course I will continue to post about random (or not-so-random) things that arouse my interest...but if you ever have something you'd just love for me to write about- let me know!! :)
Well it is 2012. A new year. A new beginning for some people. This year I have challenged some of my friends, and myself, with something I am calling the James 4:8 Challenge. I would like to challenge you as well. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Do you desire to be closer to God? I know that I do. Well then we must draw near to Him. Two really big ways to do this are reading His Word and spending time in prayer. So this year, I challenge you to do just that! Read His Word EVERY day. Pray EVERY day. If you are already doing those things, that is great! I challenge you to spend even MORE time in His Word and prayer this year. I guarantee you if you are digging deep into His Word and pouring your heart out to Him, your relationship with Him will deepen. So this year it is my personal commitment to spend more time in the Word and prayer! I hope you will as well!
P.S. If these are areas you struggle in, you may find a daily Bible and a prayer journal to be immensely helpful. Some friends of mine have started a Facebook group called "Bible Study on FB". It is a group where believers post scriptures and discuss them. If you are interested, check it out!

My Prayer Journal

Hello friends! I hope this post finds you well. Today I wanted to share a triumph with you. It is in the area of prayer. Prayer has always been an area I struggled with the most. I struggled having a continuous prayer life. Obviously, this was not a good thing! Prayer is an area we should focus a lot on. Finally I decided to start keeping a prayer journal. I prefer to have my prayer time before I go to sleep at night. So every night I write my entire prayer down in the journal. Sometimes it's one page or maybe sometimes it's three. The point is, no matter what is going on, no matter how late I go to bed, I sit down and journal my prayer first. It has been so helpful to me!! I started this prayer journal September 19th, and I have journaled every single day since then. It is helping me so much, I wanted to share this with all of you. If you struggle keeping a regular prayer life (or maybe even if you don't), you may want to consider keeping a prayer journal.

"Pray without ceasing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

My Thoughts on Prayer

Hello readers. How are you all? I hope you are staying strong in your faith. Today I'd like to talk a little about prayer. When it comes to my relationship with God, prayer is the one place I have struggled the most. I'm usually very good about reading my Bible daily, but not as good at praying daily. Lately I have really been trying to change that. Personally, I like to pray just before I go to bed at night. I like the idea of talking to God just before I go to sleep; anything that has come up during the day I can bring before Him. I have also tried to start talking to Him more throughout the day. Sometimes I just sit on the floor in my room and pour my heart out to Him. For too long, I've thought about prayer the wrong way. I've put too many rules to it, prayed too much for just what I want. Now I try to just simply talk to God. I have also started trying to praise Him more. I know I can only do my best, and He knows what I need. This verse is so encouraging to me when it comes to prayer: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through groans that words cannot express. -Romans 8:26 
I know the Lord will help me when I have no words to pray. 


~Brooke

Real Love This Valentine's Day

If you are like me, as a single woman who wishes to be married someday, Valentine's Day can feel somewhat lonely. This Valentine's Day I have a challenge for you. Anytime you begin feeling lonely, STOP and PRAY. Pray for your future husband-that he would stay pure, and God will continue to be with him and help him grow. Pray for yourself-that God would grant you patience to wait for His will and timing. In fact, do this everyday! Not just on Valentine's Day. :)

This Valentine's Day, let's take the opportunity to remind others of God's love. The world will be celebrating their idea of love. But earthly love can be superficial and disappointing. Let's take the time to point people to the never-ending, unfailing love of a God who loved us so much that he sent His son to die in our stead. His is a love which will never disappoint us!

~Brooke