Visionary Womanhood: A SAHD Link for You

Hello dearest readers. Lately a couple of posts about stay-at-home-daughterhood have sparked a LOT of feedback, both good and bad. I'm sharing with you a link to a wonderful, amazing post on the subject. It expresses absolutely everything I feel about SAHDs. It talks about the exact things that I strive to do.
Also, if you are truly interested in the SAHD movement, I suggest Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham. It is by far the best resource on the subject.

Visionary Womanhood: Taking Dominion by Washing Feet

Enjoy! =)

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.

Second Best to Barefoot

My five fingers. 

Recently I have been getting a lot of attention when we go into town. Because of my shoes. ;) I have five fingers - which are my absolute favorite! But many people have still not heard of them. Many times when I mention them I get, "Five fingers?? What are those?"
Five fingers are absolutely great. They are great for running, biking, walking, and just everyday activities. I have many friends who run in them regularly, but I am not a runner so I can't speak about that personally. I love them because I really prefer to be barefoot. Well five fingers are really the next best thing. They are so comfortable. Studies have actually been done that show being barefoot is the best thing for your foot, and five fingers mimic this.

To answer a few of the most common questions I hear:

"Are they really comfortable?" - Yes!!! They are extremely comfortable. It takes a couple of weeks to "break them in," but once you do they are wonderful.
"Do you like them?" -Absolutely!! I love my five fingers and during the summer almost wear none of my other shoes.
"Where can you get them?" -Any store that sells sporting equipment will probably have them. Otherwise you can always order them online. They come in many different styles and colors.

Now you know about five fingers! :)

Spreading the Gospel Through Social Media

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love social media. Facebook, Twitter, and of course blogging. ;) It makes it so easy to connect with people who might even live far away. It can be a very useful tool. But in fact, I recently was convicted that it can be an incredibly useful tool for spreading the gospel. I read something that really made me think. (Paraphrasing a bit) it pointed out how we have all sorts of different media where we can say absolutely anything we want, and we end up using most of that to talk about ourselves. I was challenged by this idea. Why not use these outlets to talk about Christ, God, and spread the gospel?? This idea stuck with me. I also have a good friend who uses social media (specifically Facebook and Twitter) to do this. This inspired me to do it as well. You would be amazed what just posting an encouraging status can do. It can lift up other Christians. It can help them have the courage to speak out as well. It can be a witness to unbelievers. It can possibly help them see Christianity in a different way. It can help you to stay focused on God as well. It helps you to be thinking of something more than yourself. It might be a small thing, but you never know how big God will make it as He uses you. Try it; you might just be amazed.

Why I Won't Go to College

This post is specifically for all those wondering why I haven't gone to college, or why I'm not making any future college plans.
I have committed to living at home with my parents, specifically under my father's headship, until I get married. Lord willing, I would someday like to get married and raise children of my own. I am waiting on Him to provide that for me in His timing. Until then, I feel it is very important to stay under the leadership of my father until he gives me away to my husband. That means I am not going to move out on my own. I also am not going to go away to college. There are other reasons that I don't want to go the traditional college route, but I won't get into them here.
So yes, I am almost 20 years old, and still living at home. And I currently have no plans of moving out. I love my family. I love being with them during these years. I love serving them. I love the lessons that both of my parents teach me. I love knowing that my father is here to provide for me and protect me. It would be much harder for him to do that if I decided to leave his household.
No, I am not just sitting around the house, twiddling my thumbs and waiting for Prince Charming. I am doing laundry, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, making my best attempt at cooking (which is getting better), teaching piano lessons, and numerous other things. I am trying my best to use the special years to serve. 
So that's why I'm not going to college. The Lord has called me to serve where He's placed me.

The Yellow Rose

Once upon a time, my father gave me a rose. It was beautiful - just a single yellow rose. (Yellow was my favorite color too.) It sat in its vase on our counter and I thought how perfect and pretty my rose was. The sunlight streamed through the window and the rose seemed to light up. The next day I saw my rose again. But today it was different. It had opened up. What was once an average-sized rose was now a full, fabulous flower! It had opened up to nearly double in size. It was amazing. If my rose had been beautiful before, it was gorgeous now. The change was so remarkable it was almost breathtaking.
Reflecting on that rose and it's transformation, I can see an important lesson. I am that rose. I may be pretty today, as a small flower. But given time and nourishment, I will grow into a beautiful, open flower. But the rose did not sit there complaining that it wasn't big enough - it shared the beauty it had. I never know; tomorrow may be the day that I bloom, that I open up and become a gorgeous flower. But until then, I can learn from the rose - I can wait patiently for that day and share the beauty I have right now. Because ultimately, I want to point people to the Creator of the rose.

My Daily War

I'm going to be completely honest. Sometimes I get really tired of waiting. Sometimes I just want what I want and I want it when I want it. But whoa there, that's pretty selfish. And sometimes I just feel like saying, "Yes! It is selfish! Can't I just be selfish for a minute?!"
But of course that answer is no. Of course I know I shouldn't be selfish. But I can't escape the fact that sometimes it is hard.
So what should I do? God warned me of this. In His word He told me that there would be times when my flesh and my spirit would wage war with one another. Because really the truth is that my spirit desires to do God's will more than anything. I desire so much to please God. No matter what. But my flesh desires to have it's own way. To get what it wants now. So I struggle. I struggle daily because it's not easy to deny myself. It's not easy to say, "Not my will, but Yours be done, Lord." It's definitely not easy to deny myself. But I know that it is necessary. Because I know that my flesh will some day pass away. But my spirit is eternal. The decisions I make now do not just effect me now - they have eternal effects. And I must remember this. So I decide, right now, every day, to die to self. I decide to submit myself to God's will. I decide to trust Him. No matter what. No matter where that takes me. No matter if He ever gives me what I want or not. No matter if other people understand. I decide to follow Him. No if's, and's, or but's. And I know HE will provide me the strength I need. I can't do it on my own. I won't ever do it on my own. But with my focus on HIM and through His grace I will make it. And I know that every step is extremely worth it.