This Wednesday we head into a mall to check out the clearance items available in stores like American Eagle Outfitters & Charlotte Russe.
I probably made a big fashion mistake in using dressing room pictures,
but obviously I don't have the kind of money to buy these amazing finds in order to share them with you.
All of these items were under $20!
It's amazing what you can find when you hunt through the expensive rails of normal stores at the mall.
Lyrics: Britt Nicole, Ready or Not
I love Britt Nicole's words about how important it is to shine for the Lord. I personally do feel as ladies we should invest time in our appearance. Not to obsess about the way we look and be materialistic about having the latest fashion trends....but the bible talks about caring for our bodies as they are temples of the Holy Spirit. We glorify God with our bodies by caring for them.
We are also good stewards of our money when we search for deals and spend wisely on things like clothing and accessories.
'Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.'
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
We can be interested in fashion and glorify the Lord in the process. Dressing in a way that draws attention to the hidden beauty within. Dressing so that when people see us, they see Him through our attitude and mannerisms.
'Do not let your adornment be merely outward; arranging the hair,
wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel.
Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.'
(1 Peter 3:3-4)
Lyrics: Britt Nicole, Ready or Not
Lets be women who dress with selfless, dignified elegance bringing glory to Jesus Christ because of our intimate relationship with Him. Showing the world where the Love is.
Let me give you a sneak peek of the duo who may be the brains behind this series in the future.
Much Love,
L
Thankful//for beautiful lyrics.
Thankful//for inspiration and a new blog series.
Thankful//for my beautiful sister.
Blue Floral top: American Eagle Navy Blue Dress: American Eagle Neon Dress: American Eagle Skirt: Charlotte Russe White cami layered underneath: Charlotte Russe Sandals: Payless White lace top: American Eagle Pink Dress: Charlotte Russe Red Necklace: Handmade by L Red lipstick: Target
Several years ago, I went to a store and hanging desperately
onto what the Lord was telling me, I bought a journal.
I walked home and sat at the desk in my dorm room and pulled
it out. Opening the pages I began to write. I began to actively believe that
the Lord knew what He was doing and that I was choosing to trust Him, with
tears of surrender I began to believe that He was able to do so much more than
I could dream. Let me tell you friend, He delivered on that promise.
I started a journal full of letters to my future husband.
I chose to let go that day and push away those feelings of
doubt,
those feelings of its never going to happen to me,
no one could ever
love me enough to marry me.
There aren't any godly guys around me here in this
place, Lord.
I chose to ignore the advice of media saying go after the guy you like,
go and tell him you like him and initiate.
I knew there had to be a better way
than that.
A friend had once shared with me that she had surrendered
the pen of her love life to the Lord, to do with it what He saw fit.
And I had
believed that I had done the same.
But I realised that in not trusting Him to
follow through, I was not actively believing Him. I doubted that the Lord knew
my heart and who I would want for a husband someday.
So buying a journal and believing
I would one day give it to the man He had for me, I knew I was trusting Him.
I
was surrendering my love life to God through this process.
That journal became so precious. Whenever I wanted to pray
for my future husband or felt discontent with him not being in my life yet, I
wrote.
I filled the pages with dreams and prayers, writing on birthdays and other
days I wanted to share with him.
Sharing those intimate details that I longed
to share as I watched other couples being intimate with each other.
Sometimes I
had a lot to say and other times months would go by before I would open its
pages.
Over time the Lord did bring a man into my life, and those
letters started having him in mind as I wrote them. While being cautious with
our conversations getting ahead of where we were at in our relationship,
whenever I wanted to pray or share my dreams on where our relationship was
heading, I wrote in that book.
I continued to trust the Lord to write the story
He had started in His way....refusing to jump ahead now that this man was in my
life.
I filled it
completely just before we got married.
On our wedding night, I handed my husband the journal and
told him it was his.
All those prayers and dreams were for him.
I gave him my
whole heart when I handed him that journal.
All the details and memories about
myself I couldn't put into words to share on that night. And he read through
them all in the days that followed.
I won’t share the intimate details hidden within the pages
of that journal, because those letters were for His eyes only. Filled with
promises I felt the Lord had for me, for us as a couple and dreams of things in
the future.
I share these things to encourage you single ladies!!! To
share with you how the Lord wrote that beautiful story in my life and blessed
me through it.
How those of us who wait don’t just end up all alone with no one
while others get married. I want to encourage you girls, because I have been
where you are.
I have known the loneliness and the feelings of discontentment.
I share this to share how God revealed to me how I could trust Him through
those times.
The Lord protected me from revealing too much of myself to
guys by nudging me to write to my future husband instead, He allowed me to
record those memories within its pages to share with my husband someday.
My
husband still reads those letters to this day.
And friend, I want to encourage you to do the same.
A sweet bible study leader in high school sat a group of us
down one evening and shared with us how she journalled her walk with the Lord. As
she spoke of being able to look back in hard times and see how the Lord
answered prayers, she revealed how often we don’t notice how prayers are
answered, we forget about what we prayed and how He spoke. But when we take the
time to record our prayers in a journal, we can reread things we prayed for and
know how the Lord heard us! It is so encouraging in those moments when we don’t
even feel we have faith the size of a mustard seed. She blessed each one of us
in that group that evening and gave us each a journal in which to record our
prayers and journeys with the Lord. To encourage us and to give us proof of His
faithfulness in those moments of trial.
Today, I want to bless you guys in the same way.
I partnered with friends over at Paper Coterie in this last
week and they want to give each of you a free journal.
I would love for each of
you to receive a journal of choice from their beautiful collection and start
your own journal.
Maybe it will be full of letters to your future husband as
you wait for Him.
Or even a journal recording a difficult year of your life.
Maybe even just a journal to record the mundane events you
feel are taking place.
But I pray that through this journaling process, you will
see God clearly.
You will see how He does answer when we think He hasn't heard
us.
That you will be able to look back in hard times and know how He carried
you through that dark valley. May you cling to His promises and not forget.
Today I am thankful//for journaling.
Much Love,
L
Why not head over now using the link below and enter the following
code at checkout :
It feels strange to write about a topic which has been so dear to my heart for such a long time and know that it may not be heard well. In my single days, or even my dating days....it was easier to encourage people in this situation. But I have found as the Lord has brought a beautiful relationship into my life which turned into a marriage, that my words on the topic of singleness and dating are not heard as well.
I have often heard it is hard to be encouraged, while in your single years, by someone who has what you want...a relationship.
I even felt this way myself while waiting for the Lord to bring a man into my life.
I'm beginning to think that my unwillingness to listen to encouragement from those who had already walked down the relationship path, I may have missed out on hearing how God provided and answered the similar prayers of another sister.
That should not be discouraging. It should instead be a beautiful picture of how God answers those prayers we are praying. As I've grown older I've learnt to value having someone further ahead of you on the path in life to encourage you and seen how it's also biblical.
'Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.'
{Hebrews 11:24-25}
There is something encouraging about hearing God answer a prayer that you yourself are praying. To see victory over a challenging trial as it gives us great hope. (or at least it should, instead of just bring up envy)
I know from experience that it can be discouraging waiting to meet that someone in your life, being desperate to love them already and not understanding why he isn't here yet. I long to encourage you girls in this situation. To show you that God really does answer those prayers for a godly husband. That He hears you, loves you and definitely hasn't forgotten you.
Did you know that you can be loving your future husband now, even before you meet him.
In fact that's what the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman shows us.....
'Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.'
{Proverbs 31:10-12}
Let me introduce you to a guy who has spent his single years living for himself. He has embraced the messages of the modern culture today and decided to 'seize the day' or 'live for the here and now.' He goes out with a different girl several times a week, just having fun. He may not sleep with any of them, he is trying to follow the Lord after all. But he figures in order to find the right girl, he needs to date around right? He doesn't spend much time investing in his family, in fact he spent most of his teenage years at home wishing he could be out with his friends during family dinners. His room is a mess and he is disrespectful of his parents. He lived for trips out to the movies with his friends and spending time with maybe even a girlfriend. When he hangs out with his friends, he shows-off wanting to be seen as cool by everyone. He loves being the center of attention, burps loudly and laughs at crude jokes being told around him. He's quite even possibly all-around a nice guy on the service, he says all the right things and knows how to be a romantic guy.
Now picture a different guy. He has also decided to make the most of every opportunity, but in order to love his future wife. Instead of not giving her much thought while growing up, he wrote her several letters and regularly prayed for her. He purposefully has chosen not to date until the Lord shows him a girl he should pursue. He works on the relationships which are already in his life. He shows his parents respect, encourages his younger brothers and sisters and genuinely loves his family. He speaks words of encouragement to his friends, seeking ways to build them up in their love for the Lord. He may be hopeless at keeping his room neat at home, but he tries out of respect for those who come into his living area.
Which one would you feel most treasured/loved by if you were the girl brought into their life?
Now imagine that these are not in fact guys, but girls. Just like you and me.
How wonderful would it be to aim to love our future husbands in that way?
I would love to say that I spent most of my single years pursuing the model of the second guy. In some ways I did, of course I couldn't achieve perfection in this area of life.
And that's ok. There is grace.
(We are not saved through the things we do. The bible makes it perfectly clear we are saved by Christ dying on the cross in our place alone. Works do not play a part in our salvation. Purity does not equal salvation. Just to clarify.)
When we love Jesus and chose to follow him. We are called to live our lives for him, a life marked by love.
'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'
{John 13:34-35}
We are called to love our future husband all our days in Proverbs. I'm pretty sure the author was being literal. Before we are married we can show we love them by how we chose to live (and love God through these decisions to love others and put them before ourselves).
We can find a great definition for love in 1 Corinthians.
'Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.'
{1 Corinthians 13:4-8}
This is quite the challenging list and should be where we go for a measuring stick on how to love others in the relationships in our lives. Boy, isn't this challenging and hard?!
Choosing to prepare yourself for your future husband, while you are still single, is an amazing way to love them before you've even met them.
The purpose of saving ourselves for marriage should be out of love for our future spouses, not to earn favor with God.
When you meet someone who has chosen to wait for you, they have saved themselves physically, emotionally, spiritually just for you. You really feel loved.
I know this from personal experience.
But choosing to wait is not something we should do to get it given back in return. It is done out of love for the other person. It is choosing to put them first in our lives, regardless of what they choose to do for us. A great preparation for marriage.
No matter where your life is at, or what your past looks like, you can choose to live out of love for your future husband from this day forward.
There is no such thing as perfection while we are still human.
Even people who set out trying to live this way selflessly from the age of thirteen still mess up.
So even if you have already dated many people, or even if you have slept with someone....you are not damaged goods. You can choose to live out of love from them from this point onward.
None of us has a perfect past and we all mess up.
God is a loving God of second chances.
If you have made a choice to wait for your future husband, know that from someone who has been there, it is worth waiting for.
I promise.
I don't know of anyone who has waited, guarded their heart for their husband and regretted it.
So keep at girl! The Lord does answer those prayers! I am totally here cheering you on and telling you to keep running this race (Heb 12:1-2).
I leave you with a beautiful song that encouraged me so much during those years of waiting.
To love a spouse amid the flame of honeymoon passion is human,
but to love a spouse all the days of your life,
even before you ever lay eyes upon that person -
this kind of love is divine.
― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―
Love begins way before your wedding day, even before you ever meet 'The One' the Lord has for you.
Love, the way the world throws at us, sounds alluring but is so different to real Love.
Dating whomever you want - no committment so no hurt involved right? If you really 'love' someone, you will sleep with them.
See where the relationship goes, if you guys don't like it, well that's ok - it was just dating! Sounds so carefree and full of pleasure.
But the root of a lot of the world's version of love is selfishness. How the other person completes us, how they make us feel, how they satisfy us 'in the moment'.
We stop wanting to be a part of the Love when we are not longer satisfied.
Marriage thrives on a different kind of love, a divine kind.
We only have to look at scripture to understand it is nothing like what the world defines as love.
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.' {1 Corinthians 13: 4-7}
'A Poetic love is a selfless love. It's noble, it's pure, it's tender, it's dignified, it's grand.... it's heavenly. We all have our moments of selfless nobilioty, but poetic love isn't a one-time heroic deed. Rather, it's a lifelong lifestyle of romantic service to our spouse.' ― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―
One of the most beautiful ways of keeping romance alive in marriage is thinking of the other person. Being mindful of their needs.
This can start before you are married.
If you are single, you are still able to be mindful of the one that the Lord has planned for you.
You can care for them by loving them all your days.
How can you possibly love them all your days? You mean before you even know them.
That's what I am proposing!
When you are not married and the Lord hasn't yet shown you the one He has for you, there is an incredibly opportunity to still love them in waiting.
You can write them love notes or even songs as well as not allowing access to the inner depths of your heart to any guy who shows interest.
It is not a bad thing for a guy to work for your heart.
A man who is truly seeking God will work for the priviledge of knowing your heart.
I started a book of notes when I went to college, I will have to explain our story fully sometime to explain the beauty behind what the Lord was doing in my life. (I know I keep saying this.)
I had surrendered a relationship to the Lord and was not dating.
I did not have anyone pursuing me as much as I wanted that to be happening.
I bought a book and started writing letters to my future husband.
I wrote in that book through to the night before my wedding day.
It was such a wonderful gift to give to A.
I won't share with you any of the content as it is reserved for his eyes only - but it was my gift to him of the inner depths of my heart.
I wrote dreams in there, letters & prayers...when he did appear on the scene and we did not want to discuss any 'heavy' topics initially those went in there too.
I was able to pour my heart out in those letters, freely.
I wanted him to see my love for him all those days even when I was not sure who he was.
Even if you feel you didn't start early enough, or you are already in a relationship.
Why not start anyway.
I have several amazing friends who started this so much earlier than I did.
But it was still beautiful even though I only wrote in my book for a few short years.
'God never wastes a test of patience.'
― Eric Ludy ―
'Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy.
Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to
wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His
hands.' ―
Elisabeth Elliot ―
The point I am trying to make is the importance of selfless love.
Sacrifice before you are married, builds sacrifice in marriage.
Patience now helps you to be more of a grace-dispenser in marriage.
'Before you get married, learn to give everything - and learn to give as if giving were the greatest pleasure, because it is. Learn to stop figuring out what you should be getting out of the deal. Learn to give without a required payback. Learn to give simply because God has given so much to you.' ― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―
Learning to give selflessly for me, is also a way to be content.
There is nothing like focusing on someone else to help you see what truly matters.
That you and your problems are really not that big.
Even if you have made mistakes in the past, God is a redemptive God.
He is able to wash your slate clean, wash you literally white as snow.
He frees us from our past enabling us to start living for Him today.
Live to glorify Him with your love life.
Trust him to show you the prince He has for you.
Show the Lord that you trust Him by living devoted to that prince all the days of your life.
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