Hey all!
So I was just over at Is This Modest which has some amazing resources for modesty that is not only modest but not frumpy. Anyway I was reading an article that included this open letter from a Christian guy to all Christian girls about modesty and I thought I should share it with all of you:

“Dear Girls,

There are two kinds of men: Godly men, and worldly men. What kind of man do you want? I’m betting most of you said “a Godly man.” Someday, you want to marry a man who loves God with every fiber of his being because he will be an excellent husband and father. He will honor and be true only to you. Most women want a Godly man or at least think they do. Well, I think I have found a way to tell you exactly what kind of guy you will get. I don’t even have to know you! All I have to do is look at you. The kind of guy you want or will get is advertised by the clothing you wear. I know what men want. Trust me, I am a guy. I know more guys than you do and I know them better. I know what we think, what we talk about, what we want, and what we look for, and it is different for each one of us depending on our relationship with God. I’m sure you already know this, but men were created differently than you. We have different desires and priorities. Our eyes and minds react very differently to some things than yours do. It isn’t disgusting, perverted, or wrong; it is wonderful and good! It is how God made us. It’s how we handle these differences that separate a Godly man from a worldly man.

A worldly man doesn’t control himself, rather, he looks at anything that attracts his attention or gets him excited. A worldly guy has no problem when girls wear clothes that show off skin, like boxers, high or low cut shirts, low rise jeans, and “cute” little swim-suits. He’s a fan of tight-fitting shirts and pants that show off your form, he thinks they’re fine! Worldly guy watches a lot of TV and R-rated movies, isn’t really offended by sexual content or nudity and secretly dabbles in pornography. He’s a “Christian” and makes up a significant portion of your church and youth group. He’s a really nice guy and sees you mainly for your body. If you were to marry worldly guy, he’d bring lots of baggage into the relationship, have intimacy problems, entertain thoughts of other women, and possibly cheat on you.

A Godly man is in control of his drives and desires. He constantly seeks God and reads his Bible. He “walks in the Spirit” and isn’t set off by everything he sees. When immodestly-dressed girls, magazine covers, or risqué advertisements come into view, Godly guy quickly “bounces his eyes” away from the image. He’s constantly guarding his thoughts and what he allows into his mind. He hates being around girls that disrespect him and his struggles by wearing inappropriate attire. Godly guy doesn’t watch much TV and is selective about the movies he sees. He views you as a person, knows you and respects you. He has your best interests in mind and guards against inappropriate thoughts of you. If you were to marry Godly guy, he would give you the emotional attention you need, he would ignore other women and remain faithful to you no matter what.

Unfortunately, there are more worldly men than Godly men. And to make matters worse, to the untrained eye, a worldly man can look a lot like a Godly man. So what can you do to only attract a Godly man? An important way of delineating between them lies in how you dress. As mentioned before, the clothes you wear advertise what kind of guy you are looking for. If you dress immodestly, you will attract worldly guys and scare away the Godly ones. It all comes down to the kind of man you want to spend your time around and eventually marry. You cannot afford to be complacent in this area of your life! You will pay the price someday.

This issue isn’t limited strictly to you and your future relationship. The way you dress directly affects other men and women and their relationships. You don’t see the struggles, the pain, the tears and the sin that you cause, but I can promise that you would be shocked if you did! Ask any Christian young man; we’ve all seen it. It’s kept hidden but it is definitely there. By dressing immodestly, you effectually spit on the struggles of our weaker ranks, appearing to care more about toying with us than helping us. You’ll never know how many broken relationships and lifestyles of sin you’ve contributed to simply by the way you dress. You want to marry a Godly man someday, well so do many other women. Don’t just help yourself and your future, help all women and their relationships by showing discretion in your dress.

Of course, I understand the desire to look stylish, attractive, and “cute.” It’s important to fit in and get attention. Trust me, it can be done modestly! I also understand that it is easier for some girls to find stylish and well-fitting clothes than it is for others. This is an area where guys really don’t understand what you are up against. But just remember, for every sacrifice you make to honor God with your image, Godly men are making sacrifices in their lives that are just as hard, if not harder! They will and do respect you so much for choosing to be modest! A real lady is conscientious of the image she presents, and real men want a real lady. And you can forget about any guys missing out on how attractive you are because you don’t wear revealing clothing. You could wear a circus tent and we would still know; it’s a gift we have.
And so the question still remains: What kind of man do you want? Answer me with your clothes.

Devin Swecker”

Tidbit #1:

As many of you know, last night was the first
ever girls Bible study at my house! I was so
thankful for how the first one turned out!
Right now we are focusing on what it is
to be a girl that lives a 110% Surrendered
life to Christ (go figure) and so last
night we started with...CHRIST.
These girls are AMAZING (and we didn't get
pictures of all the girls sadly but
here are some):






Margo. Christy. Cassie. Stephanie. Jacquie, Jen. Cindy. Allie. Makayla.

I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us! Please pray that He would continue to give me wisdom as I am leading the Bible study. Above all I only desire that HE would be honored and glorified and that the girls would be challenged and encouraged in their faith.

Tidbit #2:

I have decided to challenge myself to see if I can go one month without chocolate, candy or deserts of any kind. Not because I am dieting or think I am fat or any of those other "normal" reasons. Nope. I am doing it because I want to see if I have enough self control to do it.

*INSERT SOB HERE*

I seriously thought that it would not be a problem at all "because I really don't ever have a lot of opportunity to eat deserts/candy."

Yesterday was my first day.

In scrap booking club at work I had to say no to STAR BURSTS AND SKITTLES. That was rough but I worked through it.

Then I came home and was preparing for the Bible study and started craving some of those LIFESAVER MINT THINGS. When Jen informed me that they were indeed candy...well...it was rough but I worked through it.

There was ICE CREAM CAKE at Bible study last night. Oh those oreos and whipped topping looked amazing! But ,even though it was rough, I worked through it (plus it was Neapolitan ice cream which I don't really like anyway so what made it easier!).

THEN. The WORST thing EVER happened.
My loving sister Abby.
Brought in a
HUGE
HEAPING
MOUND
of...
CHOCOLATE.
She set it on my bed.
And ALL THE GIRLS EXCEPT ME
started to eat it.
THAT WAS TORMENT.
Ever been SURROUNDED
by EIGHT GIRLS
eating chocolate bars?
The smell.
The pain.
WOW.
IT WAS ROUGH!
BUT.
I DID IT!

Now...I am on the second day.
Sheesh.
I didn't expect it to be THIS hard!

Tidbit #3:
I was blog surfing today (I love Saturdays!)
and came across Her Price is Far Above Rubies.

One of Jessica's post included this video by Leslie Ludy
on TRUE BEAUTY. I was so challenged and encouraged after watching so I thought I would share it with you girls:



Isn't that amazing? What are your thoughts on it? I would love to hear them either by comments OR email! ;)

Tidbit #4:

I have really started to make more of an effort to get my life more in order when it comes to practical things like learning how to cook and clean, keeping my room clean, getting up earlier in the morning (HAH still working on that one I am NOT really a morning person), making a TO-DO list the night before each day, keeping on top of school and working towards achieving my goals.

Have I mentioned I am so thankful I serve a GRACIOUS Heavenly Father?

One of the little projects I love the most lately is a collage of quotes I have collected over the years and ended up putting on my wall.

 
 
 
Tidbit #5:

Oh the many faces of Abby! This was at a girl's night we had with one of our friends Jacquie and UNLIKE THE PICTURES SUGGEST I WAS NOT TORTURING HER!

It was such a fun night and actually was the first time I had ever had pictures taken WITHOUT MY GLASSES so ,besides the amusement I am sure you will get from Abby's facial expressions, you also get to see ME. The one WITHOUT glasses :)



Ok! That was a really long post filled with...
well...
tidbits.

I am off to eat some lunch and get caught up on some emails that are LONG overdue!

Hey all!
So you know those times when you have this whispering of an idea?
I had one of those at the beginning of this week.
I was talking to Lauren and she had been
asking me about Bible study ideas for a study her
and some friends were planning on starting.
As I was talking to her I kept thinking how neat it
would be to be able to start a Bible study for girls
AND GUESS WHAT?
The next night I was approached to start a Bible study
for girls,
We have decided that I will be leading it on Frieday
nights as we already have so many people over
and normally a group of us girls
end up apart anyway.
I am super excited for this opportunity!
I am really praying that the Lord will be
honored and glorified in it!

So for all you GIRLS out there:

What kinds of things would YOU be interested
in studying at a Bible study?

What issues do YOU deal with day to day?

I might end up taking these devotionals and
transfering them into some blog posts...

We will see ;)

Hey all!
Yes, I am in "that mood" again
and have decided that I am going
to be playing with my blog
background so if you
get on here and things look a
little bit out of the
ordinary...
IT WON'T LAST LONG! :)

IN THE MEANTIME:
You all get to hear from
me all the time
and now I want to hear
from YOU.

IT IS YOUR TURN!

I actually got this idea from over at
Brittney's blog.

Over on the left hand of my page
it says that I have 85
followers. I am curious to know
more about each and everyone of
you especially the "lurkers" that
maybe have never gotten around to
commenting before.

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE!



Would you be able to answer
comment and satisfy some
of my curiosity:
Who are you?
How did you find my blog?
What would you like to see?
What is your favorite kind of chocolate?


I just thought that would be a little fun thing
to do while I am playing around with my
blog design. I am hoping it will be fun at least :)

I am excited to get to know you! :)

So just to warn you ahead of time I can barely see this screen as I am typing BUT I really really wanted to share with you all what the Lord just taught me.

I just had one of those sweet times of fellowship with Jesus that is too wonderful to even try to put into words but I am going to try to just because that is what you do in blog posts! :)

I am going to actually include a little part of my prayer journal entry from my personal devotions today:

Sitting here thinking over this past year to date I just feel as though something isn't right...I just really cannot put my finger on it. Maybe it is the realization that I have allowed my walk with You to grow stagnant. Lord. Why? I am sitting here trying to think of the reasons.
I guess a part of it was that last year was SO difficult physically that I HAD to be completely dependent on You alone. This year (to date it really hasn't been that long of a year yet!) I really have not had to deal with anything like that. Lord, I don't think that is a bad thing necessarily but I am just realizing how I have gotten to the point where You are not the #1 thing in my life anymore.
Even today Lord. I could have spent so much time with You but instead I just...wasted the day away. I really don't even remember what I did today and a huge part of that is because I did absolutely nothing of TRUE LASTING IMPORTANCE...


I have been thinking about looking at things through an eternal perspective. If I had been today I know I would not have done many of the things I did. Not that any of those things were wrong but from an eternal perspective it really doesn't matter how many people commented on my facebook status. From an eternal perspective it really doesn't matter how much traffic I had on my blog. I could have spent that time with Jesus and instead...I wasted them away and I can not even remember the point of it. If only I had put my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ FIRST today. If only I had CHOSEN to spend time in the Word and in prayer and THEN gone on to do stuff like facebook and blogging (NOTE: I am not saying those things are wrong. I just know in my life that I really need to be careful that they don't consume me).

This time that I wasted ,not only today, but this year to date.

I CAN NEVER GET IT BACK.

On some days...that is a really sad realization.

So I am sitting there in my chair pondering and praying and repenting about these things when I opened my Bible and started reading my daily reading.

Here are some AMAZING things the Lord showed me from Colossions:

"As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
rooted and built up in Him and
established in the faith,
as you have been taught,
abounding in it with thanksgiving. "
(Colossians 2:6-7)

I (and any one of you that have been brought to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) have received Jesus Christ and because of that I am told to walk in Him and to not only walk but be rooted and built up in HIM.
Because I am to be so rooted in him I am also to be ESTABLISHED in the faith. When I think about what that means I definitely think that the way I will become so rooted is through spending time getting to KNOW my God through prayer and the reading of His Words. How else will I expect to be established? I need to put forth some effort when it comes to getting to know Him just as I would in any other relationship I was trying to grow.

"For in Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily;
and you are complete in Him,
who is the head of all
principality and power."
(Colossians 2:10)

I am complete in Christ and ONLY in CHRIST. No one of nothing else will ever bring me complete and total satisfaction, completion in my life or will fill up that void inside me.
ONLY JESUS CHRIST!!
So why do I still persist to try to find my satisfaction in other people and in other things aside from Christ? What is the point? Truly, I think life would become so much simpler if I would stop trying to find fulfillment in other things and in other people. Instead, I should start to just gaze only at my Savior looking to HIM alone for my fulfillment.
He ALONE is worthy!

"And you, being dead in your
trespasses and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, He has made alive
together with Him, having
forgiven you all trespasses,
having wiped out the handwriting
of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us.
And He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross
(Colossians 2: 12-14)

When I read those two verses and realize all over again all He has done for me...WOW! How can I NOT give Him my all? How can I NOT strive to live a 110% Surrendered life for HIS honor and HIS glory?

He died for me...the LEAST I can do is live for Him.

Why?

Because HE IS WORTHY!

Wow...I am hoping that made a little bit of sense! I told you I was going to TRY to put all He taught me and made me discover yet again in words :) Honestly I copied almost all of this from notes I made during my devotional time!

May He alone be glorified in our lives!

"The ultimate example
of true love
is in Jesus Christ.
His love for others,
even those who rejected Him,
led Him to endure this world's trials
and die a cruel death on a rugged cross.
His wasn't a convenient love,
but a genuine love to all."
-Paul Chappell

I got this in my daily email devotional and thought I would share it with all of you. Definitely something to meditate on as you start your day (like me LOL) or are in the middle of your day (you know those early birds).

Blessings to you all :)

I AM BACK :)

I ended up going to Canada for the
Lasik surgery on Tuesday, January 19th.
Once we got there and they started
doing all the tests they realized
that because of some irregularities
in my eyes that called for me to
get a more involved procedure (called PRK) which would work out in the
long run much better for me
BUT would involve many more
follow-up visits and a longer recovery time.

After much deliberation
(ok, so not even 15 minutes)
Dad and I decided to go for it.
I was feeling really good about it.
Then I went into my pre-op meeting
and was told that for days after
the surgery I would experience pain
"You know like when you are peeling onions and your eyes burn. It just doesn't stop for days."

*Gulp*

So after more tests.
And then lunch.
And then more tests.
And then waiting.
And more waiting.
And still MORE waiting.
I got taken into the pre-op waiting room.

*Gulp*

I got handed coverings for my hair and shoes.
I take a pill that helps relax you.

*Commence watching a nature documentary*

Then there was more waiting.
And more waiting.
And still MORE waiting.
Then I got taken into the operating room
More tests.
Sent back for a few more minutes of waiting.
THEN
(after all that waiting)

*IT WAS MY TURN*

Ten minutes (not even) was
all that it took.
Ten minutes.
That is all it took
for my life to change.
Forever.
So right after the surgery:
I could SEE. There was no pain
(because my eyes were still numbed up)
and for the first time in my life
I COULD SEE
WITHOUT
MY GLASSES!
Sure.
It was blurry.
Yeah I couldn't really see
all that well.
But it was better than I
ever had in my entire life!
And that was as SOON as
I got up off the operating table!.
The first thing I really remember seeing?
My Dad.
Standing there.
Smiling.
OUT IN THE HALL.
I COULD SEE ACROSS A ROOM
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!
What a miracle!
What an AMAZING God I serve!
I truly can not praise Him enough!

Tuesday, January 19th:
I have the surgery in Canada.
After about an hour the medicine
wears off and it feels like someone
was stabbing out my eyes.
I end up using some numbing medicine
they gave me if the pain got too
intense and Codeine which proceeded
to knock me out.

Wednesday, January 20th:
I feel like I want to...crawl in a hole and die.
Ok, so maybe not that dramatic but wow I was in A LOT
of pain! Although, NOT AS BAD AS THE NIGHT BEFORE!
I ended up sleeping almost 19 hours
just because I could barely keep my eyes open
because of the pain and the fact that they
were so sensitive to light. Head back to Canada
for the second visit.

Thursday, January 21st:
The pain was a little bit less than the
day before but still pretty intense. Ended up
heading back to Canada for the third visit.
The light sensitivity really starts to kick
in. I end up wearing my special goggles with
sunglasses over them to make it darker. Still
ended up burying my head under a blanket to
help block the light out.

This is were the surprise comes in-

Friday, January 22nd:
I woke up and realized that the worst of the
pain is past. The light is still bothering
me so I go downstairs. After taking a shower
I ended up in a chair in the living room.
Mom had told me that there was absolutely no
way that Kelly was coming out to surprise me
two weeks ahead of time
(yes I had been a bit suspicious)
so there I sat sadly thinking
about how far 14 days was (that was
when I thought he was coming out)
when Kelly calls me.
Well...the video shows what happened :)



And yes I was in my PAJAMAS with
my eye GOGGLES on (because it was so bright out)
UNDER A BLANKET (again because the light was so bright to my eyes)
and I even had static hair!
Gotta love those first impressions :)

Definitely one of my favorite memories of 2010 so far! :)

Friday and Saturday were absolutely amazing!
We made so many wonderful memories together!
Have I ever told any of you how blessed
I am to be able to be in a relationship
with someone like Kelly? Just
in case you didn't know this yet
I think he is pretty much amazing! :)
I am still so in awe that the Lord
would bring a man like him into
my life!

*Sigh of complete contentment*

So that pretty much brings you all up to date.
Tomorrow I am heading back to Canada and hopefully
getting the contact bandages out of my eyes.
Once that happens I will begin to see
much clearer. Right now my vision is
very blurry because of how my eyes
have been healing so I am not
really able to see all that much
but it is getting better and tomorrow
will be the bend in the road.

I AM SO BLESSED!

I SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!

Truly...He is so worthy of
all of our honor and praise.

HE IS WORTHY!!!