~Trusting Him~

This post was inspired after reading my friends blog post titled, "Trusting God in our Single Years *Giveaway*". It is to give some ideas on how we as single young ladies can be joyful and content in whatever state we are in! One season in life is not more important or more significant than another. God created each season for a purpose and we should joyfully fulfill the purpose He has for us in every moment that He has given us breath! "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!" ~Psalm 150:6~

1. One way we can joyfully serve Christ now is by taking advantage of having less distractions and obligations in life than we might have in the future and to really press in and deepen our relationships with Christ. With a husband and a family comes many needs and responsibilities-certainly NOT bad ones or ones that should be looked upon as a burden mind you, however, there will be different kinds of needs and demands required of us during that season none the less. "There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband." ~1Cor. 7:34~  And don't get me wrong single years can definitively be busy ones! However, no matter what season we are in we must purpose to prioritize seeking Christ above all else. During our single years and throughout life, we must be diligent to really strive to know God's heart and to develop a very close, intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We need to seek God's wisdom so that we will know how we can become better sisters, daughters, friends and daughters of the King in addition to all the other many roles we hold. We should also seek wisdom from God so that we'll be better equipped and prepared to someday enter the role of a wife and helper to our future husband as well as a loving, nurturing mother to our children, if the Lord directs us down that path. As we strive to fall more in love with Jesus, we will learn how to allow Christ to move in and through us, as we minister to others, as well as our families. The more kinks in our lives we can yield over to the Lord to reshape and mold closer to His perfect image for our lives, before marriage, the better!

2. Serve others. Being single is not always easy. In fact it doesn't really take much time at all to discover yourself a bit restless, discouraged and in a big puddle of self-pity. I believe God created in us a desire to love and be loved, to cherish and be cherished. However, I don't believe he wanted us to be completely swept away by our longings, where those longings begin to consume our every thought and begin to pine away waiting for Mr. Right. Instead, have you ever considered that you might still be single for a specific purpose? "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." ~Ecc. 3:1~  There just might be a particular need God wants to meet through you during this time and you may be more available and/or better suited to meet that need at this time, in this season! And remember, there are ways God may still be wanting to grow, prepare and teach both you and your future husband before you meet! We should allow God to prepare us as He sees fit. God sees the big picture and His timing is perfect! We can trust that God has our best interest in mind and He is faithful to supply our every need. But whether we are married or not we need to live our lives to bring Him glory! Christ's love for us is greater than any human could ever give to us and He gave the ultimate sacrifice of sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all our sins. And this Lover desires to have a personal relationship with each one of us! We must find our satisfaction in Christ before we are ready to enter a relationship with someone. If we allow Christ's love to flow in and through us, then we will finally be able to love with a sacrificial 1 Cor. 13 kind of love. A love that lasts! As we continue to grow in the love of Christ, we can also pour this kind of love out towards others in our lives even now. Look for ways you can serve and meet the needs of those God has placed around you. Waiting on the Lord is not necessarily inactive...it can actually be rather busy! By giving of your time and energy in this way, your service and sharing of Christ can not only help, bless and touch the lives of others, but it also turns our attentions from ourselves and can point others toward Christ! To Him be all glory honor and praise! 

3.Continue to learn and be industrious. As I mentioned before, we can be active as we wait on God to bring us along a husband and in fact I believe we should be! We can be busy and as we continue to wait, rest, and trust God for His perfect timing to meet our every need. We are also to redeem the time and be productive developing skills and interests that the Lord has given us. Whatever it is God is calling us to be someday and if being a wife and mother is included in His plan for us, we will need a very broad range of knowledge and skills in many areas...some of these might include and are not limited to the following areas...

cooking/baking

cleaning

organizing

basic home repairs

finances

business

first aide
hair cutting/styling

nutrition

childcare

teaching/counseling
home management
scheduling

sewing

home decorating

hospitality

ministry

basic vehicle maintenance

gardening

music

(The above is a small list of the many different things that come to my mind to which can be studied and developed and it is certainly not an exhaustive list, but is merely presented to give some ideas to consider and spring off of. So, feel free to add to the list! :) )

If God is preparing us to be a helper to our future husband, we want to be diligent to assist him as best we can and in the meantime we can put our giftings to good use right where God has us at this very moment!

Let's prepare for the future, but don't forget the needs and calling God has for us in our current season of life!

Blessings to you all!
~Chloe~  :)

~Books by Leslie Ludy~

I recently learned of some books written by the authorist Leslie Ludy. After the book "Set Apart Femininity" was recommend to me by four Christian young ladies, from two different circles of friends, I decided to take the plunge and order a few of her books to see what they were about. The three books I chose to begin with are pictured below. To my delight, so far I have found them to be quite encouraging and refreshing! :D

Leslie's writings have a fun, personal style! They inspire you to develop a personal relationship and romance with the ultimate prince, Jesus Christ, above all else! They encourage you to cultivate true feminine loveliness, which can at times, seem to be a lost art these days. You can visit Leslie's website www.setapartgirl.com for more details about each of these books along with the many other ones she has written, and to read additional articles along with her magazine for set apart young ladies!

(Note: Leslie is rather straight forward on some topics and because of this, I would probably recommend them for older young ladies. However, other portions are certainly good for all ages! A mother or older sister just might want to read though the books first, to determine the appropriate age for them to be read... or which parts. ;))

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :)

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."

~Proverbs 31:30~

~Going Deeper~

Have you ever felt a tug on your heart to cultivate a more intimate relationship with God and to deepen your walk with Him? Maybe you have just come to know the Lord or perhaps you have recently been inspired by the way someone else, whether in person or through a faith inspiring biography, in how close they seem to be with the Lord and how their relationship with Him seems to be such a personal and ignited one. "How I would love for my relationship with God to be like that! " you may say.

Whatever the reason may be, that longing is GOOD and God desires to have a close relationship with each one of us as well! A relationship with Him is not necessarily forced upon us however...God is a gentleman. He extends a hand toward us and expects us to take hold. In His word he tells us...

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..."

~James 4:8~

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

~Matthew 6:33~

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you..."

~Matthew 7:7~

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

~Jeremiah 3:33~

"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

~Hebrews 7:25~

"...let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

~Hebrews 10:22~

To me, these seem like "action verses". God desires to have a close relationship with us and we need to do our part to cultivate it. One way we can do this is by reading God's Word, the Bible.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

~John 1:1~

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness..."

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

~Romans 10:17~

If you want to get to know someone well, it requires spending quality time with them, listening, talking, learning what they like/dislike etc. In the same way, we can become closer Jesus by spending time at the feet, reading His Word. By doing this we can become "in tune" with Him and His will for our lives.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..."

~John 10:27~

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

~Luke 10:38-42~

As with Martha, it is easy to get so busy with everyday life that we wind up missing out on what is really important. 2 Timothy 2:4 tells us...

"No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer."

In order to make Bible reading a priority in our lives this may require saying "No." to some activities...even if they are not necessarily a bad thing, in order to free up time getting to know God more! God always gives us enough time in the day to accomplish what He would have for us to be doing. If one's not finding enough time in their day...it may be time to reevaluate some priorities. There's a saying...

"Good, better, best

never let it rest,

until your good is better

and your better is best"

Let's strive for excellence!

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

~Philippians 4:13~

"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

~Psalms 37:4~

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."

~Joshua 1:8~

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."

~Psalms 1:1-3~

Though prayer, we can talk with God to share our hearts and concerns, our joys and accomplishments...our all.

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

~1 Peter 5:7~

When one sets aside time to memorize and meditate on God's Word, He is so good to bring specific verses back to mind that can be extremely timely in providing strength, courage, peace, direction...whatever the need may happen to be at that particular moment. ("And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:19~)

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

~Psalm 119:11~

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

~Jude 1:24~

The book "Before You Meet Prince Charming" offers some good suggestions in deepening your relationship with Christ. Here are a few highlights.

~Spend time alone with Him

~Learn to get to know Him

~Treasure His love letter to you

~Understand what He has done for you

~Frequently tell Him of your love

~Demonstrate your love by your actions

~Tell others about His greatness

~Worship Him

~ Be attentive to the gifts He gives you

~Keep journals of your times together

~Run into His arms whenever you need comfort

May we all strive to seek Christ in all we think say and do. To make Him our all and to continually grow deeper in our walks with the Lord, so that our lives are full and overflowing with the goodness of Him! May God bless you all!

~Chloe~ :)

"Draw near to God..."

and He will draw near to you..."

~James 4:8~

Hello all and welcome to my new blog! :) My desire and goal for this site is to encourage other young ladies in their walks with the Lord, as I strive to draw closer to Him myself! I've thought about possibly sharing/reviewing inspiring books that I've read...faith builders, books that encourage and cultivate godly womanhood and femininity (we might even do a book study together!), encouraging quotes, hospitality and organizing ideas, inspirational songs etc...but most importantly studying God's word and cultivating a personal relationship with Him! It should be exciting to see where the Lord leads!

Many blessings to you and may we draw closer to Jesus!

In Christ,

~Chloe~ :)

Click here for a beautiful song titled:

Closer to Jesus ;)