It's their 24th!!! :)

Happy 24th Anniversary Dad and Mom! :) 
We all love you guys so much and are blessed to have such wonderful parents who love each other and all of us a bunch! 

Ephesians 5:1-2Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

How To Catch a Man...according to a Kid :)

I was weeding around my oregano plant in the garden the other day. Gracie (5) was helping me, offering to pull up every weed she saw, whether they were valuable plants or not. ;) As usual, she was full of quaint little observations, but I was entirely unprepared for what popped out of her mouth. The Question of a lifetime.

"Rachie, when are you goin' to get married?"

I smiled at her and continued pulling the weeds out of the herbs. "Whenever God brings the right guy along." I looked sideways at her. Her little baby-face was studiously turned toward the task at hand, the picture of innocence. "How do you think I ought to find a husband, Lumpy?" I asked, eager to see what wisdom might fall from her sweet rosebud mouth.
She tossed her head back, rolled her eyes in the manner that is peculiarly hers, and grinned so that she showed every dimple in her face. "I fink Mom should take you to The City." (Since she's grown up living in the countryside, going To Town is a big ordeal, and The City a thing to be discussed for ages to come.) "You should leave the van on the sidewalk and then get out and walk around. You'll just find a man and he'll come back to the van with you and Mom and kiss you on the lips." (Her idea of getting married. A kiss is a covenant-sealer :)

I sat there, hand suspended in the air with a clump of green weeds dangling from it. Grace still looked as she had before--a sweet, dimpled, plump little girl with a heck of a smile. But this time there was a tinge of mischief lurking in those dimples. I laughed, and she laughed with me. The laugh of a little imp who knew she'd made a triumph.

    ....if only it were that simple. ;) 

The Apple Doesn't Fall far From the Tree ;)

We had a wonderful week at Daughters of Destiny and have come home tired, happy, and bitter-sweet, having left a number of good friends [old and new] back in Pinnacle, NC. :) I thought I'd share a very simple, very true thought the speaker shared on the very last night:

She said that we young ladies were like apples.

 We God-following, Christ-loving, pure young ladies are the apples on the top of the tree: the ones with the sweetest flesh, the best flavor, the  prettiest appearance. But the top of a tree can be a lonely spot.

 We see the young men who glance up at us on the top of the tree but are not brave or strong enough to make the climb. We see the apples at the bottom of the tree, within arm's reach, being plucked and taken home by the droves. But those apples, so available, are rotten on the inside. The real prizes are us, away up on the topmost branches. But as we watch the windfalls being picked up we begin to think that there must be something wrong with us. We must not be good enough--those rotten apples must be better....
Can you see where this is going? Mrs. Bjorlie (the speaker) cautioned us to wait and pray and know that the worth-while men, the ones who will fulfill all God asks in a husband, are the ones who have the strength of character and purpose to make the climb to the top of the tree to pick one of the best apples. We mustn't give up hope and complain that the rotten apples are being chosen--wouldn't it be far better to bide time and wait for the harvester who would appreciate the purity and beauty of a prize apple? I think so. :) ~Rachel

To put it shortly:

 

:) Gotta love it!

A Few Thoughts on My Husband.

Got your attenion, didn't I?
If there is one bad thing to be said about BBC dramas, I think it would have to be that they tend to leave us feeling a tad discontent. Not any big discontent, but a little twinge of, "Oh dear. Are there really any Mr. Darcys out there?" I am guilty of such thoughts now and again, as are most girls. At the same time, I feel that most of the men in those movies have qualities worth keeping in mind for a future husband. The younger girls and I had just finished "North and South", and were discussing the main male character, Mr. Thornton.
"I wonder if there are really any men out there like him?" Leah mused. I laughed and replied, "Why don't you pray for your future husband that he will have some of the qualities you admire in Mr. Thornton?"
Leah looked at me in a shocked way. "Praying for someone you don't know right now?..."
I tried to explain the thinking of my proposition. I pray so often for my future husband, even though it is more than likely that I have never met him! Leah then asked me a question I have asked myself: "What if you don't get married? You would have been praying for no one!"
Believe it or not, I have thought of this question. And the answer I came up with is this: Perhaps I won't get married. But most people do get married, and chances are, I will. So would I give up the years I can be praying for my "Mr. Thornton", just on the outside chance he doesn't exist? I don't think so. Maybe I will be praying for a non-existing personage. But I feel that somewhere out there, the Lord is preparing a man for me, and I will not stand idly by hugging a weak "what if?". In Proverbs 31 it says that "she does him good, not harm all the days of her life." (emphasis mine) All the days include right now. And while I cannot very well be a help-meet to him in many ways, I can act as his right hand gal by being a prayer-warrior. Girls, it really helps battle discontent to pray for your future husband! Try it! It is amazing how much easier it becomes to wait. Don't worry about the "what ifs". As long as you understand that true fulfillment and contentment are found in Jesus, than pray as often as you want for your "someday" man! :) Here are some verses I found that apply:
Romans 12:12 "...rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...." I rejoice in the hope of having a husband someday. I will be patient in the times it is very hard to wait, and I will continue steadfastly in praying for him!

Psalms 139:16 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned fr me, when as yet there were none of them." God has a plan for me! It may include marriage, it may not! But He really does have it all written down! A great comfort!

Proverbs 15:29 "The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous." What can I say, but He is listening, and He does want to hear my heart? :)

Colossians 4:2 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving..."
So I am! :) I don't know about you girls, but someday, I have a feeling that my "Mr. Thornton" will be blessed to know that for many years, his wife has prayed for his safekeeping, his character, his well-being, and his relationship with the Lord. That's just about the best wedding gift I'll ever be able to hand to my beloved husband someday! :) -Rachel