Purity and Standards

This weekend, my friend and I had the privilege to take four teenagers to a purity conference.  It was a loooong drive.  Four.five hours to be exact.  Was it worth it?  YOU BET!  See, I LOVE the youth.  The youth is where my heart is.  It was such an honor to take these girls and pray with them and see God working in their lives.

Bro. Travis Plumlee was the speaker.  If you read my blog often, you know that I love listening to him preach the Word of God.  This man can deliver.  He knows how to make it funny for teens, but serious enough to where they actually listen.  Our preacher has the same gift!  I would say there was about 100 girls there all together.  I wanted to share some of the notes that I took.  Some of this may be a bit harsh, as in NOT what you want to hear, but it's the truth, and God says to speak the truth.

We are called to be Ladies of Honor.  1 Peter 3:3,4  "3-Do not let your adornment be merely outward-- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- 4-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."
Does this mean we aren't to fix our hair or wear nice clothes....NO.  This means that what is truly important is what is INSIDE your heart.  Jesus.  In order to let Jesus shine, you have to show it.  He doesn't shine through your designer clothes and your perfectly-in-place hair.  He shines through your spirit.

A man on your arm adds NOTHING to your relationship with Christ.  Stop looking for a man and look UP to HIM!  Girls are an ornament on His tree.

When we worry more about what we wear and how we look than what our spirit looks like, we are letting the world shine through us.  Let God be the inner part of your body shining through.

Be a unique woman.  Feminine does NOT equal weak.  A strong woman is one who can make a decision, has beliefs, character, and shows action.  Set a new path of society for women today.

Dating in the American society is soooooo messed up.  Think about it.  Do we say to our little ones, "oh you have a crush on so and so!  hahahaha!"  This is something I have done in the past, but not anymore.  I don't want my daughter to get her heart broken over and over and over. We are going to set standards for her.  Elementary, middle school, and junior high is way too young to think about boyfriends and girlfriends.  

Before you court or date anyone- PRAY about it.  Guard your heart.  It's God's treasure, not yours.  It's not yours to give out to a million boys.  Guard your heart through prayer.

Did you know that flirting produces lust?  Yes!  I see so many young girls flirting.  They are doing nothing but making it so much harder on young men to keep thoughts away.

The world says there is pleasure and joy in sexual impurity.  Strengthen your purity.  Memorize scripture.  If a boy asks you to go out- ask him to come to church.  If he wants to sit by you, have him sit by your parents.  If he truly is interested in you, he will come and pay attention to what you enjoy.

Those are just a few of the notes.  The main thing I wanted to talk about was standards.  This is something that I think is HIGHLY important for ALL young teens today.  Set standards in your house as to what you expect from them when it comes to boys/girls.
Courting is something I didn't hear about until recently.  Will I have Ruthie and Randy court before dating- YES.  This is something God has laid upon my heart and has taught me about.  Courting is saying, "hey, I like you, and think you are cute.  Let's get to know each other better through friendship and fellowship, supervised everywhere we go."  Dating will come later on in their teens, *maybe* around 18.  Standards will be set.  NOTHING should be done in courtship.  No hand holding, no kissing.  Hugging is ok.  Kissing can happen in dating, but in MODERATION.  A LOT of young teens at the purity conference want to save their kiss for marriage.  I think this is amazing.  They want to stay pure!  There will be no riding together in the same car.  Date in public places for at least 6 months.  Courting and dating is to make sure this person is the one you want to spend your life with.  Don't give your heart away to tons of boys.  You are giving bits and pieces of your heart away and that heart belongs to God.  Stay pure.  At the end of the conference, they were given the choice to sign a purity covenant. They didn't have to, but all of our girls did.  I wrote it down to remember when the time comes for Ruthie.  Here is what it said:

I promise my God, parents, my future mate, and myself to keep my mind and body morally clean and pure so that when I enter the marriage covenant, I will be able to give myself with a completely clean conscience to my mate.

I was SO grateful to have the chance to attend this conference.  I learned so much that will help me in my walk in motherhood with Ruthie.  Thank you Jesus for your awesome Word!  Thank you for giving me the knowledge to share this with my daughter when the time comes.  She is SO precious to me.

Another week has passed....

and I feel like nothing has been accomplished!  I have been super busy in photography and work.  We aren't even doing any after school activities, thank goodness!!  Photography is going great.  I have lots of people wanting photo shoots.  It is really tough for me considering I have two kids and work a full-time job.  I still enjoy editing though.  As you can see here, one night, we were waiting for Randall to come home from work.  I had just finished a photo shoot.  I couldn't help but do some quick shots of Ruthie for her kindergarten photo shoot.  We had good light, and plenty of time.  Plus, it was a gorgeous evening.  I had to edit a few and post here.

She is still loving K and Randy is definitely loving preschool.  I am so thankful.  Ruthie was never easy to drop off until K, so it's a big surprise to me that Randy is good with it.  I am soooooo grateful that they work so well with him in the potty'ing area.  Man oh man is he giving me a run for my money.  It's almost like he went totally backwards, which is super stressful.  He never has accidents there, and occasionally he has them at home.

We are doing a new study in youth class (I help) on Wednesday nights.  It's called "Not A Fan".  It's been really great to see how God works in youth.

Randall, the kids and I might be making a huge adjustment to our lives, but I can't discuss all the information here.  Maybe soon.  I just ask that you pray for us at this time. Thank you.   Now, for photos of my big K-girl!

Just love this one of her silly-self!

And these are just some simple ones I was dying to do.

Oh, and head on over to my photography blogsite and check the precious baby boy I was able to take photos of!  My good friend's baby who is totally giving me baby fever.

http://qrsphotography.blogspot.com/

Blessed

It is wayyyyyy past my bedtime, but I am up, and I am so full of joy right now. 

We had a great time at church tonight.  I sit in with the youth and we are doing a study of the book Crazy Love- GREAT book by the way.  Anyways, after we were finished, we were asked to go into the sanctuary wtih everyone else. 

We all gathered at the altar and talked about how hard it is for kids these days.  Their lives are so much harder than it was for us.  They have so many more struggles.  It shocks me to hear/see what these kids go through.  After our pastor spoke, we prayed for all the children.  From babies to college students.  God was there.  He is touching every single precious head there.  He is so good.  Afterwards, we headed to eat and had a great fellowship time with our church family. 

We are so blessed to have the pastor and pastor's wife we have.  They are so easy going and amazing.  They even came by Ruthie's game last night just to say hi and watch for a bit.  That was so precious to me.  I love that my children are being raised in God's house and they are being prayed for by so many different church members.  We are beyond blessed.  I just can't think of another word.  West Park has changed our lives for the better!

Loving Life

It's been quite a while since I posted.  I was trying to post more often, but time has gotten away.....again.  Imagine that huh?  I can honestly say though that things are going great right now.  I know that's the perfect chance for the devil to attack, but I trust that the Lord is beside me protecting me.

We've been super busy again.  Where do I begin....
Thursday night kicked off our "Marching for the Master" where the month of March is filled with different preachers and our revival.  Thursday night was the men and boys Beast Feast.  Yes, this is a very southern thing.  Whatever they kill, they cook it and eat it.  Yum right...um, not so much.  I am glad it's a men and boys thing and no ladies are invited! 

Friday night was the start of our revival!  We were privledged to have Bro. Travis Plumlee in our church delivering God's Word.  What a mighty fine job he did.  He talked about stress.  It was awesome!

Saturday DAY was the Hillbilly Youth Explosion.  Whew....that was a long and ENJOYABLE day.  It was about standing tall in the hall with Jesus!  I think it hit home with a lot of kids.

Saturday NIGHT was revival again.  It was amazing and exactly what I needed.  It was on anger.  Some of you may know me and I might not come across an angry person, but I fall short with this sin.  Not that anger is a sin, but how I react is a sin.  I am admitting to it and I am taking control of it.  God knows how to lay the right thing on my heart at the right time.

Sunday was another great day.  The lesson was over forgiveness.  I think this hit home with everyone. 

Bro. Travis taught me so much in the short amount of time he was here.  I honestly can't explain to anyone just how much it helped me.  I bought his book and I dove in and have learned so much.  I can say that even though I have only been reading it for 3 days, Ruthie and my relationship has improved more than words can describe. I am so thankful!  I have changed a lot of things and I truly believe I have become a better mother!

Some of our youth at the altar....such an amazing thing to see!

My niece Haley and Ruthie! 

Crazy busy...

but.....it's for God, so it's worth it!

Two weekends ago, Randall, Ruthie, Kristen, Corey, and I headed to Wynne, AR for a Lay Witness Mission (LWM). This was our second mission like this. Last summer, a man from our church approached Randall and asked him if we would like to be the youth coordinators for some of the missons. The first trip, we had no idea what to expect and were BLOWN AWAY by the youth. We enjoyed it so much. Words can't even describe it. This time, we had another amazing trip. I didn't get any photos, but my friend Kristen did.

Last weekend, we had a southern gospel quartet convention in Plumerville, AR. We took our youth and our youth did a drama for them. I am a huge fan of southern gospel. I was blown away by quite a few quartets! The youth were amazing and so well behaved. I wish I could share some photos of the youth, but I don't feel as though I have permission from parents to share on here. Although, I will say I finally got Facebook, and I have truly enjoyed chatting with my family, church family, mission family, and friends. I did post the photos over there, but you have to be a friend to view them.

This upcoming weekend, we have a revival coming up. Randall will be taking Randy to the Beast Feast Thursday night. Friday night- revival, Saturday day- Youth Explosion, Saturday night- revival, and Sunday day- revival! SOOOO EXCITED! Please say a prayer for our church that the Lord works in amazing ways!

So, that's what I have been up to lately. Time is going by so fast. The weather is warming up, so I am hoping to get some photos taken this week for my P52.

I will share this photo of my niece (who I am soooo proud of!) joining the drama. She's holding a sign that says "HEALED."


Here's my two handsome men!

One more for Jesus!

That's right! One more soul saved for Jesus. Who you might be wondering? My PRECIOUS niece! I am so excited. What an amazing opportunity to witness to her! My heart is so full of joy!

Our weekend with the youth was awesome. I truly feel as though the youth is where my heart lies. I love playing, teaching, and growing with them! We have an amazing youth group!

Friday night was the beginning of our youth retreat. Our topic was about being a disciple. It's awesome to me how God can touch me through a youth retreat. We ate dinner, had a lesson on dicipleship, and one thing we talked about was how important an altar is. Our youth leader had some rocks and asked the youth to build an altar. You can see in the photos below the altar and the youth at the altar.




Saturday, we started the morning off with a hike. God provided us with a gorgeous day and I am so thankful. We hiked along the river, learning some of the different names of God. She asked the students to share a moment when God was good to them. Whoever shared, received a block of wood with that name on it. Randall responded to get the kids up and going, and this is the one that he got. He told of how he strayed away, and how God was always there, and that it was RANDALL who strayed, not God.





When we got back, we were supposed to have Kurt Goodwin from EIM and Fastbreak Ministries share with us at the gym, but he was so sick he wasn't able to make it. He was in our prayers, and luckily he was able to share Sunday morning. What a great speaker. Since he was sick, we headed to the gym anyways, and played a few games of basketball!

When we got back, we watched an awesome video from Louio Giglio. What a fantastic speaker! If you work in the ministry- you need to watch this guy. Specifically the "How Great is Our God" video- AWESOME! It was about how God made little us, and how BIG the universe is and all He had to do was breath the stars out. It's a very life-altering video. After watching the video, the youth and quite a few members from the church headed to the cross. If you live around here, you know this cross from the interstate. Well, that's where we headed, to the cross in the night sky so we could see all of what God has created just for us. Perfect ending to the night with the youth. Randall finished us out with some amazing words.



The most amazing thing was, Saturday, I could see the my niece was feeling some confusion. I confronted her a few times trying to help clarify things. I wasn't sure if she was saved or not. Randall and I decided to explain things a little easier. She admitted that Jesus wasn't in her heart and she wanted Him to be, but she wanted to do it at home with her mom. I thought that was perfect! How sweet! So, we made it to her house and we sat down with her mom, step-dad, and her brother and she asked Him into her heart. Oh my, my heart is overflowing with joy! She is so precious to me and I can see the Lord growing in her more and more!

Week Two- {Project52}

Week two of P52 was a very, very cold week. We had a snow day on Monday, so that was the only day I got my camera out. Randall, the kids and I went out and played in the snow. I didn't keep my camera out long b/c I wanted to play as well! The first one of Ruthie is my offical P52- week 2 photo. The others are just for fun! They LOVED the snow! Even Randy which really shocked me!




Headed off this weekend with the youth for a youth retreat. Please keep us in your prayers!

a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

That's about the only word to describe it. Another crazy, busy weekend is what we had this weekend! I wouldn't do it any other way though!

Friday and Saturday night, our church held our 2nd annual DSQC (Deep South Quartet Convention) and it was awesome! We were only able to attend on Friday night, but we truly enjoyed ourselves. We didn't get to stay long b/c Randall was exhausted and we had to get up early the next morning.

Saturday, we woke up early to take Randy to my sister's house and pick up my niece to head to our youth rally! We took six youth with us to this rally and we had so much fun! We heard some amazing speakers and we sang some great songs. Ruthie went with us. I am pretty sure she had fun too!

Sunday, we had one AMAZING service. We had two of the groups there from the convention and they sang some great songs! (We had Cross Point and N Him) My favorite song was sung during the invitation. Tears were pouring down my face. We had youth up at the alter, their hearts were pouring out to God. It was amazing. That song touches me so deeply. We are going to buy that cd. The group sings it so well! If you have never heard the song When God Ran, you need to listen to it. You can hear part of it here. It's one of those songs that the lyrics are so much more than words. It's amazing.

We had one awesome weekend. I love church-filled weekends. Makes your Monday sooooo much better! To me, there is no better way to spend a weekend then with the Man Himself!

I also wanted to add that a blogger friend of mine is doing a give-a-way for a carving! I am in love with these! Check out Mari's blog!

40 days.....

My forty days are up, and everything inside of me is screaming! PLEASE do not think this is bragging or anything like that. I believe God is putting this on my heart for many reasons. I feel like I need to post about it!

Forty days ago, our youth group started a 40 day fast along with an AWESOME book study. If you are part of a youth group, or you enjoy books that make you dive deeper into Christ, this is the book for you. The book is titled A Call To Die by David Nasser. Seriously, this is an amazing book. We are not finished with the book study b/c we are only doing 5 a week. But, I can honestly say, that just doing 25 has made a huge difference in my life.

Fasting....what did I fast? Want to know what I wanted to fast? (The reason I bolded I is b/c I mean I and not what God wanted me to fast.) Pepsi. Yes, I thought giving up Pepsi would be a good way to get closer to God. I know that some people can do that. But, God was telling me something different, but I wasn't listening. I knew in the back of my mind that I needed to give up something that truly rules over my life. See, fasting isn't just about giving something up. If that was the case, it would be much easier right? Fasting is about giving something up and replacing it with the Word of God. God spoke to me the night we were deciding what to give up. I gave in because I knew that what He wanted was way more important than what I wanted. He told me to give up television. Seriously, ALL television for 40 days. I didn't even tell Randall until we got in the truck to go home! I felt bad in a way b/c if I was giving it up, he had to as well. He was all for it. We both knew that our study habits were not as good as they could be and tv was in the way.

So, some of you might be hoping that I caved and watched tv. Nope, I can honestly say I didn't. It was amazing to dive deep into His Word and watch myself grow. It was perfect, just what I needed. This taught me how much time was wasted in front of my tv. I also learned that my children were being pushed aside b/c of the tv. This fast forced me to not only pick up His Word, but to play with my children. Laugh, smile, giggle, run, play, and just look into their precious eyes and know that they are a gift from God. Words can not describe the stress that was off of my by not watching tv. I wasn't rushed, I didn't worry about if I was missing a show. I actually deleted about 4-5 shows off my dvr record list. Yes, I am still recording some, but this fast made me very aware of how much tv I did watch.

Yesterday (the last day of the fast), I picked up a magazine that was talking about being unplugged from the tv. This family started out with 5 days of no tv. They found time to spend with their children and just enjoy life as it is. I thought it was weird that I would find this magazine article on the last day of my fast. God didn't want me to go home and turn on the tv. He wanted me to remember how amazing it was to be with Him and my family.

So, I head home and I talk to Randall about making a family night once a week, on a night that he is off. I think we will start out with a devotional, kid-style, and then do something we want to do. I am starting a list of fun things, and when I mentioned them to Ruthie, her idea was to color eggs. So, you will soon be seeing a post of Ruthie and Randy coloring eggs in the middle of October! LOL! If you have any great ideas of what else we could do, please let me know in the comment box. I have some, but I would like to have more so Ruthie & Randall can help decide!

My challege to you is to unplug yourself for however long you feel, and just dive into His Word!

cheer1-web

cheer1-web
Originally uploaded by sadieruth

HERE WE GO!
We have officially started games. Which means, two nights a week of fun filled cheering! Ruthie is in heaven! She loves it! It amazes me how much she does love it! She's so happy! If she's happy, we are happy! We enjoyed watching her last night! She's good too! She listens really well to the coach and pays close attention and tries her hardest! She's a doll! (Apparently I like to use the (!) too much.)

Randall was off so he was able to join us. Randy loved it too b/c they use the outfield of the softball field for the football field. (I couldn't think of another word to replace field with sorry!) So, right behind us was a bunch of DIRT! Randy had a ball! He was covered from head to foot. I am sure some of it was digested as well!



Tonight, we are headed to the local youth shelter to visit with the youth there. Youth is where our heart is and we truly enjoy going to the shelter. It's amazing how "full" we feel when we leave. I just hope and pray we touch their lives as much as they touch ours. The kids enjoy going as well. There is one special boy there that has truly touched Randall's heart and tonight we are presenting him with a Bible. He's such an awesome young man who has went through too much. Please keep him in your prayers!