Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
I made a pillow! This last tuesday, my friend Clare taught me how to sew. It took me 4 hours to make this. From the choosing of the fabric to the last stitch. It definitely goes with the color of my room and I'm just so proud of myself. I have never used a sewing machine but I really had fun sewing. I don't know what to make next but hopefully I could practice some more.
I recently got a new yellow purse/bag. It's 100% vinyl, made in China, and I got it on sale at Ross. Haha. Not ideal, but oh well. When I saw it, I immediately fell in love with it. For some reason, I feel like this new thing can represent how new I've been feeling in the last couple of days. A few weeks ago, my parents started a life group. They are studying the Song of Solomon. They are using Tommy Nelson's classic Song of Solomon study. After watching the first session with my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, and myself, I was really intrigued by the study. It did remind me of another sermon done by Mark Driscoll called The Peasant Princess. I've never seen that whole sermon, but I remember a woman from my college women's group mentioning it, though, I never really looked into it.
Well, I ended up watching the rest of Tommy Nelson's Song of Solomon study in two sittings and started watching The Peasant Princess. Song of Solomon really is a great study and has taught me a lot of what kind of woman I want to be for Christ first and then for my husband. Since I am not dating, God is who I am seeking to pleasure. And when God brings me a husband, we could be bringing pleasure to God within the confines of our marriage. And believe me, I can't wait, but this is my season of singleness that I could know God better, serve others, and focus on His will for my life right now (which has been awhile).
Too many times, I have caught myself thinking about the future and wanting it so badly when, of course, I have no idea how it's going to turn out. But I know it will not be how I would imagine. I would like to think that it will, but it won't. I psych myself up thinking that something might happen soon, but I "do not (want to) be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of (my) mind, that by testing (I) may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2. Now, that's the ESV translation. The NIV also translates it very nicely. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is --his good, pleasing and perfect will."
I started this entry about a bag and how it could represent new, but it's really about what's in the bag that represents new and/or growth. (I'm just excited about getting a new bag even though I'm not a big purse girl). For most of my time since I've moved home, I've been carrying around lots of books. Mainly, the bible, bible study books, books on theology or other Christian matters, and a couple fiction. Right now, I'm reading a book that I've read with my college women's group called "Practical Theology for Women". I just started rereading it, but this time, I got the actual book instead of the pdf file (which was free, but sometimes physical books feel better to hold). It is a good refresher, especially when I've been having interesting conversations at work, mostly with customers, about God and when one particular gentleman flat out told me studying theology was a joke. Hopefully I could see him again.
I am also reading a book that I stumbled upon at the library (even though I work at a bookstore, I still like checking out books for free AND for awhile). It's called "For Women Only". It is more catered towards married women, but the title intrigued me so much that I just had to read it. Even though I'm only a third into the book, the statistics found from the author's survey questions, her explanations and the men's stories are very informative. And while I was watching one of Mark Driscoll's sermons (I can't remember from what series), he actually refers to this book and recommends it.
The last readable thing in my bag is my journal. I've been carrying this in my bag(s) since I first written in it. Before writing this very sentence, I opened it and read my first couple of entries. My third entry I wrote exactly one year ago, October 1st, 2009. As I was reading my written prayers, there were some that were answered, some I have not prayed for in awhile, and some that I am still praying about today. It's crazy to see growth through journals, especially when you have faith in the Lord. For girls and women, most diary or journal entries are a time to vent and complain, which I just read in some of my entries, but I also read about joy and praising God. You're probably only going to find lots of praise for the Creator in a Christian woman's journal. Other women might be praising the created like a boyfriend, materialistic things, or their ego as if they're were a god. (I guess I just vented my opinion there).
Well, this entry was intended to be private and to be kept in my other computer journal, but God put it heavy on my heart to post it publicly. Just as my love for Christ should be public. I should not be ashamed of God, who he made me to be, and how he is working and teaching me in my life right now, and I can and will boldly say that I am not.
