Where Are the Good Guys?!

I'm not going to sugarcoat this post today.

I often hear women (including my past self) ask the mind-boggling question: "Where are all the decent men in this world?"

Those desirable men's answer: Where are all the decent WOMEN?

Realizing that the revolting revolution of "ladies" giving into the "change in times" has literally created new, less-improved godly women, has made me develop a whole new mindset. I have truly been enlightened through much self-reflection and observation of my fellow comrades. This is a simple cause and effect scenario: Women aren't being what they were created to be-humble, loving, nurturing, submissive (hey, it's biblical) and resourceful, therefore, why should we be surprised that men, today, aren't being our Knights in Shining Armor? We can't even be the Cinderellas. We've become the crazy, self-indulged Stepsisters!

We have become the Rocky Balboas, the do-it-ourselves, the Miss Independents, the belchers and farters, the outspoken, masculinized figures. We have become power-hungry and self-satisfying monsters. Why would any man want to "rescue" or "serenade" a woman who gives off guy-pal vibes or thinks punching him in the arm is flirting? Where's the fun in that? I'm sure, to be frank, it's quite awkward for them and very unappealing.

Let's be straight here; I'm not making excuses for ill-mannered men who have no manly bones in their body, think chivalry is for pansies and would rather pay someone to fix something or mow their lawn because they simply are too good for laborious work. That's a whole 'nother blog post. Read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge! This will explain what a man needs, should be and was created to be! A must-read for every woman!

So, when you find yourself asking where are all the good ones and why are all the good ones taken, ask yourself what are you doing to attract those "good ones"? It may be extremely shameful, yet eye-opening.

There's nothing wrong with being independent, but there's also nothing wrong with being a bit soft and vulnerable. In order for you to find your Prince Charming, you must be the princess longing for your one true love! Proverbs 31 will show you how!


PS! I finally found my Prince Charming, girls! He came with a horse :) We are getting married June 9! God really does write your love story if you let him.

Follow Brynlea on Twitter @bryntayl and her blog, http://fabyoulousgals.blogspot.com/

Sisters of Encouragement

Have you ever seen one of those people who encourage everyone they meet? They usually are really outgoing, super sweet, and ready to do anything to help at a moment's notice. Their lives look all together. We look at them and wonder, Why can’t we be that way too? Why do they get to have everything all together and we have to be the ones suffering? It can be frustrating at times, I know.

Pushing all of our feelings of envy aside, we need to stop and realize that these people are not all together. Although they look like everything is going great, it is not always that way at all. As sisters of Christ, we should always be encouraging to one another, and to others. The next time you see someone who looks like they are having a bad day, stop and ask them what’s up. Be there for them, and encourage them. So remember, the next time you see someone who is hurting, afraid, or even really encouraging…stop and ask them what you can do for them, how you can pray for them, or if they just want to talk. This holiday season, remember to encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ.

In His Love,
Angelica

Just One of Those Days

Has anyone ever had one of those days when you're like, "I couldn't possibly come before God today. I've done way too much bad stuff, compromised so much, I never have time for Him, and there's just so much wrong in my life."

Let me tell you something. So you feel like you can't come before God because it's your worst day ever? YOU CAN'T COME BEFORE GOD ON YOUR BEST DAY EITHER. If you have ever sinned in your entire lifetime, you aren't ever going to be good enough to come before God at all.

"Isn't this supposed to be an encouraging blog?"

Yes. Bear with me.

Romans 5:6-8 (New Living Translation)

 ⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Did you catch that? While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You see, God didn't choose you to be His daughter because you were good. He chose you because He loves you even though you're not good. This is one of the most amazing, awe-inspiring things about the character of God: He's able to love you more than you could fathom on that "worst day ever."

It doesn't matter what you have done. It doesn't matter how bad you are. All God wants from you is for you to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, NLT).

All God wants from you is to love Him more than anything. Everything else (trying to stop sinning, loving others, living correctly, etc) will follow after that and spill out of your love for God.

So the next time you feel like "How could I ever come before God NOW?" give the devil a black eye by coming and being with your Savior anyway. Definitely tell God that you're sorry, but letting shame or guilt come between you and God only magnifies what Satan has done. Instead, magnify what God has done by letting His freedom set you free.

~Joelle

What God Thinks

GOD ADORES YOU! You might not think you are anything special but you are more special than you can even imagine to God. God sent his Son, Jesus to die for each and every one of us (Romans 5:8). He died and rose again so that we could be freed and forgiven (1 Peter 3:18) from the mistakes we make. It is so hard at times as a teen and even for some adults to acknowledge that God's love is so much greater than any love any human (including a guy you might be dating!) can give us. Sometimes we get so tied down by what people think and we let it eat away at our hearts. But what God thinks is what matters and He thinks YOU ARE SPECIAL! He loves you with an everlasting love and it's through the understanding and acceptance of His love for us that we find freedom. Let me let you in on a secret....even when you feel you can't go to anyone on this earth, Jesus wants to be your best friend, and he qualifies for the greatest bestfriend you could EVER have. He wants to sit with you when you are hurting (Psalm 34:18). He wants you to tell him everything you are feeling (Psalm 10:17-18). He knows it all already, so you might as well tell him about it, right??? He will not turn away from you and leave you abandoned. He wants a personal relationship with you because you are His most prized possession (1 John 4:9-10)! What you have done in your past, He will forgive if you ask...what He longs for is for you to come to Him with an honest heart (Hebrews 4:16) and make it right, ask for forgiveness if you've done something wrong, ask Him to take away the shame, guilt, or self-hatred you may feel. He wants you to be free from the hurts in your life. He wants to walk beside you all the way!

HE LOVES YOU THAT MUCH!!!

From Restored by Love Ministries, our affiliate

Unearned Love

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." -Romans 5:1-2

The only thing that God has us do to receive His grace is to have confidence in the Truth of the gospel. That's grace. There is nothing that anyone in the world -- murderer or enormous missionary -- can do to earn the love of God. The cross and the empty tombstone proved that the Creator loves all of us equally, despite what we have done, thought, said, or been. Or the things you are doing, thinking, saying, or who you are. (And let's face it, every single one of us is wretched.)

In our world, we have to earn stuff most of the time. But God's love was not earned by anything we did. Even if we rejected Him and our sins sent us to Sheol after we died, He still loved us.

The question is if you really, truly grasp this...or if you're still caught in the legalism that Jesus came to overcome. Do you have some idea that Jesus doesn't love you as much as your fearless evangelistic friend or that guy you know who is starting a charity for God's cause? (Or anyone else.) Don't do anything to try and earn God's love. Our deeds that are done out of religious obligation, pride, or a vain way to get His attention are filthy rags to Him. But deeds done out of a pure heart that is grateful for how God loves you and how His Son took our penalties? To Him, those are precious jewels that He uses to draw other men to him.

Just accept it:

GOD LOVES YOU!

Now, what are you going to do about it??

Be thankful for that never-ending, unearned love, and love Him back, because the Master of the universe who loves every single one of His messed up creations completely deserves it. And tell others about this incredible affection and adoration He has for us!

The Romance

“The disciples must have thought Jesus was crazy. Seriously. I can only imagine their faces.So confused, so perplexed, uncomfortably glancing back and forth between each other, wondering if they had misheard, wondering if someone could help them understand. Meanwhile, you got Jesus, unnerved, unfazed, just sitting there cooly, looking them dead in the eyes, asking them to marry Him. Yes, you heard me right…marry Him. With nothing more than a cup of wine, no less, the Lamb of God was proposing. So you can imagine their confusion right? “Wait. What? Come again? Jesus, you feeling alright brotha? I mean, I don’t think that I’m exactly what you’re looking for! You want to think about what you’re saying for a minute?”

Of course, we don’t see it that way, because we’re not Jewish. But they were, and they did. See it that way, I mean. “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” We hear these words and we think Communion, Eucharist, Last Supper. The disciples heard this and they’re thinking wedding bells.

Apparently, “in those days,” when a Hebrew man decided to take for Himself a Hebrew woman, he’d go to his father and say, “Her, Dad. I want to make little rabbis with her.” So then the dad would go to her dad and they’d talk camels, or sheep, or whatever the payment was going to be, and after they’d settled on a figure, the groom would call in all his friends and family, set a table in the middle of a room, set the aforementioned girl down in front of said table,break out a cup, fill it with wine, and set it in front of her saying, “This is my covenant with you, take and drink it.” And if she did, that was her answer. With a simple gulp and swig, she was saying, “I do,” and that was it. No rings, no fancy songs or dinners,just a cup and an invitation. And oh yeah, all their relatives sitting in the room watching. I mean, talk about pressure. But yeah, that was it. Her lips to the glass was the same as saying, “I accept your life, and I give you mine in return.”

Now, If the girl said yes, “in those days,” she would then go immediately back to her home, where she would be known as, “one who was bought with a price.” It’s true. That was her name. Kind of long and tedious, and extremely hard to shout out in a game of soccer, but that was it. And with her new identity, she would go back to her town, and start preparing for the wedding. And really, she’d just start waiting for future husband to finish what he had to do and come and get her. What was he doing? Well, during the engagement, the groom’s primary responsibility was to build a mansion for him and his bride to be.

Now girls, before you get too excited, let me explain. “Mansion” in Hebrew means, “apartment.” And what’s even better is that this apartment was actually more like an addition, because the groom would build it onto his parents pre-existing house. Yes. You heard me correctly. Their first home would be with the in-laws. And right now, I can just imagine how many girls are thinking, “oh please don’t let me marry a Jewish boy.” It’s true though. He would build his “mansion” onto the family “insula,” which is what they would call the family dwelling. You see, the entire family would just keep building on and building on until you had what was basically a city block, all comprised of one big bustling Jewish family. (And you thought My Big Fat Greek Wedding was bad) Crazy, but also true.

Well, as you can imagine, this process could take quite a while. I mean, it’s a house for crying out loud. Some scholars say it was six months, or even a year before the poor guy was finished. And get this, the only one who could decide if it was finished was the father. So he’d be working and working and working, and every day looking to his dad, saying, “Are we done yet?” And I can just imagine the father messing with him. Taking his time, looking it over, and then just saying, “Almost.” Could you imagine? Oh, the agony! And to top it all off, the groom and the bride weren’t even allowed to talk to each other. Nothing. Nada. Zip. They couldn’t see or speak to one another during the entire engagement, except for one outlet. The best man. He’d be the instant messenger if you will. Taking notes back and forth between the doting couple. And those moments were probably pretty funny. “Here’s your note, ‘one who was bought with a price.’ Check yes, no, or maybe.” Unbelievable.

But you know, how much more beautiful would that day be when the father finally approved? That day when the groom was finally finished, and he could gather up his homeboys, or ‘groomsmen’ as we westerners would say, and imperiously march into his fiance’s town? Oh it was sweet. And that’s just what he’d do. He’d get his bridal party together and they’d come to her house, and without any prior announcement or advanced warning, they would blow a shofar, which was a ram’s horn that served as a trumpet, and upon hearing it, the pining bride would come bustling out her front door and practically straight down the aisle, and into her beloved’s arms. The period of waiting and wanting would be over, and the two would be united at last to consummate their long-awaited union. Joy. Happiness. Little Rabbis… You know, all the good stuff.

So then, back to the dinner table with the 12. Can you sense where this is going? Jesus breaks into this marriage proposal,

cup out, wine-filled, offering his covenant with them. They accept. “I do” to Jesus. Gulp, gulp. “I accept your life, and I give you mine in return.” So then, what does Jesus do? He explains how they have to spend some time apart. Naturally. Only this is going to be longer than a year. However, the best man was coming. His name? The Holy Spirit. So when Jesus leaves, off to get busy preparing a “mansion” for them, (“in my Father’s house there are many rooms”) He doesn’t leave them alone, but instead sends His own mediator, the Holy Spirit, to keep the messages going between Himself and his Beloved. Meanwhile, the bride is left behind in her town, keeping watch, day and night, not knowing the day, time or hour that the bridegroom will appear. Until finally, after a long-awaited return, and we’re talking seriously, long awaited; centuries and milleniums waited people, after this much awaited consummation, the Father alone will announce that the time has come, and Jesus will be coming back for all His faithful, all who are His bride. With a posse of angels and loud trumpet call of their own, He will take us home, to the marriage supper of the Lamb! And we will share in ever-increasing joy and intimacy with Him forever and ever. As C.S. Lewis so brilliantly articulated, “Further up and further in!”

And people still want to insist that Christianity is no more than a religion.

I don’t know about you but in light of this information, it puts Jesus in an entirely different light. He’s no longer an ideal, or a belief system. He’s a person. And to put it more precisely, He is a groom in love with his bride. And not just any bride, but a wayward, adulterous bride. A bride who is half-hearted at best, chasing other lovers and other interests more than Him. And still, He keeps on loving. He keeps on being faithful, He keeps his promises.

In the Old Testament, He tells his prophet Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman, to show everyone the way He loves his people. (see Hosea 3) In the New, He tells us that divorce will never be an option for Him. (Phil 1:6) Over and over and over again, From Isaiah, to Ezekiel, to Ephesians, He tells us that we are not just his children, but we are his bride. Faithless though we might be, we are His, and He is ours.

And like I said before, this changes everything. It changes the way I view prayer. It changes the way I view marriage. It even changes the reasons that I obey. As Donald Miller once said, “it’s a far different thing to break a rule, than it is to cheat on a lover.” I only pray that it changes things for you. ”


- Mike Donehey, Tenth Avenue North
http://tenthavenuenorth.com/blog/2009/06/19/chapter-9-beloved/