Think about it………

 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of (to) those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Wow! That is a very powerful verse that is still completely applicable today. There are 5 ways in which we are to be an example to other believers. In our speech---if our speech was the standard for everyone, then how would the world be talking? In our conduct---how do we conduct ourselves in public or at home? Is there any difference? What if the world took our lead and followed our conduct, would it be a better place? In love---do you have the overflowing love of Christ abounding in you?  Is it unselfish  or dependant on the circumstances? In faith---do you have your own faith? Is it real? Is it living? Is it active? In purity---are we allowing ourselves to be stained by this sinful, wicked culture we live in or constantly being purified by gazing intently on the face of our LORD? We all are examples whether we want to be or not. The question remains, what kind of examples will we be?  Let no one look down on your youthfulness!  Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we can’t be shining examples for the LORD! Let’s go change our world!

Because of Grace,

Maiden Princess

What Is Love?

By Maiden Princess

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” Proverbs 10:12

I was reading my Bible this morning not really having a reading in mind so I was just going from passage to passage looking for something to hold onto for the rest of the day.  The LORD led me to this verse in Proverbs. As I chewed on this for awhile, many thoughts came to mind.

First, I thought of the great love of our God, to send His only Son to this cruel, cold world knowing the whole time that His purpose was to give His life. Was it harder for Him or for the Son to be obedient to the point of death on the cross, giving all glory to Father? 

Secondly, I thought about all the verses that talk about love in the Bible.  What is Biblical love?  How can love cover all transgressions? My mind flipped to 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the “Love Chapter”. I shall type some of it here for you because I think it is so important.

          “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor; and if I surrender my body to be burned, but not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, it not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;”  1 Corinthians 13:1-8a

          “Love covers all transgressions.” Proverbs 10:12b  That is the kind of love I want to have for everyone I come in contact with.  I am afraid though, that I am woefully wanting in that area.  I won’t dismiss it with a, “Well, we’re all a work in progress, honey” attitude. We are all called to perfection, “Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

I am charged to be perfect and although I know that I will never be perfect because I have already sinned and unfortunately will continue to sin, even if unintentionally, I must strive for (reach for, strain for) that with the might of all my being.  God expects perfection, and although full of mercy and forgiveness, His standards will not change. When I fall, I repent, but my mark is to constantly be like Him in my life, to be a perfect reflection of Him to the world.

I would not shoot an arrow towards the target and yet not be bothered when I constantly missed the bulls eye. I would accomplish nothing in my feat if I wasn’t even trying to hit the mark. Saying that it doesn’t really matter anyway. How could I ever expect to be a good shot when I didn’t even practice or try to perfect my skills?  I’m not saying that we must beat ourselves up about not being perfect every time we fail. But, what if we, instead of putting the emphasis on grace that covers you, (which it does and I’m poo-hooing grace in any way) put the emphasis on trying not to sin.  Sin is still sin, not matter how much grace will wash it away.  I don’t want sin in my life. Which brings us to the next point.

Recently the LORD has shown me that I have let my passion for Him die down and allowed coldness towards Him into my heart. I don’t want that to happen. Throughout this cycle of feasts this fall (so far we have celebrated Simcha Torah, The feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanna, and Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement) the LORD has revealed to me that I put on a good show but the things I once did out of the passion in my heart for Him has quickly turned into a sense of duty.

I don’t want to read His Word daily out of duty, I want to do it out of a burning love and passion. I want to get to the point where I just can’t get enough of God! It is very hard to be so brutally honest with all of you, but I know that by being totally and completely honest it will open up room for you to share, and therefore we can grow together.

I want to have the kind of love that covers all transgressions.  I want to really get it in my heart that if I don’t have love, I have nothing! I am nothing without love!  I want to love God with such a passion and such emotion that it just spills over into the rest of my life. I don’t want any touch of coldness to douse my fire for Him.  I want to pursue Him and never stop!

So I ask Him to help me love Biblically, to change my perspective on love.  To realize that when you love someone you just don’t say, “I love you”.  When you love someone you encourage them, you challenge them, you (hopefully) strengthen them, you sharpen them, you serve them, you elevate them to a place above yourself (not that you neglect yourself), and…well, the above verses in 1 Corinthians says it all. I want to love like that!  I want to love deeply, with my heart, not just my words.  I want to give love that costs me something. I want to be excited about loving people. I am excited about loving God.

Is anybody else excited about loving God tonight? Let me hear you say Amen! If we can’t be excited about loving God then we have truly missed the mark! If you aren’t excited about loving God, examine your heart and ask Him to reveal to you what is hindering your relationship with Him. 

I feel like I am finally get back to the place where I have the joy of the LORD!  I want to be His child.  When you realize that He loves you and the rules He gives are for your good, it frees you to have joy!  Obeying Him is a joy, living for Him is a joy, being purified by Him is a joy, serving Him is a joy, loving Him is JOY!

Praying That You’re All Feeling the Spirit Move In You,

Maiden Princess

Die! Die! Die!

By Maiden Princess

“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2

Lately, I have really been fighting against giving in to the desires of my flesh.  I know that, as a Christian, I have been delivered from the power of sin has and that it no longer has any hold over me except what I allow it, but for some reason I just keep giving in to the temptation of satisfying my flesh.  I do desire to do the will of God and not be ruled by my flesh but, boy, it sure is hard!  You see, my biggest fear in life is.......pain!  For me to beat down my flesh is very painful but maybe God is asking me to suffer a little?  In fact, from the beginning of the verse we see that by suffering we know that we are doing what is right.  God never promised me that being His servant would be easy, painless, or fun; but it is very rewarding!  Personally, when I say “no” to my flesh and “yes” to God’s voice in my life the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction far outweigh any pain I may have to endure for the present moment.  So then, I suppose, as much as I fear pain, I will willingly kill the desires of my flesh to follow the will of God and count it all joy!  For you see, His “Well done daughter” means more to me than any pain I may have to go through today, tomorrow, or my entire lifetime.  What about you? Do you allow your flesh to hold you back from doing God’s will like I am struggling against?  Then put on your armor and walk with me to the battlefield on this clear, sunny morning.  It will be a bloody and gruesome and probably take more energy than anything you’ve ever done before but the rewards far surpass the casualties.  So pick up your sword and let’s fight!

May God be glorified in my life and yours forevermore!

Maiden Princess

* I wrote this on May 5, 2009 but I thought it's message still relavent to today!

URGENT! Please Pray for the W. Baby

        The dear W. Family is in need of prayer again.  Mrs. W. had an emergency c-section in the wee hours this morning because his heart rate dropped dramatically.  The W. family was blessed with a 2.5 pound little boy with very dark (almost black) hair.  Amy says he looks normal just very small.  Although he is not out of the woods yet, he is holding his own and we are hoping that he will grow stronger by the day. With that said, he is on blood pressure medicine because it has a tendency to go too low, he is on a ventilator because his lungs are not yet fully developed, he is also very small.  The doctors also said that they might be concerned about some stiffness in his legs.  They won’t say it’s anything, but they’re gonna keep an eye on it. I told Amy we’d pray that specifically if there was a problem there that God would heal him and that the doctors would not find anything!  Please also keep praying for the family as the death of little Jonathan is still so fresh in their minds (his death was in June). I’ll keep you updated as we go.  The doctors won’t say that he is going to die but it is at least looking up for him. I believe that Amy told that the first 24 hours is the hardest.  PLEASE PRAY! 

          Nothing is too insignificant for the LORD to tend to, our God is big enough for even the smallest things.  Our God reigns, in Him alone is the power to heal. The power to give and take away. Blessed be His name!

In Him Alone,

Maiden Princess

25 Day Beautiful In HIS Eyes Challenge

        Recently, I read an article over at Miss Toria’s Ministry site. (www.pure-little-ladies-ministry.blogspot.com ) It was about inner beauty and how it doesn’t really matter if we look perfect or “acceptable” in the world’s eyes. It was about what the LORD thinks of us and challenging us to find our contentment in being beautiful in His eyes.  Most young ladies, like to seem beautiful in the eyes of others, but especially young men.  I am afraid I am guilty of this myself.  I believe it is very natural for a young woman to want to look beautiful to a man.  However, just because it may be natural for us to want that, doesn’t mean that it’s always right.  To want to cause young men to stumble over us or our appearance is sinful.  Why would we want any man, but especially a man who claims to walk with the LORD and is trying to save his heart for the one woman the LORD has for him, to let their eyes linger on us thinking about how lovely we look?  Now, I’m not saying that wanting to look nice or pretty is sin.  It is the motive behind it that can be sinful.  When we apply makeup do we do it in such a manner as to think, “Well, I wonder if so and so will notice how cute I look today?” or “I just can’t go outside of the house without makeup on, someone would see what I really look like!”  or “I’ve got to compete with the girls of the world to gain the attention that I need to make me feel beautiful and since I’m not that great looking I guess I need some makeup on.” On the other hand, makeup can be applied in an attractive and subtle way that looks natural.  The motive behind it can be pure as well.  If you just want to look your best for your Father or if it’s a special occasion or you just need to cover up some blemishes then there is nothing wrong with that, in my eyes. It only becomes a problem when you become obsessed with it and want to use it as a means in which to bring attention to yourself.

            Generally, I try to make sure my makeup is modest.  Not flashy, or too bold, just natural.  However, recently I have been becoming more and more “addicted” to it.  I liked the way it made me look, I liked the way it made me feel (ie: more confidante about myself), I liked the attention I got from it.  Unfortunately, although my intentions in wearing makeup were good I found myself using it as a crutch for real beauty. 

            There is another dimension to the usual web of sin girls get caught in with the wanting of attention.  I have found that I struggle more with wanting to be noticed and thought of as beautiful by others when I don’t feel like I’m beautiful to my father or spending time with my Heavenly Father enough.  See I know in my head that God thinks I’m beautiful but unless I let HIS beauty saturate me and I behold His beauty and have a relationship with Him, I lose sight of that.  The same with my earthly father, if I feel like he doesn’t think I’m beautiful or if he hasn’t told me lately then it is hard for me not to look to other earthly men to fill that void. I believe, as I said before, that all young women and women in general have a need to know that they are beautiful.  Ultimately though, we need to hear it from the One who created us.  We need to know that God thinks we’re beautiful.  So how do we make ourselves beautiful in HIS eyes?  Well, He already thinks we’re beautiful just as we are but we can make ourselves more attractive in HIS eyes by trying to take on His character.  Because He is beautiful beyond comprehension, we too can become more beautiful by becoming like Him.  This takes discipline, this is painful, this is time-consuming, but the results are 100% guaranteed.  It takes more to clothe yourself in inner-beauty instead of the 10 minutes to put on some mascara, eye shadow, and blush, but the beauty that is cultivated in your heart will be unfading.  It will never wash off or go away.  It will be more attractive to those around you and you will find yourself more at peace than ever before.  Again, our intent is NOT to draw attention to ourselves but to bring glory to God.  We cultivate inner-beauty because we know it pleases Him. 

            Again I believe that the LORD has given all of us women the desire to please our men by being beautiful for them but we should not abuse this by playing with the emotions of men.  Until we are married and want to be beautiful for our husbands, we should only be concerned about pleasing our fathers and looking beautiful in their eyes.  Of course, throughout our lives our main concern should be looking beautiful in the eyes of our LORD.  So don’t feel bad that you have the desire to look beautiful.  It is a desire that is God-given, but even some of those God-given desires can be used to fulfill our flesh.   So make sure that you use your desire to be beautiful to please God.  

            So back to my reason for writing this, while I was reading that article at Pure Little Ladies Ministry I was convicted that I should abstain from makeup for 30 days* so that I could completely focus on making myself beautiful in God’s eyes.  I wanted to focus on making the LORD happy and remembering that from Him, and Him only comes my beauty.  My eyes have been opened to what a true love for the LORD out of a pure conscience can do to your countenance. When you truly love the LORD it shows.  When you are in love with Your Prince, you glow!  So what do you say, do you wanna join me in the 25 day “Beautiful In HIS Eyes” challenge? 

Trusting In His Faithfulness,

Maiden Princess

*I am doing a 30 day challenge but I just haven’t had time to post about it, so now it’s only 25 more days left!

Out of Focus

" But seeing the wind he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?'"  Matthew 14:30-31

Recently while I was on vacation I had an experience with blurry vision.  Not physically but spiritually.  I was busy and on-the-go and I neglected to let God be first priority in my life.  I was out of focus.  This verse has always been one of my favorites for so many reasons, but today I want to look at "Seeing the wind....and beginning to sink,"  When we take our focus off our Lord and Master, if we take our own little path, and think our way is most certainly the better road God has placed us on; we're treading on dangerous water.  Somehow while on our way to Him, we stop and take heed of our surroundings, suddenly doubting what He says is not the truth, as if wanting to figure it out for ourselves and have our own opinions in what He's going to do with our lives.  We stop there for awhile, just standing on top of the lake, testing the waters, so to speak...wanting to see if God's way really is what's best.  Then we begin to sink...a little water at the ankles first, not much to notice, but soon we are up to our necks and we cry out, "Lord, save me!" as Peter did.  How could this happen?  We wanted to serve God with all our hearts...why are we struggling so much?  How did we allow ourselves to be caught up in the fast-paced tide of this world, when we really know that God only desires our best?

Notice His response...."Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of Him."  He looks at us with sorry eyes and the pain of his broken heart is evident in His voice.  “‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Why did you not believe that my way was best?  Why did you not trust me to bring you safely through?  Did your taste of the world satisfy or only leave you with scars and regrets?

If we are not focused on our Father, then what is it that we are looking to?  Is this new object blurring the lines of truth, justice, and obedience out of a pure conscience?  Are we losing our innocence and inner beauty?  Are we becoming consumed with our outer appearance so that we can impress, instead of being concerned about what the status of our heart so that you can bless God?  When we don't focus on God, it's like seeing the world through blurry eyes.  This is very dangerous and hurtful.

God wants us to trust Him implicitly with our whole hearts and minds.  However, if you have wandered away and rejected the glasses He so lovingly offers there is forgiveness and hope in His comforting arms.  He will carry you to the boat and you can start afresh.  Once you have been swallowed by the waves, you will realize why He is the best thing you can ever have and stand more firmly in your resolve that He can be fully trusted.  Look into His eyes today as you cross this lake that we call earth, lock your gaze into His and be fully satisfied in the love that it holds.

You do not need to look beyond, for in Him is everything you need and are hoping for.

Put on His glasses, let your vision become clear, and walk hand in hand with our Savior to His destination for your life.  Though the waves may offer some tempting things, He is the only one who can truly be your all in all.  He can hold and heal your heart. 

Peace to You,

Maiden Princess

Dear Readers,

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post.  I have had an extremely crazy week and my weekend will be even more hectic.  However, although this will be short because of my lack of time to write something longer, the thoughts I am about to share with you have to do with just those subjects.

In the midst of my business and lack of time this week I have noticed that more than once my morning time with the LORD has been pushed aside so I can do other things that seem more "necessary".  I have also noticed that when I take the time to read and pray, even if it's only for 10 minutes, that it makes such a difference in my attitude and ultimately my day.  So my encouragment for all of you is, no matter how crazy your days, weeks, or weekends are make time to cultivate the most important relationship in your life. 

What are you making time for today?  For what is really necessary or what you "think" is important?

Because of HIS Grace,

Maiden Princess