I Wanna Be Beautiful

Ecclesiastes 3
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
8 A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

"Beautiful" By Bethany Dillon is one of those songs that will tug at the heart of every teenage girl. While I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm still a girl, and I'm a human being. I think that somewhere inside of everyone is the desire to be "Beautiful".

"He has made everything beautiful in it's time." Some days I feel like I'm still very much unbeautiful. I feel as though I'm the negative parts of "A time to..." But yet, everything does have it's time, a time to laugh, but a time to weep as well. We shouldn't hate the weeping so much, for after the weeping comes laughter. God will make everything beautiful in it's time. Maybe that time won't be until Heaven, but that's okay, for He has put eternity into our hearts. I'm not sure I understand what all that means, but one of my Doctrine words for tomorrow's quiz is Hope and part of the definition goes like this:

"Biblical hope is more than a simple wish; it entails certainty based on God's demonstration of faithfulness to people in the history of salvation as recorded in the Scriptures and as experienced by the church."

I like this definition, especially the certainty and faithfulness part. No one does know the work that God does from the beginning to the end, but we do know that He's faithful. What He does will last forever.

So tonight I pray that my heart will become beautiful. Sometimes I see my heart and it's so wretched and ugly and full of sin, that I wonder how God could use me. But I know that I'm not finished yet, there is a season for everything. So maybe this isn't my season to be overwhelmed with incredible laughter, but I think this is my season to draw even closer to my Heavenly Father and know that He loves me. And maybe, we need to talk about that sin-scarred heart. He might still be able to do something with the pieces. Maybe something beautiful...

"Beauty Is"

Beauty Is
by Richard Dottery
Beauty is more, than what you see
Than what, your eyes behold
It’s all that is, a part of you
Has been, since times of old,
It’s your character, and your soul
And the love, that flows through you
It’s that caring, tenderheartedness
And your, physical beauty too,
It’s not, measured by a scale
Or by the color, of your eyes or hair
It’s so much, a part of you
That it always, remains right there,
It’s the light that shines, out from inside of you
Making others, feel at ease
And a pleasant, sense of humor
Like a cool, refreshing breeze,
Yes, beauty, can’t be bought
Can’t come from a bottle, or an operation
It can only flow, from a loving soul
With Jesus Christ, as the inspiration.

Richard Dottery
Copyright ©2002 Richard Dottery

An Obsessive Compulsive's Idea Of Fun

All I have to say is that this is definately something that would keep me busy for hours.
http://fun.drno.de/flash/ButtonRedBig.swf

My Love Is My Beloved

My Love Is My Beloved
My love is my beloved, even though
he was not my beloved when we met.
The mercy of the Lord before had set
our feet on straightened paths we did not know
would lead us to each other. Any woe
we felt alone we never needed let
become a bitter root. Why did we fret
when both our lives our Father did foreknow?
We may have fretted, but we now delight
each other, as the Lord has given us
such love and favor in each other's sight
that any covetousness, any lust
is soon forgotten when we walk upright
along the path the Lord has bidden us.
~ by Michael Rew

Wanted: My MRS. degree

I feel the need this evening to say that whoever said "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" certainly was being rather gentle. It's been two weeks or so since I've seen Andy and that's just too long. But school is going better and I'll hopefully have a pretty good weekend of catching up on stuff. I certainly have a junior case of "senioritis" and am more than ready to graduate in the spring with my AAS. And then comes the MRS. :-)

It's been a challenge of great magnitude lately to stay here at school and focus on what I'm learning. My desire to be with Andy reminds me that God certainly knew what He was doing when He designed man and woman to be together. Patience is certainly not easy, but it will be worth it in the end.

Andy is coming down in less than two weeks and it can't come soon enough. But for now, I plug away at my homework and hope this week I can get a little bit more sleep. The wedding is aproximately 9 months away and graduation only 8. It's amazing how fast time really does go by yet it feels like it goes so slowly. It is true that God's timing is perfect though, so another step in my journey of trust is needed. Although at times I feel as though it's one step forward, two steps back. Praise the Lord for His patience and compassion on me. And for an amazing man that can't wait to marry me.