In our busy houses today, we find it hard to devote time to prayer and Bible reading. Especially if you have young children around, it can be very distracting.
Yet prayer and communication with our Heavenly Father is so important. It should be our starting and ending point. But how do we fit it in the midst of cleaning, cooking, caring for kids, and calendar events?
If you are one of those who is having a hard time finding time to fit in prayer and Bible reading consider doing some of the following.
Pray while you are working. Whether washing dishes, vacuuming a carpet, or dusting the books, just pray for your family. Come before the throne of God as you work. Let your heart be drawn to God as your hands work for your family.
Another thing that you can do is take odd moments and pray in them. When the kids go down for a nap. Or when no one needs your attention right then, just take a moment and pray.
As for Bible reading one thing that you can do is keep a Bible handy on a bedside table or in the living room. Every time you pass it just read a few verses and meditate on them as you go about your day.
There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just find out what works for you and do it. The goal is just to spend time with our Heavenly Father and get to know His heart. As we discover more of that, we will become more fulfilled and enriched.
Yeah, that’s usually the response that I get when people find out that I’m homeschooled. Their faces become filled with disbelief and then the questions start coming. And when Messy Monday produced their video (above), about homeschooling I decided to write my own post about homeschooling.
Here are some of the questions that I get asked. (Warning, some answers are sarcastic)
Do you ever get out?- No. I’m chained in my families basement. Of course I get out!! I got out as much as the average teenager, maybe a bit less somedays though.
Ignore my hair. I need to cut it all off. And it was windy when sis snapped this photo.
Do you have ANY friends?-No. I’m forced to avoid people like the plague. Yes. I have a ton of friends.
Are you allowed to interact with boys???- God forbid I should go near a boy. They are rough hairy beasts with eight hands. (If you get that reference you are my new bff!)Yes, I interact with guys. I’m actually more comfortable around guys then I am around girls.(long story)
The younger kids hanging out on a snowy day after school
Do you like being homeschooled?- Yes, I do. It’s awesome. Only problem? You are around your family 24/7. But other then that it’s AWESOME!
So do you like know what Twilight is??- Yeah, and it’s like best movie ever. Sorry, I don’t like Twilight. I know all about it and I’d rather watch the Hunger Game’s or X-Men. Just don’t get me started on Twilight……
Are you going to have a career?- No, I’m going to become a hermit and move to Alaska. Um… why must people ALWAYS ask this question?? Yes, I’m going to have a career. If you consider photography and writing a career that is.
Ok, this photo is case in point. I’m not shy. I’m very bubbly.
Are you socially awkward?- If I’m standing here talking to you do I LOOK like I’m socially awkward? I don’t think so. In some cases I can be shy, but if you want to know how I act around people ask my friend Tara.
Can homeschoolers get into a college?- YES! And fyi- homeschoolers have a better chance of getting into a college. College’s are actually looking for homeschoolers.
Do you actually DO school?-No, I just read my Chemistry book for nothing. Um yes. I do school every morning. And it takes me 2-4 hours depending on how long I procrastinate. HA. No seriously, I do just as much school if not more then the average teenager.
This is weird, but I like it.
Are you a straight A student?- Well, I wish this was true, but it’s not. I won’t give away what subjects are my weakness, but I’m above high school level in alot of my subjects, but in others? I’m average. And no, I don’t know Greek. Does a tiny bit of Spanish and French count though??
And also, be sure to watch the above video, it’s HILARIOUS! And see? Homeschoolers ARE normal. Ok, maybe I’m not normal….
Just a ramble from me RJ, the queen of random nonsense…… FYI- All photos belong to RJ. Don’t steal. (Finger photo belongs to darling Rose though.) ;D
YOLO. It’s my motto. You only live once, but if you get it right once is enough.
As a young teen I allowed what other people said about me and my family to rule me. I listened to what everyone said. Whether it was good or bad. And I was miserable. Instead of living my life that God has planned for me, I was living the way that other people thought I should be living my life.
And then one day something clicked. This is my life and I only get to live it once. So why not just enjoy it? After all, you only live once! You can’t let the way other people think you should be define you. YOU need to define yourself.
It’s not about what other people say to you, it’s not about what they think you should do, it’s about how you live your life and how you end it. So long as you have given it your all and loved everyone around you, God doesn’t ask any more.
Please, you only live once. So stop letting other’s control you and tell you how to live your life. Ignore the hater’s and the bullies because they aren’t worth it.
If you have made mistakes just pick yourself up and keep moving on. Life is an adventure. So treat is as such and stop worrying!
If someone came up to you today and offered you the chance to die. You would probably think they were loony and call the police.
But every day we are given a chance to die. Die to ourselves, die to our flesh, die to our own desires.
One such time for me came this week. It had been a long day I had been tackling a huge amount of laundry (with eight people in our house we generate a lot of it), editing a play, cleaning my room, and reviewing articles for a friend. By the end of the day I was spent. I had just gotten everything done. Finally, I could go back to my room and get ready for bed and relax. It wasn’t to be.
As I headed back to my room, my mom stopped me. “Rose, would you clean the kitchen?” Inwardly I groaned. “Sure” I said. My nice façade edits a lot of things from coming to the surface. I was tired and they wanted me to give more. I had worked hard that day, yet more remained to be done.
I began work. As did I remembered a quote by Amy Carmichael “anytime that you’re call to give or surrender just look at it as a chance to die.” (Roughly translated) A chance to die? What does that mean? Put simply, look at everything that crosses with what you want as a chance to die to your flesh and live for God.
So that is what I tried to do. I began cleaning the dishes, and trying to put aside my own desires. You know what I found? The more that I focus on God and the needs of others, the easier the work became. It was hard at first to put aside what I wanted, but once I had the work before me was a joy. Once I had died to what I wanted, I was able to live for good.
Every day I am given a chance to die. There are always good things to do, friends that want to chat, projects that need to get done, books to read, and posts to write. But many times these things can be a distraction from God and family. So the next time your desires cross with God’s, look at it as a chance to die. To die to yourself, and a chance to live for God.
Here at Virtuous Girlhood we are proud to announce a new column. Next week we will be publishing interviews from young women who are living out their passions for God.
Our hope is that you will be encouraged in your own journey. I know that I have been encouraged reading the answers that these Godly women gave me. Each one has a different story to tell and each touched by the Heavenly Father.
I look forward to sharing these with you.
Here’s our lineup for February
4th – Hannah Farver
11th Rachelle Rea
18th Sheri Rose Shepherd
25th K. M. Weiland
Is there anyone that you can think of that would make a good interview subject?
Sarah Holman is one of my favorite authors. She is also a very dear friend and when she let me read her newest book The Destiny of A Few I was SO excited!
I have extremely weird tastes in music, movies, and books. But, when I find a good book that I love I will stay up all night reading it. And such was the case with The Destiny of A Few. I was up in the wee hours of the morning reading this book. (Yes, it’s that good!)
Sarah did an excellent job with this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can relate so much to Maria having to put her trust in God and facing trials in her life. The Destiny of A Few does not disappoint and if you love action and sci-fi books then you will love this one!
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will love every minute of it. I can’t wait to read the final book in the series. Be sure to like Sarah on Facebook so you can keep up with all of her work.
About the Author
Sarah Holman has a love and a passion for writing, and she is the author of The Destiny of One, The Destiny of A Few, and The Destiny of A Galaxy. She posts regularly on her personal blog The Destiny of One and is a founding author of Meditations of His Love, a devotional blog for young women. A homeschool graduate, she lives in central Texas. When not pursuing her passion for writing, she can be found taking long walks, reading, sewing or spending time with her family.
It is a blah day and I was tired of jeans and yoga pants. And I wanted to feel pretty. So I curled my hair, put on a skirt, and some heels and felt like a princess. (To all you girls sitting in jeans like me, you should try this sometime! ) I then decided to run outside and get my sis to snap some pictures. And this is the result. Because I’m cool er silly like that.
**Warning, you are about to see my personality. My bubbly/silly side that no one besides my close friends and family sees. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.**
I warned you……
Don’t judge, I told you I was crazy.
However, the wind was against us. Not only did my curls turn into a big mess, but several photos turned into a ”Marilyn” white dress moment. And it’s also one of the reasons that I prefer pants otherwise my skirts whip up….
I dance my way through life and when I fall, I pick myself back up.
Ignore my hair and the rolled up tank underneath. I need to chop all the hair off and I should have fixed that tank. I just wanted to show you one of my favorite necklaces. It reminds me to dream big and to believe. Don’t ask why, it just does. And I can’t believe that I just posted these crazy photos….
I stopped posting outfits simply because I feel like I have an inadequate sense of style and it just feels weird. But quite a few readers have commented and asked for them back, so I guess I’ll attempt it again.
I always go through the pictures and I catch glimpses of what I would have done differently if I had been shooting the photos. And I can think of a TON of things that are wrong with these photos, but here goes, I’ll try to do a outfit once a week or so for you all.
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This week I attempted boho style with jeans . I love the hipster/boho look. All that I needed was a feather headband, sandals, and an oversized bag and I have the look. It was too cold for that though, so I went with the WARM boho style.
My boots and accessories…….
What I wore-
Jeans- Macy’s Shirt- Kohl’s Jewelry- Necklace Shabby Apple, bracelet random. Boots- Vintage, they where my great-grandmother’s.
All photos are un-editied and are mine so don’t steal.
Busy schedule? Having trouble fitting in the time to make wholesome meals every day? Here are some tips to make your job a little easier.
If you have a freezer, cook ground meat and chicken off. Then put it into dinner portion size bags. Freeze and use later to save the trouble of having to cook it off when you need it.
Morning rush making you skip breakfast? Make a batch of muffins and keep them handy on the counter. Just grab and go.
Make a bunch of casseroles to make lunch easy as putting dinner in the oven.
For dessert make up cookie dough. Then take a greased cookies sheet and cover it with cookie dough balls. Freeze and then put them in a plastic bag. When you want fresh cookies just heat up the oven.
This may sound like a lot of work to begin with, but trust me for a days’ worth of work in the kitchen You can save yourself so much time later on. Instead of having to spend all day in the kitchen, you only have to spend an hour or two. Also you have less dishes to clean up after.
As a little girl I always never thought much about marriage. Well, I would play that I was a mother with my dolls and I would have a husband, but I skipped the wedding. (Then again, I would also play that I was a General in the army and my dolls were my soldiers) I was not a normal child.
For awhile when I was 12/13 all that I could think about was getting married, but as I grew older I saw more and more of my friends going on and on about when they would get married. And quite frankly I didn’t want to be one of those girls. So I slowly started to change my ways. Over time I stopped thinking obsessing about marriage. It took some time, but I finally realized and learned this lesson.
Here is a conversation between a friend and I awhile back:
Friend: I can’t WAIT to get married. Everything will be SO much better.
Me: Uh-huh.
Friend: Come one just think about it, everything will be PERFECT. I can’t wait till he comes along and sweeps me off my feet. **insert dreamy look on her part**
Me:**secretly rolling eyes** Um, yeah. That’s great, but marriage isn’t perfect! I mean my parents have an awesome marriage and they act like newly weds, but it takes alot of work to make a marriage work. And life just isn’t about getting married.
Friend: Whatever. Seriously, I don’t know why you can’t just be excited about it! I mean it’s marriage! It’s when my life will officially begin! It will be perfect.
I think that you get how the conversation went from here. She continued talking about how perfect her marriage would be and I just sat there listening.
This photo is mine so don’t steal. (Even though it’s a really bad photo)
See my friend has made marriage her idol. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get married and having kids, that is great! And it’s a part of God’s plan, but there is SO much more that you can have in life then marriage!
Let me ask you something, how old do you want to be when you are married? For some of us that age might have already gone by, but for the rest of us it’s coming up. You might be secretly feeling bitter about it or you can go on with your life.
When marriage becomes an idol it’s all that you can think about, it is your ONLY goal in life, and when you wonder if EVERY guy is the one. That is when marriage becomes an idol.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be married, we just need to be careful not to make it our idol. I’m going to make some of you gasp, but what if you are called to be single?
I am going to get off my soapbox, but I want to leave you with this- Learn to be happy when you are single and trust God. And who knows, maybe along your journey He might just send a man your way! Either way, being single is a gift. Enjoy it!
Don’t let marriage be your only goal in life. And don’t let it become an idol.
And no, I don’t know Greek. Does a tiny bit of Spanish and French count though??
And
