Blessed is the Woman

“Blessed is the woman who has a smile in her voice,

 a sparkle in her eyes, a song on her lips;

a spring in her step, a warmth in her touch,

a depth in her beauty, a purpose for her life,

a joy in her faith, a hope in her breast and a love in her heart.”

 

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26

You are loved!

Psalm 139:14

 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

 

Why a relationship with Christ?

In a nut shell, the importance of having a relationship with Christ before entering into a relationship with a man is so one realizes that it is Christ that completes them -not a man or vice versa. 

     A husband is a second companion to share this journey of becoming complete in Christ because Christ is your first and foremost companion and as a trio you take on the challenge of teaching your children to do the same.

How I have experienced it in my life:

The Lord created me and knows me intimately, my thoughts, desires, needs and wants.  He loves me with a pure love, with a selfless love.  He wants to be intimately present throughout my daily routines to guide and support me in my decisions and sorrows and to rejoice in my joys.  This intimacy must be realized and developed in the inmost recesses of the soul through time and prayer.  I realized this at the age of seventeen after my first silent retreat.  I had often allowed my happiness to be determined by people and things around me but for a moment I was raised from this slavery to a new freedom in the love of Christ.

I experienced an indescribable peace deep within me.  As in any relationship it has to be nurtured in order to grow with conversation and presence.  As it grew I found how fragile I was as a human and my need for Christ and yet how joyful it was to be that way.  I knew I was loved, wanted and cherished in a very intimate, pure way by the most patient Being in the world!  This was something I knew no person or thing could offer or fulfill.

I had found true freedom.

  Soon all my decisions where made after consultation with my very intimate Friend.  My sorrows became more meaningful.  I knew it was for a reason and the Lord wanted me to grow.  Even if I didn’t understand it during -sometimes afterwards, sometimes years afterwards, I would then realize its value.  I was quicker at learning from my mistakes and apologizing became easier.  Discerning what the Lord wanted me to do daily became easy!  I felt very connected with Christ and if I wavered I consulted my spiritual director who would make me path clearer.  If I went on a date with a young man I knew almost immediately if it was meant to continue.

Then the Lord brought John into my life.  Here I was faced with a new challenge: I was spiritually attracted to John but also physically attracted.  I  became overwhelmed by the strong emotions I was feeling and had never encountered them at such intensity.  I had a tendency to fall back into my old habits of happiness being dependant upon people -John and family in this case.  Realizing this I clung to Christ and spent more time in silence and prayer to regain that interior peace.

Then things began to flow as I had often experienced in past situations in my life.  As soon as I surrendered, Christ took the lead.   I listened to His promptings and acted accordingly.  I was able to date John and maintain my freedom to discern and choose to marry him or to walk away and continue with life.  I knew I wasn’t alone, I knew I was intimately loved.  When I chose to marry John it was with a blind trust in the Lord but also with complete interior peace.

There was no way for me to know what I would encounter but because of my past relationship with Christ, I knew He would be with me every step of the way.  In this way my married life also flows.  I am a better wife and mother because of my relationship with Christ.  There are numerous situations in married life that require total surrender to Christ and He always provides.  The daily challenge is to not get wrapped up in busyness and to take time for personal prayer so I can hear His promptings.

Tiffany

Emotional Chastity

Tonight, I was painting my toes.

     I always go for the classic red color; you know the one, the classic deep red that screams, ‘Audrey Hepburn’. Please tell me you know who Audrey is. If you don’t, I’m doing two things: 1) I’m dating myself and 2) I’ve failed this generation in educating them on classic girl movies – not the chick flicks we have nowadays that start with a cute guy meeting a cute girl, a ‘love’ scene, the guy screwing up, the girl running off, but somehow miraculously they end up together in the end, you get the gist, but I digress.

So I was painting my toes when I noticed the name of the nail polish, “Honeymoon Red”. At first, I thought, ‘Hm…someday…I wonder where our honeymoon will be…’ but then I got a little irritated.  A bottle of nail polish just made me think of a day that’s years away, and I don’t even know who that guy will be and I’m already thinking about our favorite romantic spots we have yet to discover and how wonderful he will be. This little war going on in my heart for the purity of my emotions set me on an even deeper thought; I’ve been through my share of emotionally unchaste relationships with men. I’ve learned a lot, but our media and world screams at us to let our emotions rule our lives. The rush and butterflies HAVE to be there at all times.  That’s when I thought of you.

Before we venture on into the unnamed territories of our hearts, you have to understand one thing…Prince Charming, that idea of your dream guy…well, he doesn’t exist. NO guy is perfect. How can you expect the one you marry to be perfect if you yourself are not? You need to change the way you think to finding the person that is right for you.  When you begin to see your mistakes, it can get ugly. It is something you have to do in order to move forward. I know I’ve made my fair share of mistakes in the past, but God has always been there with open arms when I come running to Him. He will do the same for you, no matter how far gone you are.
Maybe for you it’s your physical purity that you want to mend, or maybe it is your emotional purity. Seeking chastity always starts with you. 

Jenne

Keep your eyes on Christ