Husband Card

I love my Dad.  He is one of the most God-fearing, God-honoring, loving, selfless, gracious, hard-working, servant-hearted people I know.  Until Jon came into my life over 4 years ago, he was the main man in my life.  There was never a time where I was insecure or felt unwanted or unloved, because he took his role as "Dad" seriously.  I never felt the need to seek attention and affection elsewhere, because I always knew how much he loved and cherished me.  He was my greatest protector, defender, greatest support, and he has always been a constant in my life.  Aside from my relationship with Jesus Christ, I am the person I am today because of him. 

Whilst cleaning my room this afternoon, I stumbled upon my "Husband Card".  When I was 14 or 15, my dad gave me one of the best pieces of advice (among many) and that was to compose a list of character qualities I would want to have in a future husband.  At the time, I thought it was a strange thing to do, and I actually put it off for a while.  Eventually I did sit down and write it, and I'm so grateful I did and that my Dad encouraged me to so do. 

The point of the Husband Card is to, in a moment of clear, rational, non-emotional thought, create a guideline or check list of all the qualities that would make a good husband.  It would be something I would reference whenever I entered the dating scene and would be looking to find a future spouse. 

When I read it again this afternoon, it was the coolest thing to compare my husband to the things I wanted in a husband when I wrote it.  He matches up perfectly.  I decided, therefore, to write out my card for those who want to read it and perhaps do something similar.  I'm so grateful that my dad encouraged me to do this, because it helped me choose a God-fearing, loving and honoring man to be my husband.  I strongly encourage others who have not yet found their spouse to do so as well - you won't regret it.  So, here it is:

Husband Card

I. Spiritual Character

1. Strong, devoted Christ Follower (check)
2. Open about and willing to share his faith (check)
3. Challenges me to grow in my walk with Jesus Christ (check)
4. God fearing man (check)

II. Character

1. Leader (check)
2. Moral (check)
3. Hard-worker (check)
4. Ethical (check)
5. Not a work-a-holic (check)
6. Gentleman (check)
7. Honest (check)
8. Generous (check)
9. Kind (check)
10. Respectful (check)
11. Considerate(check)
12. Humble(check)

III. Personality

1. Funny (check)
2. Gentle (check)
3. Open (check)
4. Serious minded (check)
5. Talkative, but not "non-stop" (lol, check)

IV. Goals

1. Start a family (check)
2. Wants to home school kids (likely a check)
3. Is willing to be sole provider for the family (check)
4. Definitely no divorce (check)

V. Requirements Prior to Marriage

1.  Good, solid education (check)
2. Graduate from college with degree (check)
3. Good solid paying job (grad school counts, so check)
4. Financial Stability (check)
5. Not a divorced man (lol, definitely check)

VI. Outward Appearance (lol, yup...got that covered too, thankfully, it's not too bad)

1. Stays in good, reasonable shape (check)
2. broad shoulders (lol, yup, check)
3. muscular arms (lol, yup)
4. Good posture, knows how to carry himself (check)
5. Strong (yup)

So there you go.  That's my husband card.  I thank God constantly that He gave me my Dad who loved, cared for and protected me, and prepared me to know what to look for in a Godly husband  Praise God for Who He is and the blessings He richly pours on His children who don't deserve it. I'm so grateful for my Dad and I'm so grateful I followed his advice.  It's truly been a blessing.

Patience is a Virtue

One of the things I think God has been teaching me over the years, but most especially since I got married, has been patience. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have this problem with demanding immediate gratification for things I want. I know, it's horrifying when I realize how spoiled rotten I sound. 

Then I married Jon.  In many ways, he is my complete opposite. This tends to be reflected in finances and big decisions we have to make.   Over our year and a half of marriage, there have been many times when I've thought we "needed" something but weren't necessarily able to afford at the time.  I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't the easiest person to be married to during those moments.  Through God's grace however, I have worked very hard to curtail those reactions when I realize I can't have something I want right away.  I've had to be patient and realize that, while I can't immediately have it, if I just practice some self-control, we'll eventually be able to afford it and I'll be none-the-worse for the wear.

While it's been easier for me to tackle my reactions when being patient for material things, there are other issues that have proven to be a greater struggle.  I can't help but think however, that it is another way for God to chip away at my character weaknesses, so that I can trust in Him more and become more Christ-like.  It's just so much harder when the thing you want so desperately can't immediately become a reality.  It's in times like these however, that I have to remind myself of the many wonderful things I do have and be thankful for them.  I know so many others would give anything to be in my position, and I should be grateful.  In these times of struggle, I've found the following verses to be helpful.

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" 

Psalms 37:4: "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Food For Thought...

If there is one thing that discredits the message of the Cross more than anything else, it's "Christians" behaving no differently than non-Christians.  If someone were asked whether or not they thought you were a Christ follower, what would they say?  If someone were to ask the same question of me, I ashamedly have to admit that they'd probably say I'm just a good person.  This breaks my heart more than I can say.

Sure, I can be moral.  I can refuse to curse, gossip, steal, etc.  Does that make me a Christian?  Not by a long shot.  Refusing to behave badly doesn't save me from the just wrath of a Holy and Righteous God.  It doesn't cover the punishment I DESERVE for sinning against Him.

That's why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us.  We had/have no hope apart from Him.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect, righteous, and sinless life, something we could never do.  Then he bore the weight of our sin and just wrath of God.  He took it all upon Himself so that we wouldn't have to.  


If we truly understood what was done on our behalf, why wouldn't our lives reflect it?  If you realized what you were saved from, the unfathomable wrath of a God you sinned against and the punishment of eternal damnation and separation from Him, the last thing you would be trying to do is lead a good life.  Jesus Christ deserves SO much more than that.  Even devoting our entire lives to bringing glory and honor to Him wouldn't be enough to say "thank you". 

The problem I'm facing with all of this, is that I can't seem to re-ignite the passion I had when the reality of Christ's love for me first hit home.

You know...(2)

It's even harder to not wallow in self-pity.  God, help me dwell on You and not myself.

You know...

It's hard to not be self-critical. gah

"I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by"

You know those times when you have the perfect opportunity to say something witty, but can't because you're utterly incapable of thinking quickly on your feet?  You also know those times when you think of said-witty-comment, after the conversation's over, but still feel the need to say it anyways?  So you tell someone (who wasn't involved in the aforementioned conversation) about it, only to realize that it in doing so, it completely defeats the purpose?  Yeah.  I do that all the time. 

Lol.

Hi Summer! Bye Summer!...wait...it's only July?...oh

Well, unintentionally (mostly) it's been almost a month (possibly longer) since I've been on here.  Oh well.  In my defense, this summer has been hectic, particularly this past month.  June 2-12, Jon and I flew to MD to surprise my brother for his high school graduation and my youngest sister for her 15th birthday.  We were quite surprised upon our arrival to see that that they were ACTUALLY surprised by our surprise.  There were several times when our cover of "not being able to come" was almost blown, but fortunately for Jon and I, my siblings apparently are dense. Operation Surprise-Trent-and-Natalie was a rousing success.  Go figure.

From thence onward, I've been busy playing catch-up with work, due to aforementioned MD vacation.  The nice thing about being so busy is that by the time 2:30PM roles around (which is when I get off) I'm usually surprised at how quickly it got there.  I do enjoy staying busy, but I'm also looking forward to when it'll slow down a bit.  I'll have to wait till September/October - though that's largely contingent upon the weather...and OK weather has had a knack for surprising me.  It'll probably be December if I'm being honest. =)

In other news, Jon and I were thinking about moving to a renovated house in our little neighborhood, but we both decided that for the fairly substantial increase in rent (compared to what we pay now, which is really good), it wasn't worth the hassle.  We'd mostly be upgrading in aesthetics and decreasing in functionality.  Where we live now, it's the opposite, but thankfully at least one of those aforementioned qualities can be addressed in our current location.  Here's to saving money!  Woohoo!

Well, that's all for now.  I've got another blog in the works - different in nature from this and will probably garner more feedback (which will be greatly appreciated).  I figured though, that I'd at least give an update on the goings on here.  As my father would say: I'm alive and well my avid followers - fear not! (I am my father's daughter).

Peace!