Before we were engaged, Josh and I asked each other a LOT of questions. Getting engaged is a big decision and we wanted to be as united as possible before making that jump! Recently I shared that Josh and I went on some “special” dates when we were dating – dates a little different than what you see on Pinterest.
Years ago it was Pastor Bob Coy of Fort Lauderdale’s Calvary Chapel; more recently Willow Creek, John Crist. Each time what I feel is not surprise, not shock, but a deep disappointment – not because I expected the failure – but because I’ve seen this same event every few months for years. More than anything, I’m saddened.
And I’m also scared.
God doesn’t want his men confined. He wants them strong, free, and bold, ready to stand up for Him and lead their families in their faith and freedom. So that’s what he gave me: An un-boxed man.
A lilac bush scraped the glass every time the wind danced through its branches, and with each scrape I paused over the list before me. I was leaned against my hope chest in the sunlight, my bible at my elbow, chewing on the end of my pen as I thought carefully over each bullet point. I tried to keep my cursive even so it looked pretty. After all, I planned to have this list a long time: I was only sixteen.
Eight years later I found the List. It was folded neatly in the back of my high school bible…
Early in our marriage Josh traveled often for work and it was tempting to use the time we had together selfishly, at the expense of our mutual walk with the Lord. So in our dating and engaged season, and now our married life of six years, we have implemented some methods to keep us in the Word in the midst of busy times.
She’ll be standing there, a flower on her chest, watching me put on my makeup. My bridesmaids will hover and the photographer will click and they will all be helping me, including her. But they only know me now; she knew me before them all. After all, I was her baby once. Now I’m going to be his.
I am on board with striving for holiness. I will dedicate to holiness, read about it, pray about it… but to take the title Holy? To stand before a perfect God and claim worthiness like this? Not me.
What is a vision in terms of life as a woman? The Dictionary defines it as the “the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be”. Synonyms are perception and discernment. But being a visionary does not mean becoming a professional worrywart. To understand what it means to have vision and thus, how to keep it, we must see how it directly impacts our lives.
