The Quilt Holes

I received this forward in an e-mail and felt so led to share it!  I hope it blesses you...


"As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives, like the squares of a quilt in many piles.  An angel sat before each of us, sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life.. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth.. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.

An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.
Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.  Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

God determines who walks into your life...it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay and who you refuse to let go."

The Meaning of Rose Colors~

I simply love looking up the meanings of things...nothing in particular; just different, random things.

Such as...

~Roses~

Here are the meanings of some, that I thought I would share with ya'll :)

Red: Love, Respect

Pink: Grace

Yellow: Joy, Friendship

White: Innocence, Purity

Orange: Desire, Enthusiasm

Lavender: Enchantment

Peach:  Gratitude, Admiration

Which is your favorite?  I think they're all so lovely and meaningful...I don't think I can decide and pick a favorite! :)

Hope you all have a lovely day!

Blessings!

Images, courtesy of Google Images.  Except 'Radiant Orange' - Deus Filia Photography, by Miss Raquel

CORRECTION!

Please be notified that the prayer request that I had posted about Mrs. Sono Harris wasn't correct in the statement: 'The doctors only give her two weeks to about a month more to live'.  I had heard that from someone else, but did not have it first-hand from the Harrises.  They asked me to please clarify that...and to pass this message on to other people who you know who may have heard it that way too.  That statement is NOT true! The doctors have not even given her a timeline.  I'm not sure who started the rumor, but I was only posting what I had heard.  Sorry about that!  Please make sure that you make this correction in any post that you asked for prayer for Mrs. Harris.

Also, some of you may be interested in this post that Joshua wrote on his blog...check it out at this link:

http://www.joshharris.com/2010/05/prayer_for_sono_harris.php

It has a beautiful family picture on it too! :)

Blessings to you all!

Steps For Life PRC Walkathon 2010

Yup!  I was able to attend the walkathon - and it was SO great!!  There were lots of people and we raised tons of money!  How awesome!  Here are photos from the day...

My team is circled in red.

Lots of people attended the event!

Starting on the walk :)

Foster G. and Josh P. - two friends from my church team :)

Josh P., Foster G. and Jon M.

Walkin' and walkin'...we had so much fun, though! :)

When we got back home, I took a shower, but before I did, I wanted to take pics of my face painting. :)

At the walkathon event, they had a tent with face painters and you could get whatever you wanted, painted on your face.  I was the only person who chose words to be painted! :) *haha*  On my right cheek I had painted: 'Life is Precious' and on my left cheek...

'Pro-life'

Hope you enjoyed all the pics! :)  I had so much fun taking them, and had such a wonderful time on the 2 mile walk...especially knowing WHY we were walking and what we were standing for -

the life of babies.

Blessings to you all, dear friends!

Seven Reasons Why My Children Will Be Homeschooled

©Miss Raquel, 2010

I have been homeschooled all my life and what a blessing these years have been! To have the privilege to study at home, under the tutelage of my sweet Mother, has been something that I have enjoyed and looked forward to every day. I hope and pray that when, LORD-willing, my husband and I are blessed with many little ones, that I will continue this second generation tradition of teaching my sweet little ones at home. The following seven, I give as reasons why:

1. God has blessed me and my husband with these children – not the state teachers.

2. No one can love these children as much as my husband and I do.


3. Instead of having to hear the world’s viewpoint on certain subjects and then come home and hear the Biblical worldview, our children will be filtered from many of the foulness of the public school.


4. Children get a lot of peer pressure in the public school’s society. I want to sheild our children from this, also.


5. Instead of being confined to a classroom in a school with one teacher per subject, my husband and I will teach our children ourselves and the world will be their classroom.


6. Having them learn at home will give them a love of BEING at home. And for the daughters: to train them, right from the start, for their *own* future home. For the sons: to train them in their leading skills.


7. And most importantly, to make God the center of their homeschooling focus. That my husband and I will have the privilege of being able to have children is one thing, but given the responsibility of training our children in His ways is something that is an overwhelming thought, and how much more overwhelming and hard when our children aren’t even at home?

The other day, I passed a school bus on the road and it was filled with little children – ages from about 4-up. It broke my heart seeing these adorable little children away from their parents, heading out into a world without any supervision. Being taught by teachers who don’t love them. Being around other kids who will influence them – mostly for the bad. It is so sad to see parents ‘discarding’ their God-given children, only because they ‘can’t homeschool’, ‘don’t know how to homeschool’, ‘are too busy for that’, etc.

Teaching at home can be one of the biggest and best blessings the LORD will ever give you!

Blessings!

'Steps For Life' Walkathon

Tomorrow morning, I will participating in the 'Steps For Life' Walkathon!  I am very excited about this opportunity - as you all must know so well by now, my burden for stopping abortion in our country. 
The walk will be 2 miles long, and tons of people are participating!  I belong to the HOFCC Hillsboro Youth Team, so I'll be walking along with friends from church.  Should be fun! :)

If any of you would be willing to sponsor me in this cause, please visit the link below to find out more info on it.  I would really appreciate any amount of donation!

http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1383&AID=1034&PID=136404

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!!

Many Blessings!

Modest Fashion Week

Samantha, at: Simple Delights, is having a Modest Fashion Week ~ June 14th-19th!  I signed up for it, and I hope you'll join me too!  Go to her link to find out more about it!  How exciting!

Courageous, the movie - UPDATE

For those of you who don't receive the Provident Films movie updates, I thought I would post a bit about what's new on the 'Courageous' movie set!

1. An Actor on a Mission

With his role in Courageous, T.C. Stallings will be making his motion-picture debut. Yet when it comes to people watching him perform, he is a seasoned veteran. He was a running back for the University of Louisville before going on to a pro football career in both the Arena Football League and the Canadian Football League.

He works now as an actor and model, but his strong faith helped him win the role of T.J. in Courageous.

"I believe, and will always believe, that I was made to live for Christ," T.C. says. "Everything I do starts with glorifying him and hopefully showing others how to be in the entertainment world but not be of it."

Watch as director Alex Kendrick introduces us to T.C. Stallings from the set of Courageous.
http://newsletter.milkmoneypromotions.com/ssnx/link.php?M=495532&N=73&L=26&F=T


2. Meet Some of the Courageous Cast

Courageous weaves a story that touches on the lives of a number of characters, including four law enforcement officers and their friend Javier. Of these five main characters, fans of Sherwood Pictures' earlier

films will quickly recognize two of the actors.

Ken Bevel, who played Lt. Simmons in FIREPROOF, plays officer Nathan Hayes in Courageous.
Director (and co-writer) Alex Kendrick, who previously played Jay Austin in Flywheel and Coach Grant Taylor in Facing the Giants, returns to the screen as Adam Mitchell.
Kevin Downes (Shane Fuller) and
Ben Davies (David Thomas) portray the other Sheriff's deputies.
Robert Amaya plays the officers' friend, Javier Martinez.

Renee Jewell (Victoria Mitchell), Eleanor Brown (Kayla Hayes), Angelita Nelson (Carmen Martinez), and Donald Howze (Derrick) play other key roles in Courageous.

(I'm skipping a few other things that were mentioned in the e-mail, just for sake of time.  But below, was the last update and I just felt that I needed to post this...)

5. And Finally ...

As you've likely seen, a good portion of the Nashville area was recently devastated by floods. Provident Films is based in suburban Nashville.
That's why we'd like you to download a special EP from Provident Label Group artist Jars of Clay. For just $1, you receive Flood(ed)—A Benefit, featuring five versions of the band's song "Flood" ... and MusiCares Nashville Flood Relief gets every cent of the price. Thanks for your help!

Download Flood(ed) Now:

http://newsletter.milkmoneypromotions.com/ssnx/link.php?M=495532&N=73&L=136&F=T

Blessings!!

Courtship: My viewpoint

Many people have questions about the courtship process.  Some don't even know what it is.  Others flat-out don't agree with it.  While others are curious, but still need to know a little about it.  But yet, there are those who don't really see the difference between the regular norm of 'dating' and 'this courtship stuff'.

Well, if I were to break down the whole process of courtship into five words, describing it, the list would go something like this.

1. God-centered
2. Parent-involved
3. Pure
4. Standard-set
5.  Chaperoned

Each of those five subjects are specific things in a courtship process that must be viewed with the highest respect.  Now, for different people, the courtship process will work according to their own standards.  For some, there will be aboslutely no intimacy; while for others, hand-holding, hugging, and sometimes even kissing will be allowed.  For some, there may not *have* to be a chaperone; while for others, someone else (besides the man and woman who are courting) must be present.

I don't pretend to have the whole courtship process 'down-pat'.  I don't think anyone can, actually.  There's no *one* way to do it.  Like I said above, every family/couple is different.

Personally, my parents and I have talked quite extensively about this subject and for my, LORD-willing, future courtship, we will have many standards and agreements that must be observed during our time together/courtship. 

My parents and I are very close and we are able to communicate and talk openly with each other.  This is something that is *vital* in a courtship with the parents involved.  I know of a couple whose parents didn't care whether they dated or courted and this was a very hard, challenged area in the young couple's lives because they wanted to be held accountable by their parents.  Knowing how a young person's feelings and emotions can overtake them (especially while in the presence of the opposite sex), it is good to have set standards and feel obligated to keep them and held accountable by an older, much wiser person(s).

I want my courtship (as well as my, LORD-willing, wedding) to be fully God-centered.  Without God, my life would not exist, therefore I wouldn't BE courting, and thus...no wedding.  God is the source of my life, He is my Savior and Lover, and HE is Who I want to give all the credit to.  What else than to make Him the center of everything in my life - including my courtship? 

My parents and I have *already* set standards for my courtship -including the subject of intimacy.  Personally, I don't *want* to hold hands with my suitor because it is such a sweet physical touch that could be too much of a temptation to go further.  Hugs are acceptable; just so long as they aren't long, and too 'friendly'.  I have chosen not to kiss *any* man until my wedding day.

My parents and I believe/agree that the young man and I must be good friends before entering into a courtship process.  This is a *must* because we should already be able to communicate openly, so that we can talk freely and learn more about each other during our courtship.

Because I believe in courtship, doesn't mean that I look down on people who dated.  My own parents dated and are a happily married couple going-on 21 years! :)  I'm not saying that dating doesn't 'work'.  I'm not saying that courtship is the ONLY way to enter marriage.  I don't look down on people who have different views that I do.  

I AM saying that even though the word 'courtship' isn't used in the Bible, the standards in a courtship are Bible-rooted and, I believe, the safe way to enter into a deeper relationship than friendship.

I AM saying that people should really think about this viewpoint because, bottom line is, it *will* save you a lot of heartache and pain in life.

I have been SO encouraged by men and women who have shared their courtship stories with me, personally, or which I have found online.  Below are a few that I hope *you* will find encouraging and uplifting!

Billy and Andrea DeHerrera

Matt and Jennie Ethell Chancey

Seth and Carolyn

Also, here are some books that might help you understand the courtship process a bit better:

'I Kissed Dating Goodbye'

'Boy Meets Girl'

{both above by Joshua Harris}

'His Perfect Faithfulness', by Eric and Leslie Ludy

'Passion and Purity', by Elisabeth Elliot

'The Courtship of Sarah McLean', by Mr. and Mrs. Castleberry

'Journey of the Heart', by Jeannie Castleberry

Please feel free to ask my any questions!  I love any feedback that you care to comment. 

Blessings!

Friendships: Important in Life

Friendships are such an important and special part of our lives. Without friends, our lives would be very bleak and lonely. But there is a very strong difference between the terms “friend” and “acquaintance”. When you just casually meet someone, they are an “acquaintance”. When you meet someone, stay in touch and work at keeping your friendship strong…that is a true friend. Some people don’t have too many ideas of ways to keep friendships strong. It’s not very complicated, actually. But you must try to be creative and imaginative. :) And you must be a friend if you want to have a friend(s). My friends and I are always doing fun (actually, rare) things together and to each other. Following are some fun things that you can try with your friends to keep your friendship strong – and growing!

• Make an effort. This includes calling them, e-mailing or writing them notes; sometimes going out of your way to say ‘hello’ to them. Let them know – often! – that you’re thinking of them and they’ve been on your heart and mind.

• Send them a gift. C’mon! Everyone loves one of these. :) And it’s always special to know that someone thinks of you and loves you enough to take the time to spend money on them. It’s even more fun when you make it for them! I enjoy doing this and praying for the friend as I think of them and hope that they enjoy my gift. Gifts can really make someone’s day!

• Invite them over for a fun day. This could be just a tea and friendly chat or maybe a shopping spree…perhaps even a sleepover with a movie and pizza! Make memorable times together.

• Scrapbook and photos. These are just so much fun to do! Together or for each other. These are something that you can always look back to and are filled with so many memories of times, places, events, etc.

• Friendship story. Write a short story of how you and your friend met. This is always fun – remembering certain sentences, looks, places. Try it!

Here are some fun friendship quotes that you can share with your friends…when you see them next or when you feel like sending them a note. :)

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” ~Unknown

“Fill [your friends’] lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them. And while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier. The kind of things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go.” ~George W. Childs

“Just thinking about a friend makes you want to do a happy dance, because a friend is someone who loves you in spite of all your faults.” ~Charles Shultz

“A real friend warms you by his presence, trusts you with his secrets, and remembers you in his prayers.” ~Unknown

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers.” ~Philemon 1:4


“The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Blessings!

Feel like baking? :)

What are we baking today?...

An authentic Amish recipe - shared by Mrs. Andrew A. Troyer.  Are you excited? :)

Ingredients:

4 Cups flour

8 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

1/2 Cup butter

2 Cups milk

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

(all dry ingredients before being mixed)

Cut in butter...

and add milk.

Knead lightly...

and roll out to desired thickness (preferably about 3/4" thick).

Cut out each biscuit and put on cookie sheets...

almost touching each other.

Spread melted butter over biscuits.  (Sorry; I didn't take a photo of this step!)

Bake at 450degrees until...

lightly browned.

These biscuits are *so* delicious!

Serve as a breakfast side or with soup for supper.

Enjoy!

Blessings!

Celebrating the Gift of Mothers

Today we celebrate Mother's Day.  What a precious gift God gave us when He blessed us with mothers!  If it weren't for these feminine, beautiful women in our lives, we wouldn't be here today.

I am thankful for my mother because...

1.  She chose to give me life.

2.  She cared for me as a baby and as I grew.

3.  She trains me in the ways of the LORD.

4.  She prepares me for my future husband, home, and children.

5.  She teaches me patiently.

6.  She lets me confide in her.

7.  She encourages me in my dreams and goals.

8.  She is a wonderful example - not only to me, but the other young women around her.

9.  She is a wonderful housekeeper. :)

10.  She is a beautiful woman...

(Here she is pictured with my new little brother! :)  Due July 23rd)

I love you, Mother dear.  Thank you for...everything!