Nothing Can Take This Love Away

This morning I awoke with dark cloud over my head. There were things that I was struggling with in my heart and I was feeling really down.

When I came in from milking, I started to do some cleaning, frustrated about how I was feeling. I just couldn't shake the weight of the heavy emotions.

I turned on some music, this song called "You Have My Heart" was the first in an album by Anthem Lights. I had heard it many times before, being one of my favorite songs. But being still, I really heard the words for the first time.

It hit me that I should never have to feel my spirit sink this low, because I always have a hope. I have something that no-one can take away from me. Though I am living in a world that produces sorrows and troubles, my eyes can remain on the simple fact that I have hope, and because I love Jesus and He has my heart, I will always have all that I need. My perspective was changed, and from that moment on my day was brighter.

If you are feeling down today, whether it be about your past, present or future situations, remember this one thing. If Jesus has your heart, you have a love, and a hope that cannot be taken away. Let yourself be consumed by that realization today as I did.

Then live the rest of your day with your feet on the ground, but your eyes on the sky. You can because you know Who your heart belongs to.

Today: Roses and Tornados

The roses have been begging me to take pictures of them since they began to bloom. But, my camera has still not been fixed, so I have refrained myself. Today I could not stand it anymore, I grabbed my phone and took some pictures, in spite of the quality. 

I love roses, they have such a strong fragrance! I will sometimes pick one and sniff it until it doesn't smell anymore. (I may or may not be addicted ;) 

But hey, my middle name is Rose... so I am allowed right!?

These words come from a song called "You Alone" by The Sisters. 

They have been on my heart today.

Early this evening we had a little bit of excitement when we spotted a tornado from our yard! It was about twenty minutes away from us, so there was no danger. You can barely see it in this picture, but it was a lot more clear in real life. I was sad that there were crops that were being damaged... but I was excited to be able to see a tornado... I have always wanted to see one!

And that was a few random snippets from my day.
Hope you all had a good one!

Do You Have A Question?

Hey all! So we (us "Hello June" bloggers) are going to be posting a vlog together on the very last day of June. We were wanting to do a Q&A type thing but in order to do that... we need questions! So if there are any questions that you have, we would love for you to tell us. Big or small, complicated or simple, funny or serious, you can ask us about ourselves, our family, our faith, whether roosters crow only in the morning, if Megan snores... everything and anything that you are curious about,  now is your chance to ask!
We are also going to be adding Ker to our little group, though she doesn't have a blog (yet), she still is part of this sister tribe... so we will throw her in there as well! :)
Soo... ask away! If we don't get any questions, our vlog may possibly be boring, so please... please, PLEASE! :)
Thanks in advance!

Courtship: Not black and white

I have been attempting to write a post about courtship for months now, but it seems that I am procrastinating.
Even though it is a subject in which I passionately believe, it is not easy to write about because there are no black and whites when it comes to courtship.

I wrote a post a couple of years ago entitled "Why I am Waiting". I was reminded of it by a commenter who pointed out some flaws, some of which I did agree with.
This post can be a combination of setting the record straight and sharing some things that I have gathered about courtship over the years. (now that I am so much older and wiser ;)

The biggest and perhaps hardest thing that I have learned is that courtship can be misused.
Sometimes it is used to the extreme of an arranged marriage where the girl, sometimes the guy has no say in who they marry.
Sometimes it is used by parents as a means to attain unhealthy control over their adult children's lives.

It saddens me to hear of something that can be so beautiful turned into something evil, and cause people to come to a misguided conclusion and run in the opposite direction. This is why I wanted to write this post, to clear the air so-to-speak.

The definition of courtship is this:

A period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship,

 especially with a view to marriage.

Some people call it dating with a purpose. I myself am not fascinated with the label... because of the misrepresentation, but I will use it anyway for lack of a better one.

Courtship is not so much about rules.
The truth is that while the meaning of the word is the steady basis, this concept is made strong only by personal conviction. And it so happens that every person is different, and is called to different ways of living.
Thus, every single courtship is going to look different. I have two siblings who have gone through a courtship relationship (both of which led into marriage), and they both were very different.
Instead of being about the dos and don't s, it is rather about living our lives to please more than just ourselves.To remain pure before God and to guard our hearts, thoughts and actions.

Courtship is not a guarantee of a marriage.
I used to think that if followed the guidelines of courtship, with my Dad's involvement (checking the guy out :) and extreme caution in the choosing, that the first guy I got into a relationship with would end up being my future spouse. Yes, that is the plan, but there are no guarantees of that. There are "under the surface" 's in every person, and unexpected things can happen. What courtship does is greatly lessen the risk of a broken heart, and provide physical protection should the relationship not work out.

Courtship involves emotions.
My eighteen year old girlish heart used to think that I could just sit back and let everything work out the way it would without having to do anything to get to where I wanted to be. Dad would approve a guy, I would decided whether I liked him or not, and we would go from there. There would be no involvement on my part, no pangs of the heart, no emotional travail. But with experience I found that life without feeling is dull and meaningless. Every single part of life involves emotion, and deep down, every heart longs to find love. To completely detach my emotion when it comes to guys would be wrong. The key is to tell God about those feelings and ask Him to help you know what to do with them. Then continue to stay wrapped in Him, and not allow your world to be wrapped around those feelings. Because I believe that is when we begin to give pieces of our hearts away that we can never get back again.

Courtship demands trust.
Trust that the waiting is worth it, trust that God will work it all together for your good, trust in the counsel of the mentors and parents that are part of your team in helping you choose your future spouse, trust that He will guide your heart and give you the reassurances that you need.

Courtship is also for the forgiven.
Once again the myth I believed in my eighteen year old mind was that the guy I would begin a relationship with would undoubtedly have grown up with a purity perspective. He would never have been into the recreational dating scene, or been in a relationship with any other girls/women before myself. But in the past couple of years God has shown me the cleansing power of His forgiveness. And how much I myself am in need of it.
He reminded me of the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that says:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: 

old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The past can be forgiven. It is the relationship that He/she has with Christ now that is most important.

Courtship is not desperation.
Finally I would like to say that just because I believe in the courtship method does not mean that I am desperately searching for someone for me to marry. It does not mean that I will settle for second best just because I have the opportunity to begin a relationship. If you read my post "My little secret" then you will know that I do not live to marry. Many young people who practice courtship do not live to marry. Courtship is just a tool to use when the right person comes along in God's timing. Until then I am happy to live the now, and take joy in every season that I am in.

I hope that all of this made some sense. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, courtship is hard to put down into words! Because it is not all black and white.

Daddy's Day

Father's Day.
My Dad is amazing. And I am not just saying that because today is the day that you say nice things about your dad, I truly mean it. I have the best one.

Anyone that knows him can say that he is generous. He is always looking out for his family, for other people, doing the right thing even though it may not be the easy thing.
He has taught me to always try to be better then who I am. To do those things that seem impossible, and to never say "I can't".

One of the things that he said to me that will always stick with me was when we were playing hockey one day, and I told him that I just wasn't good at doing something, and that no matter how hard I tried I would never be able to get it because I wasn't wired to do it. He said to me "Jen, they say that everyone can sing. With enough practice and the right training, you can learn to do anything that you set your mind to."

Dad is someone in my life that I know will always have my back. If I fail, he will always cheer for me, and applaud my efforts, yet he will always encourage me to try harder the next time. "Just do your best, that is all I ask of you." is what he often says.

I learn so much from him by watching him trust His God. He has this calm about him that I know can only come from a knowing that God is in control. I smile to remember those times when there is a severe thunderstorm in the middle of the night, and I come upstairs to see his shadow near the window in the flashes of lightening and to hear him praying for safety for his crops and his family.

All in all, my daddy is great.
And I love him so much.
Happy Father's Day Pops!!

Here is a little video that Ker and the kids made for Father's Day this year.

It's Me

I had a reader ask me to write a post on things about myself that only people that knew me well would know.
This shall be that post.
How about five. Five random things about me.
Here we go.

1. I am claustrophobic. Have been ever since I can remember. Not just in a "afraid of tight spaces" type way, but also in that I like my space. Which can be interesting when you live in a large family and share space on a regular basis. And what is also weird is that I love to cuddle and give hugs and stuff like that, it is just when I am working in an area that is crowded, or when a place is cluttered, or when the seat of a vehicle is to close to the steering wheel... it drives me crazy.

2. My biggest fear is deep water. And sharks. Scuba diving, snorkeling... those are adventures I would forgo. I am not really a fan of water or swimming in general. I will with other people, but I would never take initiative to do it. I would much rather throw a bucket of water in someone's face and have one returned to me in like manner then to immerse my body into a pool or lake or other body of water and struggle to stay afloat. When I was little, I was intensely afraid of the deep end of the pool. I would imagine water creatures coming to eat me up.

3. I am a control freak. I don't share clothes with my sisters, I have not taught any of my younger siblings how to milk my cow cause I like it done just so, I hide stuff like nail clippers and q-tips and ponytails, and I am working on it. :)

4. Whipped cream, soft ice cream, and milkshakes. Gross. But I have a weakness for cheese cake, bread (especially fresh out of the oven!), peanut butter and chocolate ice cream (hard of course ;).

5. I guess it is already clear that I am adventurous. But not only in wanting to do those things like skydiving or traveling the world. But also finding the adventure in little things like getting lost, or stuck, or have something crazy mess up the day... because it makes memories.
In fact the memories that I hold dearest are the ones where crazy things happen. Like getting flooded out of our campsite, or rain showers in the middle of a barbecue, or the hydro going off and having to use candles and flashlights to find our way around the house, or going for a joy ride on a horse that is out of control.


And that, is a little bitsy about me.
Thanks to my reader (you know who you are!) for the idea!

Vlog

I have for you all my very first vlog!
I was completely out of my comfort zone filming it. (as you can see by the first minute I had a hard time just beginning! :)
But I have to admit that it was kinda sorta fun!
I also stole my sister's idea. (I have a terrible habit of doing so)
I hope that she will forgive me... eventually! ;)

Anyway, if you like it... let me know. (and I just might make more vlogs in the future.)
And if you don't like it... well then, just don't watch it ever again. ;)