Have a Little Fun // Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

I know it's been forever since I posted, and for that, I apologize...But I must state my excuse. So many ideas have been rushing in my head about this blog and it's social media that I have lacked to post.. I've realized how depressing this blog can get. All seriousness and nothing to look forward to reading. That is, nothing fun. With that said, I have come up with a few ideas. Ones that will help you find joy in your life as a stay-@-home-daughter. Ideas, Recipes, hope chest ideas, tips on cleaning and of course some Godly tips too. So, without further ado, I give you the first post on having fun cooking with siblings.

I don't want you to think that as I post things about spending time with my siblings, that I am perfect at it. Matter of fact, I am terrible at making sure that I haven't neglected them. I have been trying to remember to listen to them, talk to them, play with them; most times, I fail. Miserably! But with God's abundant grace, He will pull me through this and I -with Him- will win this race. And so can you. Hopefully, these posts will encourage you to draw closer to your siblings, that it would most of all, make you realize the importance of being a FAMILY in action and not just appearance. ;) With that said, let's move on to what we did today. :)

Autumn seems like it always says "bake day, bake day!" doesn't it? The weather gets nice, the windows of the house are open, and it just smells like all around goodness! Dad wants oatmeal cookies to go with his work lunches this week. As I pulled everything out of the cabinet that I would need, I realized that this was one of those times that my siblings could join in, and that I could take the moment to be that "awesome big sis". So we did. We made cookies all together and had a little afternoon fun. ;)

The 3 Teddy Bears rolling dough

Pink 1 guarding the dough form Pink 2

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla 

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups quick cups

1 cup raisins

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can also find the recipe HERE on Allrecipes.com  (Note: I have made a few changes to the ingredients than the original recipe.)

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog! Now go have some fun baking those cookies!!!

Big Families Aren't A Lot of Work

"Are all these children yours?!" says the random person in the grocery store.

My Mom then replies that yes, they are all hers.
"From this one, my eldest [pointing at me] to this one my youngest." [pointing at my two year old sister].

The random person then asks and says: "How DO you do it?! I wouldn't ever have the patience to keep up with everything!" Or they say something like: "Well you have your hands full!"

My mom then says that her heart is full too. ;)

See, the problem with most of the people who ask us these questions in the grocery store is that they are seeing all the laundry pile up, undisciplined children who play all the time, and chaos. They see all the work my Mother would be doing and does. That's what they see.

What they don't see is how we all work and help together. My siblings don't sit on their butts all day or play the day away in the summer. They help! And they help a lot. They work in the garden, they help with the house work - washing cups, putting away silverware. Anything that is on their level, they do. Even my two year old sister helps. She loves to fold wash cloths and she loves to help put laundry on the line. My four year old sister hangs up all her dresses on a hanger and puts them away, my 7 year old brother sweeps and washes the table. As they get older, stronger and taller, they do bigger stuff. We work together. My mom has said before, and it has always stuck with me, "If your two year old can operate in IPhone, then they are quite capable of folding washcloths."

If the things I mentioned above aren't accessible for your children, like hanging out the laundry, then make it accessible. For example: we have 2 cloths lines. One line is toddler level. They can reach it. You will find that children are very often willing to help do "big" things. It makes them feel older. They even ask to help. Don't ever discourage that. If they ask if they can help, give them something to help with. Christ was a servant and we are to practice what He practiced. Help them enjoy serving. This means never discourage them when they want to help.

So you see, we may be a big family, and we may have way more laundry or dishes then you. But we are all in this together. We don't just stand around and make Mom do all the work. That would be ungrateful! After all, she bore us for nine months and raised us. It's our duty to serve in return.

Learn to work together.. it makes life easier. ;)

It's like Pinterest Hair! - French Braided Updo - Great for a Country We...

Why did I choose THAT title!? Well, to be honest, I felt like I had accomplished something great. I saw a similar side braid look ALL over Pinterest and could never figure it out or get it right! Until now. The reason I really like this style is because it's great for summer, meaning it's cool, and because it's slightly on the formal side, but not so fancy that you feel out of place. I think it would be a great DIY for bridesmaids that are in a country wedding! 

Thanks for watching!

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Encouraging Verses // Psalm 71:19-20

There is so much comfort in these verses! No matter how down we are or how sinful we have been, we can be assured that God will revive us again, He will bring us up! Take comfort dear hearts! This is what it is like to be redeemed!

"You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my honor,
and comfort me once again.
22 I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
24 All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame, and disgraced."
Psalm 71:19-24

Modesty in Social Media

My thoughts and convictions started coming together awhile back. Why I haven't said it yet is because it is difficult to kindly find the words. Difficult to say it without pointing your fingers at someone else. But, like most things I write about, it needs to be addressed. Not only does it need to be addressed, but it also needs to sink into your heart - as it has mine. The only way that will happen is for you to pray that God would give you an open mind to the things that HE wants to change in you. What I say, may be one of them. 

~

Awhile back, I found a modesty blog dedicated to showing you how to wear modern day clothes modestly. I was thrilled to find someone who blogged about what I stood for and practiced to the best of my ability. After being on her wonderful blog for awhile I decided to follow her on all her social media sights her Pinterest account especially.  I love Pinterest for several reasons. It's fun, it's useful, and it's nice to find all those free ideas for crafts and homemaking on there. What I don't like is that people think that Pinterest is a place to be free in what you really feel or love in your heart. I know that this is a blunt statement. It may not be what you think you feel, but "everything you do flows from the heart." When I followed her Pinterest account I was absolutely sure that she would be safe to follow and I wouldn't have to worry about my brothers coming up behind me and being embarrassed. But man is sinful and weak. And I was wrong in being sure that she would be safe. I was dissapointed... Disappointed in the sense that once again, someone didn't practice what they preached. She taught modesty, preformed it in person, but her social account did not. Why do I tell you this story? I tell this story to illustrate the problem of societies social networks. We are a contradictory people. We say one thing, blog one thing, post one thing, on the subject of modesty (or other subjects) and yet we contradict ourselves on the next site. If we are truly about modesty it will and should show up in our social networks. We need to ask ourselves before sharing, before posting: "Is this going to glorify God? Would I wear this if I were to go before God today?" And if the answer is no, then you shouldn't share it or look at it any longer. When we look at something that we wouldn't wear without making it more modest and share it, we have failed to protect the eyes and hearts of others who look at our pins and posts.

~

I write this in the hopes that you will see that our modesty standards - our christianity, needs to roll over into our social networks. I write this to remind myself  that I shouldn't blog about one thing and not obey what I preach. I do not write this is not to condemn you or the lady I mentioned above, but to help us realize what we are doing wrong, in the hopes that it will make us more like Christ. Relying and thinking on His strength and Mercy.

Dutch Headband Braid - Hairstyles for girls

It took us several times to get this video taken to where it would be efficient. My 12 year old brother was learning to video and I was teaching him how while trying to do the hairstyle for the video. I think this is actually the 4th video we may have done for the headband dutch braid.... :P I hope you enjoying watching and don't forget to subscribe! If you have any questions please let me know in the comments!

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God Bless!!

The Lord has Promised Good to Me - Twitter Post 6

There are so many times throughout the day or week in which I find that I am thinking of things that can happen or worrying unnecessarily about the day. When I have found myself in this place of ungratefulness or worry, the Lord always places these words in my head..."The Lord has promised good to me..." What encouraging words...He has promised good to me! And that good is Christ! I am very thankful for this reminder, his everlasting promises, love and mercy!!

#Godbless #AmazingGrace

Modern Rope Braid Updo - For long and medium length hair

You always find your mistakes after you have made a video.... But I will learn how to do it best eventually.If you have an tips I would be honored to know them.  ;)

Thank you so much for watching this! I enjoy putting these together and I was esp. tickled that my Mom let me use her camera which has so much better quality! 

This hairstyle is done best when your hair is mostly wet. The Layers, or my grown out bangs stay in place and it's easier to rope braid. The bobby pins I used can be found in a one pound box at Sally's Beauty Supply or on Amazaon. This is the link for Amazon:

www.amazon.com/bobbypins

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God Bless!!

For this hairstyle you will need to know how to rope braid. 

Hashtag it: #ModernModesty

Hey ya'll!! I wanted to let you know that this blog is now on Pinterest. This Pinterest page is dedicated to modesty, biblical quotes and a few extra things on the side. Over the last year I have had the problem of following people who proclaimed modesty, but didn't pin anything related to the subject. True modesty and true biblical quotes is what I want this page to be ruled by.
Now that that is said, I thought it would be fun to create a hashtag on Pinterest and Twitter for modern modesty. But before I do, I thought I would post what is "ok" to hashtag.

I Ask:

•  that you don't pin people who's shirts would be modest IF they had a lace kami under it.  It's ok to pin outfits with a low blouse -like the one below-  that do not have people in the picture, but please state that it needs a kami. The reason I state this is because I don't want immodest people hashtaged. The picture below with the women from the Modern Modesty blog is modest because she has a kami. If she didn't have one on, then that is where you go wrong and where you wouldn't hashtag.

• that shirts must come to the waist.
• that shirts must not be shouderless. Wide sleeveless shirts are great!
• that you don't hashtag kami's that stand alone
• please do not hashtag shirts that "boost" or "idolize" your chest area. 
• that you only hashtag shorts that come to the knee. 
• that you only hashtag jeans and capris that don't have holes ALL over them. 
• that you only pin skirts below the knee and longer. No pencil skirts.
• Dresses should be below the knee and longer.

With that said, PLEASE have so much FUN pinning and hashtaging #modernmodesty!!!! The goal here is to help people know how to buy clothes to pair and make modest or the clothes in their closets. I know I am excited to start this and I hope that you will join in! Thank you!

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Why do we Dress up for Church?

About two weeks ago my family and I decided to study why we dress up for church. We knew that it had to be more than just a tradition - because we all know traditions have to have a beginning somewhere. We knew that it was to show respect towards God and Christ, but we also knew that nothing we can do of our own merit can please Him.
Many of the modern ideas are something like this: "God looks on the heart, not the outward appearance.. right? So really, we shouldn't have to worry about what we wear." But no. We knew there had to be more to it and we all began studying. It was somewhat difficult to find Bible verses talking about mans outward appearance towards God on Google or anywhere else, but not impossible. I want to share with you some of the thoughts and scriptures we compiled that night. Before I go on to that though, I want to say tell you something my Dad said. It is so true, since we, as men, look on the outward appearance. He said; "What we wear, paints the very picture of who we are."

 To begin, let us look at the verse I found as I studied. In Revelation 19:6-8 we read:

"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,“Hallelujah!For the Lord our God    the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult    and give him the glory,for the marriage of the Lamb has come,    and his bride has made herself ready;
to her it has been granted to be clothed    with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."

What stuck out to me  in this verse is the part where the Bride is mentioned as getting ready for her groom. She is ready in bright and pure linen representing righteousness. I thought that this verse went along well with what we were studying. It surely didn't condemn being dressy. Are we not the Bride of the Church? Like many things in the Bible our "dressing up" is a representation of the righteous deeds of the saints.

We see in John 21:7 that Peter put on his outer garments when the Lord came into view. He got dressed for Christ.

 "That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea."

Another passage, which is very long, is in Exodus 28 where God himself is telling how Aaron the Priests garments are to be made. There is sooo much detail in this! When you read this passage it is obvious that God is commanding/telling Aaron to "dress up" for Him.  I encourage you to follow the link to read this passage. It is to long to post here. ;)

 Exodus 19 leads us to see that Moses is commanded to prepare the Israelites to meet God. They are to clean themselves and to put on fresh clothing.

10 the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and prepare for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;[a]whether animal or human being, they shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes. 

The Bible doesn't condemn dressing up for Church or God, but rather encourages it. What he does condemn is being vain and only dressing up to please man. (Ouch!)
These verses encouraged us to see why we dressed up for Church. We didn't like the modern quietly said idea of  Church being a fashion show, and like I said before, we knew there had to be a background behind the tradition of dressing up for Church. I know that this is probably not the best blog post that could have been written, but I think that the scriptures speak for themselves. God's word does not turn back void and I hope he used this compilations of thoughts and scriptures to help you understand why we dress up for Church.

Twitter Post 5 - (Because Twitter doesn't do more than 140 characters.)

As I sat in my chair yesterday, my mind tended to wander to where the Lord has led the people around me. It seemed for second -I am ashamed to say- that everyone around me had the life I wanted. I sinned in showing the Lord how HE hadn't made things happen for me yet. You (God) haven't given me those things yet. I am old enough to have what I want Lord, why haven't you brought me what I want? Then He reminded me how I have surrender my life to Him. And how it is HIS life to use and not my own. Christ gave HIS life; the least I can do is give up my selfish desires for HIM. This morning, as I sat pondering, this hymn weighed on my mind. "When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, WHAT ERE BE MY LOT, though has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul." What ere be our lot today, whatever we are struggling with sinfully, let us remember where we are and how much Christ has done for us. Let us say to Him, that whatever he holds in His hand for our life will be well with our souls.

Sexual Desire and the Single Girl (10 Tips for Purity) | True Woman

This is one of the topics that I really wanted to write about myself. But because I struggled with it and didn't know how to deal with it myself, I felt inadequate. Reading this has given me encouragement and has given me ideas for how to deal with it. I hope, that it helps you in the same way. ;)

Sexual Desire and the Single Girl (10 Tips for Purity) | True Woman

Photo borrowed from True Woman

3 Braid Easy Updo / Hellenistic Hair for long hair

Video Style #3 is up and ready! Please tell me how it worked for you! ;) I actually slept in this hairstyle one night and woke without having to fix my hair!! That was a bonus. :P

Single and a Stay-@-Home-Daughter

Over the last 2 years or so I have struggled with "singleness". My fear being that I would be an old maid, never have a husband to serve, and never having children of my own. But then the Lord showed me how much singleness is a gift and how it wasn't a "curse" or a "waiting time"...That's also when I realized that the fear of being single was just pride.  I was afraid of what people would think of me if I never got married. And that was wrong. For me, fixing this problem meant reminding myself what the true purpose of marriage was (marriage wasn't only created to fulfill loneliness) and why God ordained it. Also to search and understand why God gave us our single years. What could I do that was glorifying to God while I am single? And how could I do this while staying at home. The Lord seemed to be sending me messages through so many things.... It seemed to pop out of every blog post and every book, and even the sermon that Sunday was on singleness. The Lord was definitely teaching me everywhere I turned that singleness is a gift. The only thing I didn't see was how to use this gift...

In our culture, singleness is viewed as a time to have fun by yourself and pursue worldly things that have no importance. While I believed these things were wrong and I knew that was not the direction I wanted to take, the singleness view of the world was creeping into my thoughts and I knew I didn't want it there. I didn't want to chase after boys and waist my single years. I wanted to make my single years count. The Lord had showed me that singleness was a wonderful gift through 1 Corinthians 7, and through a book "Singled out for Him" by Nancy Leigh Demoss. Reading Nancy's book was very helpful. It helped me realize that no matter where you are at, no matter what situation you are in, there are always ways to glorify God. But in another way, they were talking about using your single years for going out and DOING something great for God. Like being missionaries over seas, or watching people's children so the parents could get a break, or ministering to people in your college. While these things may be well and good, I found that they were not useful for me. I couldn't afford to go over seas and as a single woman, I believed it wasn't my place. Babysitting children is not something I can do often (at least not for others). I don't go to college and so I couldn't minister there.... My point being here that all the articles and books I read were always wanting you to GO outside your home and BE something"... They were basically saying that you could make something of yourself while also glorifying God.... the opposite of what John the Baptist says in John,

"He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30, (Brackets by me. I encourage you to read all of John 3.)

 I am a Stay-@-Home-Daughter. This means that I believe in the Titus 2:3-5 command to be a keeper at home and I believe that the head of my family (my dad) is my protection and that the only time I will permanently leave that protection is when my future husband becomes that protection. As such, I needed to ask the Lord how He wanted me to serve Him inside his laws and my home. What he showed me was quite simple. Singleness was given to us as a time of growing in Christ. It's the best time to learn that putting others, esp. your family before yourself is more important. Learning this and mastering this is to be like Christ. He also showed me in many ways how to be a missionary, to serve parents, to tell and train others in Christ, and all this inside my home. How did he show me? He showed me the little people and big people in my house. They were the ones I could be missionaries to. I -with Christs help- could use my life as an example to them. I have two wonderful parents that I can serve and help. How? How do you help your parents? There are many ways. Cleaning is always helpful for the whole family. Keeping the children busy when Mom and Dad are having important conversations, or when they are taking care of financial things is always a way to serve. It is different in every family when it comes to tasks you can help with. Discover those things and do them to the best of your ability.
There is a story that Martin Luther once related from his own experiences. A shoemaker newly converted to Christianity had come to him and asked how he could glorify God. Martin Luther answered with the question: "What do you do for your living?" The shoemaker said, "I make shoes." Martin Luther replied, "Then go make shoes, make them well and sell them for an affordable price."
Just because we are Christians doesn't mean we have to leave the place God has placed us in to glorify Him. Glorifying Him can simply mean that when you go to wash the dishes for the millionth time you don't grumble, you say something like this, "Yeah! I have dishes to wash! I can clean these well and glorify God in the midst of it!" Many times when we are supposed to be glorifying God and are not, is when our attitudes need changing. Glorifying God doesn't always come as something grand to perform. Sometimes, what he wants you to do is to be "faithful in the little things."  When the little things of everyday life are glorifying God they become just as valued as the big things.

 It may seem to simple (but it is a simple Gospel) and sometimes it may seem like it doesn't have purpose. But there is ALWAYS purpose for our lives. God has placed you where you are for a reason. Where you are in your home is where you should be. May the Lord grant you peace and may these words help you to realize that the little things are just as important as "doing something great for God."

Victorian Bouffant Rolled Hair Updo - Video Tutorial

This is a VERY Victorian hairstyle! It is has the Bouffant for the front and the puff in the back. If you were to go to a reenactment in full costume you wouldn't lack knowing how to do your hair. :P When I finished the hairstyle I rather liked it. But.... all of my family said it didn't look flattering on me...Though it may have looked fine if I was wearing the correct clothes with it. (Not jeans and a t-shirt.) Clothing always helps a hairstyle. ;)

Forgive me for having some of the steps out of place in some areas. My video editor was giving me problems and it saved it that way instead of the way I had it put it. When the video text at about 4.20 seconds says:

"This middles step was left out..." It is suppose to be in the spot after the first two rolled bouffants are shown. Sorry for the inconvenience. :|

Thanks for watching and I hope that you have fun doing your hair. ;) If you have any questions please ask in the comments box. ;)

How to Guard Your Heart When You "Admire" Someone

It's something all girls struggle with...You see a guy, you admire his looks, his mannerism, he's a Christian, and your next thought is: "Is he the one?" A couple days later you find that you are thinking about him. You do something and think, "Will such and so like how I do this?" You talk to him shyly and try to hide that you admire him. Your heart skips a beat as you think, "maybe one day I won't have to hide that I admire him." And then the Holy Spirit says to you, "You are not thinking correctly, your mind has wandered. Wait for the man I have for you. Keep your heart and mind on Me until then." Conviction and shame now enter your mind and you try your hardest not to think about the man and how he could be "the one". The reason I know this, is because, I have struggled with it often. My -our- natural desire is for a man and we will always be on the "look out" for one. It's how God made us. He says in Genesis to the woman, "that our desire shall be for thy husband..."

Any time my mind would begin to wander, I would pray, "Lord, this is wrong thinking. My mind is going wild and I can't control it! Help!" This prayer, though prayed often wasn't cutting it.... I am NOT saying God wasn't listening to it or helping me, but I felt like I wasn't being specific enough in my prayer and in my thought life...that maybe, even though I knew it wrong, I wasn't repentant enough. Finally I came to the conclusion that I would ask my Mom. She would have some advice for me -she always does- and I know that it - whatever it was- would help. This is how she helped me and told me to pray:

• First Pray: "Lord, you know my heart better than I do. You know what's best for me. There is a man that I really admire. (Name his name) He is a Christian and there is evidence that he is. I ask Lord, that if he is the one that you would bring our marriage about quickly and that it would be glorifying to you. And that you would guard our hearts until then. If he is not the one, I ask that you would take these thoughts and feelings far from me. That you would help me to control my flesh. I also pray, that you wold help me focus more on You and what you would have for my life. Not what I would have.
• Then Pray for him. Pray that God would guard his heart and to help him prepare for marriage. That he would be focused on Christ and that he would be a strong, righteous leader of his home.
• When this has been prayed, pray for his future wife. Even if it means it's not you. Pray that whoever she is, would be a Godly young lady. That she would be strong in faith and in her role as wife, and maybe someday, mother. Pray that she would be using her single years to glorify God and preparing for marriage rightly. 
• Lastly. Pray for the parents of both of these people. That they would help their children with their walk with Christ and strengthen them on things that they need strengthening on. This may not seem important, but it is always important to pray for someone. 

Another thing. Confess your problem to your mother. (If you don't have a Godly mother, or a mother, ask one of the Ladies in your church to listen to you. If this too isn't possible, I would love for you to contact me, so that I may pray for you. We are Christians. And as such, we are to build each other up. Please don't be afraid to ask me.) ;) Tell her and your heart will be lighter. The Bible commands us to confess our sins to one another. It enables others to specifically pray for you. And "The prayer of a righteous person has great power at its working."

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16

I hope that the Lord uses this post to speak to your heart. God Bless, Petra

Twitter Post 4 - (Because Twitter doesn't do more than 140 characters.)

"Her heart was a secret garden, and the walls were very high."

This quote has been on my mind for the past week. It's made me think about how we should be guarding and protecting our hearts and our minds from the things and ideas of this world. Its made me think about how our hearts SHOULD be a garden wall.

Strong and beautiful. Full of purity and love. 

Our hearts were made to serve one man during marriage. Which means our hearts should be whole and undamaged. It means that even when you are "seeing a guy" or you "like a guy" you keep your heart & mind & body from going places it shouldn't go.Treating the man as a brother. Not something that can be caught. A heart that is torn to pieces, and then gets married causes a lot of strife and grief. Save your heart for one man. Don't wear it on your sleeve and don't let others tear it down. Our hearts should be a garden wall. One that's strong and not easily damaged. one someone can admire for it's character; one that others can lean on when they are weak; one that most of all leans on Christ and His protection.

I know its easier to say this than to preform it, but I will pray for you. Christ is our strength. All we have to do is take hold of Him, and He will guide us.

Creating a Hope Chest - Post 3 - Recipe Book

What could be a better addition to your/our hope chest than a cookbook of family favorites! Written down with you and your Mom's handwriting. I look forward to finishing mine, placing it my hope chest, and one day getting it out and using it. I can already see how I will love getting it out and smiling at the memories we made together.. :) We are planning to place some of our cooking stories throughout the cookbook and to also decorate the outside. If you have already begun a cookbook for your hope chest I would love to hear how you did it! :)

First, we decided on what size book we wanted.. We didn't want the really big ones and we didn't want 3x4 index cards- that was to small. Mom went to the handy dandy Amazon and found this binder. It is half the size of a piece of regular paper, very thick, and a great size! Here is the link:  Durable Binder

My Mom... Concentrating on copying a recipe and trying to figure out which pen is going to work. ;)

I love her handwriting. ;)

My Mom made these recipe pages and if you would like to have the same kind for yours, you can find them in her ETSY SHOP. It is a pdf download and you can print it as many times as you want afterwards. ;)

My handwriting. I used to writing alot fancier than this, but I needed it to be simple for the recipes... It was difficult having to adjust myself to "teacher handwriting", as my Mom calls it. ;)

Having handwritten recipes makes the cook book even more special. 

I am terrible at taking to many close ups.. I just love them though. :P

Twitter Post 3 - Single Years (Becuase Twitter only does 140 characters...)

Our single years are given to us as a gift. Don't throw that gift away by playing or "waiting in a tower" for your prince. Your Prince has already come and He knows you. Our time of singleness is a time that God gave us to be used to get to know Him better. Don't waist that time feeding your flesh. There is no better time to glorify God than the present.

Creating a Hope Chest - Post 2 - What I Already Have in my Hope Chest

So... I thought I would begin with showing you with what's already in my hope chest. Where it came from, why it's there, who gave it to me, why I would use it, and so on...

This is my hope chest. For a long time, all that my hope chest was,was a few small items in a cardboard box. Mom and Dad surprised me with this one on my 17th birthday. I was sooo excited and I love how heavy duty it is.! ;)

This silverware was given to me by a very good friend a couple of years ago. They are stainless steal and I love the design on them and the box they came in. I have never been one to care for things made of true silver and gold... If you give me something that serves the purpose and it's nice, then I'll take it. ;) I like to go for practical than ultra fancy. Esp. when you can't use your ultra fancy stuff all the time. If you are going for practical and you know you will probably have a large family one day, then go for what serves the purpose. For one, when you lose it or it get's broke, it doesn't cost hundreds of dollars to replace it. For two, it doesn't take any special cleaning. 

I made this baby girl blanket a couple of years ago. I was going to sell it, but I couldn't part from it. ;) So, I put it in my hope chest for my first baby girl. I made this with the scraps of yarn I had at the times. It didn't all match when I had it together, but I planned it out to where the things that would really make it awkward looking in colors, would be a compliment to each other. When you are making something like this, you don't want to put all of one color in one place. Make it vary like I did with the Navy Blue.

This is some misc. stuff. The dress was my little sisters and my Mom was going to get rid of it because she didn't like it. I happened to love it and told her I wanted it for my little girl someday. We love to go to thrift stores and find good deals... I was able to find myself a maternity dress and shirt for when the time comes. Hot pads are always a good thing to get. You can get them cheaply and you could probably never have to many. Cookbooks, homeschool books that you have found, or measuring cups are always good to find and pack away. They get lost very easily and you can never have to many of those either.

The knives were given to me by my Dad on my 16th birthday. Also a good think to pack away. ;) I would reccoomend RADA knives. They are a little pricey, but they are AWESOMELY sharp!

A view of my 1950's cook book. It has recipes that don't requires Cambell's soups! :P

I found this stoneware at one of our thrift stores in town. I was so happy to find something so practical, pretty, and for a price I could afford. I think I paid 18 dollars for 12 bowls, 14 dessert plates, and 18 dinner plates! (That's how the numbers went I think. Close enough.) ;) My mom bought theses for me. ;) Thanks Mom!!!

The glass in this picture is only one in a set of 10, I think. My Grandma gave them to me for my Birthday this year. :) They are the perfect size and coordinate with the plates well alright..

My Grandma also bought me these. I have a complete set to serve 2 people. I plan to use them for me and my future husband on our wedding day. And probably on special occasions; until we have family to big to  use them. And even then I may use them on our Anniversary. ;)

I have several of these cups, saucers, and dessert plates. I plan to mainly use these when we have company over for dessert and coffee. 

Measuring cups that I won at my aunt's wedding shower, a pairing knife, wedding cutter/cake set, and snowflake ornaments that will go in my house for Christmas... ;)

And a vase that was given to me by my Grandma will one day hold Zinnia's from my Garden. ;) 

This was my great grandmother's SILVERware. My Mom inherited it and she gave it to me. As you can see it really needs to be polished... but it sure is pretty and dainty when it is polished up!

And...keepsakes.. ;)

And... that's what's in my hope chest. I hope you got a few ideas. Don't forget to go for practicality more than fancy. Else you will only have dishes that sit in your cabinet. ;) If you already have a hope chest, would you please share what your idea's are/were!? Thanks for reading!

Recommended picture for pinning.  ^^ ;)