*Bangs Head Against Desk*

I am terrible at this. Excuse the mess our blog is in...I'm trying, but I'm not very computer savvy. I think I need some help...
anyone know how to arrange blogs better than I do?
 It's supposed to be really easy. That's not true...for me anyway. Does anybody else end up scratching their head in confusion after 40 minutes of unsuccessful attempts at making an eye-fetching blog...or am I just being a little blond about this? Oh well. I guess my talent lies in other areas.
( Actually, I'm not sure where it lies, but not at the computer...that's for sure.)

On a side note: life is happy, and very new. Remember this post, where I mentioned that we were searching for something new? Well, I think we found it. Life is now clipping along at a pretty good pace...we are now involved in singing at a nursing home every other week,(the people there love it), planning some new strategies to tackle our garden with,(yes, it is a battle!), doing some other music things...although it may not seem like much, it has proved quite enough to occupy our thoughts when we are busy getting things done at home. Actually, I think the biggest thing is that we are getting to know new people at a new church, one we have been attending since late January of this year. Now that is new! 

But it's been really good...after Laurel's seizure episodes, our old church closing...we were ready for a change. And for us, a new church is a big change. We are making new friends and sitting under new teaching. It's rather odd, not being connected with our old friends as much as we thought we would, and then connecting so closely with new, like minded people. (That's no joke: these few people are great, and so much like us!)


And then, there's baby Mallery...I can't want to be an aunt! I find my self just absentmindedly sitting there smiling to myself, anticipating the joy of tiny little feet and little smiles like pretty rays of sunshine. (And dirty diapers and crying, too. Those are fun! ;), and thinking...This little person is related to me! Happiness.
Caitlin should put a new picture up of her and baby. And maybe the trench coat story. (if you couldn't get that nonchalant hint, I'll just have to post for you!)

Looking back on this post, I realize it's full of exclamation points and side remarks...I'm so much more energetic in my writing than when I actually talk. I like writing...I hope that's where my talent lies. Speaking of which, I had better go do school and such, and work towards being a...


Graduate of 2012! There is a light at the end of my wonderful educational tunnel!

In Christ,
Jillian

Contending

"I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith, which was once delivered for all the saints."

Jude 3

The calling of any Christian is to live in such a way as to stand out from the world, and to walk as a Christ walked. For Christian women it is set forth that we are to represent the Bride of Christ. In this capacity we are to contend for the faith. Our faith is that Christ will return and take us to live with Him, that we will attain the fullness of the salvation of God. Then He will judge if we have lived in such a way that He was the center of every action, every decision, every area of life. He will judge if we have contended for the faith.

As a single young woman it has been my goal to glorify God in every thing I do, and to follow the instructions of 1 Corinthians 7 that young women be concerned about the things of the Lord, that they may be holy in body and in spirit. (verse 34) I have spent time studying His Creation through gardening, studying different theology books available that I may have a ready answer for those who ask about why I do what I do. I have endeavored to proclaim the gospel to the employs of my work, and share the beauty of music in praising God. with piano students. I have sought to learn more of the history of the world by pursuing a college degree in history, and this has brought new areas of study and ministry to me. In all this I have never left my parents home. Never went on a mission, never stayed in a dorm, never had a boyfriend. I simply tried to contend for the faith in the areas of my daily life. In doing laundry, weeding, planning costume parties, and working in a restaurant. The Lord calls us to do it all for Him.

Next week my life will change to a new direction. I will no longer be single, but the wife of Roman Mallery. I will have a new way to contend for the faith. To honour marriage in a culture where it is slighted. To love a husband in an active and real way, not based on feelings, but a daily decision of the will. I have been prepared by my mother to be a homemaker, and by my father to be a faith contender, and by my Lord to take all these duties into the building of a new family.

To all other handmaidens out there, singleness is not a time for inactivity. Marriage does not mean greater ministry. We are all in unique circumstances, but the one thing that is the same is our calling to contend for the faith. To give an answer for the hope that lies within us. May each young lady see that she is doing well, when she is doing daily what God has asked her, cook a meal, write a paper, play an instrument, or change a diaper. May you all contend for the faith by daily seeking to glorify God.

The best preparation for the future is the present well seen to, and the last duty done.

~George MacDonald

Horizons

Broaden your horizon and look to the distance.

Even when storms are coming, the path will go through them.

It is straight even when going uphill, so don't look down.

God has a glorious kingdom, and it is waiting on the horizon.

As you walk through your day don't forget the big picture that God sees.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning; Thou has the dew of Thy youth.

Psalm 110:3

I Love This...

"A woman's heart should be so lost in God,
that a man must seek Him in order to find her."

I found this such a great reminder to me.
Isn't it wonderful? Bye for now,
In Christ alone,

Jillian

Stop

Stop. Take a deep breath. Smile. Even giggle. Now don't you feel so much happier?

After a crazy weekend and a 7 mile bike ride this morning, and loads of laundry
to do afterward, this remedy popped into my tired mind, and what do you know...it worked! So I encourage you to try it, even if your life hasn't been hectic lately. Have a nice rest of the day, I know I will! :)

Jillian


"Happiness quite unshared
can scarcely be called happiness;
it has no taste." -
Charlotte Brontë


“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet,
simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
- Laura Ingalls Wilder


"If monotony tries me, and I cannot stand drudgery:
if people fret me and the little things of life set me on
edge; if I make much of the trifles of life, then I know
nothing of Calvary's love." ~ Amy Carmichael

Proverbs 17:22
"A Joyful heart is good medicine
But a broken spirit dries up the bones."