I've been reading What's the Difference by John Piper. It's small, but a good one. He talks about complementarity and the concept of biblical manhood and womanhood.

"At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing dispoisiton to affirm, recieve and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate ot a woman's differing relaitonships."

That's it, ladies! This is what we were made to do: to respond to worthy men. I repeat, worthy men. This includes fathers, brothers, friends, uncles and grandpas as well as potential husband material. *ahem* Not that you should be looking for husband material...


This was his vision for mature, biblical feminity, which I found to be quite inspiring:

1. that all your life--in whatever calling--be devoted to the glory of God.


2. That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing


3.That the fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.


4. That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on biblical truth be the source of hope nad faith. That you continue ot grow in understanding through all the cahpters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.


5. That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God will be opened to you, and so the power of fiath and holiness will decend upon you, that your spiritual influence may increase at home and at church and in the world.


6. That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovriegn grace of God which undergirds all these spiritual processes, and that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers of these things.


7. That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific calling; that you not fritter your time away on soaps or women's magazines or unimportant hobbies or shopping; that you redeem the time for Christ and His Kingdom.


8.That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to God ( the way Jesus and Paul and Mary Slessor and Amy Carmicheal did) and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.


9. That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.

10. That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up hcildren in the discipline and instruction of the Lord--children who hope in the triumph of God--sharing with your husband the teaching and discipline they need, and giving them the special attatchment they crave from you as wel as that special nurturing touch and care that you alone are fitted to give.

11. That you not assume that secular employment or greater challenge or a better use of your life that the countless opporttunities of service and witness in the home, the neighborhood, the community, the church and the world, that you not only pose the question: career or full time homemaker?, but also just ask just as seriously: full time career or freedom for ministry?That you ask which would be greater for the Kingdom: to work for someone who tells you what to do to make his or her business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity to make God's business prosper? And in all this that you make your choices not based on secular trends or upward lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the faith of the family and advance the cause of Christ.

12. That you step back and plan the various forms of your lifes' ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things: age, strength, singleness, marriage employment, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, ect. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of trade-offs. Finding God's will and living for the glory of Christ is what makes every chapter a success not whether reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what only another chapter will bring.

13. That you develop and wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility is a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might and maximizing your joy in ministry to peoples' needs.

Poweful stuff, that.

~Kirsten

Shopping with Toddlers :-o

On Friday Mom was shopping at Oshkosh B'gosh with Kirsten, Me, Grace, Aaron, and Andrew.
We were in a hurry to go and as we were at the checkout Mom and I (Kirsten and Grace were loading up Andrew) heard Aaron talking to himself in the back of the store, so we finished checking out and Mom said: "Sari run back and get Aaron, I will load up and you can meet us out there." So I went to the back of the store and found (much to my surprise) a little trail of Aaron's clothes: First there was a shoe then his shirt then another shoe then his shorts and then his glasses, And i thought to myself: "oh no, Aaron's running somewhere around here stark naked!" so i looked in both of the changing rooms and couldn't find him and said to myself: "Man, that's wierd, I sure thought i heard him back here." but then I heard a flushing noise coming from the public bathroom! so I ran over there and tried to open the door and (you guessed it) It was locked! so I yelled through the door: "Aaron, open the door!" "I'm coming Sari!" he said. Then i waited 20 seconds "Aaron, open the door!" I said again "OK Sari" he said. then i waited 15 seconds. Now I was begining to lose my paitence "AARON, COME ON WE HAVE TO GO!" "OK Sari" so he unlocked the door and there he stood..... He had put both of his legs into a little girls size 2 1pc swimsuit and had pulled it up to his waist. "Sari it's too smaal" he said quite mournfully. So by the time I was able to peel it off of him and get his clothes back on it had been 10 minutes, And as I was leading him out the door Mom came running in: "Sari!" she said "What took you so long?!" "It's a long and funny story." I replied.........

For Your Enjoyment

Hint: read it out loud.

Ladle Rat Rotten Hut

Wants pawn term dare worsted ladle gull hoe lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge dock florist. Disc ladle gull orphan worry ladle rat cluck wetter putty ladle rat hut, end fur disc raisin pimple cauldron ladle rat rotten hut. Wan moaning, rat rotten hut’s murder colder inset: “Ladle rat rotten hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter end shirker cockles. Tick disc ladle basking Tudor cordage offer groin murder, hoe lifts honor udder site other florist. Shaker lake, done stopper laundry wrote, end yonder nor sorghum stenches don stopper torque wet strainers.”

“Hoe cake, murder,” resplendent ladle rat rotten hut. Den sea ticker ladle basking an stuttered oft. Honor wrote Tudor cordage offer groin murder, ladle rat rotten hut mitten anomalous woof.

“Wail, wail, wail,” set disc wicket woof. “Effervescent ladle rat rotten hut! Wares or putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?”

“Aroma goring tumor groin murder’s,” reprisal ladle gull. “Grammar’s seeking bet. Armor ticking arson burden barter end shirker cockles.”

“Oh, hoe! Heifer peasant woke,” setter wicket woof. Butter taught tomb shelf, “Oil tickle shirt court Tudor cordage offer groin murder. Oil ketchup wetter letter, end den oh bore!”

Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, end whinney retched a cordage offer groin murder, picket inner winnow end sore debtor pore oil worming worse lion inner bet. Inner flesh disc abdominal woof lipped honor betting adder rope. Zany pool dawn a groin murder’s nut cup end gnat gun, any curdle dope inner bet.

Inner ladle wile, ladle rat rotten hut a raft adder cordage an ranker dough ball.

“Comb ink, sweat hard,” setter wicket woof disgracing is verse. Ladle rat rotten hut entity bet rum, end stud buyer groin murder’s bet.

“Oh, grammar!” crater ladle gull. “Wart bag icer gut! A nervous sausage bag ice!”

“Butter two lucky chew whiff, doll ink,” whiskered disc ratchet woof wither wicket small.

“Oh, grammar! Water bag noise! A nervous sore suture anomalous prognosis.”

“Butter day small your whiff,” inserter woof, ants mouse worse waddling.

“Oh, grammar! Water bag mousey guy! A nervous sore suture bag mouse!”

Daze worry on forger nut gull’s lest warts. Oil offer sodden trollin offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disc curl end bloat Thursday woof ceased pore ladle rat rotten hut an garbled erupt.

Mural: Yonder nor sorghum stenches shut ladle gulls stopper torque wet strainers!

(Anomalous)
“Anguish Languish,” by Howard Chace

The Market

Number 9 on my list of “What I Think Romania Will Be Like” reads “The supermarkets will be open-air, old, and you’ll dicker for things from numerous vendors.”

After two weeks, I figured I must be mistaken. No such phenomenon had been sighted. That was before last Saturday. We went shopping. Such sights and smells as I could only have imagined. We’d been shopping before, but that was at the stores. For the really fresh stuff, you go to the market. There is a small indoor market close to our house that we often walk to, but this one was a big one. Rows and rows of vendors selling mostly the same things—tomatoes, beans, peppers, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, maybe garlic, raspberries, strawberries, apricots, apples, pears, peaches, cherries (oh! the cherries!), nectarines, cabbage, and eggplant. You walk up and down and up and down, comparing prices and quality, maybe dicker a bit, walk some more, try to stay out of people’s way (good luck!), and say “no” to the vendors accosting you on right and left. “Domnisoara, poftiti!” (Here you are, miss!)

You bring your own bags—and try to keep one hand free to guard your purse! Regardless of your skill in packing, it’s impossible to keep fruit from getting semi-squished. Raspberries and strawberries in particular don’t do so well in the plastic shopping bags the vendors give you. Math—including exchange from one currency to another—is all headwork, so you had better be on top of things and count your change.

Each booth has its own little umbrella erected to shade its occupants and its produce, but the umbrellas stick out into the walkway, and they’re erected at a grand height of about 5’9”. Not a problem for the rather diminutive Romanian people. Squished raspberries, strawberries, and other things *ahem* are on the ground—closed shoes are advisable, and watch your step.

Don’t buy watermelons, because you’ll have to carry them all the way back to your car, and even on a slow market day, it’s probably not what one might call “handy.”

Dacia, Romanian-made cars, are extremely reliable--as long as the horse is alive.

Some of the booths didn’t have any shelter from the brutal sun. Mr. Cabbage Vendor was one such unlucky man: shirtless, very tan, and wearing a cabbage leaf on his head. (Not the one in the picture, though such a sight--complete with cigarette--would not be out of place!) An old woman carrying several potatoes in her shirt yells angrily at a potato vendor—maybe he’d cheated her, or maybe she was just having a bad day. Two dudes relax in the back of a truck full of produce, waiting for an interested-looking person to approach their produce. A businessman with a cane walks rapidly down the row of produce, muttering the prices aloud to himself. A little wiener dog wriggles out from under a booth and trots across the road. People stare at us—we’re the only kids there. Kids don’t shop here, but it’s really handy to have them along. You can carry a lot more stuff. It’s really kind of fun, but stay away from the cherries. They have sweet cherries, sour cherries, and bitter cherries. All wormy.


And not little cute ones like this, neither! Well...some of them were little.

Last week, we got three or four kilos at a good price and spent an entire afternoon cutting each cherry in half, removing the pit and the worm—there were rarely two. The next day, we called on friends from the church and they brought out fresh cherries to serve us. I didn’t used to think that sort of thing would bother me, and it didn’t at first. I ate the first one, refusing to think about the fat white grub that was probably inside. But then Annie slit hers open with her fingernail. Three out of three were “inhabited.” It was tougher after that. :)

But now I’m much more thankful for protein-less cherries.

I (finally) got out the Annals of the World and borrowed The Histories by Herodotus from the library....and have been doing some research about historical events surrounding the story of Esther. And I've found some pretty interesting things:

The Magi, a group of Zoroastrian priests and Persian aristocrats, ruled Persia after the death of Cambysis, son of Cyrus the Great...you know, the king who allowed the Jews to return to thier homeland.
The Magi installed Smerdis (Artaxerxes in the Bible) as king, the supposed brother of Cambysis, but who actually turned out to be an imposter who was set up by the Magi. This was concealed with great care, but it eventually leaked out by a concubine of Artaxerxes whose father was a high-ranking Persian named Ostanes. Ostanes got together 7 other ruler dudes and decided to dethrone Smerdis and his cohorts, which they did. Among those high ranking ruler dudes was.... our favorite Ahasuarus! Or Darius, as Herodotus calls him in The Histories.

His father, Hystaspes, happened to be the governor of Susa at the time. I found it interesting that Ahasuarus became king during his father's lifetime....I don't dare speculate, but I wonder how old his father was? Life expectancy at the time was about 55 once you got out of the dangerous infant and childhood years. And if his father was in his fifties, then Ahasuarus must have been somewhere between 25 and 35 when he became king. And how exactly did he become king? Well, he was a pretty bad dude:

Our ruler dudes decided that they better choose one of themselves to be king, and to do that, they all rode out on thier horses before dawn, and the rider of the horse who neighed first when the sun came up was to become king. Well, guess whose horse neighed first?? Ahasuarus, of course! So he became king....and killed off the rest of his co-rulers fairly soon after. Herodotus says that he invited the rest of his buddies into an upper room, then had his servants cut down the supports. However, the footnotes in the Histories says that story is not historically dependable. But we know that they were killed somehow. So Ahasuarus reigned alone for 3 years, and gave his 6-month banquet....and we all know the rest of the story.

I also found out something interesting about Vashti: Ahasuarus was her 3rd husband. Scary.

~Kirsten

Honey...

I miss you. A lot.

~Thea

Esther

For the past two weeks, the four of us have been studying the life and ministry of Esther, and so now, it's time for a brief summary of what I personally have found intriguing about this fascinating young queen of Persia...

Before I begin, let me state that there are many, many exemplary character qualities and personality traits manifested in the life and person of Esther, such as the fact that she was respectful of authority, loyal, sweet, mature, visionary, calm, emotionally controlled...and the list goes on. I don't pretend to be giving a complete synopsis of the life and character of Esther, because if I did, you would quite possibly still be sitting here reading it at this time next year. (Michelle did a nice summary below, though!)

That being said, there were a few facets of her story that jumped out at me in a new way during these past 14 days, and it is these aspects that I'd like to focus on.

One of the first things that stood out about Esther was that, in spite of everything that happened to her, this young woman chose to see herself as a victor in the midst of her circumstances rather than as a victim of her surroundings. While she could easily have come into the situation griping ("What a horrible, miserable life! Everything was going so great with Mordecai, and I had all these phenomenal friends, and now I'm stuck in this abysmal palace with all these snooty girls undergoing tedious beauty treatments...facing the option of either being stuck in the house of the concubines for the rest of my life or, what's probably worse, being married to a grouchy, miserable, insecure king old enough to be my dad!"), she entered the situation with a quiet joy and peace, radiating the true beauty of godly character, so that she soon "obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her." (Esther 2:15)

There are those in life who sit back and watch the world change, and there are those who quietly come in and change the world. Esther was definitely a member of the latter category, choosing to live excellently and make a positive impact despite a difficult set of circumstances.

The second thing I noticed about Esther was that she was keenly aware of her place in the great timeline of history and humbly viewed herself as only a small piece of a gigantic puzzle, rather than arrogantly setting herself up as "the big cheese," as Haman did, with rather fatal results. Why do I make this claim about Esther?

Consider this: when faced with the terrifying prospect of a massive ethnic cleansing which would have obliterated the Jewish population in Persia, Esther is reminded by Mordecai that her responsibility is to act on behalf of her people, regardless of the consequences to herself. Instead of responding self-centeredly ("Off with your head, Couz! How dare you speak so to the queen?!"), she graciously acknowledges his statement, and her subsequent actions show that she sees herself only as an instrument in the hands of an Almighty God, to be used however He pleased.

It's all too easy to become caught up in the idea that the world begins and ends with one person: me. But Esther realized that the show had begun long before she came on the scene, and that it would continue long after God chose to remove her from the stage of human existence. It was this knowledge that enabled her to say (albeit with some fear and trepidation!), "I will go to the king...and if I perish, I perish!" (Talk about a scary hubby, huh? Yowza!)

Her desire was to be faithful in her duty towards God and towards her people, regardless of personal consequences. She recognized that she could most effectively serve God not by striving to preserve her own life at all costs ("Sorry, not sticking my neck out for a bunch of people just because they happen to share the same bloodlines!"), but by seeking to pour herself out in whole-hearted service to her Almighty Lord, resting confidently in the assurance that this would be best for the whole of the human race, even if it meant an early (and perhaps seemingly pointless/needless) end to her own life.

I end with this: may God grant each of us the wisdom to live as victors even when our circumstances take an unexpected turn and we feel completely out-of-control...may He give us the grace to accept our place in the timeline of history, to become fully cognizant of our own insignificance and dispensability, to be joyfully willing to give our lives if this is the sacrifice He asks.

~Thea

The Humble Queen

I like Esther. She’s probly my favorite queen of all time. (whoa!)

She has it all—she’s beautiful, charming, intelligent, wise, graceful, thoughtful, decisive, and humble.

I’ve read through the Book of Esther before, but I have never before noticed the humble queen. Esther has every reason to be proud. She’s the queen, for pity’s sake! She overcame her tough upbringing—she was an orphan, remember?—and rose to the top! She’s a model of working hard and overcoming your circumstances. But do you see Esther on Oprah talking about her successes? Nope. In fact, where is Esther?


Remember Zeresh the problem solver? Well, Esther was a problem solver of a different type. When she heard that she and her people had been scheduled to be “destroyed, killed, and annihilated,” she didn’t erect a gallows. (Haman had already done that for her.) No, Esther and her maidservants and all the Jews in Shushan (at Esther’s request) humbled themselves before God with prayer and fasting. For three days.


Esther was afraid to go to the king, and rightfully so. I mean, if he didn’t feel like seeing her (could the last 30 days be a clue?), her life was forfeit. But Esther wisely remembered who she was—before God and before the king. As queen, she had access to the king when others did not, yet she was still subject to his wishes. As a servant of the Most High God, she knew that the outcome of her chat with the king was up to Him.

But here’s what impressed me most about the humble queen. Allow me to set the scene. Haman has just been hung on his own gallows. The king has settled down a bit. He’s just given Mordecai his signet ring. Things are going well. The day is saved. The bad guy’s dead. Esther’s life is safe. But what did she do?

“Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite.” (8:3)

I’ll bet those weren’t fake tears. Esther was burdened for her people, and she willingly humbled herself before the king on their behalf. From what I can tell, Mr. King wasn’t much on follow-up. Perhaps had Esther not pled with him, he would have just left things as they were.

Esther wasn’t willing to take that chance. Lives were on the line, and Esther was committed not to “doing her best” to save them, but to doing what it took to save them. I want to be an Esther. I don’t want to just do my best. I want to do what it takes to get the job done excellently—even if takes more than my best.


I’m sure you know the rest of the story, but here’s a little something for you. It was on the third day of the three days of fasting that Esther hosted the first picnic: did she eat? :P

-Michelle

Things I've learned during my last two weeks of school...

1. Sleep is overrated.
2. Leisure time. Who needs that?
3. Extra Strength Tylenol and dark chocolate is essential to survival.
4. The library is a sweet haven of silence and sanity, a refuge for the poor overstimulated soul.
5. Food? What's that? A steady diet of popcorn, peanut butter, and apples have kept me from utter starvation.
6. Whoever said anything about college being fun obviously never tried it. Or, at least, never tried to balance the demands of family, household duties (which got shamefully neglected) and the ever-looming, darkly threatening deadlines, horribly boring textbooks and 3-hour essay tests.

Dumb things...

Tonight I exhausted my last blonde highlight. Yep, I did somethin’ stupid. My feet were really dirty, because I was playing volleyball barefoot. So I went to wash them. I sat on the edge of the tub and turned on the water. Then I screamed and banged the faucet. Yeah, the button was pulled up and I got a shower. Oh well. I was hot anyway.

The four of us are studying the life of Esther this week. There is so much to be learned from her gentle and kind, yet courageous spirit. We will each be posting our thoughts this week!

A Thousand Words...

...or better yet, a couple of pictures!

Mr. Alderfer of Pennsylvania, a retired engineer, built this in his front yard. It was awesome!

At a pool party (yeah, yeah, it's not all work!) with some random pooch, Max

Paris was fascinating...

Not a one missing. Thank you so much!!!

my room, laptop central.

But there is this one annoying thing...

Once upon a time, there was this dude. He was filthy rich, and he and the Prime Minister were best friends. Mr. Prime Minister had given him the best job (almost) in the country—second to one. He had seventy-eight children, which were the apples of his eyes. In a word, he had it made. But there was this one thing…

You see, there was this other dude. He wasn’t super rich, and he had none of Mr. Big Stuff’s influence and prestige. But good grief was this guy ever annoying! All of the other little peons asked for his autograph and smiled and grinned and stood up when he entered the room and generally knew when they were in the presence of Big Stuff. But not John Doe. He treated Big Stuff like any other dude—didn’t even ask for an autograph! Well, Big Stuff got mad. Really mad. So he did what anyone in his dire situation would do.

First, he invited all his friends and his favorite wife for a midnight snack. The after dinner speech would be presented by Big Stuff himself.

“Lady and gentlemen,” he began dramatically. That was his favorite beginning. “Lend me your ears!” Ah, his favorite line from Marcus Aurelius, his favorite actor. An hour and a half later, his audience sat motionless, still completely spellbound as Big Stuff showed them his last pay stub—three hundred thousand rupees! His seventy-eight children paraded by, and the audience oohed and aahed at all the appropriate moments. Then Big Stuff showed them his Certificate of Power from the Prime Minister and all the medals and ribbons and Nobel Prizes he’d won. Everything was going well until Big Stuff remembered why he’d called this meeting in the first place.

“Lady and gentlemen,” he continued intensely, an angry scowl forming, “all my greatness is nothing to me, because—because there is this dude who annoys me!”

The audience gasped. Fortunately, Big Stuff had married a problem solver. There are two types of people in the world: problem creators and problem solvers. Well, Mrs. Big Stuff was an ace problem solver. She was so not into quick fixes. She got to the root of the problem and fixed it forever. Mr. Big Stuff obviously had a problem, and he needed it fixed. Mrs. Big Stuff scratched her head and began frantically scribbling on pieces of papyrus. What an awful dilemma! What could possibly make her darling husband happy again? Why, oh why did this have to happen to her?

Then she had it! Simple, oh so simple! Genius!

“Daahling,” wrapping her arms around Big Stuff’s heaving shoulders, “I’ve got just the thing. Vy don’t you chust keel zis annoyink peon? Surely ze Prime Minster vouldn’t care…I mean, if he iss causing you so much trouble, ze Prime Minster vouldn’t like him either.”
Bingo! He always knew he’d married her for her brains. In two hours, the gallows were erected—big impressive ones that would rival the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Unfortunately for Mr. Big Stuff, he underestimated this particular peon. To make a long story short, Mr. Big Stuff got to test his own gallows (they worked!), and the annoying peon got his job. Perhaps it’s not the happy ending you were looking for. Sorry, but that’s the way that it happened.

You see, I’ve been reading the book of Esther, listening to Crystal Paine, and doing a little thinking of my own. The moral of the story is this: contentment has no prerequisites. Haman had it all—quite literally everything except the throne. Yet he was discontent because he chose to focus on what he didn’t have—one guy’s respect—instead of giving thanks for what he did have. (Esther 5:11-13)

Joy stems from contentment, and contentment is a willful act. I choose to be content with such things as I have. I choose to be thankful for the blessings God has given to me. I choose joy.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Side note: A couple of years ago, when Ruth and I were debating together, we used an H.L. Mencken quote, “For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, straightforward, and wrong.” (slight paraphrase) I couldn’t help but think of that quote when I read the part of the story where Zeresh, Haman’s wife, suggests that Haman hang Mordecai.God had a better idea…

The Hardest Thing...

...I have ever done was to say goodbye to all of you. I miss you!

A conversation between myself and a certain young gentlemen of our household this evening:

"'See 'Chelle, Tee?"

"Not now, Aaron."

"Where 'Chelle?"

"Chelle went on a long trip."

"Where she go?"

"To Romania."

"Wo-na-nia? Where that, Tee?"

Since our parents left for the weekend, we have had to amuse ourselves. Of course, that wasn't too hard; it's never difficult to find fun when mom and dad are gone. *wink*

When the cat's away, the mice will play, you know! So, Sari and I packed a picnic and joined the boys at the park...after finishing the monstrous list that dad gave us to keep us busy and out of trouble; and being responsible babysitters, we accomplished the projects first and then went to play!

Andrew decided he wanted to be a man and pull the (heavy) giant cooler all the way back to the van when it was time to go home.

How glad I am that I'm not missing this! I love being involved in the lives of my younger siblings.
Our culture dictates that when a girl graduates from college or high school, she either has to a). get a job and move out, or b). get married. Or both. And of course, if you choose the latter and not the former, then the rest of the world nods and says, "good move! you're expressing your individuality and independence by moving out and having your own life..."

I'm not doing either.

And so I have struggled with the irritating question that graduates get asked all the time: "So, what are you going to do with your life?"

Well, after much prayer, tears and talks between friends, I have decided to love life, and live to its fullest. And be as productive as possible. I can think of so many things I would love to do between now and the time that Prince Charming comes by! That is, if he comes....


But I have decided not to mope about it. I'm going to be a Proactive Princess and DO things to prepare myself for singleness or marriage, whatever God may have for me.
Mrs. Lang wisely asked us an important question at the tea party:
"What you are passionate about? What do you find most fulfilling? So pursue it; do it well with the possibility of singleness in mind."
Well, I'm not exactly all-consumingly passionate about any one thing, but I do know that there are important things I should be doing and I am determined to accomplish them this summer. I talked to my mom about this and she suggested I learn to run the kitchen smoothly with a cleaning schedule, a follow-able menu plan and grocery list. So that's one of my summer projects.

One of my life goals is to be well-read. So I will be reading a lot. Not just for the sake of being educated, but because God has made a world to learn about! And I want to be able to hold my head up in educated circles. I will be continuing in my piano and voice practice; also, decorating and design is one of my interests, so I will finish the decorating of our house, which has never really been finished, although are going on our 7th year in Wausau. ha ha. And I want to learn Spanish, and graphic design, and, and....

What I'm trying to say, ladies, is that there is actually hope. You don't have to be languishing at home, or college, or wherever you are,waiting for something to happen. Just get up and do it! I am reminded of the quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry.
Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well."


Happy Street Sweeping!!


~Kirsten