Faith, Hope & Love Series {Joy}

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and Christmas right behind it… I’ve been really thinking on this: what is the right perspective on JOY through all the holidays? We hear that word a lot this time of year—we’re told to have joy and be joyful… but, about now in my life, everything becomes whirlwind. There is so much fun stuff packed into November and December that I often kind of find myself reeling and not really able to enjoy the moments. All my family traditions around Thanksgiving and Christmas are so special to me, and give me much happiness—I love them all. But I don’t want it to be just happiness… I don’t want it to be days whizzing by that are just good. I think it can mean so much more.

John 1:16 says “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.” And I am thinking that that’s it—that’s the way to have true joy that’s not just a happy feeling. My traditions, these fun things, these happy days—they are blessings— one after another, just like the verse says… and they are from HIS hand, and because of HIS grace.

I think that’s the joy—taking into account WHO joy comes from. And really, I think for me, it’s got to be the key to slowing down the whirlwind and walking purposefully through these busy days. Really, if I don’t fight to remember the Author of joy—the joy found in all this stuff BECAUSE it is from God to me—my kids suffer, my family suffers, the people around me suffer because I’m only looking at finding happiness, not seeing things as gifts from a God who loves me. What do I want to be remembered for— my joy in decorating a tree or making peanut butter cup cookies? These are really good things and I am excited to do them this year again… but I think they can bring so much more joy to my life when I see that their meaning comes because they are given to me from the Giver of all good things—our God. And I would so much rather be remembered for my joy found in Him than in anything else.

Ann Voskamp says this:

"You will be most remembered by what brought you most joy. The joy of the Lord is your strength, and the person of Christ is your unassailable joy. And the battle for joy is nothing less than fighting the good fight of faith. As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible."

Because of God. Because of His gift of His Son who gives us forgiveness, and hope, and love… and joy.

And so, as I jump into the holidays, I am praying for joy. I am praying that the fun things and the special traditions we celebrate will bring joy—not because they’re fun but because they are gifts from the hand of my God who gives me one blessing after another… and because in recognizing the JOY given by Him, I can honor Him. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Andrea lives in Washington state with her husband and their three amazing kids.  She is a full-time mom, a part-time tutor, and serves as a mentor to young women at her church.  In her spare time, Andrea enjoys reading a good book and hanging out with her family. Andrea is also my bible study leader and wife to my youth pastor :)

PS I was planing on posting this last week before thanksgiving but i got busy, so thats why it says thanksgiving is right around the corner. :) 

PSS Im still looking for more writers so if any of you want to that would be wonderful! Just email me at lifethegreatest@gmail.com 

Faith, Hope, + Love Series///Love {By Madison}

        So, I know that this series is about love, faith, and hope. However, this post is going to be about purity. Aren't I breaking the rules??? Haha, technically; yes. But think about this. Why do we strive to be pure? Out of our love for Christ.  So it is actually a "footprint of love". This is so very important if we want to walk rightly with God; so I thought it best to start here. 
Let's start with a story! I love me a good story. :)
Once upon a time, on a hot day in September, we had to run into town. (Ugh!) First we picked up a coffee at Wood’s (of course) then headed off to TJ-MAX to search out a present for my Grandma. The place was CROWDED. And you probably know from experience that heat and bodies don't mix. We were rushing through, trying to be as quick and decisive as we could, when this beautiful lady walked through with her husband. Wedges, a (very) short skirt, toned legs. A man on my left was waiting as his wife picked through the racks. He immediately scanned those beautiful legs, in a complete daze- staring and drooling as she turned the corner. 
"Ready to go?" his wife innocently stated. 
"Uh, yeah.." -half mesmerized.
They walked off, the short little woman displaying her finds to her semi-listening husband.
(not a very good story, I know.)
The whole scenario just broke my heart. How could he stand right beside his wife and so blatantly lust after another woman? And not even consider the fact that the woman was already taken?

       Well, she was asking for it- I thought to myself. But then again, he was really lacking in the self control area.. Didn't he notice the ring?
I stopped dead in my tracks. How many times had I looked at a guy and thought, He's pretty cute. Or only looked at them as "husband material"? I am taken by my Lord and Savior, by Jesus who calls me His own. His daughter, his treasured one. Anyways, God had planned for me (and every man and woman) a spouse since before the beginning of time. In reality, every time I look at a man and think, "gosh, he sure is good-looking" I am lusting after SOMEONE ELSE'S FUTURE HUSBAND.
I am just as guilty as that man. 

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman [or man] lustfully has already committed adultery with her [/him] in his [/her] heart” (Matthew 5:28, NIV).

And what about when I create a fairytale in my mind about some "crush" of mine? ‘And then he'll embrace me, and we'll ride into the sunset on his gleaming white Ferrar- ...I mean horse--’ 

I could be dreaming up a scene with my best friend's future husband. What would I say 10 years from now as I sit with my husband and she sits with my "fantasy man" as I tell them what I had dreamed up when I was 15 years old? What does God think about it right now? He knows when I lie down, and when I rise up. He counts the hairs on my head. Surely he knows what I'm doing as I sit and daydream about Harry, with his dashing good looks and flirty eyes. Does it glorify Him? For the chief end of man is to glorify God in all things (first catechism) and enjoy Him forever. When I partake in this sin of mine, am I glorifying God, or man? Am I taking enjoyment in Him, or in the love of lust? 
It is easy for us as girls to fall into the sin of letting our heart fall to too many places. The new boy in band. That adorable neighbor you’ve been crushing on for simply years. A cute pizza delivery guy. And, yes, even that sweet twenty-something from church that always opens the door for you. I fall into this, too... don’t get me wrong. For men, the lust is visionary. For us girls, it’s mental. We like to dream up that perfect scene with the cute neighbor. We like to picture ourselves as his girlfriend (someday, at least...). 

        But when I get myself into this kind of thinking, I have to check my heart. One, could I ever marry all the guys I’m fantasizing with? Unless you’ve got some freaky future, no. Second, is it right to lust after these men who are actually my brothers in Christ.. to ruin the beautiful plans God has for them? To scar my purity, too? Of course not. It never has been. Never will be, no matter how godly and G-rated your fantasies are. 
Well, you might be thinking, I’ve only ever liked one guy. I’ll only ever like him. Again, you must check your heart. Is this what I want to be doing to my heart? Do I want to put it through these shredders over and over again until there is not even one morsel left for my eventual husband? 

Does this thinking glorify God? We all know in our hearts right from wrong. Nobody can deny the weight of our consciences after wrongdoing. From our minds can stem evil things, even if they disguise themselves as perfectly innocent daydreams. 
Now, through all of this, I am not trying to condemn you. Of course not! The goal of this series is to bring us closer to God and His ways; this is my goal. How awesome is it to have more sisters in Christ to cheer on the Christian way? TOTALLY AWESOME. I want you to feel free by reading this post.. not condemned.
So, I can’t deny it. I have fallen over and over again (x20) into this sin. What can I do about it? Sometimes we feel as though we have fallen too far. Best to just throw in the towel and keep on sinnin’, right? No. I am saved by Christ. He died for my sin, the sin I will forever fall into without Him. If I repent, I will be forgiven. Is is easy? No.. It feels good to fantasize about all those cute guys, even with the guilt that follows. Sin does, every time. But it is pulling us away from Christ, the one we should be striving for. So I have to go against the core of my creature and think on the good, pure things. Think on Christ, and His Awesomeness. Focus on His Saving Grace. Don’t stop repenting, even when it feels better to lust and think about those ripped arms and One-Direction hair. 
We keep pure for Christ, because He always has us in mind. 

Sweetly Broken, 

| Madi

Madison Shoemake lives in Lynden, WA and is passionate about Christ, Family, and peach tea. You may visit her photography blog at madisonmariephoto.blogspot.com

[all images {except last} sourced from photobucket]

A Love Story {Guest Post By Jennifer Blair}

First of all I want to thank Hosanna for having me guest post on her blog! Isn't she so sweet! I wasn't quite sure what to write, so I thought I'd share a little bit about our love story. Who doesn't love those right? I thought I'd share a bit of advice on dating and God-scripted love stories. I can’t tell you exactly the formula that will work for you, but I can share how God led me.

Well, let me take you back to where it all started…

Silently I sat on my bed by the window, clutching my bible and Passion & Purity by Elisabeth Elliot in my arms. “Daughter, I never promised that you would get married.” I heard Him whisper to my heart. After several months I realized that if God was asking for my dream of getting married, then He had a good reason to do so. So I gave that dream to Him – which sounds a lot easier than it really was for me. How do you really put into words what it means to surrender?

The rest of my highschool days pasted without huge struggles about being single. But soon those days were over and I found myself at a small Christian college. It was here that I struggled a lot with the desire for a relationship. Sometimes my heart ached so badly that I thought it would break from loneliness. It was a season of waiting. There were a few guys that I met on mission trips and various events and I’d ask God, “what about him?”

This is where I advise you to be very careful. Our hearts can be very deceitful. I can’t tell you how many times I thought “I could marry them” or “If they asked me, I would date them”. Don’t let your desires skew your thinking. Seek the Lord and He will reveal the right time. Lots of times He said “no” by never allowing me to see my crush again, or I found out they started dating someone else.

I met Jonathan the Spring semester of my sophomore year at a Bible study where he led worship. He had it all – he was tall, dark, ruggedly handsome, funny, outgoing and played guitar. I liked him more than anyone I’d ever met just from that first encounter. Even so, I didn’t pay him much attention the first few weeks. (He later told me that he probably wouldn’t have been as interested in me if I had. He didn’t want someone who just came to a Bible study to meet guys.) The next few months were spent getting to know each other at the Bible study.

How did I know he was ‘it’? Well, the first sign was our similar passions. Pretty early on he asked me where I thought the Lord was leading me in life – I had never met someone whose God-given passions were the same as mine. Exactly! Second, was the way he pursued me. He was careful, respectful and intentional. Some of the first questions he asked me when we started “talking” were about my salvation and views on the Bible (which made a big impression on me). I knew he was serious about me. He wasn’t just playing around with my heart – he told me that I was the kind of girl he prayed God would give him one day.

Once it became clear that it was almost time to move on to dating, we spent 2 weeks apart with no communication in order to seek the Lord. It was an agonizing 2 weeks for me. In my heart, I knew that I already loved him. Even so, I gave all my hopes for this relationship to the Lord. I didn’t hear a “no” this time. I felt at peace with moving on and I knew that Jonathan was a man that I could trust with my heart. Sure, I had a few doubts here and there as we dated, but they were mostly in regards to the real person I found. I knew that I could not change him, so I had to ask myself if these were imperfections I was willing to live with for the rest of my life. Time and time again, I said yes and fell more deeply in love with this wonderful (and yet very human) man.

Was it scary and overwhelming at times? You bet. Still, in those moments I knew that the Lord was leading me. I had no doubt that I had sought His guidance and He had led me to this man. He chose me and I chose him…and we’ve never looked back.

The things of the heart are deep any mysterious. I don’t know where you are or what your past looks like. I can’t tell you anything but to seek the Lord. He knows our hearts and He knows what we need far better than we do. Trust Him, wait for Him. Your heart may break. Your dreams may shatter. Your soul may ache. Mine did. But there is always a purpose. The plans He has are far better than we can ask or think. 

 Hi, I'm Jennifer Blair - a photographer based in South Alabama. I'm a Christ follower, wife, musician, and a dreamer. I'm addicted to cute leather notebooks and I carry my camera everywhere. Here you will find my photography, tidbits of my life in the South with my wonderful husband, and my journey in the pursuit of Christ. I'm glad you're along for the ride! 

Go check out her blog HERE!

"Love is a Condition...

...In which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." 

-Robert Heinlein

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Hey, I'm Ky from The Birds Say, "I Love You" and I'm guest posting for Hosanna {thanks for inviting me!} 

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Valentine's Day is a week away, and I know I'm diligently working on my upcoming {this Saturday} date with Evan {My Man.} He has taken me on countless dates, and planned an incredible 6 months anniversary scheme not to long ago- and I really wanted to be in charge of planning Valentine's Day... so after begging- He said okay. :)

{This is us...}

That being said I have really been pondering what I can do to make this Valentine's Day the best anyone has ever seen... 

Here are so super cute ideas that I have done, or am planning to do... 

This is actually mine {it is on my nightstand...} 

Evan and I have a long distance relationship, and so I went on Google Maps and typed in his address and my own and then took a "Screenshot" on my computer... uploaded it to Picnik.com {you could also do it in Word} and put hearts over the "A" {Point A} and "B" {Point B.} It is super cute.

This is felt heart garland I made...  CLICK HERE to see how I did it for under $4.

I adore this ruffle card- I'm making this for Ev for sure! So cute! Eeeep! 

These "I love you more than..." brown bags are SO easy to make with the free printable offered HERE.

Wanna dress up your boring papers? Make these super cute heart paper clips in all of 3 seconds... ha. Perfect.

Oh-my-goodness-gracious. These look absolutely scrumptious! Mmm. I wanna eat one right now! You have to check out this recipe HERE.

Heart-shaped cupcakes? Could it get any cuter or easier? Just plop a marble or small ball of foil in a cupcake pan! I have to try this.

Could these get any cuter? Seriously?! I have already bought the googly eyes! Hehe.

...And I made this outfit on Polyvore- is it not the cutest? Goodness. I need it... Now.

Unfortunately though- it is going to be 45 degrees on Saturday, and the date I'm planning is going to be outside- so I'm going to have to be bundled up... 

So what are you doing to do for Valentine's Day?

Don't forget to stop by my BLOG and follow. :)

And thanks for having me...

He Reigns,

Ky