Audrey Hepburn Quotes

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."


"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."


"Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future."


"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."

Mere Christianity

Book 1:
Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe

Chapters 4 and 5

Ever since the beginning of time, man have been wondering what this universe really is, and how it came to be. There are two main views on the matter. The first, is what's called the materialistic view, which is very similar to the evolutionary theory.

"People who take that view think that matter and space just happen to exist, and always have existed, nobody knows why;and that the matter, behaving in certain fixed ways, has just happened..."

The other view, Lewis called the religious view. "According to it, what is behind the universe is more like a mind that it is like anything else we know. That is to say, it is conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another."

Science, Lewis says, works by experiment. My high-school science courses (which were Christian textbooks) said that science, is, in essence, a series of experimentation used to interpret God's world around us. Many things can be determined through science: how far away is that star? what is this substance made of? what happens when we heat this up to such-and-such temperature?

"But why anything comes to be there at all, and whether there is anything behind the things science observes - something of a different kind - this is not a scientific question."

There are some things God has allowed us to know, others, we will never know. Lewis used the analogy of a postman who gives packages to each person on the street. We know that others got packages, but we are only allowed to open our own. The others aren't ours to open. The only package we are allowed to open is that of Man. We can't open the package belonging to the ocean. Or the one addressed to the trees. We open the package that was sent to us.

"But I should expect to find that there was, so to speak, a sender of letters in both cases, a Power behind the facts, a Director, a Guide."

You may think that Lewis has quickly gone through everything and pointed straight to the God of Christianity. But, actually, we've only gotten to a "certain something" out there, a conscience of sorts, a mind over all.

"Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But id does not being in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is not use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to being with and, in the end, despair."

My favorite - Books!

My friend Suzanne requested a list of some of my favorite books. I didn't realize how many there were! I truly love to read, sometimes I forget how much. Books are special to me, rich treasures are held between their pages.

Of course, my #1 book is the Bible. I love it more than any other book available. Its the absolute, perfect Word of God. His love letter to His bride, the church. And the guidebook given to us, His children.

But other than the Bible, my top 30 books are:

Biblical Womanhood:


1. Aunt Jane's Hero By Elizabeth Prentiss


2. Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss


3. So Much More by Elizabeth and Anna Sophia Botkin


4. Raising Maidens of Virtue by Stacy McDonald
http://www.raisingmaidens.com/


5. Beautiful Girlhood by M. Hale, revised by Karen Andreola


6. Authentic Beauty Leslie Ludy


7. Set Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy

Spiritual:


8. His Chosen Bride by Jennifer Lamp

9. Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado


10. When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado


11. He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado

(can you tell I like Max Lucado? In fact, while I was looking at the books on the shelf I found another book of his that I want to read called Just Like Jesus.)

12. Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally


13. A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh Demoss


14. Jesus Freaks by dcTalk

15. Sister Freaks by Rebecca St. James

Relationships:

16. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris

17. Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris

18. Created to be His Help-meet by Debi Pearl

19. Emotional Purity by Heather Arnel Paulsen

20. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings

Fun:

21. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (it must be the unabridged version!)

22. Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott

My favorite of Jane Austen:

23. Pride and Prejudice

24. Emma

25. Ten P's in a Pod by Arnold Pent III

26. Autumn by Susan Branch

27. Summer by Susan Branch

28. Just David by Eleanor Porter

Misc:

29. Be Intolerant by Ryan Dobson

30. Our Country's Founders by William J. Bennett

What are some of your favorites?

<3

Mere Christianity

Book One:
Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe

Chapters 1, 2 and 3

We've all heard people quarrel and fight. And they do that because of the Law of Human Nature. If you're not being fair, and I call you out on it you won't reply with "Who cares about this fairness thing." You will most likely try to explain why you were being fair. That is because we both have ingrained in our hearts that fairness is right and unfairness is wrong.

"It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed. And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals...Quarreling means trying to show that the other man is wrong."

That law or rule that both parties have in their mind is the Law of Human Nature. A basic set or morals set inside of each and every one of us. Natives in savage countries or people in ancient times may have had different morals than we do today, but they were not completely different. A total different morality would mean that people we admired for running away in a battle or where people felt proud to back-stab someone who had been so kind to them.

C.S. Lewis said something that caught my attention, "Selfishness is never admired." This struck me kind of funny because I thought about all of the celebrities whose lives are practically built on selfishness. But then I remembered that even in the worldliness of Hollywood people are deeply admired who care for the orphans or give their money to an important cause. The celebrities who are purely selfish may be admired for their good acting or singing, but everyone knows that if they don't help and care for others they are sorely lacking.

We don't have to follow the rules of nature. They are often ignored and soon people become callous to the urge to do the right thing and continue to do wrong. While gravitational law is not a choice (you'll fall if you jump off a building, whether you want to or not), the Law of Human nature is a choice (you can kill that person or not, its ultimately your choice).

"These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in."

According to Lewis, many people argue about this Moral Law saying that its merely instinct, like an animal would have. But that is simply not true. Lewis gave the example of a person who hears a cry for help from a man in danger. When you hear that call you will most likely feel two desires: one to go as far away from danger as you can, and the other to go and help the person calling for help. These are your instincts. The Law of Human nature helps you to decide which one is right (obviously helping the person). Here, though, you still have a choice. You know whats right and you may or may not do that. So the Moral Law is not itself an instinct, its a tool to decipher which of those instincts you should win.

"Consequently, this Rule of Right and Wrong, or Law of Human Nature, or whatever you call it, must somehow or other be a real thing - a thing that is really there, not made up by ourselves. And yet it is not a fact in the ordinary sense, in the same way as our actual behavior is fact. It beings to look as if we shall have to admit that there is more than one kind of reality; that, in this particular case, there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men's behavior, and yet quite differently real - a real law, which none of us made, but which we find pressing on us."

(Whew, that was a deep one. Let's not give up, though! I was tempted to several times, but the fact that this was school work and not optional kept me from it. ;-) This stuff is rich. So stretch your mind and keep reading, even if you normally wouldn't read this kind of stuff. You'll be glad you did.)

Mere Christianity

I'm starting a new book!

"Mere Christianity"

by C.S. Lewis.

A Challenge to Women

By John Piper
January 1, 1995

1. That all of 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 this 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 and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters 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 would open to you; and the power of faith and holiness would descend upon you; and your spiritual influence would increase at home and at church and in the world.

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

7. That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. 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 Christ 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 children who hope in the triumph of God, sharing with him the teaching and discipline of the children, and giving to the children that special nurturing touch and care that you are uniquely fitted to give.

11. That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God's business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.

12. That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life's ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. 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 to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.

13. That you develop a 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 (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people's needs.

14. That in all your relationships with men you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and care and initiative. That you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.

15. That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God's ideal of complementarity. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about...

The awesome significance of motherhood

Complementing a man's life as his wife

Ministries to the handicapped

* hearing impaired
* blind
* lame
* retarded

Ministries to the sick:

* nursing
* physician
* hospice care—cancer, AIDS, etc.
* community health

Ministries to the socially estranged:

* emotionally impaired
* recovering alcoholics
* recovering drug users
* escaping prostitutes
* abused children, women
* runaways, problem children
* orphans

Prison ministries:

* women's prisons!
* families of prisoners
* rehabilitation to society

Ministries to youth:

* teaching
* sponsoring
* open houses and recreation
* outings and trips
* counseling
* academic assistance

Sports ministries:

* neighborhood teams
* church teams

Therapeutic counseling:

* independent
* church based
* institutional

Audio visual ministries:

* composition
* design
* production
* distribution

Writing ministries:

* free lance
* curriculum development
* fiction
* non-fiction
* editing
* institutional communications
* journalistic skills for publications

Teaching ministries:

* Sunday school: children, youth, students, women
* grade school
* high school
* college

Music ministries:

* composition
* training
* performance
* voice
* choir
* instrumentalist

Evangelistic ministries:

* personal witnessing
* Inter Varsity
* Campus Crusade
* Navigators
* Home Bible Studies
* outreach to children
* Visitation teams
* Counseling at meetings
* Billy Graham phone bank

Radio and TV ministries:

* technical assistance
* writing
* announcing
* producing

Theater and drama ministries:

* acting
* directing
* writing
* scheduling

Social ministries:

* literacy
* pro-life
* pro-decency
* housing
* safety
* beautification

Pastoral care assistance:

* visitation
* newcomer welcoming and assistance
* hospitality
* food and clothing and transportation

Prayer ministries:

* praying!!!
* mobilizing for major Concerts of Prayer
* helping with small groups of prayer
* coordinating prayer chains
* promoting prayer days and weeks and vigils

Missions:

* all of the above across cultures

Support ministries:

* countless jobs that undergird major ministries

Chapter 12 - Preparing For Intimacy

Future Husband Application

" My Beloved is mine and I am His."

Song of Songs 2:16

Is it even possible to go through life in this day and age without getting your heart broken at least once? Very rarely I'm sure. As much as we know we're not supposed to, girls are apt to give away their heart way too soon. And while some of you are better with keeping your emotions under control (you are extremely blessed!) the rest of us must try to heal our broken hearts with the help of our ever-loving Prince.

"If you have ever had your heart broken, recently or in the past, it is crucial that you allow your Prince to fully heal the traumatic effects of that experience before you can be ready for true intimacy - both with Him and with your future spouse...And yet, if you let Him, your Prince is able to fully restore you, to completely mend each fragment of your fractured heart."

Practical Steps for a Broken Heart

Healing of a broken heart is a personal issue, however Leslie Ludy gives a couple of suggestions (they're good ones!). With your Prince's help, the insecurity and doubt that comes with a broken heart will be replaced with an unshakable confidence and beautiful radiance.

Soul Searching.

A good place to start is to prayerfully think through each aspect of the painful experience. She lists some questions in the book to ask yourself, a couple of them are:
- Did I ever cling to tightly to the relationship for security or affirmation?
- Did I ever put the relationship before Jesus Christ?
- Did I allow my emotions to lead the way?

Asking yourself these questions will help you see if there was anything in your part of the relationship that needs to be made right. This is a very important step, understanding that the other person is not completely to blame will help keep us from bitterness and anger.

Getting the Prince's Perspective.

An amazing step toward healing can be to spend some time focused on finding Christ's perspective on things rather than be blinded by your own emotional view. Leslie suggests finding a secluded place, quieting your mind and reading the tender words that the bridegroom speaks to his bride, found in the Song of Songs. I can't wait to try this. When you read the words, realize that your Prince is speaking to you, His cherished princess.

"Instead of allowing the careless actions or words of others to shape your perception of who you are, allow your self-image to be shaped only by the reality of your Prince's sacrificial, unconditional, timeless love for you...Allow your Prince's perspective to become yours as well."

Talking with a Teammate.

Another wonderful act of healing is to ask God to show you someone who can help you work through any emotions that you may have. For me, this is my mom. We work through things together. I'm not very good at verbalizing my feelings, so often I just go without, but my mom knows how to get it out of me so that I don't bottle it up, which can be dangerous.

"Often the simple act of verbalizing the pain you are going through can go a long way in helping you heal."

Your teammate should be someone you trust, someone you respect and someone who has built their life around Christ. This person needs to be someone that you want to take advice from. And someone to listen.

Relational Intimacy

The word "intimacy" often means different things to different people. Some look at intimacy as a real emotional connection, others may think of a good physical relationship, while still others consider intimacy only being "with" someone longer than a month. But there is so much more to true intimacy than the emotional, physical or mental aspects of a relationship. Intimacy is knowing someone at the deepest level possible.

"True intimacy is sharing life with someone at the deepest level, knowing someone completely, and being known completely in return."

True intimacy is complete trust and vulnerability. Christ doesn't approach us with the "temporary relationship" mentality used by so many around us. He won't leave us when we fail, when we show our imperfections. He will not stay with us for 10 years or so and then leave us for something new. His love is unconditional and it is on that love that a marriage should be based. The marriage that lasts is the one that is based on the unconditional marriage between Christ and his bride, us, the Church.

"It is not based on our performance. It is not based on our perfection. It is not based on fleeting emotion or feeling. It is based on His choice, His decision to be completely faithful to us no matter what - even at the expense of His blood. True intimacy can only be discovered with this kind of commitment at the core."

The Beauty of Spiritual Oneness

A good rule of thumb when developing intimacy in a relationship:

"To experience intimacy in its fullness, it should be built in three stages - spiritual oneness, emotional oneness, and then physical oneness in marriage. It is important not to rush to the next stage until the previous one has been previously established."

Practical Steps for Spiritual Oneness

Savor a Season of Friendship.

Let Christ lead your relationship, not emotions. When emotions run rampant, two things happen. One, spiritual oneness cannot be developed. And two, physical temptation becomes harder to control.

Keep an Open Hand

One of the best ways to keep Christ at the center is to keep an open hand at all times.

"Whenever we start to cling to tightly to a friendship, a relationship, or even the desire for a relationship, we must take a step back, examine our hearts, and entrust the pen back to the Author of romance."

The Making of Poets by Eric Ludy

Last time Eric wrote in the book, he talked about the making of warriors. There are two parts of a man, the warrior and the poet. Here's the part about the man who is a poet.

A poet, in this sense, is more than just a writer of rhymes and prose. A true poet is more than just a man with a pen writing down verses.

"A true poet writes poetry with his very life. A true poet doesn't use poetic devices to con the heart of a woman but uses the beauty of all that is poetic to serve, cherish, and express love to the heart of a woman."

Just as the warrior is not a conqueror of femininity but a protector, a poet isn't a just a wooer of a woman's heart, but knows hot to nurture and plant love in a woman's heart.

"Simply put, a true poet is a man who knows how to be intimate with a lover - first a foremost with Christ."

Intimacy involves the blending of five very important ingredients: the ability to listen, the ability to be tender, the ability to enjoy the journey (move at Christ's pace, not his own), the ability to be thoughtful, and the ability to cultivate stillness.

The Art of Guy-Nudging

For a woman to train a guy to be a poet, she must use the rare (and sometimes difficult) art of guy-nudging. Guy-nudging is completely different from nagging (Proverbs says its better to live in the corner of your roof than with a nagging wife) and pressuring; its understanding how a man works and blending that knowledge with patience, gentleness, and quite a bit of creativity (sweetness while your at it is always a plus!).

Putting It Into Action

Four things we can do right now to help our brothers in Christ to be true poets:

1. Be tender.

Tenderness is giving to someone what they need the most in the moment they most need it.

2. Be a guy-nudger

3. Be willing to be unappreciated.

After a guy makes that leap and does that thing you've been encouraging them in, don't turn around and give them an "I told you so". They will either backslide or just shun you out of their life. Allow yourself to be unappreciated. He may thank you, but if not, that's OK, our security and confidence comes from our Prince, right?

4. Be a defender of masculinity.

Warrior-poets may be scarce, but that doesn't mean they can't reemerge into society. We as young women can help make that happen. C'mon, sisters, lets take the challenge!

Epilogue

Yes, this wonderful book is over. But you, my blog friends, should read it yourself! I wish I could've just copied the whole book down for you, it was so rich with encouragement and wisdom. However, plagerism is not something I wanted to dip into, so I had to pick and choose what I would say. But PLEASE read it yourself. I would also suggest Leslie Ludy's new book, Set Apart Femininity. I'm in chapter one and already super encouraged!

Here is Leslie's final challenge:

"My challenge to you is to become one of those few in this generation: a set-apart young woman who allows the passionate intimacy she experiences with her Prince to completely transform every other area of her life. This kind of fairy-tale romance between a young woman and her true Prince does not come without sacrifice. It does not come without pain. But it is the most priceless gift we will ever be offered. And it is the most beautiful, fulfilling existence we could ever know or imagine.

Our heroic Prince is with us. He is tenderly shaping us into His princess - lilies among thorns in this generation. In His presence is the fullness of joy. Let's live for His applause alone."