Your Grace Is Enough

Humph...

do you ever have those days where life just gets you down? Well today started out great but I guess it was just too good of  a day for Satan to be able to stand it. I can still feel those nasty words burning on the tip of my tongue and my head throbbing with regret. You know when people say "think before you speak." and "never speak when you're angry." well..don't roll your eyes next time. 

Cause it's true. 

After you've said those words, you wonder did those awful thoughts really come from the corners of my heart? You hope and pray those words didn't come out of the overflow of your heart, because if they did...well you need a serious make-over. Well..right here and right now is where God's amazing grace kicks you in the butt. Because the moment you realize that He is standing there loving you right through those ugly words you want to take it all back...and you just sit there with your little ugly words and humiliated heart with tears biting at your eyes. Well that was my evening...but lets not talk about that anymore;)

On a lighter note, my sisters graduation was this weekend. Being homeschooled we don't have a cap and gown but we do have a small(ish) fiesta at our home school assistance program. Her party was on Sunday and boy oh boy...do I love my family. My Mama grew up on a dairy farm with four older siblings and one younger. And I adore all of my aunts and uncles. They are precious. They love each other and fight for each other. Even though the oldest has kind of cut ties (not completely) they all still love each other. When it comes time for a wedding or a graduation party boy do they pull together. Two of my aunts (who happen to be twins) came out on Saturday to help us get ready all day long. Day. Made. I love them.

I also really just wanna say...

my mama means more to me than I'll ever be able to realize.

lately that's become apparent to me like never before.

I honestly don't know how I'll ever get married.

Even though it is a desire of my heart I don't know how I'll be able to leave my family. Of course I wont move ten thousand miles away {please, Lord, don't take that as a challenge} or completely cut them out of my life but honestly...the thought of leaving my mama and daddy and sisters just scares to bug juice out of me.

Is it becoming a leetle too clear what I'm getting at?

yes. I AM freaking out about growing up. I am a home body at heart. At the end of the day I'd much rather be at home with my family than anywhere else in the world. Sometimes life throws those shiny pieces of stuff at me and I go chasing after what I think I want to become but I always end up right back at the place that gives my heart peace.

my own precious Whispering Pines.

have a lovely night my dears.

love,

hannah dorothy

Winter to...April?

It's funny...I often find myself making a mental note to blog about the silliest things in life...but they all seem so important.

The first... of these is....those funny looks you get when driving to school. For real, what's peoples problems these days? Keep yo eyes on yo own ca. I guess it's worth mentioning the fact that we were driving in the pick-up...which happens to have a large snow plow attached to the front.
That's because it's winter. And in Iowa that usually means snow. This winter we haven't had a whole lot but my Daddy has to be ready for when it comes. He plows snow in the winter since you don't do a lot of trucking. Yep, my Daddy is an aggregate relocation technician....AKA he drives a dump truck =) 

Anywho...

Lately I've been struggling with loving everyone. Oh gosh...honesty time. Sometimes  a lot of the time I struggle with loving people when I think they're doing something wrong. They could be dear to my heart and soul and I could completely adore our time together but sometimes when I think I know a better way to do life I insist on telling them over and over what I think they should do. Honestly, I mean well. I want the best for people I love but sometimes I think that I know what's good for them better than God does. 

*sigh*

Wrong-o. God knows best. End of story. He may choose to use me to change the lives of the people around me but I do not act without His direction. Learning to love people through situations is one of my goals for 2012. And also learning to love people and get along with them even if they don't do things exactly like I do. 

Also...recently said trials have forced me to remind myself...

why do I believe what I believe? 

What has formed those beliefs? 

What do the people I trust think about them? 

What does God think about them?

Mainly I've been thinking about boy relationship beliefs. Where I stand and why I stand there.

Such as..why do I dress modestly? 

Because honestly...sometimes it would be so much easier to not care what I buy and how much little it covers. 

Well...how selfish. How stinking daggon selfish would that be to dress with excessive body parts sticking out? Women continually tell men to grow up and keep their eyes to themselves....as they sit there wearing shorts that literally only cover their butts and shirts that leave little to nothing for your imagination. We tell them to stop looking. If we want them to stop looking why are we giving them something to look at? Why, if it's hanging out is it not supposed to be looked at? If we think it's wrong for them to look at "it" why is "it" hanging out in front of the world and everybody?

Girls often wonder why boys act the way they do. Why they treat them like less than the ladies they are. Well, possibly one reason is because we don't dress like ladies anymore. We don't act like ladies. We're so caught up in being tough and thinking of quick come-backs we forget that a gentle and quiet spirit is what we're called to. {1 Peter 3:3-4}

Us ladies don't understand just how much our brothers struggle. A lot of them try desperately day after day to keep themselves pure. They try desperately to tear their eyes away from that girl with her short skirt. They think of their future wives and tell themselves "Don't look.". But it's not that simple. They're wired completely differently than we are. When they see a girl with so little clothes on their mind starts spinning out of control into crazy thoughts about girls. We honestly don't understand how hard it is for them to keep those thoughts in check with us girls walking around like we do. We can't understand that they need our help to keep them pure. Or rather we don't care. 
{From here on has been edited on April 28th, 2012, above text written during Winter months of 2011-2012}

Girls if we want pure and committed husbands it starts with us. It starts with what we walk out the door wearing. And it starts with us not being selfish. 
Because it's really up to us. Do we make excuses or do we decide to be the change? Do we decide to help our fellow brothers in Christ.
No more excuses such as 
"I want to dress modestly but I just can't find any clothes that cover me!" 
Girlfriend, I'm right there with you in your frustration, but honestly, it is very possible to find clothes that cover. Not easy, but rather, possible.

Modesty Tips and Suggestions
These are all things I live by, I don't  always follow them to the t, but nobody's perfect!
- As summer approaches it gets harder to be modest, but instead of just buying what is most available, namely shorts that literally cover your bum {isn't that what undies are for?}, get capris {which are also getting shorter} and roll them up or cut them off so they reach the bottom of your fingertips when on. These cover all your bum and are way more comfy that trying to deal with a weggie every time you move. For serious. Don't use the excuse that your arms are just really long, have your shorts hit mid thigh or a little below.
- Keep shorts loose so so you again don't have to worry about weggies just to look...cute?
- Shirts can be pretty easily made modest by adding a cami underneath. Just keep the crack and belly covered.
-  If a shirts straps aren't two fingers thick add a tank top or t-shirt underneath.
- To decide if a dress/skirt is too short, bend over. If you can see your bum in the mirror, it's too short. Add some leggings and roll with it.

Questions are loved and I'd love to hear what YOU do to stay modest!  
 I can promise you from experience that someday you're going to look back and ask yourself why on earth you were allowed out of the house in those awfully short shorts and low top. 
I've heard stories of young men/men expressing immense gratitude towards girls who dress modestly. They sincerely appreciate us helping them stay pure for God and their future wives.


And purity goes way beyond simply boys. It goes straight to and starts with God. We are pure only because He gives us His purity. Without Him we can't come close to what He asks of us. Purity is of the heart and mind, not simply the body. The body could maybe be called the outward expression of that inner purity.


I hope to soon write down some thoughts about purity and how it is so wrongly labeled to not having sex before marriage. 
What are your thoughts on modesty and purity?
love,
hannah dorothy

 

Camo Cake

Hey all! I'm sincerely sorry if his post is a little off, I'm blogging from my sister's itouh as mine is loading Diner Dash (boosh. Don't judge.) and she's on the laptop and I'm unable to get to another computer.
Anyway!
I wanted to share my utter excitement about he recent cake I made. That's right, you guessed it...it was a camouflage came! So much fun, man, for real. I made it for my uncle who runs an elk farm/hunting range with his little brother (and my other uncle). I wanted to do something fun that had to do with animals or hunting and this is what I came up with!
I mixed up a regular vanilla cake mix (I used the yokes, I think it helped get the colors I wanted) and then decided the mix evenly into three bowls. I added green food coloring to one, green, blue and yellow food coloring to another and brown and a little green to the last. It takes kind of a lot of food coloring but don't worry about it affecting the flavor, it doesn't. Then I just started plopping the different colors into two round cake pans. It's Camo so don't worry about how it mixes. When it came out I was a little scared about how the top looked, a little brown/tan. But once we cut it I was soo pleased! It was a lot of fun to make and it turned out great!
I'm afraid I can't add an image from the itouh, at least I don't know how to. I will add a picture as soon as possible!
Meanwhile, my Diner Dash is loaded!;)
love,
hannah dorothy