Put Prayer Into Practice

Her name is Barbara, and she is one of the truest friends I have ever known. This woman would stop whatever she was doing to be there for me, and that's just the kind of person she is with all of her friends.

We met in September of 2005, when Gage and I moved to Fort Hood, TX. She was the very first female friend that I made and we hit it off instantly. We both felt very special because our husbands would ask us to to go with them to "guy's night" while all of the other wives were not invited. There was never a dull moment when the two of us were together. I was the Maid of Honor in her wedding, our husband's worked together... I had hoped that our families would stay close for years. Unfortunately, time and circumstances have taken that dream away but Barbara Maier is forever a dear friend to me and even with her miles away, I still carry her in my heart.

Because she is so special to me, my heart is breaking over all that she has been going through. I wish so badly that I could be with her right now. But since I can't, the best that I can do is beg everyone for their prayers and support. Barbara has suffered with a lot of different health issues for as long as I have known her. The most recent development is the return of her brain tumor, which has grown larger than the last time. The following link is a note that she wrote, explaining her situation: http://www.facebook.com/barbie.maier?v=wall#!/note.php?note_id=448056517163 .

As you can see, her oldest son Payton is also struggling with some health issues. I can remember the day my mother-in-law and I drove straight from the airport to the hospital because Payton was rushed there for seizures. This was almost 5 years ago and he's still having them. He is such an awesome boy. The whole family is. They are a beautiful family and wonderful people.They need our prayers, and I as their friend am asking you to take a moment out of your busy life to do so. Her husband Michael is a wonderful man, and I admire him for all of the support and love he has shown his wife in these hard times.

Barbara has a fund raising page for anyone who can afford to donate some money. If this is something you would be interested in, please visit the site: http://pages.lightthenight.org/sctx/AustinL10/BMaier#home . If you can't afford it, please at least continue to pray for them.

Barbara, I promise you that the moment I have enough money for a trip, you will be the first person to know. I love you, girl.

Humbled by HIS Everlasting Love!

Only a year ago I was writing such inspirational blogs on here, about the standards I had set for myself with men, and how I would wait for God to bring me the right one... it's amazing how quickly you can fall into exactly what you don't want to fall for the moment you let your guard down. It takes no time at all for temptation to fester inside of you...

I have learned an important lesson that as a Christian woman, I can't listen to that old adage "follow your heart." The heart can be the most deceiving part on a woman's body. It desires so much more than her spirit can handle; a man who can provide her every want and need. When the truth is, there is only ONE who can satisfy every woman AND man's want and need.

It doesn't matter if your male or female, fat or skinny, tall or short... God created us ALL alike in one sense that our brains are all located in the same place: our heads. The purpose of this is for us to use our HEADS to think, and not our hearts... or other body parts as some like to accuse men of thinking with...

A year ago, I battled between my head and my heart and unfortunately in the end, I let my heart win. I made the conscious choice to follow my heart, all the while my mind was screaming at me to get my attention, until I finally muted it. And now I am left once again to pick up all of the pieces from the heart break that I knowingly walked straight into. There is nobody for me to blame but myself. I could have used my head and taken a completely different path, but I didn't.

How many times will I do this to myself before I learn a true lesson in WAITING ON THE LORD???!!!! I don't have an answer for that. I'd like to be able to say, "never again" but being that I am only human, all I can really promise myself is that I will try harder not to be so selfish and impatient the next time. But here is one thing I do know for sure: God is working in me. Once again, he is teaching me a lesson from my mistakes and helping me to grow in His love. He has yet again proven to be the one "guy" that has stayed with me all the way. I don't deserve His love but oh, how grateful I am for it!

How does anybody take advantage of such a PERFECT love? What makes us worthy of it when He knows we aren't always going to be faithful in our relationship with Him? God demonstrates the kind of love no human will ever be able to perfect in their own lives, though it's not an excuse to not try: forgiveness and mercy.

This doesn't mean that the feelings your heart produces are all wrong. But I believe that if you follow God first, using your head to make reasonable choices, your heart will follow with more reasonable feelings. Without a brain a human can't live. Likewise, without a beating heart a human is dead. The two work together to keep us alive, and to keep love alive. It's a team effort and one can't go at it all alone.

I could ramble on forever, but I'll leave it with this passage from my (always) favorite book, Lady in Waiting:

"When a single woman experiences a prolonged period of datelessness, loneliness tempts her to compromise her conviction concerning dating a growing Christian. Her dateless state may pressure her to surrender to the temptation of dating an unbeliever. She may justify such a date in the guise of being a witness for Jesus. Many single women have been trapped emotionally with an unbeliever when it all began with "missionary dating." Ponder this: Every unbelieving marriage partner arrived as an unbeliever on the first date. As trite as it may seem, every date is a potential mate. Avoid dating an unbeliever... You must set a higher standard and resist dating a guy who is not growing in his intimacy with Christ."