Here my cry!

God I know you have amazing plans for us. This bit of turbulence we have hit has us really stressed! You know exactly what we need and I know you'll provide that for us. You are so good! We have prayed about this every night, and we know you will answer our prayers!

In Jesus precious name, Amen!

Wow!!!

Hey everyone! I am so sorry things here have been so quiet! I am currently on vacation until Friday and then we will be flying home, packing up, and moving back to NY!!!! There are so many changes going on right now, and they are all very very good things!

As soon as we are all settled, I will be ready and raring to go with some awesome new series, awesome stuff for the kiddos, and great things for you to do alone or with someone to build your relationship with God!

You are all so awesome and thank you for being patient with me. God is doing amazing things in our lives and we are running with it :)

God Bless and Keep Smilin'
Stephanie ><>

***I do not own photos in this blog***

Submission-Living a Biblical Marriage

Ephesians 5:22-23

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

I know I have talked about this in another post. This is so important in my marriage. A lot of people in today's society see submission as one of two things: 1. A doormat. 2. Something that cannot be discussed here on my blog!

Biblical submission is NEITHER! My husband is the head of my household. He provides, he protects. I am the keep of the home. I tend to our son. 

I, believe it or not, a few years ago would have been considered "domestically challenged"! I could cook, but my menu was limited. I could bake, again, limited. I cleaned to make the house "presentable". Now, it's a whole new ball game, AND I LOVE IT!

I have so much more respect for everything my husband does everyday for us and he respects me the same. Intimacy (not just physical) has exploded in our marriage! God intended wives to be helpmeets, not controllers of everything. A lot of women disagree with me and this, and that's ok. Here's a little something to show you how this works:

We both surrender ourselves to The Lord. We submit to Him. He is our ultimate light guiding our feet down the path of this life. I submit/surrender to my husband. He makes the big decisions in our home after discussion, he provides for us, protects us, and guides our family where it needs to be. I make sure our home, health, and happiness are taken care of. I greet him with a smile even if its been a rough day not because I have to, but because I'm so grateful and happy to see him! 

I enjoy being my husbands helpmeet, because let's face it ladies, the house wouldn't run as smoothly without us ;). All joking aside, God has given me such an amazing husband. I've had people ask me if I will ever go back to work. My answer is, I don't know. I've also had people ask, don't you miss all the extras you get with more income? No. We do without to be together as a family. We are not materialistic people. We enjoy repurposing things. I enjoy making blankets, mending clothes, and just enjoying life. 

I know there are a lot of feminists out there. And if that works for you, great. But I'm living my life as The Lord intended it to be. I am a submissive wife and would have it no other way!

With all this being said, there's something else that I need to address. I have seen around the lovely land of the Internet, people claiming or practicing submission as abuse. THAT IS NEVER OK! I don't care what happened, what was said, what wasn't done, abuse is NEVER ok. If you are in that situation, please contact your local abuse hotline or head to a women's shelter. Please visit this website for signs of abuse and how to get help!

http://www.thehotline.org/

God Bless and Keep Smilin'

Stephanie ><>

**i do not own rights to the photo in this post**

Please respect each others opinions and beliefs. Any negative talk or hurtful or offensive language will be reported. 

Is your marriage what God wants it to be?

Genesis 2:22-24

Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Does this sound like your marriage? Are you one in everything with your husband?

Before getting too far into this, I want to share my story. I wasn't brought up in a church. I wasn't from a devout family. I strayed. I did a lot of things I am not proud of. I shut God out of my life for a very long time. I'm sure you're thinking, "who is this woman to give me advice?" I will tell you :)

14 months ago, I became very ill. No one knows what is causing my body to do the things it does. Chronic pain, fatigue, trouble sleeping, eating, completing daily tasks. For roughly 5 months, I could not walk unassisted. My husband bathed me, dressed me, catered to my every need. I felt hopeless, alone, a burden, and most of all scared. While on my sofa, reading, trying to drown out the voice in my head telling me I wasn't enough, there came another voice. One I hadn't heard before. One that struck the very core of my soul. "Let me help you Stephanie, come back home." 

I sat for a moment, trying to figure out if I was completely losing my mind, or was this something I needed to pursue. I went back to reading and again that voice came, "You will find comfort in my arms." Right then I knew The Lord was knocking at the door of my heart! I've lived for Him ever since.

I'm happy to say that within 3 months of this revelation, I was not only walking, but taking care of everything I needed to.... by myself! Do I still have pain? Yes. Do I still have moments of weakness and fatigue? Yes. Am I alone in my heart? NO! I share this testimony with you for everyone to understand, no one is perfect. No one but Jesus. No one can fix everything in your life. No one but Jesus. No one will make sure that your faith stays strong in the face of adversity and tribulation. No one but Jesus! 

My husband and I are one. We've chosen to live our marriage just as God designed it. He is the head of our home. I am his helpmeet. I am the keeper of our home. He is our provider. In the world today, we may seem backwards. We are living for Christ. We don't expect pats on the back for good works. We don't expect recognition for the things we do. We help others, each other, reach out and witness to people, and continuously ask for God's guidance throughout our journey here on earth. 

Do we have a perfect life? No, but we make the best of everything. We've been through a lot of trying times, and God has been there with us, holding us up, keeping us strong, and loving us just as we are. God made woman from man. We are an integral part of our husbands. I don't know about you, but I know that without a first mate, the captain of a ship can't keep everything under control, but our lifeguard walks in water!!!

I have a challenge for you, write down all the things that made you fall in love with your husband. Remind yourself God chose you two to make a union and live in His light. Remind yourself you are a part of your husband. Not someone to walk ahead or behind him, but right along side of him. I love being able to care for my husband and son. I love being home to greet them. I love being the one who maintains our home. I love that I am my husbands equal. Read Genesis 2:22-24 over and over until it really sinks in, we are one with our husbands! 

God Bless and Keep Smilin'

Stephanie><>

New series starting soon!!!!

I've been thinking about this for a while, what was my next series going to be? After much though, prayer, and wonderful signs from God, I know what to do. 

For the next few days, I'm going to help everyone of my awesome blog followers....YOU :)..... follow the Word of God in your marriage. I know a lot of people will not agree with me, some will think I'm "crazy" but that's ok :)

First and foremost, I want everyone to understand this is a no judgement zone. While we may not agree with others beliefs or the way each other live their lives, I'm asking everyone to respect each other. We need to love each other just as Jesus loves us! I love each and every one of you for who YOU are, not for what you do or have done. With that being said, I need to get some thoughts together and let's begin this journey into how my home lives and what God says about marriage! 

God Bless and Keep Smilin'

Stephanie ><>

***i do not claim rights or own pictures in this blog***