similarities through generations

I've been thinking about a couple of my "past" aunts recently.  Both Miller aunts.  I connected with a cousin a couple of years ago who had information on my Miller ancestry.  More than I thought was out there.  As a result, I have become very curious about a couple of my aunts, Theresa and Sophia.  Neither Theresa nor Sophia ever married.  Sophia gave her life to the service of the Lord, and I admire that greatly.  I don't know a whole lot about Theresa but I do know that she never married. Both of the ladies had the Miller last name.  It may sound strange, but knowing about these two aunts makes me feel a little better about my singleness.  When I think about my future, marriage is never in my thoughts.  I firmly believe that God has called me to be single and that I will never marry.  It's something I struggle with on a daily basis.  Am I a lesser woman because I'm single?  Is there something wrong with me that would not make me a good wife or mother?  No.  I don't think there is anything that causes this.  It all falls under the will of God.  I don't understand it all yet but I know that one day I will see the completed puzzle and it will all make sense.  Being single today doesn't carry as big of a stigma as it when my aunts were alive.  I don't think that it would have bothered Aunt Sophie as she gave her life to the service of the Lord.  I do wonder about Aunt Theresa.  It seems like there was a bigger stigma on single women in the 1800s than there is now.  Did that stop my aunt?  No, not at all.  I have a feeling that she was very successful in whatever she did, and I have historical records to show that she was a respected member of the community. I have also seen an inscription from a Bible that she gave my great-grandpa.  Knowing that she was a woman of strength and of faith, give me strength and faith. It gives me empowerment to get through my day.  Thank you for letting me share with you.

who is my master?

I am going to take the theme from the sermon I heard at church yesterday and run with it.  Bro. Miller (no relation) was preaching on Jesus as Master and the ways we need to let Him be master in our lives.  I have to admit, this was a message that I really needed to hear.  I know of things that need to be done: in my life, at church, etc; but a lot of times I let my "SELF" get in the way and I don't follow in obedience.  This was very true yesterday morning but now is not the time to go into it.  There are many things in my life that I try to do myself and don't let the Lord take control.  I wonder how different my life would be if I would just let Him be master of everything.  I let fear of what I think will happen keep me from following Him fully when he can see the final picture and already knows how my life will turn out.  Who better to finish the puzzle than the one who designed it?  It's hard to tell what the puzzle looks like when you don't have the box, but at least we know who is holding the box.  :-)  I've got to learn to let go of myself and let Him be master, and find the true purpose of who He wants me to be and what He wants me to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I may not understand all the things that go on in my life and why things are the way they are, but I do know this.  I think I make a pretty awesome aunt and I love my niece and nephews more than anything.  We had a Naner day at the park today, and I got some pics of them together.  They are the greatest blessings in my life.  I'll probably never have children of my own, but I'm sure glad God put these kids in my life for me to love.

Sleepless on a Sunday

2:45 AM is probably not the best time for me to be blogging, but I've got some things on my mind and I know I will not sleep until I get them off my mind.  And I'm a little too lazy tonight to get out my journal and write everything down.  Then I just typed and deleted.  There are some things I should not blog about, and the things on my mind tonight are some of them.  Good night.

Answered prayers

Over the last couple of years, I've kept a top 10 prayer list of things I intend to pray for until they're answered.  I have been reminded of a couple of these answered prayers recently.  I think it's wonderful the way God remains faithful to His children even when we tend to stray away.  He may not have answered all my prayers with a yes, but it's great to know that He does hear me when I pray.  That is one thing of which I can be certain.  On another note, I believe that God truly does bless His children when they unite and are faithful in doing His work.  Last year, we started a Wed. Night kids program at our church called KidZone.  We were averaging between like 8 and 15 last year.  This year, on our smallest attendance night, we have had more kids than any night last year.  And I think it's great!  Tonight was the best night yet.  We had 28 kids in all.  And even better yet, a few of these kids have realized their need for a Saviour and have accepted Him as Lord.  My own niece and nephew were baptized a couple of weeks ago, and there are a couple of more (in addition to one who was baptized earlier) who will follow in a couple of weeks.  God is doing great things right now and I am so happy to be a part!

Happy Reformation Day!

I've been thinking a lot today about reform, reforming myself mostly.  I've been reading in 1 Peter and this morning I read over the verse that says that a woman's adornment needs to come from her beauty on the inside.  I was reading in the New King James Version, and it had the word merely in the verse.  For a little background info, I have convinced myself that it is not necessary for me to really doll myself up every day because the chances of my finding Mr. Right or even Mr. Somewhat Right are very, very miniscule.  A beautiful spirit is a great thing, but humans are visual creatures and there's nothing about me visually that would attract anyone's attention, except the fact that I'm very overweight (which is not likely to attract positive attention).  I know that I need to lose weight, but I'm not very motivated.  I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  Then I read this verse this morning.  It got me to thinking that maybe I need to try a little more with my outward appearance, not so much to attract Mr. (doesn't exist for me) Right, but to give people the idea that I do care about the body that God has given me and that I need to take better care of it.  So I've got plenty to think on in the next couple of days....So maybe this time next year maybe I can celebrate Reformation Day in a new way!

New perspective on a well-known verse

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

By the time my freshman year at OBU ended, hearing this verse about drove me crazy.  I think that every student at OBU had a "life verse" (myself included - even have a cool story to go with mine but that's another blog post) and for 95% of them, I'm fairly sure Jeremiah 29:11 was their verse.  (Now, I know this is from the Bible and I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God).  I had kind of like a been there, heard that attitude to this verse until this week.  I was reading in 1 Pet. 1 about the living hope that has been given to us.  Reading the words "living hope" got me to thinking.  I had always thought that hope was something about the future and not something that could get me through today (forgive me for being someone that sees the glass as half empty).  But I know that the important thing is not the path, but the end result.  Then there's the word "prosper".  I tend to think of a prosperous person as someone who has been successful with money and business.  Maybe the word here could refer to faith.  God will help faith to prosper and the result will be a faith-filled future filled with hope.  And the way to have that hope comes two verses after the above verse:

You will search for Me,

And you will find Me,

When you search for Me with your whole heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

(Diana paraphrase - empasis is mine)

Getting to the future and a hope does not require action on God's part alone.  It will take a little effort on my side as well, through prayer, scripture reading, and being open to hearing His voice.