New Year, New Goals, New Ideas

I know that it has been nearly 2 years since I have updated this blog, but a lot has happened since that time and I've recently had some time to think and re-evaluate where I am in life. I will be picking the blog back up and hopefully beginning to publish again on a regular basis on the topic of family development.

I was recently named 1 of 5 women chosen to be torchbearers for the Born to Lead Campaign for 2018 and my topic is Family Development. I encourage you to join the campaign if you are a women in a place of leadership you can go to http://www.borntolead2018.com for more information and to sign up, just state that I sent you.

Something else huge that has happened in our family's life in the past year is that we moved from the state of Ohio to the state of North Carolina to teach in a Christian Day School. My husband earned his bachelor's degree in History in August of 2016 and had been substitute teaching in Ohio, and we both decided after praying and searching our hearts that it was time to make some changes in our family's lives. So, we took on the huge move of 6+ hours and a HUGE box truck to move all our belongings to North Carolina. 

It seemed like we had so much stuff still to pack on moving day even it was crazy! Stuff is still being found that was packed randomly. Big moves are rough. We even sorted through our storage unit and got rid of most of what was in it, donating it to a local thrift store.
 

We were welcomed to the area with a food pounding
and love offering from two of the churches
involved with the school where we teach. 

 If you have never moved, then you're missing out of the chaos and fun that it is. I found so many great ideas on Pinterest to try to help organize our move. We ended up literally moving in less than a month from an area where we had lived for more than 7 years of our married lives. You can see my Pinterest board here and follow it for moving ideas. We have moved several times in our married lives, but this move has been the biggest.

Just more of the chaos of moving!

First day of work at my new job! I am the
technology teacher for grades 1-11 as well as
the yearbook advisor/teacher for grades 10-11.

Our home decorated for fall a little early. Unfortunately the
mums didn't make it till the end of October. 

The girls were so excited to start doing preschool this year
with mommy as their teacher. They have learned to write the
letter "I" and have started learning the letter "U" that's about
as far as we have gotten. But Elayna can trace all the numbers,
draw a heart, draw a pretty good smiley face, and Elyssa, is
drawing hearts, circles and counting pretty good too. 

The girls love to dress up as princesses. These dresses have
seen better days and are about to head out the door. They were
Halloween costumes from a previous year and have been put to
good use, but they've been mended many, many times. 

The girls thoroughly enjoyed playing Owlette at
a friends' house on Thanksgiving. Mommy was
able to catch this look between them and just
thought it way too adorable. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving as a family on Black Friday, with
Daddy doing most of the cooking. He had been doing quite a
bit of that, but it's a new year and mommy has other plans. 

The girls got to be in their very first parade for
our church here to advertise our big Christmas
program called "Journey to Bethlehem" We
ministered to 6,444 people this year over the
course of 4 nights. It is a live drive thru nativity,
and the largest in the state of NC. 

Mommy and Daddy even got in on the Parade and the acting in Journeyto Bethlehem. 

The Journey

Wow, it's been so long since I updated this blog, I figured its about time. I guess you could say that I've been quite busy! Last I blogged on here the girls were still infants now, they're 2 years old and growing up so fast.

 This is Elyssa, she is our fashionista and loves dressing up in all different clothes. I think at one time she had 4 different outfits on at the same time. :) That was quite the day.

 There is momma enjoying her girlies, they love taking pictures with mom. This was last fall. Elayna is in the blue and Elyssa is in the red.

 In the fall we took the girls to a local pumpkin patch and they had lots of fun with that. Here Elyssa is in the blue flowered shirt and Elayna is in the gray tee shirt.

 And there is the whole family! :) We had a lot of fun that day.

 Elyssa perched on a pumpkin.

 Elayna smiling away and perched on a pumpkin. Although this kid never stays in one spot for very long, she's very active and on the go, unless she's sick.

 And this was quite the chore, getting them to put both of their heads through that hole.

 And now just last Sunday they turned 2! We had their birthday party the week before as that was when Grandma could come. And it was Strawberry Shortcake themed.

They love this wall hanging and shhhh...it's still up! LOL 

Diaries of the King's Daughter-Dressing like Royalty

I recently found this quote online:

"My Princess....Dress like Royalty

I've called you to be royalty, My princess. 

You don't have to conform to the wardrobes of this world to feel good about yourself. 

Remember, what you wear initially defines what people think about you. 

I want your wardrobe to honor Me. 

You don't need to dress to get attention--I can make you more beautiful than any fashion designer because I specialize in internal and eternal makeovers.

Your favor and beauty will radiate because you are a reflection of Me. 

Keep in mind that those who design clothes to expose your body do not love your soul like I do. 

My love, let your wardrobe reveal My Spirit--not your flesh. So robe yourself today like the Royalty you are.

Love, Your King and Your Eternal Beauty" 

(credits: http://hisprincess.com/dress-like-royalty/) 

This post is probably going to get me in trouble, but it's something that I feel God has laid on my heart to share. I am not going to apologize for something that I feel God is asking me write and voice. I am not aiming this post at any one, its just something I feel needs to be reiterated. 

I have been reading this book recently called The Girl in the Dress you can purchase it below. 

 I love the fact that this book is written from a woman's point of view but very scriptural. God created beauty for a reason. However, God also intended for us to be clothed in his holiness and in order to do that we must also be clothed in our outward appearance. In the very beginning of this book it gives an illustration of a girl who wants to wear an immodest outfit and thinks that it really doesn't matter because, after all God looks at the heart. Here is a quote from the book: "Katelyn looked Jackie in the eye. “You’re right,” she said. “God does see your heart, but no one else will—especially the guys at youth service tonight.” (1) How true this is, we humans can not see someone's heart or their intentions, we look at the outside, so if the outside doesn't match the inside no one else can see that. I get that people sometimes think all the blame is on the woman, but I am saying it can work the same way with guys. When a guy is wearing an extra skin tight shirt to show off his muscular body or even skin tight jeans, it can provoke thoughts that are impure in a woman. If we are all brothers and sisters in Christ then shouldn't we be doing our best to help our brothers and sisters make the goal, and shouldn't we then help protect our brothers and sisters. I also get that some folks have said that "boys will be boys" and that "they will think what they're going to think anyhow, regardless of how I dress", but that being said, we need to make sure that we are not inviting those thoughts or temptations, we need to make sure that how we are dressed doesn't provoke that kind of immoral thinking. The Bible says in 

Matthew 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh

 on a woman to lust after her hath 

committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This can work the same way with a woman so I'm not just targeting the woman's dress here.

  It's also not just about a lack of clothing, but sometimes you can be wearing something that covers you, but it's way too tight and accentuates every detail of your body. As unmarried young ladies and young men, you need to be making sure that you are saving yourself entirely for the one that God has for you and as married ladies and men, you need to make sure that you are staying faithful to your spouse in keeping yourself only unto them as the marriage vows state. If you're covering yourself, but wearing skin tight clothing, in essence you're not really covering anything. This goes for both ladies and guys! Marriage is made so much sweeter if the things intended for the eyes of your spouse are kept for only them and not the eyes of the whole world. I don't mean that you should wear baggy, frumpy looking clothing, I believe that you can dress tastefully and still not be wearing the latest tight "fashionable" clothing. I don't believe that God wants us to dress as sloppy as possible in the baggiest clothing, but I believe that He wants us to be neat in our appearance and that it should reflect His holiness and His image, since after all we were made in His image. 
  The next time you put on an outfit, or even are trying on a new one in the store, pay attention to the thoughts that cross your mind. If they don't reflect something that is wholesome, you should probably not wear/buy it. If the thought that comes across your mind is "Wow, I look sexy in this" then it's probably not a good choice for wearing in public. I think those clothing choices should be reserved for your spouse's eyes only. Like I said I also don't believe that God wants us to look frumpy and baggy. Tasteful dressing should direct the eyes to our countenance, not our body. We want our countenances to shine for Jesus, and be careful of the stumbling blocks we may put in another's way. 

 I welcome your comments, just please be courteous and kind. 

I'm linking up with:


Whole Hearted Home

(1)Wagner, Lori (2011-11-07). The Girl in the Dress (Kindle Locations 91-92). Ladies Ministries UPCI. Kindle Edition.  

Diaries of the King's Daughter- (Heart Warming Wednesday)

This is a little different Heart Warming Wednesday post (and it could quite possibly become a series) , but I thought it might help someone so I'm going to go ahead with it. I have made a commitment to reading my Bible complete through by the end of this year (December 2014). I have felt guilty for never reading my Bible completely through in my life. I've come pretty close but never actually done it. So I'm determined to do it this year. However, I realized that the normal 3 chapters a day through the week and 5 chapters on Sunday won't allow me to finish the Bible by the end of December, so I'm reading 5 chapters a day and sometimes 6 in order to make it. But I've found that some of the books are somewhat depressing, like Lamentations and now I've started into Jeremiah, but I've also found that I can add to my devotions and that helps some.

A Bible study book that I have been going through is called "Adventurous Prayer" (you can purchase it here).

 I believe that prayer is essential to the Christian life, otherwise how else would we communicate our hearts to God. As I think about taking an adventure in prayer, I think of the simple fact that after all I am a daughter of the King of Kings and that makes me a princess. I have been thinking on this subject and about the requests that I make to my Father each day. I believe that we should come boldly before His throne, just like he has told us to in His word. God says in "Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Do we oftentimes come timidly to His throne instead of boldly as He has said we can? I think that too often the reason why we don't see some answers to our prayers is that we aren't bold enough in our prayers. After all if we are truly the King's sons and daughters, then why are we so afraid to make our requests known to Him? I'm aiming the finger at myself here too. I know that I haven't made my requests always known, they've been there in my heart, but I've been too afraid to actually voice them. I know that God can read our thoughts but He also likes when we speak up and tell Him our request.

I have gone through times of dryness and feeling like my prayers went about 2 inches about my head and stopped, ( I think we've all been there) but lately I've been really trying to pour my heart out to God, because I have realized that He is my Father and that when my earthly father was alive, I could go to him and ask his opinion on something or ask him for advice, but I wasn't really doing the same with my heavenly Father. As a princess I can come boldly before God as my Father and make my requests known. There are family and friends that I am praying for that God will work in their lives and save them, or help them, or give them strength, or just generally be a comfort to them, and I know that because God is my Father I can trust Him with any need I have. God cares about His children and cares what is going on in their lives and wants to help, if we'll just let him.

So are YOU taking advantage of being a Son or Daughter of the King of Kings? Are you taking advantage of being a Prince or Princess? Why don't you trust God with your needs and even wants!

I'm linking to:
Whole Hearted Home

What is the Lord calling you to do?

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, 

This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left."

Isaiah 30:21

You might think it's strange that I've started this blog post with a scripture instead of words leading up to it, but I felt that the scripture leading into what I was planning to say was more appropriate. 

I've felt for probably 3 years that I was to start a ladies Bible study, but I've always felt very inadequate to do it. Three years ago, I was going through a deep dark depression and I got onto using Bible study books for my devotions and one that I used that was called "A Woman after God's Heart" (you can purchase it here) God really began to use it to speak to me about how I could become a woman after His own heart. He began to impress on my mind and heart the thought of starting a ladies Bible study, even though I have never done something like that before in my life. I'm used to doing children's church and talking to children about the Bible, not so much adults. It just seems that I keep coming back to that and remembering where I was when that was impressed on my heart. So after these past 3 years, I've finally decided that I would take the leap of faith and put the feelers out there to start a ladies Bible study in my home one night a week. 

I do not claim to have all the answers, I'm still searching for answers myself. But I do want to be faithful to where God is leading me. I want to do His will. So, hopefully in next few weeks I'm going to be preparing my mind and heart and home to welcome some ladies into it and study God's word together. I would appreciate prayer for this venture that the Lord would bless it and use it for His glory. It's not about me and what I have felt that God wants me to do, it's about learning about God and what He wants for each of our lives. I don't in any way want to draw attention to myself as anyone great, all that needs to point to Christ. 

So what is God asking you to do today? Is there something that you've been putting off? Is there something that God has been asking you to do? Maybe you don't feel qualified (neither do I), the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." So if you're willing to do what He's asked you to, He will give you the strength to complete the task ahead of you. Don't wait like I have, take the leap of faith and make the move that God is asking you to. It will be worth it all in the end! 

Dedicated to the Lord for His service

I have thought of Hannah many times in the past year during my pregnancy and the birth of my beautiful twin girls. The specific references is "For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27 In our case it should say "For these children we prayed!" :) Anyways I believe my girls are truly a gift of God. We had struggled through tears and disappointments for 2 years, and had given up on the thought that we would ever have children of our own. In fact last spring I had called about starting the foster care classes and we were thinking we would adopt (which let me stop here and say there is nothing at all wrong with, there are lots of children out there who need good homes with a good mom and dad who will teach them right from wrong and love them unconditionally, I don't want that to come off as a bad thing at all.) However, I guess God had other plans, it didn't work out for us to do the classes right then and we waited. In July of last year, I was with my mother helping her after she had injured her back pretty badly and kept getting the signal that I was possibly pregnant, so on July 4th I got a test from Dollar Tree (I was in PA at my grandparents, away from my hubby at the time) and I took it fully expecting a negative like all the times before, BUT.... this time it was positive and I began to shake and was nervous and palms were sweaty! At the time we didn't have good phone service at our house and really no way to contact each other unless we were out in town where we had cell service. But I tried anyhow and got a hold of my sis-in-law who was staying here while I was away and finally got ahold of Bud to tell him he WAS GOING TO BE A DADDY!!!!
   My pregnancy started out kind of rough, I had a lot of pain on one side and thought that maybe I was having a tubal and when I got back home, we went to the hospital to get checked as that is a very serious situation. Well they did an ultrasound and found one TWO sacs!!!! The ultrasound tech said that sometimes one disappears over time and so we knew that was a possibility. Well that was at about 5 1/2-6 weeks along. at 8-10 weeks I was still having some problems so I was able to get hurried into an OB doctor who did the ultrasound and definitely found TWO babies and TWO heartbeats and what looked like a 3rd baby who gained angel wings before we got to meet her (I say her because she would have been an identical twin to my daughter Elayna). So we have at least one baby awaiting our arrival in Heaven.
During the early days of my pregnancy I felt like God gave me the promise that He was going to take care of everything. I am a worrier and worried and prayed and one day I felt like He just said "I've got this!" (not in those exact words, but something similar)
Then came Valentine's day, I was 36 1/2 weeks along and planned on having another 2 weeks till the girls were born, but the doc called and said it was time, they HAD to come out that day, as I had some severe problems with Pre-eclampsia. So off we went to have the babies. I don't think I'll ever forget that day!
Since then I have looked into their crib at them and tears have welled up in my eyes, just thinking of the incredible gifts we were given and the incredibly, huge job it is of raising a child, especially in this day and time. But I've also been praying that God will save my girls early on. And that brings me to Mother's Day 2014.
On Mother's Day of this year we decided we were going to dedicate our girls. So we planned it all out, mom made their beautiful white dresses trimmed with lavender and teal and we had Pastor Grabill dedicate them. So why is dedication so important? I believe it's important because it is our commitment to teaching our children right from wrong and committing to pray for them and raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  It's like Hannah said in the very next verse: "Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord..." 1 Samuel 1:28 God blessed us with these beautiful daughters and I feel it is my duty as a mother and a Christian to let God know that I am giving them back to Him and that it is my full intention and duty to raise them to serve Him. Dedication isn't simply something nice to do, it's the taking of a vow before God that you are going to do everything you can humanly speaking to make sure that your children are brought up to serve God!

 Standing up front during the girls dedication with my mom.

 Bro. Grabill leading th dedication.

 Dedicating Elayna.

 Dedicating Elyssa.

 Our little family after service! :)

Mama and her girlies.

What are your feelings on dedications? I'd love to hear them!

The Paths that we take

This evening as I was scrolling through my facebook newsfeed I came across a friends post that really got me to thinking. There was a picture posted with this saying on it that came from www.faith.com

"Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us

 directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us."

After thinking a bit on that and writing this post:

How true this is. I've heard my husband Bud Kuhn say several times that if some of the awful things that have happened in his life (like losing his parents at a young age) hadn't happened, there's no telling where he would be today. In fact our paths may have never crossed and we may not have ever been able to share the love we have for each other and the love we share for our daughters. I know in my own life that if things hadn't happened the way they did especially with my gun accident, I doubt I would be where I am today. At that point in my life I was not a Christian, but I believe that God used that accident to shake me awake and make me realize just how fragile life is and how quickly things can change from one minute/second to the next. I'm also not saying that I've stayed on the right path since that time in my life. I don't believe I really got things settled that I was going to go with God until I was at least 19 and I struggled even after that. But I am determined, 10 years later, that I am still going through and that my path will be the one that God determines and He will be the one that guides me and holds my hand through the foggy times and the dark times and those thick forests that sometimes line the pathway of life.
Those are the things that are important to think about in your life. I would challenge each of my friends to look at the things that they've come through in their lives and mental make a path to see where it has put them today. I believe that God uses both circumstances and humans to alter the paths that we take and it's important to put/keep the right people in our lives that will put each of us on a path that would draw us closer to Him. I also do not believe that just because we've made bad choices or taken the wrong path that God just lets us go, there are constant turn offs or turn arounds that He uses to try to get us back on the right road and one that will offer us so much more happiness.

I just have to say that the paths that we choose in life do have an impact on not only us but those around us. If I had never become a Christian I would probably have never met my husband and definitely wouldn't be in ministry today and if his parents wouldn't have passed away and him go through what he did, he wouldn't have ever turned to God from the path that he was on. So today there might not be the Kuhn family that there is, yes there may have been a Kuhn family somewhere, but that family probably wouldn't not be in the ministry and trying their best to serve God. It's really amazing to me what God has to use to reach through to our dense heads sometimes. It took me losing a part of my finger, when I could quite possibly have even lost my life, in order to get me to think about where I would have ended up if I had died from that gun accident. Some might think something like that is very insignificant compared to what could have happened to me, but to a 15 year old girl, it was a very eye opening, scary experience.