Leaving a Legacy

          Okay so I was looking on the Internet and saw that Amy Winehouse died on Saturday night.  Then I realized that this is the reason the world is the way it is.  Young men and women think its okay to do things like drugs, sex, alcohol, prostitution, and many other things because the actors/actresses and singers act the way they do.  When I saw the post that she died it made me think about our young society and how they are so receptive to the way the pop stars and movie stars are acting.  What happened to us looking up to people with morals, people from the bible, and to the people that made us, like our parents, and how they have made their lives.  What happen to us trying to leave a legacy by showing everyone that our faith is in God and not in the earthly people. 

          The young men in our society think it is okay to beat women, harass women, and treat them like crap.  When you have people like Eminem the rap star who always talks about that.  Or even if you put on the radio and listen to any rap song they are calling women bad names.  This is why our young men think its okay.  They also think its okay to dress the way they do or try to be "pimps" because of what these songs are saying and of what the movies show.  Why can't our young men be more like David from David and Goliath.  In I Samuel it talks about how small David was and how King Saul wanted him to wear all this armor and have a big sword.  But David said no because he had his faith in God and he took his sling shot and five stones.  He hit Goliath and he fell to the ground.  Then David took Goliaths sword and killed him with it.  If the young men could listen to this story and see how David was with his faith in God then they wouldn't have to try and do all these things to get attention. The young men need to know that they cannot leave a legacy on this world by doing things like the earthly men do. 

          When our young women listen to music like Britney Spears and watch people like Lindsay Lohan, and our parents and elders don't do anything about the way they dress or the way they are selling themselves to men then that is a problem.  Think of what kind of mark these women have left on our little girls and our world.  First of all Lindsay Lohan has taught our young women that it is okay to lie, cheat, and steal. This young lady has done nothing to leave a legacy, she has repeatedly checked in and out of rehab for an alcohol problem.  She has continued to do drugs and dress in clothes that are not modest.  She has been a problem for our young ladies.

Also don't let me get started on Britney Spears, who has shown women that it is okay to marry anybody you meet or have known for a second.  She also has shown us that it is okay to do illicit drugs while our children are in the next room or even in the same room.  She has over and over again done seductive concerts with men touching all over her.

This society thinks this is okay because SEX sells.  But here is the thing if your aren't selling it then don't advertise it.  We can't leave a legacy on this world by wearing clothes that aren't modest, by doing drugs, and being in and out of rehab.  Why can't these young women try to be like the virtuous woman that they talk about in Proverbs.  I found 10 virtues about the virtuous women along with scripture:

10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman

We want to encourage women to serve God in every aspect of their lives.
1. Faith - A Virtuous Woman serves God with all of her heart, mind, and soul. She seeks His will for her life and follows His ways. (Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 31: 29 – 31, Matthew 22: 37, John 14: 15, Psalm 119: 15
2. Marriage – A Virtuous Woman respects her husband. She does him good all the days of her life. She is trustworthy and a help meet. (Proverbs 31: 11- 12, Proverbs 31: 23, Proverbs 31: 28, 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 5, Genesis2: 18)
3.  Mothering - A Virtuous Woman teaches her children the ways of her Father in heaven. She nurtures her children with the love of Christ, disciplines them with care and wisdom, and trains them in the way they should go. (Proverbs 31: 28, Proverbs 31: 26, Proverbs 22: 6, Deuteronomy 6, Luke 18: 16)
4. Health – A Virtuous Woman cares for her body. She prepares healthy food for her family. (Proverbs 31: 14 – 15, Proverbs 31: 17, 1 Corinthians 6: 19, Genesis 1: 29, Daniel 1, Leviticus 11)
5. Service - A Virtuous Woman serves her husband, her family, her friends, and her neighbors with a gentle and loving spirit. She is charitable. (Proverbs 31: 12, Proverbs 31: 15, Proverbs 31: 20, 1 Corinthians 13: 13)
6. Finances - A Virtuous Woman seeks her husband’s approval before making purchases and spends money wisely. She is careful to purchase quality items which her family needs. (Proverbs 31: 14, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 18, 1 Timothy 6: 10, Ephesians 5: 23, Deuteronomy 14: 22, Numbers 18: 26)
7.  Industry – A Virtuous Woman works willingly with her hands. She sings praises to God and does not grumble while completing her tasks. (Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 16, Proverbs 31: 24, Proverbs 31: 31, Philippians 2: 14)
8. Homemaking –
9. Time - A Virtuous Woman uses her time wisely. She works diligently to complete her daily tasks. She does not spend time dwelling on those things that do not please the Lord. (Proverbs 31: 13, Proverbs 31: 19, Proverbs 31: 27, Ecclesiastes 3, Proverbs 16: 9, Philippians 4:8 )
10. Beauty – A Virtuous Woman is a woman of worth and beauty. She has the inner beauty that only comes from Christ. She uses her creativity and sense of style to create beauty in her life and the lives of her loved ones. (Proverbs 31: 10Proverbs 31: 21 – 22, Proverbs 31: 24 -25, Isaiah 61: 10, 1 Timothy 2: 9, 1 Peter 3: 1 – 6)

          How can we leave a legacy when we are known only for the parties we go to, the drugs we do, what rehab we were in, or even for the seductive clothes that we wear.  Nichole Nordeman wrote a song that was remarkable and was showing us how we should leave a legacy.  This song has helped me since I heard it the other night at The Virtuous woman show at church on Wednesday night.  The chorus is remarkable in itself it just speaks to me. 

"I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy."

I know that leaving a legacy is not easy and we are going to be tempted and fall off the path so to speak.  But we have to remember that God is our number one person in our lives and he can lead us unto a path that is remarkable.  

USE ME TEACH ME

          Let me start off by saying that I have never done anything like this before, it is definitely a God thing.  I saw my first blog about a couple weeks ago and thought that it was a really cute thing to do.  Then my roommate/best friend came home and said that she had to do one for school and last but not least when I was at church on Wednesday night there was a lady up there talking about blogging.  Okay if that is not a calling from God that I need to do this than I don't know what is.  When I first thought about doing this I wasn't sure what I wanted to blog about or how often I wanted to blog so I sat down and thought about it.  I figured that this blog could be about the first year of mine and Mike's marriage and I would try to blog once a week about how God works in us, through us and our friends.  

          So now a little about us, Mike and I met 08.15.2009 and we started dating then.  We have been together for almost 2 years now and we have been married for almost 2 months.  Yep, that is right we are newlyweds!  

          I am completely blessed with him in my life and I will say that he is the man that I always prayed for .  We do plan on having kids and hopefully soon if God willing.  Well lets see Mike is 37 and a mechanic and I am 26 and work in health care.  We have attended East Pointe Christian Church and we really loved it.  Now I will be completely honest when I say that we haven't gone that much.  I would love to get plugged in more there and I think its going to start happening soon!  Well marriage is great so far I mean I know that we are going to get in arguments and fights but we need to remember that God is the center of our relationship.  I love him very much and I couldn't have asked for a better man to enter into my life. 

          So now we recently had my little sister over Callie,  she is a hoot.  Mike and I love her very much and she will have you cracking up in no time.  Some of the "Callieisms" we will call them are as follows:  "What does one eye say to the other......Something smells in between us!" and "The tongue and the bottom lip are having a conversation and the bottom lip says ewww whats that smell and the tongue says its your upper lip!"  Also I told Callie one night while she was staying with us that her and I give Mike panic attacks.  She believed me for days.  In fact she told me she wasn't sure if she would be allowed to come back because she gives Mike panic attacks.  I really enjoy having her here with me because when I was living at home we used to do so much together and now that Mike and I are married we really don't do that much together.  This is a picture of us at her cheer banquet, my mother couldn't take her so she asked me if I could.  These are the things I love about my sister that I can take her any where and we will always get mistaken for mother and daughter.  And sometimes she doesn't help matters with that.  She one time in the store came up to me and said "Hey mommy can I get this"  and the look on my face was priceless, I could always tell by the reactions of the cashiers.  Well I would then look at her and say "I am not your mommy and no you can't get that," her response then was "Mommy you don't love me."  Try explaining that one to a cashier...and I always did by saying "No really I am not her mom she is my little sister." 

          So the title Use Me Teach Me comes from a Plus One song (they are a christian boy band.)  I heard it the other day after "God" things started happening.  And I guess I had forgotten what it was like to feel those things and I have Shirley to thank for that.  If God hadn't put her in my life than I wouldn't have gotten to experience these God things now.  Then I realized that I did need to start saying to God, use me teach me!  My first God thing experience was when I went to my parents house the other day and my father had asked me to take him to the train station on a Thursday.  In the mean time of him saying this to me, I was thinking oh my goodness I have no clue where the train station is.  So I went to work on Thursday and we got sushi for Tracy's birthday and I went to go pick it up.  So I went the way I thought it was and then realized I took the wrong street.  I turned around and took one wrong turn and just kept driving.  I wound up by 45st and I looked up and there was a sign for the Amtrak.   It was the weirdest thing.  God was leading me there so that I knew where I was going.  I called my father and told him all about, I was so excited and he was excited for me as well.  Well on another note

          I am going to close this blog with Micah 4:2-and many nations shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths."  For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.