Hearty and Abundant

I've just recently finished reading "She's Got Issues" by Nicole Unice (you can check out her blog at http://www.nicoleunice.com/blog/ ). It is a great read and I highly suggest it to all Christian women out there! I read through this book with a close friend of mine and we corresponded via email about each chapter and how God was using it to encourage, challenge, and convict us. It was very enjoyable for me--it was a means of processing what I was reading and learning, it was a space to be honest and vulnerable, and a place to give and receive encouragement within a healthy Christian relationship. Cyber fellowship. Welcome to 2013! But seriously, I have been very blessed by it.

I want to share a little something that stood out to me in the final chapter of the book that spoke to me and challenged me a bit about the things I value and why. Nicole is speaking to the idea of what a healthy Christian woman looks like. She proposes that this woman would be "hearty and abundant."
          "Hearty and abundant? those words don't seem to sum up what I'm trying to become. They sound like the description for a can of soup. I don't want to be soup. I want to be beautiful and elegant and smart and witty. But hearty and abundant might be much closer descriptors of what Jesus offers us. Hearty is defined as warm-hearted and affectionate; genuine and sincere; completely devoted; exuberant. Hearty is about a full-of-life heart."
I LOVED that. She hit the nail on the head. It really resounded within my heart--especially when she says she wants to be beautiful, elegant, smart, and witty. I want those things too; and other things like it. Most women do, I would imagine. But why? Do I desire those things because the Bible (God) tells us that they are the qualities of a godly woman, or is it because our culture and the media and the people around us portray them as valuable? I think far too often I can be found pining after the qualities and characteristics that the world values. And far too infrequently I am focused on developing the ones that God says are valuable.

What descriptors of women would God value? Well, he tells us in Proverbs 31 that a godly woman is virtuous, capable, hard-working, trustworthy, energetic, strong, confident, a provider, dignified, wise, peaceful, careful, kind, and God-fearing.
These aren't quite the same as beauty and elegance or popularity and style, or the other characteristics valued in the world. While some may overlap in different ways, I think a worldly focus is missing the mark.

Not only does God tell us what qualities we should be focused on attaining to be godly women, he also warns against things that we can become overly concerned with--things that take our focus from godliness.
          "Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes form within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This si how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands."           (1 Peter 3:3-5)

I need to be honest with myself and realize that I have tendencies to be more concerned with outward beauty, hairstyles, clothes, and fashion. My desire is truly to be more focused on cultivating the characteristics of a godly woman. Do I want to be a woman that is precious to God because I have beauty on the inside and a gentle and quiet spirit, or do I want to be a woman who is precious in the eyes of the world because I am keeping up with the latest trends and buying the most fashionable clothes?

          "We must be honest--gut-level, searingly honest--about the ways we are influenced by the world around us, with our issues old and new, and with our need for God in the moment-to-moment details of our lives. We need Christian sisters who hold us, not to the standard of our neighbors or culture, but to the standard of obedience to a life transformed by Christ."          ("She's Got Issues")
This is how we turn from that worldliness and fight every day to become a little bit more like our wonderful God. We need to be brutally honest with ourselves, even when we don't like the truths we uncover. And we need brutally honest and incredibly loving Christian friends who will hold us to God's standard and won't allow us to settle for anything less. And we must help ourselves by knowing what we want and going after it.

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."          (Romans 12:2)

New Life in New Zealand

Today marks exactly 2 months of being a New Zealand resident! I have really been enjoying living here. I can hardly complain. We live in a beautiful coastal town called Mangawhai Heads (also known as "Magical Mangawhai") on the North Island. We are blessed to be in the downstairs flat of Heath's mom's house, which is completely furnished and very nice. God has provided for us way beyond what most newlywed couples could hope in a situation like ours. We are very thankful!

I am currently here on a visitor's visa, so I am not allowed to work yet. I will soon be in the process of sending in my application for a work visa, because I am now eligible to do so! Not being able to work has meant a very extended vacation for me, and it has been a much needed period of rest after quite a difficult season of life for me during the second half of 2012. It's amazing how God knows what we need and when and is gracious enough to bless us with rest and relaxation to help us recharge and re-center ourselves.

While I will be looking for a job once I have my work visa, I have also just embarked on a small business venture. I'm currently testing the waters, I suppose you could say. My hope is to make some money on the side doing lettering--namely addressing wedding and party invites, and then branching out into a couple other avenues if it proves to be successful and have enough of a market. I am really excited about this, as it is something that I love doing, so I'm praying that it will work out.

As for Heath, he started a new job about three weeks ago for a travel agency called Flight Centre. This week is his last week of training and then he will be certified as a travel consultant, selling flights, accommodations, and trip packages to customers who come into the store. He is working in Whangarei, which is about 45 minutes drive from Mangawhai, which means he has a bit of a commute every day. It's a lot of information for him to learn and take in, but he is confident that it will be a job he enjoys once he becomes more familiarized with things! It has been a great blessing and answer to prayer for Heath to land this job.

We are happy as clams here in New Zealand and as a married couple! We have been married almost 3 months now, and I am loving every minute of it. Hopefully Heath is too, hehe. That's all for now! Love and blessings to all our friends and family :)