Preparing for a Future Valentine

So we have guests coming this Sunday, and Kyle* is also joining us for a week at that time as well. This means that there are preparations to make around here, and as Kyle is coming, my mother has let me be a bigger part of the planning and arranging than usual. That means in a small sense, I get to play hostess!!! Yes, I know, it may not seem that exciting, but I disagree. I just love all the little things that go into being a hostess. I love the planning before hand, preparing rooms for guests, making food while they are here, and even cleaning up after they have left. Being hostess is not something that I have had a lot of chance to do, but I love it! One fun example of when I got to be a hostess recently is when a friend of my mother's and her daughter were coming over for an evening. My sister and I were to have our friend to ourselves in the living room as our mothers went downstairs to our little apartment. Before they arrived, I made two different kinds of hot tea,

I have heard that blogging is supposed to be a type of public journal. I guess that is not exactly how I typically approach it, but I think today will be a little different. Being in a relationship* is such a new territory for me. There is so much to learn, and to do, and to pray about. But at the same time, there is also a set future for me, and thus I can focus more on this time that I have where I am still single. "And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord."     -1 Corinthians 7:34-35 I have tried to spend the last few years taking advantage of this time of being single to grow closer to God, and to prepare for my future husband, as I hope I have laid out in this blog. I h

I have a story to tell you all. A story that goes back many years, and at the same time is completely new. I hope that it is one that you will enjoy, as it is now my favorite story to tell. Once upon a time there was a little girl. A girl who dreamed only of the day when she would be able to marry and have children. While other girls talked of their dreams to become ballerina's, actresses, and models, this little girl when asked what she wanted to do with her life merely replied "I want to be a Mom." This little girl grew older, and as she did, her dream grew stronger. This was difficult for her, as sometimes it meant she looked for love in the wrong places, so eager was she to see her dream come to fruition. Her big heart was broken more than once, but each time her heavenly Father picked the pieces back up, and wrapped her tightly in his arms, whispering in her ear. Many miles away from this little girl, there was a young boy. A boy who though quite intelligent