Heavenly Love Stories: Joseph & Jennifer

Joseph and Jennifer
   
June 9, 2012   
         
As told by Jenny:

My mother always said to pray and tell God exactly what you want in a husband. And make a list too. She said to pretend like you were making the perfect hamburger with all the yummy toppings. God likes us to be specific because He wants to give us the desires of our heart. So, I made a list a long time ago and always trusted that one day God would answer my prayer for a husband. 

When I was 28 years old, I found myself looking for a friend; someone to go places with together or share special time with. I told the Lord about it and shortly after decided to open up a temporary account on Eharmony.com for the sake of meeting someone. I may possibly strike up a good friendship, be a witness, or whatever the Lord had in mind. One month later, I began talking with my Joseph, my wonderful mail-order husband (as close to mail-order as you can get!). I made sure to keep my family updated with each step of our progress. We wrote old-fashioned letters by updated e-mail just about every day. The most touching thing I learned was that about that time, I found out that my Dad had been praying for me to find someone special along with my Mom, who had been praying for quite a while too. Then, I cannot count the many others that told me the same thing; a strong wave of prayers going up in one accord. Joseph also had people coming to him telling him of their prayers on his behalf. Things just started coming together. 

I first started writing to Joseph in September of 2011. Joseph came all the way from Arkansas to visit me in Texas the very first time on December 27th, and on January 4th we decided we wanted to get married. Mom and Dad said when you finally meet that person you are going to spend the rest of your life with things will happen so fast, and so they did! Joseph is a mirror of the list I made so long ago. God made sure to make him an answer to my prayer. 

I can remember praying all that time ago and having all those desires deep down in my heart, and now my time had come and for me time stood still! I could not believe my ears as I listened to Joseph speak the secret promises that only me and God knew about. Joseph is my special gift and I will forever be thankful for him and the joy he has been to my life. 

We were so very happily married in his hometown on June 9, 2012. 

Never give up on God. He is always faithful and he truly wants the very best for His children. Wait for His best!

Have a testimony to share about how God has written

(or is writing!) your love story?

Share it with us by emailing it to: thekingsbride@ymail.com

Eye Candy Will Make You Sick

Can I share something with you that troubles me? Okay, here goes....

Eye candy.

photo credit

Yes, that's right. Eye candy. Pinterest is all the rage right now and, I will admit, I am a fan. I love learning new tips and tricks to better my home, my health, and finding fun activities to try with my kiddo. But I get disturbed when I see tweens, teens, young ladies, and - yes - married women pin pictures of male celebrities onto their boards. ---- Mind you, I'm talking about Christian girls and women.

Remember when your Mom would say, "No more candy. It will give you a tummy ache"? We were taught from an early age that eating too much junk food was bad for us and could make us sick. It's definitely true! Too much candy = bad health. Too much junk food = low energy and an all-around BLEH-feeling! Now let's apply that spiritually.

Spiritually, ANY and all "junk food" makes us sick. It erodes our soul. It drains us of spiritual stamina. It puts our focus on earthly, carnal things instead of heavenly things. Keep in mind sin most always starts with the eyes. We see it. We want it. We take it. The Bible calls it the "lust of the eyes."  (1 John 2:16)

You may be thinking, "Okay I see what you're saying, but I'm just pinning a picture of a good looking guy! No harm, no foul."

I beg to differ.

If you are single, this harms your perception of marriage and devalues men in general. Think about it. Take a second and picture your future husband pinning pictures of ultra-"gorgeous" female celebrities onto his Pinterest board. Picture him gawking and drooling over the skinny, barely clad, airbrushed models that he tags as "sexy" and "delicious." Would it bother you? Intimidate you? Hurt you? Make you feel less than perfect? Likewise. If you fill up your eyes and your mind with "eye candy" you will have little room for good, healthy, Biblical precepts. Proverbs 31:10 asks the question, "Who can find a virtuous woman?"  In verse 12, it says that she (this virtuous woman) does her husband "good and not evil all the days of her life." Let me ask you. Is it virtuous to store up man candy, even while single? Is it doing your future husband good? Are you preparing yourself to be a noble and Godly wife while filing away images of "hot men" that you can (and no doubt will, as is tempting for us to do) compare him to? Think about it, girls. Be wise!

If you are married, this is a slap to your husband. In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus talks about adultery and says some strong words. He said that if a man looks at a woman and lusts after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart. That goes for us, too! Wow...talk about serious! Proverbs 5:15 instructs husbands to "Drink waters out of thine own cistern..."  What does that mean? It means stick with your own wife. And in like manner WE should stick with our own husbands, not only physically by not committing literal adultery, but in every way! Bring your husband honor by regarding him as the only lover of your heart and the only "candy" your eyes indulge in. Build your house, ladies. Don't pluck it down by foolishly allowing your eyes to drink in the shirtless, seductive-posing Hollywood celebs that you are not married to.

It all goes back to purity. Purity is more than being physically abstinent. It's so much more! And, believe you me, impurity has a knack for knocking down a single young person, and utterly pulverizing a marriage.

Simply put: Eye candy will make you spiritually sick.