Theology, violin, reading, writing, children, drawing

I was twelve years old when I was saved, and ever since then (with many failings) I've attempted, with
God's help, to serve the Lord.

They've affected my whole life. My dad came to the Doctrines of Grace before I was born, so I've grown up with them. Of course, when I was younger, I didn't really think about it, but since I was about thirteen, I've been really interested in Reformed Theology. I watch instructional DVDs and listen to sermons and teaching on it, and I really enjoy it. Perhaps the greatest way they've affected my life is the perspective I have on God as almighty and all wise. One of the most affecting verses I've ever read is 'All the nations are accounted as a drop in the bucket.' That right there is a powerful statement of how great God is. In light of that verse, we can't bring God down to our level and say that he is not sovereign in even the tiniest detail.

I have devotions in the morning. Right now I am going through Psalms in the Old Testament, and 1 Thessolonians in the new. I also read The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford, which is a wonderful litte book.

That's a hard one! Of course, Jesus is my absolute favorite. I suppose I'd have to say the Apostle John. He was so close to Christ, and his letters are so encouraging and full of love.

Well, in a way I am, in another, no. I believe that God designed marriage as the normal thing for men and women. For years now I've wanted to get married, and often it's very hard to wait. But I think there's a difference between being patient and being apathetic and indifferent to marriage. I definitely want to get married and have children (as many as God will give me).

I would like to think I am most passionate about the things of God. I enjoy theology a great deal, and often write articles about it (usually they never see the light of day, but they do get my mind thinking!). I especially enjoy the reformed doctrines. I am currently reading The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther.
I am very passionate about homeschooling, and believe that parents do a great disservice to their children by putting them in a public school; especially since there are so many great educational tools on the internet that we cannot say that we aren't qualified to teach certain subjects to our children.
I'm kind of mixed on the private/Christian school subject. If it was a really, really good school, maybe I wouldn't mind so much for an older child, in their mid-teens. But I strongly believe that education is the responsibility of the parents whenever possible, and that even when the school itself is committed to teaching in a Biblical way, the children there are often a very bad influence on each other. I am a strong proponent of not sending untrained soldiers onto the battlefield.

Salvation, first of all.
My family.
Good health.

UPDATED!

I like for people to be serious and quiet mannered (what I mean is, not loud and extremely talkative), but to also be able to laugh. I don't really like it when someone is always being silly and can't ever be serious. I like it when people can engage in conversation about serious things and know that they have an interest in these things. Theology and politics, discussion of Scripture, spontaneous critiques of movies and literature, are what I like to discuss. I would like to think I am mostly serious as well (except around my brother!). I don't talk a whole lot, usually, and a lot of times I like to just listen while my dad discusses things with others.

In a husband I wish for a man who is a strong, godly leader, one who will not compromise with the world and who will guide our children in the knowledge of the truth. Someone who will keep his eyes and heart for his wife alone, and will not become discontent in marriage. A man who will strive to love his wife as Christ loved the church. I want to marry a man who is grounded in sound Reformed doctrine, and who does not approve of rock or rap music (not even so called 'Christian' rock or rap). I want to marry a man who desires to have as many children as the Lord will give him, and who desires to have a wife that would be a homemaker and stay at home mother. Lastly, I want to marry a man who would be firmly against his children being in a public school. It would be my desire that he would wish for our children to be homeschooled.

UPDATED!
I have read a lot of C. S. Lewis. Although I don't agree with him on everything, he had a way of explaining difficult theological concepts in ways that are easy to grasp. I've read The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity several times, and think he had great insight.

Here is one of my favorite quotes of his:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

I've never been in a relationship with a young man outside of my family. God was good to give me parents that care enough to not let me date, and who are always telling me to guard my heart and trust God.

All of Psalm 91

1 Corinthians 15:55-57
O death, where is they sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

All of Psalm 24

There is a poem (put to music) by Anne Cousins, based on Samuel Rutherford, called 'The Sands of Time Are Sinking'. The whole poem is really good, but my favorite verse is this:
'O Christ, He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love;
The streams on earth I've tasted,
More deep I'll drink above.
There, to an ocean fullness, his mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's Land.'

“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C.S. Lewis

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
― C.S. Lewis

“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
― C.S. Lewis

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”
― C.S. Lewis

"That soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endevour to shake
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"
--- How Firm a Foundation

"All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forthtell,
Come ye before him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make.
We are his flock, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

Oh enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto.
Praise, laud, and bless his name always
For it is seemly so to do.

For, why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure.
His truth at all times firmly stood
And shall from age to age endure."
--- Psalm 100 (Scottish Metrical Psalter)

I have cleaned house for an elderly couple, babysat a little boy, and worked at a convenience store. There were up and downsides to each job, but I prefer to be at home.
The work I do now is helping around the house and taking care of my little brother, James, who is a year old, as well as helping the younger ones with math.

Well, most of all I want to continue growing in the Lord all my life. I also want to get married and have children, if the Lord would bless me with them.

I am teaching myself to play the violin, which I greatly enjoy (though at times it can be frustrating). I also write fairy tales and a few short stories. I like to take my dog on a walk with my brother. One of my favorite things to do is read. I read a great deal almost every day from a variety of genres. I like good movies, but my dad makes sure we don't watch too much :)

I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. I haven't traveled much. I've been to Tennessee and Washington D. C. when I was very little and hardly remember it. I have visited Georgia a few times. I also went to South Dakota once. I live in Iowa now.

My family is very close knit, and I am the eldest of ten children, so I'm often looked at as the second momma by the younger ones :) However, I am willing to move wherever my husband sees fit (except New York City and Chicago, LOL). I really love the South (great accents there!) but here in Iowa I've become unused to the extreme Southern heat. So, really, if I get married, then with Ruth I will say to my husband,
"Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge."
Even if it happens to be to another country :)

UPDATED!

Yes! I believe in courtship, not dating. If you
would like to contact me, please email my dad at
(standingstronginChrist AT gmail DOT com). Please don't be afraid to do this :) My father loves me very much and is very protective of me, but if you are a young man who loves the Lord and desires a wife, my dad isn't going to try to scare you off :D

I believe in wearing modest dresses and skirts, as these are distinctly feminine and cannot be confused with men's clothing.
I believe a woman should have long hair, because the Bible says it is her 'glory'.I love classical music, and a lot of Irish and Scottish traditional music, as well as traditional hymns. I am very much against rock and rap music, even so called Christian rock and rap for two reasons: one, because God is not the author of confusion, and two, because almost all rock and rap songs are theologically shallow and appeal more to the flesh and emotions than describing the glory of God.
Since I began playing the violin a year ago, I've been really interested in violin music, and have a found a lot of good stuff on Youtube, such as Hilary Hahn, Sarah Chang, Anna Savkina, Kirill Troussov and Mercedes Cheung (she's a little girl who plays beautifully). I would say that my favorite instrument of all time is the violin, and I hope to get better at it.

I enjoy a wide variety of genres, including: some fantasy (mostly just Narnia and Lord of the Rings, most modern ones aren't that great); well written historical fiction; Charles Dickens; theology; regular fiction; fairy tales; biographies and autobiographies. One of the genres that I don't really care for is science fiction. I make an exception in the case of H. G. Wells. I have read and loved C. S. Lewis' 'Space Trilogy', but it's not technically science fiction.

I love soup, especially soup with vegetables and chicken, and I also like goulash, which is basically just a bunch of different things thrown into a pot with tomato sauce :)
I like a whole lot of different foods, I'm not real picky.