Education - is it right?

So I was thinking today about education as I was working. I work as a substitute teacher in the public education system around me. Today I was teaching math and I overheard a student say "I am not going to college". In a mindset where the answer is almost always getting a college education after high school graduation, this came as a surprise to me. Of course, this student was in 6th grade so she has quite a ways to go before she gets to that point as well as considering what her parents think, but I was still surprised.

I, myself, have a Bachelor's degree and am currently going for a Master's degree as well. These degrees are both in the engineering field, not that this will help me much in the technical aspect with raising a family, but I do feel there are lots of good reasons to get an education. I am definitely not where I would like to be, but do I regret the choice to go into engineering? Nope. There are so many possibilities of what I can do with that degree (if I choose to work until I get married), but also a college education teaches a person wonderful communication skills that can be used during marriage and in raising children.

I know the main reason that most Anabaptists are against higher education is due to Romans 12:2 which tells us to be in the world, but not of the world. They also believe that a child will be pulled away from God if he or she attends college. I personally will not believe this since I know it is possible to stay near to God during college. I myself came closer to God during college, so it can be done. I also believe that if you fear your child will be torn away from God by going to school then they should not be allowed to leave the house, because there are plenty of other things in day-to-day life that can and will tear a soul away from God if the person allows themselves drift that way.

Other women are against college and higher education because of what the Bible says as a woman's role. Just because we are to be homekeepers, does this mean that we cannot take classes that either interest us or will help us do our job better? I don't think so. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the Bible that says an education is an awful thing. Think, Jesus educated people every time he talked to them. At that time, they did not know who exactly He was and yet they were willing to learn from Him - so why wouldn't we want to learn as much as we could from Him first and foremost but also other subjects that may help us to know about Him or how to do important day-to-day tasks better such as an accounting class, a cooking class, a communication class, etc. Now this may be a stretch, and most likely it is, but I do not feel bad about getting an education and nor do I believe anyone should feel bad about getting an education. Do I feel a woman (or a man) should be forced to get one? No. But I also do not feel that they should not be allowed to just because of their gender.

Here's another picture of flowers :) This is a Primrose that I got my mom last year and it lasted all last year and the winter to come back looking better than ever!!



Scripture for thought: John 16:33(NKJV) "33 'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have covercome the world.'"

Blessings in Christ,

Church Shopping :)

So my boyfriend and I have been "Church shopping"! Lol. It's kind of like house shopping...truly it is :) We came from different religious backgrounds, both Christians, but he was raised much more conservatively than I. I was raised Lutheran - ELCA and he was raised Southern Baptist. Quite a difference :) So we have decided that before we go too much further (we've been together for 5 years) we ought to find a church that we could both agree on attending because we wouldn't want to raise a family in a split church home.

So far we have visted 5 churches, including each other's respective church. It seems that we are settling on a more conservative IFB church (Independent Fundamental Baptist). The church we visited today may very well be the one we will settle on. It is the first one that both of us agreed to try a second time!! AMAZING! Lol. This IFB church has a set dress code and requires modesty in dressing and highly encourages women to wear skirts or dresses to church. The only slightly embarassing thing was they announced to the entire church who the visitors were! And of course the pastor didn't see my boyfriend's name on the card so I got called while he did not. Oh well :) As my boyfriend said, "can't fault them for trying"! Lol.

I think we have a few other churches that we want to try as well, but if we still enjoy this church in a few weeks maybe we won't. Who knows.

Here's a little scripture for your pondering tonight :)

John 13: 34-35 (NKJV): "34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

I absolutely love that! Similar to "The Golden Rule", but not quite, because the Lord has treated us absolutely wonderfully!!

John 14: 5-7 (NKJV): "5 Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?' 6 Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.'"

YAY!! The Lord IS THE truth!! He IS THE life!! Oh how absolutely wonderful!!

Blessings in Christ,

Some of the Lord's wonderful colors!

The first flowers are coming up and they make me so happy! I absolutely love tulips, here's a picture of some :) They are at school, the ones we had planted last fall to come up this spring rotted :(



I have been rather slow with my Bible reading, but I do have a thought to share with you. Goes along with the theme of spring :) It is the Beside the Still Waters daily devotionals for Saturday, April 10.

"It is not hard to understand how a straight row is easier to follow than a crooked row. But easier to follow doesn't always mean easer to maintain. More effort is required to stay straight than to go crooked both in planting nad in life. While planting a cornrow, you can drive perfectly by the marker right in front of the tractor, but unless you sight way out ahead, it is nearly impossible to maintain a straight row. We need to set our sights on something that is true, way up ahead -- something that doesn't move.

So it is in life. We might think we are on the right path because we are right on the mark left by the last generation. however, in a short time this will produce a mark that is difficult to follow. In reaction to this, we might decide that the mark from the last generation has little or no value, and we head for hte other end of the field, each on his own.

Whether we are first generation Christians making that first pass in the field or have four hundred years of rich heritage, we can leave a mark that is straighter and easier to follow than the mark that was left for us. The mark that we leave while looking way out ahead will be easy to follow when it lines up with all that the Bible teaches.

In our quest to plant a straight row, we will want to be identified as Christians. That mark right in front of us does matter. It is selfish of a generation that was given a good marker line to follow but fails to leave the same mark for the next generation. Without a good connection to God's guidance system, the Hold Spirit, we are planting in the dark."

This was submitted to Beside the Still Waters by Sam Miller from Haven, KS. I have been enjoying my daily devotionals from them, if anyone is interested let me know and I can give you the address to send a request for your own copy :) Everything from Still Waters Ministry is free.

I hope that I will be able to pick up my own Bible reading again soon. Until then, I pray this devotional has sparked something in you as it has done in me.

Blessings in Christ,

Feelin' Feminine Day 7

So I know you have been all waiting for the last outfit lol.

Here's a photo of my last outfit for this challenge :)

My skirt: a hand me up :)
Brown tank top: Kohls
Over shirt: Express, but was my sister's
Shoes: same as yesterday (from Macy's)
Hair: 2 braids into a bun with my solid chapel veil

I'll be back to my usual topics tomorrow or Wednesday :)

Blessings in Christ,

Feelin' Feminine Day 6/7

The last day for quite a few people on this challenge! I still have one more day and haven't decided if I will post tomorrow's outfit or not. If not, then I'll just show you Monday's outfit.

Today was the first day I had help taking my pictures so thank you to my boyfriend who was able to help :) Although I did get quite proficient with my timer option on my camera and then running into position lol.


Skirt: Brown courduroy skirt that I just finished today with mom's help :)
Shirt: Orange/red patterned shirt from Kohls
Shoes: Same as yesterday
Hair: Striaghtened and down with a white cecily veil

Well not much else that I have to share tonight. So it's a quick post. Have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow!

Blessings in Christ,

They'll know we are Christians by our love

Sound familiar? It might because it is a popular Church song (at least at the Church I grew up in)... "And they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love". Well that's the chorus at least!

I certainly hope the people that I interact with will think that I am a Christian because I truly do my very best to be kind to everyone that I meet. Granted, no matter how hard I try, I may not be as kind as I should. Not only kind, but patient and loving.

Now, the other day I was listening to "What if I Stumble" by dc talk. Yes, it is more of a Rock Christian band, but I like some of their songs :) The beginning of the song is narrative saying "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable".

Am I supposed to be only kind to my unbeliving neighbors? No. I ought to be kind to my Christian neighbors as well. Which sometimes is actually more difficult because they should know what is wrong and what is right, but as we all know, that is not always the case. Anyway, one of my friends has a saying, "don't hate the sinner, hate the sin". I find myself repeating this saying often when I am trying to be friendly to my Christian neighbors, even the ones that do not realize they are sinning or I hate to even say it, but care that they are sinning.

How we approach our unbelieving neighbors will have a lot to do with how we can help them. If we do not be kind and cautious in our approach, we may overwhelm them with the wonderful news of our Lord. If we lead them to believe that we NEVER stumble or have our doubts, how could we gain them as a fellow brother or sister in Christ? I know I definitely have my stumbles and doubts occasionally. But as soon as I immerse myself in the word of our Lord, I am reminded of why I am here and why I will have eternal life, even if not on this world!

I think dc talk did a good job of highlighting the common frets and worries of someone who looks at Christianity. Either we honor our Lord on Sundays alone (or even worse, while we are just at Church) or we act like we are perfect and have no worries or problems.

You may be thinking "Chelsea, what on earth are you going for? You've gone all over the board in this post". Well hopefully I can tie it all up here for ya :) As Christians, our unbelieving neighbors should know we are Christians by the love and kindness we show to them. No matter what might of happened to cause us to not want to love and show kindness. In doing so, we shall teach them about our Lord, but also, we must not be afraid to share our stumbles with our neighbors! We can all learn from other's questions or mistakes :)

Remember in school..."there is no such thing as a silly question except for those left unasked"? That still applies {grins}.

A few questions each of us needs to answer and be truthful with ourselves on.
- How do my neighbors view me? Both believing and unbelieving.
- What kind of Christian AM I?
- What kind of Christian do I WANT to be?
- And finally, what do I need to do to get there?

Blessings in Christ,

Feelin' Feminine Day 5/6

Hello :)

It's almost the end of the week. I shall miss seeing all the other outfits put together by the women and young ladies in this challenge!

Today was my grandma's birthday so we took her out for lunch, hence I'm a little bit more dressed up than the rest of the days this week :) And the fact that it's only 40-some here today made me pull out a sweater :( I thought they were all put away until come fall, but nope. Oh well.

Anyway, here's a picture of my outfit

My skirt: Same denim jean skirt as Day 2/3 that I made
My tank top: Black with gold polka dots from Express (one of their clearance bins :)
My sweater: Gray with yellow polka dots from American Eagle (a gift from my mom for Christmas)
Jacket: Same as the past two days lol :)
Shoes: Gold flats from Macy's (mom bought them for her and thought they would work, but they didn't so I was the lucky one who got them :)
Hair: Partial crown braid with a black headband

My shoes :) I love them so much, so comfy!!


A picture of my hair today, since I wasn't able to wear my veil.


If I have a few, I have a post that I want to write up, so we will see how long you must wait to read it :) Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings in Christ,