courageous.

Today I finally saw Courageous!
It was so awesome...and the acting has come along way since Facing the Giants.

I know this movie is about fathers, but it got me to thinking about another man that will be in my life....

my future husband.

The characteristics of the men in this movie made me think about the things I hope to see in my future husband. And as I thought about all these things, I realized...

I hope to have a man of courage as my husband.

I want a man who is courageous enough to not only win my heart, but to ask God for it and treasure it. I need a man who is brave, and patient, enough to deal with my ridiculousness and still be somewhat amused by it. He needs to be unafraid of prayer, and brave enough to lead our marriage.

Our son will need a father who will not only call the man out that is inside of him, but will give him a living, breathing example of what a Godly man is. He'll have the strength to teach our son to be a courageous man himself, and to walk uprightly before God.

Our daughter will need a father who will mirror the gentle compassion of God to her and who will fiercly and jealously guard her heart from all who would hurt her. She needs to see the standard of what a man should be in her daddy, so as she grows into a young woman, she won't kiss a bunch of frogs before her prince.

Our family will need a man who will fearlessly lead our family in righteousness and will pray vigilantly for us and daily wash us in the word of God.

I'm not asking for a perfect man.

I'm asking for a weak man..

...because in our weaknesses God is strong. I'm asking for a man who is so weak, the strength of God guides him in everything. And I'm asking for a broken man, a man who's broken over sin and the things of God.

And I'm asking God to form me into a woman of patience, who will faithfully honor my husband while waiting for him. I'm asking God to hold my heart for me, because I know I cannot be trusted with it until God brings me and my man of courage together.

I also ask God to make me a woman of courage, so that I will not fear the wait, and I will not fear trusting Him.

God is sufficient for these things. He is the example, and He has only the best in mind for those He loves.

confidence is the key...just not self-confidence

so there is a up an coming girls lock in that i'm helping lead.
and in preparing for a girl-geared lesson i've gotten to think of that age-old enemy of all women...

confidence!
...and the lack of it.

this topic is found everywhere in secular and christian culture, and the message is clear..

be confident in yourself, and life will go better. men will be attracted to you, your relationship with God will be better, you can do more, etc....

the list of what we should be able to do with self-confidence as our fuel is rather long.

problem is that we can't accomplish anything on that list. most of them are out of our control regardless of the level of self-confidence we have.

confidence IS key...
but we can't be confident in ourselves, and here is why:

we are human. we ALWAYS fail.

the idea of self-confidence implies that we can do anything good ourselves, but we can't.
we have to have God to do anything.

God-confidence is the key.

Phillipians 4:13 is a Scripture we are all familiar with..

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

this verse alone can completely demolish self-confidence.
we can do all things through CHRIST, not ourselves.

if we place our confidence in ourselves, then we will be disappointed.
we are not sufficient enough to fill our own needs.

if we place our confidence in our perfect God, then we will never be disappointed.
God is sufficient for our salvation, daily living, and...confidence.

i'm baaaccckkk.....

After a HUGE ordeal with Google, I have finally gotten a blog up and running once again!!
It was a long ordeal.
It was a grueling ordeal.
There was some blood.

And you should see the other guy..

Okay, it wasn't all that, but it was a process.

So here you have it, all my "fans" (ahem..facebook friends who've had their walls spammed with God, Coffee, and Late Nights). I have a new look, a new blog...but probably not a whole lot of new information!

If there is something you'd like to see written about, as always...EMAIL ME. or just tell me on facebook. :))

lorifunorie@live.com
http://www.facebook.com/lorifunorie

Tell your friends!!