Just the other day I was looking at my old homeschool prom dresses.
I looked at the Cinderella type dresses that made me feel like a princess and thought about how the dress twirled around my ankles when I spun around. I thought about the homeschool prom and how all of us girls who went had so much fun hanging out, dressing up, and laughing together. And (although I didn't participate in this part) I thought about all of the girls there who would have a handsome-looking guy come up to them and ask them a simple question. They all asked it in different ways, but it basically came down to: May I have this dance? Let's face it. Girls have obsessed over guys for centuries. From batting their eyelashes at the guys from behind their fans at social gatherings, to stalking all the popular boy bands on Facebook and Twitter. From flirting and laughing about everything guys say to make them notice us, to even crossing boundaries that should never be crossed. Some girls have the "boy craziness" more so than others, but a touch of it does show up in all of us, ladies, admit it. I don't know why God placed it so much on my heart today to write this article, but I know He did. No, I won't be sharing with you how to get the guy at prom to ask you to dance. And I won't be sharing with you how to avoid all males to avoid this "plague" of boy craziness. Funny enough, I won't even be sharing with you about my views on dating and courtship and purity (that's for another time). But I do want to share with you about the One who wants to dance with you for the rest of your life. Us girls have become so consumed with getting a guy to like us and to want us that we even compromise our principles to have someone just ask us to dance. And when I say dance, I don't just mean to a four minute song at prom once a year. I'm talking about the dance of your life. The dance that you perform every day for people to notice you and like you. The dance that plays music only you can hear sometimes. And we crave that one guy to ask us, "May I have this dance?" Someone we can dance through life with and feel special with. Yet there stands One in the middle of our dance floor with His hand outstretched to us. And we don't even notice Him. Maybe it's because we are so consumed with tracking the posts, tweets and likes of every guy on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Maybe it's because we are so focused on the guys that we call "perfect" and our endless pursuits to get them to like us. Whatever the reason, we don't notice the One standing there with His hand outstretched every day. And every day He whispers the same thing in our ears and we don't even hear it. Instead, we drown it out with the voices of the world telling us who to be to get all the attention or all the newest love songs that only distort true love in the end. Yet He keeps whispering. May I have this dance? To every good princess story there is a knight in shining armor who comes to rescue the damsel in distress. Think about Prince Charming who comes to rescue Cinderella from the evil step-mother and step-sisters. And we long to be those princesses. We long to have our own prince charming's to come rescue us. But we miss it. We miss the truth because we are looking in all of the lies that the world feeds us. For you see, you are a princess. A beautiful princess that has been carefully made by the Creator of the universe. A princess that has a royal duty in this life and your dance has a purpose much greater than yourself or all the false suitors who try to ask you to dance. A princess who is so madly loved by the only One her heart could ever be satisfied by. And you see, this is where the love story becomes even more mind-blowing. The One who loves you, the One asking you to dance with Him every day, is the One who carefully crafted you and made you into who you are. He is your Knight in shining armor, your Prince Charming, your Hero, and the true Lover of your soul. And His Name is Jesus. Girls, if you spend your life and your time trying to get a guy to love you and "dance" with you forever, you are truly only wasting your time. In the end, even if that guy asks you to dance, you will be left empty. And you will even be left hurting more than when you started your quest for true love. Because guys aren't the ones that our soul is searching for. Our soul is searching for the Creator who made us and our true Love. When we spend our lives dancing with Him and loving Him, we find true fulfillment and true joy. It's where we find true love. Only in Him. So love Him, girls. Love Him with all of your heart. Put away your Instagram and let go of your constant striving for guys to like you, and live for Him. Live to make Him happy and to make Him proud. Live to impress Him. When you love Him with all of your heart, your life will change. His love will change you from the inside out like nothing else in this world can. You will be His beautiful princess and He will be your Prince. And one day, if it's His will, He'll bring your earthly prince charming into your life in His perfect timing. And it will be beautiful. But for now, stop your striving to believe all the world's lies of who you have to be and what you have to do. Guard your heart and place it in the hands of the only One who can keep it safe. And in the meantime, listen... Listen for that whisper in your ear every morning when you wake up. The whisper from your true Love beckoning to you to dance through your day with Him alone... May I have this dance? Then take His hand. And dance.
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Being a writer is one of the hardest things I do.
It makes me think harder, step outside of my comfort zone, and research more. It makes me learn to type quickly on a keyboard, stress about deadlines, and write every day. Yet, being a writer is my favorite job in the world. Because being a writer makes me smile bigger, raise my voice, and gives me opportunities to make a difference. It gives me purpose and chances to impact people. And maybe most important of all, it draws me closer to the heart of God. When I write, I feel God’s presence. I feel closer to Him than at any other time. I was nine years old when I first realized that picking up my pen and creating stories caused me more happiness than anything else. My first “book” was only seven pages long and I called it Best Friends Forever. I had notebooks with stories written in them stacked so high I couldn’t keep up with all of them. I created my own “book series” about a girl named Jenna and her horse, Midnight! Each “book” was a page long but I had about ten of them. I was twelve years old when I wrote my first book of 101 pages, each word written carefully in a notebook that I carried with me everywhere. Only a couple months later, I got my first laptop. I learned to let my fingers fly across the keyboard without looking at the keys. On that keyboard I would type out the next 11 books I would write, 9 of them being fiction and 3 being non-fiction. And May 20, 2014 something changed for me completely. Today it's been two years since that day. I had written non-fiction before, but this was different. God had asked me to write a book about my own personal story, a book that was my soul on paper. And on this day I wrote the final words of that book, “I Dare You.” It was written for my eyes only and for the eyes of God. It was written to inspire a generation to do something big with their lives and trust God to write a beautiful story with it. I had no way of knowing on that day I wrote the last words that God would ask me to publish this book first. And on June 26, 2015, “I Dare You” released for the world to read. If you have read this book, I pray that you can see my heart on those pages and that you can feel the presence of God as you read. When God asked me to publish this book I was hesitant. I didn't want to do it. This book was my heart and I was scared to give it to others to see. Yet in my heart I wanted to inspire even just one person. I would always pray that I could inspire someone. I saw it as holding a candle, a single flame. But when you extend that flame to one more candle, that one more candle can light another flame and eventually the darkness is filled with thousands of glowing candles. This is how I viewed inspiration and this is how I wanted my life to be. Then May 20, 2014 I finished "I Dare You." Then God asked me to publish it. And He showed me. It was my candle. So when you look on the printed cover of my book today, you will see a candle, shining in the darkness. For one candle can change the world. I look back on the last ten years I've been writing and I am amazed. When I wrote Best Friends Forever out in a little notebook of mine, I had no idea that so many years later I would be the published author of two books that God had inspired in my heart to write. And it makes it all worth it. All those days of holding in the backspace button as I deleted whole pages of what I had written. All those days of yelling at my computer because it lost stories I had written or it did not save like it was supposed to. All those days of crying because I could not figure out page numbers and all I wanted to do was throw my computer out the window and pull out my hair screaming. All those days of worrying what readers would think of my writing because I didn’t feel good enough. All those days of typing hour after hour and staring at the computer screen. All those hours of editing that I never looked forward to. I look down at the two books sitting in a box beside me and I see my name on the front cover. Isabella D. Morganthal. I’d dreamt of that moment since the day my fingers first picked up a pen and starting creating something I never knew I could create. And I know it was worth it. So no matter how many days I will continue to yell at my computer and hold in that backspace button to delete pages, I will keep writing. Because one of the most important things being a writer has taught me is that the story is never just ours to tell. There has not been a book I have written where I have not sat down at the computer and prayed “God, I give You this book. Write through me, and please write something amazing.” Because God is the pen of each of my stories, I am a writer today. Because God is the author of each of my pages, He has given me the opportunity to tell the world what I believe. And that is why, when I write, I feel the pleasure of God more than in anything else. Because when I am writing, I am laughing with God and talking with God and smiling with God. Over each word, each page, every story. We are writing together and I’ve never been happier, writing and dreaming with my Hero. No matter who you are or where you live, you have a story to tell. There is a desire to create something deep inside of you because you were made in the image of your Creator. No, I don’t think everyone has been called to write or has the desire to write. But you do have a story to tell. And you can tell it in countless ways. Your story isn’t always a fiction novel that portrays things you’ve learned or aspects of your own life. It isn’t always a devotional that draws people to the feet of God with the personal stories from your own life and how you found your own purpose at the feet of God. But God has given you a story to tell. A story of beauty. A story of faithfulness, a story of trust, a story of love, a story of grace. Maybe you can see your story in the music you create that causes people to stop and listen to a sound that speaks of a beautiful Creator. Maybe you can see your story in your photographs that you take behind the lens of your camera. A story of a beautiful mountain with hills golden from the sun, that causes people to look towards the Creator of it all. Maybe you can see your story in the paintings you draw that capture a beauty or a sadness that inspire people to create something too. Maybe you can see your story in the beautiful things you sew, crochet, or knit that bring smiles to the faces of people you give it to and comfort them to know that there is a Creator who loves them even more than you. Or maybe you are a writer and your story is through the pages on your computer screen or notebook. You write to understand, you write to inspire, you write to feel close to God. So write, dear writer. Being published will come, but for now just write. Pour your heart onto those pages and give every word to the One who created you. Write a story of God’s love and beauty and He will do something amazing with it. Before I close, thank you to the one reading this now. Thank you for believing in me enough to read the simple words I have to write on a page. Thank you for believing in me enough to keep on reading even if I lost you at the first paragraph. And to my God, for being the reason I write, I thank You with all of my heart. Now, dear readers, if you don’t mind, I have another story to write. God bless you. Are you between the ages of 7-18?
Do you have children between the ages of 7-18? Do you desire a deeper relationship with God? Do you want a prize in your heart that will never perish or fade? Then the National Bible Bee is just for you! =) I participated in the Bible Bee for five (amazing, wonderful, fantastic...need I continue?) years and I loved every minute of it. I would do it for the rest of my life if I could! ;) But sadly, I am alumni now (the dreaded age of 19). When I first signed up for the Bible Bee in 2011 however, I had no idea the impact it would have on my life. I thought it would be something fun to do over the summer and the grand prize at Nationals seemed really exciting too. I had no idea the way it would completely change my life. Truly, when you spend so many hours over the summer completely immersed in the Word and presence of God, you will be changed. And you'll discover what an amazing journey He is leading you on. When I started the Bible Bee, my quiet time with God felt dead almost. God felt distant and I needed that close relationship with Him again. After doing Bible Bee, I began to love those quiet times with Him and I felt His presence with me. I can truly say that I know God better now than I did before I participated in the Bible Bee. Since I am alumni this year and can't compete myself, I have decided to host my own Local Bible Bee! =) What an exciting adventure this is for me. If you are in the Pennsylvania area and would like more information about registering under my local bee, fill out the contact form on this blog! Registration closes this month, so I'd love to hear from you soon! =) Even if you don't live around here and can't come to my local bee, I still encourage you (and HIGHLY recommend) that you register to do Bible Bee this summer! I can't promise you'll win any prizes. I can't promise you'll make Nationals. But your life will be changed. I do promise you that. =) So what are you waiting for?? Sign up for the adventure of your life!! www.biblebee.org/register Congratulations to the winners of my book giveaway!!
The winner of "I Dare You: Finding Your Passion and Lighting Your World" is... BETHANY!!! The winner of "The King's Princess: A Magazine Compilation" is.... RACHEL!!! Congratulations to the both of you! You'll be receiving emails shortly and the books will arrive in the mail to you soon as well. =) Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the giveaways to celebrate the release of my brand NEW book "The King's Princess"! God bless you all!! |
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