Our Engagement Pictures!

Okay I can't believe we just took our engagement pictures! It's so crazy how fast time is flying by. It feels like Jacob just proposed yesterday! I wanted our engagement pictures to give a slight hint of what our wedding will be like. Hint hint...the baby's breaths. Wedding planning has been stressful yet really fun! It's a lot of pressure knowing that I only get to do this once so I have to make it perfect for myself. I also want to make this day perfect for Jacob. Even if he says he doesn't care about the little things I know once he see's how hard I've worked for our wedding he will be proud. It's so fun pinning so many things to my wedding board on Pinterest! Gosh if my wedding could just be a real life version of all those pins my wedding would be perfect! 

Anyways, here are the engagement pictures. I love how these pictures show our relationship. We love to be silly together and not taking things too seriously. However, Jacob sometimes takes silly to a whole new leve haha. Enjoy! 

Why I believe a girl shouldn't date before graduating.

Hey blog! 

This has been on my mind since July. I haven't thought of an outline for this post so all these thoughts will just be straight from my mind as I type. 

Being a small group leader of young girls for 4 years was so honoring and rewarding but it opened my eyes to the difference between societies influence on young girls today and what my age of girls were influenced by. In July, I spent a week at a Christian camp as a leader for my 6th grade girls. When you put girls and guys at the same camp, they are bound to look at each other. No matter how much you stress to girls that focusing on boys at church camp is not the point, they naturally do. Now as a leader for the same group of girls for years I asked God to show me how to guide these girls closer to Him instead of closer to boys. 

I tried so hard to stress to my girls that this camp wasn't about the cute boys or who has a crush on who. It wasn't until about the 3rd day that God finally gave me the words I needed to tell them. 

I have told them this already and I hope that they have held on to this but I feel that God has been asking me to share this with more girls. At the end of the day this is all just my own opinion. I don't have word for word scripture to support my beliefs but I do have experience. 

I don't believe God designed for young girls to date. Now many of you girls may be thinking "well yeah obviously" but just hear me out. See I believe God truly desires us women to grow in our teen years. Grow as a woman, grow in our faith, and grow in our relationship with our Lord. He is jealous for us. I truly believe that God wouldn't give us a true lasting relationship with man unless we have truly built a comforting, wholesome, and continually growing relationship with Him. How many of you can honestly say you had a relationship in middle school that led you and the person you were with closer to Christ? Let's be even more honest. How many of you can say you were confidently and fully submerged in Christ when you were starting high school? Can you truly say that you live everyday trying to be more like Christ while worrying about fitting in, what to wear, grades, figuring out who you are, trying to obey your parents? I can't say that I honestly lived everyday that way throughout high school. Parents may think "oh it's just puppy love" but it's not. It absorbs your daughters thoughts. A boy influences how your daughter acts,  how she dresses, how she views herself, and most importantly her relationship with the Lord. As a girl, I know just how hard it is to truly love yourself. It took me years to gain confidence and understanding of the fact that I am a creation of God. I wish that in my teen years I would've spent so much more time focusing on growing in my faith and no time talking to boys. See dating is not just a hobby or getting to know someone new. We date with a goal of marriage. So unless the guy you're "dating" in 7th grade is a man you have hopes in marrying, then what is the point of sharing your feelings and love with him? 

I fell in love with Jacob at 19. However I can honestly say that I fell completely in love with Christ before meeting Jacob. God waited until I pursued Him before He let a man persue me. 

So if you are a young girl reading this post consider what I have said. God will NEVER reject you. He will NEVER hate your flaws. In fact, He adores them. If you're at a point in your life where you feel a part of your life is empty, why don't you let God fill it eternally instead of a boy fill it temporarily. Honestly, the chances of you marrying the man you're dating in middle school is highly unlikely.

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22 

Love,

Claire