The Virtuous Daughter Magazine Summer Edition 2016

Vol. 2 Issue 1

Go

A Quest for

Identity and

Purpose

One Year Anniversary!

T he Virtuous Daughter Magazine is One Year Old!

We are so excited that we have been able to share this magazine for one whole year now. A year ago, I messaged a couple of my friends and said, “How would you guys like to help me with a online maga-zine for teenage girls?” Now here we are today, celebrating one year of struggles, victories, challenges, and being able to encourage other girls.

I personally want to thank Cecilia Brown and Juliana Ebersole (these are the two girls I messaged a year ago). They are a huge part of making this happen. Cecilia, thank you for always being honest and sharing your opinion. You are a huge help. Juliana, I know you may think you don’t do much, but you are the backbone of this magazine. Thank you for always supporting this.

As a team, we would like to thank all of the wonderful girls who have helped out with this magazine over the last year. Kimberly Amstutz,

Andrea Powell, you girls are amazing. No matter what we ask you to write, you somehow get it spot on the target. Alaina Burwell, we are so excited to have you on our team now! We are greatly looking for-ward to what you have to share with us in the next year. Also a huge thanks to all of those who gave up their time to write articles and share photos. We couldn’t have done this without all of you!

And thank you to all of you, who read our magazine and support us through encouraging words. Without you guys our magazine would have gotten nowhere!

And last, but oh so not least, thanks to our Creator, Jesus Christ. With-out Him, there would be no point to this magazine. He is our channel, our source of life, our inspiration. We thank Him.

-Katrina Swartzentruber

A note from the editors

Iden·ti·ty noun

The qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from

others

What is your identity? We hear this question a lot.

I hope while reading through the pages of this

magazine, you will notice that when we talk about

identity we aren't talking about your driver’s license

or your passport; we are talking about who you are

as a person and who you are as a child of God. Iden-

tity is such an important part of every individual’s

life, and our identity in Christ is even more so.

-Cecilia Brown

Website: Thevirtuousdaughter.wix.com/magazine

Blog: Thevirtuousdaughtermagazine.wordpress.com

Facebook: The Virtuous Daughter Magazine

Instagram: @thevirtuousdaughter

Google +: +thevirtuousdaughter

[email protected]

2 One Year Anniversary Letter 12 What is Identity? 14 A Quest for Identity and Purpose: Part 1 28 Letting Go 34 The Importance of Finding our Identity

22 Artistry 32 Dine 30 Amelia Emily Jones 40 DIY 38 Book recommendations

Several Mennonite girls striving to be like Jesus

Christ, and sharing His love to other girls! Through

this magazine we hope to connect with other girls

with similar goals and encourage one another

in our walk with God.

Katrina Swartzentruber– Creator, Creative Director Hello Ladies! It brings me much joy to be able share this magazine with you! I am 15 years old, and I live in NE Missouri with (part of) my family. I have 3 older sisters (two of which are married) and one younger brother. I enjoy all things art, such as music, extravagant lattés, and photography. I also love babies and children, telling sto-ries, and writing on my blog and for the magazine.

Cecilia Brown– Creator, Creative assistant I'm a seventeen-year-old living in the beautiful hills of NE Missouri. I adore being with my family and friends, but when it comes to new people I am a total introvert. I am very fond of dabbling in all sorts of creative pursuits. I like big cups of chai, volleyball, reading a good book, and lively discussions. But mostly I am trying to live a passionate life all for Jesus.

Juliana Ebersole– Creator Hello!! My name is Juliana Ebersole. It is an absolute delight for me to be able to make this magazine happen. I have lived in Mon-golia with my family ever since I was 5, so I have enjoyed growing up and living my life there for the past 10 years. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me and my life. I enjoy doing pret-ty much anything concerning children. They bring me joy and hap-piness. I also enjoy keeping in touch with my friends back in the States and pretty much all over the world. I hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our magazine. God bless you all as you shine bright for Him!

Meet everyone who helped out with this issue

Kimberly Amstutz– Staff Writer My name is Kimberly Amstutz. I am 16 yrs. old. I live in

Jonesville, Michigan. A friend of mine asked me to be a staff

writer for The Virtuous Daughter Magazine. I felt like this was

something God wanted me to do, and I have enjoyed writing

the articles SO MUCH! As far as hobbies go, I enjoy writing,

reading, (mysteries, mostly) and baking. My favorite is proba-

bly riding my horse! Cats also hold a special place in my

heart!

Andrea Powell– Staff Writer My name is Andrea Powell and I am from Lake Butler, Florida. I

am 14 and I have enjoyed writing ever since third grade. I en-

joy other things, too, like swimming, riding horses, babysitting

little kids, playing volleyball and also I love to sing (just ask my

family). Overall though, I am just a normal girl, trying (like the

rest of you) to be like Jesus and to reach out to others. I hope

to encourage and inspire you to love Jesus with all your heart.

My name is Alaina Burwell and I have lived in Mongolia since I was 9! I really love to paint...as well as any type of arts and crafts! I also enjoy photog-raphy, and working with little kids!

Alaina Burwell– Staff crafter

Staff Photographers

Katrina Swartzentruber

Cecilia Brown

Lorissa Hochstetler- Guest writer Hello! I live in Hicksville, Ohio. I work as a nurse in a surgical,

trauma, neuro ICU in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Some interests I have

include but are not limited to: travel, music, health, relationships,

reading, writing, entertaining, and planning/organizing.

Kim Martin– Staff Photographer Hello, My name is Kim Martin. I am 18 years old and I live in up-state New York. I absolutely love photography and learning about it. I also enjoy doing crafts, working with children, going on road trips, exploring new places, drinking coffee, and being with people. I believe the purpose for my life is not to live for me, but to serve Yahweh with everything I am. Bless you all! :)

11

Dorcas Swartzentruber– Staff Editor Hi! I am the mother of 4 sweet daughters and a lively son, ranging

in age from 22 to 11. I enjoy talking, working, and relaxing with my

hubby of 25 years. I also enjoy building relationships with my chil-

dren and with women in my church and community, teaching, and

keeping my home (somewhat) organized.

What is identity? We hear

this all the time. Finding identity. I

found identity, etc. etc. What does

it really mean, though? What does

it truly mean to find your identity?

The word identity simply means

”the fact of being who or what a

person or thing is.” Who you are.

What you believe. What you do. So

who are you? What do you be-

lieve? I’m going to split identity into

two parts. Now, these should not

be separate parts, but if both are in

harmony they will work together

beautifully. The first part is our

physical identity. The second is our

spiritual identity.

Physical:

when you look into

the mirror, what do

you see? You see you.

You see who you are,

or who you believe

yourself to be. When

others look at you,

who do they see? Im-

agine somebody was

talking behind their

back about you. What

would they say? While

God can see our in-

ward appearance, hu-

man beings can’t, so

it’s very important that our walk

matches up with our talk. The way

we talk, how we dress, the way we

treat other people. This becomes

our physical identity. Who people

see us as, and what they relate us

to.

Spiritual:

Our physical identity will always be

a reflection of our Spiritual identity.

Where is God in our life? Do we feel

as though in order to have Christ

first place in our life we must go to

church, wear the right clothes, and

read the Bible and pray for a specific

amount each day? While this is im-

portant, it’s not what being a Chris-

tian all is about. Our spiritual identi-

ty should not come from the things

we do, it should come from our per-

sonal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Part 1

A Quest for

Identity and

Purpose

By Lorissa Hochstetler

All my life I have wanted to belong and be a part of something. I desire to be vibrant and beautiful; on the inside and outside! I have, in the past, felt ugly at times and like I have nothing to offer the world. I won-der things like: who am I and what is my purpose? Will I always feel this way? Is there something I can do about it? How do I go about getting answers? Where do I start? Maybe you, too, have felt restless and long for answers to questions like these. In this article I will share some of what I am learning in my quest of figur-ing out who I am, what is my purpose, and practical ap-plication on becoming a vibrant and beautiful lady! As a young girl, I lived life to please myself. I

found it did not make me happy. I would have these

soul-searching moments late at night while the rest of

the household was asleep. It was in those times that I

would evaluate myself and future. When I was around

11-12 years old, I committed to live my life for Jesus, ra-

ther than myself, during one of those moments. Noth-

ing major seemed to really happen at the time besides

that I felt a great peace. A peace that is hard to ex-

plain, but so real you can just allow yourself to sit back

and relax in it. This was the beginning of my quest in

figuring out who I am and what my purpose is. Quest:

“a long and difficult effort to find or do some-

thing” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

quest). Who am I? One of the first things that come to

mind when someone asks me who I am is my name. I

am Lorissa. If they need additional identity infor-

mation, I then provide them with my last name.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quest

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quest

Now they can associate me with

my family. Sometimes that is meaning-

less to people that do not know my fam-

ily. I then go a step further and tell

them where I live or what church I go to,

associating myself with an area and a

group of people. There, surely they will

know who I am, now! Still need further

identity? OK, let me tell you what I do

for a job. All these things are not bad to

be associated with and do; in fact, they

become part of who we are. I once

heard that it is dangerous for us to only

find our identity in things that can be

taken away. For example, if you find

your identity in your family and they are

all suddenly killed…then who are you?

If you find it rather in your church and it

dissolves or is taken out by terror-

ist….then who are you? If you find it ra-

ther in a job/role or a significant other

and that is taken away from you…then

who are you? I am going to tell you who

you are!

Genesis 1:27 KJV “So God created

man in his own image, in the image of

God created he him; male and female

created he them.” You are the image of

God. What distinguishes man from the

rest of creation is his likeness to God.

This is our core identity. This is an iden-

tity that no one on this earth can ever

take away. It is for all mankind, not just

the believer. Made by Him; made like

Him.

I accept the fact that I was created

by a higher power and made in His im-

age, which gives me identity. However, I

find it does not automatically give me

purpose. How do I find purpose? I have

come to the conclusion that we are all

created for a general purpose as well as

a specific purpose.

The general purpose we are creat-

ed for is to love the Lord with all our

heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark

12: 30-31). To worship and bring Him

glory with our lives. The specific pur-

pose for each of us is as unique as each

of our fingerprints!

We were created with specific gifts,

talents, and interests. Placed in a

unique location, family, and time. There

are some things that only you have op-

portunity to reach out and do, only you.

The choice is yours. God gives us a free

choice to do these things, but He never

forces us. How does one figure out

what their specific purpose is? In my

life, I am learning that even though it is

important to be looking for my specific

purpose, I should not to be consumed

with trying to figure it out. Rather, I try

to focus more on simply having a soft

and obedient heart towards Him. Each

day, I look to the Lord for direction with

a willing heart to obey what He asks of

me. In doing this, I believe it will ulti-

mately lead me to living out my specific

purpose! I like to learn from the lives of

Godly women in history, picking out spe-

cific ways they brought glory to God.

Some of my favorites are: Amy Carmi-

chael, Corrie Ten Boom, and Elizabeth

Elliot. I have to wonder if, while they

were in the middle of living their lives,

they knew their specific purpose, or if it

simply happened while they focused on

living lives with soft, obedient hearts to-

wards their Father.

In my quest, I found the value of

having a relationship with Jesus. He tru-

ly does give more of a reason to live! I

was raised in a conservative Christian

home and taught about God and the Bi-

ble. I felt well instructed from a young

age on the fact that Jesus may come

“knocking at my hearts door” someday,

and what to do to “let Him in.” Once I

did that, I felt a little lost as to where to

go next. It seemed the instructions ran

out, leaving me lost as where to go next

and what it should look like. I was en-

couraged to read my Bible and pray

every day, and I did. Well, I tried to any-

way. It was hard and the Bible was kind

of complicated to read and did not make

a lot of sense! I want to share with you

some things I am learning and imple-

menting in my life to becoming a vibrant

and beautiful lady.

Know Him. Do not make it complicated. Think about it like

any other relationship in your life. The only difference is that you

cannot physically see Him or audibly hear Him like you are used to

in your current relationships. To have a relationship with anyone,

you need to be introduced. This introduction to Jesus is extended

to us, but we have to “start the conversation.” We do this by rec-

ognizing our need for Him, believing He exists, repenting of our

sins, and inviting Him to live in us.

Talk to Him; the next step in a relationship is to communi-

cate with that person. We communicate with Jesus by praying

(talking) to Him. There is value in having formal prayer on your

knees but I am also learning the value of keeping the conversation

going through each day. He longs for relationship with us, and en-

joys hearing you say things like, “Thank you for this beautiful sun-

set, Jesus” as you pass by a window. Or, “Wow, God, do you see

that lady over there crying and talking on the phone? I do not

know what is going on in her life, but I just ask you to minister to

her, meet her need, and help her to know it came from you.” I

talk to Him in my car while I drive, during my job, before and dur-

ing a test, when I am working with money He blessed me with,

and the list goes on. Spend time to learn about Him. When you

really want to get to know someone, you make an effort to ask

them about their interests, past, and aspirations. It is no different

with Jesus. His Word is where you will get to know more about

what interests Him, His past, and His future. Oh, wait; it is your

future, too! I used to think that the Bible was just kind of a bor-

ing, old book (although true), talking about things which hap-

pened a long time ago, and that it really did not have anything to

do with me today. I am learning it has everything to do with to-

day!

Find creative ways to get into the Word. Some options may be reading:

a chronological Bible, a chapter a day, 6-month or a year-reading plan, focus

on a topic or a book. If a verse stands out to you or is given to you during a

difficult time, try writing it out and memorizing it. Watch valid DVD’s about

the Bible and make it come alive for you!

Prepare a place to meet Him. Just like any other friend in your life, you

have to make room for them. This special place might be on the couch beside

you. Or maybe you need to put this meeting in your schedule. Do you have a

place to meet Him? Are there too many things swirling around in your mind

when you sit down to read or pray that you cannot even focus? Write them

on a paper as they come to mind and tell yourself you will deal with them lat-

er. Or ask Jesus to help clear your mind and pray through each thing that

comes up, giving those things to Him; He is trustworthy. Do you have an ex-

ternal place you can meet Him? When you sit down, do you see clutter and a

mess around you, or just excessive decorating and distractions? You may

need to do something creative like my friend has done. Empty out a closet or

space. Put some blankets, pillows, and a lamp in there: prayer closet. What a

great idea, no distractions! Something I have started to practice this past year

is not looking at anything online before I talk to God or read the Word in the

beginning of my day. I found I spent more time on there than I meant (or

needed) to, and then I had to move on with my day and shorten, or even skip,

my time with God. Preparing an internal/external space as well as making

time in our schedules is helpful in meeting with Him.

I hope you are starting to gain a picture of where your identity comes

from, how to go about finding purpose, as well as ways to have a relationship

with Jesus. What about being a vibrant and beautiful lady on the inside and

outside? ——To be continued …..

Photography by Kimberley Martin

Welcome to Artistry! Today we have with us Melody Zim-merman! She will be sharing how she likes to make coffee.

If you enjoy this, you can go to her blog roseonajour-ney.wordpress.com for more recipes! -Katrina

Artistry

Creating color in life

Have you noticed how many recipes, copycat Starbucks lattes, coffee syrups, and delectable photos there are concern-ing this one delicious beverage? I am now here to add my “two bits” as well.

You see, in my experience, there are some things in these recipes that often seem lacking–deep flavor, practicality, beauty. I am here to present to you all three.

Caramel Coffee Syrup

2 c. Water

2 c. Sugar

1-2 t. Caramel Flavoring (I use Watkins brand)

1/2 t. Maple Flavoring (Watkins)

Boil sugar and water for 5 minutes. Re-

move from heat and let cool around 5 minutes. Add flavorings and transfer to container. I like to use a glass Starbucks bottle–they pour pretty well. This recipe can also be used for hazelnut or hazelnut caramel–just play around with it!

So, about flavor. I tried making caramel coffee syrup using a simple syrup recipe (sugar+water) and adding caramel syrup (like the ice cream topping) to that. I don’t know what your experiences are, but I’ve always felt as though this was intensely lacking in the one thing it was supposed to be–caramel flavor. It tends to just make your coffee sweet. While that may be de-licious, it doesn’t replace a coffee shop drink by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve also tried adding straight caramel

syrup. Again, you have to add a lot to get enough flavor, and by that time, it’s overly sweet (and it gets a little expensive, even to make your own). I’ve never re-ally had much luck with Torani coffee syrup either–it’s just a little expensive to use it daily, and a little too sweet. Using flavorings allows you to be able to adjust according to your taste. If you want more caramel, add more! I also like to add some maple flavoring to enhance the caramel. You cannot taste it if you don’t know it’s there, and it really rounds out the caramel flavor. These cost around $3 a bottle, which sounds expensive. But, when compared to buying a bottle of cof-fee syrup, this is much, much cheaper per cup.

And forward, on to practicality and beauty! I will now present two recipes: one using normal kitchen tools, the other using espresso machine essentials. The first method is not as strong coffee flavored, and is great for using with French press coffee. The second will require some basic espresso-making tools (and not quite as much practicality).

First, begin with 1/3 a cup or so of strong coffee, made in your preferred method.

The next step is to heat and blend some milk. I warmed up about 3/4 c. milk in my magic bullet jar. You don’t want to boil the milk, but you do want it to be pretty hot. Blend your milk for about 30 seconds. If you like, you can add 1/2 T. coconut oil to your milk while you’re blending it.

Add 1-2 T. coffee syrup. If you have your milk in a large blender, pour it into a glass measuring cup or a small pitcher. Tap your milk on the countertop to pop any large bubbles and swirl it around a couple times. Repeat the tap/swirl. Carefully pour your milk in, leaving a little foam/milk in the bottom of your pitcher.

Now, for the beauty part! Sprinkle cinnamon (or cocoa, if you’re not a cinnamon fan) over the top of the coffee. Take a spoon and carefully distribute the cinnamon over the top layer of foam–you’re not trying to mix it into the entire cup. Take another spoon (or clean off the one with cinnamon), and scrape off some foam from the milk in your pitcher. Carefully, just touch the surface of the cinnamon with your spoon of foam to make a little dollop. Make a large circle of dots and a smaller circle in the middle. Take a skewer, thermometer point, or something similar (round, but not too fat or too skinny–a toothpick is too small usually) and slice through the dots in a spiral pattern, creating a series of little hearts! Alternatively, you can just put a giant dollop of cool-whip on and pour on some caramel–tada!

Now for version two. You will need these items:

-Pump-powered espresso machine (you can use a steam powered machine, but you will get little, if any, crema) -Coffee Beans and Burr Grinder (or pre-ground espresso grind coffee) -Metal Tamper (preferably not a plastic one that came with your ma-chine) -Metal Steaming Pitcher (found in some stores as a cream pitcher) -Milk -Coffee Syrup (the good stuff) -Coffee Mug

To begin, turn on your machine and let it warm up. While it’s warming up, empty the grounds from the filter basket if you haven’t already. Rinse it out, dry it, and set it aside. Put the filter holder/handle back on and brew plain water into your cup–either half full or if your machine is set to brew a certain amount, until it shuts off. Microwave the water for around a minute (grind your coffee beans while it’s heating) There are a couple reasons for doing this. Firstly, it will clean off any grounds that are left on the machine from the last time. And secondly, it will warm your cup up so that when you brew your espresso, it is not cooled off by a cold cup. Pour your coffee grounds into the filter basket. Tamp your coffee grounds by pressing your tamper down really hard, and then twisting and pick up. Tap the sides with your tamper to knock down any grounds that got pushed up the sides and repeat the tamping process. I typically tamp mine a total of three times. The goal is to get an even, hard finish. Place in your machine. Empty the hot water out of your mug and add 1-2 T. of coffee syrup–if you don’t know how much to add, err on the side of not enough, since you can add more later. Brew that espresso. In my experience, espresso machines come with either a ‘single’ filter basket or a ‘double’. I always use the double. The reason being that this is not a $400 machine, my grinder is not a $200 grinder and my beans are not fresh. If all of those factors were in place, a single shot would be sufficient. However, with mediocre equipment, I feel like I get the best results with the ‘double’. I usually fill my mug to around 1/3 or just beneath 1/2 full (would be less without the syrup).

Set the espresso aside and turn on the steam function to preheat. While it is heating, pour your milk into your pitcher. Always store your pitcher in the fridge or freezer when you’re not using it so that when you pour in your milk, it stays cold as long as possible. One of my ma-chines took forever to heat up and so I would pour the milk and then set it in the freezer to keep cold while I was waiting.

Hold the pitcher in such a way that the metal is flush against your palm so that you can feel the temperature (it works best for me to do this with my left hand). Immerse the tip of the wand and turn the steam on. Immediately after the steam is flowing, bring the tip to the surface of the milk so that it is sucking air in. If you put it too high, you’ll blow bubbles and milk everywhere. If it’s too low, you won’t be getting any air. It should sound something like paper being ripped. Once you can feel the milk becoming warm against your palm, put the tip back down in the milk and play with the angle until the milk is rolling around in the pitcher. If there are loud screeching sounds, your tip is likely too close to the bottom of the cup. When the pitcher be-comes too hot to touch, shut the machine off. Wait to remove the pitcher until the steam stops, then set it aside. With a wet cloth, wipe off the steam wand and run a little steam through it to rinse out any milk.

Pour in your steamed milk! I purposely poured so that the milk all went under the crema, leaving the top golden. If you like, you can sprinkle cinnamon on top–I love how it tastes with the caramel. Then following the directions above, I added dots and sliced through them to make hearts.

Article and

Photography by

Melody Zimmerman

Written by Juliana Ebersole and Katrina Swartzentruber A young women’s journey to finding complete identity in Christ.

Written by Juliana Ebersole and Katrina Swartzentruber A young women’s journey to finding complete identity in Christ.

Imagine with us for a moment, if you would,

that you are in a comfortable, deep sleep, and

you are dreaming a glorious dream. In this

dream, you are clothed in magnificent beauty of

a white flowing gown, sewn with silver thread.

You feel like a princess. Suddenly, you hear the

sound of hoof beats, and you glance up. From a

distance, you see shining armor and a gallant,

sturdy man. He is riding atop the most beauti-

ful white horse you have ever seen, and your

heart is already flying to him. But then as he

comes closer, you begin to notice more things.

His armor isn’t shining. It’s rusty and tarnished.

The horse isn’t white; it’s grey with a shaggy

mane. And what happened to

the handsome knight? He’s old and ugly.

That Flameless Fire

We all have dreams. Dreams of adventure,

dreams of boys, dream of who you’d like to be,

what you’d like to do. But what if the same

thing happens to you as what happened in the

dream? What if when we take flight, we

fall? Life is so full of opportunities, but all you

see is a flameless candle. You feel pointless.

Flameless. Void of any meaning. You feel no

passion. You feel no meaning. To where do you

turn? To where do you run?

Igniting the Flame

As it says in John 15:5, we are the

branches, God is the vine. Every-

thing we do should be an outflow

of Him. And without that True

Vine, we are pointless. We are

flameless. Void of any mean-

ing. We all must come to a point

at our life where we see that

without Jesus, we are living our

life in vain. But what can we do?

God is the Almighty Creator of the

world, but the amazing thing is

that while He is the Almighty Cre-

ator of the world, He still chose to

create you, and because of that,

we believe that He has a very spe-

cial purpose in store for you. As it

says in Ephesians 1:11, ”In him we

were also chosen, having been

predestined according to the plan

of him who works out everything

in conformity with the purpose of

His will.”(NIV) See, before you

were even born, God had your life

planned out. He has a very spe-

cific purpose for you, and yet He

has given you the power to

choose whether or not to take His

purpose. God has a beautiful sto-

ry in store for you. And all you

have to do is let go and say

“yes.”

Setting it Ablaze

So what now? What does it mean

to “let go”? It means laying every-

thing—ideas, plans, hopes,

dreams, everything—at the altar.

Cutting loose of the ties that bind

you—guilt, worry, pain, sorrow—

and trusting in God to take it all

and transform it. We must not

simply try to brush these things

off into the wind, because they

will eventually boomerang and

come back to us. We need to pick

them up and place them in the

hand of Jesus, who is always

standing there waiting. Because

what do you gain if we keep those

things tucked away in your heart?

Ask God to search you for any hid-

den places, and fill every nook

and cranny. Step out on Faith, and

Surrender. He is always there

waiting. Even when we think we are

worthless, He says we are price-

less.

“He drew me up from the pit of de-

struction, out of the miry bog, and

set my feet upon a rock, making my

steps secure.” Psalm 40:2(ESV)

Feeding that Flame

What did you do when you became

a Christian? Accept the fact the Je-

sus paid the price for your sins and

asked Him into your life? Yes, this is

what we need to do. Sadly, most

Christians stop there. Yet Christiani-

ty is so much more than that. It’s

having a personal, connected rela-

tionship with Jesus Christ, our Re-

lentless Lover. It’s cultivating a

growing relationship with

Him. Picture this: a girl just got en-

gaged. She is finally his. Nobody

else can come and sweep her off

her feet because he has. All of her

friends are certain of her engage-

ment and are joining in with prepa-

ration for her wedding day. She

talks to fiancé daily, and she listens

when he wants to talk. She waits

eagerly for her wedding day, when

she will finally be able to be at his

side—forever. So who are you? Are

you spoken for? Are you in a deep

relationship with your First Love, Je-

sus Christ? Let go, and say “yes”.

No-churn Coffee Ice Cream Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (I prefer Eagle

Brand)

5 tsp instant coffee + 2 1/2 tsp warm water (I love using

Folgers instant coffee)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a large bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Dissolve instant coffee granules in warm water and stir

into heavy cream mixture along with sweetened con-

densed milk and vanilla extract.

Pour ice cream mixture into an airtight container and

freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Article by Andrea Powell. Photography by various

There is something about knowing exactly who you are and being

ok with it that is so hard for me. I hope I’m not the only one. It’s funny

that I was asked to write on this, because it had been on my mind

and I had been “struggling with it” I guess you could say. I had/have

questions running through my head like: “What kind of a girl am I sup-

posed to be? Will others think I’m weird if I just completely let my

guard down and be who I am at home with my siblings? What if I DO

let my guard down and be me and me isn’t such a good person?

What if others are secretly annoyed at me and find me really hard to

get along with and just don’t tell me? What if they’re just being nice to

me because they have to? How

much should I change of who I am

to please someone else, or should

I at all? But then, who am I any-

way?”

Wow, that was a lot of questions!

Maybe I am the only girl that feels

this way sometimes and maybe all

of you girls should be writing ME

an article! But I guess I will do my

best to be of SOME help. But be-

lieve me, I am just writing what I

know to be true. The hard part is

BELIEVING it and LIVING it. so I am

going to divide into two parts and

talk about IDENTITY first and then

PURPOSE.

IDENTITY:

Recently, I have read a couple of

verses that REALLY stuck out to

me on this subject.

“But Godliness with Content-

ment is Great Gain.”

Maybe you are wondering how

this applies to finding your identity

and purpose. Well, let’s do a little

word study:

Godliness:

In the Bible I was using, the

cross reference was Hebrews 13:5

which says; “Let your conversa-

tion be without covetousness; and

be content with such things as ye

have………”

So could this verse be re-

wording the previous verse? Let’s

see: what does ‘conversation’

mean?

CONVERSATION: literally means

your conduct.

So re-wording it would be: “Let

your CONDUCT be without covet-

ousness (excessively eager to ob-

tain and possess something that

isn’t yours);

and be content with such things as

ye have.”

Could that ‘something’ be

someone else’s character or the

person they are?

We all know what content-

ment is, but what exactly does

‘conduct’ mean?

CONDUCT: personal behavior or

course of actions.

So could one meaning of god-

liness actually be (putting Hebrews

13:5 in my own words): “Don’t let

your personal behavior/actions de-

pend on what others are. Don’t

covet the person they are or some-

thing they possess or a talent they

have, and try to become what they

are. But rather, be ok with who you

are as a Child of God and His con-

tinued working in you.”

Well, I was definitely surprised

at what I found. So your identity

should not be altered by what oth-

ers might think of you. You should

not let them intimidate you into be-

ing something you are not. Your ul-

timate identity is an Adopted

Daughter of Jesus Christ.

“Having predestinated us unto the

ADOPTION of children by Jesus

Christ to Himself, according to the

Good Pleasure of His will.” -

Ephesians 1:5

So what others think of us is total-

ly unimportant, as long as we are

living a life fully surrendered to Je-

sus and His will and way for our

lives. Wow! Just let that sink in.

THAT is what I find so hard to truly,

truly believe and live out. I think for

us as humans it’s just natural for us

to worry about what others think.

But constantly worrying about what

others think about you takes joy out

of life. And it’s really quite pointless

if you are living according to God

and His Word.

Purpose:

Everyone wants to feel needed and

wanted. It’s very natural. And we all

need to have a purpose in life. And

as Christians, we do have a pur-

pose. It is, of course, to glorify God.

That should be our ultimate goal in

life.

There is one thing that makes you

feel like you have a purpose,

though. And for me that is making

goals. I make goals every month in

three different categories: personal,

spiritual and physical. It makes me

feel like I have a purpose and it

makes me feel organized. It’s good

for you to, at the beginning of every

month, sit down and think through…

your life really.

Think about what you want to be,

and the things you want to aim for to

become that. There are always

things to work on and things to be-

come better at. So I challenge you to

do this with me. Maybe you want to

do weekly, or even daily goals, too.

Or maybe even big goals for a whole

year—it’s totally up to you.

And to sum it all up, read Paul’s

goal and make it your own:

“But this one thing I do, forgetting

those things which are behind, and

reaching forth unto those things which

are before, I press toward the mark for

the prize of the high calling of Christ

Jesus.”

Each one of you are beautiful and

unique in your own special way. You

are the apple of your Father’s eye. Be

who God created you to be and don’t

be ashamed of it.

DIY Stress Ball

For this DIY you will need:

A funnel

A small amount of oil of any kind

A thick balloon

A cup of flour (I didn't use all of it!) By

Ala

ina

Bu

rwel

l

1. Insert the funnel into the top of the balloon.

2.Pour as much flour as you can into the balloon. (I had to use a spoon at the end to get the rest in!)

3. Take the oil and pour as much as you can get into the balloon and mix it by scrunch-ing the balloon up.

4. Tie the ball tightly and there you go! A DIY stress ball!

Chapter 4

“The Not-So-Perfect Summer Job”

Amelia was pumped. She just couldn’t believe it. It was finally happening! She had been offered a summer job, weeding flower beds for her neighbor, Ms. Averie. Amelia’s mother warned her that the work would be hard, and Ms. Averie wasn’t the most pleasant woman to work for, but Amelia insisted. You see, all her friends already had summer jobs, and Sharon even had a full time babysitting job for the Norton family. Not that Amelia wanted to babysit those Norton brats, but at least Sharon could say she had a full-time job. And now it was Amelia’s turn.

Ms. Averie had scheduled Amelia to begin working in 2 weeks. In that short time, Amelia told everyone she met about her job, even though she hadn’t officially started. Her first day of work dawned a beautiful day, as well as humid. Amelia was up be-fore the sun, overcome with excitement. She was determined to arrive for her first day right on time. And she did too. Ms. Averie answered the door, with a scowl on her face. “Oh. It’s you.” She frowned, “Follow me to the shed.” Amelia followed the crippling old woman across the lawn to the garden shed. Ms. Averie gave brief instructions, and left Amelia to begin. At first Amelia enjoyed herself. Pulling weeds at her own pace was actually kind of peace-ful, and she slowly worked her way through the front flower bed. The day was hot and humid, but she didn’t really notice; after all, weeding gardens wasn’t all that taxing if you took your time. At 4:00, she put her garden tools back in the shed, and ran to tell

Ms. Averie that she was fin-ished for the day. Ms. Averie answered the door with a nasty look. “Well, child,” she sneered, “Did you enjoy your-self?” she asked sarcastically. Amelia’s heart dropped. She forced her eyes to meet Ms. Averie. “Umm, yes Ma’am, I did.” Ms. Averie pounded her cane on the step and yelled, “Well, that wasn’t what you came here to do! Did you re-alize, that it took you ALL DAY to weed just ONE flower bed, and even after all that, you still did a very messy job. You missed half the weeds in that garden! Are you sure you don’t want to water the weeds before you leave, since you seem to be so fond of them?” She said with a smug look. Amelia just looked at the floor and stammered, “I’m sorry… I uh… guess I wasn’t

paying attention….” Ms. Aver-ie just turned around to go back inside, but before she slammed the door, she said, “Come back tomorrow morn-ing! You are going to have to re-weed that whole flower bed, just to make sure it’s done right,” and she was gone. Amelia just stood there for a moment, taking it all in. “This isn’t how a job is, is it? My friends all made it sound like so much fun…. But I can’t quit, not after I told everyone about my new job, not after I boasted so much! That would just be too humiliating!!!” Amelia turned and walked home. Her mom greeted her with a hug, and asked how her first day was. Amelia just shrugged, said it was fine, and went to her room. She so bad-ly wanted to tell Mom about Ms. Averie, she so badly want-

wanted to just quit her ‘job’, but she just couldn’t take the embarrassment.

The next morning, she slowly walked over to Ms. Averie’s house. She half- heartedly knocked on the door. Ms. Averie answered the door with an irritated ex-pression. “You know what to do!” she snapped to Amelia, and slammed the door. Ame-lia set to work, this time de-termined to do it right. But somewhere inside her she wondered if there would ever be a way to please a grumpy old grouch like Ms. Averie. Continued in the next issue

Book Recommendations

Reading

someplace

to go when we have to

Stay

we are

Spoken For Embracing who you are and whose

you are

Written by Robin Jones Gunn

and Alyssa Joy Bethke

Say Yes to the Love Story of Your Life

A great romance was set in motion before you were born. A relentless Lover is pursuing you, and He has made His intentions clear. He wants you to be His forever. How will you respond to the One who longs for you to be His with your whole heart?

In Spoken For, Robin Jones Gunn and Alyssa Joy Bethke speak to your heart about what it means for you to belong to Christ, who you are be-cause of His love, and how that affects the way you live. Drawing on bibli-cal promises and their personal experiences, these two friends share what it’s like to live out God’s unfolding love story.

Through Alyssa’s sweet love story with her husband Jefferson Bethke, and through Robin’s translating this to our relationship with Christ, this book will draw you in, and draw you closer to God. Who are you? Who do you belong to?

You are not up for grabs. You are spoken for.

Naomi Waldron!

Next issue: The Beauty of Friendships

The Virtuous Daughter Magazine Summer Edition 2016

Documents

Transcript of The Virtuous Daughter Magazine Summer Edition 2016