Random Announcements!

Exciting! I'll be checking it out!

Im going to the Championship again? XD

really? Congrats!

Thanks! And i just learned today that in 200m butterfly i am 37th in all of Greece!!!!!!!!! XXXDDDD

Exciting! (and then theres me who can hardly even do butterfly.)

Exciting! (and then theres me who can hardly even do butterfly.)

YESSSSS!!!!! (dont worry I could barely do fly 2 years ago… O.o)

Exciting! (and then theres me who can hardly even do butterfly.)

YESSSSS!!!!! (dont worry I could barely do fly 2 years ago... O.o)

Well I only even went swimming one in 2015…

Exciting! (and then theres me who can hardly even do butterfly.)

YESSSSS!!!!! (dont worry I could barely do fly 2 years ago... O.o)

Well I only even went swimming one in 2015...

Oh ok. Dont worry! :D

To all to whom it may concern, since it's now been told to those who actually need to hear it, some of the Miller clan ae (again!) headed to San Antonio for the Christian Worldview Film Festival. Might we see some of you there? :)

I'll be honest and say I am quite jealous right now. XD So excited for you, though! :D

happiness =D

I'll be honest and say I am quite jealous right now. XD So excited for you, though! :D

^ That. Why can't you all ever come over to Michigan?

I'll be honest and say I am quite jealous right now. XD So excited for you, though! :D

^ That. Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- Greece?

XP

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- North Carolina?

xD

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- North Carolina?

xD

O.O xP

My yahoo email got hacked. If you got a weird titled email from me please delete it. Sorry! :)

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- KY?

xD

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- KY?

Sounds like a lot of people want to see you, Millers. XD

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- -KY- Minnesota?

xD

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- -KY- *Ohio?*

I called it first! So now you HAVE to come to Michigan before all those other places! xP xP

I agree! Ohio is the best! Here it is nice, warm, and sunny. The creeks are swelling, which draws me outdoors and into the beautiful forest just beyond the backyard! (Sorry to those who don't have a forest near them, you guys can visit a park :P )

By the way, is anyone on?

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- -KY- *Ohio?*

*cracking up* I guess we're some of the most likely Bible Bee-ers to make it to all those places at some point. I can't guarantee it in order, though, sorry. :D You never know when we might even show up in Greece! ;)

Why can't you all ever come over to -Michigan- -Greece- -North Carolina- -KY- *Ohio?*

*cracking up* I guess we're some of the most likely Bible Bee-ers to make it to all those places at some point. I can't guarantee it in order, though, sorry. :D You never know when we might even show up in Greece! ;)

lol. What did i start? O.o xP Yay! Come soon!!!!! x) xP I know that you'll like it... :D

pops on

In the mail today, I received my little poster back from the Game Show, with many signatures on it! Thank you to everyone who signed it… It means a lot to me. =) It made my day to read all the little messages you wrote me- thank you so much. ^ _ ^ Miss y'all, and I am praying the Lord allows me to see many of you in the near future. =) hugs for those that would like one

pops off

:)

Okay. This is going to shock some of you… I tell you that I'm honestly not joking. :)
I'm planning to go to Malaysia as an au pair. The date I have set to leave (as of right now) is June 21st. I would really appreciate your prayers! This is going to be an uphill thing because I don't have my parents support, and they are holding all my legal documents and stuff… so, yeah. I got a lot of work to do, but June still seems like forever to wait! Please pray!

That's great, but… are you sure you want to go ahead with this without your parents' support?

That's great, but... are you sure you want to go ahead with this without your parents' support?

That's great, but... are you sure you want to go ahead with this without your parents' support?

Yes. I need to.

Yes. I need to.

Are you completely sure? God often leads us younger ones into His will by our parents' guidance and blessing. If you plan on going against what they want for you as the ones God has put over you, I hope you're completely sure God wants you to do it. :)

When we are young we are to obey our parents, and they are to teach us about God and life… but when we reach a certain age we need to honor our parents yet go live our own lives. That's what I believe. I am confident that this is what God wants me to do.

I'm praying that you know what to do and stuff. :D

Thank you, Gloria!

I've been thinking about the Proverbs 31 women… she definitely isn't the picture of a cowering 'submissive' wife. She is strong and independent - and her husband trusts her because she does him good. That's how women should be, independent and trustworthy. That's how I want to be. I'm far from it… and as long as I only ever do what my dad says and wants I'm just going in circles.

That sounds great Sarah. Sometimes we have to make our own decisions in life. Our parents are in our lives to help us. But Sometimes, God's plan is not their plan. I think it is time that you leave home to do something with your life. I will be praying for you, as will our family.

Thanks, Ben! I really appreciate it.

Ok, I am going off of the fact that you said this is not a joke and take you seriously.

Sarah, you are only a few months older than me, if I remember correctly, and I would not consider myself at a stage in life when I would go against my parents' will unless it was something that was more than just my own feelings of God's will. I would only do something, especially this big, against their blessing if they were instructing me to go against something clearly stated in Scripture, which is not the case here. In fact, the next stage of life when I would consider myself to be exempt from that would be once I am married and I am supposed to be submitting to my husband first. (Also, Proverbs 31 does not say that she was doing any of those things against her husband's desire, so I do not think that is a good parallel to what you are doing.)
I do not think there is anything inherently wrong with this trip in and of itself, but I strongly caution you against believing the lie "if I feel something it must be true", especially if what you are feeling is not obviously biblical. There are many times in the Bible when people took things into their own hands because they felt like they were going in circles, and I do not remember any of the instances working out, particularly. (Sarah's plan to "help God out" with the child thing, Eve and Satan wanting to be like God, the times the children of Israel tried to go into the promise land after God told them they would be in the desert forty years first, when they thought new leadership or going back to Egypt would be the solution, etc.)

I completely get where you're coming from, Margaret! And if that's the life you choose, then that is your choice. I believe that God has provided me with this opportunity, and some wonderful Christian friends who are willing to help me reach my goals. I want to have a life purpose bigger than marriage, and right now I don't have the freedom to decide what my life will look like. On top of that, I make my bed in the morning, and I work really hard for my parents - watch their children, doing the dishes, and folding the laundry, and go to bed, without anything to show for my work. I never meet anyone new, and never have the opportunity to reach out for my dreams.
I still hold to that I believe the Proverbs 31 women is the picture of an independent, respectful, and responsible woman, who makes her own decisions. Yes, she does the desire of her husband, but it's because she does him good. Proverbs 31:17-25. If I marry, I want a man who loves me by letting me make my own decisions, and I promise I will respect his opinions… I will notmarry a guy who wants me to always only follow his word as law. That is my choice.
And if I always stay right here and never go anywhere or do anything new there is no opportunity for me to share the gospel, or take leaps of faith. I want to do more with my life.

Perhaps the leap of faith God wants from you right now is to obey Him in obeying your parents even if you don't understand His command and their methods. I do try to choose the life of obedience to God and His commands and will, though sometimes it can be very difficult and I often fail.

You have a great deal of the American gospel for women mixed in with the real one. Christ calls you to die to yourself, your dreams, your plan for your life, because they can quickly become an idol and lead you to stray from following God, even if it seems like the dream starts by aligned fairly well with Him. I suggest that whenever you think of this opportunity (which is probably pretty often at this point) you pray for your parents and that God would work in their hearts and lead so that their will does not align with yours but with His, and perhaps you will have a little easier time trusting them as well. Commit it to God and let your test of whether it is His will or just yours be their approval.

Do you agree that if God's will for a day is that you to have nothing to show for your work except those things you mentioned (let alone the example you set and the love you show those children) that it is the best possible thing that could happen for that day?

I completely get where you're coming from, Margaret! And if that's the life you choose, then that is your choice.

Also, I just want to clear up this one postmodern Americanism: just because I choose something does not mean it is right or that other Christians should not try to convince me otherwise if it is not biblical because they respect that it is "my choice". I don't care where I am coming from, and neither should you be using where you are coming from as an easy out. We should care what we are aiming at. Truth is truth, no matter where one starts from.

One thing I would suggest, and I'm sure you're already doing this, is continue to bathe this in a lot of prayer! Ask God to clearly show you that it's His will, and if it is, ask Him to show your parents that it's His will. In Scripture, we're commanded to honor our parents, and part of honoring is listening to their counsel. For those of us who have godly Christian parents, they know a lot more than we do about life and are usually thinking of our best interest rather than trying to keep us from having fun or following our dreams. So, I'd really encourage you to keep praying and commit your desires to God, trusting that He will lead you in the perfect way He has for you! :)

I completely get where you're coming from, Margaret! And if that's the life you choose, then that is your choice.

Also, I just want to clear up this one postmodern Americanism: just because I choose something does not mean it is right or that other Christians should not try to convince me otherwise if it is not biblical because they respect that it is "my choice". I don't care where I am coming from, and neither should you be using where you are coming from as an easy out. We should care what we are aiming at. Truth is truth, no matter where one starts from.

I agree with you! But people normally have reasons behind the choices they make, and I believe that God leads people to different conclusions in their on life. Yes, truth is truth… but what's wrong for you may not be wrong for me. Like eating certain meats that's mentioned in the Bible. So I say you have the freedom to choose. There is no sin in living under your parents authority, nor is there sin in my leaving home.

I must go now. I wil come back later to reply more. Thank you for being willing to discuss this with me, and I appreciate your opinions and advice. I will keep praying about what you say.
Be back later! :)

You're welcome! It was great meeting you at Nationals! :) Yes, hope we can see you again soon!

Sarah, I understand that this is the decision that you want to make. But please hear me out. From what I know, you aren't yet legally an adult, which means you are still under your parents authority. God puts them in our lives as the authority to follow, even when we don't 'agree' with them. Also, I have heard of many people who thought at the time that they were making the right decision, and disobeyed, but when they were older and wiser realized they had made a mistake. The Bible makes it very clear that we need to obey our parents/those in authority over us. Allow me to give some verses to make my point: Col. 3:20- Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.; Eph. 6:1-3- Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”; Mat. 15:4- For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’; Deut. 27:16- “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’; Tit. 3:1- Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work.
I get that this is the way you want to go with your life, and you think that you have no future where God has put you now. But have you ever considered the ministry opportunities around you? What about being an influence on the lives of your younger siblings? I know that it has been a great blessing to me that my older brother chose to commute to college, rather than go out of state. It's been great to have him in my life as an influence for this long.
I know that my words probably won't make a difference, but is this really what God would have you do? He puts our parents in authority over us, so that they can help direct us to His will. Please prayerfully consider this decision again before surging ahead. Please understand that I'm not trying to be mean or say that you are being foolish, but as a friend I'm concerned. :)

I completely get where you're coming from, Margaret! And if that's the life you choose, then that is your choice.

Also, I just want to clear up this one postmodern Americanism: just because I choose something does not mean it is right or that other Christians should not try to convince me otherwise if it is not biblical because they respect that it is "my choice". I don't care where I am coming from, and neither should you be using where you are coming from as an easy out. We should care what we are aiming at. Truth is truth, no matter where one starts from.

Well said!

After reading this whole conversation, I encourage you to keep praying that God will make His way for you be crystal clear, whether it is going on this trip or staying home with your family.
When you say "If I always stay right here and never go anywhere or do anything new there is no opportunity for me to share the gospel, or take leaps of faith"…well…that's not entirely true. God can bring you an opportunity anywhere you are, including at home. Like Margaret said, perhaps your leap of faith is to obey your parents for now. Also, have to talked to them and asked them their reasons for not wanting you to go? That would help you be able to see things more clearly.
As for not influencing anything or anybody (which is what it sounded to me like when you were talking about what you do for your parents), that is not true at all. You always will be influencing everyone around you; when you take care of your siblings, they are watching you and learning from you. When you obey or disobey your parents, they are watching. That's where they learn from mainly, and will always be to some degree or another.
Don't forget to keep in mind that perhaps your parents are seeing something in the trip that you aren't.

I will continue to pray that you and your parents make the right decision in all of this!

A couple other things:
First, be sure that you're not tricking yourself into thinking that this is what God wants you to do just because you're so bored and want to get out as soon as possible.
Second- If you stay home but still want to go and begin doubting your choice, remember that "no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it". (Hebrews 12:11)