Throne Room Moments: Musings of an Imperfect Princess

  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.   He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [ a ]  so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2 (NIV) In any flourishing garden, you know there's a skilled gardener working to keep the plants and trees looking nice and healthy. Every day he must work to ensure things like weeds, pests, fungi, etc. that could hurt or hinder the plants are removed.  Sometimes though, the plant itself becomes a hindrance to its own growth and it must be pruned.  Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines Prune as,  to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth   to cut away what is unwanted or superfluous While it may seem counterintuitive for the gardener to cut off parts of the plants and trees he's been working so hard to nurture and grow, it's actually vital to keeping the plant healthy. I'm not a gardener, b...

I know this may come as a shock to some, but I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world.  While I'm pretty easy going about most things, one of my biggest pet peeves is traffic. It's the bane of my existence. I would rather take a lesser-known longer route, but stay moving than to have to endure the stop and go of a popular "shortcut".   Recently, I found myself in a BIG traffic jam. Two hours of inching along, the red glow of taillights illuminating the night sky. There were moments when I'd surge forward and move a few feet, but as quickly as the surge came, it went and my agonizing crawl resumed.     Life is like that sometimes. We seem to get "stuck" in a certain place. Whether it be a place of waiting, a place of suffering, or a place of busyness; whatever it may be, it feels that no matter what we do, we can't move forward and we can't go back.     We look around at our friends in other lanes and they seem to be zoomi...

It's the envelope most Americans dread to pull out of the mailbox...Jury Duty summons (cue dramatic dun dun duh!). A few months ago, I was the lucky winner of an all expenses paid trip to the county courthouse!  (cue sarcastic applause). So bright and early on the designated Monday morning, I and more than one hundred of my closest acquaintances gathered in the Jury Assembly Room at the local courthouse. As I sat there, waiting for the process to get started I flipped through the booklet they give you when you walk in. Among the pages with info about the judges, the court process, and what's expected of potential jury members, was a phrase that struck a chord: "Waiting serves a purpose." The phrase was to remind you that even though it seems like you're just sitting around for no reason, there's a lot of things going on behind the scenes. Cases are being settled, new evidence is coming to light, accused criminals are confessing to crimes, and ultimate...

I normally don't comment much about stuff on Facebook. Typically I only use it to observe the goings on and to keep up with friends. Occasionally, I'll post stuff or share something I think is funny to my page. However, today I saw a comment that really broke my heart, and after much prayer and thought I felt that I needed to say something. Please know that I truly value the idea of freedom of speech and a diversity of opinions and this is in no way an attack on that right or those who use it. Context: The comment was a reply to another comment on a post about everything that has been going on with the Charlottesville violence and the President's comments. The comment: "Christianity was founded on White Supremacy." History and research have shown us that Jesus Christ, the founder of the Christian faith, was most likely not a Caucasian male as he is mostly portrayed in today's culture. On the contrary, he probably looked just like the people ...

We all have at least one friend on Facebook or some other social media platform who seems to have everything perfect at all times. I mean they're always posting perfect pictures where their make-up is just right, they don't have a hair out of place (#wokeupthisway), their kids all look like perfect angels, they've got the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse. They go on fabulous vacations ALL the time, their house looks like it came out of a Pottery Barn magazine, they have a dream job, etc. Then we look at ourselves and we see how imperfect we are. Sometimes it's a miracle if we have a clean shirt on before walking out of the house. But here's something to remember, the life that someone's Facebook portrays and their real lives are vastly different. Facebook is kind of like a highlight reel, only the best moments make it. Most people (there are exceptions) don't want to broadcast to the world about the dirty, gritty parts of their lives. They only want peo...

Dimitri- Have you ever thought about the possibility? Anya- What? That I  could be royalty? (pauses thinking) Well, I don't know! It's kinda hard to think of yourself as a duchess when you're sleeping on a damp floor. But I suppose every girl wants to be a princess. - Conversation between Dimitri and Anya from Anastasia  One of my favorite princess movies is Anastasia  (for the record Beauty and the Beast is my ALL time favorite). Anastasia  tells a fictional spin on the fall of Imperial Russia and the Romanov Dynasty. In short, Anastasia  starts right before the fall and shows the Romanov family fleeing from the palace. Anastasia is escaping with her grandmother and during that escape falls and hits her head which causes her to forget who she is. Fast forward about nine years, 18-year-old Anya is leaving the orphanage where she spent the majority of her life. She still has no idea who she really is. Her only clue to her past is a necklace that says "Toge...

Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White....these were the princesses that filled my childhood. Ever since I was little I've always wanted to be a princess. And I think a lot of people, especially women are attracted to the royal world. For example, when William and Kate were married the world was captivated by the real life fairytale, a common girl met a prince, fell in love, and got married. Before William and Kate, there was a fascination with Princess Diana. Nowadays anytime a royal sneezes, we know about it because it's covered extensively in the media. However, something I've learned, I AM A PRINCESS! I have been one for most of my life. Granted I don't live in a palace, with servants, or designer clothes, but castles don't make the princess. The Bible calls Jesus the King of Kings. The Bible also calls those who become Christians Sons and Daughters of Jesus. The children of a king are princes and princesses. So if Jesus is the King and I'm His da...