Dear Girls,
You could call this a letter from the editor, letter of explanation, an announcement or even an invitation. I want to let you all know a little more about what has been going on with me the last few months, although most of you probably already have an idea.
In January of this year, I was introduced to my future husband. It was a very low time in life for me, and I didn't expect our acquaintance to go very far. However, this young man had a testimony with those that knew him, and they convinced me to give him a chance with my parents' permission. After several things prevented our getting to meet, we finally did on January the twenty-first at a baby shower at my church. ( LOL ) I remember looking deep into those dark chocolate-brown eyes the very first time and thinking he looked like a kind, warm-hearted person. For him, he says it was love at first sight, and I guess that would be Biblical if you read the book of Ruth. As I got to know him, his strength of character reminded me of the same story if you reference the figure of Boaz.
When I was sixteen, I gave not only my life but my body to God at Faith Baptist Camp in Resaca, Georgia, and committed to purity for my future husband. As I knelt that night in the altar with my hand on my Bible, I asked the Lord for someone who would have God first in his life and who would endeavor to love me as Christ loved the church. There are other little details that all of us pray for ( like chocolate-brown eyes ), but I knew that those two things were all that would really matter. That was the same year the Princess Letters were started- nearly four years ago now. It has absolutely amazed me how God has given me almost everything I have prayed for in submission to His will ( including chocolate-brown eyes, OK maybe I'm being silly, but really! ) I want to encourage you that God can do the same for you. There have been two verses that have stuck in my mind here lately, and I want to share them with you and you can apply them to yourself however you want: "Keep thyself pure." ( I Timothy 5:22b ) "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled." ( Titus 1:15 ) Girls, my friends for several years now, keep yourself pure; the rewards are worth it, and, remember, there is more to being pure than just 'being a nun'. Be pure in your language, in your clothing, in your attitude, in how you present yourself around others; be pure in your thoughts and mind, and most importantly be pure in your heart before God. I promise that no matter how hard it may seem, God will reward you "abundantly above all that we ask or think" "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over...."
On October 26, of this year Jeremiah Douglas Bishop and I will be united in marriage at the Georgetown Baptist Church at seven o'clock in the evening. Both dressed in white, we will pledge ourselves to each other before God and share our very first kiss. We both wanted to invite you to attend, as we want all our friends and family present that can come. After our honeymoon, we will be residing in Old Fort, NC, in a darling little house the Lord gave us ( there is a story there, too ) just across from a creek that was dammed up years ago for baptizing. With all of the eminent wedding plans, we didn't have time to run through our regular printing of the newsletter. Also, we are trying to synchronize a new printer with our different computers, and that is why the last newsletter is so late. I hope you all will bear with the delays between technology and love. Our next full edition will be coming to you in color the first of January, created with a new editing team ( which means Jeremiah is now helping. )
May God bless you all, and we hope to see you soon, here, there or in the air!
