A Little Lesson in Punctuality

Lately I have been looking over some of the books that my mother has bought for my brother to read. I have been enjoying many of them (even though many of them cater more to young men). I was reading through Anecdotes for Boys: Narratives Illustrative of Principles and Character by Harvey Newcomb (1851) and this paragraph jumped out at me.

Section VII. - Punctuality.

Example of Washington

"When Washington appointed the hour of twelve to meet Congress, he never failed to be passing the door of the hall while the clock was striking twelve. His dinner hour was four o'clock. If his guests were not there at the time, he never waited for them. New members of Congress, who were invited to dine with him, would frequently come in when dinner was half over; and would say to them, "Gentlemen, we are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the company has arrived, but whether the hour has." In 1799, when on a visit to Boston, he appointed eight o'clock in the morning as the hour when he would set out for Salem. While the Old South clock was striking eight, he was mounting his horse. The company of cavalry, who had volunteered to escort him, was parading in Tremont street, and did not over take him till he had reached Charles River Bridge. On their arrival, the General said, "Major, I thought you had been too long in my family not to know when it was eight o'clock. "

Now, I don't feel so badly about my drive to be punctual and on time. Now knowing that the General was far more precise about being punctual.....I would hope now that my family will be easier on me.

For us young ladies, we can not escape from this lesson even though it was in a book for boys. We must consider being punctual as well. I love this quote in the book called Personal Help for Girls.... "The world will sometimes give the excuse that it is "in style" to be a little bit late....To make one's "appearance". Did you not know that there is no such thing as being "fashionably late"? There is only such thing as being unfashionably rude...!"
As young women training to be godly wives and mothers, we first must be capable godly daughters at home. We must train ourselves to obediently and willingly serve our Heavenly Father and our earthly fathers.

Parting thought.... "Sometimes we are late because we have too much on our plate."

Wait For Me

Darling did you know that I,
I dream about you,
Waiting for the look in your eyes
When we meet for the first time?
Darling did you know that I,
I pray about you,
Praying that you will hold on,
And keep your loving eyes only for me?

Cause I am waiting for,
Praying for you darling,
Wait for me too,
Wait for me as I wait for you…
Darling, wait…
~”Wait for Me,” Rebecca St. James~

Wait. That’s a word we really don’t like to hear. We don’t like waiting anywhere, not even in the grocery store check-out line. How much more do we not like waiting for our prince to come riding up?!

This isn’t just a matter of waiting – it’s also a matter of saving ourselves for the one we are waiting for.

That in itself doesn’t sound too awfully hard, although sometimes we get impatient. But this type of waiting is not only about physical purity. It’s about a state of mind, almost, a mindset that we will wait and save not only our body, but our love for just one person. To be able to say to the one you will marry, “I’ve never said ‘I love you’ to any other man but you,” is quite an incredible thing. To know that you have not given pieces of your heart away to many different guys but that you have saved all of your heart for the one you will marry is a freeing thought (and feeling!). There is a verse that says to not awaken love until the groom is to come (Song of Solomon 2:7), basically God is instructing us to wait for our husband. We should heed God’s instruction! Believe me, it’s worth the wait!


The hardest part about waiting is figuring out what to do in the mean-time. Everyone has different ideas, although I think one of the best things you can do is begin preparing yourself to be a wife and mother, whether that is through learning about cooking, or learning about teaching your children someday, or a multitude of other things. Something that helped me was to set goals and strive towards those goals. Pray for your future husband and his family, that they will raise him up as you’ve been raised. Just remember that this time is special too. You’re not just “marking time” until your prince shows up, do something worthwhile for God!

What are some things you have done while you’ve been waiting? We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so leave a comment!



P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts lately... it's been pretty crazy around here! Hopefully we can get back into the swing of things here and get posting more regularly again!