My name is Meredith and I am 20. I am the oldest of the Alexander children with four younger brothers and a precious baby sister. I have a blog that I update regularly- www.strivingtoserveathome.blogspot.com.

I have been interested in real estate since I was about 10 years old. During my senior year of high school, I attended the classes necessary to acquire the credentials to be a real estate broker. Although I am mostly interested in working with real estate investments, I am also involved in property sales and I am currently the listing agent on several properties. Last year I purchased my first investment property in Hertford, NC through a tax foreclosure sale.

Ultimately, my greatest hope and desire is to be a wife and mother. I would much rather get married and have my own family than own all the waterfront land in the world!! I am looking forward to that time in my life, but 'til then I am learning to trust God with my future and take Psalm 37:4,7 to heart- "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him."

**my interests** My favorite hobby is cooking. Until recently, I lived only 3 miles from my great-grandmother, who was one of the best cooks in our town, and enjoyed learning from her and spending many days cooking meals and canning strawberry jam during strawberry season. I also enjoy baking desserts. Although we are now staying in Amelia, VA, I continue to bake cheesecakes for The Nicholson House Tea Parlor in Belvidere, NC.

My other interests include scrapbooking, writing, watching college basketball, shopping, skiing, snowboarding, sewing, four-wheeling, and jet-skiing.

I also really enjoy collecting things for my hope chest. I like looking at decorating magazines and I'd love to try to incorporate a coastal and country theme in my home. For my graduation gift, my parents bought me nautical dinnerware and I have enjoyed adding to it since then.

**my favorite verses and quotes**
	"So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..." Philippians 2:15

"Live to the hilt of every situation you believe to be in the will of God." -Jim Elliot

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf or those whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

"Like a fruit picked green or a flower plucked before it blossoms, our attempts to rush God's timing can spoil the beauty of His plans for our lives" -Joshua Harris "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"

"Listening is an expression of humility and genuine concern for others." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"The mystery is that when we spend our life focused on our own needs, we are never satisfied, and our deepest needs never seem to be met. But when we pour out our life and focus on how we can serve others, we find not only incredible fulfillment, but our deepest needs are met as well!" -Eric and Leslie Ludy "When God Writes Your Love Story"

"When a person's wishes are not documented, we should err on the side of life; we should assume that living is preferable over dying... the quality of one's life should never be a criteria to put them to death." -Joni Eareckson Tada, speaking in regard to the Terri Schiavo case

"He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:10-12

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

"The smile of God is the goal of your life" -Rick Warren "The Purpose Driven Life"

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 6:6

"...The women's movement demonized some of the most valuable and worthwhile work in the world: making a home for the people who love you." -Caitlin Flanagan

"It is more blessed to give than receive." Acts 20:35

"His interest in all this is not limited to getting us married. He wants to use this process, and all the questions and uncertainties it involves to refine us, sanctify us, and increase our faith." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"I feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death." -Stonewall Jackson

"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." Romans 14:4

"In many ways women today are encouraged to be anything and everything they can dream of- except feminine and womanly." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift! A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill." Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:15-18

"Surrender is the beginning to healing" -Steven Arterburn "Feeding Your Appetites"

"The measure of a civilization is how we treat the weak, the dependent, the helpless, and the ill." -Dr. Laura Schlessinger, on the Terri Schiavo case

"Loneliness is a required course for leadership" -Elisabeth Elliot

"For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song." Zephaniah 3:17

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

"All that is not eternal is eternally useless." -C.S. Lewis

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" -Jim Elliot

"Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." -John Adams

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

"It seems that dating as we have come to know it doesn't really prepare us for marriage; instead it can be a training ground for divorce. We cannot practice life-long commitment in a series of short-term relationships." -Joshua Harris "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"

"The richest testimonies come from people Christ has made whole who still well remember what it was like to be broken." -Beth Moore

"The first duty of government is the protection of life, not its destruction. The chief purpose of government is to protect life. Abandon that and you have abandoned all." -Thomas Jefferson

"Only those beliefs springing from the heart can ever hope to stand the rushing winds of emotion." -Joshua Harris "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"

"You are as close to God as you choose to be." -Rick Warren "The Purpose Driven Life"

"Scripture prescribes a normative- to marry "in our youth", when the full rights, privileges, and benefits of marriage are enjoyed. Unfortunately, today the attainment of marriage comes from playing dating roulette, and all of the unintended consequences are nicely repackaged as "God's will". We should reject the disorganized mating pattern bequeathed us, and instead reactivate our fathers or other Christian surrogates to assist us in the quest to find a worthy spouse and to keep young men who do pursue us from squandering our time and youth." -Debbie Maken

"Meekness is placing our rights on God's altar and recognizing that everything is His." -Bill Gothard

"God consciously chooses not to remember your past." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus..." 1 Peter 4:7-11

"For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

"When life hands you lemons, put 'em in your sweet tea and thank God you're a southern girl..."

"What is courtship? It's dating with a purpose. It's friendship plus possibility. It's romance chaperoned by wisdom." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"A relationship can maintain a solid spiritual foundation only when it is our Prince, rather than our emotions, in the driver's seat." -Leslie Ludy "Authentic Beauty"

"It is human nature to want it and want it now; it is also a sign of immaturity. Being willing to delay pleasure for a greater result is a sign of maturity." Dave Ramsey "The Total Money Makeover"

"It requires great strength of character for a woman to be gentle in an age that screams for her to do otherwise." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"If you learn to forgive, you will have learned the greatest defense mechanism against divorce." -Eric and Leslie Ludy "When God Writes Your Love Story"

"God works through our choices and actions- even our missteps- to accomplish His best in our lives." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Psalm 34:17-19

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it." -Rick Warren "The Purpose Driven Life"

"Avoiding lawlessness and legalism is far more important than whether we use the word 'dating' or the word 'courtship'." -Joshua Harris "Boy Meets Girl"

"So, if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for He will never fail you." 1 Peter 4:19

"Through affairs of the heart God uncovers our true intentions." -Elisabeth Elliot "Passion and Purity"

"God's way is not a way without difficulty, but it is a way without regret." -Eric and Leslie Ludy "When Dreams Come True"