Let's Talk About Love

What does Valentine's Day mean for you? Remember those younger days when your Mom took you to the store to pick out the Box of Valentine's for every kid in your class whether you liked them or not?!? There was no avoiding not sharing kindness to the kids who were mean to you even in the slightest way. There is such a lesson to be learned right there and I could run down a rabbit hole with that one, but I will leave it there for right now. 

Statistics say Christmas and Valentines are the highest recordings of suicide and depression. People feel unloved or lonely. People feel left out in the absence of being romantically noticed. Oddly enough, relationship status has little to do with feeling loved, treasured, adored and precious. Couples - married, engaged or courting, may not have a partner who is good at showing love. Love is simply cultivated between any two people who genuinely care for one another.

Somewhere along the timeline of adolescence into adulthood, This Love Day evolved from a community love to a more sensual-focused couple-relationship in the receiving of affections physically through tangible gifts or human touch. 

Our human hearts are wired to desire Love, being the Love of Christ and Love with others. It becomes very easy as our hormones grow in adolescence to measure one's value on the quantity of received attention from other human hearts. The commercial retail industry's banks on the addiction to love as they flood the market with all things in the name of Love. So much so, the Love of Christ may not come to mind for most, yet here in His Sweet Love, we find the measure of our worth and value. In this season, may I remind you of the greatest commandment, Love God and Love others! Should we celebrate loving others? YES! Should we also celebrate the Love of God? YES! 

As an adult, married 29 years to my guy, Valentine's is not a sexual thing. I admit being a Super Romantic thanks to growing up with Cinderella and all the Disney Princesses. So for me, Valentine's is a day celebrating Love of all those who love you and all the ones you love. It is about all the Love in your life, not all the making love in your life. Does that mean a sensual Love in marriages across the world will not be made on this day? No, but it is not the primary call of the day.

Love is not selfish or self-seeking and God was the perfect example, giving us His Only Son because He loved us so much. So what ought we show in loving-kindness towards others? What may our focus be on this Day about Love? Sex or Serving? Lust or Love? Married people or all people? 
The saying is true, It better to give than receive and the Giver is more blessed than the Gifted. Our spirit stirs and our souls ignite with passion when we serve as a blessing and give from our heart, so we ought to do it, often...more than one day out of the year, right?! 

So, whether you are young person, married, divorced, separated, in a happy place or rocky place in your relationship, these are some ideas how you might celebrate Love as a family OR an individual and a few ideas at the end for the Ms and Mrs of the crowd.

Showing Love to another doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to be roses, flowers and diamonds. It doesn't have to be from anyone....Love is something you GIVE, not get. So, let's share some Love....

Let's think of all the Whos. WHO can we show love to?

ANYONE and EVERYONE needs to be LOVED!!! Besides the once we easily think of like family members, children, teachers and dating partners, here are some others to consider: postman, FEDEX/UPS delivery drivers, local hospital staff, nurses, Pastors and their families, your local fire and police departments, cashiers, doctor's offices, law offices, DMV, garbage truck men, local businesses you frequent, women's or children's shelters, nursing home residents and staff, bankers, children's homes, tax office, military recruit centers, homeless, non-profits in your area, cleaning staff in the stores/malls/restaurants, drive thru windows at the pharmacy/fast food/bank/toll booth, wait staff and busboys...

WHAT can we do?
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Let's say money was no object, okay, well have fun and spoil and bless away with all your gifts and treats, but let's say you only have some money. Here are some ideas to do as a family or individual. 

• Make meals, crafts or cookies with a sweet note or bought card (Dollar Tree Valentine's are vintage treats!)
• Buy flowers, $10 gift cards, donate to a local charity
• Host a lunch or coffee date
• Pay for the groceries, coffee, happy meal, family meal without recognition
• Send Valentine's Cards to...who does God put on your heart? Look up their address online if it's been too many years to remember.
• Buy clothes or school supplies or event tickets for a family or friend you know would appreciate it. 
• Take a roadtrip to see friends/family/new city, buy an experience, take a (free) community sponsored class 

And if you don't have any money to spend, which was where I was a few years ago, here are some ideas, much of what I have done too.

• Clean someone's room/house/church/nearby park
• Pick up trash at your favorite park
• Put gas in the other person's car and say nothing, or take over a chore
• Attend a local (free) concert or event in your city or nearby with friends/family/group
• Invite a widow, single Mom, military Wife, College Kid another family over for dinner and games 
• Make spaghetti and make garlic bread sticks from hot dog buns and buy one bag of chocolates the day of for 50-75% off at most every store
• Pick flowers from your yard or from the side of the road and place in a tin can/mason jar/spaghetti jar/coffee cup and gift (check for bugs first! I learn that the hard way!)

For the rest of the List, CLICK HERE! 

And now what about YOU? You want to celebrate being Loved by such a wonderful Heavenly Father and delight yourself in it. The chocolate choices are abundant, and often 50-75% off the day of!! We give so much and we'd love a little something tangible to celebrate Love and express being loved too. So what can we do for ourselves, regardless of marital status?

• If you have money to spend, enjoy a night out with a friend or order take out and take it home alone (as a married woman, I treasure my nights in my pj's, with my favorite food and movie!)
• Buy yourself something within your own budget...it may be a $500 pair of earrings or a spa day or many it's a $5.00 Hershey's chocolate kiss or Recesses Peanut Butter Heart with your salad. 
• Wash the sheets and blankets. Add a drop of essential oil to the dryer ball.
• Take an extra long bath with your favorite book and a candle in the corner.
• Consider replacing an undergarment with something cute vs practical. 

For the rest of the list, click here!! 

No one is perfect. No marriage is perfect. No family is perfect. Only GOD is perfect and in His sweet, gracious, fun Love, we get to Live in it! His Love is unconditional. You cannot earn it or afford it. It is a Gift that cost Him greatly but He counted that cost and said You were worth it. YOU ARE LOVED!

This Valentine's Day, may you realize how greatly YOU are LOVED and know you are not alone. He is near, He sees and He knows what you need. Open your eyes and your heart to see this amazing grace and receive His Love, that you may also GIVE it!! 

"and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 

so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." 1 Thess 3:12-13

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul," Deut 10:12

For those who enjoy researching, check out what is said to be the origin of Valentines. Very interesting! Click Here.

Remember The Honeymoon Phase?

Remember the Honeymoon Phase? In the beginning, you could walk without your feet touching the ground, your eyes saw sparkles in the air, your mind felt airy and light, your heart fluttered like a newly birthed butterfly, your hopes and dreams seemed as wide as the ocean's view and your energy soared effortlessly against strong winds like an eagle. It's the Honeymoon. And, now...your steps are slow and heavy, your eyes cast downward, your mind is weighty, your heart feels like 10# bowling ball, you hopes and dreams are but hopeless words on a page, and your energy is gone. The Honeymoon is...over. 
What happens in a relationship where life once seemed so colorful and exciting and adventurous and then one day, it seems grey and monotonous? The extraordinary has now become ordinary. Things are "as expected," maybe even dreary or disappointing. Eagerness has been replaced by expectation or exasperation. The energy you experienced in the beginning was consuming and now you feel, consumed. 
Before you start thinking, "Oh, the move has killed their marriage...," let me assure you right now, we are doing okay. Actually, I am not even writing this about my marriage. This is in response to something someone has shared with me and I admit, I have felt recently myself. I think we all have been there before at one time or another. 
The Honeymoon Phase is what we feel at the beginning of every new relationship. Think about when you first started your new job, met a new friend, moved to a new town, started a new ministry or project, had your first child....even in the first years of your salvation...it's fresh and new. Then, as time goes by, the adrenaline and newness wears off and the extraordinary become the routine-ordinary. Get-tos can become have-tos. The "high" we once felt has simmered and we begin to experience the "same'o same'o lows."
If we are not careful, we can simmer out. Satan has come "...only to steal and kill and destroy." John 10:10a. Whereas God says, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10b. When we begin to see life shrinking around us, our relationships seem to be missing something, our ministries feel dry, our projects become laborious and burdensome, we would be wise to consider, "has something been stolen from me for my abundance is gone." Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us there is a season for everything and God certainly uses these times of trials for testing to grow us and draw us closer to Him. God allows Satan to test us and through this we can also be pruned. Testing, pruning not trials are much fun. We could finish out this convo through a whole other blog.
But there are also times when we have in some way moved away from the Lord and we leave ourselves vulnerable to attack. And that's not even to say that we are intentionally "walking" away from Him (or our career, family, friend, ministry), but maybe we have grown weary and eventually, lazy. Have we shifted our focus? Maybe we have become so familiar we have learned how to make things work on our own. The extraordinary love we once felt is gone. And yet, of course, we are still committed. But our heart longs for that "first love." We want to feel that energy again.  
How do we rekindle it? Simply put, remember God's Love for you. In the beginning, we are engulfed with the learning process and we are eager to meet the challenge of all things new (in our spiritual and earthly lives). Over time, we settle for keeping up or maintaining status quo. If we go through life expecting to "feel" "high" all the time, in every relationship we join, we will quickly find ourselves disappointed and depleted. Our focus shifts from the commitment to content. 
Life is hard. Relationships are hard. Work is hard. Ministry is hard. It will be the commitment,  not the feelings, that see you through. When we choose to seek earnestly after our source of True Love, who is Christ Jesus our Lord, we re-discover our strength, endurance, joy, peace, contentment, hope, eagerness, and satisfaction. Our eyes will gaze upon His power and glory and no longer dwell on the shifting world around us. We remember and know His love is better than life and our lips are consumed with praising, not complaining. Our hands lift high out from the dirt. Our souls are full and satisfied as we remember The Lord our God. He is our help and our refuge to which we cling. We remember and know He is near and He holds us. Wow. That stirs my soul. What greater Love is there in life? What greater joy than to remember how much you are loved? He sent His one and only Son to die for you so you can have eternal life with Him! Nothing on earth can compare to knowing that and feeling that kind of love and commitment. 
God is committed to Love you His child. Even on those days we don't feel it, we can know it. This is true in all our human relationships too. We may not always feel "the honeymoon" but the commitment that we made in the beginning is what our heart's focus needs to be. It's the commitment that sustains us. When our feelings wear down and the newness fades away, may we find refreshment in the everlasting Love and commitment that started the Honeymoon to begin with. With our heart's full, goodness and joy are the overflow. We dare to dream bigger, live larger, hope for something greater than ourselves. The joy of the Lord is our strength! It is His consuming Love that pours out of us where we live, love, work, minister. If our heart's dry up, what is there to give, but dust?!
For the person who feels their life, relationship, career, family, or ministry is lacking something, may you first remember how much you are Loved by a great and Mighty God and embrace that love fully, once again. He is committed to you. Then, be on guard. There is a thief nearby quietly attempting to steal your joy and shift your focus into the shadows of darkness and off The Light. Satan is much more interested in you knowing that what you feel is true than what you know to be true. God is more interested in you knowing what us true than what you feel is true. 
I pray that your fire is rekindled in Jesus Name, because of His great Love for you. May your heart and soul once again be renewed in Him and out of that, you life's connections be strengthened and revived.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." 

Psalm 51:10

Action Steps:
1.) Humble yourself before the Lord, remember and embrace His love for you
2.) Spend time daily with your Greatest Love and be filled from the fellowship with Him
3.) God's Word is alive and active, be in it consistently to gain abundant life, increasing in wisdom and discernment, love and joy, peace and strength, hope and contentment 
4.) Pray over every relationship you have and ask the Lord to direct you in each one. Where God is, there will be joy and satisfaction. Ask Him what your part is to revive it and keep the connection and commitment strong and fresh (Even in the workplace, your marriage, your home life, your community, ministry, friendships, etc...there is joy even in the routines of life like laundry, dishes and work)
5.) Be aware of the enemy who creates chaos, who lies and destroys and rebuke him in Jesus' Name. Stand firm in your faith. Know the Truth and Truth will set you free!
6.) Love others well because God first well-loved you! 

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 

Psalm 63:1-8 ESV

Why are you doing what you do?

The younger two kids came home all hyped up with GREAT news!!! It was the new fundraiser for the school...cookie dough! While I am all about the fundraisers, there is only so much a person can do asking the neighbors and especially within our own budget of giving. They ran in the door off the bus and digging out their packets of info,  they could barely contain themselves telling me about all the prizes they could win, "Mom!!! If we ONLY SELL 15 of them, we get....." To their disappointment, I told them the previous 2 fundraisers and the little prizes they earned last time were all that we could do this time. "But Moooommmm, we could (get this toy) and (that)." I asked what the money was for and neither of them knew. In all their excitement to sell, they didn't even know what for. I am assuming it is for the track which is so badly needed!! 
Needless to say, they were quite angry with me that they wouldn't be able to get their prizes. It had nothing to do with not getting a new track which even at their age, they know they need because they run on it every day and it's in bad shape. They had been so pumped up by the school rally to earn prizes, that was their only focus...the prizes. They were motivated by selfish gain.
Now, I am all about prizes and earning rewards. But... are we being conditioned to see the personal gain rather than the central purpose for which we are striving? Do we have to be bribed to work/serve/give? Why not hype the kids up to the realization of a new track!?! Are we all hyped up for the prizes without even knowing what we are striving for?!? I wonder if we do the same thing at church? We talk so much about what God can do for you, the Peace He offers, the Comfort He gives, the Protection and Refuge for the weary, the Strength in our weaknesses that we don't even show them Who He is. 
Are we so hyped up about our "prizes" that we miss what the prizes resulted from? Our track?! Our God! Do we know it's ultimately about the "track" being built and not our personal gain? Are we just "selling" Jesus to get our prize? Yes, how precious and gracious is He that the Lord blesses as a result of our obedience and surrender to Him (what joy and privilege) but I wonder if we too often focus on the blessings and not the Blessed? 
Is my worship about how it makes me feel or is it about how it makes the Lord feel? 
Do I choose daily to walk with Him and serve Him so I can win the Fruit Basket? 
Am I sacrificially serving for the Kingdom growth? 
Am I so conditioned to "get" that I am not focused on The Giver? 
Whose kingdom am I striving to enrich? Mine or Christ's?  
God really made me stop this morning to think of the root of all my doings and how I am conditioning myself and my kids and others...am I hyped up "selling" the Blessings or The Blessed?
Our children should obey and honor, not because they will get a Treasure Box goodie if they do but because they love God first.
We should worship God with all our heart, mind and soul, not because it feels good or that we are supposed to but because it blesses Him to receiver our worship and praise out of our pure love and devotion to Him.
We should go to church and serve not because we will look good in the sight of man, but because we get to learn and love while planting seeds as the hands and feet of Jesus.
We go to church to be with the Body functioning together to serve God, not play games and publish grand numbers or earn a reputation.
We love God, because He first loved us, not because of the riches He gives to those who love Him.
I give God my heart, not because He can make it bigger, but because it is by His grace I even have life. 
We love others, not because it gives us more friends but because out of our love for God, we can't help but love others.
I want my marriage to be strong not because it makes life easier or makes us happier, but because we are a reflection of The Gospel.
Love love, not gain. 
I want my children to serve out of love, not gain.
I want to serve my husband out of love, not gain.
I want to serve my church and others out love, not gain.
I want to serve my God out of love, and not gain. 
All the blessings in the world, all the prizes that can be won, all the effort we spend working towards these gain, I wonder if we will ever see the track for which we worked so hard for or will we continually be off somewhere playing with all our toys, looking for more? Instead, may we be so focused on The Track that we don't count anything gain except for the "Track" being built.

Father God, You are my greatest love and blessing. Help me resist the temptation to see all Your goodness only to strive for Your prizes/blessings. I confess there are times I get hyped up at all Your offering and prizes that I completely miss The Offering of You. It is my heart's desire to worship You, The Blessed, and not Your blessings. God, I want all that I am and all that I do to be about You. I must decrease so You can increase. The gift of Your Son truly is our greatest treasure. How thankful I am for Your sweet Love and Blessings from the immeasurable riches You own, but God, I want You more than I want more stuff. With You, I have my Peace and Strength and Hope. Nothing can compare to the treasure of You. It is You that saved me from the pit. It is Your Love Offering that took on all my sins. Lord God, help me keep my eyes fixed on Your "track" that all my life will be about You as the ultimate end of my striving, not of any selfish gain. For You alone are worthy, all glory and honor is for You. For Your Name's sake, amen.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Matthew 6:19-21

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His;we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." 

Psalm 100  

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." 

Matthew 6:33

     

Cute is Cute and Sexy is Sexy

Thought I'd share a real life example of a Girl Gone Wild as described in my current bible study. It is exactly the message I have been reflecting on over recents months regarding purity.

I watched as my husband encountered a temptress last night at the gym. He was stretching before his workout on 1 of the 3 benches when a woman, barely dressed came up to the same bench, and put her leg up next to his. Startled, he looked up at her only to be met with her chest bulging out of a lace halter top as she bent over in a stretch over her leg, extending from her short shorts. He could not help but see what was being tossed right infront of him. He quickly put his leg down and turned around and sat on the floor to continue stretching. Praise God he had the self-control to turn away. 

What was she thinking?!? What was he now thinking?!? 

It breaks my heart and makes my stomach sick thinking that women, of any age-our young children, teens and adults- have a desire to flaunt out what should be guarded as precious in an attempt to what...get attention?!? To Feel special or pretty? You would hope this woman wasn't thinking in her head "I want to seduce that man and ruin his mind and family." She probably was selfishly wanting affirmation and fulfillment in her desire as a beautiful woman as the woman in Proverbs 7 in our study.

I have 2 dear friends whose families have been recently devastated by pornography. It's a HUGE and destructive industry. We can blame the man for looking but shouldn't the sensuous woman be held accountable too?!? Sometimes it's thrown right in your face. He wasn't at a nude beach or a men's club. This was at our family gym and it happens everywhere, even on our phones now a days.

Women, we must be careful how we dress walking out the door and be aware of the looks we give men being friendly. I don't know about you but I can sense the flirt, and if you are near someone giving you a little flirt, flee! While we cannot control others, we are accountable to ourself. 
Cute can be cute, but sexy is sexy. And sexy belongs behind closed doors!! 

Ladies, we must PRAY PRAY PRAY for the men in our lives! Be it our spouses, Dad's, brothers, husbands, sons, nephews, friends, co-workers, we must stand for their purity and pray for their eyes to be blinded to all the Wild Things available to them. It's a HUGE war!! 

It took one look at the girls at the school drop off line at the middle school and high schools to see what the girls were wearing for me as a Mom to begin petitioning harder for the purity of not only my own boys, but for the girls in our community too. I prayed for value and affirmations to be found within them, not from outward confirmations. For them to choose to respect themselves and those around them enough to not want attention that draws themselves or others to sin. 
Would my teens be strong enough to quickly turn away from the beautiful, good smelling, flesh revealing girls? Since I could not dress the girls myself, it was then I began praying first for the girls to become aware of their value and see themselves as valued and treasured, not something to be promoted for approval of the opposite sex. I became diligent praying for my boys to be blinded and shielded from the alluring flesh in front of them. I have seen this happen in my husband and in me so I know God can do that. He blinds us from things He knows we won't be able to not see. Other times, He helps our spirits to not see. I began pleading with God to help them be quick to turn their eyes and attention if it was laid obvious before them across the bench.
As for my husband, he is bombarded all day in this sex-driven culture and doors are always open for him. Sexual temptation is a serious war that must be fought for people of all ages and status, married or single. As his wife, it is imperative I stand in this battlefield with him. As his wife, I must war with him on his behalf that temptation would be quickly fled from and avoided. I am so proud of his strength and conviction to bounce his eyes (term from Every Man's Battle, book). There are always women on the other side of a bench looking for attention, so we must continue to intercede on behalf of our men, guarding ourselves too.

For the record, it's not just the woman who are the tempters. Boys/Men do it too wearing tight fitting jeans and shirts, giving off alluring signals, dawning their manly colognes, flaunting their body like Fabio. Men, just like women, have a need to feel wanted and noticed.

Thanks for letting me share this with you. This is a Gospel issue more than a purity issue and one people don't talk about frequently enough. 
"But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:17-20

May it start with us coming humbly before our God asking Him to bring to heart anything within us that does not honor True Womanhood in Christ's name by which we were created. There may be some things in our own lives we need to purge, or begin to value as precious once again. May we stand firm and courageous fighting on this huge battlefield for the sake of Christ. May we fervently petition on behalf of our men and boys to be blinded and disgusted by flesh that devours and treasure up the beauty that God intends to be the delight of their souls. Let it begin with us. Let us pray for our loved ones' purity and strength to cling to what is good and holy and flee quickly from temptation that leads to gratifying selfish and sinful desires.  

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

Praying Blessings and Purity of Body, Mind and Heart for each of us! May the Lord be the apple of our eye just as we are to His. To God be all the Glory, body, mind and spirit.

All about Pink & Blue

Sugar & Spice and everything nice!

Oh the blessings of being a GIRL! Once a month it's not so "fun" but the rest of the time it's pretty great I think! I'm a NOT a super Girly-Girl, but neither am I a Tom-boy. I enjoy dressing up but I can dig down in the dirt and get my nails dirty!

It's the very first question when someone announces they are expecting..."Is it a Girl or a Boy?" And of course after the birth, they always ask, "When's the next one?!" Good Grief!

My husband and I were blessed with 7 babies, four of which I care for here on Earth. The other three are in Good Hands.

In 1997, God blessed us with our first BOY.We spent the last 4 months of the pregnancy at High Risk visits watching the fluid build up in one of his tiny kidneys.Prayers were heard and there were no complications! Just one week early we met our big boy, weighing in at 8 lbs 4oz.  Everything "boy" and blue denim had filled our house. Blue blankets, burp rags, furniture, balls, toys, bottles, bags, pacifiers.

Then, in 1999, we lost our first little Angel baby only to unexpectantly find ourselves carrying our next bundle of energy! I LOVE being pregnant, such a gift, however, the pregnancy was not easy. My hormone levels had not returned back to normal ranges so when I became pregnant, my body responded as if I was already 4 months pregnant and I began to have contractions early, and I spent 6 months on bed rest hooked up to a monitor. After several trips to Labor and Delivery to settle the contractions, after 6 months of getting out twice a week in my wheelchair to go to church only, and arriving two weeks ahead of schedule, God slipped our blonde haired, blue-eyed baby boy in our hands, weighing 8lbs 1 oz.

Over the next several years, two more babies returned Home to their Heavenly Father and I cannot wait to meet them!!!

In 2005, a sea of PINK flooded our home, over powering all the denim. Lace and ruffles, bows and softness filled our home and life with all things GIRLY!! Such sweet clothes and blankets. This Tinkerbell of a Princess arrived three weeks early, weighing in at albs 5ozs. It definitely awoke the sleeping Princess within me! I found myself matching her colors and trading some of the jeans for some cute skirts!

And to our surprise, God gave us another blonde haired, blue-eyed bundle of joy, weighing in at 10lbs, 7ozs and this boy still surprises me to this day, taking his time arriving one week LATE and still continues to take his time.

When we got married, we attended marriage conferences as an enrichment to our marriage. We both have parents who are divorced and have committed to truly let God be at our center and reason! We just wanted to know HOW!  Once we entered Parenthood, we attended with the same fervor and desperation how to do it right and not to mess it up!! 20 years of marriage seminars, 15 years or parenting seminars, and today I sit in one about Womanhood. Week 1 not even completed and His Word and the insights fall fresh on me! I almost can't formulate the words to express it. Wow! Amazing God! I could go on and on with this and maybe I will blog some of this out but for now, let me tell you this: You most certainly DO have a purpose. You were created as a Masterpiece. You were created in Divine Design, in your specific role.

We were created male and female. We have a role and purpose. We are a reflection of Christ and the Church. If I understand my role as a Helpmate to Christ, it helps me understand how to be one to my Husband. If I understand my role as a woman, and I honor God through my Womanhood, won't I be a better Mommy? A Wife? A Church Member? A Friend? YES!!! He tells us "Seek FIRST His Kingdom." This is not just in how to live out day to day life, but with who we are...seek out who you are in Him first. Know the Hands that made you, then learn who He made you to be, then learn how to use the tools He gifted you with as you live the life He designed for you, as you live to honor God above all others. Your How To is The Word!!!

I tell my kids all the time, if you are living a life pleasing to The Lord, you know without a doubt that Dad and I will be pleased! If their focus is to please God above all others, all the "others" will be happy too. If they only focus on being a student and friend and Dickerson Child and yet never look towards fulfilling their role in the Kingdom which highlights the glory of God, how will they ever be satisfied? Our greatest joy is being in the center of God's Will for our life! Not having a happy marriage, earning several commas in the paycheck, being a popular and envied Parent or being a social-lite respected and known. Where does our heart's joy come from?? The Lord!! Our Peace. Our Comfort. Our Joy!

Are their roots digging deep into a sold foundation or are they spreading themselves out in shifting sand?

Maybe you have never gone all the way back to the very first question of and for yourself...Are you a Girl or a Boy in Christ? Beyond your special "parts", were you created for Manhood or Womanhood? Boy or Girl, there is a gifting only you can fulfill in all of creation. There is more to life than being the best at serving others (and ourselves if we are honest). How would our life change if our only desire was to bring honor and glory to God alone? Above all others. Understand there is a God. Beginning to End, He created everything, and in everything, with a purpose. The purpose is to reveal His beautiful Glory. To reveal Himself to us. To Love. Are you a man of God or a woman of God? Let's learn "how to" do that!!

SIDENOTE: Seminars are great, not saying we should not attend or that we won't gain practical advice, cuz we certainly have; what I am saying is that it is crucial that in order for us to understand "how to" do our our many roles we serve in this Earth right, we cannot skip pass what ought to be our first step...understand how and why we were created. Before we understand our spiritual giftedness, before we ask how to be a better "whatever" may we find out from The One Who created us, with what purpose in mind were we created, male or female.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26

Day Four, Week One...here I come!! Only Week One!?!?! It's gonna be good!!! :)