It occurred to me after the first Beautiful Mornings post that some sisters may be longing for a healthier relationship with Christ, but weren't sure where to start. The following tools are not complicated ones. Ain't nobody got time for that! And, truthfully, Jesus isn't complicated either!
Read MoreI claim Christ, yet my flesh has still been ruling over me in so many areas! I don't want that! I want to be a woman of God, a branch firmly attached to the Vine, a disciple whose life is marked by the fruit I bear, so that my time on earth may bring glory to Christ. As Jesus said in John 15, God has had to do some pruning, because the fruit I've been bearing has been rotten.
Read MoreI hope that the kitschy quotes and photo shopped quiet times we see throughout our social media feed aren't selling the world on a rose-colored version of our faith. Reality isn't sipping tea, in your monogrammed pj's, cozied up on your chaise lounge while Cinderella's bird friends make your bed and you open your Bible. Real mornings look like tired, sometimes frazzled women waking up to prepare for BATTLE. Real mornings are spent doing the things we have to do to run our households and get our families ready for the day. Real mornings may require putting the coffee pot on, but they DEFINITELY require putting on the armor of God. (Ephesians 6:13-17)
Read MoreThe past year has been a major reality check for me. Maybe people close to me knew I had some growing up to do, but I sure was blind to it. God is growing me up. And He doesn't do that on the mountain top. I have lived in fear of the valley, of loss, of death, of real pain, of those ugly trials that test you to your limit, but, after meeting those fears head on, I am praying now to embrace, not avoid them when I inevitably meet them in the future. For I do not want to be undone in the valley, I want to be made whole.
Read MoreSince I started writing this post, He has reminded me too, that home, my real home, will feel even better than her's did. And that His home will remain mine forever! Never to be emptied out or sold. A home where the bitter and the sweet of life will be forgotten. A home where our hearts will find contentment in every corner. A home where Grandmom will laugh and scold and remember all the things that have slipped away.
Read MoreWhen life goes along smoothly, it's easy to praise God, count myself blessed, and tell others of His greatness . However, when things aren't going my way, when my life is far less than Instagram worthy, when I feel like I can barely trust Him at all, I have a much harder time doing those three things.
Read MoreI want out of the rat race where I never feel like I have enough or I am enough, because those feelings, those lies, come straight to me from the enemy. As a follower of Christ, I should be satisfied if, like Job, I lose everything. If I lost everything, I would still be a chosen daughter of Christ and because of that fact alone, I should live a life overflowing with gratitude.
Read MoreWhen I reflect on my own life, I see very distinct seasons and in each of those seasons, God has used different means of slaying the dragon within me. Currently, He is using my marriage, and like Lewis writes about Eustace's experience with Aslan, it can be painful. After all, I would prefer we operate under the illusion that I'm perfect! I have no flaws, we have no arguments, and Matthew can go to his grave never seeing me at my worst. But, that's not reality and that's not God's design for marriage.
Read MoreWe are not to lock our hearts up like they are the bad guys out to hurt us, we are to feed our hearts with the wisdom God's Word provides, so that we are prepared for the life He calls us to.
Read MoreLet's talk about the books that I read and the one's I failed to make it through, in January! Goals are tough y'all! But I'm no quitter!
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