faith

Desiring to be a Woman of Faith

August 3, 2011

in Book Review,faith,Motherhood

Years ago my Mom and I attended a Women of Faith Conference…I believe our first was when I was in college.  We drove to Cleveland, OH to attend the conference.  We left refreshed and inspired and vowing to make it a tradition to attend some sort of spiritual conference together as often as we could.   Since then, we’ve attend Women of Faith, Beth Moore, and a few women’s retreats together.  I appreciate the opportunity to worship, and grow alongside my mom.   Our faith and our ability to encourage each other in our spiritual walks, is one of my favorite aspects of my relationship with my mom.  It is something I have treasured since middle school when we first did a mother/daughter Bible study together. 

When BookSneeze offered the opportunity to attend a local Women of Faith conference and blog about it, I jumped at the opportunity.  When they offered me 2 tickets to the conference in DC, I knew instantly who I wanted to go with. 

I am very excited about attending the Women of Faith conference later this month.  I have to confess I have been negligent lately in my personal quiet time and I am looking to get back on track.  I am eager for some encouragement and inspiration in my personal walk with the Lord.    But from past experience, my favorite part of the conference is typically the worship.  There is something quite powerful about worshipping in an arena full of other women.   I am also so happy that my mom is able to get off of work and come down to attend with me.  I look forward to the quality one on one time with her (something that I just don’t get enough of anymore… especially now that I am a mother myself) as we travel to and from the conference each day. 

 

For more information on WOF and to find out if they are visiting a city near you, click here.

I received two tickets for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the ">">">Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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The Sparkle of a True Princess

March 6, 2011

in faith,fashion,Motherhood,sisters

“Momma, don’t we look beautiful?”

As I praised them for their lovely fashion choices and snapped picture upon picture of their dress up fun, it dawned on me that this was an opportunity to reinforce what true beauty is. 

Ya know, I said.  To be truly beautiful, you have to be kind and loving to others.  In fact, you can be wearing the prettiest dress ever, but if you act mean and unkind to others, you aren’t beautiful. 

“Really, Mom?”

AND… you can be wearing plain, normal clothes, but if your loving and kind in your heart, then you sparkle like a princess. 

I am not sure if the message sunk in or not, but I realized today, that it is a message I need to speak to them often.

IMG_9392

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

I want to start praying that my girls grow into truly beautiful ladies that sparkle from the inside out and that they may always be confident of their worth as daughters of the King.

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One Step Closer

April 5, 2010

in faith,holidays,Weekend Thoughts

Since before each of my children were born, my hearts deepest desire has been for them to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.   My son has demonstrated to us numerous times through various conversations that he recognizes he is a sinner and Christ died on the cross to forgive his sins. 

IMG_7023 My girls have not come to that point yet, but this Easter season we got one step closer.  We did the Resurrection Eggs with the kids this year and the way we did it was to start 12 days prior to Easter and open one egg each day leading up to Easter Sunday, opening the 12th egg, Easter night.  We would spend time review the previously discussed eggs each night, with the hopes of truly solidifying the Easter story in their hearts and minds and helping them to grasp the significance of the events leading up to our Lord’s death and resurrection. 

One night we were discussing the cross and my husband asked my oldest daughter some questions. 

“Who died on the cross?”

“Jesus”

“Why did he die on the cross?”

“Because he loved us.”

“What did he die for?”

“Our sins”

“Whose sins?”

“All of our sins”

“Did he die for your sins?”

“He died for EVERYBODY’S sins”

It took several rounds of discussing and questioning to get her to not just answer everybody’s sins, but to get her to say that he died for HER SINS.  And this was a crucial first step towards her coming to a saving faith of her own.

This is a huge point, that in my opinion is well worth spending time on.  It can be easy to say, “Yes, Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins.”  My girls can even tell you that sins are the bad things we do and that Jesus didn’t do anything bad.  But, until my child recognizes that she herself is a sinner, that Jesus died on the cross to take the consequences of her sins, until she makes it personal, she won’t recognize her need for a personal Savior. 

My prayer for my kids isn’t simply that they grow up with a sound head knowledge of Christian doctrine.  My prayer is that my children will have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  That they will call Him Lord.  This relationship is possible only because Christ, who had no sin, took the consequence of our sin upon Himself when he died on the cross.  With the consequence paid, the perfectly just creator God can be united with me and my imperfect daughters.  Jesus is the mediator between us and God, but only if we personally acknowledge our need for a mediator. 

Before my girls can have that personal relationship with our Lord, they need to first recognize that they personally are a sinner.  That their personal sins were enough to require Jesus to die on the cross.  He did it for them.  Once they recognize that point, then they can grasp what is means to call Christ their personal savior.  Then, once Christ is their Lord, they can go on to live the life of purpose God intends for them.

I eagerly await that day.  We’re one step closer.

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