A Woman of Wisdom

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31: 26


As the mother of a 6 year old daughter, I know the struggles that she has from adjusting to a school schedule to making new friends.  Yet I had been blind-sided by the self-image, self-worth, and peer opinion really matters to her at this age.  If you were to meet my daughter, you would come away probably thinking how sassy and cute she is (maybe I am biased on the cuteness).  Yet the longer you are around her, you will listen to her as she talks about what she likes to wear and what her friends think of her.  
For the past year we have "battled" over the clothes that she wears.  Last year I bought several outfits (shorts and shirts) on sale that I thought she would be able to wear this year.  While those outfits do fit well, she cries and is obviously hurt that she has to wear such.  She says the shorts and shirts outfits do not look good on her and her friends will not like them.  If she could pick what she wears everyday, she would pick dresses and skirts.
Lance and I have previously been somewhat flippant in our reactions to her appeals. For example our reactions include --- "who cares what your friends think?  did they buy your clothes?  why does it matter that you are wearing shorts?"  Lately, we have tried to focus on the beauty in her heart.  Lance and I have been intentional in telling her that she is beautiful no matter what she wears and that God made her beautiful.  Yet, is this enough?  As I listened to her petition this morning about not wanting to wear the shorts outfit, I began to pray.  I prayed that the Lord would help us to see where the root of this is coming from.  I began to pray for Wisdom.  
After I dropped her off at school this morning, I began to think about scripture and Proverbs 31:26 came to mind.  I want to speak to Alex with wisdom and that my instruction is what she needs to hear.  
I have read many articles that discuss the importance of the father-daughter relationship, and Lance has always recognized the importance of his relationship with Alex.  For example, did you know ---

Father's can help daughter's build self-reliance and self-confidence by letting her know she is special and can achieve anything she wants to.  Daughter's who have actively engaged fathers are also less likely to experience depression, become a teen mom, develop body image problems, use drugs/alcohol, or engage in criminal activity.  

Father's teach their daughter's adventurism and achievement, assertiveness and self-worth.  The way a father relates to his daughter will determine how she will relate to herself and others, and what type of a family she will create in her future. Father's also teach their daughter's leadership, humility, and courage.

From Healing Hearts and Families counseling

A daughter is profoundly affected by the kind of relationship she has with her father—often more so than by her relationship with her mother. The girl who grows up having a comfortable, communicative, supportive relationship with her father generally has advantages over other girls when it comes to:

• Academic achievement and future jobs and incomes—especially in areas related to science, math, and technology;
• Avoiding teenage pregnancy and early marriage;
• Being self-confident and self-reliant;
• Setting long-term goals;
• Avoiding emotionally or physically abusive relationships;
• Resisting peer pressure to have premature sex, smoke, drink alcohol, or take drugs;
• Not being overly dependent on boys in order to feel good about herself;
• Asserting her opinions and standing up for her beliefs;
• Dealing well with people in authority (teachers, employers, etc.);
• A willingness to try new things and accept challenging tasks; and
• Having less chance of becoming depressed or developing an eating disorder.

From www.pta.orghttp://www.pta.org/2577.htm

It is my prayer that if you have a daughter, that you strongly encourage her to have a relationship with her father whether he lives in the same house or not.  I pray that your daughter, like my own, will find her value and worth, not in the things of man, but in the heart of the Lord.  I pray for wisdom for myself as I seek to raise my daughter where peer pressure and image are already invading her life at the age of six.

I LOVE the Lord!

"I love the Lord, for her heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.  Because He turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live."  Psalm 116: 1-2

Many times in trying to explain something to my 6 year old daughter, I find that she can take my long explanation and spit out it simply and plainly back to me.  I sit there then wondering why didn't I just try to say it that simply to begin with!  As I read this verse, I was reminded how simply I love the Lord.  Yes, I love Him for many, many reasons that I could talk for hours about; yet I simply love Him because He hears my voice -- because I am His child and He my Father!
I find my daily life super busy like many of you.  My mind drifts from one thing that needs to be done to the next million things on my list.  I feel guilty when I don't spend enough time with the Lord each day, taking time to praise him, thank him, and spend time with him.  Yet I focus on this verse and realize that during my time with the Lord maybe I should focus on my love for him.
I have always had a self-image problem.  I hate the way my body looks.  I hate the way clothes look on me.  Blah, blah, blah.  I say that to say this --- I love the Lord not because He looks a certain way but because he loves me.  God loves me not because of the way I look but because I am His!
I leave you today with this thought from Kay Arthur --
"You have been created by God and for God, and someday you will stand amazed at the simple yet profound ways He has used you even when you weren't aware of it."

You are a Sinner!

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23

I had the privilege of working with some AWANA kids at church last night and this was one verse we went over.  I got to also talk with the small group about what this verse means.  It is amazing to know that at only 6 years old many of them already knew what Sin meant and who was the only perfect, sinless person who ever walked this earth.
In the last week, my own daughter has begun to ask questions about being saved and being baptized.  While this is something I don't want to be pushy on, I can't tell you how excited my heart was to know that she was having these questions!  In her 6 year old mind, she understands sin and how Jesus was sinless.  She is fascinated with the idea of baptism and loves to watch others being baptized.
This verse came to mind this week as she and I talked.  I also love, love, love the children's book by Stormie O'Martian called "The Prayer That Makes God Smile."  It is a great book for children and helps them understand the sinner's prayer.
As I reflect on this verse, I realize that most days I walk through this life with little thought on how my sin separates me from God.  I struggle with self-awareness of my sins yet this verse helps me to see my own sins more closely.  I think that starting each day reciting this verse would help me be more aware as I walk through my day.  Then to turn around and recite John 3:16!  What a way to start my day!

How do you start your day?  Do you recite a verse?  I would love to hear about it!

God is Our Refuge

"....God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble."  Psalm 46:1

Is anyone else just automatically comforted by that verse?  Every time I read it I feel peace and joy washes over me.  My God is ever-present!  My God is my strength!  My God is my refuge!  Glory Hallelujah!!!
If you ever turn on the television, you can see the violence, the deterioration of our world through sin.  You can see those who are starving for a bite to eat.  You can hear stories and see images of those hurting or mourning.  If you turn on your computer and open up your Facebook, you can read the statuses of your friends who are hurting or in a battle with sin.  Many of you even know people who are in bad health or even battling for their lives.  Yet with all the "bad" that is out there, God tells us assuredly that He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.  He, alone, can shoulder all of our health problems.  He, alone, can lift heavy burdens.  He, alone, can defeat the enemy.  He, alone, can help us in times of trouble.  What does He require of us?  Our faith and trust in Him.  That's it.
I encourage you today to lay out your troubles to the Lord today.  Allow Him to be your strength and refuge today and everyday!  May you find peace, joy, and love in His arms!

The Sin of Pride

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the earth."  Genesis 11:4 (excerpt from 11:1-9)

The sin of pride has been around since Adam and Eve walked in the garden.  Pride can sometimes slip up on us, blinding us of our true intentions.  According to Dictionary.com, the word "pride" means a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance,merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.  I believe that the sin of pride is one sin that can be one sin that is not premeditated in our hearts.  I believe that sometimes we become prideful and only after God convicts us of the sin do we realize how our pride has overtaken us.  Other times, like in the case of the builders of the tower of Babel, we can seek out a prideful nature, seeking a high opinion of ourselves or our own importance.  The builders of the tower of Babel allowed the foundation of the tower to be built on pride.  They had one purpose for the tower -- to build a name for themselves.
I have been reading a wonderful book called "Gods and Kings" by Lynn Austin.  In it, King Ahaz is ruling over the land with a huge sense of pride.  King Ahaz is worshipping any god that comes along that he thinks will bless him.  He even offers his eldest son to the pit of fire as a sacrifice.  King Ahaz believes his title makes him superior and pride has taken hold of his heart.  As I continue to read through this book, I see how much pride can destroy not only your own heart but can also affect the lives of the people around you.  For King Ahaz, his position of leadership and sense of entitlement gave him an inflated sense of self and the foundation of his reign was pride.
Several years ago I had the privilege of serving in a leadership position in my former church.  I fell in love with the opportunity that God had placed in my life.  I loved serving with other women and feeling like I was doing what God had called me to do.  Yet I did have a battle over pride and my own prideful spirit at that time.  You see, while I was serving in this capacity of which I loved, I sometimes found myself thinking very highly of myself and the works that I had accomplished while serving.  I started allowing other women's compliments of my service to inflate my ego.  I remember a sermon that my pastor preached on those sneaky sins such as pride.  I remember sitting in that service thinking I don't think I have any such sin my own life.  Over that week, God began a full assault of conviction to get me to recognize my own sin of pride.  While my head was being inflated with compliments and cherishing in my own mind, my heart was turning dark.  God worked that entire week to get me to acknowledge my sin and turn from it.
Sometimes we seek to make a name for ourselves.  Many times we seek to crave an inflated sense of importance and merit.  Yet in other instances, the actions we take hide the foundation of pride underneath, and we find ourselves acknowledging the prideful heart after much prayer and realization of the conviction of God.  Whatever has created a Prideful Heart in your life, I pray that you will allow God to show it to you, acknowledge its presence, and seek His forgiveness.  All praise and glory to the One who earned it!

Listen and Act

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says."  James 1:22 NIV

I open my Bible, read a few passages, say a short prayer, and move on with my day.  I feel proud of myself for a moment as I check my quiet time off my list.  I look down in judgment over those who don't have a daily time with the Lord and find myself even saying a quick prayer for those I deem to be "in need" or "out of God's will."
It is very easy to be prideful, feeling as we have done a good deed by reading a few passages and spending a moment with God.  Yet have we really learned anything?  Did our actions during the day prove that we had listened to the Lord?
James 1:22 we are commanded to go further -- do not just listen to the word but DO what it says!  Put those words into action.  Let the world see Jesus in your heart.  God did not call us into His Kingdom just to sit in a pew and "soak" up the Word.  He commanded that we place His Word in our hearts, go out into the world and preach the gospel, seeking to save the lost and bring all the praises to the Lord.  Have you fulfilled your duty today?