Casting Stones

Sin. What is the meaning behind this word?

Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.

We as believers, and even non-believers are all sinners. We all sin every day.

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Why is this what I want to write about today? Recently a young man spoke at my church about the Love of Jesus and what if we were to live our lives with the exact love and responses He lived with? Wow…think about it. That is deep. Jesus never sinned. Jesus never condemned. He simply loved.

He referenced one of my favorite parables from John chapter 8. A woman was caught in the act of adultery. She was brought before Jesus, probably naked and unclothed and thrown before Him on the ground. Jesus was then told of her acts and asked what would He say to do? The law said she should be stoned for her “sin”.

Jesus’s famous quote in verse 7, He responds saying “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” After all of her accusers began to leave, Jesus then asks the woman “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” And she says “No one sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I.”

WOW! That is so rich and deep.

The speaker at my church said imagine in today’s church if we were sitting in our seats and this very scene played out before our eyes. A woman caught in the act, brought before us all, ashamed, naked for all to see, waiting to be judged….

How would we as a church respond?

This brought tears streaming down my face…

I remember when I found out I was pregnant with my son at the age of 20. I can count the number of people who did not condemn nor judge me on one hand. For a time even my own family turned their backs on me. I became homeless. There were days I didn’t even have food to eat. I slept from people’s couches to couches. People in my church looked down on me. As I began to show more and more as my pregnancy progressed I felt like I was marked with a scarlet letter. I remember in my mind crying out wanting to yell at all of them, how dare you judge my sin because it is not hidden from the human eyes. It is no different than the sin you commit in secret. I remember clinging to this parable thinking, how was the man not judged and only the woman as I was in the same situation. The father of my baby went on with life not having to suffer what I did as my belly grew bigger and bigger…

Now as time went on, the Lord did bring restoration and redemption to my life and relationships and people did begin to stand up and help me…but not initially.

I wonder how different things would have been if instead I was received in love. If people said we do not condone your sin but we do not condemn you nor your child. As scripture I quoted earlier states, we ALL sin. Every single one of us.

I have a huge heart for people in Hollywood. One of the greatest things that breaks my heart is tabloids exploiting famous people and their “sins”.

The speaker at my church is from LA so he even touched on this. My husband I thought would have to hold me down, as I wanted to jump up and down shouting “Amen, preach it brother.”

Why is it so easy for people to look at famous people or even non-famous people and cast stones? The speaker used examples like: “Look at what Beyoncé was wearing”…stones cast. “Did you hear who got so and so pregnant?”…stones cast. “Look who just got sent to rehab.”…stones cast.

Who do we think we are that we have the audacity to judge or condemn anyone?

What if today you decide to be the person to start a change in your neighborhood, school, church, etc.? What if you decide to stand up and clothe that naked person, to love them, to sit with them? To show them Jesus?

Why does it sound so easy, yet so few accept the call?

My prayer and challenge for all today…stop condemning. Look at your own life. Don’t judge someone for sinning different than you do. Instead love them like Jesus. Be the change this world needs. It can start with one single person. Who knows…that person you choose to love like Jesus did, may turn out to be the next Billy Graham.

Blessings all!

Marriage Rebranded

Many know how Sacred Marriage radically along with the help of God and prayer changed my marriage for the better. Now a good friend has recently written an AMAZING book on marriage and how to stay married. You must take 96 seconds just to watch this book trailer and then order your copy today!!!!! Lets make a difference, change the statistics, show people that when we say “till death due us part” we truly mean it. The book is called Marriage Rebranded by author Tyler Ward!

The ugly side of beauty

As you read in my last post, I was severely bullied growing up. To the point of wanting nothing more than to just die and be done with all the pain…..it has taken me almost my entire life to get over so many of the scars left from those experiences and to heal….. (this next part is what everyone has been asking me to finally get around posting but I wanted to wait upon the Lord to give me the go ahead on posting it and to give me the right words…I won’t use anyone’s name to respect privacy, but I also will NOT be silent about the matter that lies ahead….)

Flash forward to last weekend. The Mrs. Michigan America Pageant….Not only had I been preparing for pretty much a year for this weekend, I was so looking forward to it. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful, I felt confident, I felt like I had purpose. I felt amazing as we were leaving our house to drive there on Friday.

Of course I wanted to win. No one enter’s these things with no desire to win. However, once all the girls started arriving, God started to change that desire. I immediately picked the winner as we started our rehearsals on friday. She was experienced, she was fit, she knew what she was doing on stage…she truly was the complete package…and of course she did win and I am so happy for her because she was a contestant who I think really deserved it…..

As we rehearsed on friday, the Lord was speaking to my heart. My desires changed to just wanting to be a light, to encourage everyone, to make friends. And to at least place in top 5, but I honestly had no desire to actually win the crown….

That’s when it began…

Why she picked me out of all the other contestants I will never know…perhaps because I was the youngest one there? But honestly my family has tried to guess and we have no idea other than it was all part of what God would teach me and grow inside me that weekend…

One of the contestants literally from the beginning of our first rehearsal started bullying me….at first it was every now and then…when I would ask a question to the choreographer she would shhsh me loud enough everyone could hear, then it became more constant. EVERY time I asked a question she would tell me to be quiet. At one point on friday she made a comment to another contestant about my lack of maturity because I was so young, and that I needed to stop asking questions or her mean motherly side would come out….

Ok PAUSE—news flash…..I am a mother myself….so treating me like a child makes no sense….the difference….I have been blessed by God with his grace and mercy in my life and I choose to carry myself in a different manner.

Ok PLAY—-

Though I was the only one she consistently bullied, and made comments about, she was quite rude to others as well. Now granted, if any other contestants asked questions, or laughed or joked with each other she didn’t dare make a comment…..literally it was ONLY me…..

I have to stop here and say, though I made many amazing friends that weekend one girl in particular literally took my hand the entire weekend and it brings me to tears as I think how God ordained for her to be there. She kept me sane and calm a lot of the times and to her I will forever be grateful…..she knows who she is……

So Friday night we have a husband and wife dinner at the hotel…it was super fun. We enjoyed everyone at our table. We laughed, we ate good food. It was a good time. Before heading up to our room I wanted to go around the room and hug each girl, and wish her good luck along with reminding her we all have already made it this far and are already winners no matter what! –It’s just me…I am an encourager…Well as I approached “my bully” she kept her hands by her side, shrugged my hug off, and said “yeah”….So I just gracefully rolled my eyes (is that possible?) and continue on to the other contestants…..

That night my husband and I discussed everything and he just encouraged me to keep my calm with her and not let her get in my head….easier said than done when you’ve been bullied for pretty much your entire life…..i thought to myself “Ok maybe she just had first day nerves and tomorrow will be better” as I drifted off to sleep.

As my alarm went off the next morning I jumped out of bed, raced to the nearest amount of light I could find, and dove into my devotions and quiet time…as soon as my husband and son awoke you better believe that worship music was blaring and I was in the zone….

As I applied my finishing touches to my hair and make up and got ready to leave for the entire day to be at rehearsals, interview, lunch, the actual pageant…..I was ready. I was pumped. I literally had this light that was radiating from inside me. I felt so beautiful and confident…not in a prideful way, but like a bride awaiting to see her groom. In fact I didn’t even feel this pretty on my wedding day. I was so excited for this day and all God had in store for me, win or lose…..

Well shockingly to me, as soon as we arrived and started rehearsals, don’t you know she was right back at it again…this time even worse and more forceful…..

People kept saying to me, “just let it roll off you, don’t let her get in your head….” Which don’t get me wrong I appreciated all the encouragement….but there was so much more to it than that…..this was my day…the day I had dreamed of all my life. The day when I mentally looked all my bullies and those voices in my head in the eyes and said “You are wrong. I am beautiful and I can do this.”……yet she was stealing that day from me……and at the same time, I didn’t need to be encouraged…..I needed someone who didn’t care about “getting involved” to step up and tell this woman enough was enough.

This is why I am so passionate about my platform “Speak Up-Not Down.” People who are bullied need heroes….in my interview I was asked what generations before ours had that I thought we needed…my response, “that is so simple. Morals”……and I was serious. Generations before us had heroes not afraid to stand up for people being bullied no matter the age…..where was my hero that weekend? Lord, knows my husband had he have been present all day would have handled it but he wasn’t. I kept praying to God for strength but I could feel myself weakening. My spirit was being oppressed and I knew I was coming close to losing it…..

Finally it happened. In the middle of rehearsing I lost it. I starting bawling my eyes out, and shaking uncontrollably, after I asked the choreographer a question and “she” whispered ever to loudly to the girl next to her “why won’t she stop asking questions” and then proceeded to shhhsh me…..I walked right off the stage.

At that moment, I was that 13-year-old girl again. Coming home from school, shutting herself in her room, crying herself to sleep….

I found the director and shared a little of what was going on…but nothing was ever done….at least not like it should have been, but I am not God….if I was, that lady would have been asked to leave the premises and not been allowed to compete that day! No questions asked….this was not the behavior someone trying to represent our state and the pageant company’s name should act! And no one, at any age should have to endure what I did……

After 5 mins of trying to breathe and calming down, I gathered myself together and walked back out on stage…not even 10 mins later it began again….”you have got to be kidding me” is all I could think. Again I reflect back to that girl the Lord put in my life who SO many times physically took my hand and said “breathe” and walked with me off stage to our next place….she really was as close to my hero as it came that weekend….

So we were practicing a number, and part of our introduction was to share something interesting about the area we represented. Well there were like 4 of us who were from the same area her included. So I politely asked her if she knew yet what she was going to say because I wanted to make sure we didn’t say the same thing. She rudely responded “Just worry about yourself and not me. I’m pretty sure we wont say the same thing. I like to keep my things to myself…” –oddly enough this is the same person who tried to friend request me on Facebook WEEKS before the pageant not even knowing me–I said “oh ok I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t the same but i’m sure you’re right” and turned back around, and so she quickly snapped what it was she was going to say…and i said “oh cool that goes with your platform so it definitely won’t be the same as mine.”

I couldn’t believe she was so rude over a simple question…..I just legitimately wanted to make sure we didn’t get up there for opening number and say the same thing….Again I had to fight back tears and suck it up….

Well we left for lunch shortly after, which was wonderful and so delicious. Then on the way back, she starts talking to the “older” contestants about after the pageant was over going to some bar/club with their sashes and pageant gowns to get drunk and dance the night away all while using curse words…..I was blown away….this is how you plan to represent Mrs. Michigan? Funny enough I even unknowingly caught part of it on video while video taping the limo just as she was informing everyone else that of course anyone else could join too!

This was the point my heart began to honestly break for her. Who in the world was this person….a mother, a wife, and a contestant who acted this way? I just prayed God gave me strength to get through the day….

After lunch we had interviews. I totally felt I rocked mine out. I was comfortable and confident and I called my parents after so happy to just be done with that hard part and ready to enjoy the rest of the night….

Instead as we began our final rehearsals she continued to bully me and shhhsh me. So i did what I was told to by the director and politely looked at her and said “Would you please stop telling me to be quiet every time I ask a question.” She laughed and said “Well would you stop talking and asking questions so we can hear what we are supposed to do?”…….I was flabbergasted…..I decided the rest of rehearsals to try my best to ignore her and just make it through the rest of the night. I couldn’t wait to see my family, to rock out on stage, and just enjoy myself, even though she was already ruining the entire experience for me….

Pageant begins….and not being prideful, I totally felt I rocked my opening number, my onstage question. I felt confident in my swimsuit, and I felt stunning in my evening gown. It was amazing…..then it happened…literally 5 mins before we were about to go on stage to announce the top 5 she started up again….

Like i said earlier…at this point I didn’t want to win. I just wanted to place, and I had other girls who I thought totally deserved to place….I wanted to have fun and enjoy the end of everything….well as I was asking the stage director right before we took our places if we needed to head out, bc the other girls on the other side were, “she” made a smart comment and told me to just be quiet and let people do their jobs. I lost it…I turned around and told her “You know what, we don’t need your comments or your help” and she of course said “well no one here needs your help either.” I was trembling…I literally wanted to tell this woman off for all to hear…part of me wanted to LITERALLY rip her head off….but my friend once again grabbed me by the hand, and walked with me to our next place and told me to breathe and let it go….

Here’s the thing…..telling someone who has been bullied their entire life, and then came this far to do a pageant like this, to let this kind of experience go….isn’t quite so easy. I was fighting back the tears so hard…..

We got on stage and they began to announce top 5….some of who I predicted, some not…and then it happened….they announced HER name….when all top 5 had been announced and I realized not only was I not in it, neither were some of the girls who deserved it, over me but especially over her, I literally bit my lip so hard I started bleeding. I was trying to fight back the tears…my husband and family said they could see it all from their seats. I was defeated….as the remainder of us said our “goodbyes” and left the stage I ran to the corner and sat down sobbing. Everyone kept saying “its ok, this doesn’t define you, its ok, its ok”……but it wasn’t about the crown to me….i was so crushed that my bully was in top 5 and women even more deserving than me were not I was broken….I couldn’t get the words out I was crying so hard. We were supposed to go back out for them to hand out rewards and I begged them to not make me. I was DONE. I wanted to get out of my gown, find my husband, and run into his arms…..

They made me go back out, and I cried the entire time. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. And when all was said in done, I congratulated the winner bc I was super proud of her….took the pictures required…mascara stains and all, and ran to the dressing room….someone came to find me and said my husband was waiting outside, and I mean I literally old fashion movie style, sprinted to him, and fell into his arms sobbing….

The entire experience I was so looking forward to was ruined…..I was defeated, I felt like a failure to everyone, I was so heartbroken. I just wanted to go back to the hotel and get out of that toxic environment immediately.

We left, I cried all night, and couldn’t wait to drive home the next morning….well as my husband went downstairs at the hotel to get breakfast “she” was in there with other contestants just chatting….but as soon as she saw him she loudly started bragging about how the oldest women in the pageant placed in top 5 and beat out all those young girls…when my husband came upstairs and told me it took all I had within me to not go downstairs and finally give her a piece of my mind….but I didn’t. I wanted to remain a woman of grace and beauty and leave the hotel at peace that I had not contradicted my testimony….

I forgive her.

I am getting back to normalcy again.

I am moving on with my life.

But I will NOT be silent….

Why did God have me go through all of that? For my platform. To show people of all ages that bullies are everywhere and every age! It never stops! And what this world needs are people willing to take stand and stand up to those bullies and for the victims when they can’t stand up for themselves.

I also feel God grew me in grace and patience and taught me to lean on him more than ever. And I still grew in my confidence and self-image and was able to let go of so many insecurities…..

It was a growing and learning experience for sure. I did have some good memories. I had fun at times. I made some amazing friends….but I won’t be silent about the hardship I endured. No one should ever go through what I did…..and why it was only me? I’ll never know…

I did my best. I learned a lot…and now I wait for the doors God opens ahead…I will continue to “Speak Up-Not Down” for those bullied every day and won’t stop till the day I die!!! And most importantly I will pray for this woman daily….

“Love keeps no records of wrongs….”

Blessings!

Bullying Part One

She looked at herself in the mirror.

Mascara ran down her tear stained face.

The voices in her head shouting loudly above the noise of the world.

You’re ugly. You are worthless. You are alone. No one loves you. You will never amount to anything…

The enemy whispered his lies in her ear, “Kill yourself, no one will even miss you.”

She held the bottle of pills in her trembling hand. It couldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was swallow them, then lay down and fall asleep. All the pain and heartache would be done with. No one would even miss her…

She was tormented at school to the point of dropping out and getting her GED. She developed social anxiety because she felt like she never fit in. She looked for acceptance in all the wrong places but never found any.

At home, she was never praised. She was barely noticed unless it was to tell her she was a liar and was a spoiled brat who always needed attention. She was surrounded by alcohol, and family problems. There were always constant arguments going on. She just needed a place to run and hide alone, to silence all the noise.

Why couldn’t they see inside her heart? Why didn’t they hear the voices in her head? Why couldn’t they understand her pain? Why didn’t they believe her? Why didn’t anyone love her?

She never knew there was a man who did love her. A man who was enthralled with her beauty from before time began. A man who loved her so much he sent his only child to give his own life for her. A man who thought so much of her he planned her life out even before she was in her mother’s womb…

No one knew the dark places of her heart. No one knew the pain and hurt she felt and hid inside her broken self. No one, except the enemy. Surrounding her daily, he was waiting like a lion waits for the perfect moment to pounce on its prey and devour it….

She took those pills. And the door swung open. Her brother yelled “what are you doing?”

She screamed through her tears, “Leave me alone, just let me die.”

She spent that entire evening being forced to make herself throw all the pills up and be woke up every hour to make sure she was still alive.

The next morning she wasn’t met with love but instead anger, and more word curses and labels. Sent to see Dr’s and put on medicines….when all she was searching for was LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, HOPE….

It would be years later before she would ever find that love, acceptance, and hope. Only after more trials she brought upon herself. Only after becoming pregnant at the age of 20 and homeless. Only when she was brought to her knees face to face with God crying out “I need you Jesus to come to my rescue, where else can I go.”

That moment forever changed her life. She made a choice to keep her child, to change her ways, her life, and make a new life. She found love from a father who no person could ever imitate.

She realized she had a purpose, a destiny, a reason to live and live boldly. She realized that suicide was a permanent solution to all her temporary problems.

She had been the victim of one of the largest epidemics around…bullying.

But no one had ever showed her how to cope, or told her there was a way to overcome it all….

If only…

Yet today she lives and breathes. Married, a mother to two beautiful children, a follower and worshiper of the most high King, more in love with life and God than she ever dreamed and growing more and more each day…

How do I know?

I am that girl….

4 Year Old Reminder

Worship music playing.

My bible laid open upon my lap.

I was simply sitting, reflecting, meditating.

My heart is still a bit broken and scarred from this past weekend. Yet, I knew today would be a good day and I would not let the pain or hurt affect today. Silently I sat asking Papa God to heal the pain. Put a bandaid across my heart. 

There was a tiny knock on my bedroom door.

It was my 4 year old Elijah. My kids know I have quiet time and spend time with The Lord early every morning before starting my day, and that unless it is an emergency they should try to not bother me…well I reckon this was a Holy Spirit emergency!

“Mommy I know you are busy but I have something to say. Can I come in?” 

I nodded my head, and of course he also carried in hand his Nabi and needed me to turn it on for him. As I held the power button down I couldn’t help but just smile at him and thank the Lord for what a blessing he is. Then it happened…

I handed him his Nabi. 

Before walking away he looked at me and smiled and then said “Mommy, I know you did not win the competition we went to this weekend, but God doesn’t love you any less. He still loves you a lot. So do me and Cadia (his 2 year old sister).” 

Then he smiled that sheepishly adorable cheek to cheek, ear to ear, smile and walked out of my room. 

I couldn’t even respond……I got face palmed by the Holy Spirit through my 4 year old…..

Tears began to flow and I just thanked my Daddy for never leaving or forsaking me. And for reminding me, I may not have won the crown, but I am an even better winner because of how I am raising my children…..

So today, look for God to speak to you even in the most unexpected ways. He did to me…through my 4 year old, all while His word laid wide open in my lap…but those weren’t what I needed to hear this morning. I needed to hear what He had my son speak….

Be reminded today, NOTHING we do, makes God love us any less. No great achievement, no failure or mistake….He still loves us unconditionally and is still jealous for us! Go and melt in His love today! Be blessed above all!

Blessings!

 

(my little 4 year old blessing Elijah)

 

 

Behind the scenes of Pageantry

I keep getting asked about my weekend competing in the Mrs. Michigan America pageant and I promised to fill everyone in, so I am finally getting some time to sit down and write part one of two posts I will be doing. This obviously is my first one. But it is a bit long so bear with me.

I want to give people an inside view to behind the scenes. What REALLY goes on…

This was my first pageant ever. In fact, I swore I’d never do a pageant, yet here I was, competing in one. There were a lot of good moments, great memories, amazing friendships made, but also unfortunately some very painful and bad parts for me which I will be sharing about in my second post…

This post if for all the women, and even men out there, who have ever wondered what it is really like to compete in a pageant, or better yet, who sit at home, comfortably on their rear ends, hiding behind their TV screen, and judging the contestants or the pageant systems, all while not even having a single clue what really goes on…

So here it is…

There is so much work behind the scenes. From staging, to lighting, to teleprompters for the emcees, and that’s just the beginning of the tech stuff. Then lets look at the actual contestants. You have HOURS of rehearsals, learning dance numbers, walking patterns, remembering cues. Walking in heels for hours upon hours, keeping your shoulders back, tummy sucked in, chin up, etc. Let’s just say its not as easy as it looks…

Not to mention during the actual live pageant, the MINUTES contestants have between sets to run, yes literally run high heels and all, to the dressing room to change outfits, hair, jewelry, shoes, and get back to their place back stage for the next set. Its crazy but honestly to me that part was super fun!

Don’t forget one of the most nerve-racking parts of all…no, not walking on stage in a swim suit, that honestly to me was a piece of cake! Instead, the private interview… 9 minutes, 5 judges, rapid fire unknown questions. It is super intense.

My hands were sweating, we were all in the dressing room freaking out, so super nervous about each of our interviews. This is pretty much the make it or break it part. Literally once it was over with, we all just relaxed and got ready for show time…

It isn’t about the makeup, hair, glitz, glam, swim suits, evening gowns. Beauty is more than skin deep. There is so much preparation involved. There is community service and bringing awareness to your platform. There is trying to really make a difference in your area and change it for the better. There are so many parts people don’t see from behind their TV screen. Yes people can make fun of Miss South Carolina for her onstage question answer “such as”, but guess what, don’t judge someone until you have been in their exact shoes.

Onstage question, you have no idea what question you will get, you have lights blaring into your eyes and shining in your face, you hear the question and literally have seconds to prepare a convincing answer…I understand why so many mess up at this point. It really is a tough part of the competition…

All that being said….after this weekend I see that many people on many different levels, not just the contestants, put in many hours of hard work to pull the actual pageant off. There a good times, bad times, ups and downs. But you just go with it. It is a total learning experience and a time for a person to truly grow. Will I do it again next year? That is totally in God’s hands…I am still coming down off an entire weekend’s worth of adrenaline 🙂

Overall I was blessed beyond measure for the opportunity and really made some amazing friends! As for the horrible parts…well stay tuned for that post to come in a few days…

As always, be blessed and above all else, realize beauty is more than skin deep, and don’t judge a book by its cover! There is truly so much beyond what the eye can see!

Blessings!!!

Mrs. Michigan America journey

Wow,

so yes it has been QUITE awhile since I have posted. I am so sorry to my followers! I am actually getting ready to compete next week for the title of Mrs. Michigan America. If I win, I go in August to compete for the title of Mrs. America. This journey has been so crazy but fun but also had many ups and downs! Through it all friends and family have supported me and loved me and encouraged me but most of all important, God has held my hand the entire way and guided each step! The pageant is March 29th! So please feel free to be praying for me that entire day!! My platform which I truly have a passion and desire for is anti-bullying. I really believe the Lord has called me to make a difference in my state and even nation towards the epidemic bullying has become! I want to teach people that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem…that there are so many other and better ways to deal with the problems of anxiety. At the same time I want to make people aware of why certain people bully others….it isn’t just children anymore, adults go through this as well! I have my own personal experiences with it which is why it is so near and dear to my heart!!

No one enters a pageant wanting to lose. Of course I would LOVE to win. But ultimate I want two things– 1. THE LORD’S will to be done above all else! I cling to a verse in one of my favorite worship songs “It would be my joy to say, your will, your way, always–I lay me down, Im not my own. I belong to you alone. Lay me down, Lay me down!”  2. That I can just be a shining light and testimony to EVERYONE I come in contact with next weekend. I want to be a joy, a radiant light, and just encourage everyone…..win or lose I will still be praising God and I will leave the experience knowing there was and is a reason for everything…this journey may just be the beginning of a much bigger one, but only God knows!!!! I promise to update everyone after next weekend!!!

With my platform I have also developed my own copyrighted logo and design as I am also working on a program to use when I travel and speak on the topic of bullying. View it below!!!! Make a choice today…. “Speak Up-Not Down”

Blessings!!!!

The One You Need

Recently I heard I song by Shane and Shane called “The One You Need” and it struck something deep inside me.

It’s a father singing to his daughter about his love for her, her life, and Jesus. He explains how much he loves her and wishes he could give her everything she needs. He explains that life will have some hard times. She may fall down and even scrape her knees, but no matter what she faces Jesus is the only one she needs…

That is so powerful. I look back at my life growing up.  I was raised in church and I knew the bible and right from wrong. However, my Dad wasn’t in my life as much as I wish he had been. Because of that I searched for acceptance and love most of my life. I learned to manipulate my way into getting what I wanted. I learned to lie to make myself feel better and happy. I tried the drug scene, the party scene, the promiscuous scene, and even the church scene…

Nothing could satisfy what I was truly longing for. Except someone could. Someone did.

Jesus…

He died on that cross with his arms wide open. Arms wide open with no judgment of my past mistakes or failures. No stipulations that I had to do in order to receive his love. He simply loved me for me. And he awaited me, arms open wide to realize that he was all I needed and run into his loving embrace. Eventually after getting pregnant at 20, Jesus came to my rescue and truly embraced the love he had for me and finally found my identity and acceptance in him and not in worldly things or other people…

Oh how I wish it hadn’t taken almost 20 years for me to suffer and come to terms with this. Life would have been so different…

Whether you are a mom or dad reading this, I ask you, do your children know that Jesus is all they need? Or do they think they need to please you, satisfy you, and make you proud? Do they think that their identity is in what they do or who they are instead of who they want to become and who they are following?

This is the most precious and important time in their lives. Teach your daughters and sons that Jesus is ALL they need, no matter what. That sometimes even we as parents will fail them but he never will! Imagine how much pain and suffering we can possibly save them from having to endure if they start with this knowledge as a toddler.

No matter how old your children are it is never too late to teach them this simple fact. It is a life changing fact.

I pray today for all parents out there that they are striving to raise their children to know Jesus is all they need in life and that success and acceptance are not what makes them who they are. I pray today you make your children know, no matter their age, that nothing they could do or say can make you love them any more or any less. That your one desire for their life is to see them seek after God with all their heart, mind, and soul!

Blessings to you all!

 

–I’ve included the YouTube link to the song below 🙂 Enjoy…

Teach me Daddy

Last night after we went to dinner and were heading to the grocery store, my four year old had yet another profound moment. He has such a special and unique bond with his Daddy. It’s one like I have never seen before and it is so special for me to see, because my husband adopted him when he was barely 6 months old. Elijah from the back seat said

“Daddy can you teach me to follow God and the Holy Spirit like you do?”

 

My husband and I both looked at each other astounded. 4 years old, and because he watched everything his daddy does and says this is what he wanted to learn.

My husband replied, “Yes of course I can buddy.” To which Elijah said, “Good can you teach me when we get home?” ……He literally wanted to learn the minute we got home.

 

So when we got home we proceeded to sit down and talk to him about how it is not something we can teach overnight. It is something you are taught daily and continue learning about through out life.

 

This of course got me thinking…

 

How often do we as believers say out loud “Daddy can you teach me to follow you?”

Maybe not often enough…

 

Jesus throughout the New Testament is referred to as our teacher, as is the Holy Spirit. God is our father. He gave us the bible, HIS word, to teach us.  It is our guide, our handbook, to living life and how to follow Him. Yet do we get into it enough?

 

My son watches everything we say and do. He hears us pray as a family, my husband and I pray as a couple, sees us pray over people. He sees us get up early and spend time in the word and having quiet time with the Lord. To him, this is us following God, and he wanted nothing more than to be taught how to do it…

 

Oh if only we had child like innocence and faith like this…

To run open arms, excitedly, to our Papa God and say “Daddy please teach me to follow you right now!”

 

I’m not saying we’re the perfect family, parents, or believers by any means…my son knows that. He sees us make mistakes but he also sees and hears us pray and ask forgiveness…

 

So today, have you stopped and asked God to teach you? It doesn’t mean you have to run and open your bible, or spend hours in prayer. Maybe God just wants you to simply ask and then just spend time in His Presence. You don’t know until you ask. But I know personally I want to wake up every morning and enthusiastically run to my Papa God and ask him to teach me daily!

 

Blessings!

A father and son’s bond

 

Hearing Aids

I don’t know about you other moms out there but sometimes my kids literally say the funniest yet most profound things. Recently my four year old had discussion with me that I haven’t been able to shake out of my head. He as most boys is into the kid spy movies, and after watching one where the boy spy had a hearing aid he could use as a spy gadget, he came to me with these questions. The conversation went as follows:

Elijah: “Mommy when I get older can you buy me some hearing aids.”

Me:…after laughing….”Why in the world would you need hearing aids?”

Elijah: “Well because sometimes when people talk really loud it annoys me.”

Me: “Well hearing aids are for people who having trouble hearing. You hear just fine.”

Elijah: “Yes, but can’t you turn them off so when people are talking you don’t have to listen anymore?”

…..I was literally left speechless. He had already grasped a concept so many of us in today’s society fail to get.

It made me think spiritually about hearing aids….we don’t have an actual hearing aid on our ear. But the holy spirit inside us acts as a hearing aid. How many people in today’s society quite often turn off the hearing aid because they don’t like what they are hearing? 

You pray and ask God for an answer or guidance and direction. He responds. You don’t like what His response is, so you promptly “turn off your hearing aid”, and try to do things your own way…..how does that work out for you?

I thought about myself in this perspective recently. How many blessings can we daily miss if we turn off our spiritual hearing aids? While studying about tithing I recently came across a verse that has blown my mind.

Malachi 3:10 states “Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” ESV

I mean WOW! God literally says He wants to open the heavens and pour so much blessing over us that we won’t have a need for it anymore….like literally think about your cup overflowing so much you need a bigger cup!

I don’t know about you but that verse alone, along with so many other that describe God’s plan for my life make me want to every morning when I wake up, make sure my “spiritual hearing aid” is a-fully turned up, b-is fully working. I do this by waking up every morning and getting in the word and spending quiet time with the Lord. I don’t want to miss a single blessing the Lord has for me, and I totally want so much blessing raining down in my life that my cup is overflowing……

So today, I ask you…is your hearing aid turned all the way up and tuned in, or have you recently turned it off? If you’re the latter, maybe it’s time to tune back into God and turn it back on. Don’t miss out my dear friends on what the Lord has for you simply because what you hear sometimes “annoys you” or you don’t like or agree with it. He knows our plans and he declares in His word that those are “plans of hope and to prosper us” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Blessings All!!!