Proud Mommy

I fell in love with my daughter the second I found out I was pregnant. I have enjoyed watching her grow from infant to toddler to now a mature little four year old young lady. I find myself being more and more proud of her each day, I hear from parents of older children that it only gets better, I look forward to it.

My daughter decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love last winter when her Daddy explained that I donated my hair to the same cause after we were married. She expressed her desire to donate her hair so we ventured down the road of long knotty hair which included many impatient moments from Mommy, Daddy and Abigail as we used the dreadful hairbrush! Bless her heart, it was tough to brush her hair after bath time when it was wet but brushing it when it was dry after a long day at daycare was nearly impossible. Let's just say it was not her favorite thing to do! She wanted to cut her hair all summer but she remained patient until we arrived at the projected ten inches needed for Locks of Love. We made that long awaited trip to the hair salon last week where the famous Mrs. Wendy who has special lollipops cut Abigail's pretty blonde hair ten inches shorter and right in front of our eyes Abigail transformed from a child to a young lady - with the cutest new do I might add! She was so excited, thrilled might be a better word! I don't know if it was the cute cut or the sugar from the candy she was eating but she was a happy little girl.

This is one of the many things that impresses me about my daughter. Her willingness and desire to share with someone in need melts my heart. I am thankful for the caring spirit God blessed my Abigail with and know He's going to use it for His glory.

Check this link out if you would like to donate your hair to a great cause...

http://www.locksoflove.org/

He Spoke

My girlfriend emailed and said she checked out my blog today and didn't see any new post... SO here's a new one... (LOVE YOU MONIKA!)

It's been a month and a half since She Speaks and I am just getting back to writing about it. Why are we so busy people?!?! Honestly, it's taken me this long to process it. I'm sure I'm not the only one that returned from that amazing weekend in awe of God's presence then walked smack dab back into the world. BUT God keeps reminding me that I need to put my thoughts on paper (so to speak)... So here it goes...

I've already shared my message from She Speaks in my earlier post, as a side note I'd like to say thanks to those that gave me feed back at She Speaks and those that posted comments. Feedback is so important, right Lynn??? Now let me share some of the neat things God did while I was at She Speaks. (I'd love for any of you readers to post a comment about some of your experiences at She Speaks if you were there or have been in the past).

I was paired up thanks to Amy Carroll with such a neat roommate that I'd never met before She Speaks but we hit it off perfectly. The first night I was there I met a neighbor from Stantonsburg, NC who became dear to my heart almost instantly. God introduced me to some of the most special women, it constantly blew my mind. I started off the weekend by participating in the early bird women's ministry session which I thoroughly enjoyed, God confirmed His call on my life to minister to women during this session. Throughout the rest of She Speaks I attended informative, encouraging, motivating and, at times, totally hysterical and emotional sessions with amazing P31 women. Lysa TerKurst shared some of the most touching details from her life, she encouraged me to let the walls down and share my heart with the audience. Micca Campbell absolutely cracked me up during her teaching, she knows how to captivate an audience that's for sure!!! I not only learned how to tell a story but also learned what colors look best on me and great stylish tips. Shari Braendel had me rolling when she lead What Not to Wear!!!

I participated in a speaker evaluation group with Lynn Cowell, a P31 speaker. It was such a great experience, nerve wracking but great! I had a migraine when I gave my testimony, sneaky attack from the enemy, but I don't think it was a train wreck, just not my best. I felt great about my speech I presented the second night. I received tones of positive feedback along with some helpful tips. I appreciate my group and Lynn so very much!

I cannot close without sharing how the Holy Spirit worked through She Speaks. Us gals were introduced to each other for a reason, no question. I have been lifted up by so many sisters I met only for a weekend, we continue to stay in touch and love one another from afar. She Speaks is way more then a conference to learn, it is a weekend of worship and a special time to meet with the Holy Spirit! The P31 Team prepared a prayer room which was amazing, they had many names of God spread throughout the room, all of our names were prayerfully placed on a name of God, mine was on Jehovah Shalom - The Lord is Peace. The scriptures listed with it were Numbers 6:22-27, Judges 6:22-24, Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 13:20, it also stated "God defeats our enemies to bring us peace. Jesus is our prince of peace. God brings inner peace and harmony". Every woman I spoke with about this felt their name was placed exactly where it should be, I felt the same way about mine. During the closing session of She Speaks, we were asked to come up and pick a scripture at the cross. (This part really blew my mind.) I chose Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. This is almost exactly like what I believe is my theme verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Confirmation is SUCH A BLESSING! One of my speaker eval group partners was sitting beside me, she said her scripture was just like the one she'd spoken on earlier in the weekend. Another friend said she walked in the closing session overwhelmed with information from the weekend, then she picked her scripture that was on rest and her burden was lifted. I'm so sure every woman in that room picked the scripture placed there specifically for them!

I could go on and on about She Speaks but I'd like to close with a prayer...

Lord, I love you so much! She Speaks was such an amazing experience, thank You for providing the means for me to attend. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit Lord! Thank You for all of the P31 team and their hard work and love for You. Lord You are amazing, I am still in awe of Your presence during She Speaks. I ask a special blessing and protection over all the women that attended, please help them as they are preparing or in the midst of speaking, writing, ministering Your Name! Protect those that are in harms way when they talk about You Lord. Thank You for all my new sisters Lord! In Jesus Name ~ AMEN!

She Speaks

Ok, so I was so filled up at She Speaks that I am just now getting to a place that I can put it all into words. I'm going to start today by sharing the message I shared with my evaluation group (a big thank you to all my She Speaks sisters, I appreciated your honesty and love). So here's the message God placed on my heart to share at She Speaks and with you...

We are forgiven even when we don't wear our listening ears

Do you wear your listening ears? Do you hear God’s voice, do you take time to hear His call? Big questions, huh? Let me share with you a moment that reminded me to tighten MY listening ears, God truly does speak to us in some colorful ways!

Recently I was taking a shower & shaving my legs (which ONLY happens on the weekend so it's a BIG DEAL). My sweet 4 year old daughter came in the bathroom and said "whatcha doing mommy?". My first thought was, duh - what does it look like but instead of sarcasm I went with "taking a shower baby (in my sweet mommy voice) don't open the curtain". Ok, what do you think happened next? SHE OPENED THE CURTAIN! Side note, I do not like it when my daughter and/or husband open the shower curtain while I’m shaving because I immediately get chill pumps, then I have razor burn... ladies, you know the drill. I know it's silly but it’s a pet peeve of mine… Anyway, as soon as my daughter opened the curtain I turned into mean mommy and yelled “do you listen, where are your listening ears”, she said “I don’t know but I’m getting out of here!". I felt so bad about yelling at her, it broke my heart but she was pretty much right back to business as usual. I asked her to forgive me when I got out of the shower and she did as she always does. If only we could all be as forgiving as my sweet 4 year old!

A few days later I was still thinking about this and how badly I felt about biting my sweet girl's head off. I started thinking of new and improved mommy of the year responses. Then it dawned on me, God must want to yell at His children (ME) all the time too, I'm sure He's constantly thinking ARE YOU LISTENING, WHERE ARE YOUR LISTENING EARS?

God reminded me that He loves us even when we don't wear our listening ears. He doesn’t yell at us, instead He forgives us and with a Fatherly voice reminds us how we should listen to His desire for our life, He reminds us of His plan and how perfect it is. God's response is the correct response, mine was not!

Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God sent His one and only Son to die for us knowing we would not wear our listening ears, Jesus has already paid the price for our lack of listening. What an amazing love He has for us! His love is never ending, it’s forgiving, it’s merciful, it’s full of grace EVEN when we don’t wear our listening ears.

I found the definition of Grace online at www.freedictionary.com which states that grace is the “Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people, the state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God” – how awesome is it that we are PROTECTED/FORGIVEN by the blood of Jesus... which He gave FREELY even though we are not good listeners!

SO my challenge to you is to TIGHTEN YOUR LISTENING EARS (as I tell my daughter)!

Psalm 81:8 says "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you—
if you would but listen to me, O Israel!
10 says “ I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”

HE wants to fill our desires, He wants to bless us!!!
Listen to His call, hear His desire for your life, it’ll be much better than anything you come up with on your own! After all, we don't want to miss out on a blessing He has in store for us!


I'm planning to share everything God placed on my heart during She Speaks in a future post. I will say this, He taught me so much, He started a healing in me, He introduced me to many new sisters who love Him just as much as I do, He did a great work during She Speaks. He truly is AWESOME!

NOW wear those listening ears!

Heartfelt scripture and my life verse: JEREMIAH 29:11

ALL SMILES...

I am all smiles today friends... I am excited about so many different things, She Speaks ESPECIALLY, visiting w/ close friends, alone time & connecting w/ God, so many awesome things are running through my mind right now. I'm leaving in a few hours to make my way to Charlotte, NC. I CANNOT wait to see what God has in store for the 600 women attending the She Speaks conference, what am I saying... I'm ALREADY feeling His presence! He is so good! I am dying to share my speech w/ you but I won't go there just yet as I need to save it up & see what God's going to do w/ it Saturday night.

I will share my scripture though, we all need some of HIS WORD- Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"... yes He did friends, Christ died for us w/ NO STRINGS ATTACHED!

I want to encourage you today to hear His call, His voice. Don't miss a blessing today friends! Ok, I'm not sure where I was going w/ this blog posting... I'm pretty much just shouting JOY & happiness! That's what this post is about, JOY in JESUS!

Happy days!

Today's heartfelt scripture is above

Quick Post...

I feel led to add a quick post today about how thrilled I am to be meeting so many new sisters through She Speaks. I can't even explain how much I'm witnessing God's presence right now! To all my new friends, you have already been a blessing to me, can't wait to meet you in person!

GOD IS AWESOME!

Today's heartfelt scripture...
1 Samuel 18:1-4
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

This makes me think of my husband, he & a friend went to CIY w/ the teens from church a few years back & became each other's "Jonathan". It was really cool to see that connection occur! Friends are so important, God certainly has a plan when He connects each of us, even if it for a season.

Blessings to all this weekend!

Sunshine

I was uplifted this morning as I drove to work w/ my daughter... we discussed what we are thankful for as the sun's rays peaked through the fog. It was beautiful, mornings like that are priceless!

Today's heartfelt scripture... Genesis 1: 1-5

The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.


God never ceases to amaze me, even over small things like my drive to work...

Excited

Listen, I am still trying to understand this blogging thing... As you can tell, I haven't kept up w/ it BUT as I prepare for She Speaks, I am encouraged to get into it & really understand how all this works. At the very least I'll put a post up now & again.

I have been disconnected from my Heavenly Father recently, which is nobody's fault but my own. (I'm very aware of that b/c He is ALWAYS available!) BUT I am very encrouraged this morning... As I prepare for this conference, I am filled w/ so much joy & excitement, I can hardly stand it. I am hopeful for speaking opportunities once I complete She Speaks but more than anything I am excited about seeing God work during this time of preparation & through the duration of the conference. I am already witnessing His work & His ALMIGHTY power through emails, blogs, etc... seeing/hearing from others as to how they are preparing & how God is preparing them is so neat. It has truly encouraged me today!

It's on my heart today to share that if we truly let His work flow it will be perfect. I see that not only is this situation w/ the conference but in all situations, if I would just put me aside & focus on Him everything would go much more smoothly! Why am I such a ding dong sometimes, often times, when I allow me to stop His plan from flowing?!?! Jeremiah 29:11 - My FAVORITE!!!

My brother is an addict to many things, pain killers, alcohol, who knows what else. He recenlty completed a 6 month Christian rehab program. My family was informed yesterday that he had "fallen off the wagon" & what did I do, jumped to conclusions & got all worked up... what should I have done, gotten down on my knees immediately & lifted my bro up!!! God told me in the midst of my rant that if I would be quiet & listen I might actually hear His voice. So I did & He made it very clear to me that He revealed Himself to my bro during rehab & He can - WILL - do it again! Oh praise God! I am more encouraged today, even after hearing that news about my bro. He does know the Lord & God can pick Him right back up.

I'm shutting the door to the enemy today, won't you join me?!?!

Today's heartfelt scripture... Romans 15:13