Perfection

  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,

 I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

 when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book 

before one of the came to be.~Psalm 139:13-16

"I'm such a failure as a parent. There are some days when I get so busy with life that I look at my children and can't even remember when was the last time they had a bath let alone let them know how much I love them."   "Look at her on the cover of the magazine.  She has 3 kids, is way skinnier than I am, has a big successful career, and the perfect husband.  I'm a huge failure at life"  "June Cleaver I certainly am not!  I have a hard time getting myself dressed on time in the morning let alone get dinner on the table at a reasonable time."  "There must be something wrong with me.  Most of my friends are already married with kids.  I'm unlovable"  "Look at their house.  My house is so much smaller and not as pretty"

How many of us have uttered these words or other words that are like these?  I know I have many times fallen into the trap that society today sets for us as women.  We are daily bombarded with images, commercials, bilboards, talk shows, books, etc. all filled with the message that we are supposed to be "perfect".  Perfection according to society says that we are to be married by a certain age, have kids by a certain age, be super models, dress ourselves and our kids in the finest clothes, keep the cleanest most organized house, have warm nutritious meals prepared every night, have children who are well behaved and rounded, be the mom who always volunteers in her child's classroom, meet all the needs of our "perfect" husbands, and all the while maintaining a super fulfilling and successful career.  How many times have we marveled at the woman who seems to "have it all"?  It's no wonder why so many of us walk around feeling defeated and less than worthy.  What we so often fail to recognize is that when we feel like we're not "measuring up" we are using society's yardstick.  Go back and read the verse on the top again.  Ahhh what a breath of fresh air!!  Before we were even thought of by our parents, God thought of us.  He knit us together so perfectly in His image.  We walk around daily with character of God within us.  He knows everything about us(the good, bad,and the ugly) and yet He will always look upon us in love.  We need to look at ourselves with the same grace and love that God looks upon us with when we start to feel defeated.  God had a plan for our lives before we even came to be and that plan might not look like anything the world is used to seeing.  And that's perfectly ok.  God has blessed you with exactly what you need to fulfill His purpose in your life.  What are you doing with those blessings?  If you are really struggling with an issue, pray about it and ask God to reveal to you where you may have room for improvement.  If you are simply looking at yourself in society's eyes, stop and remember Who is inside of you at all times and in Whose image you are made.  Why do we so often embrace what the world tells us about who we are and forget to listen to what God says about us?  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  All of His works are wonderful.  We are perfect in His eyes.  Be encouraged today and take heart in the fact that you are not "perfect" according to society!

Giving Life

Hello to you all!  I know it's been a while since I last posted anything and I apologize.  I hope that this finds everyone well.  It was so nice to see everyone who attended our last meeting!  I know I'm so super excited to see what the Lord has in store for our awesome group of women! 

I've recently started reading an e-book called 31 Days to Clean:Having a Martha House the Mary Way.  (If you are interested in the book and the 31 day challenge check out the website http://www.31daystoclean.com/ )  There is a chapter in the book where the author, Sarah Mae, talks about women being life-givers.  She writes that "life-giving, in its most basic sense, is raising life above the level of mere existence.  We give life phsically and spiritually in many forms.  We also give life intellectually, socially, and artistically.  We as women have been blessed with the very nature of life-giving!  At it's core, life-giving is all about love- loving others with what God has given us."  The challenge at the end of the chapter is to look around your domain and think of ways to make it come alive and to think of ways you can bring life to your home, children, husband, and your sphere of influence.  I thought that would be a great challenge for anyone to take on.  Imagine how you could influence the people around you (family, co workers, the lady behind the register, the person you pass by on the street) if you made an effort to do  something to give life to them.  An encouraging word, a friendly smile, a hug, a random act of kindness, etc.  I have chosen to take this challenge on.  There are some days when I lay down in bed and wonder if I had done enough to reassure my children of my love for them or if they know how proud of them I am.  I think in our day to day it's easy to get caught up in routines and forget to do the small things that let people know that there is someone who cares for and loves them.  I am going to make an effort to give life to the people around me daily.  In doing so we are loving people and showing them the amazing and unconditional love of God.  In the end I think we all benefit!