Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

becoming the woman god wants me to be

over the past year or so, through everything i’ve been through, i’ve had one goal on my mind and set in my heart…becoming the woman God wants me to be.  becoming the wife, mother, daughter and friend that He wants me to be.  
it’s been a spiritual, emotional, physical and mental journey but through it all, i kept my heart open and allowed God to work on it.  it’s not always been easy and a lot of times it was ouchie when God would reveal something in me that needed tended to.  one thing that God has revealed is really a hard one for me (and so many of us), how i see myself when i look in the mirror.
Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
Psalm 119:73
when i would look in the mirror, i would see a girl with a stomach that looked like a road map with scars on top of scars from surgeries.  i would see a nose that was much too big from being broken time after time.  i would see skin that is discolored.  i could go on and on naming every single flaw i had.
have you been there?  i think we all have.
i knew that God loved me.  i knew i was created in His image.  so what in the world is my problem?  He quickly revealed it.  i was holding onto things in my heart that were ugly and really needed let go of.    as i allowed Him to wipe away the shame, embarrassment and unworthiness He soon replaced them with beauty, self-worth and pride.  
He replaced every lie the world had whispered to me and replaced it with His truth.  
we are all made in Gods image.  every single one of us.  do you know what that means?  i am beautiful, so are YOU, because we are daughters of the King and we were made in His image. take a moment and let that sink in.  embrace it.  tuck it away securely in your heart.  you are perfectly perfect and what He wants you to be.
a precious gem’s beauty isn’t always recognized until it enters the hand of a skilled jeweler who knows just how to clean and cut the gem in the way that will best reflect the light that shines on it.  our Father, the one who loves us the absolute most, holds us in His hands.  we are His and He is ours.  we can walk through this world with heads and hearts held high as daughters of the King. daughters who are messy and broken. with Him, we are transformed into beautiful simply because we are His.

true beauty is found on the inside.  when we allow Him to guide us, mold us, to cleanse our hearts of anything that doesn’t please Him…when we do all that, it’s reflected on the outside.  we are beautiful on the inside and outside when we acknowledge Christ’s deep and abiding love for us.  love that doesn’t change with our accomplishments or appearance.  He loves me in spite of my scars, booty, nose, bags under my eyes and droopy eyelids.  His love is always, always, forever there…accepting us exactly for who we are. 
Was when He ran to me, He took me in His arms 
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again” 
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes 
With forgiveness in His voice He said,
“Son do you know I still love you?” 
He caught me by surprise when God ran

out for now
~kisses

i’m not perfect, i’m forgiven

yes, i’m a Christian
yes, i can be the biggest hypocrite ever
i backslide
i stumble
i fall
i stray onto the wrong path
i’m not perfect
it doesn’t mean i love Him any less
but, thankfully, God is working in me
and He knows my heart
i may be a mess, but i’m His mess
and He is slowly straightening me out
He has a plan for my life
and the day will come when i will be by His side
His work in me completed
and until that day i will take His hand
and let Him do in me whatever needs to be done each day
no matter how painful it will be for me
when He is finished, it will all be worth it
because I am saved by His amazing Grace
i am forgiven
He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

out for now

~kisses

to text or not to text

this is a post i made a while back of a subject that is a bit risky to touch on and that might cause controversy.  i really really feel the need to post this again after what i saw during this mornings sermon.

i’m not here to judge. i’m far from perfect myself and sure need lots of reminding from the Lord as to how my walk should be going. but thankfully His grace is new every morning 🙂 i just hope to maybe give a little honesty and hopefully open your heart to God’s direction.

with that said, on to the issue…

i have one question…if it’s rude to text when someone is talking to you, why isn’t it rude to text when God is talking to you?

it’s not an issue of pleasing God by your posture, clothing or attention span. its not even an issue of the context of your text. it’s an issue of reverence.

basically, it’s rude and so very disrespectful. not only to everyone around you, to the Pastor but it’s also rude to God. what are you communicating when you send a text message during church? really, you’re saying that there is something you need to tell someone and that it is more important that what God is trying to tell you.

can you imagine if abraham lincoln was standing in front of you, and he was telling you how he wrote the gettysburg address…would you say “hey abe, hold on just sec till i send this text”? no? they why would you ever do it to God?

here is the big issue i have with it. i have teenagers, two of them. at this point their lives basically revolve around social media, texting and staying constantly connecting to their friends. but one thing i’ve always stressed, cell phones do not go to church with you. and if you do happen to take it with you, it certainly never ever gets turned on during church. this is one rule in my household that i refuse to bend on. so what type of example are you setting to not only my children, but all of the other children around you while you are texting during the sermon? not to mention how distracting it is for others around you.

before i started writing this post, i did some research around the internet about it.  i found articles on how to hide your texting during church, tweeting during the sermon, the benefits of texting during church and that some churches even encourage it.  i was shocked and saddened that we can’t seem to tear ourselves away from social media and technology long enough to give God fully, and without interruption, an hour of our week. 

from the time  you enter the doors at church, God is present for you.  He is pointing you, guiding you, and getting you ready for Him and His word.  all i ask is when you walk through those doors, you turn your phone off and give God the opportunity to talk to your entire heart.  give Him that time fully and don’t make Him feel like He needs to compete for your attention.
out for now
~kisses