Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

kindness matters {especially to your littles}

oh kindness, so powerful yet so underused. in today’s society, it’s so easy to come in contact with someone who is unkind. the person at the mall you hold the door open for, who walks right past you without saying thank you. the person you accidentally pulled out in front of who gives you an unkind gesture. and at Christmas time, what should be the most loving time of the year, people completely lose all sense of kindness.

kindness is honestly one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. as Christians, kindness is something He expects from us. it allows Christ’s love to shine through us. He doesn’t want us to be unkind, we are to be different.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

as parents, kindness is so so super important. kindness is basically love in action. and one of the greatest expressions of genuine love is showing kindness to our children. it’s easy to think that because we are the parents, because we are so much more mature and have sacrificed so much for them, we can treat them however we want. but love reminds us that our sacrifices certainly don’t give us a license to be uncaring or harsh.

your littles are more sensitive to you than anyone else on earth. when you treat them unkindly, resist them or ignore them they will likely struggle inside and not respond well to you. but when you create an environment of tender love and kindness, they become more open to sharing their heart with you and listening to the words you say and the lessons you share.

we need to learn to be gentle, sensitive and tenderhearted. when we start being tenderhearted, it’s easy to be kind. having a heart that is easily touched and sensitive doesn’t mean your weak, although that’s what the world would say. if we are sensitive to those around us, we start seeing their needs instead of our own. have a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate attitude and let it shine for everyone to see.

Do to others as you would have them do to you
Luke 6:31

love leads you to look for opportunities to show kindness to your littles. this doesn’t mean doing everything
for them. it doesn’t mean buying them everything under the sun.  it just means loving them, isn’t that easy?  when they talk, listen.  when they cry, hug them.  when they laugh, laugh with them.  when they have a bad day, cook them their fav meal.  when they make a mistake, love them.  when you’re shopping, buy them a treat.  let them pick a show to watch, a game to play or a song to listen to.   

kindness is also finding a balance between loving them well and teaching them to love others. part of them becoming an effective adult is learning as a child to have a servants heart (aka…kindness in action). that’s a heart they should see reflected in us as parents.  if they watch us being kind to others, they will reflect that as adults. acts of kindness don’t have to be be huge, expensive, flashy ordeals. smile at someone, hold the door for them, give them the 30 cents they are searching for to pay for their McDonald’s order, help them carry their bags to the car, hug them when you can see they need one, take time to talk to them and pray with them and for them.


you can change lives with your actions. you can change lives by your words.  you can change lives with your kindness. you can change lives by allowing Christ’s love to shine through you. you might be the one voice in their life at the moment that they need to hear. your encouragement might be the one thing that keeps them going. maybe you are the one who is to help them see Jesus.

your actions, words, prayers and love matter. your kindness matters.  in your home and outside of it.  it matters to those who receive it and it matters to Him. you might not be able to help everyone, but you can help someone.

this little blog…

just some info about this fav, super special little bloggie of mine…

i started this little blog in 2006 (wow, it’s been 7 years). it was started as an outlet, a way to share my scrapbook pages and a way to keep in touch with family.  but then something happened.  as time went on, more and more people started reading.

a few months back, i glanced at my site meter.  i saw something that was beyond anything i could have imagined.  i have readers from russia, canada, china, united kingdom, germany, philippines, france and malaysia.  and i realized, in that moment, that this blog was my Ministry.  God has done something i never, in a million years, would have imagined this country girl from a tiny town in central pennsylvania doing.  i have actually “went into the world” from my living room.

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Mark 16:15

every day i write blog posts to inspire others and make them smile; to share hope, grace and truth; to share my own mistakes and sins; to share my heart; and to share Jesus and His amazing love with others around the world.

i absolutely want my blog to be a happy, positive place.  a place where you know, even on your worst day, you can leave it with a smile on your face and feel refreshed.  a place where the heart of Jesus shines through.

my blog is not a place to gossip, air my dirty laundry or share all my secrets with the world.  and it really hurts my heart that some might see my Ministry as that.  it’s not here to promote drama of any type.  if you have a question about something you read here, i would absolutely love to answer it and talk to you about it.  but please, don’t question others about it.  

Love, Respect and Godly Submission {Gods Design}

hey y’all!  thanks for joining me for our september bible study on Godly submission!  i’m so excited about this!  it’s something God has really been nudging my heart about lately.

submission is a word that holds many definitions among the world.  offensive, not acceptable, inferior, controlling and not politically correct are among the few.  but yet, it’s something we, as Christian wives, are called to do.      

first,  let me share my story…

as a woman who spent her entire life striving to be viewed as strong and independent, the thought of being submissive to anyone, let alone my husband, scared me to death. and i have to say, at first it made me angry. so angry that i completely rebelled against it and refused it. yep, i was a child rebelling against what my Father had not only told, but commanded me to do.

are you serious Jesus? um, hello…i’m amy…the girl that took the words “honor and obey” out of her vows for a reason! and now you want me to be submissive to my husband? seriously?   (on a quick side note, completely embarrassed and mortified that i actually took that out of my vows.  what in the world was my 20 year old mind thinking?)

and He answered loud and clear…”YEP”

wow, okay…deep breaths, i can do this…

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Ephesians 5:22-24 22 

definition of submission  the word SUBMIT, according to Strong’s Lexicon is the Greek word hupotaso  which was originally a Greek military term meaning “to arrange troop divisions under the command of a leader”. in non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, of cooperating, of sharing a burden. in other words, when the word submit is used in the Bible, it refers not only to a yielding and obedient attitude of the heart, but also, and equally importantly, to an attitude of co-operation and support. without co-operation and support, things just don’t work they way they should.

what is submission?  submission is the acceptance of God’s order for our lives. as wives, we are to submit to Christ and submit to our husbands.  submission by a wife is to be voluntary.  it’s part of our obedience to the Lord.  there aren’t conditions to this submission either.  we are called to submit to our husbands, even if we feel they don’t deserve it.  we are to trust in their leadership, even if we don’t agree with it and submit to them even if we feel they aren’t meeting their roles.

Christian marriage is intended to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His church.  let me say that again, because it blew my mind when i first learned it.  our marriage was designed specifically to mirror our relationship between Christ and His church.  we are acting out a living parable where husbands represent Christ and wives represent the church to bring glory to God and to help our children and others around us grasp what God is like in a more concrete way. does that change the way you look at marriage? it sure did with me. God intended marriage to mirror His relationship with the church so that we could basically be a testimony to others and SHOW them what God is like.

a marriage with Godly submission should be a faithful, intimate and loving relationship.  boy, doesn’t that sound like a far cry from what the world tells us submission is?
  so it turns out submission isn’t a sign of weakness, like this silly girl thought all along, it’s a sign of respect! and of course i want to honor and respect my husband, i love him.

what submission is not   submission is not abusive.  God does not want women to be submissive to abusers.  as wives, we have to be confident of our husbands goodwill.  remember, the command to wives to submit to their husbands is followed by the command to husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her (Ephesians 5:25). in cases of abuse, there is a mighty need for an intervention and Godly counsel.  if you are in an abusive relationship, i would urge you to reach out to focus ministries.  it’s a Biblical based non-profit organization that offers counseling by phone, email, or in person. they want you to know you aren’t alone and you are oh so valuable to God!!!

submission also shouldn’t be used for leverage.  submission absolutely comes with no strings attached.  it is a heart desire to please God and do what is best for your family.  i mean really, what wife doesn’t want to live in peace?  don’t we all desire that?  there is such an inner peace that comes from living in harmony with our husbands while obeying God.

as women, we are quite good at knowing how to manipulate our husbands to get them to do what we want.  oh come on girls, we all know we’ve done it at one time or another.  that is definitly not subission.  and it’s something we should never, ever do.

Chuck Swindoll said this about submission:

Webster says that manipulation means “to control or play upon by unfair or insidious means, especially to one’s own advantage or to serve one’s own purpose.” In other words, secret manipulation is an unfair, insidious technique that results in getting what one wants. When handled cleverly, a wife can substitute secret manipulation for a quiet, submissive spirit.

why is submission so hard?  and why is this so hard for me?  it’s from a lack of surrender.  because i am, by nature, a controller.  that controlling nature is nothing more than pride and sin bubbling to the surface.  and the thoughts of not having control over a situation scares-me-to-death. but i believe God’s advice and His will to be the best for my life. even if I don’t fully understand it, i trust Him. with that being said, i somehow had to figure it out because i don’t want to live my life is disobedience. so i asked God to teach me what it means.

often we wives are afraid of losing control (and by “we wives” i really mean this wife right here) and WE get in the way of creating the marriages we ache for. you know, the one where we have a strong, confident, Godly man, who loves us like Christ loves the church. i know this girl certainly wants that type of marriage.

so this week, be an asset to your husband and try your best to learn what submission looks like in a Godly marriage. don’t forget to stop back next friday as we take a look at the beauty of submission. remember, keep your eyes on Him!

out for now
~kisses