Your Failures do not define you! You are Beloved.

Guido Reni

"I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

When God looks at us, his children, us who are fearfully and wonderfully made, He cherishes us as we are, His very own beloved children. If we could picture Him holding us thus, and looking tenderly at us, how differently we would feel in life. We would not worry what others thought. We would understand our great worth. We would treat others with more grace and acceptance for what we had received in our hearts.

When I gave away the 30 "You are Loved" books a couple of weeks ago, there were hundreds of comments. Most comments told of how much many of you feel inadequate on a daily basis, feel guilty for not doing enough, carry baggage from your past. Perhaps if Satan wanted to destroy one thing in our lives, it would be to cause us to doubt  divine, unconditional, "everlasting" love that truly reflects the true nature of God.

From Genesis to Revelation, He is there creating beauty for us, providing for us, teaching us, dying for us, preparing a new home for us--ever the lover, ever the compassionate Father.

I have receive thousands of letters each year and I notice  how many sweet ones there are who truly want to do the best and be the best for their children. But in light of all the burden of performance I see that so many of us carry, I just felt I wanted to tell you how very precious you are and how much your own personal life matters.

I awakened this morning with you on my heart.

I know there must be many precious moms out there who are reading these articles and are feeling inadequate or guilty or condemned--or just worn out!  I have been praying for you all morning.

Motherhood is very precious to the Lord. As a matter of fact, the more I mothered, the more I came to understand Him, His love, His sacrifice, His forgiveness, His patience. Motherhood is not an easy journey. I kept feeling that I needed to have more children so I could do it right at least once!

And yet motherhood is a long journey, a hard and challenging journey, that will require much endurance with grace, much forgiveness, much patience and just a whole lot of energy expended. So many women have written me lately saying that they are finding the teen years sooooo hard and that they are worn out--both homeschooling moms and non-homeschooling moms find these years to be the place where they hit the wall and think they cannot hold up ideals any longer--their kids and life have worn them out--and still they have to try to keep going.

I so understand this feeling. Many times I felt like quitting or giving up or just wanted to run away, but somehow by God's grace, He kept me going towards my ideals one more day, one more child at a time.

You need to know, you are truly important to God in the midst of it all. He sees you and cares for your dreams and desires. And so I wanted to write this little post just for you.

When I had my first baby, I had never even changed a diaper. I did not know how to hold a baby. I was unprepared for the task. I also did not know how selfish and self-absorbed I was. And I have to admit that over the years, there were many times when I did not feel loving or feel like a good mother or even feel like I wanted to *be* a mother. I was always committed to my children and always committed to loving them, because I knew God wanted me to. But I did not always like them or feel like doing the right thing, and sometimes that made me feel guilty.

I just put one foot in front of the other because I thought that is what God wanted me to do.

So if you feel that you are not a "natural" mother, or you enjoy doing things outside your home, or you have other ambitions, please do not condemn yourself. I felt all of those feelings and had to learn how to balance the different pulls on my life. But God has loved me and led me through it all.

I know that there are so many of you precious ones with deep scars. Perhaps you came from an angry family, where you were criticized or rejected. Or maybe you were ignored and you still wish someone would notice you and love you deep inside in those places that only you can feel.

Many of you made some bad choices morally that have deeply injured your own heart. Or you have a passive and indifferent or mean and abusive husband.

You are not defined by any of these things--not by what people have said to you, not by your flaws (we all have them), and not by your past failures or present difficulties. God loves you so very much. God is with you. God is your champion.

We read that when He looked out on the multitudes, He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus sees our needs. He loves us. He cares for how each of you feel deep in your heart.

You are so very precious to God. He is on your side. He will be your warrior God in all the battles in your home. He will help you and defend you and pour out His unconditional love on you. He is the source of your strength and joy. Nothing can separate you from His love.

There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

The only way we can truly make it in this life productively is to tend to the garden of our own souls by dwelling and living in the reality of God's enduring and abiding personal love for us. The only way you can be a loving mother or friend is to have your soul filled with the deep, unchanging, unconditional love of God.

I love the picture above. I picture God, holding me, cherishing me, as the man in the picture is looking so tenderly at His child. We must invest in the truth and foundation of this God love. The godly women I have come to know, invested purposefully to become who they are and to live in His grace and freedom.

You may find criticism from the world. But in Christ, you will find love, deep, abiding, unconditional love and all that you need for your task. But you must choose to invest your time wisely.

We are starting to get letters from women all over the world who have read the book and are refreshing themselves in these important truths. Monday, Angela and I will be hosting our 8 week Bible study to ponder the importance of these issues. I hope that each of you will emerge from the study with the light and energy that learning about His great love will bring to each day of your life the rest of your lives-and that it will spill over into the hearts of your children, friends and all who are in your life.

But most of all today, please consider--You Are Truly beloved by your creator and Father God, as you are His very own.

Love: The foundation of discipleship influence in the life of your child

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Casting shadows in my lightless office, I was reading in the late afternoon sunlight and hadn't even realized that the sun was setting. Just then, my cell phone rang and caused me to jump as I was engaged in deep ponderings.

"Mama, what are you up to?" chimed the voice of one of my adult children. "I have been so busy, but every day, I still want to know you love me and are thinking about me, so I thought I would give you a call. You know there is no substitute for your affirmation and to know that you are still thinking about me."

Daily, my phone rings and one of my children is on the line. We are a tight group, joined at the hip, so to speak. My children go all over the world for their jobs, have friends and function as mature adults. But, our friendship just grows deeper and deeper. They are my best friends, next to Clay. And we are their dearest companions.

So it was with Jesus. Eating together, walking roads, arguing opinions, sleeping under the stars, sharing fears, thoughts, dreams and jokes--this was the nature of the friendship with the disciples that knit their hearts so intimately with their savior, they were energized, driven and excited to spend the rest of their lives telling the world about their closest, most trusted friend, their heavenly Father, Jesus.

Love is the foundation of  discipling relationship with  children, just as love is the foundation of Jesus' relationship with me.

Without love, without relationship, Christianity becomes a list of rules to keep, a dry obedience to adhere to, feelings dulled and heart longing for more--yet, doubts, insecurities crop up in our hearts and we feel guilty "feeling" unspiritual, and hoping no one notices, especially God.

And yet, this is not the work of our God, but a picture of the veil of Satan whispering to us our inadequacy, the ways we fall short every day.

This lie steals too much life from too many.

When we observe the lives of the disciples--vibrant, alive with faith and hope, filled with an energy that can only come from being loved and accepted by their God.

This love is still offered to us. And out of this God-love, we invite our children into such a family where the life of God is breathed through all the moments and love becomes the fuel for living with hope, purpose, expectation.

And our own disciples will learn of this love if we express the God love we have been given.

And eventually, we must send our disciples into the world as Jesus did. When they have been trained and understand the kingdom and the King; when they are mature, they too can be redeemers. Jesus said He would not take His disciples out of the world, but asked the Father to keep them from the evil one while they were in it. And so our children too will go out into an antagonistic, difficult world.

But the power that will hold them fast to the ideals they learned in our home will be the bonds of love, the deep companionship we shared, the sympathy they received during hard times, our personal validation of their personal worth, to us and to God. Whatever our voices have been in the daily lives of our children is the voice that will speak to them when they are far away.

Still, we will have the opportunity to be with them, close to them, pursuing them and active in their lives—though now through letters, emails and phone calls. Lonely children, even young adults, need to have someone to lift them up, encourage them, believe in them, and help them—

It is the way of discipleship, motherhood and servant leadership. Living this way expresses the reality of Christ and His life in us.

But I have always said to my children, "There are people in the world who will hurt you, offend you, disappoint you. The natural response is to become offended, to develop bitterness, to fight back. It is natural to hate or react in anger; it is supernatural to love, forgive, give grace, and control your own spirit.''

And so they learn how to extend His love because we have extended it to them.

A woman has such capacity to bring a spirit of grace and beauty into the world if she focuses on the Lord Jesus, if she lives in His love and then reflects that gracious love to her children. Our motivation comes from studying the one who Himself is love and embodies committed love to us through all of His stories when he walked the earth.

Though still growing, I have learned so much about true love, self-sacrifice, commitment, and long-suffering--and it has all made me love Him more because I see how much my life has required those qualities from Him. I have tested Him, misbehaved, thrown tantrums, and pulled away at times. Still He loves me; He died for me while I was yet a sinner, and His grace continues to extend to me now that I am His stumbling child.

Love must grow over years and years to become mature. It must be cultivated and watered and nurtured and protected and worked on again and again. Thank you, sweet Lord, that you showed me the way and went before me to model real love.

Remember His words:  "Greater love has no one than this; that a man lay down His life for His friends." John 15:13 How are you doing in the love department? Are there areas where you know you’re still striving against laying down your life? Ask the Lord for help. He is ready to grant it!

• “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails ...” 1 Cor. 13:4-8 This passage is an incredible picture of God, Himself (the Word tells us, “God is love” 1 John 4:8) Take some time to meditate on these verses and rejoice in Who God is!

If you have the desire to go deeper in your study today, plan to join Angela Perritt and me to learn more about discpleship love, about His love for you and about living free from guilt and fear. 

We are so thrilled that thousands of women have signed up for this summer study. How amazing and fun it is to think of us joining with 8 languages, groups of women gathering in all corners of the earth to celebrate the reality of God's unfailing love for each of us. Hope you and your friends and daughters can join us! 

Enroll for the book study here so you can receive all of our emails and study outlines.

Enroll!

Buy the book, HERE! Follow along with us in the Bible study in the book and read our chapters each week.

Guarding our Children's hearts from darkness, Living in the Light! Winner is:

There was the true Light which, coming into the world,

enlightens every man.

John 1:9

Darkness has invaded our lives and constantly, on a daily basis, we hear of tragedy, another mass shooting, or of another moral failure of leaders and threats of financial demise.   The thought of youth dying needlessly, is abhorrent to our value for life. We have also seen men and women of influence fall and compromise Biblical ideals, especially in Christian leadership. It would be easy for us to get caught up in despair or disappointment--to listen to the voices of doom and gloom and to allow them to determine the mood and focus of our lives.

God never intended that our eyes be focussed on people who are limited in strength or to listen to voices of humanity that are not infinite in wisdom. When our eyes are focussed on people, we are likely to become disappointed.

But, filling up with His light, restoring hope requires an intentional life. A person who is still godly and spilling out with His life and love through all the years of her life is not an accident. Intentionality and purposing to live well takes time and insight.

  A focus on Jesus, the light of the world, brings hope, a pathway forward, strength to meet each day. He is not a false hope--a "I wish, I wish, I wish......." But He is the source of all truth, all wisdom, all mercy, and is the answer to all of our questions.

Jesus' kingdom is coming, surely, and will be one in which all wrongs will be righted and all hope for a just and good world will be restored as He renews and makes a new heaven and new earth.

My sweet Joy in a younger, more innocent time.

I knew my young children longed for a safe world, one in which they could dream and hope, so I protected their little minds until they were able to hold the darkness of the world, little by little, as their spiritual and mental muscles developed more each year. But we did prepare them for the temptations and battles of the world in our home before they ventured out on their own. We were their generals to train and prepare them for war--but only after they had buried their roots deeply in the strength and goodness of God.

What about our role as moms in such a fallen place. How do we live in the world with our children, but protect them from despair or fear at an early age?

 We mamas are the ones who tenderly hold the hearts of our own children.

We need to be guardians of the flame of faith inside of them, until they are old enough to guard their hearts themselves. 

In a world of media and video games and tv and movies and cell phones which can carry the images of all sorts of evil,

One of the best gifts we can give to our children is the gift of an innocent, protected heart. 

Children are created to be innocent, to believe in mystery, to be good and pure of heart. It is why Jesus said about children, "Unless you become like a child, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."

and on another occasion, of children, "Of such (children) belongs the kingdom of heaven."

The longer we can keep them in this place of storing up hope,  belief in miracles and light and courage and redemption, the better. Parents are guardians, to protect our children of all that is evil or wicked, so that our children can grow to be strong.

Children must build their foundations of value, belief and morality on goodness and righteousness before they can be expected to fight against evil. They must be strong in vision of heart before they can know how to redeem a lost world.

When we give our children foundations of hero tales, faith, goodness, courage, sacrifice and hope as the foundation of their little souls,  we feed their faith imagination, so to speak. This innocent giving helps them to think of themselves as those who will become heroes in their generation--

so that then they will have strength to become real heroes when they have grown into full fledged adults.

Consequently, when a tragedy occurs, we must, as the strong ones and the ones who are seasoned and mature, bear up the difficulty and tragedy inside our own hearts, prayers, walk with the Lord and in the comfort of other spiritually mature adults. We walk with our own choice of faith, to trust God amidst the darkness and focus on His true light, even when it appears obscured.

We must seek Him who is the light in the darkness and look more profoundly into scripture which reminds us that we, and our world, indeed needed a savior--and so, daily, we celebrate His coming with expectation.  And we must always point to our savior with hope--He is with us, He is a redeemer, He is our hope and He has never, ever left us alone.

Children store up memories so very long and these memories feed their understanding of truth about the world. So, if they are raised on fear, insecurity, and despair, from observing their parents, then their foundation will be insecure, and they will fear the world and what it might hold for them.

But if children grow up watching their parents choose hope, cultivating faith that chooses to see His reality on a daily basis, parents who seek to bow their knee with worship and trust in God through all the moments of life, then they will have a pattern of how to face darkness when it invades their lives as adults.

I do not want to diminish the deep darkness we have observed in so many ways this year, but we are to be the seasoned soldiers and the ones who lead our children to slowly perceive themselves as righteous warriors who will confidently usher God's kingdom into this world with His help, His indwelling and His power. He has won the battle and the ultimate victory is ours--that is our hope, that is our reality, if we indeed know Him and His word.

May we, as His children, remember that He said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John  8:12

May God grant each of you the grace to live in His light today and to guard well the hearts of your children, as you live within the walls of your home with the beauty, goodness and light of our redeeming Lord.

Remember to enroll for our summer Bible study over at Good Morning Girls, where Angela Perritt and I will be speaking, sharing videos and Bible study lessons on You Are Loved. Enroll here or on the picture. 

Buy You Are Loved: Here

The Winner of the Bundle is: Michelle N. Congratulations to you, Michelle. And thanks to all who entered. We will be doing another bundle again this summer since so many of you entered. 

God gave us a Dancing heart, Free to celebrate His amazing love! (A giveaway)

Ann Dhnahy

"If we're not supposed to dance, why all this music?"  

 Gregory Orr

We were created to dance, to laugh, to love, to enjoy, to hug and hold hands and to find joy in life--

because He, who is the Great Artist, crafted life to be filled with hidden pleasures,

sparkling treasures,

deep fulfillment and smiles and thankful hearts and fulfilled dreams--happiness and joy.

God designed us to be loved, to have deep friendships, to believe that dreams stored in our hearts could come true.

Yet, sometimes the melody is hidden or overpowered by the noise that surrounds us, is it not?

Beauty is hidden, at times.

Bonds of love are broken by broken people.

Sometimes the pleasures seem like a memory of the past.

Who makes the noise of the world so loud that, at times, we do not even notice the music or acknowledge it's reality?

Who would want us not to dance, not to listen, not to engage in the joy?

We must not give in to this dark side, that creates the cacophony to blot out all of the alluring, dazzling, delightful, pleasing, heavenly music.

But, if indeed, when God imagined us and longed to grant us beauty,

If God created life such as this--one in which there is so much soul wrenching, toe tapping, love-giving, comfort making music,

our deepest souls were also made to dance and to enter into and engage in the divine symphony, irresistable rhythms, haunting, memorable melodies, the harmonies,  that He has surrounded us with all the time, every day.

May God grant us ears to hear, hearts to perceive and a willingness to dance with all of our might.

My prayer is that we will remember the grace of being loved, the music behind the one who created this world as a place of delight.

But perhaps we must remember,

Unless one becomes as a child, he cannot experience the kingdom of heaven--or hear the sounds of the music He is playing for us, even now.

May our hearts, like a little, innocent one, come to rest against His, to allow His arms to shield us from what would obscure His reality.

May love heal and revive our hearts as we hide in the secret place of His tent, until we can dance once again, and live fully into the beauty He longs for us to experience.

My heartfelt thanks for all who have joined Angela and me in getting our book into the hands of so many women. I believe and am praying each day, that our time together will be life-heartening, soul deepening with messages we will remember forever, from the one who loves us so very much! Get your copy, HERE.

Sign up for the study, you are loved, HERE.

Our appreciation for all of you is overwhelming. And so we want to give you a choice of the books you would like to have as our gift to one of you! Our giveaway of our books will end soon, so please let your friends know. I wish we could give away to each one of you. Loved reading your responses. You make me want to write again! :) We shall do this again. Be sure to sign up for our Bible study so that you can get the study notes! Pick any 5 whole heart books of your choice. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make This the "Summer of God's Love" & You are the Best! A Bundle Giveaway!

Angela Perritt and me! :)

Truly, truly, you are all the best! I am amazed that I get to have such amazing friends to know and share with on my blog! Because of you, our book is reaching sweet women all over the world. To thank you, look below at some of my books I am giving away!

Today, after a moonlit walk with my son, Joel, I sat on the porch in our rocking chairs, talking heart to heart with Him about God's abiding and constant presence in our lives. What a sweet moment to share in deep thoughts with him as a grown man, and hearing of the ways God's love has held him fast through the last years of living far from home. So touching to see God speaking of His love even to my children when they are far away in very difficult places.

Love never fails! God's love never fails.

I fail. Everyone in your life will fail or let you down some time. But God's love never fails.

Always, every day, He is consistent in His love for you. He has good will for you, every day, all the time!

Angela and I couldn't be more excited about sharing our summer book study with all of you precious women all over the world. We have been so surprised and astounded at how the Lord is getting our book concept out in the hands of women. We did not have a big marketing plan--as a matter of fact, no marketing plan. Let's just tell our friends and pray.

Meanwhile, I was on a week long trip away from home, and didn't have time to focus on marketing. Angela was graduating her precious girls from their different activities and May celebrations--and we would share a bit here and there and then God did the rest! Out of all of the books all over the world, and those 18 million books listed on Amazon, we saw God take us to the 23 most popular book--the top 100 on Amazon. He did it all while were both busy taking care of our families!

But really, you all are the heroes. To have friends like you, joining us in seeking to reach women with this study, is the real story. Imagine if we saw a revolution of women loving like God--loving their friends, loving their families and children, loving their neighbors, loving those who have hurt them--loving themselves. What an amazing energy of God through us we would see all over the world.

The amazon page last night when we hit #23.

Amazon determines the price--not us! So for a few hours today, it was on sale for $6.87! But we hope you and your friends will be able to get the book and join us as we meet together this summer for the best Bible study fellowship together! You can get it here. 

To register for the study, to receive emails from us, guidance for our study and to find out about other groups studying this together,

Go to Goodmorninggirls.org. 

For everyone helping us, Clay and I want to give away a bundle of our books! If you win, you can pick any 5 books and we will send them to you--for yourself or to share with your friends! (Even 5 of the same book so you can do a book study--whatever you want!) (Our books are listed on the side bar of this blog!)

All you have to do to win is listed below. We are hoping to reach lots and lots of sweet women with this message. And we thank you for sharing on facebook, twitter, your study groups, support groups, all the places we might gather women for a wonderful study! Thanks for making Angela and I see God's at work amongst all of you wonderful friends! Blessings and blessings!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cultivating a Home with Beauty, Depth, and Vast Love.

“He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” -Hebrews 1:3

People have often asked me why I emphasize beauty--art, candles, beautiful music, a cup of tea, cinnamon rolls, great stories and books, and celebrating life. It seems there are so many “more important” things to focus on. Bringing the reality of God and His life into my home is my goal in keeping beauty primary. He painted the skies and the flowers, he gently touched human hands and feet, he gave us all a capacity to think, he told epic stories through prophets and in his sermons, he fed and celebrated amongst his own disciples. He comforted the sad, healed the broken hearted, inspired the vigorous young men sharing daily life with him to continue living for a kingdom that would never end.

He modeled, through his every waking hour, the vast love, compassion, holiness, beauty, and servant leadership that expresses the very heart of God. Jesus is not just a thought to be understood or a verse to be memorized, but a living, breathing, vibrant, loving, personal God who lives and walks amongst us right in our homes each day.

Young adult children are confronted more than ever today with post modern values. Almost every movie, television show, and book will inevitably turn to a focus on immorality, infidelity, and impurity. Our children are confronted with it at every turn. There are fewer and fewer models that we can point to in order to say, "Follow his pattern of leadership, of sacrifice, of holiness."

A sky He painted for my pleasure the other night. What picture are you painting for the pleasure of your precious ones?

This is why our homes must become a true and vibrant picture of the living God, of the marvelous depth and beauty of Jesus. What does that look like? I have asked myself often just what it is that is causing so many of our older children to fall. My children have precious friends who have grown up with godly parents and heard the message of the gospel, yet they still turn away from God.

Many of these parents were faithful and wonderful. Our world is a very lonely place for godly people. When they venture from home, they will find few young adults with strong values and convictions. They will have to stand alone again and again amongst the crowd--a veritable sea of people who are not living with a paradigm of faithfulness to their Creator. Loneliness is very difficult to bear over and over and over again. Therefore, we need to stand in the gap, to be there for our children, to reach out to them, to understand their temptation, to keep giving and giving and giving--to continue being the servant leader that Jesus was.

But we also must guard against the tendency we often have, in our zeal, to attempt to influence our children’s behavior through fear. We tell them of the harsh realities of the world, make them memorize verses, indoctrinate them with our philosophy, and focus on their behavior--we follow methods and formulas and law. Instead, we must understand that it is only when we reach their hearts and pass on a true love of God. These past few years, I have focused my spiritual study on Jesus Himself. Jesus is, according to Hebrews 1:3, "… the exact representation of his nature …” In other words, when you see Jesus in scripture, you see God, himself, living in the flesh.

To look at Jesus is to behold God the Father. Jesus was a man who walked on water, was tossed about in the stormy sea on a smelly fishing boat, hosted a picnic and satisfied the hunger of thousands of people several times. He didn't just talk about truth, he satiated the hunger of rumbling stomachs. Jesus touched the untouchables--he touched a prostitute, lepers, the sick and dying with tenderness and love. He held children on his knee and laughed with them and loved them. Jesus was not afraid to rage at the religious leaders who led people in legalism and performance but were not compassionate--he was not afraid of them at all.

He talked of birds, trees, lilies, mountains, and creation. Jesus, the very Son of God, washed one hundred and twenty dirty toes the night before he died, and wiped them tenderly with a towel as a mother bathes the children she loves. He celebrated and drank wine at a wedding, cooked fish on the beach, and validated women for their service and tender love toward him.

He is the way and He is with us along the way.

In their hearts, it is the life and reality of a God who came to love and serve and redeem them that my children long for. For now, they experience this through my service and love and excellence and faith and confident celebration of life. I can only give to them what I have found by loving Him on my own, by seeing Him with my own eyes, by understanding Him in my own quiet time and then living from a soul fully engaged in Him. The joy of life, which is contagious, comes from being in His presence and rejoicing in it.

In my day to day life with my children, where I love and value and serve them as Jesus did His own disciples, these four will not just hear of doctrine and manners and chores, but they will feel the touch of Christ, the compassion of Christ, the encouraging words of Christ. They will learn to love Him because they have felt and seen and lived love in the minutes of our lives together. Even as Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you," so I will let my children know, "I will never leave you or forsake you--I will be praying for you, I will celebrate life with you (and cook for you and give you gift cards when you are far away from me!) You can tell me anything, and I will be your friend and companion as well as your leader and guide.”

Take a moment to complete the reflection and application below:

• Psalm 16:11 says, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Do I experience this? Do I believe it? Do I live it?

• When you read, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” what’s your reaction? Can you relate to the truth of a Father who is always with you? Or has your past made this difficult to grasp? Ask the Lord to show you the truth of this scripture and to know how near He truly is at all times!

• If Jesus was the “exact representation” of God the Father, what does that tell you about Him? What qualities do you see in Jesus that are most important to you?

Join us for our study on You Are Loved! We have it in Spanish, Africans, French, German, Dutch, English and more! Join women all over the world. For more information, go HERE

Be sure to sign up for our book study! Hope we shall fill our hearts with just the refreshment we need by being together with so many women studying His ways and love for us, together. 

To buy the book, put your cursor on the picture of our book in Dutch!  or go to Amazon, HERE! We are so excited to have our international women joining us.

Remember, today, You Are Loved!

Please Love me! The cry of every woman's heart

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

Mother Teresa

Please love me. Please think about me, take time to care for me and know my inner thoughts, pains, hopes and dreams. Please, I long for a friend.

Isolation, loneliness, depression, inadequacy, failure, condemnation fill many moments of each of our lives every single day. Sometimes we have become so adept at ignoring the voices or pretending they are not there, that we don't even acknowledge how much each of us longs to be loved.

And what about all the unlovely people in our lives who refuse to love us--who separate from us?

Those children who have rebelled and hurt us.

The husband who is passive or hostile?

Our parents who criticize?

How do we love when it is so impossible?

We all want someone to listen, to understand, to have sympathy, to give us focussed time, to help us, to pray for us, to save us.

The vacuum in our hearts is there because God meant for us to be deeply loved, to live in community where bonds are deep and close and where each of us feels like we "belong."

Divorce. Anger. Loss of friendship. Isolation--anger at our children that we love, isolation and anger from the husband we married.

We are all of us a mess, and we are all of us a bit lost in a sea of brokenness.

Last summer, when we pondered what are some of the biggest needs we see in women, Angela and I knew that the deep need to be loved, cherished, enjoyed, forgiven, intimate--was a longing for us and for our friends.

For 8 weeks this summer, join us with literally thousands and thousands of women all over the world as we explore our need for love, how God can possibly accept us and forgive us, and how we can learn to build bridges into the lives of those around us--to break the isolation, the bonds of anger, the loneliness.

We would love for you to join us for our summer study. Angela has been leading these studies on her blog Good Morning Girls where women from all over the world gather for some fellowship and time in the word. The last book study had over 20,000 women join. Summer is a good time to do a Bible study together! Please consider joining us and share it with your friends so that you can do it together. If you know of someone who needs to know a deeper love, please let them know, too. I will be speaking on a video 4 times, and Angela will as well. The information you need to know is on her blog, but I have also included it here, so that you can begin registering. It is free--and just gives you connection to material and groups of women just like you.

To study the book along with us, you can buy it at Amazon for Kindle or For print 

I am so excited for the upcoming Bible/Book study, ‘You are Loved’!  This endearing book melted my heart, reminding me that I am loved, me and all my flaws.  Personally, I appreciate that Angela and Sally thoughtfully considered how they could reach more women all over the world, when they decided to publish this book the ‘non-traditional’ route.  The traditional route has increased availability in multiple storefronts but limits availability to the women who need a translated copy in order to join our Bible study!  I love their sacrificial hearts in taking this route.

Please consider joining us for this beautiful, loving 8-week study over the summer.  I pray this post will help answer some questions you may have regarding enrollment, subscribing to the GMG blog and joining a private group.

——————————————————————————-

We ask all our members and leaders to … • Enroll in the study (taking attendance) • Subscribe to the Good Morning Girls Blog (if you are a current subscriber and receiving emails, you are all set)

How to enroll in our Summer Bible/Book study, ‘You are Loved’ The enrollment form for our current study will be available from May19th to 30th. To enroll, hover your mouse over the tab ‘Enroll’ on the menu bar above, then click ‘Enroll Here’. You will arrive at a page and toward the bottom of the page is a button – {click here to enroll}. The Enrollment Form will be available ‘only’ during our enrollment period. If you are participating in a past study, no enrollment is required.

Explanation about Enrollment The enrollment form is our way of taking attendance for this session; it’s like signing up for Bible study at your church. We do not send out confirmation emails but upon completion of the enrollment form you will receive a ‘Thank you’ confirmation page or pop-up depending on your browser. Please note that responses are not always recorded if you fill out the form via your phone – this is out of our control!

How to join a group Our available groups will be listed on our blog only during the enrollment period. If you do not have a group to join, but still wish to join a private group, hover your mouse over the tab ‘Groups’ on the menu bar above, then click ‘Join a Group’. You will arrive at a page with more information about how we list our groups. To join an existing group, select the type of group you want to join: Facebook, Email, International or other groups. We will add available groups throughout our enrollment period, so keep checking back.

Private Facebook Groups – We have arranged groups using Time Zones – ‘Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific’. NOTE: if you live in Eastern Time Zone but wish to join a group in Mountain Time Zone – feel free – you are not limited to your own time zone. Once you select Facebook groups, scroll through the list of leaders and choose a group. Then click on the group link provided and request to join their group! The link will say ‘Closed’ If the link is broken the group is full and the leader has disabled access. We remove the links as fast as possible, so please be patient and continue to look through the list to find another group to join.

Our Email groups and International groups are across all time zones mainly because they have a slightly different format.

If a group is leading a past study, it will be noted. We can’t guarantee that you’ll find the “perfect” group, but you’ll be surprised at how God places you in the group that fits your needs!

Subscribing to the Blog (Free materials) If you are not already subscribed, this only needs to be done once.

1. Subscribe at goodmorninggirls.org. Enter your email address (it will be in caps, email addresses are not case sensitive). Located under Angela's Welcome Message

2. You will receive a popup message from Feedburner that states, “your email address will receive a verification message once you submit this form.” You will be asked to ‘enter the text’ listed – to prevent spam.

3. Confirmation Email – check your email inbox, spam folder or promotions tab (Gmail) for a verification message from “FeedBurner Email Subscriptions.” Click the link contained in that message to activate your subscription.

4. Once confirmed, you will begin to receive emails from GMG. The free study guide and other materials are available by clicking the links at the very bottom of the emails.

Please Note: The emails from GMG are sent out on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, or with each new post. So if you activate your subscription on a Monday, you will likely begin to receive emails on Wednesday.

#YouAreLoved is available in paperback or Kindle Edition on Amazon. Get your copy today!

#Get1Give1 - For every book you purchase, GMG will give a ‘translated copy to a woman in another country for FREE’!

I am so excited for the upcoming Bible/Book study, ‘You are Loved’!  This endearing book melted my heart, reminding me that I am loved, me and all my flaws.  Personally, I appreciate that Angela and Sally thoughtfully considered how they could reach more women all over the world, when they decided to publish this book the ‘non-traditional’ route.  The traditional route has increased availability in multiple storefronts but limits availability to the women who need a translated copy in order to join our Bible study!  I love their sacrificial hearts in taking this route.

Please consider joining us for this beautiful, loving 8-week study over the summer.  I pray this post will help answer some questions you may have regarding enrollment, subscribing to the GMG blog and joining a private group.

——————————————————————————-

We ask all our members and leaders to … • Enroll in the study (taking attendance) • Subscribe to the Good Morning Girls Blog (if you are a current subscriber and receiving emails, you are all set)

How to enroll in our Summer Bible/Book study, ‘You are Loved’ The enrollment form for our current study will be available from May19th to 30th. To enroll, hover your mouse over the tab ‘Enroll’ on the menu bar above, then click ‘Enroll Here’. You will arrive at a page and toward the bottom of the page is a button – {click here to enroll}. The Enrollment Form will be available ‘only’ during our enrollment period. If you are participating in a past study, no enrollment is required.

Explanation about Enrollment The enrollment form is our way of taking attendance for this session; it’s like signing up for Bible study at your church. We do not send out confirmation emails but upon completion of the enrollment form you will receive a ‘Thank you’ confirmation page or pop-up depending on your browser. Please note that responses are not always recorded if you fill out the form via your phone – this is out of our control!

How to join a group Our available groups will be listed on our blog only during the enrollment period. If you do not have a group to join, but still wish to join a private group, hover your mouse over the tab ‘Groups’ on the menu bar above, then click ‘Join a Group’. You will arrive at a page with more information about how we list our groups. To join an existing group, select the type of group you want to join: Facebook, Email, International or other groups. We will add available groups throughout our enrollment period, so keep checking back.

Private Facebook Groups – We have arranged groups using Time Zones – ‘Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific’. NOTE: if you live in Eastern Time Zone but wish to join a group in Mountain Time Zone – feel free – you are not limited to your own time zone. Once you select Facebook groups, scroll through the list of leaders and choose a group. Then click on the group link provided and request to join their group! The link will say ‘Closed’ If the link is broken the group is full and the leader has disabled access. We remove the links as fast as possible, so please be patient and continue to look through the list to find another group to join.

Our Email groups and International groups are across all time zones mainly because they have a slightly different format.

If a group is leading a past study, it will be noted. We can’t guarantee that you’ll find the “perfect” group, but you’ll be surprised at how God places you in the group that fits your needs!

Subscribing to the Blog (Free materials) If you are not already subscribed, this only needs to be done once.

1. Subscribe at goodmorninggirls.org. Enter your email address (it will be in caps, email addresses are not case sensitive). Located under Angela's Welcome Message

2. You will receive a popup message from Feedburner that states, “your email address will receive a verification message once you submit this form.” You will be asked to ‘enter the text’ listed – to prevent spam.

3. Confirmation Email – check your email inbox, spam folder or promotions tab (Gmail) for a verification message from “FeedBurner Email Subscriptions.” Click the link contained in that message to activate your subscription.

4. Once confirmed, you will begin to receive emails from GMG. The free study guide and other materials are available by clicking the links at the very bottom of the emails.

Please Note: The emails from GMG are sent out on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, or with each new post. So if you activate your subscription on a Monday, you will likely begin to receive emails on Wednesday.

Join us on Facebook, Pinterest or on Twitter & Instagram using the #YouAreLoved hashtag.

#YouAreLoved is available in paperback or Kindle Edition on Amazon. Get your copy today!

#Get1Give1 - For every book you purchase, GMG will give a ‘translated copy to a woman in another country for FREE’!

If you have any questions about enrollment or joining a group, please email me at enrollmentgmg@gmail.com Live life worthy of God’s Glory,

Martha

If you have any questions about enrollment or joining a group, please email me at enrollmentgmg@gmail.com

Live life worthy of God’s Glory,

Martha

HERE IS THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY! PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD AND SHARE IT ON YOUR NETWORKS?

Fun Things for Friday! Or all weekend long!

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Dr. Seuss

I love this picture! Rachael shared it with me on Mother's Day. It is me and her precious mom, Allison, as we bubbled our children away when they drove away to their honeymoon.

I have always loved bubbles. It reminded me of fun things I would stash away for the kids when it rained or they were bored or we just needed some surprise.

Here are some of my fun Friday Ideas that I used in our family.

Bubbles, of course, always made fun when we had not used them for a while.

Sidewalk chalk and give each child 5 pieces and have a mural contest.

Buy the little whirly sticks that blow in the wind. This kept Joy busy for hours when she was little.

Invite a couple of families over for a long, rousing game of capture the flag. The mamas can sit and talk and the kids will keep occupied for hours.

I have a basket of wooden Easter eggs and I would use them all year round inside our home to hide for the kids when they needed something fun. Painting wooden eggs is also fun, and they never break. Toddlers love to roll them on the floor, and my children loved hiding them in the house until they were pretty old! Mine were from my missionary years in Poland, and I bought them for 10 cents apiece and they have lasted us all these years.

Tents under dining tables or card tables. Once we put a blanket hall way of tables and had a whole network through 2 rooms of our house. Each child had his own table and they visited each other all day long. (And of course ate snacks and lunch under the tables.)

Camping out on your own porch.  It is a lot easier than camping out for real and especially when there was a meteor shower.

Having a picnic dinner anytime outside, by the fireplace, in a bedroom, wherever we could pretend an adventure. And of course, we didn't have to make a real meal--just finger sandwiches, and fruit was enough to have fun. (they always tasted better when they were in shapes of hearts or logs or stars--I used big cookie cutters)

Going for a ride in the middle of the day with a rousing book on tape or Odyssey and ending up at the frozen yoghurt shop.

These are just a few things I would do when I needed a break.

What about you? What would you do?

Are Christians addicted to mediocrity? A Self-governed Self-image.

Rembrandt, The Money Changer

”Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” --Aristotle

Self-government begins with the way we treat our children. If we pay attention to their needs, feed hungry babies, touch and south little ones, speak in gentle tones, exercise patience and constant training every day, all day long, then our little ones are immersed in the oxygen of our ideals. The way we treat our children, and monitor their own emotional needs and care for their overall well-being established a basis for them to have strength and a mental picture of what it looks like to see an adult who  behaves in a civilized and self-controlled way. Our children take in, almost by osmosis, the ways that we choose to live and exercise our own values through the ways we related to our days, moment by moment.

What we practice with them--honor, respect, kindness, gracious words, gentle and patient help and instruction, are the very ways our children can begin to emulate us. On Monday, I spoke of children who were all over their mother. They had no boundaries, direction or parameters--and they were both hungry and sleepy, so they fidgeted more. If a mama cares for her children's present needs all the time every day, their little nerves will not be frayed and they will not be overstimulated and they will be able to hold it together better.

Second, though, preparing my children ahead of time helped them to know what to expect. "Mommy is taking you to a big girl (boy) coffee shop. I will give you a little drink from your mug, (sipppie cup), and a few bites of cereal of fruit I have brought along. You can play with the little lego set I brought or color with pencils. Which one do you prefer? We will be here for a half hour and I would like you to use your big girls manners--sit with me, play or color and drink quietly as there are lots of grown ups trying to study and read. Can you do that with me today? I will be right with you and we will play when we are through." (Whatever is age appropriate--if you have a baby, feed them before you get there and change their diaper--or if a toddler, don't push them--bring treat, blankie, whatever and attend to their needs, as often times parents are the ones who do not lead their children to security and comfort.)

 Building a Self-image of a Self-governed child

Rembrandt became a master of light and  a detailed painter, exquisite faces by training, practice, and years and years of painting, over and over and over again--practice. And so it is with any craft, skill, degree or accomplishment.

However, it is also true of character and a Christian testimony--the character that is habituated to improving, developing integrity by practice, stretching to work hard, to do the best, to exceed expectations comes from daily practice and personal integrity. This does not happen immediately overnight, but is developed over a long period of time where the values and habits are shaped little by little. Those whose ideals are set high and aim, each day to pursue those ideals will have the opportunity to become excellent in any field.

This comes from an inner grid, the way one learns to see life and expects himself to live. We called this "self-government," when we trained excellence of character into the very fiber of our children's souls--a vision for what they could become..

I have been surrounded by mediocrity, compromise and substandard Christians in several public arenas and personal situations lately. I have asked myself, with the image of the living God imprinted upon my very being, shouldn't I, and all true believers,  be able to call forth excellence and integrity as a reflection of Him in my life.

"As a man sows, so shall he reap." Galatians

Yet, excellence and integrity is a personal issue. One can only become this way through a personal commitment, a vision of oneself, and a decision that says,

"Regardless of what is happening around me, I will be the best I can be, work the hardest I am able, pursue the highest standards--especially for my personal life where no one but God sees--because I have been bought with a price and have His Holy Spirit residing within. So my worship of Him requires that I pursue the standard of His Holiness as an affirmation of His reality in my life."

Whether as a mother training the character of children, filling their minds with excellent writers, artists, thinkers, or as a woman being a steward of every aspect of her life, one can only become excellent by stretching, determining to obey His still small voice and then using every resource to pursue bringing His light and imprint upon this world.

This labor of excellence, personally and in the lives of our children, may/will take many long years--but if we are not committed to pursuing whatever it takes to build this excellence, then what hope does our future have--and even more, how can we represent Him, who has given all?

Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." We are called to become leaders that others can follow and emulate.With every year of faith, there should be more of Him reflecting through our lives.  It is not a choice, it is a call on our lives. We cannot say, "I am a Christian, but I think I will make "c's or d's" in my character choices. We aim high because the love of Christ compels us.

More in the months ahead--but have just been pondering--why are so many believers falling so short of His best?

I am not talking about being a pharisee, gathering Christian law for people to follow, but instead understanding our heritage of  our capacity with which we were born. We are made in the likeness of the living God and have potential of exercising strength and influence far beyond what we can imagine.  We should expect as royalty--children of the most high God--to be able to develop and strengthen to become competent, strong, vibrant human beings. When we set our standards by contemporary culture, e have set our standards far too low.

More to follow soon!

Raising Self-Governed Children

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.” Proverbs 16:32

Not too long ago, a sweet mom brought her two children along to our meeting in a coffee shop. They were sweet children, but they were all over her and ran her ragged! Later, I described the situation to my older children, and asked them what they thought we had done differently that had prevented them from behaving quite so crazily as littles. It was humorous to hear how opinionated they were, as each reminded me how intentionally we taught them to be patient and to wait their turn–because they all remembered it the same way. We were (and are!) strong believers in a concept I call self-government–probably a Victorian character quality that I read about along the way in a book about the principle approach to life.

Self-government is defined this way: a person learns to command himself, his impulses, his work habits, emotions, intellect, and talents, and to rule over his will in a productive way. Children can begin this at a very early age, and I have found it to also be of utmost importance to adults–as one cannot be a mature believer unless one has mastered self-government, self-control and patience--or is at least growing in that direction.

The idea behind self-government is that all of us have power and authority over our own lives. This power comes from within, and can help us master problems, surmount obstacles, and use our self-will to achieve great things. Self-government doesn’t mean working out life in the flesh without the power of God, but affirms that we have a moral character that can be strengthened by our will, through practice. The person who has cultivated this kind of strong character is useful and productive in every area of life.

This quality helps a believer exercise faith, courage, and perseverance in the midst of trials. It is what helps a pianist to practice long hours, an athlete to exercise rigorously in order to become a champion, a missionary to master a language and remain faithful in a foreign country until there is a multiplying ministry, a wife to bear up with grace when married to an immature husband, a mother to continue over and over to practice patience with a sick or rebellious child–the unseen power of governing life by mature, faith-based choices as opposed to temporary, self-centered feelings.

Self-governing isn’t the natural default of a child’s behavior, of course. We taught it to our children intentionally. We can see the biblical principle for self-government in this passage from Deuteronomy: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

God tells the Israelites to obey Him, and if they do, they will be blessed. If they don’t obey, they will be cursed–there were consequences to their decisions. In life all choices have consequences. Our children need to understand that they will reap what they sow.

I used to say to my children over and over again, “Daddy and I cannot make you into great people. You have the power to determine how strong you become by how you exercise your will. We can train you and teach you how to be good and how to be righteous, but you have to decide to obey, and you have to decide that you want to become a person of godly character. God made you such a wonderful child, so I hope you will decide to do your best to become all that you can be. It is in your hands. It is yours to decide to respond, but I am praying and hoping that you will.”

When we appeal to our children’s hearts for excellence and choices of good behavior, then we are giving them the will and desire to be excellent for themselves.Their desire comes from within and their motivation is from the heart. But if we train them behaviorally by always forcing them to do what we want them to do because they might get a spanking or some other kind of threatened discipline, their motivation is to avoid spanking or harshness, not to please God or to please their parents by having a good heart and responding in obedience.

My desire as a mom is that my children would internalize all the precepts we have taught them over the years. I want them to love God and obey Him because they earnestly love Him and desire to please Him. This foundation will carry them throughout all the decision-making processes they will face for the rest of their lives.

If you have the desire to go deeper today, feel free to complete the reflection and application below:

• "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” Deuteronomy 30:19 It’s our job as mamas to set before our children life and death—and to encourage them to choose life! What are you doing to draw your children toward life?

• “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.” Proverbs 25:28 What a frightening picture this was at the time this scripture was written! A city without walls had no protection; no vantage point to watch for enemies; no means of defense. And so we are, when we have no self-control. Is self-control an area in your own life that could use some work? How can you build your own “city walls”?

• Do you tend to try to motivate your children’s choices through behavioral training, or through reaching their hearts? How can you change the way you instinctively respond to your children? Spend time in prayer asking the Lord’s help in this area.

10 Gifts of Wisdom came out of my desire to define areas for moms that will prepare their children to flourish in the world. Without training, a child flounders and searches how to live life well. So many young adults I know have never had the kind of training that lends strength and vision and confidence in character and so they are subject to each whim or opinion that comes out on the internet.

Education of morals, habits, character and faith determine the foundations upon which a life will be built. Strong foundations lend themselves to vast structures. Make a plan today about how you will build those foundations into your own life and that of your children!