I AM LOVED

I AM LOVED

  • Encouragement, Kingdom Parenting

I AM LOVED

I woke up to find a note slipped under my hotel room door informing me I had a gift waiting for me at the front desk. It was a box of chocolates from a precious friend. I was greeted with many sweet messages from friends who wanted me to know they loved me. One friend messaged me wondering if Valentine’s Day was hard for me being a single woman, and I responded NO. Not at all, because it has always been a day about love, and I feel so well-loved. Romantic love is one thing, but love is universal between parent and child, siblings, friends, mentors, and spiritual children, and I have a life packed with love. However, this morning I was struck by my emotions. I slipped out of bed early like I always do and sat quietly before the Lord with my hot cup of coffee. My mind drifted to my mom. Tears began to flow. I have lived my life longer without her than with her, and suddenly I felt like a little girl wanting my mommy again. It overwhelmed me. Losing a parent at an early age has a profound impact on you and forces you to fill those parenting needs and longings elsewhere. God has been so good and faithful to me over the years by always planting me in a community where I am seen and loved well. But today, I am a little girl who was able to connect to the love of my mom, and it touched me so deeply. 

Moms, no matter what you have done, no matter what your journey looks like, no matter how many times you have blown it, you are still the one and only one who gets to be called their mom. Go hug your children today and remind them of your deep and fierce love for them.

KINGDOM PARENTING

Three big things were lost in the Garden: our sense of BELONGING, our WORTH, and our SECURITY. Whatever our household rules, boundaries, limits, or ‘no’s are with the children, it must be done in a loving way that still intentionally communicates that they have a place where they belong, that they are incredibly valuable and important, and that they are secure and safe. Disunity, arguments between parents, ongoing sibling conflict, atmospheres of worry and stress, anger, belittling, disrespect, and lack of intentional family time can all inflict the Orphan Spirit. I am not talking about a one-time deal like you had a bad day and yelled once. I am talking about lifestyles and norms. Our goal in parenting should be to model heaven.

DOING CHURCH AS A FAMILY

I cannot love this testimony anymore! A mom was trying to be super intentional to keep her daughters spiritually fed during C-19. They were going to a co-op group, but the girls were bored to tears and begged to stop going. The mom then tried another Christian group, but the leader’s daughter was super controlling, and the girls felt like it was more about the girl than Jesus and did not like feeling used and mistreated each week. The daughter finally came to her mom and said, “Can’t we just please do Awana at home as a family?” YES!! There is indeed a time and place to gather corporately, and we learn and gain things in community that are vital, but that does not need to replace the power of the home and feeding our spirits together.

Why not create a once-a-week FAMILY TIME? Let it be a time of worship, soaking, journaling, giving prophetic words to each other, praying, declaring, discussing important topics, going on a hunt to find people to love, creating skits, or understanding certain Bible passages. 

PEACEKEEPER

Do you have a child who is a PEACEKEEPER? Those that avoid conflict at all costs and run into the other room when tensions mount? While peacekeepers are made in His image, it is super important to help them learn how to process the conflict other than just dislike it and pretend it is not there. Ignoring is not the tool of Heaven. Many kiddos are having a hard time in this season of so much chaos in the atmosphere. They have felt the conflict and yet don’t fully understand it. I encourage you to praise them for their desire for peace and validate that the presence of God is PEACE, but that sometimes we feel the opposite and can be used as agents of peace. Give them some additional tools: they can talk about their feelings, draw them out, act them out, release peace, dance, write a letter, journal, and go do sports. We want to empower their natural bent for peace without forcing them to bury their heads in the sand and walk in fake peace. 

HIS KINGDOM

The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy, yet one of the biggest reasons why Sunday school leaders have a hard time finding volunteers is because adults are uncomfortable with JOY. Teach parents how to be restored to joy, and they will be drawn to those who carry child-like joy!

LIFE WITH LITTLES

I often hear moms of little ones lamenting that all they do is change diapers, feed, clean, do laundry, and repeat. They feel insignificant as their world revolves around caring for their demanding and helpless child. To which I reply, “YOU ARE KIDDING YOURSELF. You are in the biggest season of your life. You get to be the gateway between the generations deciding what you do and do not want to pass on to the next generation who will carry the baton of your family line. You are deciding what parenting style is best for raising healthy whole children. You are deciding what holiday traditions are worthy of introducing your children to. You are discerning what triggers you and what needs to be brought into wholeness. You are building a foundation with their Father that will be the foundation in which they are raised. You are the one who gets to gaze in their eyes and communicate love to their souls. You are teaching them that they are safe and wanted. Oh, Mama, you are in the most incredible season of your life as you take the helm and sail the next generation into the Father’s arms.”

ALIGNMENT

At the end of each lesson in our JOURNEY online class, there is a single question to answer. Most answers are very deep and express what is happening inside their hearts. Every once in a while, I get one that is short and sweet but so powerful. Like this one: “Woah! I needed this lesson BAD! I just received so much healing in my heart. My views were so skewed.”

Skewed means distorted in a way that is regarded as inaccurate, unfair, or misleading. When God shows you where you have wrong beliefs or thoughts about who He is and aligns you with His truth, you will receive a flood of healing.

Are you ready to start your JOURNEY with us? You can register here: Journey – ONLINE CLASS – Let the Children Fly

THE GREAT I AM

I had to take a moment to process my heart in the midst of so much movement. I began to feel good about all that I have been able to accomplish in a short amount of time between packing, cleaning, selling items, arranging details, canceling utilities, securing housing, saying goodbyes, homeschooling, and on and on. I stopped myself from saying aloud, “I am a ROCKSTAR!”. I saw a mental picture of how weary and exhausted I was earlier in the week, and I heard God say, “No, I AM,” and I began to cry. Oh yes, yes, yes. It is YOU who gave me the grace and strength to accomplish all that I am able to accomplish. It is YOU who showed up in my weakness and made me strong. It is YOU who sustained me with Your power to end well. It is YOU who never left me. It is YOU who walked me through this part of my journey just like You have every other one. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

BE THAT KIND OF PARENT TO YOUR CHILDREN!

How would your childhood have been different if you would have had a parent who consistently called out the good in you? BE THAT KIND OF PARENT TO YOUR CHILDREN TODAY!