Agape Women

On Monday nights there is a group of women that meet all over town. They open the doors of their homes to each other expecting and anticipating the Holy Spirit to move. And He does...my how He does.

If you pulled up outside you'd hear our loud laughter and noisy chatter. If you were just walking into the room you'd most likely assume we have all been friends for years. Some of us have but most of us have only known one another for a very short time. We just have this special bond. I can't describe how much these women mean to me. I can try though....

We love one another unconditionally. I wish women all over the world could get along in this way. The world would certainly be a different place. We support one another regardless of mistakes we've made, things we've been through, or where we come from. We have true honest agape love. We cry together and comfort one another. We share our stories and our mess. We lift each other up. Knowing that if I ever needed anything, big or small, all I have to do is text or call one of them and they will all jump together to help and serve is so comforting. Their kindness and love is overwhelming. They are a safety net knit together by God himself.

We are so different and that is a blessing. Because of our differences I can take something from each and every one of them and learn from it. I have grown so much with them. With them I've learned to pray, to not hold back the gifts God has given me, to be bold and brave. God has used them to mold and shape me in ways I never expected. I thank Him every day for placing them in my life.

I know there will still be trials and storms because this is life. I also know that having people to pray with you and for you makes it easier to overcome the hard times. I know God chose this specific time in my life for them to appear. I've walked through things with them that would have been devastating with out them. To be able to reach out immediately to them and say I'm hurting, I'm drowning, I don't know what to do, and to have them respond with encouragement, scripture, prayer, and understanding is beautiful. They are not just my connect group. They are not just my friends. They are my family.



There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.  - Proverbs 18:24

Your home IS your mission field.

You fold the laundry and wonder why you aren't being used more by God. You do the dishes and think you're not out feeding starving children somewhere. You mop up spilled milk and ask why you aren't building homes in a poor town far away. Why does your part feel so small? Why aren't you doing real kingdom work? Why are you in this house not really doing much of anything? You should be making a difference...

You are. I promise you are. Your home is your mission field. See those little ones? Do you feel their eyes on you. They're watching. They see how you pray. They watch how you worship. They notice how you handle a crisis, big or small. Everything you say and do guides them. You are molding them.
You are preparing them for the things God is going to call them to do. Maybe you haven't been called to do battle in foreign lands but your children might be. Your job is not small. Your job is significant. The seeds you are planting now will reap a great harvest. You are building a foundation for their faith. What could be more important than that?

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6

Proverbs 31:26 has been pulling at my heart for quite some time. Now I see it all the time in books I read or blogs I visit. I find myself turning to that verse in the Bible over and over again. The first time I read it I thought WOW that's the kind of woman I want to be. Now I read it and I know it's also the kind of mother I need to be.

She speaks with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. - Proverbs 31:26

I thank God that as He helps me raise my children He is also teaching me. He is leading me, and you, through this season with gentle hands. We ask so much of ourselves. We want to be supermoms. We do and try as hard as we can. We wear ourselves out. There is no break time for a parent. We can often feel under appreciated. We wonder if we are even doing a good job. We need to be gentle with ourselves in the same way that God is gentle with us.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in his arms; He will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. - Isaiah 40:11


When you're feeling tired and overworked. When you think you aren't enough. When there seems to be so little appreciation for what you do. Be kind to yourself. Be gentle. Know He has given you a task so wonderful and worthy of admiration. Your job is far from small. He sees you. He is proud of you. He is watching over your every step. He has given you a mission field and he will be right there beside you guiding you through it.

He. Loves. You.

The messy house... For all moms who feel stressed by the mess

My house is messy
My house is messy because we LIVE here
My house is messy because we play here
My house is messy because I want my children to remember the towers we built
The books we read
The laughter and the noise
My house is messy because I don't want them remembering me standing at the sink
Remembering me folding basket after basket of clothes
Remembering I was just too busy
My house is messy because though these days seem so long, the years are heartbreakingly short
My house is messy because years down the road I will wish I had colored one more picture
Dressed one more doll
Played just one more game
I will not look back and wish I had cleaned the oven a little more
Dusted those shelves more
Deep cleaned the refrigerator more
My house is messy because when I clean up my toddler dumps every bin out again
She's so cute that I don't stop her
My house is messy because my son leaves bits of himself everywhere
Legos here, light sabers there, markers and paper all over
That's OKAY
My house is messy because it can wait until bedtime
The dishes will still be there, they won't disappear
These small moments of my children's lives will though
They pass so quickly
You blink and they are gone
My house is messy and I'm okay with that
When the mess is gone I will miss it
When they are gone I will miss them
My house is messy because one day they will have a home of their own
I pray it will be messy