Celebrating Womanhood

I am really excited to share this blog! I want to celebrate WOMANHOOD! This is a topic that has been stirring in my heart for months! It's obvious that there is a war on identity. Turn on the TV, radio, or look on Facebook and you will be inundated with this cultural war. Another reason why I wanted to share about this topic is because it seems like the only way to be a "woman" in our culture is to flaunt sexuality. I was watching an interview recently about a Disney starlet (who I LOVE by the way) about her new music she is releasing. She described it as "coming into her own sexuality as a woman" and I asked myself, "what does that have to do with her music?" After hearing this I started thinking about how I want my daughter to view being a woman and what I want to define her. We need to understand and celebrate who God created us to be physically, spiritually and mentally.

So what does it look like to celebrate Womanhood? Here are just a couple thoughts I have been meditating on the last couple of months on the ways I feel Godly Womanhood should be celebrated:

1) Womanhood celebrates the fear of the Lord.
Psalms 139 tells us that we are "FEARfully and wonderfully made!" I love Proverbs 31:30, "Beauty is fleeting and charm is deceptive but a woman who FEARS the Lord is to be praised." That's crazy deep! The word "fear" in these scriptures means "to have a reverence, a respect" for the Lord. You were created beautifully. God made you in awe and respect. When we let the Lord define our identity it brings forth a security in the core of who we are.  It allows us to freely be who God created us to be. He wants us to celebrate the beauty that He has given us. So rock that cute outfit, and let the Lord shine through you!

2) Womanhood celebrates being Timeless.
You are a class act. A woman who loves the Lord never goes out of style. You have legacy. One great example of a timeless woman in the Bible is Mary. Through the last 2,000+ years her surrendered heart and life still inspires many. She was a daughter, a wife and a mother. Audrey Hepburn said,"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years." You are timeless.

3) Womanhood celebrates being Fruitful.
God created women to be fruitful- naturally and spiritually! Being fruitful at the core means duplication and multiplication. God wants us to imitators of Him by allowing the fruit of the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives and gifts. In being spiritually fruitful it impacts everyone around us: husbands, children, coworkers, friends, family members, etc. It also helps us reach our God given purpose. God wants us to be fruitful and multiply the talents He has given us, like the Parable in Matthew 25. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. Against such there is no law." Let's celebrate being fruitful!

Woman, you are important. Woman, you are timeless. Woman, you are leaving a legacy. Woman, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Woman, are you needed and powerful. Woman, you are CELEBRATED!!! Xoxo

What are your thoughts about being a Godly woman in today's society?

What Season are YOU in?

Ecclesates 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Lately I have been thinking about seasons. Obviously because it's fall and all the leaves here in Tennessee are turning beautiful colors and just having a baby, but I can hear the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit asking me, "Do you know what season are you in? Are you trusting ME in this season? Are you enjoying this season?" I think too often we take for granted or try to rush through the seasons of our lives to try to get to where we want to be when our purpose for the next season is tied to the current season we are living. Lisa Bevere says this about seasons, "Everything in life is seasonal. Purpose is tied to timing." I've had so many amazing changes this year- we've moved, had a another child, I am a stay at home mom currently and it's been incredible. It's a NEW type of season for me! It's had me asking the Lord for his heart for me and my family as I am navigating daily life. I don't want to miss the purpose of this season or the time I have. Each season of life is special. I am learning to cherish every moment, poopy diaper and late night!

There are so many seasons in life. Here are a couple of examples, think about them:

  1. one of the four periods of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) which can represent growth, preparation, blooming, dormancy, etc.

  2. a period of the year characterized by particular conditions of weather, temperature, etc.:

the rainy season.

  3. a period of the year when something is best or available:

the oyster season.

  4. a period of the year marked by certain conditions, activities, etc.:

baseball season.

  5. a period of the year immediately before and after a special holiday or occasion: Christmas season.

So how do we know what season of life we are in and enjoy it?

1- We must understand and discern our current season. That will bring clarity to the role God currently has for you. I was in the church a couple Sundays ago and the guest preacher asked the congregation a great question, "Have you ever wondered why God did not create man on the 1st day of creation but on the 6th day?" I had never thought about it before but his answer blew my mind! He went on to share how we serve a God of preparation. A God of perfection. The God of Set-ups. God was creating and setting up the perfect environment to bring man into. If man would have been created before the Earth it would have been premature. We must understand that God has us in the season we are currently in to enjoy it while He prepares us and our next adventure.

2- Get a heart check. 1 Samuel 15:22 says that, "Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams." We gotta check our hearts! A stinky heart holds back good things and our complaining can hurt us. We must let the Lord check our motives and attitudes. Our attitude always determines our altitude. We need our hearts to be in line with the Holy Spirit.


3- Be prepared to be content and also get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes being content comes in all forms. We must be content with changing all those poopy diapers and also be content with the promotion the Lord brings our way. Before we can move onto a new season we must be ready to get out of our comfort zone. We can't move to new things if we refuse to be uncomfortable.

4- Learn to trust the Lord in every season- good and bad. When I was believing the Lord for a healing in my body this was hard for me. I had to come to the conclusion that God was good- no matter what and trust Him. When we can trust Him no matter the outcome or circumstance that's when we are covered by His grace and freedom reigns in our lives! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6


Enjoy your season! Enjoy one another! Enjoy your life :)
Xoxo, Natalie

Love Changes Everything

Love changes everything. One decision by mankind, eating a piece of fruit, in a garden one day changed the destiny of the human race. We had life but chose death. One decision by a loving God changed our fate and gave us redemption in the name of love. Now we have the choice to chose life or death again. The most famous scripture of all time says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16 God's heart towards us is motivated by love. That's why He came to redeem and save us.

Love changes everything. The most radical example of love changing everything in my life was definitely having a baby. People would tell me all the time that you will never understand that kind of love until you have your own child, and it's so true. I would do anything for my daughter and I always want the best for her. Even when I have to discipline her it's motivated out of love. She just learned how to climb up on the couch and thought it would be a great idea to to just walk off of it- Yikes! So I've been having to teach  and discipline her to understand that she needs to sit on the couch and not stand... Why? Because I don't want her to fall off and hurt herself! When I look at my little girl and the love I have for her, it amazes me to think how much more God loves us! He literally loves us unconditionally and more than we can ever understand. The God of the universe loves us and the Earthly love we experience fails miserably compared to the love He wants to lavish on us all the time. When He disciplines us, HE loves us. When we're hurting or happy He loves us. When we're acting selfish or completely generous He loves us- no matter what. Our Heavenly Father is abounding of love, mercy and grace.

This Valentine's Day I hope you know how deeply you are loved and treasured by our Heavenly Father. He wants you to know, feel, and get a hold of His love for you! His love changes everything.... And you'll never be the same.

Xoxo, Natalie

Good Bye Blurry Vision

    Focus.  A central point. Attention. The clear and sharply defined condition of an image. To concentrate. Clear vision. There's a saying, "You become what you focus on." If that statement is true, what are you becoming and maybe an even better question is who are you becoming. Are you becoming like Jesus as you rest in His presence while trusting Him? Or are you becoming a worrier being consumed with problems? I know for me this season, the Lord is really challenging my focus, what is captivating my attention, and who I am becoming. I need His focus like never before.


    I wear glasses for reading, driving at night, working on a computer, for far away objects... ya know for some important necessitates in life! I do not have to wear them all the time but they help bring clarity so I can make out details of objects around me and be able to focus on things I could not see without them. I remember the first time I put my glasses on, it was like a whole new world. I was on the 4th floor of a very tall  building. I remember looking a bunch of trees and being able to make out every detail of the leaves as they were blowing in the wind. Before glasses they were just lumps, nothing special, but when I put on my brand new glasses- Wow! It was like I was seeing trees for the first time in years. I could read signs far away that were blurry before and the worst part about it was until I put glasses on, I didn't know how blurry my vision was.  I couldn't believe the details of regular life I was missing out on! My vision was blurred and my eyes physically could not focus.

    I believe the same is true with our walk with Christ- and believe me, I am preaching to myself! When we are not focused on the Lord, things become blurry. Life becomes out of focus. We can get confused about the simplest things. BUT when we begin to look at life through Christ's perspective, His eyes, His perfect 20/20 vision,  all the sudden everything becomes crystal clear and in focus. Sometimes we do not even understand how blurry our sight is until we start looking with Christ's eyes, like me and my glasses. I didn't even realize what I was missing until the first time I put my glasses on and could actually see! When Christ becomes the center of our focus we begin to have peace with situations we might still not understand. It's easier to love those around us. We forgive quicker. Financial issues are not so scary. We have unspeakable joy. When we chose to focus on the Lord with our whole hearts, things of this world become dim and we can see with clear, heavenly vision and perspective. My prayer for you (and myself) this season and the beginning of 2015 is that as you focus on the Lord and rest in His presence you will begin to see things differently- you will be focused on the author and perfecter of your faith and that He will do just that- perfect everything that concerns you because HE loves YOU!
Xoxo, Natalie

"Therefore having being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, FIXING OUR ATTENTION ON JESUS, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who in view of the joy set before Him, endured the cross, disregarding it's shame, and has set down at the right hand of God." Heb. 12:1-2

"SET (FOCUS) your minds on things above, not on things that are on Earth." Col 3:2

"You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains FOCUSED on you, because he remains in you." Is. 26:3