dear daughters,
Fall pumpkins and cooler weather are here. The leaves are starting to turn all shades of yellow, orange and red. Every season is full of change, but this one is so obvious and beautiful! As a young woman, you are beginning to change too. You’ve experienced changes before, but most have probably been under your parents’ roof. Somehow change is easier when your address stays the same. But now is the time for big changes: college, jobs, and maybe marriage. Change is very pronounced in this season of life, like the autumn leaves.
My biggest changes happened before I was thirty. I changed colleges three times and majors four. I changed boyfriends and even husbands. I changed hometowns, houses and jobs. Some of my changes were happy, and some were not. Some were easy, and others very difficult. Some changes came from my listening to God; others came from my ignoring Him. Ten years from now, you will look back and see many changes in your life, too. I pray that you will like what you see. I believe you will, if you’ll look to God now for His help and guidance with every step you take, and every decision you make.
Take hold of God’s hand as you walk through this important season of life and don’t let go. You are a changing creature, but your Creator is always the same. Let Him guide you into the changes that will let you be all He designed you to be. He has your best life in mind, a more joyful life than you can imagine!
living to love, loving to live,
momma b
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
dear daughters,
The school year has begun! Anki and Aimee are both in college now, and Latania is an “upper classman”! My how time flies! Each of you is in an important season of life.
I’ve been reading a book called The New Eve: Choosing God’s Best for Your Life by Robert Lewis. He talks about the seasons of life for women, even young women. I’ll share a little of it today and save the rest for later. Here are three things he suggests young single women do.
1. Envision what you want your life to look like when you are out of school and down the road about ten or fifteen years. Then figure out how to get there and take steps in that direction.
2. Pray for God’s best husband for you, and follow His leading to find that special one. Decide in advance your nonnegotiables. Know what to look for in a good man. “The best way to find a good man and keep him is to become a good woman.”
3. Develop your character by continuing to go to church, fellowship with Christian friends, and study the Bible. “Character is the ground floor of your life. Who you are will always be more important than what you do. Build your (good) character now rather than take on the harder work of rebuilding it in later seasons. The better your character, the better your life.”
living to love, loving to live,
momma b
The school year has begun! Anki and Aimee are both in college now, and Latania is an “upper classman”! My how time flies! Each of you is in an important season of life.
I’ve been reading a book called The New Eve: Choosing God’s Best for Your Life by Robert Lewis. He talks about the seasons of life for women, even young women. I’ll share a little of it today and save the rest for later. Here are three things he suggests young single women do.
1. Envision what you want your life to look like when you are out of school and down the road about ten or fifteen years. Then figure out how to get there and take steps in that direction.
2. Pray for God’s best husband for you, and follow His leading to find that special one. Decide in advance your nonnegotiables. Know what to look for in a good man. “The best way to find a good man and keep him is to become a good woman.”
3. Develop your character by continuing to go to church, fellowship with Christian friends, and study the Bible. “Character is the ground floor of your life. Who you are will always be more important than what you do. Build your (good) character now rather than take on the harder work of rebuilding it in later seasons. The better your character, the better your life.”
living to love, loving to live,
momma b
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Remember the Rainbow
dear daughters,
Spring has long ago sprung, and summer has already begun. But today at my house the spring storms are still in the air.
Last night, the storms were so severe I was in the closet for twenty minutes! The tornado and fire truck sirens howled, and my dog Moo eagerly joined the alarming chorus.
The tops of several of our trees were sheared straight off. Huge limbs lay in abundance around our house in both the front and back yards. As my mother used to say about my room, “It looks like a tornado came through.” And it may have.
When the storms quieted down, Papa Jeff and I were left sitting in the dark without any electricity. So we decided to venture out in the car to see what damage had been done. Fortunately, we saw lots of standing water and broken trees, but no displaced people or broken homes. Many storms are far worse.
As we drove around, I looked at the back side of the ferocious storm that had left its mark on our yard. Surprisingly, I saw a beautiful rainbow. It occurred to me the rainbow wasn’t on the front or in the middle of the storm. It came on its heels, following behind after the intensity of the storm had passed.
In Genesis, God promised Noah he would never again destroy “all flesh” of the earth by a flood, and the rainbow was his sign of this promise. But there is an even bigger message in the rainbow. It reminds us that God is in control of every storm. It is a symbol of his power to limit a storm’s impact, to determine its magnitude and decide its end.
We all face storms and many are of another kind – life storms that move in our direction seemingly out of nowhere. Like rain storms, they are dark and scary. They are beyond our control. They can cause damage and even threaten our lives. We wonder if they will ever end.
When you experience life storms like failure, loss and heartache, I pray today you will always remember God is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of every storm that comes your way. He is always present and always in control.
Next time you find yourself in a storm, anticipate the rainbow. It will surely come!
living to love, loving to live,
momma b
Spring has long ago sprung, and summer has already begun. But today at my house the spring storms are still in the air.
Last night, the storms were so severe I was in the closet for twenty minutes! The tornado and fire truck sirens howled, and my dog Moo eagerly joined the alarming chorus.
The tops of several of our trees were sheared straight off. Huge limbs lay in abundance around our house in both the front and back yards. As my mother used to say about my room, “It looks like a tornado came through.” And it may have.
When the storms quieted down, Papa Jeff and I were left sitting in the dark without any electricity. So we decided to venture out in the car to see what damage had been done. Fortunately, we saw lots of standing water and broken trees, but no displaced people or broken homes. Many storms are far worse.
As we drove around, I looked at the back side of the ferocious storm that had left its mark on our yard. Surprisingly, I saw a beautiful rainbow. It occurred to me the rainbow wasn’t on the front or in the middle of the storm. It came on its heels, following behind after the intensity of the storm had passed.
In Genesis, God promised Noah he would never again destroy “all flesh” of the earth by a flood, and the rainbow was his sign of this promise. But there is an even bigger message in the rainbow. It reminds us that God is in control of every storm. It is a symbol of his power to limit a storm’s impact, to determine its magnitude and decide its end.
We all face storms and many are of another kind – life storms that move in our direction seemingly out of nowhere. Like rain storms, they are dark and scary. They are beyond our control. They can cause damage and even threaten our lives. We wonder if they will ever end.
When you experience life storms like failure, loss and heartache, I pray today you will always remember God is at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of every storm that comes your way. He is always present and always in control.
Next time you find yourself in a storm, anticipate the rainbow. It will surely come!
living to love, loving to live,
momma b
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