I crave the praise of man. I devour compliments, admiring glances & words of praise. They make me feel good. Full. Satisfied. Like I’ve just eaten a great meal. Inevitably the full feeling fades & I’m hungry again. When I’m wearing a cute outfit & no one compliments it, my hunger grows. When I’m having a good hair day & no one notices, my appetite deepens. When I do something well & no one tells me “good job” the hunger pains begin to ache. My growing hunger used to cause me to act out in sin & draw me into bondage. This desperate need to satisfy the hunger led me so deep into anorexia that I no longer felt true, physical hunger. I existed by feeding the appetite to be loved, liked, envied & seen as beautiful-not to mention skinny.

All praise to the God who set me free from that bondage & gave me a taste of something Better. He gave me a hunger for the Bread of Life who satisfies my every craving. In Him I am loved, accepted & secure.

Now, when I feel that craving for man’s praise start to ache within me, I know what it is. It now indicates to me that I have taken my eyes off the Savior & focused them on the mirror. I close my eyes & preach the Truth of the gospel to my hunger. “You are loved. You are accepted. You are secure in Christ. You are God’s beautiful creation.” The ache for the praises of men weakens & my desire for Christ burns within me.

These truths are yours as well. Do you believe them? YOU are loved. YOU are secure in Christ. YOU are God’s beautiful creation. YES. YOU!

Romans 12:2-3 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have diving power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

 
Ephesians 4:22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its’ deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

For His glory,

photo cred: http://fingercandymedia.com/applause

Phineas and Ferb anyone? By far my favorite of all my son’s cartoons is Phineas and Ferb and when the all too familiar theme song started playing today, I couldn’t help but think of my F15 ladies who are out on summer vacation. The theme song is true, there are only 104 days of summer vacation and all too quickly school will come along to end it. What you have to decide is how you will spend it.

My husband and I sat down last weekend and, for the second year in a row, wrote down goals on a paper titled “Our Intentional Summer.” We have goals as a couple, goals for the family and then individual goals we’d like to accomplish. This helps us set the framework for how we’ll spend our summer days. I’m looking forward to sitting down with him again in August and reviewing how God used this summer to grow us spiritually, make us healthier and help us reconnect with those we love.

Summer is such a wonderful time to rest, hang out by the pool and just take it easy but if you’re not intentional about your time, August will come and you’ll realize the summer just slipped right by and you didn’t get to do all that you wanted. I encourage you to take a view minutes today and prayerfully consider how the Lord wants you to spend your summer. You may not be building a rocket, chasing a mummy or climbing up the Eiffel Tower (wink wink) but I know He has big plans for you! Go to Him and ask for guidance about what books to read, people to meet up with, ministry opportunities to be involved in, etc. Then, write down what you feel like He is leading you to do and put it somewhere you’ll see it daily. It will be so neat to look over the list before you head back to school. Many of the gooals we’ve set in our home became lifestyle changes that effected our family for the better and for God’s greater glory.

I love you all and hope you have an incredible summer!

For His glory,

Pic cred: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-12677

I was working through my 260 in 260 scripture today and was struck by Ephesians 6 in a new way.   It was especially startling because I am so familiar with this scripture.   It is one I teach at every Freshman 15 Retreat and seek to drive home it’s truth to you, ladies. However, as the Holy Spirit amazingly does, the scripture jumped off the page and pierced my heart in a new way this morning and I just couldn’t resist sharing. This blog post is just a simple journal entry exactly as I wrote it this morning. I felt compelled to share and my hope is you are challenged as I was.

Here is the scripture and the journal entry that followed:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, AS YOU WOULD CHRIST, not by the way of eye service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God FROM THE HEART,…” Ephesians 6:5-6

I’ve read this scripture so many times and have never felt the conviction I felt today from the line, “as you would Christ.”  Do I serve Christ this way?  With a sincere heart? With fear and trembling? Not to please others but from the heart?  I don’t know.  I think a lot of times I serve Christ from duty, diligence and out of guilt.  I lack fear and trembling because I don’t see Him rightly.  Instead of bowing in fear of His power and might-I casually address Him as buddy and friend.  I regrettably see Him as equal instead of Master.  My service to Him doesn’t falter-not because of Him alone but because I fear man & want others to see my obedience to my Savior.

I believe that if I would see and serve Him rightly, my struggle with earthly masters would disappear.  But how can I serve them “as to the Lord” if I’m not serving the Lord as He requires?

Father, help me to see You in light of who You really are.  I bow my heart and bend my knees.  Humble my spirit and transform my heart.   Transform my desires so that I would seek to serve You from a right heart-with “love incorruptible” (Ephesians 6:24).

May God, by His power, transform our hearts to see Him rightly and therefore, serve Him rightly.  When we do, service to our earthly masters will easily follow.

For His glory,

What a blessing it was to spend the weekend with these amazing senior girls from FBC Keller.  We were ushered to the throne each day through the worship of the very gifted Melissa Briggs and had great food and a great setting thanks to Meredith Minor and First Baptist Keller.

This was a crazy, fun group of girls and I loved laughing with them and watching them laugh with one another!  From the scavenger hunt that was just a mess (with only one team actually making it to all of the stops!), to the highly competitive, break out in a sweat game of Catch Phrase to the late night dance party I fell asleep to the first night…the fun just never stopped!  However, when it was time to get down to business and dig into God’s Word, they easily switched from silly to studious. I loved being able to share with them the hope and truth the Lord has to guide them through their college years and I so look forward to keeping up with these ladies as they finish out their senior year and head off to college.

I believe God will use them in a mighty way to reach their campus’ for Christ and I look forward to the legacy of faith they’ll create as they serve God in college and the years that follow.

For His glory,






Photo courtesy of: http://www.melissabriggsphotography.com/

We had such an awesome time in Little Rock, Arkansauce (as my 3 yr old calls it!). Melissa Sponer, the very creative and very thoughtful girls minister at IBC in Little Rock, put together a truly special weekend for the retreat. We stayed at the famous Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock where the red carpet is rolled out daily for a precious little group of ducks that march their way from their terrace home to the lobby fountain. It was a riot!

I had so much fun getting to love on these seniors and hearing about all of their excitement and anxiety as they prepare to head off to college. We had a blast touring downtown which included a tip worthy performance from a street-corner Michael Jackson impersonator and a tour through the Old State Capitol where we got to critique all of Hillary Clinton”s old ball gowns on display. We finished the retreat with an excellent meal at a brazillian steakhouse and it was a delight to hand these seniors their framed copy of The Freshman 15 and know that these must-packs would make it to their dorm room walls.

Once again, I was able to watch as God spoke His truth to these ladies and their fears about college just melted away. Please join me in praying for them as they prepare for the journey ahead. I believe God will be glorified mightily through these precious ones.

For His glory,

What a way to kick off retreat season! I had such an awesome time last weekend with this amazing group of senior ladies from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, TX. The Lord did a mighty work as He transformed their anxiety to excitement and peace about all He has for them as they head off to college. I loved all the hugs at the end of the retreat that were met with a little whisper letting me know, “I’m ready to go now” and “I’m so excited and can’t wait to see what God has in store!”

I was so blessed to come home and open my FB to find a message from a sweet attendee who let me know God used the weekend to get a hold of her heart. In her words, “…this weekend has helped me re-focus and realize what I need to do – and that is to fall in love with the Lord. And through being in an intimate relationship with God, He will prepare my heart for when it is time for me to date.”

I just love it when God speaks and I am so blessed to be a part of His ministry to these ladies.
Thank you to all of you who prayed over this weekend. God moved and I believe we are sending these ladies out to be lights on their campus and give God big glory in college.

For His glory,

As 2009 drew to a close and I reflected back on the year, I felt convicted by my lack of spiritual growth. Yes, I had been serving the Lord and teaching His Word but my time spent studying was mostly to teach and not for personal time alone with Him. I felt challenged to dig into His Word and truly seek Him daily so that as 2010 drew to a close, I wouldn’t feel the same disappointment with my walk as I had in 2009. This conviction led me to commit to reading the entire Bible this year. In obedience to what I feel God was calling me to, I followed a Bible reading plan and read daily as well as outlined what I read and journaled about it. As I look back on 2010, I am so thankful that God led me to this commitment, gave me the strength and discipline to stick with it, provided an increased hunger for His Word and blessed me beyond measure as I learned more about Him. I want to share with you the highs and lows of my journey through the scripture in case you are considering taking on the same challenge this year.

Highs…the really good stuff that came out of it:
-Increased understanding of who God is and how He works: God’s desire for His glory, His sovereignty, His deep love, compassion and passion for His people and His jealousy for their affection are just a few of the characteristics that were made so obvious.
-Broader understanding of His love for His people and redemptive plan: The OT can bog you down with the continued disobedience of Israel but God never gave up on them as He never gives up on us.
-Increased discipline and commitment to being in His Word: Waking up and diving into the scriptures became part of my routine and was a daily commitment instead of haphazard coincidence.
-Sweet times of God speaking to me in the middle of the most obscure passage I could imagine: Not only did He speak to me but He used what I was studying to bless others.

Lows…the tough stuff my sin nature struggled with:
-Struggles with duty instead of delight: There were many days I did my reading and studying because I had to not and not because I really wanted to.
-Huge time commitment: In order to properly read and study the chapters, I spent at least an hour to and hour and a half each day–7 days a week. This is not really a bad thing but was difficult to maintain.
-Missing the treasures: I read anywhere from 3 to 5 chapters a day and, because of that, I believe I missed many of the hidden gems within the text.

If you are considering reading the entirety of scripture this year, please know I highly encourage it. This post is simply a realistic reflection in order to prepare you for the highs and lows of the journey before you. It is truly a marathon instead of a sprint-like commitment.

After a long, hard trek, I desire this year to slow the pace and stroll through the sweetness of the New Testament. I am so excited about taking the time in the scripture to really soak it all in and allow the transforming power of gospel truth to take over. Once again, the Spirit has led me to this commitment and prompted me to prepare a study plan I’m calling 260 in 260. There are 260 chapters in the NT and 260 weekdays in 2011. Here is a link to the plan I created. I alternated the gospels with the epistles in this plan because the first three gospels (known as the synoptic gospels) are quite similar and the lengthiest of the New Testament books. In this plan, you will hopefully read each of the gospels in a fresher light because they aren’t one after another.

Here is what I will do each day as I sit down to read and study the chapter:
1. Pray: Ask God to give me an increased hunger and love for His scripture and to stir the Spirit in me that delights in His Word and gives me understanding into all it teaches.
2. Read the chapter.
3. Outline what it says.
4. Write out the scripture that stands out the most.
5. Pray and journal about what I believe the Spirit is teaching me through this selection.

In case you are following along, I will post some commentary at the beginning of each new book to help provide background information to help give us further understanding of the scriptures and help in correct interpretation.

Please let me know if you plan on joining me on this wonderful journey through God’s new covenant with us. I will be posting to the Facebook page and would love to hear from you on how God is strengthening your commitment and using it to draw you closer to Himself.

All my love,

Photo:http://www.hem-of-his-garment-bible-study.org/image-files/bible-studying-pen-papger.gif

It”s finally here! The sweet days of sleeping in, someone else to do your laundry or at least a washing machine you don”t have to feed quarters into, home-cooked meals, all the mindless reality TV you can handle and reunions with friends you”ve missed terribly over this last semester. I am so excited for you and remember so well how sweet it was to be home.
I want to prepare you for something you might deal with during your time at home; something you may have caught a glimpse of over Thanksgiving break. It”s the struggle of the new you vs. the high school you. The new you is much more independent, may talk differently, dress differently, even style your hair differently. The new you has overcome obstacles and faced challenges the old you new nothing about. The new you has new friends, life experiences and character development that the high school you didn”t.

All this is great and is just as it should be. The struggle occurs when you head home to a place and people who know the former you, the high school you. It”s a hard adjustment for everyone. You”re struggling to prove yourself to your friends and family, to assert your new independence and…they feel confused. You basically look the same and you”ve really only been gone five months. They may want to put you in the same high school sized box they had you in when you left. They may still see you as immature and irresponsible and let”s face it, in a lot of ways you might still be struggling in those areas. For some reason, because they expect you to behave that way…you find yourself behaving as they expect! For instance, you”ve been chatting with your siblings online all semester and things are great between you but for some reason when you get home, you start fighting about the same petty stuff like who took who”s shirt. Or, you”ve been doing really good about handling your business and being respectful of authority but when you get home you find yourself dropping the ball on things you know you should be taking care of and talking back to your folks.

I know this struggle. I have been battling it since the first time I returned home from college and battle it every time I go to my folk”s house…YES. Even now. And I”m 28! It”s much easier now, thankfully, but the Lord had to do some work in me to bring about consistency, maturity and stability; all came from Him as He taught me to place my confidence in who I am in HIM ALONE. This has come through saturating my mind with His Word as I feel myself start to question my identity. I want to give you some thoughts I”ve struggled with and the scriptures that have helped me solidify who I truly am:

Am I pretty? Will they think I am or that I”ve gained/lost weight, don”t look as cute as I used to and/or need to freshen up my wardrobe?
I am a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16); this body is here to be used as a vessel to display God’s glory. I am God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) and adored by my Creator who knit me together beautifully (Psalm 139:13-14). He desires a beautiful heart (1 Peter 3:4) and that is what I should focus on improving; not my outer self that is quickly fading away.

Am I accepted? Do my old friends still like me and want to hang out with me? Am I still cool with them or I am going to be alone?
Through jeux blackjack en ligne Christ, I am accepted by God (Ephesians 1:4-7). He desires to spend time with me (Luke 10:39-42) and the best time I could spend is sitting at His feet and learning from Him.

Am I smart enough, good enough, achieving enough? Will my family and friends think I have it together or will they judge me for not being ambitious enough or making good enough grades?
The Lord sees me and loves me completely (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). His love is not based on what I do and I can rest in the free love He gives because of Christ’s blood (Ephesians 2:8). I do not have to prove myself to anyone but find confidence in the Savior who loves me and the Father who accepts me just as I am.

Am I forgiven or will others judge me for the mistakes I made last semester? As I fell short in my Christian walk, do others see me as stained?
I am free from condemnation (Romans 8:31-39) and though my sins were as scarlet, He has washed me white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). I am hidden with Christ in God. When others see me, may they first see Christ (Colossians 3:1-4).

Remember your purpose. It is not to please everyone or have them like and accept you. You are home to serve your family and be a minister of the gospel. Keep that at the forefront of your mind and with the cross plainly in view and your identity secure, you can point others to Christ during your time at home.

Just a simple head”s up from me to you. I want you to know that your struggle is normal and will get easier as time goes on. As I return home this Christmas, I am happy to say I have finally stopped picking fights with my little sister about the same, dumb stuff and have learned to find my confidence in Christ and not what my family or old high school pals think about me.

I”m praying the same for you and hope you have a wonderful time with your family full of sweet memories and an unshakable confidence of who you are in Christ that makes you secure.

All my love,

Photo:http://www.swide.com/luxury-magazine/Life/Good-s-/Holiday-decor-by-Christa-Rose/2010/11/25

Dreaded finals are here. Have you pulled any all nighters yet as you try to cram in studying 300 pages worth of material for an 8 am exam while sleepily typing a paper due at noon the same day that you will later swear was the best thing you ever wrote?

Here’s the deal, friends: All nighters make you feel like poo and I recommend that you avoid them at all costs. Why do they make you feel so bad? First, because obviously you’re sleep deprived. You go in to take that test you’ve stayed up all night studying for and no matter how many 5 hour energy drinks you’ve chugged, you just can’t seem to come up with the answers. Second, you usually eat cruddy foods at 2 am. Let’s face it. You’re probably not going to make a grilled chicken salad in the middle of the night but will run through Whataburger, stop at IHOP or inhale a whole bag of potato chips because it’s all that’s available. The combined lack of sleep and over consumption of greasy foods seriously makes you feel…well…like poo!

My sweet friends: STOP DOING THIS! Study during the day. Make a schedule for studying and finishing your final projects and essays and stick to it. Your friends will still be there to hang out when you get back from the library or the coffee shop. Study first and hang out later. Your stomach and your grades will thank you!

I love you and I am thinking about you and praying for you during this tough time. You can do it and in a couple of weeks, you’ll be home sleeping in and having home-cooked meals from your wonderful moms who have missed you terribly.

All my love,

Photo: http://oudaily.com/news/2008/dec/15/ample-sleep-vital-studying-retention/

I sat down for coffee with an F15 alum, Katy Mueller, and asked her a few questions about how to have a great first week of classes.  She had so many great tips and was happy to share them with all of you.  Check out this little video interview we did before you head off to your FIRST COLLEGE CLASS (yay!) this week:

Here are a few things I wanted to remind you of before you get you are nose-deep in your first textbook:

1. Remember to work in your classes as working for the Lord, not for men (Col 3:23).
2. Be Jesus to the people in your classes. Remember, your campus is your mission field and the Lord has placed you in each of your classes for His purposes.  Be the feet and wash feet (Isa 52:7, John 13:4)
3. Don’t forget to take your syllabi, go back to your dorm and write down all of your tests and projects in your calendar.
4. Treat your day like a 9-5 job.  If you can get all of your studying done during the day (instead of taking that lovely 2 hour nap) you’ll have your nights free to hang with your pals & chill.

I am praying over you this week and praying for your classes, your professors and all the new people you will meet.  May God be glorified in it all!

For His glory,