Finally Refreshed

Unfortunately, I am not talking about having a good night's sleep. Cranky pants decided she wanted to be up from about 4:30 until 6:00 this morning and after trying to console her for half an hour, I finally gave up, put her in her crib and let her cry until she fell asleep.

What I am feeling refreshed about is finally getting to go to church. I attended this church this morning without kids and was really blessed. I hadn't been to church (other than mass a couple of times with Theo) in over two months. I had been really feeling like there was something missing over the past couple of weeks and I knew that not going to church was what it was. The church itself is HUGE, has an awesome "nursing room" which I will most likely sit in next week with Olivia, and a phenonmenal praise and worship band!

Today, the pastor preached about Romans 8 and the title of the message was "We are more than conquerors". What an awesome message it was! Some things that hit home with me are that God doesn't just desire that we win the battles so to speak, but that we do more than conquer the struggles in our lives. He said we are more than conquerors because God is for us, Jesus is praying for us, and we can never be separated from God's love. He also said that we would not be good stewards if we didn't utilize all the blessings for which Jesus died for us. Wow, that really hit home with me. I want to experience ALL God has for my life, not just some of his blessings.

Another thing that struck me this morning before I even went to church was what a huge responsibility I have in terms of raising a daughter. Yes, I try (and often fail) to set a good example for Carter. I try to live a Christian life, and do and say godly things. But now I have a daughter. I felt God speaking to me so clearly this morning that I am to show her even from a very early age how to be a Christian woman, wife, and mother. How blessed I am to have a Christian mother to model all of things to me too. But Olivia is not to get her ideas about womanhood and motherhood from the world. I am supposed to show her those things. I hope I can live up to those standards for her. I believe the Bible cleary spells out how I am to live as a woman, wife, and mom but I do admit I struggle to live up to the example laid out before me. But now more than ever I feel that it is so important for me to do that and to help her grow into the same kind of woman. I know I can only do that with God's help!

I came across this website several months ago and found a great Bible study on Biblical womanhood. It's based on Proverbs 31. Here is the link. This is a series and the link is just the first day. I hope all the women who read this will check it out. It has blessed me tremendously.