Serious About Faith. Light-Hearted About Life.
Happy MLK Day, my friends! I wanted to re-share a post (and an accompanying image) I created a couple of years ago. Enjoy!
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Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day.
This day means much more than just a day off of school and no mail delivery.
Whenever I think of the great MLK, I think of service. I ran across this quote a couple of months ago and have been waiting to work up a graphic and share it with you.
Now seems like the perfect time. [Read more…]
Welcome to Wilco Wednesday! If you are a new around these parts, “Wilco” is Army-speak for “Will Comply.” Think of it as saying “Roger, God. Got it. Will do.” So that is what Wednesday here at 7 Days Time is all about– exploring his decrees and seeking guidance for what complying with Him looks like in everyday life. The best part? He loves us for who we are, not what we do. Remember: He doesn’t want perfection, just obedience. Share. Enjoy. Interact. And let’s respond to God’s call with a hearty “Wilco, Lord!” Please welcome our PWOC sister, Kornelia (aka, Konnie.)
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Over the years, I have noticed that many woman and girls have a very negative view of themselves, especially when it comes to looks. This has always made me very sad.
I too have struggled with insecurities as a teenager and later as a young woman.
But when I found God, I slowly, very slowly, learned to see myself in a healthier way. I remember reading Psalm 139:16…
“…For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
I had a tough childhood. Maybe you had one too—one that left you scarred. Maybe you still hear the lies in your head from days long past. But the good news is that God heals. We can bring those old wounds to Jesus, who faced suffering when he was on this earth too.
It took me a while, but one day I realized that I could say no to the negative voices in my head and replace them with God’s word. Consider this: there is no one in this whole wide world that looks like you do. GOD made you and created you with His loving hand.
Honestly, I have had my bad days. You probably have too. But I refuse to listen to the lies of the enemy anymore. Time is precious. I will not waste it.
I also would like to encourage you to find out what God given talents you possess. Once you know and work in these gifts, you will feel so blessed. Just look back on the things you loved to do as a child, as a teen and as an adult. You will get an idea what brings you joy. When I do what I love, and use the gifts God gave me, I feel happy and it makes me feel beautiful from the inside out. We woman are such an awesome creation. We ROCK!
The world would want us to believe that we can be happy only if we look a certain way. But we can look to God and what He says about us. I can’t count the many times I have gotten ready in front of the mirror years ago and did not like what I saw. Sometimes I felt even hatred for myself. But with Christian counseling and spending time with my awesome Papa Jesus, I can say now: I am wonderfully made.
The more time I spend with Him the more I get to know Him and His love for me.
So please embrace the beautiful, wonderful you that God intended you to be. Don’t waste another minute listening to the lies. Look in the mirror and say. “Girl, you rock!” Say it as often as needed until you finally believe and feel it.
We have a great power living in us. If we ask God to help us to see ourselves the way He sees us, He truly will set us free. We are no longer victims. We are victorious through Jesus Christ. Embrace the beautiful, wonderful you. The you that God created you to be. When we really start to believe how much we are loved, we will carry ourselves differently. We walk as women who know who we are in Christ. Remember the enemy came to kill and destroy, but Christ came so that we can have new hope for a better and brighter future.
You were made with His loving hand… it is certainly wasn’t by accident.
Kornelia (Konnie) Brown is from Germany, but has lived in the USA for 25 years. She has been married for 28 years and has three grown children and five grand kids. Konnie has enjoyed writing stories, poems, and songs since her teenage years.
Linking up today with my friend Kristin over at Three-word Wednesday and having a little Coffee for your Heart with Holley. Oh! And be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
Welcome to Wilco Wednesday! If you are a new around these parts, “Wilco” is Army-speak for “Will Comply.” Think of it as saying “Roger, God. Got it. Will do.” So that is what Wednesday here at 7 Days Time is all about– exploring his decrees and seeking guidance for what complying with Him looks like in everyday life. The best part? He loves us for who we are, not what we do. Remember: He doesn’t want perfection, just obedience. Share. Enjoy. Interact. Welcome a very Godly, loving woman, my friend Bobbie.
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“God is moved by us. When He signed up for love, He signed up for pain.” ~Beth Moore
Remember as a child what it meant to “pinkie promise” or to agree with our lips with fingers crossed behind our backs? Some of us find it difficult to outgrow that practice. It may not be that easy for us in relationships to keep our commitments or to love another unconditionally and forever. In relationships with siblings, parents, relatives, friends, husbands, even adult children – we have made promises, but what happens when the thrill or ease of our “I promise” fades? [Read more…]
There are some people in this world that I just want to be like.
Well. Not completely. But some of their specific attributes.
It’s not usually to the level of envy (at least I don’t think it is) but I do aspire to learn from and emulate a few folks in my circle. [Read more…]
Welcome to Wilco Wednesday! If you are a new around these parts, “Wilco” is Army-speak for “Will Comply.” Think of it as saying “Roger, God. Got it. Will do.” So that is what Wednesday here at 7 Days Time is all about– exploring his decrees and seeking guidance for what complying with Him looks like in everyday life. The best part? He loves us for who we are, not what we do. Remember: He doesn’t want perfection, just obedience. Share. Enjoy. Interact. Welcome a very Godly, loving woman, my friend Bobbie.
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Life can be tough.
My husband doesn’t help me. He is not present or available to the kids. We are better off without him during deployments. If He’s not here, we can’t expect anything of him. Work and friends have a higher priority than his family. Financially, his decisions are ruining us. I don’t feel secure in his love for us.
In the raging battle for stable families, what happens in the home affects all of us. Single with married friends, active duty single parent, married with or without children, divorced with or without children: we have a bird’s eye view, a front row seat, or are in the battle ourselves. The struggles are real, and the outcomes are significant. As individuals and as a community of faith, what is our response to the deep and wide heartbreak that surrounds us? Believers are empowered to do good works, which God ordained for us before the world began (Ephesians 2:10). How are we wielding our power? [Read more…]
I don’t know what it is about the my current life season, but I feel like it is one big ol’ glob of nostalgia.
Maybe it is the peace of the changing seasons. Or how my toddler grows and changes (and challenges!) me more every day. Or perhaps because I am getting ready to bid my 20’s farewell.
I don’t know what it is, but honestly, I kind of enjoy it.
Any time I have a spare brain moment, God is pulling my mind back to some former seasons of my life. I don’t think of them with loss or regret, but rather recall with fondness.
Just the other day, as I was praying about this post, I remembered one of my favorite childhood pastimes: Peering through the kaleidoscope. [Read more…]
I recently went through the hardest day of ministry since I answered this call over four years ago.
Actually, it was a very hard couple of weeks. Phone call after phone call, text after text, message after message– filled with tears and brokenness.
This particular day, I was just so sad about how fallen our world truly is. After several hours of walking with my friend though a very hard life experience, I did see the blessing that I was no overwhelmed by all the junk.
God was with us. And sometimes, in our darkest hour, He shows up in the most surprising ways.
In this instance, it was humor. [Read more…]
My heart was pounding. It was air-conditioned, and a temperate fall day but I was still sweating. My stomach was churning and my mouth was dry.
I was clad in white, hair done up, make-up applied meticulously.
The music began. And it was my turn. Just one step in front of the other.
This year, we celebrate five years of marriage.
I would love to tell you that I practically floated down the aisle on Cloud Nine, tasting a slice of heaven with each step towards the altar.
But really, I was terrified. I loved my almost-husband, was confident that God had chosen us for one another, but I was scared.
Did I really have the courage to say yes? [Read more…]
Welcome to Wilco Wednesday! If you are a new around these parts, “Wilco” is Army-speak for “Will Comply.” Think of it as saying “Roger, God. Got it. Will do.” So that is what Wednesday here at 7 Days Time is all about– exploring his decrees and seeking guidance for what complying with Him looks like in everyday life. The best part? He loves us for who we are, not what we do. Remember: He doesn’t want perfection, just obedience. Joining us today is my dear, wonderful, beautiful and encouraging friend Kristen. Share. Enjoy. Interact. And let’s respond to God’s call with a hearty “Wilco, Lord!”
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Dear Dad,
I was at PWOC this morning; we were evacuated – calmly, quietly, quickly, asked to leave. We’d been evacuated for a possible gas leak months ago, but this was different. All was quiet, no sirens. Chaplains and CID descended amid the surprising quiet chaos of a hundred women, mostly mamas waiting for their children to also emerge from the building unharmed.
I knew before I was told; I knew in my gut someone was threatening to take their life. The day, in fact the past week, had seemed to have a shroud of darkness over it. Not literal darkness like Northwest winter is prone to, but spiritual darkness. Besides ruining two desserts I was going to bring that morning I, like so many of the fellow women, had had weeks that just didn’t seem to have gone at all right. Husbands deploying or already gone, kids sick or gone haywire, messing up things we can do with ease; it was in the air. [Read more…]
My husband is an infantryman.
I believe he chose this MOS because of the opportunity to serve, the thrill factor and challenge that comes with boots-on-the-ground-kicking-in-doors-and-taking-names.
Plus, he loves the color blue.
Recently, however, I have learned another interesting piece of his genetic soldier make-up.
He loves the infantry because he secretly harbors a desire to be the next Bear Grylls– you know, that super-intense guy with the TV show “Man vs. Wild?” Yeah, I am married to a wannabe-that.
Which makes family camping tricks very frustrating interesting. [Read more…]
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