How does God see you? Does He like what He sees? Can I tell you He loves you 100% and loves everything about you? He loves all your annoying habits, He loves those extra pounds you have gained, and He loves you when you falter. Basically, He loves you. As a new creature in Christ when God looks at you He sees you as being redeemed. He sees the work Christ has completed on our behalf. He loves you even if you never change from this very day.
This morning I was trying to start my quiet time. I had my notebooks and Bible out all ready to get started. I sensed God saying, “Put those down. Calm your mind down. You know what, Kimberly I love you. Just think about it for a minute.” I quickly was in tears. He truly loves me. I know we all "know"God loves us, but do you really know it. Do you live like He loves you?
God thinks I'm beautiful! Whether the world thinks that or not! God likes my silly jokes, whether my kids like them or not. God thinks I'm cool even if the world says different. God sent his Son to die for me, how much more special can that be.
Today, I ask you to truly dwell on the fact that God loves you. Soak in it, breathe it, and then live it. When God loves me I can conquer anything in his strength alone. I do best when I give it all to God and throw my hands up and say, "God it is yours I can't do it anymore." It is a shame I don't do that first, but I'm learning and you know what God loves me in spite of myself.
Help My Preteen/Teenager is Driving Me Nuts!!!
Do you feel like someone has abducted your sweet, innocent child and replaced them with a monster? Are you confused that somehow you have gone from knowing everything as a parent, to knowing absolutely nothing? Welcome to being a parent of a preteen/teenager. It is a brave new world. Being a preteen/teenager is difficult and being a parent of one is difficult as well. In this article, I will address just a few of the many “normal” aspects of adolescence and how to survive as a parent.
Guilt Free Parenting
I don’t know about you, but I do guilt very well. At times, it seems like I can feel guilty for almost anything. Also, as a parent I mess up routinely. I can be short with my temper and my words are not always pleasant. Also, there seems to be a new parenting article out daily that tells you how to parent and of course it feels like to me anyway that I always come up short. My hunch is I am not the only one that feels that way. So, how do I have the audacity to come up with an article entitled, “Guilt Free Parenting”? Actually, it wasn’t totally my idea. God placed the idea and burden on my heart to share it with you.
Another View of Christmas
Christmas is a blessed time and one when we honor the birth of our Savior. We often have warm fuzzy feelings when we look at the nativity scene. I think we need to take a closer look. Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave birth in a cave with animals all around her and really no privacy. Can you imagine the smell in the cave? She certainly did not have any drugs to relieve the pain of childbirth. Some Bible scholars believe Mary was 14 years old. Picture being 14 and giving birth in a cave. All she had was Joseph to be with her, no mother or sisters to comfort her. She was very alone. Yet, she was not alone – God was with her.
