Praising God for Mothers, Sisters, & Daughters.

We went to a Mother/
Daughter Tea yesterday!

I *heart* my mom! She is beautiful!
She taught me about unconditional love.
She also taught me that mistakes get made,
we learn from them, and we move on to better things.
I am blessed to be living with her for this season...

Sisters...now, I have a sister (love you sissy!!!) and I have a dear s.i.l. (*wave* to Chanelle)...but today I am sharing about sisters-in-Christ.

Our Mother/Daughter tea was at a church... a black church. A God glorifying, hope honoring, spiritual seeking, gospel gleaming, praise precious church. These beautiful ladies give fresh perspective on "sisters"-in-Christ. They sing, they praise, they worship, they pray (and pray they do), they dance, they rejoice, they relate, and they let down their guard and kept it real. AND they looked good, lol. NOT that that matters ;^) The hats, gloves, and shoes of these women were stunning; but they are the first to admit that they share, borrow, and bargain shop; but I am not talking about the outer beauty. These "sisters" know that Christ is their King, and they treat themselves (and each other) like the precious jewels they are.

Daughters~ my daughter is lovely.
She adores doing things with me. Even simple things like making donuts together, or reading together. I love taking her to mother/daughter events. She lights up.
She had a nice time at the tea, too. She had a "twin" at the tea. A young girl, 9, came up to introduce herself. Both the girls were wearing the SAME dress. Now, as women, that is something we prefer not to happen....girls, on the other hand, seem to use it as a connection.
They were simply adorable.
Black girl, black hat, black gloves, black shoes;
white girl, white pearls, white gloves, white shoes...
yearning to be ladies; learning to be sisters-in-Christ.

May I always Shine His Light in a way that my daughter can follow His path....
and may she be much more graceful through it than I am!

A Church-less Family in a Godly Home

I ponder what this really is. What is "church"?

I was not raised in a Godly home. My mom was. But it was not necessarily a kind home. I found Jesus when I was young. I went to Sunday School when we visited my Grandma. This was not often. The summer before 4th grade I was fortunate enough to attend my first VBS. This was a very pivotal point in my life. I accepted Christ as my Savior. I "knew" what I knew to be true. The dark areas of home became much darker; and I survived because I "knew" the Light lived within me. During this 6 yr trial in my life, I personally sought out Jesus. You see, we moved a LOT. In my 4th grade alone I went to 4 different schools. At each house we lived, I found a Sunday School. I walked alone. Once I even was able to ride a Sunday School bus. I did not know about denominations. I did not care about denominations. I yearned to learn more about my Savior, one whom would save me.

Oddly enough, when the enemy left our home (finally), was about the age I learned how to escape. Without the details of my sinful choices; let's just say I walked away from Christ for a season. ('nuff said, eh?) I still talked to God, I still chatted with Him randomly, but I put Him in a box stored in my heart. I randomly came across different youth groups throughout high school. I was the girl your parents warned their sons about. Maybe not quite that bad, lol, but bad enough. Lost. Each youth group became an increasingly worse experience. I was seeking the Truth, and darkness was revealing itself within these groups.

Years later, now with a husband and a child, I sought out the Truth stored in my heart. There is a drive to do the right thing. Church is the right thing, right? We became CEO's - Christmas/Easter only. I knew what I knew to be true. Jesus IS the answer. One does not have to attend church to be saved, that I knew. And one does not have to be saved to attend church.

In my child-like faith, I knew I must get past the milk, and on to the meat of this spiritual meal. and I fervently prayed, for what seemed like a lifetime in itself.

8 years and 3 kids later, my husband was saved. (no details on a public forum; it is his story to tell). We began going to church; I began to realize what church was suppose to look like. In a 10 year growth, we went to 3 churches, and I began to trust the process. The first church we dedicated to had fabulous, Christ loving folks. The pastor fell apart, darkness exposed. The 2nd church-different style, lovely people, not for us. (I continued to help with their VBS each year, until this church disbanned also.) Our last church was a community-based church and that was exactly what we discovered....community...connection.

Now we are in a new state, a new home, a new situation to ponder. 1st we were in a home w/ my in-laws (mom & sister) for about 9 months. We began going to my cousins church a few times. I liked it. Now we are currently living with my parents. We did find a church in this area that we seem to like, yet, I continue to stall our attendance with any type of commitment.
Why?
Because I know we may not be here very long.
Because I know there is a possibility of us moving in a year.
Because I moved a lot as a child, and do not want my kids to feel shuffled about.
Because I know it is hard for me to let go of friendships, so I do not want to start any.
Because it takes work to commit to a new church.

So, what is church to us?
A place where sinful people seek Godly counsel.
Where truth is sought out; where answers are found;
where we lay our heart out on the line,
and humbly praise Jesus Christ as Lord.

Church is kinda like a hospital-
There are sick folk, healing folk, some folks are just walking through, some are visiting, some loiter about, & some stay to take care of the sick & healing.

For a season, our church is from the home.
Church has become a life style, not a building.

A place where we seek Godly counsel,
and God is gracious to reveal our sins.

Where we seek out truth,
and God gracefully provides the answers.

Where we lay our hearts out on the line,
and God meets us where we are at.

Where we praise Jesus,
and God is merciful.

For this season we will nurture, prepare, & guide our "congregation" to equip them how to Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called them heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Phillippians 3:14

What is that goal?
~to get to know Christ,
~to be Christ-like,
~to be all that God has purposed us to be.

What is your goal?