I believe that our morals and values or beliefs are shown in our actions.  If you are truly showing what you believe in then you will be “living” what you believe.  As a result your children will witness those beliefs and will begin to take them as their own, thus “catching” them.  That is why you must LIVE it.  If you don’t believe in becoming drunk with wine and are trying to teach your children to abstain from drinking alcohol then you must not do it yourself.  If you are attempting to teach your children to honor God and not devalue him by taking his name in vain then do not do it yourself.  It is that simple.

The same can be true for things that you want your children to put in high regard.  If you want them to read their Bible daily then model that action for them.  Children can learn both negative and positive actions from their parents.  Don’t you want what you are teaching them by example to be only what is “good”?

So, think about what your children are catching and if it is what you are wanting them to get or not.  Maybe you need to change your own actions or attitudes to make sure they are “worth catching”.

God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible: Bible Storybook

It is small and beautiful, and just what any princess would want.  But more than that it is packed with meaningful and quality material.  The pages of the Bible are bright and colorful and perfect for young girls.  Author Sheila Walsh does a great job of presenting Bible stories and Scripture in a unique manner.  Presented in the same order of our beloved Scriptures but with a twist.  She slips in easy to understand play scripts for a young girl to “act out” with her mom the stories of the Bible, fun beauty tips, as well as activities that help her to interact with and better understand God’s truths.

The Bible is beautiful and the font is not only pretty but large print which makes it easy to read.  Its pages are thick and the quality is one that will hold up to the wear and tear of little fingers.  There are also plenty of illustrations to keep a girl’s attention as well.

This Bible fits perfectly with the Biblical principles of Godly beauty that we at Beauty by Design Ministries urge girls to embrace.  We will be giving away this Bible at our event this weekend at Second Baptist Church in Koscuisko, Mississippi to one lucky girl.

Find my press coverage here and here and an article of mine here.

By the way, I am gearing up for Vacation Bible School here, I’m directing it at my church this next week, June 15-19.  I’m also beginning a Live TV show over at MomTV.com.  Watch the big announcement here.  Then, it’ll be time to put all my thoughts towards my next event, Christian Charm School Workshop to be held Friday, June 26 - Saturday, June 27 in Kosciusko, MS.

You must be firmly planted. In order to face life’s challenges, in order to stay strong come what may you must have faith. Faith, as Scripture says, “Comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) After we have accepted through faith, Jesus Christ into our lives we must then begin the process of “growing” in our faith. This is what will allow us to be “firmly planted” come what may.

As Ephesians 4 states,

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4: 7-16

Therefore, this growth is important it is what prepares us to be able to stand firm, “come what may”. So, begin now no matter what your age to grow in your faith. If you are not already doing so begin a daily quiet time with God, spending time in prayer and in Bible study. Seek out a mentor and spend time with them, someone who is Godly and more mature spiritually than yourself. Regularly attend worship services, becoming actively involved in the church through service. These are all things that will help you to grow in your faith and as a result not be shifted like sand when life’s challenges come about you can stand firm, “come what may”.

Photo Credit: Martin LaBar

God can do some amazing things. Reflect on what he is doing in your life. Listen as Alyssa shares what he has done and is doing in hers. God has a journey for you just like he has one for hers.

Today, I taught with Cindy Rushton as a part of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. The topic was0″ Godly Girl Time: Instilling Spiritual Disciplines.” I had an awesome time sharing with the ladies on the call and you can listen to the archives over at Blog Talk Radio.

At the upcoming A Woman Inspired Conference, I will be speaking on the topic of “Finding Your Passion”. You can find more information here.

Here’s a bit more info from the site and some pertinant dates and deadlines:

We are offering a free starter guide to beginning your own ministry online. Everyone who purchases a ticket between now and May 29th will receive the free e-book. Get your ticket for only $12.95! Don’t let time slip away… register now!

Click here to take the survey. You’re the best!

I really appreciate it. Survey will be open through Thursday, May 21.

Leave me a quick comment to let me know you did it!

These goals will not only benefit us, as people, but also our families as well.  Its kind of like the old saying, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Naturally, our children, husbands, families and others around us will benefit from us taking care of ourselves and doing things that will help us to feel more productive and successful.

The Lord also expects us to use the gifts that he has given us.  He tells us in Scripture that without every part of the body of Christ functioning at its best it will not work.

“ If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:19-27

This scripture passage makes it clear why it is so important for us to use what God has given us. He gave us those gifts and abilities so we can function as a part of the body of Christ, and that includes our families.  We have a responsibility to our families to do our part.  Part of that is setting goals for not only us but for our families as well.

So, mom, how about you setting some goals?  Here are a few tips to get you started:

Family goals can include your marriage, your children, or the whole family.  They can be fun or serious.  Fun goals might be to save money for a vacation, or to have family night every Saturday night, while goals that are more serious might include paying off debt or seeking to improve your marriage.

Then you will also want to set some individual goals just for you.  There are probably things you have put on the backburner or put off doing altogether because you have become a mom, why not take one of those things to focus on a year and make it happen.

Whether the goals are for your family or for you, it will be so fulfilling to make them a reality.  Of course, once one goal is accomplished it is time to set a new one and begin working to achieve it.  It is a never-ending process that you and your family can always benefit from, so keep it up.

She made time for me.  She made his teachings a part of our daily life.  God’s commandments in my home were rules to live by, not just because my mom said so, but because God said so.  God says the same thing.  He expects us to do things because He says so.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Ephesians 6:1-3

You see, God tells us to do something and He backs it up with a promise. And you know what?  God keeps His promises. How many times have you promised someone something and NOT kept your promise?  Or maybe someone promised you something and they didn’t keep their promise.  But with God, He ALWAYS keeps His promises.

He tells us to obey our parents, and our parents must obey God.  He also gives them a command, it is found in Deuteronomy 6

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them  when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-9

We as parents are to teach our children to love God,  as a result of this love our children will learn to honor and obey God,  this will cause them to learn to be obedient.  Honor comes through obedience.

When we learn to obey and honor our parents we are being obedient to God and we will therefore receive His promises.

Parents will often make promises to us as well.  As parents we must follow through with our promises in order to help our children to learn obedience.  My parents were ones to keep their promises whether it was a promise of punishment if I disobeyed or a promise of something I wanted or was wishing for.

I had to first learn to be obedient.  Even when my momma said, “Because I said so.”

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

If you have ever struggled through any situation in life, and you’re a Christian, then you probably understand the process of faith. It is by faith that we come to know and believe in Christ. It is by faith that we walk, not by sight. Does anyone besides me find this a difficult thing to do sometimes? I think that we all struggle. Without struggles, valley experiences in our life, we would never be able to soar above the mountaintops. Don’t you agree?

My faith has gotten me through many things in life, financial difficulties, and family illnesses. My first experiences with it that I remember I was around 13 or 14 years old and dealing with the severe illness of my grandfather, who we lost to cancer, at the age of 56. I then experienced it more and more throughout my teen years, dealing with friends, parents, making decisions about my future. God always seemed to make me wait on that next step. I always wanted the big picture, a road map, a completed puzzle, not just one piece, but he was faithful to reveal his plans to me piece by piece. He is still doing that today.

Since marrying, I have been through many difficult times financially, not certain where the next dollar would come from, but it always came sometimes 10 or 100 fold. Yes, I have actually had someone hand me a $1000 for nothing, a blessing yes, a miracle, no, just God’s work! I like to call it God’s miracle math. His math sure works better than mine.
With this comes learning to be faithful as well. I had to be a faithful servant and give back to God. I also had to be conservative with what God had given me. Those blessings of love offerings I have always tried to use to God’s glory. It has been through those blessings that I have been able to attend Seminary, debt free!

I could honestly go on and on about faith, not placing any importance on me, however giving GOD the glory! If you are struggling, keep walking in faith, and remember “we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

Photo credit: hamed

I was  shocked myself, when several months ago my mom informed me about a girl in my home town who had been caught doing this very thing, of course this was before the term “sexting” was created.  For the young girl, the consequences were minor, but for many teens as the news is showcasing the repercussions have been much worse including for some, jail time, which is about as serious as it comes.

So, how do you keep your daughter from sexting?  Open communication is key, besides this there are now also programs that you can utilize that will help you to monitor your teen’s cell phone activity and hopefully ensure that they will not participate in such activities.  Of course,  be prepared as your daughter could easily participate or be exposed to the activity via the acts of others and using phones of friends.

Also, you will need to check the Internet activity of your daughter as websites such as Facebook allow for photo posting as well.  Then, there are webcams that come with some computers or can be purchased fairly inexpensively that can allow teens to do more than just take a picture of themselves naked.

This is why active communication is necessary.  Begin now talking to your daughter about the reality of sexting, the consequences and why she should be sure to stay away from the activity.  Not only is it degrading but it is un-Biblical and harmful to her.

For an additional resource to help you to communicate with your daughter on this and other similar activities check out our guide: Seven Easy Tips: Encouraging Your Daughter to Say No.

A mentor, is someone who is more experienced than you in life that you can go to in time of need or that you can use as a sounding board to bounce issues off of or to brainstorm ideas with for any given situation.  They may or may not be “older” than you chronologically, but they should be someone whom you feel that you can benefit from in the area of  knowledge and life experience.

A mentor will help you by sharing their life experience with you, may often give advice or at least be there to listen, which is what most of us need in life, a shoulder to cry on a place to go when we just need to vent.

When choosing a mentor you will want to be sure to choose someone that you can trust.  When asking the person to be your mentor you will need to be ready to tell them what you will expect from the relationship and what they can expect from you.  You will want to decide how you will work your relationship and if you will meet together often, or how often you will communicate, generally what your relationship will mean to each of you.  You will want to set your expectations from the beginning so that neither of you are disappointed.

The process of mentoring and being a mentor can be a great experience if you know from the beginning what you hope to gain from it.

Photo credit: Lars Andreas

God loves “happily ever after” stories too. In fact, he’s the author of a bunch of them. In the Bible, the story of queen Esther is a happily ever after story. Have you ever read it? Esther was only a young girl when she became queen, but she was called out by God for a very special purpose and she accomplished a big part in his plan. She saved her people, the Jews. She was prepared to do so by God as she spent time alone with him.

If you want to discover the “happily ever after story” that God is writing for you, you too much spend time with him. When I was a young person I wanted to know the “big picture” I wanted God to show me every piece of the puzzle called “my life”, and he would, but God did so one piece at a time, not all at once. This was not always how I wished he would have done so, but slowly but surely as I spent time with him, I saw each piece as it fit together.

Pieces like breaking up with my long time boyfriend in the middle of my senior year in high school, all began to make sense as I met Mr. Right later that year. In that piece and every other piece of the puzzle called my life God was and is at work. He continues to work as he pieces together the pieces of my life, like bringing friends into my life, blessing me with children, growing my ministry, providing for my family, each piece is strategically placed together by the Father of all, and if I continue to follow him and go to him daily he’ll make this story of my life one that will surely end in those three little works, “happily ever after”.

Photo credit: dreamglow

I am looking to guest blog on the blogs of other Christian women whether your blog is a mom blog, a business blog or a ministry blog I’d love to come and make a guest post for you.

I would like to volunteer to blog about the following topics:

Faith
Family
Ministry
Mom-Daughter Relationships

If there is something you’d like to see me blog about on your blog that isn’t listed just suggest it and I’ll see what can do. To have me guest post on your blog simply leave a comment with your information below or contact me by email at alyssa @ beautybydesignonline.com (no spaces). I look forward to hearing from you.

Now, week’s later I know exactly what I would say.  Though there may be other solutions, one of the best solutions that I have for this issue is “accountability”.  I look back on my teenage years and I remember having just one or two friends who took their faith as seriously as I did.  Those friends held me accountable for my actions.  Today, I have multiple friends who still do the same for me.

When looking for an accountability partner it is important to look for someone who is:

• Close to you in age. This may not necessarily mean chronological age, but could also mean “maturity” level.  We all mature at different speeds and you’ll want to take “Christian” maturity into account as well.  You will need to be on the same level with this person.
• Trustworthy. You will need to be able to discuss personal issues with the person and be able to trust that they will keep them confidential.
• Share the same morals and beliefs. In order to be able to hold each other accountable you will have to have the same morals and beliefs.  If you don’t believe in drinking alcohol but your accountability partner does, you won’t be able to truly be held accountable.

While an accountability partner cannot keep you from sinning they will help you to be able to keep in mind the fact that you are striving to stay away from temptation and avoid sin, especially those that are difficult for you.

The workbook is full color printed, coil bond 8.5 X 11 sheets. There are 48 pages in the book.  It is NOT hard bound like the picture to your left. 

This long awaited guide takes you back to a time when social etiquette and grace was common. Teach this to your daughter or a group of girls in your local club, church or other organization with this workbook.

Purchase Workbooks Now!

Good news the more you buy you get a discount!

This Thursday, we’re officially opening the program for membership with an official Tweet Up, in association with the Christian Women Tweet Up hosted monthly by Noelle over at Take Root and Write.  I am so excited to also be having this hosted by Amy of Resourceful Mom.com and Sitwarming Parties.com  She will be asking me questions which will provide you tons of info about the program and give you a sneak peek of the first lesson.

Faith Leaps is a three month membership training program for Christians who are looking to “take a leap of faith into speaking, writing or ministry.” This is an important site for you if you are feeling called to:

• Start a Bible study in your local church
• Start a club or organization in your community
• Organize a community project
• Write a column for your local newspaper
• Start a blog to minister to a specific group of people
• Chase your dream…

Whatever it may be, this program will help give the tools and the confidence to take the leap of faith.

So, join us for a Tweet Up on Thursday, March 12 on Twitter at 9:00 pm EST / 8:00 pm CST.

During the event, We will be giving away three prizes!

1. A one month “sneak peek” of the program
2. A two month membership
3. A three month membership - worth $150!

If you have any specific questions for me please go ahead and feel free to post them in the comments section of this post and I’ll do my best to answer them on Thursday!

Want to get a sneak peek of the Lessons in FaithLeaps?  You can sign up for the Early Bird List and receive a sneak peek of Lesson 1 instantly.

To participate in the Tweet Up you must have an active Twitter account.  Twitter is fast and easy to sign up and begin using.  Find me at http://twitter.com/alyssaavant.  Noelle is http://twitter.com/takeroot and Amy is http://twitter.com/resourcefulmom.

If you plan to participate head over here and sign Mr.Linky, thanks!

See you at the Tweet Up!

I often say that my mom “drilled it in me” that sex outside of marriage was wrong.  Though back then I often found our chats a little embarrassing and many times I was just plain tired of hearing it today I am thankful that she did.  A few weekends ago I spend some time with some 7th, 8th and 9th grade girls.  What I found out from them was pretty shocking to say the least.  The knowledge in the area of sexual activity for 7th-9th grade girls is quite different in 2009 than it was in 1993-1995, the time period that I was in 7th-9th grade.

Moms, if you’re not already talking to your daughter about sex.  Please begin!  Drill it in them.  Sex is for married couples.  Marriage is designed by God for 1 male and 1 female.  Not 2 females, not 2 males or any other variation.  Moms, did you know that our teen girls today are dealing with bi-sexuality?  I didn’t until a few days ago.

The time to talk to your daughter is NOW!  Whether she is 8 or 18.  Don’t hesitate have that talk today!  Explain to her that sex was created by God and is a beautiful act for a male and female to engage in, inside of a covenant marriage relationship.  Bi-sexuality, homosexuality and any variation besides a relationship between a male and a female is Biblically and morally wrong.

God did not create us with a desire to enter into a sexual relationship with a member of the same sex.  This is not Biblical.  As Christians we will NOT have those urges.  These are all things that your daughter needs to hear.  I know it may sound shocking, but it is true.

As I stand in awe of what these girls know I also stand in fear for them and lift them up to God asking him to protect them from the enemy Satan who is trying to destroy their lives with these things.

Dear Lord,

Please protect the girls of this generation who have much more to deal with than I ever had.  Give their parents the courage and the ability to communicate with them on the topics of sex and marriage and to instill in them Biblical truths.

Lord give these girls the courage to take a stand for what they know is right and to stand against the devil and the temptations that this world put in their path.  Keep them on your path of righteousness.

Amen

I will be traveling to Hartselle, Alabama next weekend, March 6-7 to do a girl’s retreat for the girls of West Hartselle Baptist Church. I am looking forward to it.

I am also actively working on a new training program “Faith Leaps: Training for Taking the Leap of Faith into Speaking, Writing or Ministry”. If you think this might interest you go to FaithLeaps.com and read more about the program.

I also have plans to release in the VERY near future, (by April 1st) a complete package for the Christian Charm School Workshop. Currently the workshop only includes a workbook itself, I have had many requests for a separate Leader Guide, which I plan to release as well as the workbook and leader guide in hard copy. You will actually be able to purchase a “hard copy” book form of these to be mailed to you, rather than just the ebook form.

There will be package deals available so that you are able to purchase enough for your whole group to have their own workbook. I’m looking forward to its release. Want to be put on the waiting list for this great Christian Charm School Workshop Pack to be the first to receive info when the product is released? Sign up here.

To purchase the Christian Charm School Ebook go here.

I’d really appreciate it. Contact me and I’ll let you know how you can help. I’ll even help you write the short endorsement blurb if you are uncertain how to say what you want to say. E-mail me at: WillisWay@aol.com

Thanks! ~Kathy

It was a last minute thing.  I received a call on late Thursday afternoon and ended up volunteering for the weekend.  It was a divine appointment as some might say.  God said, “you need to go minister to these girls.”  I really didn’t know what He was up to, but I knew it was a “God” thing.  And even though the weekend is over, I feel like I ministered to the girls, but I still don’t exactly know what “God was up to.”  There is one thing I do know however, I came away a different person.  I am burdened, my heart is  heavy and I feel a “need” a “need to do something“.

I have been in ministry for years now. I have felt burdened for teens before, but nothing like this.  I cried tears, tears of overwhelm as I said my closing prayer with them during the last Bible study session.  I know that God is much bigger than their problems, but at that moment I felt so small.  I know that I am weak and HE is strong.  And as the sense of overwhelm still hangs over me a few days later, I have to say once again to myself “Jesus loves them this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little Ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong.“ 

Dear Jesus,

I know that you love me and that you love those girls I had the opportunity to share with this weekend.  I know that those 7 girls represent just a small part of your children.  And I know that you love each and every one of your children.  Your children, especially teenagers today are weak Lord and they are hurting.  I am so glad that they belong to you and that you are strong enough to carry their burdens like I wish that I could, but I know that I can’t.  I lift them up to you right now Lord.  You know WHO they are.  Carry them Lord.  Protect them.  Reveal yourself to them.

In Jesus Name

AMEN

Photo Credit: Bracelets by Linda

“Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Faith begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ, the man who gave everything, even His own life for our sins. So, why do we feel that we can hold back, keeping things from Him, especially our lives and what we COULD be doing for Him. Yet, we aren’t we’re keeping them for our own use and selfishly trying to please our own selves more than we are trying to please Him.

Maybe it is due to a “lack of faith”, after all Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (NIV) That is what often keeps us from truly doing for Him, truly living for Him, our own lack of faith.

For some people don’t understand why they need faith in the first place. Faith is needed for several reasons.

1.It takes faith to begin your relationship with God. Because God is someone we can’t see, touch, or hear audibly it takes faith even to come to know and trust Him. Once you do the other parts of faith become a little more manageable.

After all faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We may not hear God audibly but we do hear his word. Faith is also an act of “belief” we all have the ability to believe. Just like you believe that a chair in your home will hold you up, you believe that God is real. You must believe that God is real and that He had His one and only son Jesus die to save us from our sins.

2.You also need faith to truly enjoy the benefits of being a part of the family of God. As Christians, we walk in our own assurance and faith that God is who He says that He is and will do what he says He will do. Everyday life takes faith. And with that faith we enjoy the blessings that God has promised to us.

3.We need faith to point others to Christ. Without the evidence of our faith, many times it is hard to show others the way. God commands us to “go into all the world” without our own faith assured we will not be able to do that effectively.

4.Faith also allows us to grow. We can experience growth as a person and as a Christian through faith. Reading God’s word, spending time in prayer and with other believers in fellowship helps us to do this.

We may think that it takes a great deal of faith to truly accomplish something, however, be reminded that the Bible says if you have faith as small as a mustard seed that you can tell the mountain to move from here to there and it will.

It may not take a large amount of faith to act, but sometimes we feel that it does. Sometimes we feel nudged to take action but we hesitate. Taking our own leap of faith is often scary. Do you need help taking a leap of faith? Check out “Faith Leaps” and see if we can help you with your “leap of faith”.

Photo Credit: C@rljones

As you all know, I am a journaling enthusiast, however often times it is difficult to get a girl this age to share her feelings on paper.  But this journal brings out her creativity and allows her to open up and share easily.  It involves fun activities that will help them to draw out their feelings and emotions and record them all in a very special place.

One of the great things about this journal is that it allows the girls to share either through words or pictures.  This gives them yet another way to record their thoughts without feeling that they are “writing the right thing”.  They can just be themselves!

As someone who has journaled for years and who advocates it as an activity that all girls should do I highly recommend this journal for all tween girls.

Pick up a Journal Buddies for your tween girl today.

I am a control freak.  I’ll admit this.   I like to plan, organize, and know the teeny weeny details about everything.  I do NOT like to “fly by the seat of my pants” and I am not spontaneous.  So, you can see that this lends me to being the type of person who likes to let someone else take the reigns in my life, but with my Lord, it’s a little different.  I know that my God is bigger than my circumstances and I know that He has a plan.

Sometimes, however God is a little bit slower about revealing His plan to me than I would like.  Sometimes He quite honestly takes His own “sweet” time.  And more often than I like to admit I get impatient with that.  Especially when God gives you a peek or a glimpse of what’s to come, or at least so you think, then steers your life off on a detour or side road. 

The thing is it is those “detours” in life that teach us the most.  Most often they are specifically used for a time of growth or maturation.  Without them you wouldn’t be ready for the bumps that are in the road ahead, or for the yield signs or the red lights.  You would be too anxious to get to where you are going to slow down and see the signs.  You’d fly right past them on your path to receive your prize and you’d get hurt along the way.

But, when you allow God to be in the driver seat and you go along for the ride, even for those detours that you don’t appreciate so much at the time, you grow and learn and you are  still eager yet more alert, cautious and focused.  God knew this and that’s why He took you down the path that He did.

So, hopefully at the end of the journey you’re there with Him, allowing Him to be your guide and receiving the prize He had for you at the end of this race we call life.

Photo Credit: jdl_deleon

Though it is often difficult to live each day by faith, and though it doesn’t seem to get any easier with each day that passes, God doesn’t seem to have the same difficulty being faithful to me.  In fact, He seems to provide for me, be there for me and guide me with ease.  I guess that’s why He’s God and I am only human huh?

These are just my random thoughts today, as I try desperately to provide something for you to think about.  Regardless, I hope that you will think of what God is to you, today, tomorrow, always.  Leave me your thoughts in the comments below.

Neither couldn’t be farther from the truth, especially where this conversation was concerned.

Was I disappointed my child saw hypocrisy in my faith?   Of course. Was it a surprise that was the origin of Taylor’s loss of respect for me?  Definitely.

I share this story, not because I’m drowning in a riptide of mother guilt, hoping your words will become a life-preserving buoy; instead, I share it because it’s an excellent example of “an adventure in missing the point”.

Recall what I said before–

“What ensued was an eye-opening lesson in how parents can presume wrongly where their children are concerned, and they, in turn, do the same.”

Not only did I inaccurately imagine what Taylor was thinking, even after I was told, I continued temporarily to misunderstand my child’s perspective.

Immediately, I began rattling off a list of how I could see this hypocrisy observed (and judged):  living inconsistently?  offering lip service at the expense of life service?  saying one thing and doing another?

Thankfully, Taylor and I have a relationship that allowed clarification of my confusion without consequence.  And…what (s)he was talking about never even crossed my mind….

Morning devotions…it was about our before-school devotions.

Huh?  What?!  A loss of respect because we had morning devotions?!?

Taylor thought I insisted on this each morning so I could “check it off the list” and because it was the prescribed “Christian thing to do.”

This child has no patience or interest in list checking or obligatory Christian requirements (which I applaud); I was more than a little surprised, though–and honestly, somewhat relieved–this was “all” it was.  While it was disappointing to learn my children saw this as my motive, it gave me opportunity to explain the truth: a) the desire to focus Godward at the beginning of each day; b) to pray (out loud) with and for my kids (or for them to do so for one another); and c) to model by example the priority I place on an intimate, on-going relationship with Christ.

You see, I thought they DID know this!  I presumed it was understood “why” I was committed to a daily morning devotion.

Instead, it was a breeding ground for condemning judgment, misunderstanding and resentment, and loss of parental respect.  Lovely….

As our conversation came to a close, we talked about the judgmental attitude towards me, how that was sinfully seeded, too.  Taylor was glad to have been wrong.

Our transparent conversation was a wonderful opportunity not just to clear the air, but to see through each other’s eyes; it was a reminder not to make assumptions that my children always understand my motives, and that it’s important for them to at this age, so they’re free to respond rightly–not react out of misconception.

As your children move from elementary age to their middle and high school years, I encourage you to create time and space to have uninterrupted conversation; it’s not about quality, it’s about quantity.

Even if you’re just sitting in a parked car in your garage :).

The weekend rolled around and I was hanging out in the school parking lot with my boyfriend and another couple. Everyone that dropped by the lot that night was going to “the party”. They were all asking us if we were coming and I was still hesitating. I knew it was not something I needed to do, but at the same time I’d never been to one before. The temptation was intense. Finally, I gave in and agreed to go under the condition that we’d stop and get me a Coke on the way so I would know what I was drinking.

My boyfriend agreed, we grabbed me a Coke, and headed out to the pasture where the party was being held. Basically it was a muddy pasture, a few headlights turned on for light and a keg of beer. That week I had just been shopping with my mom and had a brand new pair of Mudd jeans, and a new pair of sandals. I hated getting them muddy but got out, grabbed my boyfriend’s arm and tried to tiptoe through the mud. I was on a mission to find the guy from study hall and let him know that I was there.

After surveying the crowd for a few minutes I saw him, looking like he’d had too much to drink already, but nevertheless, I made a beeline to him and spoke. He didn’t have much to say, so I turned back around and let my boyfriend know I was ready to leave. The guy and ninety percent of the others in attendance were already drunk. Just the idea of being there made me nervous. I was ready to go, I knew I had accomplished nothing as the guy in study hall wouldn’t even recall my being their on Monday morning.

But, I remembered it, and twelve years later I still recall that night and think of it as a lesson learned. Because when I got home that night the guilt that hung over my head was thick. And the mud caked on the hem of my brand new Mudd jeans was a screaming reminder of the sin that was all around me in that cow pasture. The sin of my peers choosing to participate in underage drinking, and for some of them that sin would lead to other sins.

I may not have “sinned” by drinking that night, but I did give into temptation and I did fall short of “God’s glory”. I didn’t stand on my convictions, but allowed others to influence me. Do you stand firm on your convictions or allow the world to sway you?

The Bible says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed by the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

The world will push you to and fro, it will always want you to choose its way over Gods, but stand firm on your own convictions, and let God do the rest.

The topic for both events was beauty from the inside out. I wanted to convey to the girls how they are truly beautiful in God’s sight and that he has a beautiful plan for their lives. That your life is more than just about outer beauty but is about the “perfect will” and plan that he has for them. The role that He has destined for them to play.

I shared with them about being “set apart” and what it would take to do that. With the younger girls we looked at Queen Esther and I had the girls join me in the Tiara Club. With the older girls I used many Scriptures and personal stories to help them understand how to find and follow God’s plan.

One of the most powerful parts of today’s events was the prayer time I encouraged between moms and daughters, in the older girls group I noticed a few tears being shed. Whether the tears were of joy or of sorrow I never feel that tears are a bad thing. God was at work! Amen!

I enjoyed the event thoroughly and know that God did all the work, I’m always amazed to stand to speak for Him at how He completely takes over and speaks through me!

Each year since 2006 I have done multiple speaking engagements, which was one of my goals. This past year, 2008, I spoke at the following churches / organizations:

West Carthage Baptist Church, Carthage, MS

Baptist Student Union, Holmes Community College, Goodman, MS

First Baptist Church, Tupelo, MS

Fellowship Church of the Nazarene, Houston, MS

She Speaks Conference, Concord, NC

First United Methodist Church, Senatobia, MS

North Winona Baptist Church, Winona, MS

I have also begun doing a great deal of writing online.  This year I hope to take more of that writing offline as well, as one of my goals is to be published in a well-known Christian publication. For the past couple of years now I have been writing a monthly column for the North Mississippi Christian Family Magazine which I will continue to do as well.

The Lord has placed certain goals and dreams on my heart that I will begin pursuing.  I have seen him work through me in the past and I know he will continue to in the future.  The past couple of years especially have been a result of his love, grace, and faithfulness.

After resigning from my paid church ministry position to live by faith daily and commit myself to this ministry I have seen God provide for us again and again.  I praise and thank Him for doing so, and I give testimony to His provision.

Here’s to another wonderful year!  I look forward to ministering, with you or to you!

“Honor your father and your mother,” Exodus 20:12 (NIV),

becomes so complex as get to this age.  For some strange reason as we hit around the age of thirteen our parents become dumber and we become smarter.
This was my personal experience.  I can remember thinking that they were so wrong, while I was so right.  Many an argument was fought because of this.  Whether it be a disagreement over whether I could go somewhere with my friends, how messy my room was, or how I chose to wear my hair, I thought they were wrong and I was right.

Sure, my friends often had crazy ideas my parents were right about not letting me participate in, my room did often resembled a pig sty, and my hair  needed washing more than once per week, but I sure did not think so in my naive little thirteen year old brain.

So, as moms and dads, how do we get our children, especially those of the teenage variety to clue into the fact that we are “smart”?  The truth is, as a former teen myself, I believe it is a phase we all have to go through.  Quite honestly as time went by, my parents got smarter and smarter.  I began to clue in to the fact that some of the things they were telling me really were for my own good and slowly I came back onto their side of many an issue.

By the age of eighteen I had come to realize that I needed them, they had good advice, and I could count on them more than my friends.  So, do not loose hope, your child will come around again.  So, be patient, and wait for them to realize the error of their ways, receive their newfound belief in you with love, and be grateful for their new found belief in what you have to say.

The Bible’s words are true that if you,

“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Let that verse be the hope that you cling to as you continue to train your child, no matter how dumb they attempt to make you feel, because Mom and Dad, your honor will soon be restored to its rightful  place.

Sure, I love blogging. I am a blogger and I believe blogging has benefits that are quite similar to that which I receive from journaling, but journaling is a bit more private for me, and thus still appropriate for me to engage in because quite frankly I won’t share everything on my blog. A blog after all is almost permanent and can be read by almost anyone who has access to the Internet and the savvy to search for you.

Journaling only the other hand, is just as easy, if not easier than blogging. With journaling you can talk freely, through the written word without fear or reservation. You can scrawl in handwriting commonly known as chicken scratch where it is almost illegible but can be therapeutic in benefits to you. What it looks like doesn’t matter, grammar doesn’t matter. Honestly, it doesn’t even matter if it makes good sense. It is for your benefit and your benefit only. So, what you write frankly does not matter. What does matter is that you write. That you allow the feelings, thoughts and emotions that you feel in your heart and mind to be released onto paper.

With journaling the most important thing is that you do it. You just start writing really, it is as simple as that. Write about how you feel, write about what you are worrying about, write about what you hope to accomplish, or what you wish you could do or be. Write about anything and everything in your life.

Share your prayers, your hopes, your dreams, write letters to yourself or record letters to God. There are so many options and the process can leave you feeling so much better you will definitely want to do it again.

That’s why journaling is a bit addictive. Once you start, most likely, you won’t want to stop. You will begin to fill journal after journal excited about the possibilities of filling those stark white pages with print. It will become a hobby, a true pastime that you continue to enjoy for many years.

If you’re ready to begin journaling check out our FREE 7 Day Journaling Ecourse, and then our 30 Day Journaling Guide.

No matter if he could provide everything I wanted, he always provided everything I needed and though at the time I may not have seemed grateful. Now, looking back on those days I truly am. How do you teach your daughter to be grateful, in a world where she feels pressure to keep up with the latest trends, fashions and not stand out too much from her peers?

First, it is important that she understand that it is okay not to fit in, and it is more than okay to stand out, but in a good way. Standing out and standing up for her values and beliefs is something that is far better than staying “in style”.

Once you help your daughter to establish her own identity by discussing the fact that it is okay to be different then she will soon begin to take on her own values and beliefs not just because you told her to believe that way or she has grown up around people who share specific values and beliefs, but because she believes and values those things as well. They have become a part of who she is. Take it from someone who now understands as an adult why I have certain values and beliefs and who cherishes those who taught me those things.

So, maybe my daddy couldn’t give me every new fashion trend that hit the market, but he did give me something bigger, something better and far more valuable. He gave me a strong set of morals, values and beliefs that have carried me much farther than any fad every could.

The show was a bit sad, with both of the situations being a bit extreme. One set of girls was completely out of control while  the other set was so sheltered and honestly quite pitiful as they were treated so negatively by their parents. Neither set really had a healthy situation in my opinion, which made me think there had to be a happy medium.

It is important that we allow our daughters to have some freedom, especially our teens. But we also have to give restrictions too. There has to be a sense of trust established in order for proper restrictions and balance to be maintained.  A good practice is an open door policy that includes allowing friends to visit when there is adult supervision. You will be surprised how much you can learn from and about your daughter as you witness her interacting with her friends.

Not only will this help you in your relationship with your daughter, your knowledge of her friends and the way that she interacts with them, but it will also help her in her ability to face temptation and say no to it.  She will realize the support that she has in you, as you faithfully back her up and encourage her, not to mention are open to her ideas, and the friendships that she seeks to maintain become a part of your whole family, not just her life but all of your lives.

The friends that she has come over will begin to see the love that you have for your daughter and will begin to respect you, your rules, and your morals and viewpoints.  They will then be more likely to refrain from pressuring your daughter with temptations that they know you would be against.  They would have a greater sense of responsibility to you as they too have a relationship with you.

Then, there is much to be said about how much better you’ll know her friends and how much they will respect you for having them around, opening up your doors, your home and your life to them. It can really do wonders for not only your relationship with your daughter(s) but also your relationship with her friends and her relationship with them as well.

Maybe you feel like you are a little behind in the times when it comes to these new ways of connecting, but the good news is they aren’t hard to learn.  In case you are completely out of the loop and do not have a clue what Facebook is, I”ll start with the basics and walk you through. 

Facebook is a social networking site, or in less techy terms, it’s a place online to connect with others by displaying info about your self including pictures, favorites, hobbies, etc and then befriending others who will communicate with you via your profile by writing you notes, sending you messages and so on.  You can connect and share through pictures, messages and even videos.

Facebook is very user friendly and has been used by everyone from teens to professionals.  You are sure to know someone on Facebook, so after you set up a profile it is almost certain you will make friends immediately and maybe even find old classmates to connect with as well.

However, more than anything, if you’re a parent it is a great way to connect with your teen, because let’s face it, teens and tweens of today, communicate through technology more than they do through opening their own mouths, and they have a whole other social world online unlike any other previous generation.

And though I am encouraging you to venture into this “world” of theirs I also encourage you to do so with caution.  Your child most likely will react in one of two ways,  they will happily befriend you online or they will wish you’d never found out about Facebook.

So, be careful as you begin this venture because you want this to be a positive experience for the both of you.  First you want to be honest with them, ask them about Facebook, even ask them to help you set  up your profile.  Let them know that you want to learn about it and need their help.

Do find other people to connect with, you don’t want your teen to think that you are only on there to snoop on them.  Be aware too that they have control over their privacy on Facebook, it’s privacy settings allow anyone to hide pictures, messages and more from those that they do not want to see it.  So, you may not be seeing everything on your child’s profile, but you can see what they allow you to and it may be a great way to find out things you haven’t known about them before.

Don’t try and befriend their friends on Facebook, unless they request that you add them.  This will cause your child much embarrassment so just lay low.   However, if your child or their friends want to befriend you, then by all means connect!

Facebook really can be a powerful tool for your relationship and can help you to see your child in a new and different light.  So, don’t let it scare you, use it today to enhance your relationship.

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

Charm is thought of in today’s society in a variety of ways.  Dictionary.com defined charm in many ways as well, but as it is used in the Proverb, it is a noun.  Dictionary.com says that the noun, charm, is “a power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty” or “a trait or feature imparting this power.”  This is more often than not how females use their charm today.  To impart power or control over someone in their life, especially their male counterparts.

The Bible speaks of this as being deceptive.  Therefore, this is not the kind of charm you want to exude.  As ladies we need to be careful about the way we use our charm and our beauty so that we can be sure we are not using it in a negative way.  Beauty is not a bad thing.  God created us to be beautiful.  However, we want to do everything in our lives to please Him, rather than to draw attention to ourselves.  We must make certain that we are doing “whatever we do, whether in word or in deed, to the glory of God.”  It is not glorifying God to use your charm or beauty to control someone else.

Beauty can come from more than one source. Beauty is more than just outward beauty, it is also what’s inside.  As 1 Peter 3:3-5 says,

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.” (NIV)

True beauty comes from within.  True beauty exhibits qualities of character and that includes many things.  Here are a few of those qualities:

Honor - honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and actions
Self-control – able to exercise restraint
Virtue – moral excellence
Chastity – pure and chaste
Purity – innocence
A Clean Heart – freedom from evil
Sweetness – kind and sincere
A Quiet Spirit – a sense of inner peace and calmness
Modesty – freedom from vanity

Take some time to evaluate your life, your heart, and how you are using your charm and beauty.  If you do not already exhibit the above characteristics, make it your goal to instill some of these into your life.

To learn more about proper charm invest in the Christian Charm School Workbook.

Former Model Reveals Secrets of Charm & Poise to New Generation
Soon to be Released Book to Charm Parents and Teens

September 26, 2008 (Carrollton, MS) -  Parents and Youth Group Leaders concerned about the cultural influences of television, music and the Internet on their teens will soon have a new tool to combat social pressure.  On September 30th, Christian Charm School will be released by Beauty by Design Ministries. The latest e-book from author and speaker Alyssa Avant, covers four workshop sessions to help teen and pre-teen girls through appropriate development in all areas of their life, not just beauty and etiquette but also in building confidence, spiritual growth and communication skills.

“Parents I’ve talked to through my ministry are rightly concerned about the world their children are growing up in,” says Avant, “but by helping their children develop politeness, poise and confidence can help the whole family stand strong against peer pressure.”

As a former teen model, Avant has been sharing her experience and message as a public speaker and writer through her Beauty By Design Ministry since 2005. The book is best utilized as part of a group program, though all the lessons can be read and applied individually.

“Teens have a habit of tuning out their parents,” says Avant, “they are at an age where peer influence can have much more sway, so hearing the message from someone who has been there and has maintained their faith can help bridge the generation gap.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, email Alyssa Avant at alyssa@beautybydesignonline.com or visit http://www.beautybydesignonline.com/charmschool.htm

###

Alyssa Avant
BeautyByDesignOnline.com
Address: 295 CR 331, Carrollton, MS 38917
Phone: 662-237-4169

Have you ever considered that even if your life is full of good things that it could still be effecting you negatively?  It is like the old saying, “Too much of a good thing.” We can fill our lives with too many “good things”, making us not be able to focus on any one thing.

A lack of focus can cause you to always feel unfulfilled, lacking, and aimless.  There is one person who can help you to achieve the focus and purpose that you need within your days and your life.  That person is Jesus Christ.  He helps us to center our lives, as long as we put Him in the center of them.

This starts with spending time with Him each day, preferably starting your day with Him, because to truly begin in the right frame of mind you need to begin your day with Christ.  Setting aside this valuable time daily will help you to center your life and your daily schedule allowing you to focus on what is most important.  Spend time consulting God on what is most important for you to do that day.  Petition Him in prayer, and wait for Him to respond to you.

He may respond in a variety of ways:  through His Word, which of course will require that you  spend some time reading it, through the words of someone else, or through some circumstance in your life.  Be aware of this so that you can look for and recognize God’s responding to you.

Then, you will probably want to access what it is that you spend your time on, so that you can determine what is most important and what you can eliminate in order for your life to be truly rewarding, focused and centered.

You could start by making a list of the things that you do and prioritizing them.  You will soon realize what is necessary and what is not, then set out to eliminate those things that are not as necessary.  You can use a process of elimination by asking yourself, “Is this really contributing anything to my life?”  or “Am I doing this for the right reasons?”  and “Am I doing this to please others or myself?”  Asking yourself these type questions will be a revealing process that can lead you to being able to eliminate things from your life.

Once you start this process and you begin spending time daily with God you will begin to see how your life goes from scattered and aimless, to centered and purposeful.

One of the things that can help you to be more centered is to use a journal to record your thoughts and feelings.  Not familiar with journaling?  Check out our 30 Day Journaling Guide for valuable information about journaling.

So many people today, in many of their relationships believe that the other person knows that they love them, and that the other person has felt that love enough to where they no longer have to show them that love. This is a major mis-judgment, because in fact in order for most of us to feel loved that love must keep being shown, And in order to feel that love we must have the person who is to show their love for us in our presence, which is why love takes time, specifically spending time together.

This is easy for most of us when first meeting someone when a relationship is first established and when we first begin to love them, especially in romantic relationships. Think about it, when you first fall in love with someone you cannot think about anything else but that person. You eat, sleep, and breath their every good quality and seem to never be able to get enough of their presence. However, as time goes on that changes, but your love for them does not, so why do we think that we can somehow spend less time together or should spend less time together?

When it comes to love and showing our love to each other it is important that we do indeed spend time together in order to nurture, grow and maintain the relationship. The time spent on that relationship helps to build a sense of and a true feeling of commitment and trust, which is important to any relationship.

So, if you want a relationship to be well-maintained and to grow as it should be willing to commit the time that it takes to truly show them your love, and if you’re not willing to put in the time, do not expect to receive the commitment and for it to equal the love you are looking for in return.

Luckily, I listened. I began using the time just before bed every night to do just as my youth minister had inspired me to do. I remember my first prayer journal. My mom stuffed it deep inside my hand-knitted stocking at Christmas that year. I was 15, and had just gone through the worst year of my life. I was just starting high school, my freshman year. I had gone through what was, at that time and still is to this day, my most rebellious phase. Thanks to Godly parents, I was blessed to end those rebellious days right then and there, nipping my rebelliousness in the bud. Their influence and hard discipline steered me back onto the proper path.

Nevertheless, my first prayer journal was filled to the brim as I began my journey, not as a new Christian since I was saved as a young child, but as a revived Christian who finally understood what being Christian meant. It was at this time in my life that I began to understand that being Christian was more than just saying the right prayer, more than just a ticket to heaven, more than just going through the baptismal waters. I realized that it was about a relationship with someone, a very real Someone, the Savior of my life, the one who had died to wash away my sins, and wanted to help me through the ups and downs of life.

He wanted to help me understand why my rebellion was wrong, and He also wanted to give me the hope that I needed to face the days ahead. He wanted to guide me in avoiding the same temptations I had just succumbed to in the days prior and even tougher temptations that were still to come. He was going to be there with me for the long haul. But not only did I need to allow Him to do so, I needed to get to truly know Him. My prayer journal opened that door for me, allowing me to focus and share with someone who already knew me inside and out. I needed to be open to Him for my sake more than His.

This was the only way I was going to get to know Him, truly, deeply, as I needed to in order to be more like Him. I soon discovered this as the ultimate goal of Christianity, though it isn’t a goal we’ll ever fully reach. Our whole lives are a process of becoming more like Him, but it is a journey rather than a destination. We never stop becoming. He, Jesus Christ, is the only person who ever lived that is truly perfect and that’s how it will remain. However, He wants us to be more like Him, to get as close as we humanly can. This is why we continue to live for Him daily. Even though we will never reach perfection, at least not in this life, it is the journey that matters most.

There is, however, one thing we can reach. Through my hand-written journaled prayers, I have seen how God has guided me in every step toward the various milestones and places in my life that He had planned for me. I have seen His hand at work as I have fulfilled some of his plans and purposes for my life. Now, I can look back at a decade of hand-written prayer requests and see how He has slowly, over time, answered them.  Sometimes the answer was yes, and sometimes it was no. Still, sometimes it was sooner, while other times it was later. Nevertheless, He always answered.

It is inspiring to read prayers written during my teen years and realize they were answered even if it was years later. It is even more encouraging to see how God put together the pieces, helping me to yearn for His plan, rather than seeking my own desires. My own plans began to change as I continually poured out my heart to Him on the pages of a journal. At times my cries were quiet, while other times they were passionately desperate. Other times I would praise Him rather than putting out a list of requests, while others entries read more like a wish list than a conversation with my Savior. If you were to read the pages of my journals you would see the peaks and valleys of my relationship with my Lord. You would witness the growth and maturation of my faith. I remain in awe at how far I’ve come and how much different I am now than I was at the young, naive age of 15. Like most teens, I thought I had it all figured out. But now, like most adults, I know that I didn’t. I am thankful that I listened to my youth minister and gave God the time He deserved in my life.

I am also grateful for the blank, white pages of each journal that my mom bought me - each of them empty but filled with amazing potential. They were an open canvas to be filled with my words - words that described my hopes, my fears, my dreams, and my aspirations, all of which I can now see God’s hand in, making my faith in Him today, greater than ever before. All because I took the time to spend some time writing notes to my Savior on the pages of a prayer journal.

How do you handle your bad days?  Let’s face it we all have them.  We all have good days where our hair does just right, our kids act like they should, we get a lot done in work and around the house, we feel accomplished, able and capable and then there are those days that seem to be just the opposite of that in every way imaginable.  However, even on those days, God is still in control.

I have been challenged and reminded this week of God’s control on my life.  Even though I want to feel in control and be the one in charge in my life, that just cannot be the case, because if the Lord is truly the Lord of and Savior in my life, he has to be the one that is in control.  Am I the only person who has trouble with that?  So, for us to truly get the true benefits of the possibilities that having God in control in our lives can bring we first must release that control to Him.

Yep that’s right we have to give up control and place it in His ever capable, more powerful hands.  Will you join me in allowing God to be in control in your life, the God who has the power to do anything and with who ALL things are possible!

Luckily this morning I had realized what I was allowing myself to do was entirely wrong and that I needed to stop and count my blessings which I did this morning.  Then, I went to speak and hold one of my events for a group of girls and their moms.  One of the girls there came in, and made no bones about expressing her feelings about being there.  Her attitude and body language showed it loud and clear, not to mention that I heard her mutter under her breath to her mom about that very thing.

Needless to say, she definitely showed her “attitude”.  Our attitudes really do tell alot about us to others.  I try to hide it when I have a bad week, but sometimes I’m sure others pick up on my negative attitude, and that is wrong.  That is no way for me to bring glory to God.  After all, He is still taking care of me, and for just that reason if for nothing more, I should have a better attitude.

There are some things we cannot control in life, but our attitudes are one thing that we definitely can control and will speak volumes to those around us about who is in control in our lives, after all if we allow HIM to be in control instead of us, our attitude will be better anyway.  Try it, and you will see that it is true!  God’s control = an attitude of gratitude.

However, as Christians it is important that our busyness does not alter our attitudes so much that those around us do not even know that we are Christians.  We are called to be “set apart” from the world.  This should include our attitudes with not only our families, but with others.  Sure this is a crazy busy time of year for everyone, but if you face each busy day with a positive, Christ-like attitude others will take note and wonder what is different about you, and what makes your outlook on life so much different from others, or maybe even their own.

As 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Others will be recognizing this set-apartness that you have, however they may not know what it is that makes you different, that is where you are responsible as a Christian to be prepared to explain to them or to “give an account” to them for that hope that you have that is being shown in your attitude and hopefully in your actions as well.  So, just like you are preparing for the new school year by buying supplies, getting new clothes and incorporating new routines into you life, you should also be prepared with a testimony or account of why you have the hope that you have through Jesus Christ.

It is not always easy to open your mouth and tell others about your relationship with Christ, but the more you do so the easier it will become, so get prepared!

I’ve never really dealt with a runaway before, that is until this week. A teenager from the youth group, I formerly ministered to ran away from home. Though her mom knew where she went eventually, to stay with a family member, it was still an ordeal.  There were many hurt feelings, harsh words exchanged, and a feeling of uneasiness surrounding the entire situation. The mom, for quite a while felt helpless.

There is one person who will never allow us to truly “run away”. God will never allow us to run away from Him. He will always bring us back to Himself. Don’t you recall the story of Jonah running from God? No matter where Jonah ran, he could not escape God’s hand. He even lived inside the belly of a great fish, but God was there.

As the words of the Psalmist so clearly state, we cannot escape from or run away from God.

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Psalm 139: 7-10 (NIV)

Therefore, though this teen’s mom felt helpless, and the teen thought she was running away, she was never out of God’s hand. She was always firmly in his grasp. None of us will ever truly be alone with Christ in our heart and lives.

Please check back later for the birth announcement.  Blessings to you our listeners!

Her original designs are inspired by the classic looks of Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis Kennedy, and Princess Dianna. With the support of her entrepreneurial father, Taylor began the daunting task of forming the company. “Baby step by baby step we designed and furnished a website, made contacts in the fashion industry for manufacturers, designers etc. and launched on January 15th, 2007.” Her two sisters, brother, and brother-in-law have also joined Taylor in the endeavor. Taylor’s father says, “Christa has a unique vision and phenomenal talent. We’re all in support!” Having released a spring line with two collections, Taylor is set to release a winter line in mid- September, adding “Timeless” to her “Posh” and “Trendy” collections. Five new signature dresses will also be offered, in addition to many other offerings in all three lines.

Taylor also sees a “mission beyond business.” She says she “wants to see the business make an enduring impact across the world,” and dedicates a minimum of 30% of her profits toward furthering social justice and serving the poor. Christa is currently sponsoring an orphanage in Cambodia, which she has personally visited. “Our company is positively impacting more than just our happy customers,” says Taylor.

Christa Taylor, founder
Christa-Taylor.com

I probably did not either.  I remember my graduation very well.  The day went by quickly and so did the ceremony.  I remember very little of what was said.  I do however remember tossing the cap, hugging my friends, going home for dinner and leaving for summer camp where I was working for the next 8 weeks.  From that day forward to today I have seen my high school friends very little.  It is amazing how quickly time has flown and how little of them I have seen.

Those relationships I had with my classmates I think I took for granted, that or I so naively believed they’d always be there.  However, time has slowly pulled those relationships apart, or at least put distance between us.  Not always negatively, but just as a part of the reality of life.

Most of us have had very fulfilling lives from what I know.  Many of us went off to college, many of us have married, some have had children, others are now expecting.  We have all had to move out of the homes of our parents and into our own places, taking care of our own responsibilities.

What has made this easier is those relationships we have had, both old and new, relationships with each other, our families,  our parents, and the new relationships we’ve formed since high school, with college roommates, colleagues, and others along the way.

All of these relationships are important in their own way because you see God placed them in our path.  He had a hand in each and every one of them.  One might call this divine intervention.  God divinely inspiring those relationships in our lives for just the right time to help fulfill just the right need.  That’s how He works after all.

I think it is important that we treasure those relationships, realizing how important they are to all of us.  Whether they be relationships from our past or those we are presently enjoying they should be treasured because they are a gift from God.

So, whether you’re a high school senior about to throw your cap in the air, or someone who has been in the real world a long time.  Look around you, count those relationships you have or have had and treasure them in your heart.

The other podcast I am going to be a guest on is “The New Urban Mom Podcast” Sharon’s topic is “Inspired Organization”. Both of these are interviews and I thank both Marie Ynami of Mommyfest and Sharon McMillian of New Urban Mom for having me. I hope you’ll take the time this week to go to their sites and listen in.

Then, there are your relationships, which are linked to the roles just mentioned. Relationships are the heartbeat of our lives without them we could not truly function. God created us to be relational beings. He also expects us to put our relationship with Him first, then he even prefers that we order our other relationships as well. He encourages us in His Word to put our husband’s next in line, followed by our children, then our family and finally our friends. Why do so many of us struggle with this?

Finally, we have responsibilities, to ourselves, to our families, to our church, and to the next generation that will follow us. These responsibilities can often be overwhelming. But with the proper order of priorities in our lives in both our roles and in our relationships it will be much easier for us to take care of the responsibilities that God has given us.

In an effort to balance it all, we must seek God’s guidance and trust that He will lead us in the right direction. This requires making time for HIM in our daily routine, preferably as the first thing we do daily. The Bible tells us we should give God our first fruits, this includes our time. You will be surprised how starting your day with God will allow everything else to fall into place.

As a woman, especially if you’re a woman with a daughter that you are influencing, you will want to do all you can to show her the proper order of your roles, relationships and responsibilities so that she can learn from you and not have to struggle with these areas in her adult life.

First, He calls us to Himself. God’s call to salvation is the first call He makes upon our lives. The salvation given to us through His Son Jesus’ death on the cross is a free gift that we must choose to accept.

Then, God sends the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and with His presence comes spiritual gifts that God gives us to us e to bring glory and honor to Him. God may also call us to do things that we may not feel we have the power or ability to do but He will enable us to do through Him if we just try.

Throughout time God has called many people to do things for Him that felt inadequate and ill prepared to do what God worked through them to accomplish. We can experience the same thing. For through him we become stronger, wiser and more useful.

We are all truly “called” by God!

The Lord truly wants us to bring our burdens and cares to him through prayer. We are to pray about everything, pray without ceasing.

Here are some things to pray about:

1. Everyday life situations. You can pray about your finances, your health, your kid’s grades, your teen’s peer pressure, your job. LIFE! God understands and He wants you to come to Him with it all.

2. For others. Pray for others, intercession is a privelege and we should always intercede on the behalf of others whether they have asked us to or not, whether they are sick, in need or you just want to thank God for them.

3. The future. Yes, it’s uncertain to us, but God knows all about it, praying for God’s will in our lives will help us to find the future that is best for us. The right path!

4. Thanksgivings. We don’t want to just ASK God for things, we want to take time to THANK HIM for things as well. Thank God for the many blessings he has given you and your family!

5. Your feelings. God can handle it. Feel angry? PRAY, Hurt? PRAY, Guilty? PRAY. Prayer is always a good answer to how you are feeling.

Still feeling unsure? Purchase our My Heart to His Prayer Journaling Devotional Guide to learn more about prayer and prayer journaling.

As the graduation season, prom season and summer approach we at Beauty by Design Ministries are on the brink of releasing a new guide for moms, “Seven Easy Tips: Encouraging Your Daughter to Say No”. For the price of a meal at McDonald’s you will receive helpful insight on raising your child in the way they should go in hopes that they would never stray from it. This guide, set to be released on May 1 will be full of Biblical insights and real life examples of the things you and your tween or teen will face in the days ahead and how to help her to have the courage and boldness to say “No.”

Currently, we are seeking your testimonials as a listener of our show. If you have something to say about our show please leave your testimony in the comments here and we will get it up on our testimonials page. You will also receive a link to your website or blog if you would like, just leave us the information.

Sincere apologies, we failed to mention this week’s Top Radio Partners during this week’s show however, our top 3 partners are:

Women by Grace  

Christian Top Sites 

Pearls & Peridots  

Another plus is that it will also provide you with some link love, so if you want to submit a testimonial to our site and in turn get a link to your site here on ours, all you have to do is post your testimonial in the comment section of this post.  That’s it!  Thanks!

Another plus is that it will also provide you with some link love, so if you want to submit a testimonial to our site and in turn get a link to your site here on ours, all you have to do is post your testimonial in the comment section of this post. That’s it! Thanks!

Here is what’s next…..

Saturday, April 5 - (Private) Make Me Over Birthday Party - 2 pm - Carrollton, MS

Friday, May 9 - Fellowship Church of the Nazarene Ladies’ Event - 6:30 pm - Houston, MS ( I am still praying about the theme and message)

I think it was fabulous. I was so impressed with the ladies, their love for the girls and the Lord. They treated me like a queen and I thoroughly enjoyed ministering with them. My hubby and I got to spend some quality time together as we drove down on Friday, and had a nice dinner, and stayed in a hotel room. This was our first night alone since Lily was born and she just turned a year old.

I noticed that the girls had written GLAM School on their charm school workbooks I had created and I thought, “Hey I love that name.” going to talk to Lisa, the event coordinator, about it but I’d love to “steal” that name and rename my workshops. I feel that God spoke and I hope that the messages will be used in the lives of the girls for days, weeks and months to come.

I love how God brings all things together for His good. I told the girls and Lisa this story, but I thought I’d share it with you, it’s just another story of God’s tiny miracles as I shared in yesterday’s post about God’s Hand at Work. Lisa and I had been corresponding about this event for months. A couple of weeks before the event she was hoping to have a good head count for me to get the workbooks printed and my supplies together, but that just did not happen. She called and told me that there were 16 girls who had bought tickets to the event but she was still hoping to have more.

I had begun thinking about how I would have the workbooks printed and put together and since I was still hoping to get a firmer number from her before I left for the event I had waited until last Tuesday to make a decision on how to have them printed and how many to get. It was Tuesday afternoon and I was debating printing them myself since I had not heard from her and was thinking it would only be 16 or so. However, I needed printer paper and would most likely need extra ink as each workbook consisted of 25 pages. I dreaded having to buy that. Then, I checked my email, and I had a note from a good friend of mine wanting to know if I would ride out of town with her to Jackson on Wednesday. She had an errand to run for work and asked if I would ride along and she’d buy my lunch. I happily agreed, inquiring “Can you run me by an Office Depot?” (I live in a tiny town with no grocery store, much less an Office Max within 70-100 miles). She said, “Sure” so I agreed to go.

The next day, she and I went to not one but two Office Depot’s trying to get the copies made for the workbooks. It was quite a task to get them done, but we finally were able to get them and I asked my friend, “How many should I get?” We decided on 25 copies and that’s what I got. On the way home, Lisa called my cell phone to confirm some last minute things for the event. She was excited to reveal to me that more girls had signed up and she now knew of 25 girls that were coming. I said, “You’ll never believe this but I just finished getting the copies for the workbooks and there are 25 in our back seat.” We both said, “Now that’s a God thing.” and felt so encouraged that God’s hand was at work in the event.

From there, I know that God only stuck around. I never got nervous as I spoke, the girls were all smiles and positive attitudes (which hasn’t been the case everytime I’ve spoken to a group), and I felt truly where God wanted me to be this weekend. It is my prayer that the girls felt God’s presence in their lives during the event and could take away some truths to apply to their lives.

I’m hoping to get a testimonial from Lisa about her view of how the event went and I will post that here later. I want to say thank you to her and all the ladies who made the event such an enjoyable one for me and were willing to be a part of God’s work.

I thought I would share with you a couple of my most recent “miracles”. The first one is a fun one about my latest pregnancy and a related “decorating” issue. Yes, decorating, pretty funny that GOD has a hand in my decorating huh? Well, A few weeks ago we were about to find out what baby number three was going to be. It was the night before and we were sitting with my son telling him that tomorrow was the big day and we were going to be finding out if he was having a baby brother, or a baby sister. My husband was showing him the JCPenney catalog and they were looking at bunk beds. He told my son “If you have a baby brother we can get you bunk beds and you can share when he gets bigger.” My son was so excited, and sure enough the next day we find out we’re having another boy, bunk beds are in our future.

Later that night I was thinking about us getting the bunk beds and the fact that I had just in the last year bought my son his new bedspread and how I didn’t want to have to buy a new one so soon, until I remembered something. That something was that back when I bought my son’s bedspread, which I got on EBAY by winning an auction that I won for $30, after winning I realized that the auction was for not one, but two matching bedspreads. So, the bedspreads had arrived and I had put away one of the bedspreads just in case my son was to destroy the one I had put on his bed. You see I had never dreamed over a year ago that I would need bedspread number two for another child. Another child was not in my plans, but was obviously in God’s and he even gave me the bedspread to prove it.

I hope you can find the little miracles God works in your life, even in the smallest things, revealing the presence of HIS mighty hand and power in our lives.

It is about forming and growing a relationship with God. As a youth/children’s minister, I used this example many times. If you have any relationship, whether it is with a friend, a parent, a boyfriend/girlfriend, how do you get to know that person, through spending time with them right? And if you do not spend time with them you cannot get to know them. The same goes with our relationship with God. We must spend time with Him in order to get to know Him, and there is no way that we will get to know Him if we do not spend time with Him. It is that simple. That is why our quiet time is so important.

The Christian life is a growth process, in order to grow we must spend time reading God’s word, talking to God, listening to God, memorizing Scripture, applying Scripture to our lives, all of these things we can do during our quiet time with God each day. There are some several keys to having a quiet time; I would like to briefly share some of them with you.

Keys to Quiet Time:
-Find a special place to have it.
-Bring your Bible, pen, paper and an open mind.
-Set aside a specific time each day.
-Be prepared to hear from God.

It truly is as simple as sitting down with a paper, pen, and Bible, though if you feel that you need other tools, a great devotional book such as 15 Minutes Alone with God is a good choice as well.

This song points out that a friend is a friend forever if “the Lord is the Lord of them”. This suggests that we include God in our friendships. In Godly friendships there are not just two people involved, but three. The relationship could be represented by a triangle. You and your friend are connected at the bottom of the triangle to God, at the top, which would be over you and Lord of both of your lives. The Bible says that this is the strongest of friendships in Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Choosing Godly friends is so important. Friends have a tremendous impact upon how we think, feel, act and behave. The Bible says in Proverbs 12:26, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

It is difficult to obtain Godly friendships. Many teens today, who grow up in rural communities like the one I did, may have the same peers in their lives from the time they are a small child, until they graduate high school. Therefore, their choice of friendships is limited.

When I was a teen, I had the same friends that I had met in preschool at the age of three at least for the most part. These friends did not always uphold and follow the same morals and beliefs that I held. I soon found out who my “real Godly friendships” were just by the way they would react to my standing up for what was right or setting myself apart from what was wrong.

As a teenager, this was hard to do, but now, almost 10 years since my high school graduation I am glad I did so all during high school. I value the friends who stood by me, whether they agreed with me or not, and even more so I am thankful that God always sends the people you need into your life.

Because, now as an adult, I still maintain some of my old friendships, but I have also created new friendships, and God has given me true friendships where the Lord is the Lord of them. I am now blessed with a group of girlfriends who share my same beliefs, encourage my convictions, and hold me accountable for my actions. They also pray for me, cry with me, and celebrate with me. I am thankful to be experiencing the whole range of lifetime friendships that God has blessed me with.

Godly friendships may seem difficult to find, but worth the wait. Don’t give up on finding your lifelong friends.

This article was written by Alyssa Avant and is Copyrighted 2008.

I also invite you on the show to watch the video I recently created for Beauty by Design Ministries. It is located here. I also shared on the show that I uploaded a longer segment of my speaking to Godtube. You can see it here. It is about a ten minute segment of a recent speech that I did. I would love your feedback on both videos and this week’s show. I invite you to leave your comments below. I also invite you to check out previous episodes of Mom-Daughter Connection.

As I mentioned in this week’s episode I am reading a fabulous book by Lysa Terkeurst called What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. I highly recommend it.

“Thank you so much for all the planning and preparation. After talking with several girls on Sunday, I know you made an impact in different areas of their lives.”
Mala R. Burns
West Carthage Baptist Church

Areas of Mother-Daughter Conflict Include But Aren’t Limited To:

* Independence/Power Struggles
* Curfew
* Friends you believe are negative influences
* Grades/Academic Performance
* Choices/Decision Making
* Homework/Procrastination
* Dating
* Drinking/Drugs
* Taking personal responsibility for her life/her priorities, etc.
* Respect/Attitude/Talking Back
* Parties without adult supervision

There are also some additional timely conflict areas given the access to internet sites such as YOUTube, MySpace and Facebook.com. Anxiety levels between mothers and daughters often center around those sites and the content girls want to display as well as the amount of time girls spend on them.

As your eternal optimist and parenting coach, I am here to say, there are a few key ways to bridge these gaps and have more closeness and connection.

1. Talk to Other Moms Regularly

Learn what other moms are experiencing with their daughters. When children are younger, moms communicated more with each other on the playground, etc. As children become teens, it becomes harder to connect with other parents because teens’ social lives are in “their hands.”

Remedy: It is important to communicate and connect with other moms. Have lunch and talk. Reach out to others who are not necessarily your close friends as well. You can learn a lot about what YOUR relationship by talking to other moms. You can also “band together” to raise your teen safely and feel “in the loop” on her life.

Bonus Idea: Create a forum for other parents to discuss issues and concerns by hosting a lunch or brunch in your home. And you can choose to let your teen know or not know that you are doing so. That’s YOUR right as a parent.

2. Listening

Listening is the foundation of all good communication. How do you talk to your teen when she has an attitude or won’t communicate? When she comes home from school, she may be ranting and raving about a teacher or coach who has singled her out. You feel angry and reactive because of her bad attitude or tone of voice, yet you know she is upset and you want to help. What can you do?

Remedy: Learn to listen and do what I call the “pause and parrot” technique. For 60 seconds, actually looking at the second hand on your watch, stay completely quiet. Listen without interrupting or saying anything. Don’t give advice or try to fix it.

After the 60 seconds, “feed back” or “parrot” what your daughter is saying versus giving her feedback. For example, your daughter is ranting and complaining about how much her math teacher hates her, you look at your watch and time yourself for 60 seconds and even if your daughter asks if you are listening just nod your head affirmatively. After one complete minute, you would say something like, “you are really angry at your teacher” or “you really feel like she/he is out to get you don’t you?”

Initially your teenager may look at your sideways (especially if you have traditionally been Fix-It-Mom) but doing this will most likely reduce the level of ranting and raving and let her know you empathize with her struggle.

Here’s The Key: Teens want to feel heard and more than anything they want to feel like you understand them. Using the “pause and parrot” technique lets your daughter know that you are listening without judging and you are a safe person to go to when she has a problem.

Bonus: When she feels listened to and heard, she is in a better position to solve her own problems or possibly take suggestions from you! Cool!!

3. Effective Dialoging

All mom’s can relate to being the recipient of the “teen eye roll” or the blank stare. These are indicators that your daughter is shutting you off. This can occur when she feels you are lecturing, preaching or repeating yourself (teens HATE that!)

Remedy: Instead of sounding like a broken record to your teen, ask questions to get her thinking. For example, one of my client’s daughters came home from school and she had a list of friends she wanted to invite to her sweet 16 party. Her mom looked over the list and saw the name of a girl she couldn’t believe her daughter had thought to invite because this girl had historically treated the daughter horribly. (Can you relate?)

The mom launched right in to what I call “teacher mode” and began to badger her daughter to find out why she had included the girl’s name on the list. The daughter got defensive and shut down, feeling undermined by her mom’s questioning. This is a tough situation and one that I empathize with mom’s on. How can your daughter think of inviting a girl who had been so mean to her just months ago to the point of tears, and now think of including her on her special birthday celebration? It’s so difficult to detach from your own emotions and allow your daughter the dignity to make her own choice, but YOU HAVE TO DO IT! You don’t however have to stay completely quiet about this. I recommend you ask questions to get your daughter thinking about her choice to invite this girl. For example, you can say something like this:

“I see you have such a great list here and a lot of friends you want to invite. This is going to be a terrific party. I noticed you have “———“ name on this list. What makes you want to invite her to the party? Do you think you’ll be comfortable having her there” If you ask these questions in a gentle way (not from a heated or charged place because of your personal disdain for this girl) she will tend to think about how she might feel rather than become defensive or shut down.

4. Four-to-One Rule

Remedy: Every time you hear yourself make a demand, or critical comment, find four ways to acknowledge or praise your daughter. This also applies to daughters for their mothers. (Glad you’ll be getting more “thank you’s” soon?) This will bring you both out of the vacuum of being critical and become more respectful of your relationship.

Bonus Exercise: Take 5 minutes each night and go into your daughter’s room. For 5 minutes tell each other what you value and you appreciate about one another. This reduces tension and builds a bridge immediately.

Article by:

Tami Walsh, M.A. is President and founder of TeenWisdom, a Los Angeles and San Diego based life coaching company dedicated to the empowerment of teens and parents. Tami is often referred to by teens as the “older sister you’ve always wanted” because she understands what today’s teenagers are going through, and she gives them the no-nonsense advice they are looking for. To learn more about Tami’s products and services, visit her website www.teenwisdom.com

What else is it important to be a good steward of… what about your belongings, your possessions. Again we want to find out if you are a faithful steward. Do you remember what that is. Let’s review, Are you a STEWARD? Let’s find out what this word means.

A steward is a man who manages or takes care of another’s property. The word actually means “the manager of a house.” It does not mean the OWNER of the house, but it means the MANAGER of the house.

Most of us do not need to have a steward. We are not too rich, and the few possessions that we do have we can look after and take care of ourselves. But if a man has 10 houses, 8 boats, 150 acres of land, 500 head of cattle, 3 swimming pools, 25 cars, 8 trucks and one oil field, then certainly he would not be able to take care of all these possessions by himself. He would need men to help him manage all of these things. A steward is a manager–one who is responsible to take care of those things that belong to someone else.

Are you a STEWARD? Are you responsible to take care of those things that belong to someone else? You might say, “I’m not a STEWARD, I’m an OWNER. I do not own very much, but I do own some things. I own some clothes, some books and some other important possessions that are in my room. These things are mine and I own them. I own them and I take care of them.”

Suppose you were to save up some money and finally you buy an electronic or video game which you have always wanted. Would this game be yours? Would you be the owner of it? It is yours because YOU BOUGHT IT!

Usually when we own something, we also own everything that goes with it. For example, if your parents own a car, then usually they also own the radio that is in the car and the things that are in the trunk of the car and the spare tire and anything else that goes along with the car. Suppose you were to own a pet hamster. Probably you would also own the hamster’s cage and water bottle and food and exercise wheel and whatever else comes with the hamster.

The same is true with God and the believer. Not only does God own the believer, but He also owns everything that goes with the believer. Not only does God own ME, but He also owns everything that I have–my clothes, my money, my possessions, my body and everything else that is mine! It’s all His! He’s the OWNER!

If God is the OWNER, then this means that I am the STEWARD. I am the one who should take good care of these things that belong to God. I am the one who is responsible to be a good manager of my clothes, my body, my money, my possessions and all that I have, because all of these things really belong to the Lord!

One things for sure our teens need to learn about giving back to the Lord.  A good way to do this is to have them to complete a course in finances such as Financial Peace for the Next Generation by Dave Ramsey.

Now, we have spoken about honoring God with our body, our gifts, and our natural talents now what about life’s most precious commodity, our T-I-M-E. Do you know that the word Love is often spelled out best T-I-M-E. No other time in history have people struggled with this issue than in our century. In a day in age where we have literally everything to make our lives easier, fast food, fast cars, the latest and greatest technology, we’re all still frequently caught saying, “I just don’t have time.”

When I was a youth minister, the answer most youth gave me for not spending time with God or on the things of God is this, TIME. I always reminded them that they make time for the things in their lives that are important to them. The guys spend literally hours and hours each week practicing football, lifting weights, training for the big game. The girls spent literally hours a week fixing their hair, applying makeup, picking out that perfect outfit, trying to impress that guy they’d like to go out with or impressing their latest hookup. You may say, oh I don’t do either of those things. But, I’m willing to bet if you kept a log of the things that you spent your TIME on. You would find that you spend your time on what is important to you. The Bible does remind us that, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21.

If you can make time for those other “less important” things in your life then you can make time for God. Can that extra practice or few minutes spent in front of the mirror really make the difference in your eternity that God can?

So, where do you spend your time? As an act of love we should spend time with God, and we should spend time serving God and others. God wants us to “make the most of our time.” Ephesians 5:16 , one version of the Bible says, Making the best use of your time, another says, making the most of every opportunity. Every day is FILLED with opportunities. There are opportunities to learn, opportunities to help others, opportunities to tell others about the Lord (see Chapter 13), opportunities to obey parents, opportunities to trust the Lord, etc. Every day is LOADED with opportunities. Am I missing out on these opportunities or am I making the most of them?

Every day God gives each one of us 1440 minute. A short poem I found online says this:

I have only just a minute, only sixty seconds in it,Forced upon me, can’t refuse it; didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it;But it’s up to me to use it. I must suffer if I lose it,Give account if I abuse it. It is only just a minute,BUT ETERNITY IS IN IT!

At the beginning of each day we can pray: “Lord, thank You for another day and for all the opportunities that will come my way. Help me to use the hours and minutes in the best possible way so that I can be a good steward of time.”

Don’t you feel loved when others spend time with and time on you? Think about it. For those of you who have a boyfriend, don’t you feel loved by him when he spends time with you? What about your best friend? You show people you care about them by spending time with them. Therefore, you can show the Lord that you love him by spending time with him. Spending time serving him in your local church and in your community, volunteering, singing in the church choir, taking care of children in the nursery, whatever ever needs done step in and do it as a spiritual act of service, and a way to be a good “steward”.

God gives us many gifts, including those of the fruit of the spirit. He also gives us spiritual gifts, a gift that comes to individual believers to supernaturally enable them to do that which God has called them to do.

Using our spiritual gifts is another way that we can give back to God, another way that we can commit a spiritual act of worship.

Spiritual gifts are often confused with natural talents. Let me explain the differences.

· Spiritual Gift is from God, independent of parents.
· Natural Talent is from God, but through parents.
· Spiritual Gifts are from new birth.
· Natural Talents are from birth.
· Spiritual gifts are to benefit others on a spiritual level.
· Natural gifts are to benefit others on a natural level. When used alongside spiritual gifts this can be a spiritual benefit.
· Spiritual gifts we recognize, develop and exercise them in His power.
· Natural gifts we recognize, develop and exercise in your own power, through training, practice.
· Spiritual gifts are dedicated to God fro his use and glory.
· Natural talents are dedicated by believers to God for his use and glory, but not necessarily always.

Spiritual gifts are also different from those fruit of the spirit we spoke of earlier. The difference here is that Spiritual gift has to do with service, what you do.
Fruit of the spirit is in your character, what comes out of you, as a result of God’s work in you.

Every believers gift is essential to the proper functioning of the body of Christ.

This is why God calls us also to be good “stewards” of those gifts he has given to us. There are gifts for everyone, and every believer has a gift he is given to use to glorify God. There are gifts of service, mercy, giving, healing, leadership, teaching, discernment, shepherding, witnessing, and evangelism. We could talk for hours about spiritual gifts. But, the important thing to remember here is once you’ve discovered what yours is, and you do this by seeking God and my being willing to serve him and others. You then need to use your gift in your local church to glorify God.

Then, there are those natural talents we spoke of. Natural talents such as the ability to sing, or draw, maybe even play a sport. Those natural talents are also given to us by God. These natural talents may not always be used for God’s glory, unlike spiritual gifts one can use their natural talents or abilities for their own gain, or praise. I’m sure you can think of famous people who have done this and selfishly sought success, wealth, popularity, whatever the case may be. However, you can use your natural talents for God’s glory as well and to lead others to God as a result.

How many of you watched last season’s American Idol. Were you Mandisa fan’s? Mandisa publically confessed her faith in Jesus on stage in front of millions of Americans. After being voted off of American Idol Mandisa did not stop glorifying God. Soon she will release an album “True Beauty” in the Christian music circuit. She is a perfect example of using your “talent” to glorify God.

I challenge you to use whatever talent, gift or ability you have for God and for his glory.

Contest winner will be announced on Show #16 on March 9 so be sure to listen in to see if you have won!

This first Sweet Tea episode I share with you all some great news, a few prayer requests and attempt to encourage the mothers of teen girls as they struggle to communicate with their daughters, when they feel like their words are going in their daughter’s ear and out the other. I give you some ideas, as well as share about a mentoring relationship I have with a teen girl in my church and the results that I have seen that confirm that what I have been doing with her has been worth it. I hope you will find that the things you are teaching to your child and instilling in them over and over are working as well.

I share with you how I preach what my momma preached to me and how it has paid off! Sweet tea and preaching, good Southern stuff, from this Southern gal. To celebrate this week’s show I’m having a contest where you can win some sweet tea… check out the newest blog post above to find out the details and listen in to Show #16 on March 9 to see if you’ve won.

Do you have a daily quiet time? If you do not I challenge you to do so. This involves spending time with God daily, in prayer and Bible study. It involves setting aside time everyday for spending time alone, just you and God. This allows you to hear from God, Learn from his word, find answers to your problems, get direction for your life and have the knowledge to face almost any situation. In this way you will know how to be a good steward of another aspect of your life, that of your body.

The Bible says ,
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
Hiding God’s word in our hearts helps us to know how not to sin against God, most importantly with our bodies.
. What does the Bible say about the use of our bodies?

God has given each one of us a body which is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). What are some of the ways that we care for our bodies in a way that would please the One who is our OWNER?

What are some of the things that we should avoid (things that might harm our body and things that would not please the Lord)?

God has given me a brain and a mind. Am I using the mind God has given me? Do I pay attention in school and in church to my teachers and seek to learn all that I can? Do I ask God to help me to be learning new things every day?

Honoring God by what we do with our body is a form of spiritual worship . “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”(Romans 12:1-2)

It shows God that we respect him and our bodies, which are made in his image. Our body is literally a temple of the Holy Spirit of God. This temple is owned by God, and leased back to us for use to glorify God. If we use it to dishonor God sexually, it is sinning “against the body.” The consequences of sinning against one’s own body are not specified in this passage, but I believe they could include sickness, unbridled lust, missed opportunities to serve God and a chilling of our relationship with God.

“Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”. The benefits of honoring God with our bodies are awesome. They include the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which include love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV). I encourage you to believe that these fruits are desirable and worth the effort of resisting the temptations of sin.

This will begin a series of several posts on stewardship. I had a ton of information to share so check back for more.

How many of you remember getting your drivers license? Maybe you girls are longing to get your driver’s license. If so you can relate to the following story.

I remember getting my first car. A 1989 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer Edition I thought I was the “stuff”. I was the first girl in my class to get their own car. Boy, did I have a lot of friends that is until someone else got their own car. Anyway, that vehicle my daddy bought for me from a guy in our neighborhood for $5000. I remember my daddy setting his “rules” for my car. The number of people I could have ride with me, when I could drive it, where I could drive it. My daddy was a stickler for rules. I remember the first time one of my friends wanted me to drive them somewhere I knew my daddy had told me I couldn’t go in my car. I kept telling her no, and she kept saying, but it’s your car you can go where you want in it. But, was it really my car? No, it was my daddy’s car, after my daddy bought it, he paid for the gas and he paid for the insurance for me to drive it. I remember telling her that and she hung up the phone mad of course.

Now, as an adult, I have a vehicle it is mine, I paid the payments, I pay for the gas and the insurance, and I can go where I want to in it, let whomever I want to drive it, or ride in it, listen to whatever music I want to in it, it’s mine and I make the choices about that car. Now, if I let you borrow my car, would you be given the same privileges I have while you were in my car. Well, maybe, but most likely I’d put some stipulations on it, I might ask you not to drive over a certain speed or I might ask you not to eat in my car or listen to the music too loud, or even move the seat into a more comfortable position. I could do that right, because I own the car.

Now, let’s compare this to your life. Your life is yours right. You own it, and you control it. Well, let’s think about this for a minute. I’m assuming some of you have already taken the opportunity to accept God’s gift of salvation and therefore you consider yourself to be saved, and a follower of Christ, what we call a “Christian”. The Bible says that if this is the case that “you are not your own, you were bought at a price”, it goes on to say “therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) So, to me, this means that our life is not really OUR OWN, we belong to God and therefore we should honor God with our life, including our body, our time, our possessions, and our finances.

After all, isn’t God the owner of everything? David the Psalmist says so, in Psalm 24:1, “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all that live in it.” If you believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is all true, then it is true that God owns EVERYTHING! He owns you, and me. He owns our cars, our houses, our land, the McDonald’s on every street corner in America, and the mansions in Beverly Hills. And, he lends to us and entrusts us with those things that he calls “his”. Isn’t that a privilege?

Just take a moment and think about your most treasured possession. Maybe it’s your favorite shirt, or a ring or piece of jewelry, or maybe its your cell phone or your IPOD maybe even a computer or even a car. Now, would you just want to give it to someone to take care of, or would you have a hard time trusting them with it, after all its yours.

However, God gives us all of his prized possessions and he trusts us with them. We know this because he loves us and blesses us daily. He gave us his son, Jesus, who died on the cross to save us from our sins. God completely gives to us all that is his.

He gives you our very life; a place to call home, food, water, possessions, every thing we call our own is given to us by God.

Now, this is where our responsibility to him comes in to play. We are asked by God to be good “stewards” of all that he has given to us. As Christians, we are asked to be stewards of God’s possessions and to receive what God gives to us gratefully.

Stewardship is the responsibility to take care of something that one does not own. As I said earlier, it is like entrusting your most prized possession to someone else. God has entrusted everything that is his to us.

If you believe that God is the rightful owner of everything then it is easier to be a good “steward” of all that is his. Stewardship has to become part of our “lifestyle”.

The lifestyle of teenagers today is almost “luxury”. It is even better than what I had, and I think I had it pretty good. My husband and I were just observing the other day at a family fish fry that every teenager there was carrying a cell phone around, plus they were all talking about one of their other luxuries that they had at home a personal MP3 player or IPOD. They knew how to upload and download stuff from the Internet, yet another one of our luxuries of today.

So how does a teenager who has everything give thanks to God for all that he or she has? The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33 that we should “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Now, here God isn’t talking about cell phones and Ipods…. Go back a few verses. (read a couple of verses prior) He is basically telling us to seek him for our “needs”. Now, there is a lot of difference between needs and wants.

You’ve probably heard people say, “I have to have that pair of jeans” or “I need to see that movie.” Maybe you’ve even said those things yourself. But what does it mean? Will something horrible happen if you don’t have those jeans or need to see that movie? Probably not!
Needs are things that we truly can’t be without, such as:
· Nutritious food
· A place to live
· A warm winter coat
· A good pair of shoes
· Transportation
Wants are things you’d like to have, but if you don’t, you’ll still survive (in fact, you’ll be just fine). Like:
· Designer jeans
· Toys
· Candy
· Video games
We can be good stewards of God’s blessings by putting first things first. This means we must seek God first and those things that he has for us. God will take care of our needs and often times he even allows us to obtain things that we want as well.
What is important to know about seeking God first? This has to be done daily. Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

This involves a daily commitment to follow God and his will and purpose for your life. You do this through seeking his will for you daily. By approaching him daily in prayer and Bible study, then listening to and follow him.

We will continue talking about stewardship in the next post….stay tuned.

This month as I share on the show I was blessed to be able to hire a Christian financial counselor who shared with me some Biblical principles about money, some of which I’d never thought about before. I share some of these with you on this week’s show as well as another website I have found helpful as I am attempting to live more frugally this year and to get out of debt. This website is maintained by a young Christian mother, Crystal Payne. It is called Money Saving Mom and can be quite a help to you as a mom trying to make ends meet. I encourage you to teach your daughter how to manage money as Crystal’s mom taught her. I listened to Crystal’s appearances on Mom’s Love Shopping and was encouraged by what her mom taught her and she is now sharing with us, via the web.

Crystal has an awesome resource for moms who want to save money on grocery shopping. It is called Supermarket Savings 101 you can check it out just Click Here! I have purchased the course myself and really enjoyed using it.

I hope that you enjoy this week’s show. I realize that the topic of money might seem strange to some for a mom-daughter show, but honestly, every daughter needs the blessing of her mother sharing with her how to handle the money that God blesses she and her family with, because it can be a struggle, especially just starting out.

I wanted to share this article about money from one of my favorite financial gurus, Dave Ramsey. I found this at Dave Ramsey.com

Some people say, “Timmy’s so young. I want him to enjoy being happy and innocent. Money is a worry for grown-ups, not kids.”

I say, “We’re raising a whole generation with ’sucker’ stamped on their foreheads because we’re not teaching them.”

Your job as a parent is not just to keep your child happy. You’re raising a future grown-up who needs to be able to deal with grown-up matters. If you teach little Timmy how to handle money responsibly, then grown-up Timmy will be better equipped for a richer life. Look at the statistics below:

* 19% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 declared bankruptcy in 2001. (USA Today, 2001)

* The fastest growing group of bankruptcy filers are those people who are 25 years of age or younger. (Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, 2002)

* Over 80% of undergraduates have at least one credit card and nearly 50% of college graduates carry 4 or more credit cards. According to the Department of Education, the average balance carried by these students is more than $3,000. (Senator Chris Dodd, CT)

These statistics show that many children aren’t being taught how to handle money. Young people are making mistakes with zeros at the end of them. These mistakes often take years to overcome. Teach your children how to handle money while they are young, and they won’t make mistakes later on in life.

Dave has a series for our teens called Financial Peace for the Next Generation and another for our children as well called Financial Peace Jr.: Teaching Kids About Money! : “Cool Tools” for Training Tomorrow’s Millionaires!

Here are a couple of the book’s by the experts featured on this program that I highly recommend to all mother’s of teens and tweens, girl and guys alike.

In addition you can visit the following resources:

Both girls are quoted as saying that they don’t drink and here’s what else they had to say according to US Weekly,

“Clubs are just not where I want to be photographed,” adds country sensation Taylor Swift, 18. She also says she realizes the impact her actions could have on her younger fans. “For everything I do, I think about a 6-year-old girl and her mom that I saw at my concert last night,” she tells Us. “I think about what those two individuals would think if I were at a club last night.

“I never want to be arrested, and I never want to get a DUI,” Swift says. “Those are my moral values. I am an over-achiever, and I want to be known for the good things in my life.”

Miley, 15 says, “The most important thing is really staying true to yourself,” she tells Us. “That’s what my mom taught me. She’s the most beautiful girl, not only on the outside but on the inside. She’s teaching me how to be a good person.”

Now, I know these girls aren’t perfect, because we’re all human, but their fresh faces and higher moral standards sure are a ray of hope as far as the teen idols in our world go. Don’t you think?

I don’t normally do memes here on my ministry blog, which by the way, I guess I need to explain what a meme is, well, click here to find out more.

But for the purpose of this post I am joining my friend Marie Ynami of MommyCommunity.com’s meme, Tuesday Toot, where we get to toot our own horn about ourselves, for a couple of reasons:

1) I must be honest, she is giving away a $10 McDonald’s gift card to one participant and my son loves McD’s (shhhh! so do I).
2) I have some fun things to share with you!

I really am doing this to share some good news, even if it does mean I’m “tooting my own horn”. We all have to now and again right?

So, here’s what I have to share. First, I failed to share with you that I was recently interviewed on Marie’s podcast for Mommy Community about journaling. You can listen to our interview here.

Secondly, I am proud to announce that I have been invited by Christian Ladies Talk Radio owner, Demetria Zinga to be a resident expert on her radio show. I am officially Christian Ladies Talk Radio’s Teen Coach and will as result record a monthly segment for her podcast specifically for teens. The first one will be in February and will be on the topic this time of “true love waits”.

So, there you have it my first Tuesday Toot and a bit of good news from me. I hope you’ll go over and check out both ladies’ podcasts and enjoy hearing from me as well.

Carrollton, MS—February 1, 2008—For a while it seemed like having good manners and proper etiquette was a lost and underappreciated art. Local entrepreneur, Alyssa Avant, is bringing it back with Christian grace and inspiration.

“I had the opportunity to learn about the fine details of social etiquette and grace while attending an out-of-state modeling school as a teen. Ever since that time I have wanted to share and present this information in a Christian way for young girls in this region,” explains Christian Charm School founder, Alyssa Avant.

The target group for Avant’s Christian Charm School workshops is girls in 5th to 12th grades. Workshop topics are designed to boost self-esteem and support the spiritual and social development of this very impressionable teen/tween age group.

Girls will learn everything from public speaking to social manners. Christian Charm School workshops are focused not only on teaching proper social etiquette to young girls, but also on highlighting the important role God plays in their lives and the ways in which they reflect the image of Christ through their daily thoughts and actions.

Carrollton resident, wife and mother of two Alyssa Avant is a Christian author, speaker and former model. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Alyssa spent 9 years in the modeling industry. She also served as the youth and children’s minister at Carrollton Baptist Church for several years.

In 2005, she created Beauty by Design Ministries (www.beautybydesignonline.com) to empower young girls and to help them turn to God for guidance and inspiration. Her opinions on faith, beauty and the uniqueness of the mother and daughter relationship has garnered significant attention in communities around the country. Her articles and interviews are published in magazines and newsletters and she has been interviewed by leading Christian and business media across the country.

The next Christian Charm School Workshop will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Tupelo. For more information about hosting or attending upcoming workshops, please contact Alyssa Avant at 662-237-4169 or email her at alyssa@beautybydesignonline.com .

Purchase Christian Charm School Workbooks here.

Carrollton, MS—February 1, 2008—Beauty is not only in the eyes of the beholder it is driven by divine design. That’s the message of a unique local event for young girls called “The Beauty by Design Fashion Show and Conference.” This event is open to all girls aged 12-18. Mothers are also encouraged to attend. The event will take place on Saturday, March 1st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Carthage Baptist Church located at 810 Highway 16 W, Carthage, MS. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

“Fashion and the whole notion of what is “true beauty” are so important to young girls and can have a dramatic impact on their confidence level, self esteem and faith development. Through an exploration of our own distinctive beauty, inspired by Christ, and an exciting array of fashion choices, we’ll discover the beauty of modesty and the fun of a fully choreographed fashion show,” explained Alyssa Avant, key note speaker for this event and founder of Beauty by Design Ministries.

Alyssa is a Christian author, speaker and former model. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, Alyssa spent 9 years in the modeling industry. She also served as the youth and children’s minister at Carrollton Baptist Church for several years.

In 2005, she created Beauty by Design Ministries (www.beautybydesignonline.com) to empower young girls and to help them turn to God for guidance and inspiration. Her opinions on faith, beauty and the uniqueness of the mother and daughter relationship has garnered significant attention in communities around the country. Her articles and interviews are published in magazines and newsletters and she has been interviewed by leading Christian and business media across the country.

All media are invited to attend the Fashion Show segment of the event, which will begin at 3:00 p.m.

One man had been raised in what he called a dysfunctional family and by the grace of God was finally taken care of by his grandmother who took him to church and he was saved at the age of 16. He recalled his choice to take the wrong path during his teenage years where he basically did what he pleased without much adult supervision from his parents. He also told of his close calls with death having walked away from 2 near fatal car accidents and 1 major motorcyle accident that should have left him for dead, but has he said, God had other plans. He also, testified that now God has replaced all the bad things of his past with the good things he now enjoys in his adult, Christian life. A loving wife, 2 great boys, a loving extended family and church family who he knows he could call on at anytime.

The second man’s testimony was slightly different in that he had been in church his whole life and was a living testimony of someone who had always known and loved having a church home and church family. He now truly appreciates this as his wife has been very ill and he has realized that without the Lord and his Christian friends he could have never made it through all that they have.

The third and final testimony was of a man who had been saved at a young age but chose to take the wrong path in life for quite some time, marrying at 17 because he got his girlfriend pregnant and then living a life of alcoholism for many years, until he finally got his life back on track after his middle child brought his a Bible study type book which he read while on the road as a truck driver. Now, he and his family are all saved and in church faithfully.

What about you, how would you give your testimony? What would it include? I think it is important for us all to know and be willing to share our testimony of our Christian lives. It is easy to form your testimony. You include three main points.
1. Your Life Before Christ. - Were you deep in sin, or just a young child who knew something was missing in your life?
2. Your Salvation Experience. - How you came to know the Lord.
3. Your Life After Christ. How has it changed? What have you learned about God’s grace, love and mercy?

Finally, the most important thing is that you share your testimony with others. That is what it is for, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

These are all questions I’m sure many of us have asked ourselves in the past. “Why should I pray?” Well the Bible is very clear that God wants us to communicate with him. He even says that we should, Philippians 4:6 explains, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” We pray because God knows that there are things that we need his guidance, his love and his support on. He does not want us to worry or be anxious and therefore we should pray. I have come to learn that on the days I worry the least are the days I have prayed the most.

“How should I pray?” Prayer is not meant to be complicated. Though we aren’t suppose to go to God only with our “wish lists”, we are suppose to come to Him like a trusted friend. We should feel comfortable enough talking to God that we have a conversation with Him, talking but also listening for Him to answer us. Prayer is to be a private conversation between us and God, it is described in Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

“When should I pray?” If you’re familiar with Scripture you may have heard the verse, “Pray without ceasing.” Do you literally have to be down on your hands and needs all the time praying to Lord, well of course not. HOwever, God’s desire is for you to be so comfortable talking to him that you can stop and whisper a prayer to Him anytime throughout your day when you feel you need an listening ear. He is always there and is always ready and willing to listen to you.

Finally, “Where should I pray?” An earlier Scripture spoke of praying in secret, yes, we should never pray to draw attention to ourselves or for show, but we can also join together with other believers to pray. We can have prayer partners, prayer meetings, and other times of prayer to assemble together and talk to God, for the Bible says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 God will always come to be with you when you pray, whether alone or with others. The important key is that you PRAY!

I hope that this has answered any questions that may arise for you about prayer. Prayer is such a important connection that we have to the Lord. I hope that you will take advantage of it. Listen to Mom-Daughter Connection Radio Show this week to learn about an important prayer from scripture, “The Prayer of Jabez” and a book written on the topic, which can be bought in a teen version as well, The Prayer of Jabez for Teens (Breakthrough Series)

Well known Christian author Max Lucado suggests in his work, The Cure for the Common Life that instead of asking our children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” a better question would be “How can I help you become what God has already designed you to be?” You see, God designed me for a special purpose, to be a specific thing, and he has done that for each individual on the face of this earth, so it is important that we are allowed to be what it is God designed for us to be.

God set his plan for each of us in motion the day that we were born. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV) We are all as Christians certain of that great plan, that story of our life.

We all have a story, and as we live our lives, we are living out our story. We must also allow our children to live their story. Lucado says STORY stands for:

S - our strengths, those things that we do well,
T - our topics, the things we are most interested in,
O – our optimal conditions, the conditions in which we do our best work, perform to the best of our ability,
R - our relationships, those with whom we share and learn from,
Y - and our yes moments, those primary outcomes that bring us the most joy.

We must allow our daughters to live out their very own story. A card I got recently as congratulations on my new baby girl said this,

“She will dream her very own dreams, Maybe she will look like you, talk like you, smile like you … maybe she’ll sing, paint and dance like you, but she’ll dream her very own dreams.”

Dreams are important, they give us something to look forward to with anticipation. I know you had your own dreams, now allow your daughter to not only have hers, but to live them out. Be her biggest cheerleader and watch her win at this game we call life. Help her along the way with words of encouragement, many hugs and love and even some discipline if it is in order. However, do not discourage your daughter from living out her dreams. God gave them to her and it is important that she follows His path for her life. You can be assured that if she is following God, that there are many plans in her heart, but the Lord is directing her steps.

As a result, I am happy to announce the official launch of Beauty by Design Ministries’ 7 Day Journaling Ecourse. The 7 Day Journaling e Course will send you 7 days of emails that will teach you the simple steps to journaling success. At the end of the 7 days you will also be given the opportunity to purchase a 30 Day Journaling Guide to help you to continue on with your journaling journey.

I also invite my listeners to check out our FREE 7 Day How to Journal E Course. You can sign up for it in the box on our right sidebar or by clicking here.

Also I would appreciate your filling out a short survey for me that I have up on our main website at Beauty by Design Ministries. There will be a drawing for one of our 30 Day Journaling Guides for free for completing this survey. The drawing will be held on February 1, 2008.

While we would love to be able to offer Mom-Daughter Connection Radio Show without ads, it’s just not possible to carry the burden alone, so rather than charge listeners for the episodes, we are seeking sponsorship for the show. We’d like to hear what you are in the market to buy - and what advertisers you would like to hear special offers from. Your information is valuable to me. I will use it to make the show self sustainable. Please take the time to complete this short survey. I will be doing a drawing to give away one of Beauty By Design Ministries’ 30 Day Journaling Guides worth $9.97 from the pool of those who take the time to complete the survey. The drawing will be held February 1, 2008.
Click Here to take survey

Then, another online friend, Patrysha Korchinski and I are bartering some work so that other things for the show can be paid for as well. I am feeling truly blessed this afternoon and excited that the show can go on. Praising God!!! Stay tuned as tomorrow will bring a new show!