Hi, friends ~
The first official copy of Becoming a Girl of Grace should be delivered to me on Monday. Excitement! After that, we expect hard copies of the remaining books to be in hand by June 14th. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. God is moving in a big way!
As some of you may know, I’ve started the development of the next study–Building Circles of Grace. Where Becoming a Girl of Grace is about focusing on the girl of grace God designed us to be and our relationship with Him, Building Circles of Grace is about building and sustaining Christ-centered relationships with others. At the end of each chapter is one of my favorite book elements. It’s a note from a mommy’s heart to other mommy hearts.
I am so excited where God is taking us on this journey! I thought you might like to see a sneak peek from the new book. This particular chapter is about celebrating the beauty in ourselves–as beauty is defined by God rather than society and cultural trends. Here’s a snippet from a mommy’s heart:
As I was mourning the loss of my baby girl’s toddler phase—especially knowing my husband and I wouldn’t have another baby—a very dear friend gave me some wonderful advice. She encouraged me to mourn the passing of each phase, but she also cautioned me not to miss an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful experiences we would encounter with each new phase of our children’s development. She was so right!
My youngest darling didn’t sleep through the night until she was three-and-a-half years old. Being sleep deprived with a new baby was one thing. Getting caught with your pants on inside out and backwards when you’re baby is three is mortifying! And yes. This really happened. Thankfully, it my BFF who happened to notice, and I had yet to leave the house that day.
Early motherhood was about survival. I’m convinced this is why we took tons and tons of pictures. We were so tired! Looking back now, we often say, “Oh, we forgot about that!” I loved having wee baby girls, and sometimes I do miss those tiny feet and gently lulling my little one to sleep.
These days, however, we are less about sleep schedules and more about school and extracurricular activities. The older my girls get, the more mileage I put on my car. I wouldn’t trade it, though. My dear friend was right. There is something new and amazing with each phase of development. The tween years are no different.
My tween girl’s friends are definitely important to her, but she still treasures our mommy/daughter time. In a world that encourages our kiddos to grow up much faster than they should, I’m a-okay with the big girl kisses and snuggles. Her heart is still open to the mommy wisdom I wish to impart, and again. I’m thankful.
She still absorbs so much—as children are prone to do—but now I’m even more aware of how my actions are influencing how she feels about herself. Now, please don’t misunderstand. My husband and I love and adore our daughters, and we take every opportunity to tell and show them how important and special they are in God’s kingdom.
I’m talking about the self-deprecating comments I mutter under my breath about myself. No, I’m not the weight I was in college. I’ve had two babies, and things are arranged a little differently now. Just as I warn my tween darling to beware of society’s definition of beautiful, I am just as vulnerable to the assault on my self-confidence. My daughter watches how I deal with the days I don’t feel beautiful, and I’ve heard her make similar comments about herself.
Moms, this is our chance to be real with our girls. I’ve never claimed to be perfect—far from it. I’m a girl of grace in training just like everyone else. My sweet husband has loved me through thick and thin—literally. Sometimes, I’m self-conscious about my body, and he shakes his head and adamantly reminds me how beautiful I am to him.
That’s a need God can fulfill for us! I fall prey to the ill-defined worldly view of beauty from time to time, but I’ve also found myself talking with my tween daughter about how these insecurities are a fallacy that Satan uses to distract us. We were created out of love for love. We are all beautiful in the eyes of God, and it’s nice to remind ourselves of this on the days when we feel any less lovely than the girls of grace God created us to be!
