Blessed

This morning as we were walking out of church, a lady walked up to us and told us how blessed we are. You see our daughter, Amelia, tends to capture the hearts of everyone around her. Particularly with her outwardly expression of joy (have you seen that smile?) and particularly on Sunday mornings during worship. I am convinced that the Lord of the universe has already captured the heart of my 5 month old daughter. There is no doubt in my mind that He is pursing her to know and love Him. So yes, my friends, we are blessed.

For reasons I can't seem to comprehend, the Lord has chosen me to be Amelia's mom. He gave me the responsibility to love, nurture and guide her. I feel immensely inadequate. But that's the beauty of our God. His desire to use ordinary people such as myself to further his kingdom. To make disciples. To love the unlovable. To bring hope to the world. And to raise His children. The gravity of that last one has recently been heavy on my heart. Let me tell you why...

From our first moments on this earth to our last, we are influenced by many things. Some of our first influences having a lasting impact for the years ahead. For it is written in Proverbs "start children off on the way they should go, and when they are old they will not turn from it." The brevity of this weighs deeply on my heart. And of all of the hopes and dreams I have for my daughter, they all come down to this. I want her to know and love God. To be a light in this dark world. To rise above the evil of our society. To be a friend to all. To love with the love of Jesus. To be strong in her faith and to be unwavered by mankind. In the midst of a fallen world, I pray the Lord would use her for good. That the conveniences of this world would not distract her. That she would live for something bigger. Something eternal.

I don't know why God chose to bless me as Amelia's mother, but I will thank the Him for her every day of my life. And I will not take this blessing lightly. I am determined, by grace and prayer, to raise her to seek the kingdom of God. I say by grace, because I am not perfect, nor do I expect to ever be. But God has laid the foundation of a Godly woman in Amelia and I am excited to help cultivate it. How blessed am I to have a piece in this journey.

Why this blog?

I tend to have trouble finding ways to share my faith. Not for lack of passion I assure you. In fact if you could see my heart, you would see it bursting at the seams with the desire to share my love for my incredible savior and the many ways he has blessed me. Maybe its my timid nature or the fear of overstepping. However, I was recently reminded we only have one life to give to God, and even that isn't enough. So my hope for this blog is to share some of the things God has been teaching me, challenging me with and a few of the many blessings He has sent my way. And maybe even to connect with others who share the same passion and can be an encouragement to find more ways to share my faith!