Simply Renovated

photo credit by Kristy Rivard

 

 

"A Godly friend is the grace of God in your life"

 

 

If you even slightly read my blogs you'll get the idea that I have a great passion for sisters in Christ.  I have a great desire to see my generation of women rise up and be Godly women who live out their faith and encourage young mothers to do the same.  To come along side them, encourage them and mentor them.  Do you see that woman kind of in the middle.  She is dressed in all black, with short curly hair and one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen? She is just that.  She has taken on this small group of women as her young mama's of the church.  She has spent almost 2 years now encouraging us in our mission to motherhood, helping us grow in our faith and dig into the Word and really model our life after Christ.  She is truly the grace of God in our lives.  She has set a real and true example of what being the hands and feet of Jesus looks like and she is changing our worlds...I pray it's a domino effect and changes the world.

 

Each of these women have their own stories.  Finance troubles, a "quiver full" of rowdy crazy boys, the horrible infection shingles, a newborn baby not willing to sleep, a special needs child and the list could go on and on...This wonderful woman who has a huge heart for us girls organized a "momcation".   It was 24 hours (I love that she gets it...that too much time would almost be stressful for us to be away and stressful for our husbands).  We really didn't know what to expect because she didn't give a ton of detail but we knew it was going to be 24 hours away with Godly women and no kids.  The time came, the clock read 5:00pm and we were loaded and ready to head out.  We arrived at a house.  A plain looking house in Jenison...a house of a friend.  We unloaded our stuff and walked in the front door and the smell overtook us.  It was amazing and then....

 



The table was set for us...we didn't know what to do with that.  We are the ones that cook dinner and set the table.  To have it all done for us...we were beyond grateful.  Here is that story.  The owner of the house is a family friend of this woman. He is a 78 year old man, never been married, a professor but clearly loves the Lord.  It was evident without even meeting him.  He offered his house to us...6 tired mamas and he just went and stayed with a friend.  He set this table, made dinner and left little notes throughout the house offering amazing hospitality.

 

 

 

There were extra toothbrushes, razors, shampoo and shower accessories, wine, extra bedding and enough bedding.  The house had a gorgeous view off the back patio....breathtaking in the morning....

 

 

So....we started our weekend.  We started with dinner and had moments of laughter when silence came because we didn't know what to do with it...it was foreign to us.  Then we were give our "schedule" which was incredibly laid back but we were so grateful for it...and not expecting it.  Our friend, who put so much work into this momcation and we had no idea.  She had meals planned, a walk planned, four sessions on DVD by Sally Clarkson's Renew Your Mom Heart series, quiet time and she made booklets and gave gifts.

 

 

She even had most of the notes typed up...so we had minimal writing to do.  Is this her gift? I think so.  We so enjoyed each others company.  Dinner came and went, session one came and went and as dessert was served we did nails, laughed and stayed up WAY too late (poor already sleep deprived mom)....

 

 

We went to bed and all slept hard and peacefully.  I woke up like an alarm clock around 7, send a love text to my husband and spent some time in prayer.  I snuck upstairs to catch a picture of the sunrise (the photographer in me got really excited that the sun would rise over the lake a little)...

 

 

....another grace of God in my life....

 

 

We had breakfast together the next morning and decided to walk it off.  We came back and we spent 45 minutes...let me say that again FORTY-FIVE MINUTES.  OF alone time...in the Word...just us and God...AHHHHHMAZING!

 

I dove into the Word like I was starving for it.  Knowing it was only going to last for so long...I cross referenced everything and found other pieces of scripture that relate to what we were going over...I couldn't get enough! I kept coming back to the aching in my heart for young moms in the church.  I was frustrated in a sense because in John it says that nothing comes to a man or is given to a man unless it is from God.  So this desire for women's ministry in my heart is from God...yet this past month I was burned horribly by women.  This can't be it right?  God wouldn't allow me to go into a ministry where obviously I don't fit so well?

 

Then the next session was this....

"James says, count it all joy when you encounter trials...! Why count it joy? Because God counts you worthy to show in a performance (test, trial) how you've been practicing your faith.  In your testing, are you being faithful? In all your invisibleness, are you trusting God?"

 

Testing from God isn't to bring you down...testing is His way of showing me that He believes I will perform.  Whether I perform 100% off the bat or whether I even learn from mistakes made along the way and don't ignore them...God considers me worthy of it.   So was this trial to see for myself that women...well we are sometimes mean.  We compete with each other and for some reason it's ingrained in us to tear each other down instead of building each other up.  But God handles everything and he needs women to rise up and not shy away from it. 

 

I think the older generation of women (not all but some) might think that my generation just wants to swoop in and change everything.  That we will want to get rid of the old and bring in the new.  That we don't want to learn from them or that we just want to be greatly entertained.  So.not.true!  The women that I know in my generation want to be encouraged...we want to be mentored and taught.  We want to be the women of our church that are loved and blessed...we want to be the future Jacinda Bitely, Claudia Lovell, Sue Scott, Alison Laur, June Hammond, Michelle Weeks, Kristy Vanderwall, Liz Leseman and the list could go on and on...I am not speaking just for these 5 women who have been taken under the wing of one of these women...I am speaking for the women on our generation...we need to be taught that there is more to our motherhood than just changing diapers, staying up late, cuddling a sick baby and instructing after instructing.

 

 

Each of these women have blessed me in one shape or form. 

Kristy - whenever I picture you in my mind the first thing that comes to my mind is your smile.  I can picture how your nose crinkles and how your mouth forms.  I also picture your great strength in dealing with a house remodel and a special needs child yet you find time to serve others with the purest of heart. 

 

Calista - You, my friend have been an answer to prayers.  I love how gentle you are in being a mother.  You, although younger, have set an example on how to spend time with my children, sing to them and discipline gently.  I love your true heart of worship and the wisdom you possess at such a young age.  You are an encouragement!

 

Dana - my sister separated at birth ;) You have been true and honest with me and God has answered both of our prayers in our friendship together.  I love your laugh and of course your smile and that is what I picture when I picture you.  You are an amazing wife and set great, high standards for me to follow.

 

Karalise - I am still getting to know you fully but what I know of you...I love your honest, pure, genuine heart to know people.  You truly love people and it radiates from you.  I love your raw honesty with life.  You are a wonderful mom and have set many true examples for me.

 

 

Jacinda - Well if you don't know yet how I feel about you...then I am not doing a very good job.  Words can't express my gratitude for you taking us under your wing.  For listening to God has he pressed this interesting group on your heart and for following and being an obedient, faithful servant of Christ.  You have set examples beyond what I've ever imagined in a mentor, sister in Christ.  You have show a real true example of how the sisters in the Body of Christ are to be...how they work.  You, my friend, are changing this church and our world.  You obedience and faithfulness is producing great fruit.  Thank you.  From the bottom of my heart...with the purest and truest intentions...thank you.