Again...an eternity!

I feel like posting on this soo often. Really, I do. But I also feel the pressure of always including pictures since so many of our family and friends are far away.  BUT, today I HAD to post. And maybe I'll find some pictures in the mean time. There have been lots of changes since I last posted (was it really in April??!?).
Here's a quick run-down:  Brooke graduated from Kindergarten May 25th, and the following weekend, we spent an awesome FAMILY weekend down in Destin Florida at one of the Army resorts...we had never been on a family vacation.  I WILL find some pictures to post--most are on my phone, so I'll have to endure the task of getting them off my phone and on my computer!  Shortly after returning from FL, the girls and I left for a trip to Grammie's, and Daddy went back to work.  Brooke, Raelyn, and Natalie stayed with my mom for a week while I got to enjoy a fun week in New York City with some friends.  We were back home in GA for a couple weeks, and then off we went again, driving up to New Hampshire for a week or so.  We enjoyed lots of sun, and TONS of swimming. Then it was home again home again to GA (to see Daddy of course, who was STILL working).  Now it's August, and Brooke is back in school... *sigh* My baby is in FIRST grade.  Seriously, where does the time go??!?

Anyway, to the point of my post.  I was reading a friend's blog today (okay, okay...I've only met her a few times, so more of an acquaintance, but I'd love to call her 'friend') and one line caught my attention:

Love yourself! Please love yourself. If not for your sake then for your children's. 


She is on a journey of loving herself, walking in FREEDOM and in truth. She has had a lifelong struggle with weight--and as she says herself, that it wasn't something that developed after she stopped playing sports in highschool or in college--no, it has been a lifelong battle. Which, she points out is, BONDAGE--slavery.  And then she reminds us that Jesus came to set us free from EVERY part of our life (in her blog, HER life specifically, but in my blog I remind you that it applies to each and EVERY ONE OF US.

Now, I'm not on a journey of weight loss.  It is not my struggle in this moment.  But I am always on a journey of loving myself.  Vanity is my struggle.  Not thinking that I'm too beautiful or gorgeous for anyone, but quite the opposite--not seeing the beauty in me from the outside.  I am not the most beautiful person to walk your way. Not by far.  BUT, Jesus sees beauty in me.  And in you.

When I was in Africa, I remember hearing the verse Psalm 139:14 for the first time ever. My friend Kim shared it with me as we walked around the property we were staying on.  "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (NIV)  Words of encouragement. Words straight to my heart. A PROMISE straight to my heart.  Another version says "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it." (NLT)  For those of you not familiar with the passage, the promise goes on--reassurance that God knew us BEFORE we were formed in our mother's womb.  We are that special.

So in my journey of loving myself and recognizing my value, my worth, and my beauty as a daughter of the King, my friend's plea for us to love ourselves...for our children's sake really touched my heart.  The things we do in front of our kids (and around our kids) today is shaping who they will be and the choices they will make in the future.  Not loving ourselves can give our children a warped sense of beauty.  Not teaching them to pick up after themselves can make their spouses slaves to them in the future. Not teaching them to make good decisions can lead down some dark paths in the future.

And...in not knowing what to say to wrap all these jumbled thoughts to a close...just remember the point of my post.  My friend's plea to LOVE YOURSELF.  And join in on the freedom it brings, and the extra rewards it can bring as a parent.  I know I will be more cautious of what I am saying, what I am complaining about in front of my children...because I want them to grow up with healthy lives, loving who they are, and most of all as Princesses of our King.

And on that note, here's a snapshot of each of my BEAUTIFUL daughters, who are growing up WAY too fast.