Week One, Day Three

Reading: Philippians 1:12-18, 2 Corinthians 11:23-30

Memory Verse: “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” Philippians 1:19

In the brief time I’ve been a momma, my identity has been flipped upside down and my dependency on God has been tethered to the cross of Christ. No season of life has brought me to my knees more than this new journey of learning to be a momma. Each day, much less, each second is a holy emptying of my self-centered desires and a filling up of Christ. I can’t do this work of sanctification on my own. We can’t do anything beautiful and worthwhile on our own. That’s the beauty of the gospel in everyday life. Just like the changing of nature’s seasons also brings a change in our habits, wardrobe, and lifestyle, so do the changing of the seasons of life bring a remaking of our identity. God is remaking me into a woman who hungers after His heart and clings to Him with a fierce grip as I learn to be a momma. 

“True joy, in fact, is never found in chasing the perfect. It is only found in chasing the genuine life of following Christ. It is the road less traveled, but it is the only road that brings us to true life!”

post from my sister on her journey of infertility, receiving news of the unexpected, and chasing Christ in life’s journey!

One thing that sets my heart on fire is seeing women use their gifts and passions to make much of Christ in creative ways. Over the past few years, the Lord has opened my eyes to countless women who have recognized their gifting from God and are using what they have and who they are to bring glory to God. Rebecca Smith is a beautiful example of this! Rebecca is a wife, momma, and entrepreneur.

The dream of becoming a momma is embedded deeply in the fabric of a woman’s heart. I remember caring for my baby dolls when I was a child as if they had life and breath in them! As the years progressed and I grew older, this longing continued to grow and strengthen. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was always simple and always the same – “I want to be a wife and a mom!” Regularly I would have conversations with friends about how many kids we wanted to have someday. My answer was usually five, on average. Everything about marriage, pregnancy, and motherhood looked so glamorous and easy from the outside! As a single woman, I would have done anything to have the privilege of a ring on my finger, a baby on my hip, and a husband to love. If you are single and reading this post, you know this deep, unfulfilled longing all too well!

My heart is excited and expectant about today’s “Well-Watered Women” post! This is now the 8th post in our series of digging into how we can live life intentionally for God’s glory through knowing His Word, studying it, and living it out in our day-to-day lives! You can catch up on the series by clicking here! Today’s topic will cover one specific way that we can share the Word – through filling our social media feeds with truth. God is doing a new thing, and I want to be a part of it! I pray you will join me in living life beautifully for the glory of God!

Breathe in really deep.

Now let it out.

Take a moment to simply stop. I know you might be a blog reader like me who skims and goes from one page to the next. But this time, I am asking you to simply slow down. I recognized recently in my own walk with God that I have been falsely attempting to spend moments of stillness with Him. In the busyness of church, owning a business, growing a baby and preparing for him to arrive in May, moving to a new home, and being a wife, sister, daughter, and friend, I’ve fallen prey to the “I’m busy for Jesus” excuse. You may know the exact feeling. Your schedule is filled with good things, but is missing the best thing – sitting at the feet of Jesus and praying fervently and expectantly in His name.

The following post is raw. It is a tiny glimpse into a struggle I had with an eating disorder in college, and my heart in sharing it with you is that more women would find freedom from the bondage of eating and image through Jesus. Eating disorders are one of the most hidden sins of our society, especially in the church. As followers of Jesus, we need to stand firm against this yoke of slavery and speak about the lies that women are believing all over the world about their image, food, and worth.

My hands were completely a mess. I was in the backyard with all my paints, pencils, and sketchbook. Everything around me was ravishing and eagerly waiting to be brought to life through pen and paper. The dirt I sat on didn’t phase me as I gazed at the flowers in my dad’s tiny garden and drew the spectacular beauty before me. These were no Monet paintings, but they were made form the very depths of who I was. They brought my heart to life. They were me.  As a little girl, creativity was my identity. In school I wasn’t known for my basketball skills (which are literally non-existent), but for my art skills. I hung out with my art teacher and worked on projects with her during our breaks. I embraced every poster project as an opportunity to make something beautiful. I will never forget doing a project on Mother Teresa in middle school. I painted a watercolor portrait of Mother Teresa on white poster board as if it were my chance to show the world the beauty of this woman’s life through paper and brush.

A Life Lived Beautifully: Emily Betzler