Strong & Beautiful, Where Exercise & Faith Collide

Over the past couple of years I have been on a journey. Calling it a journey makes it sounds so intense, but I'm not really sure what word could describe it better seeing I feel so far from where I first began. It is the story of me passionately chasing after something I never imagined, an active and healthy life style. My story has been full of changes, turns, setbacks, adaptions and victories.
To say it has been life changing doesn't seem to say enough.

I guess I had naively assumed that when I started this it was going to be all about me. I was finally doing something for myself, to make myself feel better, look better, and satisfy my desire for "me time".   It has taken me over two years to figure out that this story has never been mine.
It all starts with Anna. She started running just a few weeks before I did and I was instantly inspired. I wanted to do something too. I think I can run! You see, only weeks after she had began she was already making in impact on someones life, my life, and I will forever be grateful. If she hadn't started I probably wouldn't have either.

Looking back over the past two years I can recount story after story similar to the one of Anna inspiring me. Flame igniting flame, one person encouraging another. Stories that are intricately and beautifully woven together.

In a world where it is acceptable to tear down, rip apart, degrade, belittle and make each other feel foolish. Where discouragement is the norm, jealousy abounds and comparison is a thief of so much joy and the cause of so much pain. I have watched countless strong and beautiful women push back and fight not only for themselves, but each other. They push each other towards their goals and dreams giving all the glory to God along the way.

My journey has never been about me. It was always meant to encourage and point others to Jesus.

It's a ministry, a gift and something that I want to use to build up the spirit and bodies of those who God puts in my path. I want to be the voice that says you can and the example that say I will too. To be real enough to share my struggles and strong enough to keep going.
To realize that that I will never achieve physical perfection by this worlds standards but know that I am made perfect and complete in Gods eyes because of the blood of Jesus Christ.   And out of that knowledge, I do everything to the glory of God. 
Encouraging, helping, praying, sharing, inspiring and teaching others to do the same.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. ~1 Thessalonians 5:11
That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ~Colossians 2:2

Tuesday Talk: Mom Talk Tuesday: Sharing Your Faith With Your Children

Welcome to Tuesday Talk!

Your weekly Tuesday link-up where you can post anything and mingle around.  We would love to have you join us today!

This week I am excited to also be linking up with Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me for Mom Talk Tuesdays

The topic for this month: Sharing your faith with your children.

In our home we love Jesus. We believe that He is the son of God, He lived a holy and sinless life, and was the atonement for our sins. We believe in salvation by faith. We believe that being a christian doesn't make you immune to sin and that God's Grace and love for his children is abundant. God doesn't call people to a life of perfection. He calls them to trust, believe, proclaim and depend on a perfect Savior.

More than anything in this world I want my children to know a few things.

1. No matter how much we, (or others) say we love you, God loves you more. 

2. Christians mess up. We will never be perfect on this earth. But Gods grace is extravagant.
3. God is good, ALWAYS. He is incapable of being anything but good.

4. The Bible does not promise that being a Christian is easy, actually the opposite is true.

5. Everything pales in comparison to Christ. 

I pray that they would come to know and love Jesus.
There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't think about that. 

Here are some ways we share our faith with our children in our home.

1. We go to church. Going to church does not make you a Christian, but we believe Christians should actively be involved in a body of believers.
2. We pray together.
3. We study the Bible together.

4. We repent to our children when we have wronged them. Few things are more humbling than confessing sin and repenting to a 4 year old. But it is always so good for both of us. 

5. We give them opportunities to grow. In our home those look like Awana, VBS, or our Christian home school co-op.

6. We worship together. I love listening to praise music with my girls.

7. We work on catechisms with them.

8. We talk about disobedience and call it what it is, sin.

The Bible says:

Train a child the way they should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

The Bible tells us to train our children.

 We believe this is a call to action. It is not a suggestion of something we can do when it works out for us. Training is hard and it must be consistent.

The Bible also says:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants no he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  

I Corinthians 3:6-7

God makes the seeds grow, not us.

Right now our job is to plant as many seeds in their hearts as we possibly can. We plant, trust, hope and pray that God will make the seeds grow.

As much as we want to, we are incapable of being everything our girls needs.

But we know a God who is more than enough.

How do you share your faith with your children?

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