Dear Me: Lines to the Woman I Want To Be

Like brush strokes on a canvas,

mark upon mark, bringing a picture into focus,

I will be a woman marked by the beauty of Christ,

Always shaping more to His ways.

Habits, humility, wonder, gratitude.

Mark upon mark.

By the strength of his Spirit…

I will be a woman marked by LOVE

I once heard someone say that children spell love T-I-M-E, and I will commit to giving time to my own – a high, holy, and hard calling.

I’ll start within my home and move outward in love, but always under the umbrella of His love.

My first Love- I’ll declare His steadfast love in the morning,

And His faithfulness at night, and let that shape me.

Joy! I will be a woman marked by JOY

When I think abundance equates to things or titles, status or followers,

I’ll say it again— this is not what ultimately satisfies.

Fullness of JOY is in the presence of the Lord.

Stay by the source.
Like all the greenest plants are right there along the river's edge.🌿

Seek Him first, the Living water.🌊

(That means first).

Sit with His words every morning.

And it just keeps hitting me:

God knew what he was doing when he asked us to serve the poor, seek out the lost, offer extravagant love to the orphan, the widow, the prisoner. He knew they will not be the only ones who are blessed. Joy follows.

I will be a woman marked by PEACE

I will wake up to prayer, and mark the day by prayer.

Prayer reorients and relinquishes control.

I will confess and repent, positioning myself for peace.

My trust in God will be evident in the quality of my peace.

Fear clings to control.

Peace trusts.

I will be a woman marked by PATIENCE

Pulsating envy gnaws away at patience.

I envy another person, another timeline, clawing for control of it all.

But remember what Jesus told his friend Peter? Don’t worry about that other man’s story. What is that to you? You follow me.

Patience is not demanding my own way from God or from others.

I will be a woman marked by KINDNESS

A profound act of kindness? Sacrificial generosity. Generosity - with my time, money, gifts - is the hard and best way to live.

I once heard someone say attention will be the depleting currency of the future.

I’ll stay focused, captivated by small moments with those I love and those I want to love better. I will generously give attention like a prized commodity.

My children and I talk about the Psalm often: A cheerful heart is good medicine.May my life reflect cheerful kindness.

I will be a woman marked by GOODNESS

Good habits create good days.

Goodness leans into the good gifts of God.

So…

God has given us this means of writing:

Write out life’s issues and perplexing problems, to work it all out between you and Him. Slows us to see it all more clearly.

Creating is not just for artists:

Pattern after the master Creator and bring good work into the world, whatever your work.

Create good work to reflect the goodness of God.

Always go out:

Science shows that this earth God made for us actually heals us.

Nature and exercise alter our minds and bodies.

Enjoy it, care for it, protect it – every day.

Get outside and feel the good.

Treat food as a gift:

Sustenance and enjoyment, not abuse or overuse.

And always keep reading, keep learning, keep listening.

I will be a woman marked by FAITHFULNESS

When I have less and less time to be in the Word,

that’s the exact time I need more of it. Always start there.

Be faithful in this calling:

A life poured out is a life filled up.

And

A life filled up in Him can be a life poured out in wonderous ways.

Fill up, pour out, and repeat.

I will be a woman marked by GENTLENESS

I will walk in wonder

of the Creator and all that he’s created.

Wonder leads to worship.

Gentle days, slow and steady.

Gentle answers turn away wrath.

Gentleness shows the Spirit at work in me.

I will be a woman marked by SELF-CONTROL

Anger and emotions sway in and out through the day.

In severe times, desperation happens.

I’ll bring all those feelings, all weak and crumbling, to the feet of Jesus because that’s the very best place to sit desperately. (I know this well.)

Self-control isn’t best accomplished through lots of strain and struggle to be better, but through submission and supplication.

I will let HIM be the strength I need for self-control.

Mark upon mark to create your intended design, Lord.

I pray that the fruit of your Spirit
working in me and through me
is evident in the woman I want to be.