Thursday, October 13, 2011

Beautiful Mommy Challenge

Here's the Challenge
You up for it?

 My Friend Tracey Padgett commented on Loving with Humility which talks about the humility, love and attitude of Christ. If He lived His life to be an example of how we should live ours; shouldn't our lives be more of a reflection of His?


She wrote a quick sweet note followed by a challenging quote that she saw a few months prior:


"I want to love better, without selfish ambition or vain conceit. To serve, to give, to unload and load the dishwasher a thousand times in a row. To empty the garbage at 9:38pm without a negative thought. To get up to lock the doors or turn down the thermostat. To sweep and dust and as I work, allow myself to be renewed and refined and put back into my rightful place – below the ones I love. I want to love like Christ." -Heather Boersma

Phillipians 2:3-4(NIV)
 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

What a challenge! These are the areas in this lady's life she struggles to have the Humility of Christ and she's nailing them down in surrender.

 I've read over that post so many times and everytime I do the Lord convicts my heart so deeply. 


More than anything I want to love with the love of Christ.  I want to serve with the heart and attitude of Christ. Not looking for anything in return, but out of an overflow of my love for HIM.

I want to worship without fear of what the others might say or think. I want to speak the name of Christ in public without worrying over "offending" someone.  I want to pray in the middle of a crowd with a hurting friend, without fear of weird looks or judgements. I want to be aware of the ministry opportunities around me every moment of every day. 

I want to love others with the Humility of Christ, putting them before myself. Considering them and their needs before my own without needing for praise, affirmation or for anyone to even notice. (Philippians 2:1-2 - For my encouragement to come through the Spirit alone!)

I want to hug the dirty. I want to do the inconvenient. I want to pray and serve my enemies.


That's kind of a long list. Apparently I have alot of work to do. :)  If I am going to have any impact on the world around me, I must start in the home.  So today I am going to follow her example and challenge myself to really surrender in the areas I'm currently struggling with in the: HOME

I want to Love.  I want to be patient no matter what side of the bed I wake up on.  I want to speak grace towards my husband at all times, even when he's calling while the house is on fire (fig.) I want to have grace in my tone. 
I want to be grateful in plenty and in want.  I want to go out of my way to romance my husband, not settling for the convenient. 
I want to go out of my way to stop and listen to my son as he tells me how he slayed the dragon or had his monkey climb a tree for the thousandth time that day.  I want to be thankful and mindful that he really wants to talk to me and I need to have him know his words are precious to me. 
I want to speak grace with my daughter.  I want to show her how to love by loving her, how to treat others with kindness by displaying kindness towards her, at all times.  Not giving into my temper.
I want to show my children how to be patient by being patient with them. I want to teach them how to be grateful by being grateful.  I want to teach them that Joy is something you work on.  I want to teach the bible to them everyday.

Are you up for it? 

If you accept this challenge, I challenge you to write it out and nail it down in a comment below. If you don't feel like writing feel free to sign your name so that we can hold each other accountable! 
Also, if you're challenged by this, invite your friends to the challenge as well.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
   so one man sharpens another
.

May we be vessels beautifully sharpening each other for our Groom!

Be Blessed my friends and lets stop listening to the TRUTHS and lets start radically applying them!  :)


HIS Clay~


Here are links to some precious ladies who have accepted the Challenge! 
Let me know if I can add your's!

The Humble Homemaker



Life of Eucharisteo
~Sweet Blessings~
  




















 Linked up with:
Nebraska Graceful
Women Living Well

20 comments:

  1. I'm in! I desire to intentionally bless my family with a servants spirit. Nurturing them from sunrise to sunset. I desire to teach them what walking with Jesus is all about by walking with Him before their very eyes, every single day. I desire for my husband's heart to fully trust in me, even deeper than it does now. I desire for the works of my hands to spread out into my community and be an active servant for Christ, blessing the poor in anyway that I can, teaching my children what I believe to be incredibly important. I will start a prayer journal to record this very special time in my life. A time that is going by so fast and almost standing still at the same time. A time of meeting beautiful like~minded new friends. A time of intentional living and loving...

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  2. I feel ashamed this morning. I was moody and growled at my daughter. The household is not going well. But by your blog I'll make a fresh start. Thank you.

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  3. Wow! Romancing my husband... not only when it's convenient. That totally spoke to me this morning. Thank you!

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  4. Hi Melissa - this is very well timed for me. My husband's business goes into silly season now so it gets hectic and he gets stressed and then we bump heads - a lot - so I will be taking your challenge and go through this season God's way. I will be back with my commitment once I've prayed about it.
    God bless
    Tracy

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  5. I'm in! Though I may be weary and worn in the flesh, I have strength through Jesus Christ, my Savior. I've been following the ModSquad Blog. They are doing the 31 day challenge. It's 31 days of prayers for our daughthers. (It can be applied to sons as well) These prayers are powerful! I encourage you (and your readers) to check them out. http://modsquadblog.com/

    Melissa, this challenge is amazing! I just want to publicly thank God for using me to speak to your heart. What a blessing to be God's vessel.

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  6. Oh Melissa. Wow. Powerful. I am so in!! As I read this, I thought of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, Do Everything. Everything I do, I want to do for the glory of God and with a positive attitude. I am so up for this challenge, and challenge it will be, just to be honest.

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  7. This whole quote speaks from Heather Boersma speaks to me. Wow! My words may not be harsh, but my attitude can me. I get grumpy about having to serve. Oh, that convicts me just writing that. But Jesus came to serve and I want to be like Him. This is a great, but hard challenge. Count me in - and hold me accountable. Thanks, Melissa!

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  8. Yes! Yes! Yes! To show Jesus every day in every circumstance is my heart's desire. I fall so short. This so convicted my heart and I know it is an invitation from Him to me to look more like Him. Oh how I want to look more like Him. I'm in!

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  9. I want to Love. I want to be patient no matter what side of the bed I wake up on. I want to speak grace towards my husband at all times, even when he's calling while the house is on fire (fig.) I want to have grace in my tone.
    I want to be grateful in plenty and in want. I want to go out of my way to romance my husband, not settling for the convenient.
    I want to go out of my way to stop and listen to my son as he tells me how he slayed the dragon or had his monkey climb a tree for the thousandth time that day. I want to be thankful and mindful that he really wants to talk to me and I need to have him know his words are precious to me.
    I want to speak grace with my sons. I want to show them how to love by loving them, how to treat others with kindness by displaying kindness towards them, at all times. Not giving into my temper.
    I want to show my children how to be patient by being patient with them. I want to teach them how to be grateful by being grateful. I want to teach them that Joy is something you work on. I want to teach the bible to them everyday.

    I want to love everyday with the Love of Christ...help me Father to do so (in Your strengh, not mine).

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  10. Melissa,
    I am really needing this challenge right now! I have to leave here and be gone most of the day, my Linky Tools went down at midnight and I just got it working, construction here and mud, mud , mud! Company coming on Sunday Whew!!
    I am signing this: jacqueline Thank you, Father, that you can move mountains in our hearts!! I allow you to work a miracle in my mind and my heart to love w/o reservation no matter what because of your mighty power at work within me. Amen!

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  11. I am SO encouraged to read this ... I've been so burdened lately that families are "losing" their children to the world because they have not shown them how to serve and love God from THE HEART (instead of out of obligation/duty) ... and marriages that are falling apart all around me because both spouses are NOT willing to submit to each other's needs or God's will. Such a burden - and such a WAKE UP CALL to make sure MY family stays close to each other & to the Lord!! I'm SO in!!

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  12. This post has really spoke to me today. It's funny that several of the other blogs I have read today have included a theme of showing the love of Christ to our family, especially our children. I have not completely composed my thoughts yet, but I hope to put together a new post on my site today that talks about children. I would like to put a link back to your blog and the other blogs I read today for others to view. I hope later on maybe tomorrow you can stop by my page and view the post. Thank you for posting this, it never seems to amaze me how God can speak similar things to people all over world at the same time. God is so good. P.S. I do accept the challenge!!

    www.creativeexpressionsbybrandy@blogspot.com

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  13. Absolutely Brandy. If you write a post about it that'd be Awesome if you'd put a link up for us to see :) If you would please just link back here :)

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  14. I'm a little late on joining in, but I'm in too! I want to have such a hunger for the Word, and make it such a part of my everyday, that my children identify more with "pure religion" than the religion this world has to offer. I want my anger to not get the best of me when rearing my children. I desire to exhibit such FAITH that FEAR would have no place in my life, and I could truly live a life that expresses "death is gain"! I want to kiss my hubby EVERY morning with nothing but pure love and passion behind it! I want to accept those this world turns away. I want my EVERYTHING about ME to be challenged to be EVERYTHING about HIM! Just to list a few! Praying for all you ladies!

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  15. I'm in. I want to show Christ in my daily living. I want to not complain when things get tough. I want to speak love to my family. Praying for all of you!

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  16. Oh, yes! Melissa! I'm right in the middle of this challenge - and a total breaking - just to be pliable that He can take me to new places in molding my heart to His image. Having just this past week come to take on this challenge, I can attest to the peace that passes understanding girding my whole being in His joy. Getting my bearings through surrender.

    Joy!
    Kathy

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  17. Thanks so much for sharing this post. I love how you expanded on that thought and took it to an even deep level. And thanks for contacting me to let me know about this. What an encouragement this has been. To see the whole article this quote was taken from check it out at http://www.heatherboersma.com/a-pile-of-dirty-dishes/

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  18. I accept. And I am blessed by the inspirational words of all of you in addition to the Bible.
    Tasha

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  19. What a great post. This is something that I have been really working on for the past few months - being more like Jesus, especially with my children. Especially the one that is currently sitting on the floor beside me screaming and crying because I will not let her play with my iPad. Patience, Lord, patience. It is encouraging to know that I am not the only one who struggles with this and that there are others out there working on this, as well.

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  20. Thank you all I am SO blessed for you ladies to all join in this Challenge!

    Heather- Haha um no :) you are definately not the only who struggles with this. I have recently been so busy that I've caught myself with this completely un-healthy catch phrase, "Run go play" I've caught myself saying it as just a reaction at times when my son was just beginning to talk to me. :x

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