Most of us carry baggage of some kind. But, if we understood the amazing, redeeming, generous meaning of salvation, God's commitment to love us, we would  be different women.

Lanier is the wordsmith for all the stories and ideas of this beautiful and Jennifer is the artist who filled the book with beautiful illustrations. I know you would treasure this in your library. We had so much fun chatting about it on my podcast. I know you will enjoy this spirited conversation I had with two kindred spirits.

It is not from a place of worldly influence, or accomplishment that a godly woman caught the attention of God, but from an authentic place of humble worship of her creator, a place of serving faithfully in the normal moments of life. God saw a heart willing to love, follow, respond to Him.

Your home is a laboratory of the life of Christ, where He can be seen through the incarnation of himself through our music, our love, our feasts, our faith, and lights that reflect His very presence in our lives.

A mother’s love is a vibrant, living picture of what Christ is like. When we love our children well, model to them what it is like to live a life of deep faith in our amazing God, our children will better be able to catch a glimpse of the remarkable life God has planned for them.

If we are created in God's image, shouldn’t we, as believers, be the most excellent in our behavior, character and influence? Doesn’t scripture teach us to lay down our lives for the sake of others — in this case, our children? Doesn’t anything worthy always require great sacrifice, vision, and hard work?

This is a time to build virtue and to form destinies by giving our children a vision of what their personal stories might be in God’s hands.

No matter what the circumstances, no matter what events, no matter what evil is boiling in the world, if we know our God, we understand that He is still at work, He is leading this world toward an ultimate celebration where all tears will be wiped away, all will be made new, all will be well.

Christian virtue is not just knowing the definition, but it is in putting virtue actively in the presence of every moment. The virtue of trust, thanks to God in all things, must be acted out in a real life to be understood and copied.

The sharing of life, the pointing them to His truth, His ways, His love, in the warp and woof of life moments — this is the secret of a blessed motherhood.

Being “kind to yourself” is the only way to walk by God’s sweet, gentle, kind love and grace through our own marathons of life. That is what I wish for you today, that you would be kind to yourself.