Arrow Mama Talk Blog
Praying God's Will
Guest Blog - Leah Beidler, Director of MakingRoots.org
2 Corinthians 6:18
I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18
I am thankful for new days. A fresh beginning seeking Christ . I am thankful that he answers prayers, even when the answers and corrections He gives are difficult to receive. I know that He corrects me because he loves me. I am a daughter of the one true king. Nothing I do could ever make him take his love away.
I am learning that my worth is not who I am in this world. It’s not in the perception of others, though too often, that is what I make it. My worth is not who I am married to, or the things I buy, or the things I wear. My worth, my treasure is in Christ alone. I am a daughter of the one true king.
Chero’s and my father was an alcoholic who loved the Lord. Not a combination you hear about very often. The last time we saw him was right before Christmas when I was in 4th grade and Chero was in 1st. Our parents had just gotten divorced and our mom was about to get remarried. We went to spend the weekend with him at the ocean. He loved the ocean. We were sitting in the back of his van in the hotel’s parking lot, he was drinking his Coors light. He always talked to us like we were capable of understanding more than what we could in our little first and fourth grade brains. I remember him telling us, “Don’t call me dad anymore. You have one Father, and that is your Father in heaven.” Umm, ok. From that point on I called him Kiah. From a distance though, because we never saw him after my mom got remarried. At the time, I took it as more of an act of dismissal, of unlove. Is that a word? I felt like I was being unloved by him.
Let me interject quickly. I feel the need after telling that story, I need to tell you one more about him. This is one of our mom’s stories about him. It was back in the 1970’s. They had just gotten married, bought their first (and only) house together, and had me. Both were very hard workers. My dad came from a large family. Proud Cherokee Native Americans. They grew up very poor in Oklahoma, in earthly terms, but oh so rich in Christ. Well, his brother came to visit with his family a bit after Christmas. Kiah’s brother gave him a poncho as a gift. Kiah went upstairs and came back down with the beautiful ski coat my mom had given him for Christmas and gave it to his brother. Well, as you can imagine my mom was so mad! After they had left she said, “Kiah, I can’t believe you gave him the coat I bought you! Don’t you know how expensive that was!” And my dad responded, “Debbie, don’t you know that I wouldn’t give my brother anything I didn’t love?”
It was maybe 5 or so years ago, the Lord reminded me of that last conversation with Kiah. Not that I ever really forgot. I just didn’t dwell on it because it was painful. The Lord, the Holy Spirit, gave me an understanding of that conversation that I had never had before. I feel like Kiah knew it was the last time he would be seeing us and he was laying us down at the Lord’s feet. After having children of my own, I know that as painful as it was for me, it was oh so much more painful for a father to say to his daughters. It was too painful for him to be around us, with our mom’s new marriage, with his struggle with alcoholism. So he did the best thing he could for us at that time, in those circumstances, he gave us to the Lord. I know that it was because of that and because of his prayers for us. I do know that he prayed for us and I attribute those prayers to us surviving our teenage and college years. Because honestly, it was a sin filled time for me. And for both Chero and I to end up with two amazing, loving, supportive, understanding husbands is a complete miracle and gift from the Lord.
Chero and I did try finding Kiah on several occasions. We just wanted him to know how much we loved him and forgave him for leaving. That we understood and were grateful. But that great reconciliation we hoped for never happened, as we weren’t able to track him down. So that is something we get to look forward in heaven!
So knowing that I am a Daughter of the One True King is something that I need to remind myself of a daily basis. My worth is in Him. I am invaluable to him and immeasurably loved. What does this verse mean to you, sisters?
Pointing Our Little Arrows Toward the Cross
So thankful for supportive sisters in Christ. So awesome to see Brady & Cohen wearing their #arrowson tees. Love these boys and their sweet mama. And the best news...Cohen accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour last week, in the shower, all on his own. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Pointing our little arrows toward the cross every chance we get. I love that we can do this with every moment, not just the pretty ones. His grace and glory shines in our messy lives. Let your children see how you falter and mess up, and them let them hear you say "mommy shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. Will you please forgive me?" Let them watch you get down on your knees as you lay it all at His feet. Let them see you lean on Him and pray for all things. Big and small. And let's joyfully and expectantly watch them as they fall in love with Jesus.
#raisingarrows #arrowbaby #jesusloves #jesussaves
Our Mission, Vision, and What Psalm 127 3-5 means to us
I was recently asked what was the mission of Arrow Baby, what was our future vision. The quick little blurb in response I gave didn't quite satisfy my soul. There is so much more to it; so much more meaning to Psalm 127: 3-5 for my sister and I. Especially so, because we are moms.
To me, this verse helped me claim the powerful God-given role we have as mothers. We're not JUST moms. We have got a real live 24/7 ministry going on! Amen? We are raising up warriors for Christ.
For so long, I wondered what can I do for The Lord? How can he use me? I'm not really doing anything for Him right now. What are my spiritual gifts? Wah wah wah. Psalm 127 3-5 opened up my eyes to the fact The Lord decided that for Him, there is nothing more important for me to be doing right now than to be raising His Arrows. This goes for all of us, Mamas.
When we serve our children, our husbands, we are serving Him. I'm constantly praying to be a joyful servant in my home. It's not easy. But as I sharpen those little arrows, they are sharpening me 10 times over. Thank God for that! It makes me smile when I think how much these little ones have taught me, have grown me, have unconditionally loved me. It's God's perfect way for me to become more like his own son, Jesus. Still a long, long way to go, but I'm thankful I'm not where I was!
So many of you have already learned this already and and are intentionally living it out. We have got beautiful little disciples standing at our feet every single day just waiting to soak up our teachings. They are learning from every step, every misstep, every word, every action, every reaction. We are sharpening them to become mighty arrows of God; mighty arrows FOR God. I'm not sure if it is the times we live in, but I have always felt I am raising warriors. They are going to have to be fierce and courageous warriors for Christ. It may be a battle for them just to serve Him. So, let's continue on in our ministry field mamas, ever so boldly for Christ!
Arrow Baby, as you know, was born from Psalm 127 3-5. Our goal, simply, is to bring Him glory. To do our little part to share the love of Jesus Christ and build his kingdom! We have had so many ideas over the years that have come and gone, started with a bang, went out with a fizzle. None of those ideas were the right ones and it wasn't the right time. I don't know why. But He does. He burned a path for Arrow Baby and filled it with signs of encouragement & sometimes a "come on & get on with it, ladies!" when we needed that extra push. He wants these Tees out there. And whether or not we sell 10 tees or 100 tees, it makes no difference. Because it's His vision. It's His glory, not ours. We are just grateful to be a part of it.