As you have heard, PreciousMoms.com is closing its doors. I am so thankful God gave me this opportunity to reach you as a fellow mom but know that many other adventures await me. God's timing is always perfect and I'm optimistic as I look at the future and envision what He wants to bring my way in the way of my writing ministry to moms, parents, and women.

Thank you for stopping by from time to time - I do hope you were encouraged or inspired in some way by the words I wrote.

Please make sure to visit me at my blog - www.beautyinthestorm.blogspot.com or my website - www.emphasisonmoms.com - and make sure to say hello.

I really don't know where this summer went. But I think it has to be the most emotional summer on record for me. Highs - lows - you name it - all emotional. My body is finally crashing with a small cold and even now.... there is not yet time to slow down.

That's just the way life goes sometimes. It's a season - a phase. And although I'm feeling plumb worn out in this current season, I hold it tenderly to my heart. Because almost everything I've gone through has been so personal - and so dear to my heart. The good and the bad.

And just when I think I can't go on much longer, God amazingly gives me the strength I need for another day. He is so awesome that way.

My writing has slowed somewhat but I'm still digging deep and pouring it out -- just not as often right now. It's more important that I currently focus on family - for they are the priority.

I pray that you too, are given the strength you desire and need for whatever it is that you are going through in your own life. And when the days seem overwhelming - just remember to look up. For God is there and He knows every detail of what you're going through.

Have you ever felt God called you to do something - yet no one else supported or understood that calling? Have you ever been told by someone close to you that they felt God was calling them to do something... and you had a hard time with the direction they were being led in?

God doesn't always work in neatly tied-up packages. Other people are often affected by the choices and decisions that His people feel He is telling them to take and make on His behalf. It can be stretching and it can emotionally be frustrating and painful at times.

I find myself in one of these situations. And the first thing that comes to my heart and mind is - "How can I not support someone who clearly feels God calling them and directing them?" The second thing that comes to my mind is - fear! Fear for them, and fear for myself thinking of the impact and transitions that will come once those choices and decisions are set into motion.

In my humanness, I wish I had easier answers sometimes. I wish that I didn't have to face so many hurdles or go through so many hurtful battles. I wish that life would be just a bit easier on my heart.

But I look back and see how - in hindsight - so much of what I've already been through has been used by God and for God. God has always been faithful to me. He has never let me down and He has never let me go. Things haven't always been easy - at times, they have been downright difficult. But God was there with me when I reached the other side of those times. He never just "dropped" me in the middle of them.

I know that when God is calling someone to be used by Him in ministry - that there will always be growth involved. It's not always by the person being used, but sometimes by the people around that person. The people who love and care for them and who are being pulled outside of their comfort zones whether they asked for it or not... simply because of their close relationship with God's chosen person at that point in time.

If we are put in that situation, we need to ask Him for the strength and the insight to be able to learn and grow. We need to be open to what it is that God intends on teaching us. We need to be steadfast in our love for the person He is using - and we need to be moldeable. We need to be ready to sacrifice our desires and our plans if God asks us to. Yes, it may hurt. Yes, it may be uncomfortable. It may REALLY be hard for us.


But it will be worth it.


For God's calling and His timing is always perfect. And being in His service is always worth the cost.


Maybe that knowledge can hold us together through the process.

Wealth - beauty - power - fame.... those are all things valued in our society. They are so valued that people think they aren't valuable if they are not beautiful, powerful, or successful. So we have a society of people who are living for themselves. I mean, you can't be living for others if you are striving for success, beauty, wealth, and fame - right? It's all about "you." And it's an empty life. Things, people, and circumstances will satisfy... temporarily. But they won't last.

I hear from a lot of moms. Most moms say they fight against this mentality in life. They don't fall into the trap of trying to keep up appearances, they try to simplify their lifestyles, they don't care if they are well-known or not, etc. Maybe so. Maybe there is a new generation of people who are seeing the pointlessness in all the entrapments of life. But I'm just wondering if we take a closer look - what are we teaching our kids about being valued?

Most of us are trying to raise our children to be good people. We try to praise and encourage them. But what do we praise and encourage them for? I know that for my children, they are inundated with rewards (mostly candy) for performance. They are rewarded for raising the most money for a fundraiser, turning homework in on time, simply showing up at a practice or rehearsal, or any number of things that involve how well they do or how much they do. It has bugged me for many years.

As parents, we are just as guilty as schools or clubs are, of teaching our children that being "great" means to be successful. I mean, how much praise do we give our child for being nominated team captain? Do we talk often about them getting a "well-paying" job someday? How about going to a top-notch college, or to be the first one to finish in a competition? What are we saying when we do that? Are we teaching our kids that working for something is the reward? Do we let them know that the reward is in the journey... or that the reward is in the prize?

I've learned that to really feel "great" - you have to have a life that is about others not as much as it is about yourself. And if I want to have children who grow up to feel valued and "great" - I need to teach them that the best image they can have - is one that is selfless not selfish. That is the greatest recognition you could get. It's hard for all of us... but if they can be just as happy being on the team instead of only having to be the captain ---- if they can feel satisfied finishing the race and not only content if they finish it first or second --- then maybe they will also learn to help others along the way because they are less focused on themselves. Maybe they will develop compassion for that person who comes in last because they know how it feels.

I want my children to take care of themselves, to care for their appearance, to have integrity, and develop a good reputation. But I want them to do it because of the internal reward they get in knowing themselves inside and out, who they are and what they want out of life; not because they get a payoff in attention, rewards, or recognition from others in a temporary and false sense of "greatness." I want them to do their best not because they want to "be the best" but because I want them to be THEIR best.

We can say that we hate the world's standards. We can say that we balk the mentality that society values. But when we look into our own homes - I think we will find differently.

I have been contemplative lately. I've just been thinking about where I am in life - where my family is in life - where we are headed - and where I want us to head. And God's been speaking to my heart about giving Him the control of things that I hold so tightly in my own hands.

I read in a devotional yesterday morning that if we ever want to move forward in God's Will, we must allow Him to take us outside of our comfort zones. And that's really tough to do at times! Because we can grip and hold on so fiercely to those comfort zones! Maybe a comfort zone for you is your friendships and God wants to move your family away. Maybe your comfort zone is being able to schedule your day just "so" and have it go the way you want it to and God wants to fill up your schedule to a level that you are just not used to. Maybe your comfort zone is having your children go to a Christian school and God is moving your family to put them in public school.

Whatever our comfort zones are, it can be really hard to "transition" into new unchartered territories, especially when they scare you.

I was having a talk with God in my car today and I was telling Him of some of my fears, through the conversation, God showed me how my fears were based on putting my security and faith in situations, or people - instead of putting my security and faith in HIM.

God never intended us to live comfortable, safe lives. He wants us to be a light to the world. Sometimes to be a light - that means treading out into darker waters. Sure, it's scarey! But I've learned that it's safer to be in darker waters with God on my side, than in the shallow waters all on my own without God working with and FOR me.

I don't have this "comfort" zone thing all worked out. I struggle with it and fight against it, just like most people do. But God is teaching me to be more workeable and open-minded about allowing Him to take me to places that I otherwise wouldn't think of going. And I want Him to be pleased with me. So I may be nervous, or scared - but if He asks me or my family to leave our comfort zones - then I plan on closing my eyes, taking a step forward, and holding His hand every step of the way.

And I know it won't ever be a decision I'll regret. For my God is always faithful.

Wow. What an amazing trip our family had in Panama. It was such a joy to be able to experience a mission's trip together and to work alongside my husband taking photos while he did video. Part of me is still there while the other part is madly trying to catch up on life here back home. It can be hard to adjust after having a "high" doing something so meaningful for the Lord. And yet I know that in the dailyness of my life, there are those things that can have profound and lasting impact as well.

If you'd like to see our video, take a look at the sidebar of this column and go to my blog where I've posted it. I'm guessing your heart will be stolen by the faces of the Panamanian children as mine was!

In the meantime, be patient with me as I get back into a regular routine - whatever "regular" is these days! And if you've been on a missions trip... please do share it with me. How did you adjust to the regular grind again? Have you returned to the field?

Thanks!

~ Dionna

I am really excited. My whole family is about to embark on an adventure! We are leaving on Friday to head to Panama on a short-term missions trip. We are going to help out at some feeding centers as well as visit a home for unwed moms and an orphanage. I know it will be an eye-opening and heartfelt experience.

So, I will have to take a "pause" for the next 2 weeks from blogging here at Precious Moms. I do hope in the interim, that you will remember to keep us in your prayers. We would welcome them!

When do you truly feel as if you've "come into your own." In what atmosphere, setting, or moment in time have you felt like you were the person you truly wanted to be? What makes you feel good about being YOU?

So many women don't feel good about themselves. You can see it in their faces. Maybe they believe lies that were told to them when they were young. Maybe no one has encouraged them or told them they were valuable in a really long time. Or maybe they are just trying to be something...someone that they simply were not created or destined to be!

I'm still in the process of "coming into my own." But the more I am able to truly know who I am, what I feel, and what embodies or makes me "me" - the freer I feel in my own skin. The more relaxed I am able to be and the more I seek to learn about myself, because I have found that I am a very intricate person!

For me, I have found that I will never be okay with who I am when I am seeking things outside of God's love, plans, and messages that are aimed just for my personal heart and soul. The more I desire to be closer to Him, the more I embrace the truth that He loves me "just as I am" - then those are the moments where I can enjoy life the most and live it with the most abandon, because then, I can forget myself in the process. And I believe that is how God truly wants us to live.


It's time we stop putting so many unnecessary demands on our shoulders, stop trying to meet expectations placed on us by others, and instead start discovering what our true calling in life as a woman and an individual is ....


.... it's the only way we will ever truly feel free in being just the person that God created us to be.

God directed my attention to a set of Scripture verses this morning during my Bible Study time.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says: "But mark this. There will be a terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."

Wow. How relevant those words are!! If you ever doubt how close we are to the Lord coming again - all you need to do is read those words. For they describe the world we live in -- the world we live in TODAY.

The fact that people think it's cool to act rebellious, that manners are rare and stand out instead of being the norm, or even the fact that everyone is in too much of a hurry to be polite and courteous to strangers anymore.

And we've done it to ourselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

It's not too late to change and make a difference though. As I was out today, God showed me that there is still good in the world and there are still good people out there. There was a man at the gas station who was getting gas right next to me. He smiled, whistled, chatted with me, and was just nice. Do you remember "nice?"

Do you know that no one ever speaks to me at a gas station? Not even to smile or say hello? This man stood out. And then after getting my groceries, I saw a man on the corner with a sign that he was ill and wanted money. I was just going to reach into my purse and give him a couple of dollars when I saw a man approach him, bend down on his knees and start thumbing through dollar bills in his wallet. Let me tell you - I got tears in my eyes! Do you know that this is the first time I have ever seen someone do this?? It stands out.

Oh why have our hearts grown so cold? Why are we so protective of what we've got that we've lost touch with what others don't have anymore?

Since when did it become "cool" to not be polite? Or fashionable to not care?

We have a chance to make a difference. How about letting that driver cut in, in front of you? How about picking up your trash, giving away a little money to someone who needs it, obeying your parents, having self control (and feeling good about it), thinking of others before yourself, being slow to anger (or letting an issue go altogether), and encouraging others?

The Lord IS coming again. And it's sooner than we think or realize. I don't want to be the person He speaks about in 2 Timothy. Do you?

I was listening to an online speaker this morning. He was talking about health and our bodies and how so many of us deal with one malady or another - but we fail to go before the Lord and accept the gift of the body He has given us! He mentioned that many of us are satisfied with what we've got, until we see what someone else has. Whether that is better health, a better marriage or whatever - when we take our eyes off the path that God has us on - that is when we grow dissatisfied.

This is so true in so many areas of our lives. We all go through things in life. No one gets out of this world without enduring something or another. For everyone, that challenge could be different. For some of us, it is health issues - whether cancer, constant allergies, battles with depression, kidney stones, eye problems, weight issues, arthritis, heart problems, diabetes, or recurring infections. For others, it could be dealing with critical family members, a broken family due to divorce, sexual addictions, anger, a low self esteem, strong willed children, prodigal children, financial problems, or any number of addictions, persecutions, emotional issues, or spiritual battles.

The constant struggle of dealing with whatever issue we have been dealt - can be draining and wearing. We can "rail" against God and ask Him, 'Why me?"

We've all done it. We've all felt it. We could also just accept it.

Accepting the hurtful, HARD stuff in our lives is not an easy thing to do. If we accept it, we are aknowledging that whatever we are dealing with may always be in our lives. And most of us just don't like that option - do we?

But we could look at the flip side of accepting what life has dealt us. Maybe - just maybe - God will use it to chisel the bad stuff out of us and mold and shape us to be more like Him. Maybe what we go through will be used to bring others to His kingdom.

If we can ask God to help us adjust our attitudes to what we are experiencing, I think we will find our outlook (and possibly our situation, as a result) will improve.

There are no mistakes. Do you believe that? That what happens in your life is not by happenstance? God allows certain things to happen in our lives for a reason - just as Satan hits us in our lives in certain areas for a reason. It's time we start accepting where we are at so that we can move forward. It's time that we get on our knees before God, being honest with him about the pain this certain area or struggle has brought to our heart and life... so that we can then, humbly ask Him to give us the strength and courage to deal with it in a way that will bring glory to Him.

There are so many hurting people out there. People are struggling with so many different things and are remaining victims of those hurdles in their lives. But we can praise God knowing that He is sovereign and all -knowing and that He WILL bring all things together for good if we serve Him and remain faithful to Him. If our life remains a life filled with issues, and struggles - so be it! Our attitude and acceptance of it, can dramatically transform how we feel about our obstacle or battle, as we go through it. Thus, possibly easing the weight or burden of it on our lives.

God loves you and I. He hears our cries and sees our tears. Yet He also seeks our trust. Let's give it to Him as we seek His guidance to help us learn to accept what we've been given, and where we are. Let's lean on Him for our courage and strength as we strive to move beyond it - never letting it overcome who we are meant to be in Him.