Beautifully Made is authored by Chrystan Ferrell. A believer in God, a passionate Wife and Mother of 3 boys. Join in on this journey through the laughter and tears on Ferrell Farms.
Lent, the time when religious people come out of the
woodwork and give up things. Apparently
the act of great sacrifice, doing without things like coffee, wine, bread,
meat, shopping…and on and on. Lent, I
believe, could be so much more than that.
We could be in pursuit instead of promoting self. Here is my Lenten
creed…
For Lent I will be in pursuit. I don’t want to give up I want to give in. I
want to give in wholly to who I am at the foot of the Cross. I want to give in
to His desires, His will, His way.
I want to die to myself so I can live a life that is
pleasing to God. That honors Him. That says yes to community, to loving well,
to serving, to teaching, to mentoring. A
life that says yes to abundant grace and mistakes and tears and joy.
(photo:chrystanferrell)
This Lent I will celebrate each day by opening the word, by
giving up my time for His glory. I will celebrate the journey to the Cross by
giving up my will, to honor His. I will
celebrate the life and death, by dying to my selfish desires to instead desire
time in prayer and repentance.
This Lent may we all by more willing to give up our lives
for the glory of his, than we are to give up a food, a beverage, or an activity.
This Lenten season may we look for the face of grace instead of the “obligation”
of living without.
Forty days with the God of grace at the helm of this ship
sounds better than anything else I could pursue today. Let the creator guide
the created.
You are beautifully made by the creator of the universe who
died for the sins that you refuse to let go of.
Let that sink in a minute, then lay down your life and follow HARD after
him. May this be the Lent season where
we give up what He is truly asking for, our hearts.
Isaiah 44:22
"I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you"
This past week I celebrated 35 years of life. My people rallied and gave me a great week with cards, gifts, notes and acts of kindness. My husband sent me out of town with my some dear friends and we had a weekend away that included a lot of laughter, a Branson Christmas Variety show, shopping, Christmas lights, chips and queso and lots of girl talk. It made me so thankful for my TRIBE. Let me tell you about my people.
Years ago I prayed. I prayed for God to send me authentic women. I longed for deep friendships in my local community. I have lots of friends spread out all over the country (and world) and I cherish them dearly. What I was longing for was people here where I live, to do life together. A connection deeper than the glaze over of "how are you" "I'm fine". Though I was surrounded by people all the time, I still felt lonely. So I prayed.
Then came one friend. Then came two. Then three. Today I can say I have a tribe of women who are fierce for me.
Through what I will call tribal living I have seen change in my life. I have been and am being refined. I have been cared for and comforted. I have learned more, I have lingered longer. My walk with God has been so sweet and so good. I have leaned in to prayer and study more than ever. These women, this tribe, they have set me free from perfection and performance. They meet me where I am and lift me up when I need lifted. God has used these authentic relationships to reveal pieces of me that need mending, shaping and refinement. God has shown me his grace, love and provision through these women. He has taught me how to love outside my comfort zone and how to say I'm sorry even when it was really hard to do.
My willingness to open myself up to authenticity has allowed for some of the best years in my life. Not because they have been free from hurts, difficulties and trials. Definitely not! These last few years have been trial, after trial, after trial. God provided helpmates for me, to be real with, to hold fast to truth with, to hold me accountable and encourage me to seek first the kingdom for all things. Not to seek them, but to seek the kingdom.
Tribal living has become life for us. We do life together. We feed each other when life gets crazy. We unpack boxes for each other. We take each others kids when we need date nights. We break bread and drink wine around tables in our homes. We hug and we cry. We worship and we pray. We are fierce for each other and do life together in abundant grace not in judgment.
We also open ourselves up to be the tribe for others. Beth Moore reminded us in one of her studies that you can't be turned inward with your people all the time, we must not be shut off to the other people out there. So, we turn outward, we care for others, we bring others in and teach them how to be authentic. We cannot be an elite club of women, we have to be inclusive, as women we should always be working on this.
This weekend and recently, my eyes have been opened to see that this is the exception not the rule. It seems that women think that they have to have it all together. It seems that we have a hard time being friends with each other. It seems to be that we would rather compete than cheer-lead. Ladies, there is enough for everyone. There is also enough competition out there in the world, let's not compete with each other. Let's hold each other up to success. Let's choose authenticity over fake. Living authentically with each other, doing life together, cheering each other on and offering one another all the grace. This is where it's at girls. I promise once you break down those walls you will never want to build them up again, not ever.
May I encourage you right where you are to begin praying for authentic relationships with other women. To break down walls with each other and do life together. It may hurt sometimes. It may not be easy. You may not always agree. But if you fight for it it will become some of the most beautiful things about your life here on earth. Community, unity and tribal living has offered some of the best moments of my life. I pray that you will find the same. I have so much more to say on this topic, maybe a study of community will be in order here. Until then, who can you build an authentic relationship with in the new year. How can you break down the walls and reveal true pieces of yourself to help another woman struggling? Maybe it's as simple as asking someone to coffee and truly getting to know here or maybe it's taking a leap of faith and starting a prayer group. I can't wait to hear how this changes your life! Keep me updated!!!!
You are worthy of really good people in your life, who see you as a woman who is fearfully and wonderfully made in His beautiful image.
Much Love,
Chrystan
PS- Pray hard ladies, you will have to fight for this at every turn because UNITY in women is so very glorifying to God and feels impossible at times! Pray harder, fight for each other it is worth it! I promise...
PPS- please share this, like this, subscribe and let's be in a tribe together!
When I was a little girl, well maybe not really little, but as I am about to begin year 35, the younger me looks younger and younger. When I was younger, I was on vacation with my parents. We were in a hotel pool outside in whatever state we were visiting (I'm so old I can't remember). I was playing with my brothers and turned around to see a little girl, maybe two or three, drowning in the pool. I swam over to her and simply stood her up, as she was just on the steps of the pool, all she had to do was stand up and she was ok. She was still chocking on the water as her mom rushed over. They didn't speak English so I couldn't understand her mom at the time, but I believe she was thanking me. I was reminded of this today as I was recalling a recent message my friend Andrew gave at church. I don't remember all the details of his message, I mean I'm a mom of three I barely remember my own name, but one word keeps coming back into my brain: RESCUED.
Did you know that you need to be Rescued? Did you know there's a rescue plan for you already played out and in place?
Some of us don't realize it but we are drowning and all we need to do is stand up. It seems like we like to have the feeling of drowning sometimes. As I looked at my December calendar this week I paused. I have something every night, every weekend, everyday has a commitment. So much for a season of peace. Maybe I like to be drowning in a sea of busy, maybe it's hard for me to have silence.
For you it may be something else. Maybe you're drowning in a sea of bad relationships, ones in which you give pieces of yourself away, so much so that you feel there is nothing left. Maybe you are drowning because there is nothing left anymore to hold you up.
Or others it may be work and accomplishments. You work all day and all night to build up an empire because that, that is what will show that you have great worth. Your net value. You are drowning in a sea of accomplishments that when they are the only thing left could never withstand the weight you carry. Pieces of paper can never pull us up out of the water.
And today one of you is reading this and you are drowning in life. All you do is give yourself away over and over and over again. To your spouse, your kids, your church, the PTA, nonprofit work, fundraising, book writing, blog posts, praise team, ministries, caring for the needy, caring for the not needy, that ailing parent who takes it all out of you, your child who has cancer...and so on. Today you are siting here with your head under water, chocking on just regular life and it overcomes you completely. Nothing is holding you up anymore, only weighing you down to sink further.
To all of you I say, stand up and be rescued. God has put it within you already. Once you lay down your life to him, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and that is your rescue dear friend. This season of Christmas is celebrating the middle of the rescue plan which began in Genesis, was predicted in Isaiah and came to fruition in Matthew-Mark-Luke and John. Jesus is your rescuer. He swam over because he saw you gasping with your head under water. He has his hand under your arm holding you, now you need to stand up.
You are his rescue plan, stop drowning in life and let him lead you up out of the water, dry you off and set you back on solid ground. Life will still fill up, calendars and work and family will still be vying for our attention, but your focus will change. Serving will become a call, loving will be challenging but worth it, work will be to glorify God and relationships will be tricky but beautiful in his presence.
Stop drowning, stand up, and be rescued.
Your rescuer came here with you in mind to fulfill a prophecy of life, death and resurrection; so that you could spend eternity with him because he loves you. You dear friend, are his daughter (son), beautifully made in his image and fully worth the RESCUE.
I am a passionate soul. I think when God created me and blew life and breath into my bones he might have added a little bit of fire. My poor parents. I can imagine that trying to raise a girl with all this fire, passion and emotion felt impossible more than once. Bless them and all of the grey hairs and sleepless nights I gave them.
Now that I am an adult, doing adult things, I have come to realize that this emotion, this passion, has allowed me to survive. It has brought me through single parenthood, addictions, dire times, abuse and through extreme depression. Somehow God turned all that into good and fueled the flame that he placed inside me, even when I wasn't seeking him.
There are so many people in my life that do not share my exuberant passion. They are more of a straight and narrow stay on the safe path of life people. Bless them all. We cannot all be the same. There have to be all kinds of people, otherwise the world would either be very dangerous and wild or very quiet and boring. We are made unique for a reason.
This week I get to do something that I was made to do. I get to be free. I get to be me. I get to stand in front of a room of women and lead them in worship and prayer. I get to take my passion and infuse it into their sweet souls. I get to lead them into the throne room, what an incredible honor. Each week on Sunday mornings I stand before a group of people and play a role in leading them in worship but it is a bit different. I have to stay in a safe box. I can't talk out of turn. I can't sing a praise song at the time there was supposed to be a hymn. I can't raise my hands a certain way or even have a posture of prayer on stage because that would shock the masses. Everything has to look and feel the same every weekend and that is one tall order for this free spirit.
This morning, after a night of practicing for Imperfectly Brave Worship Night (that's this Thursday) I was overcome by emotion. Last night I was so free. I was comfortable in my own skin, I was beautifully functioning as the fiery passionate little daughter that my good Father made me to be. I didn't have to fit into a mold, I raised my hands freely and bowed my head while I sang. I was overcome with my Fathers love in song. It was beautiful.
Earlier this week someone who means so much to me used my passion against me and it really hurt. I closed up immediately and shut down. Last night I was set free, reminded that I was not made to fit into your mold, her mold, his mold, their mold. I am not a sit still look pretty girl. I am filled to the brim with fire and love, mixed in with extreme compassion and grace all granted to me through my relationship with the Savior of my soul. God will call me to function within his plan for me. I cannot be a robot, I cannot look like you and you should not look like me. You are called to be you, to chase after Jesus in the way he calls you to. I am called to love passionately, to go do, to pour into people and bring grace to them in all the ways I can. We are all called to worship, to love well, and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in obedience to his word. I may do that with the passion of 1,000 suns, you may do that in a more reserved way, but let's both decide to do it anyways.
I am learning to embrace my passion, maybe even reign it in at times in order to also appreciate the way others do things too. Thursday night this Cinderella will break free from the walls of this tower and step out free from the shackles that are placed on her by the world around her. God will fulfill a need in her in that place, that time that only he can. Then she will go back to her call to obedience trying to bloom where she was planted.
I hope this week you allow someone to bloom in your presence, maybe just maybe, you will catch their fire.
"And let us consider how we many spur one another on toward love and good deeds..."
Hebrews 10:24
Much Love,
Chrystan
PS- This song nails it not in the context of a relationship for me but in the context of being free to be who I am where I am.
"Sure I'm a pretty girl up in a pretty world, but they say pretty hurts and
I don't wanna sit still look pretty..."
RENEWAL: The replacing or repair of something that is worn out, run down or broken.
The wonderful thing about this time of year is renewal. One would think that that time would be the New Year, but I beg to differ. Spring is renewal for me, the replacing of the worn out. I have seasonal depression so I find myself in what feels like a hopeless rut for about 3-4 months of the year (my poor husband). I just feel blah. I get chubby, grumpy, sad, and difficult. I try to find joy in so many places but joy does not come. Through prayer I survive this every year. This year was better than the last few. I took vitamin D and combated it in every way I could. Now I get to stare fully into Spring knowing the next part of the year will likely be easier to manage.
I am a woman all about renewal. I roll well with change. I like to try new things. I embrace new ways of doing things, new schedules to try, fun workout classes to attend and basically just love to dive right in! For some of you the thought of all of this is making it hard to breathe, I understand we are not all creatures of change. During this season of renewal what I want to remind us all of is the renewal that comes with our life in Christ. If you are a believer you get to be reminded of something so precious this week. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the ultimate representation of renewal. In Revelations 21 we get a picture of this:
"Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Can you just imagine, all the new things!!!?? He makes all things new!!! You, me, your family, your church...newness. If you surrender your life to him you are made new in him. There's nothing he can't fix in your life there's nothing lacking in him, he brings beauty even in despair, he brings life even in death. Renewal at it's very best.
Just like Spring is bringing in new blooms, green grass and lush gardens full of life; God is bringing newness to his believers each and every day. Allow him to work in your and through you. How can you do this? Surrender your life to him and run hard after his promises and words (read the Bible, be in fellowship, tell others of his love). Sprint to him sweet girl, he will make you new.
Be renewed this week friends. Allow God to show you his new things for you. Allow him to take you by the hand and show you all his goodness and believe me HE IS GOOD!
I have been out of order for the last 10 days. Sick as a dog. What started as a sore throat, morphed into some of the worst pain I have experienced. I couldn't eat, sleep, read, work, listen to music, drive or even play. I was down. The infection that was initially in my throat made it's way into my ear and on a flight home from Austin wrecked havoc on my inner ear canal. Ear pain, THE WORST! Finally, I have been granted some relief today after being loaded up on steroids yesterday.
Being down is for the birds. Not my favorite thing, I don't do forced relaxation well. I have too much to do to not be doing something. I run a home, a business,I'm part of a growing women's ministry, I have my blog, I have my Church body, I have many roles in the Church, I have bible studies to do and bills to pay. I have all the things. I cannot be down for 10 days. I mean who can? So, I aggressively prayed and frantically pleaded for God to take all this sickness away. To make me feel better. To relieve the painful pressure in my ear, I was seriously in mind numbing, mind loosing pain ya'll. He, however, did not choose that path for me. Instead he sent me love.
Love the poured out all over me these past 10 days. No, Jesus did not show up at my door step and give me a big holy hug (but can you imagine, I would be geeking out!) But instead he gave me a husband who poured himself out for me for 10 days.
He did all the things. He transported kids, cooked dinner, grocery shopped, held me while I sobbed in pain, he drove me to the ER where he had to endure me screaming and crying and snotting and puking and shaking and more. He sat with me in the hospital and kept me calm. He was my calm in the storm. He was unconditionally loving me in all the ways I have prayed my husband would. He was romantic. He was caring and also stoic. He was on my side and by my side. He waited on me hand and foot, even laying out my pills for me when it was time. He came home early from work just so I didn't have to be alone.
Let me tell you, this is God's great work in my husband. My dear sweet man is not known for being caring and nurturing, he's a true man's man. A rub some dirt on it and get back out there kind of man. So if you are reading this and feeling envious and jealous I want you to read the following and apply. I have prayed that Adam and I would learn to love each other the way each other needs to be loved. That God would teach us how to serve each other well. After 5 years of marriage, we are still working on this. If you long for this in your life, you must be willing to pray about it and to change the way you are serving to reflect the needs of your spouse (or spouse in waiting).
God saw favor on me by equipping my husband to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. To be the hands and feet of Jesus, to serve and love me well. Though I'm not sure I would EVER repeat this week again, the silver lining and blessing in it all is to have been cared for and loved well by the man God gave me for so many reasons that I could not begin to list them all. Sometimes we wonder why God pairs us with these men, we could not be more different right? But when the rubber meets the road, when the tough things happen, they balance us out and we get to move forward together.
If you are in a season a tough times in your marriage, can I encourage you to pray about your role in your spouses life. How can you love them well? How can you serve them best? It's probably not the way you want to to be served, but do it anyways. I promise it will reap great rewards, if even just within your own soul. Bring those things to the Lord, he will guide you if you let him. After all, he made you in his own image FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY and so BEAUTIFULLY designed to love and serve others.
Much Love,
Chrystan
PS- I am not the perfect spouse, I am self preaching here as well! Thank the Lord for grace and new days to try harder to live out my vows well!
It is officially winter on Ferrell Farms. The sky is deary, the days are short, it's cold and there is snow. Let me peel back a layer of myself and tell you I despise winter. It is just all the things. I don't like being cold, I can't drive in winter weather due to a car vs black ice situation that could have ended my life and I have seasonal depression so there's that. WINTER, yuck. However, I have seen some beautiful things around me this winter that called me outside with the little's this weekend.
There was white snow on the ground around the farm this week and it has been so pretty to look at. Except that under snow there was mud. Nasty, dirty icky mud. The ground was so saturated that my boots were sinking down into the mud. Which left the snow dirty and my boots (and little boys) filthy.
The last few years I have been all in and committed to transparency. I don't want any woman to begin talking to me, hear me speak or read my blog and think she just has it all together. I always want you to be reminded that I am a hot mess. There is no perfection in the lines of these words. I am 100% washed in the grace and blood of Jesus and that is the only way this hot mess steps one foot in front of the other most days. So, I have a group of women (my prayer group that is now a part of the Imperfectly Brave movement, you can join in too!) that I am nothing but 100% real with. This week they literally heard me talk about how I have felt so out of sync with God these last two weeks. I told them all the yucky places while they all sat around my farmhouse table and nodded their heads. Their pointing fingers were down, they were judgement free and they let me say all the things. Then they prayed with me. I cry with them I laugh with them and we are so real. From that group I have realized we just need to be so very real with each other. If we walk in perfection, there is no room for Jesus. If I act like I've got this all under control then I can't show you that it is only through Christ that I am even keeping my head a float.
Under the snow, was the mud. But the mud reminded me that there is life, real true growing life under there. Snow is the precipitation that keeps our ground watered and prepared for the planting and the harvest. The mud holds that all together till the harvest comes. There is beauty in each role, the snow, the mud, the yucky of it all holds a beautiful picture in the end. I want to present Jesus in a good light, I want to be washed white and I am, but then I get muddy again and there is grace. Wash, rinse and repeat. Perfection only takes away from the beauty of grace, and ladies grace is where it's at. May I always be reminded of the hot mess that Jesus loves so fiercely he gave his life away for all the mess to be washed in the blood and remade into a beautiful daughter of the most high King.
I took my eyes off the prize last week and in my transparency I found it all again. In my weakness he stayed strong, sought me out and brought me back. It's not different for you sweet girl. You can be real, there are people out there that need you to show the imperfection to see the work that the Lord has done and is doing. May we all find grace in the muddy places, for the harvest will be plentiful.
Merry Christmas Friends, Family and faithful readers from Ferrell Farms!
This is going to be short and sweet today (well maybe not super short...). I have one thing tugging at my heart to share with you. One thing you may not want to hear. One thing that may leave you shaking your head and running for the next exit!
In this season of hope and joy it is time to let love reign and forgive.
As you step into that door, knowing that that family member that was so terrible to you last year is going to be there let me urge you to let forgiveness reign. I know it's hard. I know it's impossible. I know they hurt you to your core, but you can do it. Do you want to know why I can say with great confidence that you CAN forgive them even though it hurts to just think about it? Because I did it, it was impossible, but with Christ forgiveness should flow out of us like water off a waterfall. Freely, with no just cause.
Someone in my life hurt me so badly this Fall (I am not vague-booking here, I am going to protect my family by not saying who. But know that it is not you. If you are thinking it is you, it is not you) Anywhoo, this person hurt me both emotionally but also physically and mentally. She used forced on me and slayed me with her words in this most painful places. She attacked all that I hold dear and it hurt me. I found myself begging her to go, to leave, so that I would not also hurt her. It was hard, it was just the hardest thing.
Since then we have had to coexist in spaces and I have had to bite my tongue. Yes, this is possible, the online generation, the social media generation is not used to holding back the airing of all the dirty laundry. This is a lost art form, we should work on in 2016.
In Christ I am a new creation. As I have leaned into him through this he has shown me the ways he forgives me. How he loves me in my ugliest places and I have been able, through prayer and reading scripture, to forgive her. I have found ways to put my hurt away, to give grace and let God take over. That's the thing about grace, it is UNMERITED favor. She doesn't deserve forgiveness, she hurt me very badly but I don't deserve forgiveness or grace either. Grace is not earned it is given, freely, unmerited. So, thank you God for this grace you gave me. Thank you for showing me how to truly forgive, even when someone is not seeking forgiveness.
May I say again, without Christ this is foreign and impossible. Maybe it even seems ridiculous. How could I forgive her after all she did? Absolutely, it is impossible and I felt like it was impossible. Until I invited God into the problem and realized nothing is impossible in him. He is all about making the impossible come to fruition, that brings him GREAT Glory, and isn't that my goal...
Do it. Forgive. Let God do the impossible in you today. You may have to work really hard at it. It's not easy, but so worth it. So WORTH IT! I am not best friends with her. I will keep a safe distance right now. But forgiveness has freed me, glorified my God and made me understand his love for me even more.My prayer is that she will see Christ in me and seek him. That others will hear this story and be changed for the glory of God is the goal.
Hope. Love. Forgiveness. These things are found at the foot of the cross. If you haven't gone there, may I suggest today seeking forgiveness in Christ so you can also be free.
May your eyes be on him this Christmas.
Much Love,
Chrystan
PS- Forgiveness also applies to yourself. God will forgive you maybe already has, you should also forgive yourself.
10 years ago this week there was a frightened girl. A frightened girl who looked into the future and saw only the looming darkness of the unknown. Covered in shame, rejected by friends, judged by many, she leaned heavily on the few that stayed. As she stepped one heavy foot in front of the other into the darkness she found there was light, because He cannot help but be light in the darkness and he was there. He was there in the eyes of her parents as they gave grace and love. He was there in the hand of her friend, who literally held her and walked with her each day, each hour, each minute, there till the end. God was there in the dark to create light and boy did he ever shine brightly.
10 years ago this week I was pregnant, I was not married, I felt alone, ashamed, abandoned and unworthy of love. Unworthy of the love of my parents, the love of my friends, my family, the love of the man who helped create this child, I felt a shame that was unloveable. Then there was light. There was darkness, then there was light.
When Cohen entered my life after 9 months of darkness, loneliness, fear, and shame there was light. I saw the light of love in his eyes like I had never seen in my life. I realized that there was grace, God's grace. There in that moment God could not be in darkness so he lit up my life and I was forever changed.
I didn't hold shame after that. I broke free of that, God freed me there in that moment when I saw light, I was free from the darkness of shame. The next two years of my life had many trials. I was struggling to build my career, find my place in the church (which felt impossible), care for Cohen and navigate the awkwardness of co-parenting and all the pain that came with that. But he held me through the most trying times I have ever endured.
He held me through my family. With love in their hearts for the prodigal daughter they held me with batted breath to see what God would do with this. Now I see that their hands were the hands of the Father, dripping with love and abundant grace they stood steadfastly by my side, waiting...loving.
He held me through my friend Nicole, the friend who could've walked away but stayed. She could've have said I was too much, but she prayed instead. She was there, in the delivery room, holding my hand and crying with me. She was there when light came back into my life and that is something I could never repay. This was Jesus in her life and grace in mine. I am forever thankful for a friend that injected herself into my life in such a way that God's light shined in darkness and broke the chains of shame in me. I pray God blesses her abundantly for this act of love.
He held me through trials. For 2 years of my life I journeyed through this new life. I had some HUGE stumbles back into darkness but never chose to stay. I battled depression and the lie of unworthiness that echoed in my mind. I moved, I found a rekindled love for Christ and I marched forward into the unknown with batted breath, knowing that good was in me.
Cohen Michael Fuller changed me. He still changes me. I look into his eyes and I still see that light. The light that on December 20th, 2005 woke me up and brought me out of the pits. Each step forward was not easy, but has been nothing but blessing. As I reflect on what this child is I am reminded that no other struggle has been more painful yet more full of abundant love and grace. I have learned so much through these last 10 years. Mostly that we just all need to be grace givers. My Pastor says we should be the most joyful people, because in Christ we are made new. I would say yes to that and add to my own story GRACE GIVER. A joyful grace giver, because I have been blessed by God's grace and the grace of team Cohen.
I am immeasurably blessed and forever changed by the 10 years I have had with this child. I have allowed myself to dream big dreams for him because I know this future is no longer filled with darkness, only great light! Cohen, God has used you to change me forever. My prayer for you is that you will let your light shine in the dark places. That you will lay down your nets and follow him at all costs, knowing that there is no greater life to live. You were BEAUTIFULLY, WONDERFULLY and FEARFULLY Made in his precious grace filled image. I love you so much but GOD loves you more.
To the rest of you, hug a single mom today, believe me she needs it more than you can ever imagine. Bathe her in love and grace, the struggle is real!
Much Love,
Cohen's Mom
PS- Here's a look into our journey. Cohen says this is our family song. I couldn't be more in agreement!
