The Journey of Parenthood…

Beth Moore

Awhile back I saw on Kelly’s Korner that she was attending the Beth Moore Conference in Atlanta. I hadn’t really heard much about Beth Moore except for the Invisible Woman video I’d seen (read my post about it and watch it by clicking here) which has greatly impacted my life! At the time I read Kelly’s post I was at a point where I needed help in the self-esteem department (remember my attempt at “to poetry”?) and when I saw that Beth Moore would be speaking on insecurity I felt compelled to attend. I’m so glad I decided to go and am also glad that Robyn decided to come with me!

The event was at First Baptist Church Woodstock and omg that place was HUGE.  There were over 9,000 (yes 9,000) women in attendance at the church and it was telecast to 869 locations reaching 300,000 viewers. Isn’t that INSANE?!?!? I’m thankful Robyn and I were able to find parking haha!

(normally I’d be stuck holding on to my ticket to someday scrapbook, I LOVE that I can scan it and toss it!)

One of my main goals in going to the conference was to meet Kelly from Kelly’s Korner. I know that is lame but she’s a blog celeb and who doesn’t wanna meet a celeb in real life?!?! I told Robyn that we’d stalk her down if we had to haha! Luckily, we didn’t have to hunt too hard. We had tickets in the over-flow room as did Kelly and when we were looking for seats we spotted her right away. She had a line of people waiting to get pictures with her! Isn’t that so funny? She’s just a regular person who has a very regular blog yet so many people follow it and love her. It was neat to get to speak with her and I told her that it has to be an insane feeling to be from Arkansas but to be visiting Georgia and have people lining up to meet you. Can you imagine?!?! I did get a pic with her but no I didn’t ask for an autograph haha!

Robyn got one too

I was pretty pumped to get home and see if we made it onto Kelly’s blog…and we did!!!! Here’s the post we’re on…can you find us? Pretty cool if you ask me!

Since I met my goal for the day I was a happy camper, and the conference hadn’t even started yet. Once it did though I was even more happy. I bought the book, So Long Insecurity, but I didn’t ever read it. I thought Beth did a great job talking to us non-readers and I really didn’t feel left out or behind in any area of the day. The event opened with some music lead by a guy named Travis Cottrell whom I’d never heard of. I was a little in culture shock with the music as our church is acopella only so I’m not used to musical instruments, people clapping, and people raising their hands up. I felt a little out of place but caught on quickly and was able to sing along to most of the songs (thankfully they posted the words on the screen!).

I REALLY was impressed with Beth! She’s adorable (and rocks a hair poof that reminds me of my friend Ashley). She’s not only so so cute but her personality rocks. I was a little concerned before coming to the conference that she’d be annoying. I’m really not a girl-power, “girlfriend” type girl. One midwife I saw drove me NUTS throughout my appointment because she constantly referred to me as “girlfriend” and “chickadee.” It’s just not my style and I heard Beth Moore was that kind of person. She really wasn’t though! I did a “girlfriend” count and she only said it eight times total the WHOLE day! Not too bad at all!!! I thought she was a great speaker and is blessed with the talent to speak to SO many people but yet seem like she’s just talking across the table to a good friend. It made the whole thing feel personal (even when surrounded by 8,999 other people) and it made you feel like she’s just one of us 🙂

I took notes throughout the conference so I could remember the key points and here is what I took away from the day:

A secure woman is:

  1. Saved from herself: Our biggest enemy is ourselves. The human mind is twisted by self-interest. At the heart of all sin is a human curved in upon themselves; instead of everything curving outward to GOD we have everything come back to US and focus on ME ME ME. Insecurity is what keeps us so obsessed with ourselves (Eph 4:17-24)
  2. Entitled to truth: The more we live withdrawn from God, the harder our heart becomes (Eph 4:19). When we don’t walk in the spirit we get caught up in wrong desires and want things we shouldn’t (Eph 4:22).
  3. Clothed with intention: (duh I love anything referenced to clothing haha) We DRESS with intention! Proverbs 25:31 says a secure woman will be “…clothed in strength and dignity and can laugh at the days to come.” Everyday of your life continue to live with Christ just as you did on the day you received Him. You can’t walk in security on accident, you have to make up your MIND to do IT!!! We have what it takes to be secure women but it takes WORK.
  4. Upended by grace:  Grace sets us free. Eph 4:32 says “be kind and compassionate two each other forgiving each other just as Christ has forgiven you.” We are so insecure that everything comes to us as an offense and we’re always looking for what people do to offend us. The more you forgive others, the more forgiven you will feel which will also make us feel more secure. Need to put the past in the past. Guilt also leads to insecurity and we need to understand that once we’ve repented of our past and sins that we truly are forgiven. Grace (forgiveness) is the only thing you can give away yet still keep!
  5. Rebounded by love: We are COMPLETELY loved by God who knows our every thought, sin, etc. You cannot out sin God’s love and forgiveness. We need to learn to love people without needing them to love us in return. Everything ALWAYS comes back to love!
  6. Exceptional in life: Every person needs to know that they matter. Our goal as a Christian woman should be to be the exception to the rule and to be that woman that everyone says “except her” about (such as “everyone does such and such except her.”) 

I loved the emphasis she put on Eph 4:21-24 which talks about our decision to do away with the “old me.” That as a Christian we have a NEW self and should show the world our transformation from the “before” to the “after.” You can’t wait until you actually feel secure to act secure and to be secure in Christ. We need to stop and think “how would a secure woman respond to this situation?” It takes a conscious effort to become secure and it’s a decision in our MINDS to be that person who God calls us to be.  I need to wake up EVERYDAY and choose to be that new person!

It’s so easy for me to get overwhelmed by all that I’m lacking and by all that I need to work on to better myself. Sometimes the weight just feels too heavy for me and instead of working on those things piece by piece I just throw it ALL down and can’t handle it. To me, the biggest thing I got out of Beth’s message was that each day is a NEW day and a NEW chance to try again. We’ll never be perfect, we are under the curse and sin will always surround us but I’m a new person in Christ and every day I have the opportunity to put away the old and put on the new. I WANT to be that Exceptional Woman and I feel more confident now that it’s possible 🙂

I really enjoyed the whole day and the whole experience! I thought it was GREAT that Beth came over to our section (we had to watch the whole thing on a big screen because we were in the “overflow room”). She was so cute and her daughter was beautiful. It’s so easy to look at her and not understand how SHE could be insecure but she opened up about some personal things in her life (childhood abuse, addiction struggles, etc) and she’s such an inspiration. She truly is a walking example of the transformation our lives go through when we choose to live them for Christ.

She did question and answers with us and someone asked her about parenting advice. Her tip? Simply love GOD and make HIM your focus and then He will be that focus for your children as well. Something I want to work on is making sure Kye can see my love for the Lord. Sure we pray before each meal and before bed, but God is more than just some guy who listens to our prayers. I want my son to KNOW Him and to live his life for Him!

One of the big things I talked to Robyn, Danielle, and Kelly about throughout the weekend was prayer. Beth didn’t really talk much about it but through my talks with my friends I realize I need to work on my prayer life. I tend to say blanket prayers and that’s not really what it’s about. God is my BEST friend and I should share with Him and especially be specific with Him. He WILL answer my prayers but how can He do that if I don’t make them clear to Him? I need to work on praying more specifically and also looking for his answer. I have SUCH a better understanding of this concept now after this weekend! For example Robyn prayed about becoming a teacher. She didn’t just say “God help me find a career path” she specifically said “God I feel like my path may be teaching help me to see if that is what I’m meant to do.” Then she was patient and listened. I always thought when people said they “listened” for God that they thought He literally spoke to them but now I understand that you look for signs or listen to what your gut tells you and that’s God answering! Makes SO much more sense now!!!

I had a such an uplifting spiritual weekend and I hope I’m able to do something like this again in the future! I hope every woman is able to find security in themselves and realize that that security can only come through Him! We ALL can be EXCEPTIONAL WOMEN!!!

Emily Parker
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