Recently a sweet friend of mine shared with me a wonderful resource she’s been using that helps encourage and empower women to use our voices and our “platforms” for God’s glory and to advance the Kingdom.

It has tied in so amazingly well with a class Wes and I have been taking at our church on the importance of having and being a mentor. I’m normally a person who really doesn’t mind keeping to myself for the most part. I LOVE sharing glimpses into our family through pictures, but when it comes to keeping myself surrounded by other women who can encourage and challenge me – and who i can likewise pour into, I find myself lacking. I’ve been challenged to consider several new perspectives…

The first is the importance of community – We are, apparently,  designed for community: it is God’s desire for our lives. While I love getting together with friends and for playdates, I otherwise am normally pretty content to “just” be with my family or on rare occasion completely alone. While I know this is still a good thing, I am coming to terms with the fact that we as growing Christian women have a need for others to perceive our sin and mentor us in areas we wouldn’t be able to identify on our own. Likewise it is important for us to be able and willing to encourage others in areas we might see them struggling.

The second perspective is the reason for what i do – The need to be proactive and intentional. This includes not just studying God’s word consistently but also in my day to day choices. Too often I allow myself to mindlessly trudge through our daily routine of feeding, cleaning, school, naps, etc. without a super clear focus. Even with my pursuits outside of the responsibilities of my home {like this blog and the newfound wonders of Instagram} where I find myself constantly reaching out to others, I don’t always have a clear and specific intent. I have been challenged to seriously consider that everything I do and pursue needs to be reflecting Christ and bringing Him glory. I am trying to refocus to have a Kingdom mindset.

The last thing that I have found interesting came specifically out of our class. We were asked to take “personality tests” that helped to show us some of the ways we think as well as our likely spiritual gifts. The highest rated gift on my results was ENCOURAGER. I’ve been reflecting on that ever since. I would never have thought of encouraging people as a “gift.” I mean of course it’s a great thing to do, but a gift? God enables us all in different ways, and with different skills.

How simple and exciting to think that by simply encouraging people I can have an impact on God’s Kingdom! I am now constantly reminding myself to keep this focus, through the filter of glorifying God, in my daily pursuits. I initially wrote it on my wrist to help me remember as I love on my little ones, but I hope that it continues to guide me as I try to connect and build relationships with others as well.

*Note: This post was originally published on our old blog Discover.Create.Live. on April 6, 2016