by Courtney Bullard | Dec 23, 2013
“Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!” my four-year-old says at the top of her lungs without “officially” using her outside voice (as we like to call it.) As my husband and I are frantically trying to get all the things we need to accomplish for the day, our daughter is desperately seeking our attention. She wants to know we see her.
You know, girls do not change much with age. I see a teenage girl dressed to show every curve she has. “Look at me!” she screams internally. This teenage girl wants to be seen; she wants attention. Sometimes any type of attention will do.
I see a beautiful young lady looking in the mirror and hating her reflection. As she picks apart every part of her body, I can almost hear her say, “Look at me! Does anyone see me? Does anyone care to give me attention?”
And then I see a young lady who is about to give up her innocence to a guy who doesn’t appreciate who God has created her to be. She says quietly, “He notices me, and it feels good to receive attention.”
God’s word says that the enemy prowls around like a lion waiting to devour. One of His targets: God’s daughters, God’s masterpieces.
Satan knows the value that females have. They are created in the image of God; they reflect the heart of God; and God wants to use them to do great and mighty thing for His name. But if we have a generation of young ladies who do not like who they are, they are screaming inside, dying to be noticed, to be seen, then the end goal is something that is unreachable.
If you are a godly woman who understands your worth in Christ, you can help other ladies discover the beauty that they already behold! My prayer is that young ladies will discover that they are worthy, they have value and purpose, they are seen, they are noticed. We will see a revival breakout among our young people, and it will spread like a wild fire to women of all ages.
So what have you done today to help accomplish this goal? Have you prayed for our young women? Have you spoken truth to a girl today of who she is in Jesus Christ? What part would our Heavenly Father ask you to play in the life of one His daughters?
As for you . . . God sees you. He notices you. You have His full attention. Now, go. Walk in confidence because Jesus knows you by name and is walking before you, behind you and is with you. You have His attention because you are His creation!
by Courtney Bullard | Nov 5, 2013
“Mommy, I need a Kleenex!” “Mommy, I need to go potty!” “Mommy, I need 64 cupcakes by tomorrow!” I wonder if anyone else ever feels overwhelmed or overloaded? Sometimes there just never seems to be enough hours in a day or enough chocolate to get you through.
My husband is currently transitioning out of youth ministry, running a girls home in Africa, and starting a new career in real estate. So, currently he is working three jobs. Did I mention that we also have a newborn, along with a 4-year-old who started Pre-K at a new school this year?
I am running on no sleep, waking up every three hours in the night, trying to adjust having two kids, trying to be a supportive wife, continuing my role with the Pearl House in Africa; all the while trying to keep the house clean, meals on the table, and preventing the laundry from running down the hallway (All of you single moms out there, I truly don’t know how you do it!).
However, my prayer life is actually incredible! “God, help me to stay awake while I’m reading a story to my 4-year-old.” “God, help me not to go crazy today.” “God, please let my newborn sleep at least another 20 minutes.”
In the midst of all of this, God has truly been kind. He has continued to remind me that He is ALWAYS with me and that He is parenting right alongside me. These are His kids, and I get the privilege of being their mommy.
Col. 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
It is a huge responsibility to be a mom, and God has entrusted His children to us. Jesus is the one we are serving as we strive to be “Supermom.” So know this, whatever season you are in, however wonderful or awful the current phase that your kids are in, or if you ever feel alone, God never leaves you. He is your biggest fan, and He is walking with you.
Whether you are making your long list of tasks the night before your next day, picking up macaroni and cheese off the kitchen floor, or sitting at His feet, God is always with you.
It’s as if He is saying, “We’re in this together!”
by Courtney Bullard | May 13, 2013
I recently went to New Jersey to speak at a women’s conference with my friend and co-author, Shauna Pilgreen. The conference was an incredible weekend where we met new sisters in Christ and were encouraged by God’s truth in His word. After the two day conference, Shauna and I stayed in New York for a couple of days taking in all of the sights. I had packed one large suitcase weighing almost 50 pounds, a carry on with The Same Page books and The Pearl House merchandise, and my very large purse (in New Jersey they call it a pocketbook, although mine could be defined as a bag that needed to be checked). All to say, I was loaded down with heavy baggage. Did I mention I am about 8 months pregnant? So, you can see some possible foreshadowing. As we “gracefully” made it on the train to New York, we had a decision to make upon arrival: Do we take the subway and save money or do we take a taxi to get to our hotel? We decided that we are strong independant women who could take the subway with no problems. Let’s just say that we ended up going the wrong direction, and there were no elevators and escalators when we needed them. This resulted in me standing at the bottom of the steps with Shauna taking one bag at a time up the steps, hoping that no one at the top of the steps decided they liked the look of our bag and wanted to make it their own. There were many, 14 all together, that stopped and asked us if we needed help. (I think we looked pretty pitiful) Some would carry our baggage for a while, others would give us directions, one man even purchasd our bus ticket. (that’s a whole other story) After an hour, we finally arrived at our hotel, got to our room, and dropped off our baggage. It was so freeing to have nothing to carry as we continued our evening in New York.
How many times do we do this as Christians? We carry so much baggage, weighing us down and keeping us from running the race God has set before us. Sometimes there are others in our lives that try and help, that even take our “load” for a while, they try and help by giving us “direction”, but in the end we are left with weight and carrying our load again. There is only One who can ultimately take our load, our cares, our worries, our doubts, our fears, our insecurites, our weaknesses – and His name is Jesus. There is no other sweeter name I know! 1 Peter 5:7, Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Have you done just that? Have you cast everything upon Him and given Hiim your everything, including your back up plans, your “securities” you are holding onto, and your control. He is waiting and He can take all baggage, there is no extra charge to “check” a bag and no weight limit with Him.
by Courtney Bullard | Mar 11, 2013
My family and I were having dinner the other night when I noticed a table of teenage girls sitting across from us at the restaurant. I began to observe their interaction and noticed that they had not said a word to each other the entire time. Rather, they were all on their smartphones texting other people–probably even texting each other. This is not normal. For humans.
OK, phones are not necessarily a problem, but really? Texting the friend just beyond the half empty ketchup bottle instead of simply speaking it? This is not why we go to Outback, is it? (Disclaimer: I fully condone texting an individual in a group conversation as an alternative to whispering a secret. For example, Steve, can you believe those girls are just texting?)
But, as a consequence of this digital phenomenon, many people do not know how to communicate face to face because they are so used to hiding behind a screen. They don’t know how to deal with an actual human being. I even find myself texting people confrontational things I would likely not say to their face. And when I encounter them, I often regret the text.
Now, I love texting. It’s great. Probably the best invention since the Chi. It saves time, can get me out of a tight situation (Steve, what’s your friend who works at Best Buy’s wife’s sister’s name?), and is an overall good thing. But it does not replace personal contact.
God is a relational God. And He created you and me to be relational, too. We need personal contact. We need to relearn the art of conversation. We need to be able to encounter intimacy in our friendships. Jesus lauded Mary for sitting at his feet, soaking in his presence. There is no substitute for face time! (see what I did there) We need community. We need to text sometimes, too. But that should never take the place of a good ole heart to heart, while face to face.
by Courtney Bullard | Feb 18, 2013
It’s extremely difficult to be a girl, especially a teenage girl. So many people try to tell them who they are. What they’re worth. Where they fit in. And in all that, they are trying to discern God’s purpose for their life and if that’s even worth following.
It’s difficult. Especially when there is girl drama, mean-girl issues, a mom who they feel doesn’t understand them – and that’s just girls! Boys can add a whole new level of insecurities and drama into their life. No wonder it’s hard for them to listen to God’s voice and His alone. There are so many other voices out there trying to get their attention.
And then there are the mothers of these teenage girls . . .
God is a relational God, and He wants mothers and daughters to be united, communicating, and on the same page.
In The Same Page, my co-author Shauna Pilgreen and I have written a fanciful tale for mothers and daughters. The purpose is to provide a tool to restore relationships, open up doors of communication, and for women of all ages to realize they are seen by the King, El-Roi. The Same Page is a flipbook where the same story is told from two different points of view. You can open the book and read the daughter’s perspective or flip it over and read the same story from the mom’s point of view. They literally and figuratively finally arrive on the same page. There are also journal questions for moms and daughters to answer separately and hopefully discuss their answers together.
Sometimes we need a reason to sit down with our daughter or mom and ask questions we have always wanted to know about one another. The Same Page can help you do just that and help you begin to live your happily ever after.
You can read more about it at www.thesamepagebook.com