It is a daily reminder to me of Jesus and his sacrifice for us.
Every day when I put on my cross, at this time I am making a deliberate, conscious, intentional decision - I am
reinforcing my decision to be a Christian, to be active in my faith, to follow
Jesus - and as I put on my cross I am aware of this daily choice. As this time I am also saying a quiet prayer
to God - thanking him for choosing me and asking that the Holy Spirit will
guide me through the day - and I feel Jesus present with me, I visually feel
his presence.
I like to put on my cross as a
reminder to myself of who I am and who I am choosing to be.
I also wear my cross with pride
as I am open about my faith - I am proud to be a Christian, and I want to
attribute glory to God. My cross is just
a small cross, some people may not notice my cross, yet I am happy for people
to know and see that I wear a cross. I
want to be accountable, I want people to know that I am Christian - I want
people to expect big things from me in terms of how I love them, how I serve them and how present I am with
them - I want them to know that I am here, working for God.
I find that it can sometimes be in the small things, the small
decisions - such as at work when another may be saying something
negative about someone, I can choose how to respond, I can choose to not
get involved in talking about someone else. I am inspired by the
example set my Jesus - how he loves others.
I am not perfect, I am still
learning and growing. Yet I am committed
to listening to Jesus, to being guided by the Holy Spirit, to being all that
God has called and created me to be (as encouraged by the leaders at my Church -
Kingsway Community Church).
I have always believed in God -
yet now that I call myself a Christian, I am choosing to be conscious of my
daily choices, my daily decisions, my daily walk with God.
Being Christian for me is
recognising that Jesus saved me. I am
redeemed through Christ. God knows me,
God knows the mistakes of my past, my poor decisions, where I have let myself
down - yet Jesus called me to follow him, he got hold of my heart and he set me
on a new path - as per the Pastor’s description of many people in the Bible
that became followers of Christ, where Jesus restored them from their
brokenness. Jesus forgives me and allows me to forgive
myself. I am able to draw a line in the
sand and move forward with passion and purpose.
In
choosing to be a Christian
woman, I am best able to be a Christian Mum - as I am able to role model
to my children what it means to be a Christian and encourage them to
see Jesus as their
friend and to understand that they are beautiful and unique children of
God. As a Christian Mum, I am committed to
bringing my children up in the Church, and to exposing them to, and creating environments, where they can encounter God.
I love books, yet it is
interesting that since becoming a Mum, I have read less books, as well as
having less time, the main reason is that I am now relying more on God - letting him
guide me through my intuition, praying when I am making decisions, really
trusting and relying on God - rather than looking to others for answers or searching
for answers in books. Of course there
are many great books and great authors which can teach so much through shared
stories and experiences. Of course my
favourite book is my Bible - a present from my Husband on the day of our
Wedding - I definitely love reading the Bible and listening to what God wants
me to know from reading and reflecting on his Word.
As
posted by my friend and Pastor
Kym the other week, I have also been reflecting over this year, that
despite
there being so many parenting philosophies, we have God - hence why I
choose to
be A Christian Mum - as this is the best gift I can give to my family,
and the easiest and most peaceful way for myself and in my role as a
Mum.
When
my daughter was baptised we bought her a cross and we also bought
crosses for our three nieces when they were flower girls at our Wedding. My prayer is that my children and nieces will value their
crosses and what they mean and that they will also choose to make a
daily decision to follow Jesus.
I love the words in this passage - "Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life'
" (John 14:5-6). I love being inspired and excited and that's how I
feel when I read God's Word. And may my journey encourage others to walk
daily with our Lord God.
