Fearfully and Wonderfully Made...

I recently had the privilege of speaking at a Mother/Daughter banquet at my father-in-laws church.  The theme was Hawaiian and I did my talk in English AND Spanish.  I also made about 80 favors to give to the ladies to remind them how much Jesus loves them and thinks about them.   I thought I'd share my talk here with you all.

My girls and I

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law

Today, I would like to share some of my favorite verses with you.  I want you to meet God, the Creator of everything.  God spoke and the world came into existence –His imagination created the heavens and the earth and all they contain: stars and planets, mountains and oceans, animals and plants.  And as the highlight of the whole thing, God created people like you with the unique ability to wonder at the world around you and give Him the praise He deserves.

Psalm 8

1:O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

3:When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained

These verses tell us that our Lord created all things.  Today, we are celebrating with a Hawaiian or tropical theme.  Have you ever really thought about all God created in this area?  Think of all of the beautiful plants, the beautiful flowers, the colorful birds, the incredible creatures of the sea, the powerful volcanoes, …

I could go on forever and that is just talking about things relating to the tropics!!  My friend, do you realize that our Lord made YOU to be in charge of these things?  To enjoy these things?  To put these things to our use?    Wow!  He sure does love us and cares for us.  God knows that as women, we like beautiful things – so He gave us so much to look at and appreciate. 

Do you appreciate all He created?  Do you teach your children to appreciate nature and to take care of it?  I am not talking about “Mother Nature” or “worshipping” nature.  I am talking about looking at every beautiful gift our Heavenly Father has provided for us.

Let’s take a look at Psalm 139.  This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. 

Psalm 139:14

14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Ladies! You are fearfully and wonderfully made!  Women are very special to our Heavenly Father.  Do you ever feel that as a woman, wife or mother that you are not valuable to God?  Do you realize that He is the One that put the Savior of the world into a woman’s womb?  Jesus is the Lord who appeared to women first after His resurrection.  God does not favor man.  On the contrary, He teaches us that men and women have equal value in His sight.  When you give Him your devotion, when you sit at His feet and learn from Him, He’ll treat you with dignity and give you the delights of your heart.

Do you ever feel that your role as a mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, etc. is unimportant?   Well, if you do – you are wrong!!  You are so special that God thinks of you all the time!  Look at Psalm 139:17-18.

17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

His thoughts for you are more in number than the sand!  Have any of you ever been to the beach?  I challenge any of you to try and count the grains of sand that you can pick up in the palm of your hand.  It would be impossible.  Now, imagine all the sand in this world!!  Do you see how beloved you are by our Lord?

I made 80 of these little favors to remind the ladies how much Jesus loves them.

I made the jar for my mother-in-law

Mothers, I know that you may feel weary in your duties at home.  Some of you may have to work outside the home as well.  Oftentimes, you feel unappreciated – but you should not.  You need to realize that your position as a woman is very important and you have great responsibility!

Here are 3 points I’d like you to know:

1. In order for us to be the mothers we need to be, we need to sit at His feet.

Read your Bible and study Him. Read a little bit every day and learn to know Him. There is more to Jesus than His birth and His death and resurrection. He is the source of wisdom. He is the source of love.

2. Teach your children the amazing grace of Jesus.  Teach them to appreciate all of His creation.

By reading the stories of Jesus to your children, you will all learn together how to be like Jesus. You will learn how to love each other. You will practice together being like Jesus, looking at each other through the eyes of Jesus.

3.  Live each day in the realization that what you do as a mother, grandmother, wife, etc. has value.

Just as Adam was trusted with the things of the Garden at the beginning of Creation, we are entrusted with the lives and souls of our children, our husbands and our families.  You have been given a beautiful responsibility, so hold your head up and live as someone that has been fearfully and wonderfully made!