About Courtney

Courtney blogs at WomenLivingWell.org on the topics of faith, marriage, parenting, and homemaking. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for nearly 14 years. She homeschools her son and daughter and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute.

In November 2009, she was featured on the Racheal Ray show on the topic of marriage. Her passion to see women live well inspired her in 2010 to start a second blog called GoodMorningGirls.org. There women gather together to dig into their Bibles daily through tech accountability groups.

Aging –it’s a Part of God’s Plan

June 7, 2013 By Courtney

My 90 year old – beautiful – grandmother.

Few women are content with their bodies – even the most beautiful movie stars, such as Julia Roberts, have had stand-ins for certain scenes. Our culture bombards us with the message that we need to buy something to make ourselves more attractive.

There’s ads for losing 10 pounds in 10 days, how to look younger, have glowing skin, prettier eyes, plumper lips, glossier hair – you name – they sell it!

The message of the world YOU MUST NOT AGE!

But…we ARE aging!

As our spirit matures –our body matures and when we die – our body goes into the grave but our spirit will go to heaven to be with God. Isn’t that mind blowing!!!

Just as we sow a tiny sunflower seed in the ground and reap a huge beautiful flower – when we die, our bodies will be planted in the grave and our new heavenly bodies will be vastly different than the seed that was planted. This is marvelously explained in I Corinthians 15.

“When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. (37,38)…

There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another(40)…

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.(42-44)”

When we place our faith in Christ and are born again – the Holy Spirit comes to reside inside of us. So inside of our bodies reside our spirit AND the Holy Spirit. Our body is just a container to hold them both. Should we take care of this container? Absolutely – it is not our own – it was bought with a price – the price of Jesus’ blood on the cross.

God uses our eyes and ears – to bring his word to our spirit, he uses our hands to serve others, he uses our feet to bring the good news of Jesus to others, he uses our mouth to worship him, encourage others, and train our children. He uses our body to minister to our husband — if you know what I mean {*wink wink*}!!!

Psalm 139:14 says we are wonderfully and fearfully made. But magazines make us despise the way we were made and long for something different in the mirror. We must stop tearing our bodies down – and start praising the Lord for the way our body has helped us experience and enjoy the blessings God has given us.

If you are reading this -
your heart is beating – thank you Jesus.
your lungs are working – thank you Jesus.
your eyes can see – thank you Jesus.
your hands can type – thank you Jesus.
Your body has served your spirit well thus far! Thank you Jesus!

Aging – is a part of God’s plan that we cannot change.

And yet the magazines…they discourage us. They make us feel discontent. They make us focus on beauty only –but there is a spiritual side we must never forget.

Our bodies are only a seed that will one day be exchanged for a glorious new one. Until then, most evenings after the kids are in bed, you can find me on my elliptical getting my heart rate up. I want to take care of this container so I can serve God with full energy and zip till he calls my spirit home!

Chime In: Do you struggtle with aging? What are some ways you have found peace with the process?

Walk with the King!

womenlivingwell.org

13 Comments | Filed Under: Fitness and Health

Spring Fashions and Modesty

May 3, 2013 By Courtney

The fashion magazines are at it again. They entice us with the newest and hottest summer trends and along with that they usher in a vast array of immodest and indecent clothing.

Malls are packed with clothes that do not cover the body in a modest way. I’ll be honest, I have those moments where I take an outfit to the dressing room, try it on, realize it’s immodest but love it. Then the war begins in my mind. “It’s not so bad. Maybe I could just wear it on vacation where no one from church would see me?”…

These are tempting thoughts that end in dishonor to God if I believe them.

In Genesis 3:1-7 we see Satan tempted Eve to take the fruit. He did not put the fruit in her hand and he certainly did not put the fruit into her mouth. All Satan did was tell Eve lies and she became a believer of those lies. Then Eve saw the fruit with her eyes, took it with her hands and then ate it. Then she became Adam’s tempter. So often we as women – first see the fashion trends and in our desire to be attractive begin to buy into the lies that immodesty is attractive. So just as Eve, we see the clothes and desire to have them. Once we have bought into Satan’s lies it won’t be long before the clothes are hanging in our closet and we are tempting men to have impure thoughts by our sinful choices.So what is a Christian woman to do?

In I Timothy 2:9 and 10 we are told what to adorn ourselves with. “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes but with good works, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

Here is the challenge: Add “good works” as a fashion accessory to your spring wardrobe! Do you have this accessory ready for the spring season?

Jerry Bridges calls good works – “deliberate deeds that are helpful to others” (The Practice of Godliness). These are essential for a godly woman to have.

So here are a couple of questions I’ve borrowed from CJ Mahaney that we as women need to consider:

Which do you think about more – shopping or good works?

What are you most noticed for – what you wear or your kind deeds?

What is most eye-catching about you – your clothing or your character?

The woman who is seeking to gain attention and praise for her physical body, as an immodest woman does, is not seeking to glorify God but herself. A godly woman who is devoted to good works will reflect glory back to God.

I want to encourage you to clothe yourself with good works this spring –let your inner beauty radiate and God will be glorified.

Walk with the King!

, WomenLivingWell.org

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7 Comments | Filed Under: Fashion

I Stumble A LOT! {a lesson in life-giving words}

April 5, 2013 By Courtney

I am a woman of many words lol! and Proverbs 10:19 says “When words are many, sin is not absent. But he who holds his tongue is wise.”

James 3 says that NO man can tame the tongue. It is filled with deadly poison.

I long to be a woman who is filled with life giving words. Who is filled with grace and mercy. But the reality is – I stumble in many ways (James 3:2). And when I stumble, it brings pain to others and to my own soul. I long to be free of this problem in my life – to be so full of wisdom and self-control that I never ever stumble again!

But let me be honest, I stumble! I stumble all of the time in my marriage, in my parenting, and sadly with my friendships! Not long ago, I had to email a friend and apologize for critical words I spoke. SO embarrassing! I urge you to be very careful with your words in friendships. Pray before you send emails or post on facebook. Pray God would show you if anything you type could hurt another. Filter your words with love and grace. Be forgiving when someone else acts immaturely. Pursue unity.

I made a video about this very passage of James and included my children. Let’s teach our children while they are young the power of words. It will save them a lot of heartache and produce a generation of children who are world changers for Jesus!

James 3:1-12 ESV – Taming the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

We will never master perfect control of our tongue. Forever we will need to daily align our heart with God’s word, filtering our thoughts and words through the strainer of God’s word and repenting when the words we speak hurt others. The next time someone hurts you with their words – remember grace…because you at any minute are about to slip up too! As a matter of fact, often it’s right after someone else’s slip up that I slip up 10 times worse (for example in marriage – my husband says one word critical – and whamo – out comes 2 critical words from me. Often what I say is far worse than the first offense.)

I like to journal my confessions…it reminds me how much I need Jesus. The cross says we are flawed but it also says we are forgiven.

Walk with the King!
,WomenLivingWell.org

**Women Living Well has expanded – to find more videos go to my new site WomenLivingWell.TV

4 Comments | Filed Under: Following God, Marriage/Relationships, Parenting

10 Fun Ways to Survive Cabin Fever with Little Ones

April 1, 2013 By Courtney

You may live somewhere hot and balmy right now – but I live in Ohio and today the high is 19! We are all longing for spring here but for now – we want to be happy and content in our sweet home. So it’s my job, the mom’s, to make my home a cozy happy place!

Here’s some fun tips if you are “stranded” at home with preschool and elementary kids – let’s make it fun!

1. Do a scavenger hunt - my kids LOVE scavenger hunts – you can even make it a treasure hunt. Have them make coins out of construction paper (the cutting will keep them busy for a while!) and then you hide them in a room. Then give them clues: warm, warmer, HOT as to when they are close to the treasure!

2. Pull out your camera and chronicle your daily life. You probably have lots of photos of your kids on holidays but have you chronicled your daily life – someday you will treasure these moments. So pull out your camera and take photos of your kids doing their favorite things at home – take a picture of them watching Curious George, eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or playing dress up, house or spider man. Someday you will be thankful you have photos of them not just from Christmas and Easter but from everyday life too.

3. Make cereal necklaces. Simply thread cheerios or fruit loops on long strands of yarn - then let them wear their necklaces and eat them as a snack.

4. Make noodle art.

5. Make cotton ball art.

6. Make a long paper chaing - this keeps my kid’s busy for a VERY long time and they can work on it for DAYS adding to the chain!

Busy hands and a busy mind keeps a child out of trouble!

7. Play balloon games – my kids LOVE to play “keep it in the air” and we count how many hits before it touches the floor or we make goals and play soccer with the balloon.

8. Have a tea or hot cocoa party. This is a necessity on these cold days! I bought three bags of marshmallows at the grocery store yesterday – we are going to be making some serious hot cocoa and marshmallows this month! It’s a cheap and easy thrill and the ear to ear grin is worth it!

9. Build a fort! This will keep them busy long after you’ve built it. We literally tip all of the couches in our formal living room and turn it into the coolest fort ever! Removing the chairs around a kitchen table and putting a sheet over it is a super easy way to make a quick fort! Encourage them to take pillows and books in there to play!

10. Have the kids look out the window and draw one thing that they see. Then have them add to it the next day and the next day and the next day.

I know you wish you had more time to do something for yourself – but this season of life will pass and a time will come when you can. Until then, enjoy these moments with your children and make them matter.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.”

Walk with the King!

**If you are looking for ways to *heat* up your marriage in February – come join the “Be My Valentine” Marriage Challenge over at WomenLivingWell.org