Be Still

  Today, as I took some time to quiet myself before God, I asked Him to search my heart and show me what I need to do and where to improve. As I read though the scriptures and sat in reflection, I heard my Father speak two simple words to my heart: Be still. I then saw a vision of a situation that I have faced numerous times over the last few weeks: me trying to clean my daughter's nose. I know this may sound strange, but if you're a mom you've experienced the struggle of trying to clean out your child's nose with a nasal aspirator. Not fun at all. My daughter screams, kicks, whips her hair back and forth and basically freaks out. Over and over again, I look her in the eyes and calmly tell her, "Grace, be still." Frantically, she disregards my instruction for a few more minutes and finally stays still long enough for me to help her by cleaning out her nose. You see, she'd been sick for about two weeks or so and as her mother, I knew that she couldn't blow her nose on her own & needed a clear nasal passage to help her breathe better and get well. I didn't want to take much of her time, but the more that she resisted me, the longer it took for me to help her.

Friends, God wants to help us. He wants to heal our hearts. He wants to bless us. He wants us to breathe easy. But the more that we resist Him, and the temporary discomfort of the process, the longer it will take for us to get well. Be still. Relax. Allow Him to do what He needs to do. Trust that He has your best interest at heart and doesn't mean you any harm. I know the situation that you're facing is very uncomfortable, but it's being used for your benefit. Let go. Be still. Take a chill pill, if you will. ;)

I believe that God showed me this scenario to reveal to me my own situation but I feel that this is for you too. I was watching the First Conference live from Gateway Church on Daystar tonight and the associate pastor gave the same word: Be Still. It was a confirmation to my heart and I know that God is speaking to you and me in this moment with this word.

"Be still, and know that I am God..."(Psalm 46:10 NKJV)

Emonne Markland Leave YOUR Beauty Mark

New Mom 101: Lessons I'm Learning Along the Way

As a new mom, I have found myself learning countless life lessons every day. Periodically, I will be posting my experiences as a mother and sharing the lessons that I am learning along my journey of motherhood. Thank you in advance for reading my post today and I hope that it encourages you and blesses you in a special way.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned now that I am a mom, it can be summed up in these  two sentences:

Stretching doesn’t end just because the pregnancy is over and the baby has been born. True stretching, of the whole person: spirit, mind and body, begins in the hours, days, weeks and months to follow the delivery.

As a first time mom, I could not wait to feel my baby move for the first time during my pregnancy. I can remember telling my mom that every nudge, kick and stretch would bring me the utmost joy and happiness. My mom, however, being the sweet and honest person that she is, told me that it would be pleasant in the beginning but may become very uncomfortable as the baby grew and had less room to move around in my womb. Sure enough, those little flutters that I found so sweet turned into karate chops, kicks and punches. What in the world is she doing in there? I asked myself. Is this normal? I feel like I have the karate kid in training in my belly! My OBGYN kindly assured me that everything was fine and normal and that I had nothing to worry about.

During the final days and weeks of my pregnancy, contrary to what I’d been told, the kicks and punches got even more strong and even painful at times! I was so ready to have my baby. Well, on April 25th at 3:47am, after hours of home labor and hospital labor, I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. And as you know, especially if you are a mom, giving birth to my daughter required major stretching. Let me repeat, major stretching.

In the hours, weeks and now months to follow my daughter’s birth, my whole person, spirit, mind and body, has been stretched. My body has stretched as it has slowly but surely gone back to my pre-pregnancy weight. My mind has stretched as I continue to learn all that my baby needs and develop wisdom on how to be the wife and mother that my family needs. My spirit has grown as my inner strength and dependence on God has increased and enlarged in this new season of life.

The word of God says in Isaiah 54:2, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.”

If you are reading this post today and can relate to what I am saying, I want to encourage you to know that all of the discomfort and stretching that you’ve been experiencing lately is being used to build you into the woman, wife and mother that God has created you to be. He is stretching you in order to make room for you to handle the next level of victory and destiny that is coming to past in your life.

This week, join me in praying the prayer of Jabez, a prayer for God to enlarge your capacity for the days to come. Also, as you go about your day this week, ask God to open your eyes to the needs of those around you so that you can leave your beauty mark on someone’s life by being a blessing to them in a time of need. Have a powerful week and feel free to come back & share what God is doing in your life!

Emonne Markland: Leave YOUR Beauty Mark!

The Prayer of Jabez:

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying “Oh, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted what he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:10 ESV)

The Pink Lid

This past weekend I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of young girls in Sand Springs, Oklahoma at The Pink Lid Purity Conference. It was a wonderful experience and we received great feedback on how the girls' lives were changed by receiving the truth from God's word regarding beauty & purity. On Friday night I shared a message called Breaking the Chains that I have been speaking on for the past two years at various youth events. God gave me new revelation on the subject and it was exciting to share the message of freedom in Christ with the girls in Sand Springs. I also helped model for our modesty fashion show and showed the girls how to have style and still be modest. It was so fun! I even had two girls from the audience walk with me down the runway at one point. They loved it & so did I. :)

On Saturday, I spoke on not settling for less than what God has for you in a mate & explained to them what true loves was based on what God has to say. Through videos about Godly couples and how they met, open panel discussions with me & our entire speaking team, makeup tutorials, dynamic messages on beauty and purity and group discussions that help apply the messages to each girl's specific needs, I know that the girls were blessed and left the conference full of God's truth regarding purity and beauty.

At the end of the conference, the girls made a pledge to remain pure in their thoughts and actions as they wait until the day they say I do to the man that God has for them. I signed as a witness to a few of the girls' purity pledges and was honored to do so. It means the world to me to use my gift of speaking and my testimony to help reach the generation of young women coming up behind me.

Next month, we will be doing another conference in Ada, OK and I can't wait!

Does your church have a purity conference or are you interested in having our team come to your church? Watch this video.

Emonne Markland: Leave YOUR Beauty Mark