Dear Camille,
Until the day that you are grown and become a mother of your own, you will not understand the amount of love that I have for you. Daily I look at you and my heart smiles and I cannot imagine life before you. You are my light, my sunshine, and my world. I consider my job as your mother the most honorable job that I could have and I thank God that He has chosen to give this privilege to me. In this post I am linking a song by my friend, Cara, called "A Mother's Song". My Sweet Baby Girl, this song perfectly communicates how much I enjoy my job as mommy.
I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy
A Mother's Song by Cara Chapman
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Cross Carrying and In Denial
Dear Camille,
I want to have a heart to heart with you about Christianity 101. I have learned, my girl, that most people only get it half right, which makes for a half-hearted Christian life. When on the day that you decide that you cannot do life alone and pray to accept Christ as your Lord, you at that point will have met the denial requirement. (By the way, I pray daily for you to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Darling, there is no other way.) Many Christians understand that they are supposed deny themselves and make Jesus Lord of their life. They get it right because they know that they no longer rule their own life, where they miss it is bringing the cross to the world. Bringing the cross to the world? Yes, that is exactly what I said! Many people often misunderstand what this means as well. Bringing the cross, for many people, represents salvation. While, God has commanded us to go into the world and share the good news, that is not the point that I am making here. Bringing the cross to the world means more than just salvation. Bringing the cross means that you bring to the world everything that the cross represents. So what exactly does the cross represent: love, freedom, forgiveness, victory, sacrifice, kindness, goodness, mercy, and grace. The list could really go on and on about all of the qualities that the cross showed, but this list will suffice for our discussion. When you walk into the world daily, you should be bringing the love, the mercy, the kindness, and the grace to others. Even if others are undeserving, you should be bringing them these qualities through your speech and your actions so that they can do nothing but see Christ through you. This is the second half of what a Christian must do. Yes, to do these things, you must first deny yourself, or it cannot be done. But, once you have chosen to take on the character of Christ you must bring the cross to the world. Sweet girl, I know that you will be a shining example of Christ and will bring his love to the world. I already see you display so many precious qualities and I know you will continue to grow in Christ's love.
I love you always,
Mommy
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24
I want to have a heart to heart with you about Christianity 101. I have learned, my girl, that most people only get it half right, which makes for a half-hearted Christian life. When on the day that you decide that you cannot do life alone and pray to accept Christ as your Lord, you at that point will have met the denial requirement. (By the way, I pray daily for you to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Darling, there is no other way.) Many Christians understand that they are supposed deny themselves and make Jesus Lord of their life. They get it right because they know that they no longer rule their own life, where they miss it is bringing the cross to the world. Bringing the cross to the world? Yes, that is exactly what I said! Many people often misunderstand what this means as well. Bringing the cross, for many people, represents salvation. While, God has commanded us to go into the world and share the good news, that is not the point that I am making here. Bringing the cross to the world means more than just salvation. Bringing the cross means that you bring to the world everything that the cross represents. So what exactly does the cross represent: love, freedom, forgiveness, victory, sacrifice, kindness, goodness, mercy, and grace. The list could really go on and on about all of the qualities that the cross showed, but this list will suffice for our discussion. When you walk into the world daily, you should be bringing the love, the mercy, the kindness, and the grace to others. Even if others are undeserving, you should be bringing them these qualities through your speech and your actions so that they can do nothing but see Christ through you. This is the second half of what a Christian must do. Yes, to do these things, you must first deny yourself, or it cannot be done. But, once you have chosen to take on the character of Christ you must bring the cross to the world. Sweet girl, I know that you will be a shining example of Christ and will bring his love to the world. I already see you display so many precious qualities and I know you will continue to grow in Christ's love.
I love you always,
Mommy
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24
Sunday, June 15, 2014
What's in a Name
Dear Camille,
In January 2012, your father and I were thrilled to find that God had blessed us with the child that we had prayed for. Later in April we were equally thrilled to learn that you were a precious girl. Upon discovering that you were a girl, your father and I began the daunting task of choosing your name. The name, in our minds, had to be perfect. After all, you were a long-awaited gift. We knew that we wanted the name to have Biblical meaning as well as a tie to French origins, to represent your father's Cajun heritage. Narrowing the name down by the two criteria, Biblical meaning and French origins, seems like it would help, and it did give us a good start, but we still knew that we needed a few more specifics to choose the perfect name for you. For the other specifics, I really wanted to make sure that you had a timeless name that would not fade with the days' trends and only represent one generation. Now here we were, we had decided: French origin, Biblical meaning, and timeless sound. The last thing that we decided that was essential for choosing the perfect name for you was that your nickname could be nothing less than adorable. And, of course, your name had to flow. With all that said, your chosen name is Camille Isabella, which, to us, represents the Cajun heritage, Biblical standards, timeless sound, and Camilly, Camille Bella, and Bella are the cutest nicknames around!
I firmly believe that what you are called represents a part of who you will become. There are several times in the Bible where the Lord changed a persons name to represent a positive change in their life. So your names represent the characteristics that I pray that you will live out. Camille means "unblemished character" and I pray that all the days of your life that you strive for excellence but stay humble enough to realize that you need God each and every day. The name Isabella means "devoted to God" which matches my desire for you to realize that you need God each and every day. I believe with all my heart that God has an amazing plan for your life and will use you in mighty ways as long as you stick with him.
Love,
Mommy
.
In January 2012, your father and I were thrilled to find that God had blessed us with the child that we had prayed for. Later in April we were equally thrilled to learn that you were a precious girl. Upon discovering that you were a girl, your father and I began the daunting task of choosing your name. The name, in our minds, had to be perfect. After all, you were a long-awaited gift. We knew that we wanted the name to have Biblical meaning as well as a tie to French origins, to represent your father's Cajun heritage. Narrowing the name down by the two criteria, Biblical meaning and French origins, seems like it would help, and it did give us a good start, but we still knew that we needed a few more specifics to choose the perfect name for you. For the other specifics, I really wanted to make sure that you had a timeless name that would not fade with the days' trends and only represent one generation. Now here we were, we had decided: French origin, Biblical meaning, and timeless sound. The last thing that we decided that was essential for choosing the perfect name for you was that your nickname could be nothing less than adorable. And, of course, your name had to flow. With all that said, your chosen name is Camille Isabella, which, to us, represents the Cajun heritage, Biblical standards, timeless sound, and Camilly, Camille Bella, and Bella are the cutest nicknames around!
I firmly believe that what you are called represents a part of who you will become. There are several times in the Bible where the Lord changed a persons name to represent a positive change in their life. So your names represent the characteristics that I pray that you will live out. Camille means "unblemished character" and I pray that all the days of your life that you strive for excellence but stay humble enough to realize that you need God each and every day. The name Isabella means "devoted to God" which matches my desire for you to realize that you need God each and every day. I believe with all my heart that God has an amazing plan for your life and will use you in mighty ways as long as you stick with him.
Love,
Mommy
.
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