A Faith that Speaks

Hey y’all. I am so excited to share my new blog, The Little Moments, with you. Many of you know that I have been writing for the past few years, but you may not know the “why.” I want to tell you a little more about how this came to be and share my heart for this blog with you. So, here we go.

In July 2012, I was asking the Lord to show me how He could use me and my family for His glory. One morning, while praying in the shower before work, he answered, “I want you to have another child.” I quickly said “no” and explained that He must have misunderstood the question. I wanted Him to use the family I already had. We had one daughter and one son who were almost fully independent, could see the end of daycare payments on the horizon, and honestly felt we were headed for “Easy Street” in a number of ways…or so we thought.

This back and forth went on for a few months, until I finally submitted and said, “Ok Lord, I am willing to see what happens, but you’ll have to work on Jamie because this is not in the Cooper family plan!” And a couple months later? My sweet husband said maybe we should see what happened if we tried for another baby. And a couple months after that? We found out we were expecting baby #3. She arrived in August 2014 while watching a replay of the 2013 Iron Bowl…yes, in the delivery room. (War eagle!) Life as a family of five was feeling very sweet.

Fast forward to 2016, and that baby was now a hot mess of a two-year-old who kept me not only on my toes, but on my knees even more. Keeping up with her plus my 9 and 7 year old, while trying to be the best wife, mom, housekeeper, and teacher I could be was just exhausting. The piles of laundry, muddy cleat marks across the floor, toddler tantrums, and tween eye rolls here and there were taking their toll. And I began to pray more deeply. But this time I asked, “Lord, please show me what I can learn in these frustrating everyday moments, teach me, and help me know you are here.” And He did. I began to pause more, listen more, and connect my everyday life to His Word.

As I was growing and learning more, I felt the Lord say that I needed to be sharing what He was teaching me with others. The thought of that was not only scary, but sounded ridiculous. Why would anyone care what I had to say? I knew the Lord, I loved the Lord, but I was no highly educated theologian. I didn’t know what to think. But then I read these:

“But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the Psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”…And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:13,15

“We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s good news, but our own lives too.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

I had the answer I had been praying for years before, and I knew what I had to do.

Paul said he believed in God, so he spoke. He kept preaching so that as more people learned of God’s grace, God would receive more and more glory…and that’s what we’re here for y’all. To bring glory to God.

But Paul didn’t only share the Good News. He loved people so much, that he shared his life as well. I am nothing special. But my heart longs for you to see my real life. Not the social media version. And I pray that in sharing my struggles, you will be encouraged to seek the Lord in your little moments and share what you are learning too.

I believe in God, I have experienced His grace, and I want Him to receive all the glory, so I share. I pray we will all be bold enough to have a faith that speaks. It may only be to our own husband and children, a small Bible Study, or a group of friends, but every person we share with is one more than there was before. Encourage each other, lift each other up, and share what the Lord is teaching you in your little moments. He is always right there.

*Subscribe at the bottom of the home page and receive a FREE 3-Day Devotional! I am hoping to have some guest bloggers and will be sharing links to a number of new sites I will be contributing to as well. To everyone who has encouraged me to keep sharing, thank you so very much!