I want to be a model

I want to be a model. No, not that kind of model. I'm barely 5'1", and I'm pretty sure I weigh more than most of those girls on the runways. OK, let's be honest, I'd be surprised if I don't beat all of them by at least 10 or 15 lbs. I want to be a different kind of model.

I have a 4 year old daughter who is very into the princesses and all that goes with them. She loves the dresses and the stories. I don't blame her. I did too at her age. Who am I kidding? I still love it. Recently, I was confronted by a different influence in my daughter's life - her older cousins.

My 14 year-old niece recently went to her 8th grade dance at school. Let me tell you, it's a lot different than it was for me at that age. I wore shorts to my 8th grade dance, and there wasn't a whole lot of dancing that I recall. We pretty much stood around and stared at one another. My niece, on the other hand, was dressed in a formal dress, had her hair done professionally and danced the night away.

Of course, this sparked my daughter's interest, and she immediately began talking of her 8th grade dance. It was hard to explain to her that we don't agree with all of that. Besides, we are homeschooling her, so her 8th grade dance would have a really small number of people in attendance.

In the eyes of many in society we are weird. We're weird, and we embrace our oddity as a family. We are homeschooling. We don't believe in dating - courtship is much more biblical in our opinion. We are holy rollers. The list goes on and on.

The point is: I want to be a model for my daughter. I want her to see the kind of life we live and have her improve upon it. Our kids are bombarded with images and ideas at school, in the media, and even in our extended families that don't line up with our principles and beliefs.

So, we made up our minds when my daughter was born that we were okay with being "weird," "different" or however you want to describe us. We are going to live our lives seeking to do God's will and hearing His voice over and above all the noise.

I suppose that what it all boils down to is that we need God to be the primary influence in our kids' lives. That mostly happens through our influence as parents and through the influences we allow in their little worlds. It is my job as a parent to shield her from negative influences when I can, explain God's way when I can't shield her and pray always!

I want to be a model. So, I'm not going to have head shots done, lose 20 pounds (although 10 would be nice) or start trying on couture clothing. I am going to drown out all the noise with His words and influence so when I stand before Him, I won't have to worry about singe marks from all the wood, hay and straw that is burned (I Corinthians 3:12-15).

Blessings!