Contemplations of a Mommy "Monk"

What and who has influenced me as a woman to be a strong leader and to be where I am today ( Part I here )? When I was a young woman, I remember being a bit affronted with the image of the  Proverbs 31  wife - the Bible's example of the perfect woman, the almost impossible unattainable goal.  The trouble was, I saw her as someone who was just a little TOO perfect, too industrious (can anyone say "workaholic") and definitely too much like the 1950's conservative image of a homemaker.  I had a terrific example of motherhood in my own mom who cooked healthy meals for us, loved to be silly and celebrate with panache, made my dresses and gave me a wonderful childhood free of worries.  However, as a new mom, I felt very strongly about being labeled as "just a mom" - I didn't want motherhood to be what defined me.  I wanted to make my mark on the world and do Big things for God and I just didn't think that searching out the right food for mealtime or ke...

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a woman of influence , someone whose life, words and actions influences others. Who are those people who have influenced us as women to be strong leaders, to courageously follow God's adventurous plan for us, to lean hard on Jesus and to become women of God who stand strong for His purposes?  There were women along the way in my life who were my champions , my cheerleaders -they were women who challenged me to meet my potential; they were examples of godly womanhood who were unassuming and not even intentionally mentoring me.  I started pondering this a few months ago when I was asked who was mentoring me as part of a women's retreat conversation.  I didn't initially have a good answer to this question....But, sometimes we make mentoring and discipleship into a program that people sign up for and the truth is it's really better when it's an organic relationship and we learn from someone simply by bein...