Fall Beautiful Servants

Several months ago, God placed on my heart the desire to create a blog award of sorts for posts that show a servant’s heart. Not merely a heart for serving others, although that is what we are called to do as well, but a heart that first and foremost chooses to serve God and surrender its will unto His.

The award is seasonally presented to two recipients and designed to encourage bloggers. At this time, it is only me who has the daunting task of choosing to whom to bestow the award, but I am praying about forming a committee to help me choose.

This season, there were many posts that got my attention. But two posts, two very different posts contained such unbridled honesty and love that I was reduced to tears.

The recipients of the Fall 2008 Beautiful Servant Award presented by Becoming Me are:

Julie from Jewlz Sightings for the post Rebel with a Cause

Julie’s blog has been mentoring me for nearly a year. All her posts are written honestly…some are even gritty. In Rebel with a Cause, she writes about how truly following Christ is not legalistic…and that’s a hard concept for a recovering perfectionist to understand.

And

Brent and Michelle Riggs from …Where the Laughter Lives for the post, Nope, Not Faking.

This beautiful blog about an extraordinary family is new to my reading list. In the post, Nope, Not Faking, Brent writes about the struggles the family is facing as their three-year-old adopted daughter, Abby, fights cancer.

Nope, Not Faking is a beautiful example of a surrendered heart.

I do hope you are able to take some time and read both these posts and others written by Julie and Michelle and Brent and that you also will add Abby to your prayer lists.

And a quick note to Brent, Michelle, and Julie—You are welcome to take the Beautiful Servant button for your blog. You can link it to this post or Becoming Me’s home page. However, please know that this is not a requirement. This award is not about helping me get more hits. It’s about thanking and encouraging those who inspire me.

Click here to read more about the guidelines for this award. Also, please know that this is not a pass-it-on award, but you can nominate sites for consideration. The next awards will be given in January.

Beautiful Servants

When I launched Becoming Me in February of this year, I thought it would be a nice way to serve the Lord and hone my writing skills. I knew very little about the blogging community and expected discussions, but not friendships. I didn’t think that I would get down on my knees while sobbing ask my Father to heal the heart of someone I have only met through her writing. Yet, I do so often. The Church, as the body of Christ, appears larger to me than ever before; and almost every day through this blog, I meet a new sister or brother.

My purpose in creating the “Beautiful Servant Award” is to honor those who share their lives with others with the intent to bring more glory to the throne of God. You can read more about that here.

The first two recipients of this award are two women who have experienced agonizing loss, yet with trembling limbs, aching souls, and throats parched from days full of crying, they lift praise to the King of Kings. Jesus is their hope. They cling to Him…to His truth, His love, His unfailing mercy, and they press on. That is beauty. And their beauty has inspired me and many others. Without further ado, the summer 2008 recipients of Becoming Me’s Beautiful Servant Award are:

Angie from Bring the Rain for her post The Past and the Pitcher. Angie is the mother of four precious little girls. Her youngest daughter, Audrey Caroline, was escorted to the arms of Jesus several hours after her birth. In her story The Past and the Pitcher, Angie shares a message of beauty found amidst brokenness. It is a true story of hope and a testimony of God's healing grace.

Wendi from Every Day Miracles for her post The Innocence of a Child – The Voice of Truth. Angie’s sweet Audrey Caroline has a friend in Heaven by the name of J.D., he is Wendi’s first born son who lived on this earth for 10 days. His twin brother K and his two younger brothers are darling little guys who fill their Mommy’s heart with love. Recently, Wendi and her husband experienced loss through miscarriage. During an especially tough moment, God worked through her young son Jay to saturate Wendi with His love.

If you have not already, I do hope you will have the opportunity to get to know these beautiful women and read their stories. They are stories of hearts surrendered to the glorious will of God. They are indeed beautiful servants.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:10-13

The Beautiful Servant Award

Beauty. It permeates every crease of life. Each season showcases God’s artistry: winter’s delicate crystals of snow, spring’s fragrant blossoms, summer’s golden hues, and autumn’s palate of colors decorate our world. And those are things. Even greater beauty can be uncovered in our Father’s most intricate handiwork, the human being. Stunning, unblemished splendor radiates through the uninhibited enthusiasm of a child, the daughter sitting vigil at her father’s bedside, the glow of the groom’s smile as he first sees his bride walking toward him, and the mother shedding a tear of overwhelming bliss as she embraces her newborn.

Too often, the ugly messes in life get our attention, but it is the beauty which deserves our gaze. There is nothing more beautiful than a heart surrendered to serve the Lord. And to honor those hearts, Becoming Me has created the Beautiful Servant Award. This award will be given to blog posts that demonstrate a beautiful heart surrendered to the will of the Lord.

Award Guidelines

To ensure the integrity of this award, I have created a few guidelines.

• The Beautiful Servant Award is only to be presented by Becoming Me. It is not a “Pass it on” award. However, please feel free to e-mail me any links you’d like me to consider.
• This is a blogging award so it it only for bloggers.
  
• The same person cannot win more than once a year.
• There will be one award given twice each quarter.
• In addition to the button, each recipient will be featured on Becoming Me.
• There are no requirements to receive this award other than a post that exemplifies surrendering one’s own will to God's.
• Nothing in return is expected. This award is intended to honor the work God is doing in someone’s life and not to bring attention to or glorify Becoming Me. If you win the award and choose to post it on your blog and link to Becoming Me, I think that is fabulous. If you chose not to do so, that is absolutely fine as well.