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Entryway Coat Rack with Shelf

Entryway Coat Rack with Shelf

Customizable to suit your home, this Brown & Co. Original Entryway Coat Rack has a place for all of your entryway necessities and will help keep your busy household stylishly organized. Our handcrafted shelved and hook, entryway coat rack is an excellent entryway solution. Perfect for your entryway whether it be a mudroom, kitchen or front floorer!

This large custom built wall mounted shelving…

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Product Coming Soon!

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Shop

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Share Her Story

I was recently asked to write an article for Share Her Story.  This is a website that was created by a group of incredible women, to express through the extraordinary stories of regular women, how incredibly loved and valued they are.  Please take time to go check out my latest piece, “Overriding My Passion.”  Also, check out and like the new Facebook pagefor Straighten My Crown!  I look forward…

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Share Her Story

I was recently asked to write an article for Share Her Story.  This is a website that was created by a group of incredible women, to express through the extraordinary stories of regular women, how incredibly loved and valued they are.  Please take time to go check out my latest piece, “Overriding My Passion.”  Also, check out and like the new Facebook page for Straighten My Crown!  I look forward to discussing it!  Love you guys!

Share Her Story was originally published on

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Follow The Leader

In studying Paul’s Prison Epistles, the one concept that impacted me the most was actually something I had heard multiple times, but had never grasped the magnitude of it.  In one of the articles I used in my research, the author lists “7 Principles to Lead as Jesus Led”.  Seeing this title, I immediately thought, “oh, this is for me!”  He pulled from examples throughout the New Testament for each principle.  But the one principle that captivated me the most and quite frankly took my breath away, was his first principle listed.  “Jesus humbled himself and allowed God to exalt him.”  That one statement, though simply put, holds so much extraordinary power behind it.  Then he followed with an explanation from Philippians 2:5-11, and reading both the ESV and Message version, I continued to be blown away at this thought.

The Message version of the Bible challenges us to “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.”  Think about that for a second.  Is that something we can even begin to comprehend?  To be honest, I think some of us are narcissistic enough to think we could grasp the depth of that challenge.  It goes on to simply explain “He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all.”  Ok, so lets break that down.  Here we have the SON OF GOD…the Son of the most illimitable, unfathomable, immeasurable, incomprehensible, incorruptible and immaculate GOD.  He is equal to God…one with God and Jesus does not use that to His advantage.  Can we��honestly say, we wouldn’t?  Go ahead, put yourself in His position for a minute.  Here, I tell you what, I will go ahead and put myself out there….I can’t even begin to imagine myself in that position.  I will be real, I cannot even begin to grasp that level of humility that Jesus took on, therefore I honestly don’t think I wouldn’t use it to my advantage.  

  As I have mentioned before, the past (now) two years have been a very long and difficult journey of vulnerability, humility, and down right getting real with God and others.  It was not something I just decided to do, God squeezed it out of me.  I will say on my behalf, I had to be willing.  I had to get to the end of me.  Even still, I have had to continue to practice dying to myself on a daily basis.  I realized real quick it was going to get messy whether I fought it or not, why not do some healing and gain some freedom in the process.  The thing that blows my mind is, Jesus knew who He was.  He also knew what His purpose and calling was.  Yet the perfection in His willingness to humble Himself and be obedient, was unwavering.

  The amazing Word goes on to say, “When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.  Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.”  Jesus followed His Father’s will rather than seeking out approval of man or a position.  For Jesus to know He had equal status to God, and for Him to not take advantage of His status, setting His privileges of deity aside and taking on human form, then becoming a slave, boggled my mind more so than it had before. This concept, that He humbled Himself to live and die in the most perfectly, obedient and selfless way, serving others His entire life, shatters any concept of perfect humanity.  We, as humans try so hard to maintain Christ consciousness; to be obedient and selfless day to day, yet in the midst of turmoil and persecution, He did it so perfectly and willingly. He saw greatness in humbly serving.

  Now, let me be clear, in no way am I saying that Jesus gave up His deity.  He knew Who’s He was.  In the ESV version verse 7, states that “He emptied Himself”.  Some people have interpreted this to mean that He gave up His divinity or that He was divine up to a point.  It is quite the opposite.  It meant He put the advantages of being divine aside in order that God could be in Christ in order to reconcile Himself to the world (2 Corinthians 5:19).  He did not think of being equal to God as something to take advantage of or use on His behalf.  It is not as if He would use His divine power to make His life or the process of dying on the cross, easier.  It was that He saw his equality to God as a commitment to becoming human, enduring such tribulation, and dying such an excruciating and humiliating death for us…His children.  It was symbolic of who God really is….a God of self-giving love.

  The point is this…the God who does not share His glory with anyone else, shared it with Jesus.  Because of this, Jesus, the One from all eternity was ‘equal to God’.  So Jesus’ life, from incarnation to death, cannot be looked at as if He stopped being God but as the absolute perfect display or expression of the true God.  A perfect example of a leader to follow.  In this moment, God revealed the blueprint to His original plan for our interpretation of Him and His love for us.

Which brings me to my final point…

You want to understand God’s love for you and how He sees you?  God created you, knowing the plan…the calling He had for you.  Even in the ugly moments, He saw your purpose, who you were.  He did not measure His love for you by those moments, He still looked at you and saw purpose….His purpose.  He knew/knows your potential and is constantly presenting you with opportunities to step into them.  Your goal is to see everyone, including ourselves from His perspective….from this perspective….a heavenly perspective, which is only revealed through the very nature and heart of God.

So every time He looks at you, He sees not just purpose but His purpose.  He always see the positive in you.  This is how we have to choose to look at ourselves if we want heavenly perspective.  This is who we are….Who’s we are!  Does that make sense?  In other words, that moment of simultaneously creating you and your purpose for the Kingdom, He defined you!

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I'm The Stupid Mom

I find it so appropriate that this picture came up in my Facebook memory feed this week.  It is hard to believe that this was so many years ago.  He was so little.  This was a moment in my single mom days (which were some of the most difficult days and years of my life) where my little Calvin was not sharing.  I took the opportunity to guide and instruct my child. I wanted to give him the tools and techniques to appropriately and lovingly deal with the situation.  Even in that time, (of being so far from God) my parents had instilled in me such a godly foundation, I remember instructing him according to the Word.  It was not perfectly according to the Word but I mustered up whatever instruction I could recall my parents giving me in my time of not sharing as a child.  I look back on that time now, and I am so very thankful that even in my time of pushing Him away, God supplied wisdom.  He dug into the depths of me and pulled out the tools and techniques parents put in me.  

The past three days, I have been working very hard on sewing my first dress from a pattern I purchased. What I had envisioned and what I created where nowhere near the same.  I had envisioned finishing the last stitch and holding up to see something similar to what my master seamstress of a mother had created. It was not.  My disappointment was overwhelming.  Because I knew the techniques for sewing pillows, clutch purses, hand bags and other things, I thought I could sew a dress. In that moment, I would have given anything to pick up the phone and call her to receive her guidance and direction on where I had gone wrong with the pattern. I would have asked what techniques and tools I was missing.  But I couldn’t.  There is a strong chance she would not have the answer now, let alone know who I am.  

There was a time when my mom sewed almost every dress I wore as a child.  They were beautiful.  She made dresses for all five of her girls.  Nine times out of ten at least two out of the five of us matched or wore the same dresses. For my sister’s wedding, she made her beautiful wedding dress with amazingly insane bead detail, in addition to some of the difficult bridesmaids dresses.  Then in the same summer, she made around 4 more bridesmaids dresses for my other sister’s wedding.  She was an amazing seamstress.

  Although my mom is not physically gone, there is a part of me that has begun mourning her. As I watch this horrible disease (Alzheimers) take over the mind of my amazingly creative and wise Momma, it has brought me to some realizations I wish I would have reached earlier on in life.  I have always said, I have no regrets because all the extremely difficult things that I have walked out have built character and brought me running back to the arms of my amazing and loving God.  Although today, as hard as this is for me to admit, I have realized I do have one regret.  That regret is not savoring every moment, every word, every bit of guidance, correction and instruction from my parents. There were times when I thought my parents were being foolish and stupid to the ways of the world.  I thought because my parents tried to instruct me in a godly manner with a foundation in the Word of God, that they did not know the things I was facing in my life and the world.  There were times when I thought I did not need the tools and techniques they were trying to give me. Oh, what I would give to call my mom and dad to just talk, just to get their input and guidance.  Now that I am in seminary, I would give anything just to call my dad to discuss and dissect the Word of God, family, and life, like he tried so many times to do with me and I just did not care enough.  Now that I am married to the most amazing man on the planet, what I would give to receive my mom’s guidance and instruction on how to be the amazingly wise and godly wife like she was.  If I called her today, I would have to remind her of who I was time and time again before even getting a question.  I would have to reassure her that it was ok that she didn’t know I was her daughter.  I would have to tell her where I live at the very least 15 times in the conversation, before ever asking her advice.  Then once we would establish who I was and where I lived now, the vicious cycle would start all over again.  All the while, my heart aching to hear her wisdom, instruction or just her comforting words I know she would give if she had control of her mind and memory.

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.  Proverbs 19:20-21 

As difficult as this season is, there is an amazing and incredible aspect about all of this.  TIMING.  The timing of all of this is amazing to me.  It’s how God knew when I would need these tools and techniques in my parenthood and wifehood. To paraphrase my brother-in-law (from a discussion we were having about parenting to a teenage (almost adult) who is not receiving direction from me well), “You are entering season of being the ‘stupid parents.”  At first I was taken back by that statement.  I had to go home think about it and process it. He was right, we are. As much as I don’t want to admit it, we are in the season of being “the stupid parents.”  I am the stupid mom this season.  My son…the same one in that picture, is now 17 years old.  He will graduate this year, hopefully early.  Since we have made the huge shift of moving to a total different state, he has struggled in receiving the instruction, guidance, tools and technique I have tried to give him.  He has been blessed with some amazing opportunities here that most 17 years, not to mention most adults, would never get the opportunity to do.  He has wanted to make this transition on his own and in his own way and as much as I would want to give him the freedom, he is not quite ready.  I feel such an urgency to squeeze the last bit of knowledge I have for him before he goes into the world.  Of course as a parent, I want to pass on what I did retain from my parents and spare him the pain of what I had to learn on my own, the difficult way.

  This morning before he headed to his awesome new job, I sat down with him and explained “the dress” to him.  I explained how even at the age of 39 year old, I thought I had the tools and techniques I needed to make the dress and to make it with excellence.  But I had to admit to him, I did not.  I had to admit to him that I did not listen to my mom the multiple times she tried to show me the techniques of sewing clothing. I thought since I had sewn a pillow, I knew how to sew a dress.  I pointed out, yes, I know how to sew but sewing a dress is not the same as sewing a hand bag.  I may not have had to ask my mom for direction on how to sew a pillow or a hand bag and I may have figured out on my own, with the tools I did take from her instruction, but there was more to her instruction that I missed.  If I would have listened to the whole instruction.  If I would have received all that she had for me, maybe I would not have waisted the material, the thread or my time and efforts.  Maybe I would have the technique I needed to sew the dress well.

  This “stupid” dress I sewed, allowed this “stupid” parent the opportunity to ask her son to find a balance in receiving my guidance, my instruction and my words, so that as his mother I might spare him from the some of the regret and remorse that might come from time and effort waisted.  In that brief opportunity, I looked up at him, through my tears and he saw my pain, he saw my urgency, he understood what I was trying to say.   He stopped me and said with a sweet voice “I am trying to find that balance mom.  I love you.”

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:14-17

Just as I have with parenting him, I put my heart and soul into this “stupid” dress and it may not have turned out like I thought it would but I love it.  Just as my son is, the dress is a beautiful reminder of the tools and techniques mom made such a huge effort to engrain in me.   I guess in that sense, the dress is kind of like a metaphor for parenthood.  Just as I will continue to sew on the dress to improve it, I will continue to sew into the lives of my children.  I will watch my children go through life and praying they heard me.  Each prayer, will be a stitch into in the fabric of their life.  I will continue praying that they will take the tools and techniques this “stupid” mom has passed on to them and hold tight to the foundation I worked so hard to lay for them.  Because just as mom wanted for me, in the end, I want them to say, I have no regrets.

  I’m The Stupid Mom was originally published on

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This blog post is a pretty raw...very real part of me. Life is to short for me not to get real! Fear of man can grip us in some crazy and intense ways, even when we THINK we are strong and secure in who we are. I hope you will take time to read it and I hope that at least one part of it speaks to you. I would not trade this past season or the wisdom gained for anything. I would/will do it again in a heartbeat.

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Why Is God Punishing Me?

Why Is God Punishing Me?

We all know the story of Job, we heard it growing up in Sunday school.  Job looses everything at the hand of satan and goes through a major transformation from a trusting and faithful man of God to growing is complaining and self-righteousness.  Well in this transition, Job makes 3 complaints: 1. Why doesn’t God hear me. 2. Why is God punishing me.  3.  Why does God allow the wicked to prosper.

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Why Is God Punishing Me?

We all know the story of Job, we heard it growing up in Sunday school.  Job looses everything at the hand of satan, with God’s permission.  Job goes through a major transformation from a trusting and faithful man of God to growing in complaining and self-righteousness.  In this transition, Job makes 3 complaints: 1. Why doesn’t God hear me?, 2. Why is God punishing me?, and 3.  Why does God allow the wicked to prosper?  So lets address these complaints.

He Hears You!

First, God hears you.  Isaiah 30:19 says as soon as He hears our cries, He answers it.  We just have to listen.

God Doesn’t Bring The Bad Stuff!

Second, God does not bring the bad stuff into our lives, that’s the enemy’s doing.  In the case of Job, the enemy had to get permission to mess with him.  Satan made the point with God, that nothing bad ever happens to him. With all of Job’s wealth and blessings, of course he would fear God and be completely devoted to Him. He argued that if some real trials came Job’s way, he would curse God to His face.  God, then told the enemy to do what he will to all that Job has but do not lay finger on the man himself.  God knew this would be a test of Job’s devotion to Him.  The question was, would he turn to God for comfort and direction or turn away in blaming Him, in bitterness, self righteousness, and self pity?

The Wicked Don’t Prosper For Long!

Third, when the wicked prosper to any degree, it is short lived as stated in Job 36:5, “But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime and never know the first thing about life. Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance, always blaming others for their troubles. Living it up in sexual excesses, virility wasted, they die young.“  If we are out of His will or in disobedience to Him, then we are out of His umbrella of protection, this is when we hit the storms in our lives.  This happens because God will not control human nature. He gave us free will, He will not force our hand.  He will invite us into His affections although it is our choice to go there.

In the end, He wants us to stop asking “why?” and start asking “what?”   What does He want us to take from this experience?  How did we grow?  He is looking at the whole picture of eternity and He is not threatened when humanity steps in His way. No matter what, He has a “backup plan” to our poor decisions and He continues on, in His original plan.  In the end, it will all work to His glory and our amazing story because  He is sovereign.

Why Is God Punishing Me? was originally published on

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Do You Have Plans?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Do you have plans for your life?  Are you making the plans or is God?  God has plans for you regardless of what you think is supposed to happen.  Discovering what God has for you, requires some serious transition and this is not quick, seamless, or easy.  Sometimes it is the most intense pain you have ever felt.   Often we get so caught up in the pain, that we do not even notice the process, or what it is that God is trying to squeeze out of us.  During birth, a mother has contractions and birth pains which prepares her for that last transition and then birth.  There is a process.

Have hope!  Keep your eyes fixed on Him, and don’t compare your story with the story of others.   The game of comparison of someone else’s transition can be grounds for trouble and distract you from your purpose.  This is your story, your book, your chapter, unique to you!  That is how the Author intended it!

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may do according to all that is written in it.  For then, you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.  Joshua 1:8

Drown yourself in the Word.  The degree to which you’re in tune with the Holy Spirit is the degree to which a transition is going to be measured.  It’s when you are not willing to grow or change that things get even more tough.  When you care about the bigger, future picture, and it’s purpose…..the transition will be worth it.

On the other hand, a No from God is a course changer.  We are His sons and daughters and God anticipates our needs and knows what is best for you.  He is our Father and Fathers sometimes say, “No,” although that no is not a rejection but it is protection.   Sometimes you will have to hear no a number of times before you get a yes from God.  Don’t get discouraged or distracted!  An open door in the middle of a tough season does not necessarily mean it is time to leave.  That “NO” you received means that He has something incredible waiting for you but remember good things don’t come easy.

I think it is normal to be hesitant or scared to transition.  Transition means change. I just don’t know many people who like change or walk through it without a bit of resistance.  Transition is such a struggle because you are in the process of inheriting what God has for you and any inheritance from God is a disinheritance from the enemy…and he doesn’t like that.

Be Encouraged

Be encouraged.  Know that God has a plan for you!  The enemy will do everything he can to discourage you, he is very sneaky. He will distort and confuse, all while trying to get us to engage with him.  Engaging with the enemy prevents us from getting into position to receive what God has for us.  He will use strongholds to separate us from God’s plan for us. In Joshua, he tells of how he was commissioned by God to complete the task began by Moses and lead the people across the Jordan and into the Promise Land.  I am sure when God spoke to Joshua he was not only overwhelmed by the presence of God, but the possibly intimidating task of filling the shoes of Moses.  I think everyone wants to believe they have a higher calling.  Sometimes our vision of that higher calling is not what God intended for us, regardless He does have a more for you.  If you listen carefully He has promises for you.  Joshua 3:7 God said to Joshua “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”  This was not only a promise of God’s presence being with Joshua in this journey and new season but God was empowering Joshua to walk into this position He had for him.  He was restoring confidence in Joshua.  This is not to be mistaken for pride.  Pride comes when you think you know who you are, confidence is knowing who you when God stands with you, when you are in Christ.

Be Obedient

Be obedient. Are you standing at the bank of the Jordan?  Walk into what He has for you, surrendering all that you have for Him.  Joshua’s transition all came down to obedience.  Our response to God is rooted in one of two things; fear or love.  When we feel the tugging of the Holy Spirit to move, how will we will respond?  Don’t think about the how but the why and what.  It is a refining process and if you will just hold on tight, the why and what will be revealed.  It is important to understand that your “YES!” is the launchpad into that next season, level or chapter of His plan for you.  In order to reach the Promise Land Joshua and the Israelites had to cross the Jordan.  Now this was during harvest time, as stated in Chapter 3 verse 15 “for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest.”  This meant the gentle Jordan was now a raging river, swelled to flood stage, which was definitely uncrossable.  Although, when obedience and faith are united they crossed the Jordan, as God held back the waters.

And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”  Joshua 3:13

Be Confident

Be confident in God and the promises He has for you.  God wants to restore confidence in you.  He wants you to believe what He has for you will far surpass anything the world could offer and He will take care of your every need.  Joshua stood before Jericho’s walls, when the Commander of the army of the Lord appeared before him.  After realizing who he was speaking to he fell to his face and asked “What does the Lord say to His servant?”  The Lord told him to take off his sandals because the place he stood was holy.  Joshua was obedient and took his sandals off.  God replaced what Joshua took off with the Armor of God. Joshua had to change his posture to receive what God had for him. We have to change our posture to receive what God has for us. God gave him the city of Jericho….he didn’t have to take it by his own might.  If we just change our posture to receive what He has for us, trusting that all He has for us is nourishing and good, we won’t have to fight our own battles.

For those of you that are saying to yourself, “what if I missed my calling?” It is never too late to regain ground on you journey to His promise for you.  As a dear friend and mentor said to me, “God stands outside of time and can redeem every moment.”  So, be encouraged, be obedient, and be confident in the plans He has for you!

Do You Have Plans? was originally published on

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In case you missed my post the other day, I started a blog. Please check it out, let me your thoughts and share! http://straightenmycrown.com/2017/01/08/i-am-so-needy/

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www.straightenmycrown.com Well this started out as a project for seminary and has turned into so much more. Please take time to check out my blog and share it.

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About My Crown

Welcome to Straighten My Crown, my name is Alice Brown.  I started this blog as a project for seminary, although it has turned into something more for me.  My hopes are to inspire, challenge and encourage you to pursue God and bask in the fullness He has for you, no matter what the season.  This is something I don’t claim to be perfect at doing but it’s something that I can say is the desire of my heart, for not only myself but for others too.  My heart is for you to see yourself the way He sees you.  “You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” ~Isaiah 62:3.

          “What worked in the wilderness, won’t work in the promise land.”

It is time to claim victory over thing(s) in your life you have been struggling with the most.  Turn them into the thing(s) you used to struggle with.  God wants us to have a story of victory.  He wants us to continually approach the throne in confidence (as He says in Hebrews 14:6), in every situation.  If we focus on the victories, even the little ones that God has given us, confidence begins to come more and more naturally.  How quickly we grasp this is up to us.  God can do 4 years of work in 4 months, 4 weeks or even 4 days.  How willing are we to allow Him to do that work?

As the second to youngest of five girls, I was pretty goofy, very creative and quite adventurous.  I spent most my time pretending, dreaming, running around the house singing at the top of my lungs, climbing trees to escape and think through life’s mysteries, imagining with my little sister or finding way to pester all my sisters, at least until they would yell for mom or dad.  Things have changed a bit but not too much.  I don’t climb trees to escape anymore…these days, being that I have three children, a husband and two Great Danes that follow me throughout the house, going to the grocery store is the best escape I seem to muster up.

  My parents were determined to give us a biblical foundation whether we were part of a church or not.  At the time, I would not have admitted it but I am so very thankful for that.  My parents were married for 47 years before my dad died.  Dad worked for the Boeing for 43 years, retiring at the age of 65.  I would say my parents truly represented commitment for me.  They taught me that when I committed to something, to give it my all and my best.  They also taught me, things may not work out as I had planned.  Mom and Dad persevered through some really good times and some very bad times.  The thing I appreciated the most, is that it really wasn’t hidden from us.  I am aware there are things we just did not know, but most of everything was a family affair.  I learned a great deal that way; one thing in particular, that human beings are not perfect and do not always have the answer.

I was introduced to Jesus at a very young age.  I fully understood the commitment I was making to him at 8 years old.  I knew I was His forever.  Even though I did not know what being significant and belonging to Him looked like…I did know there in lies the journey.

My journey of acceptance started taking off in my teenage years in the Baptist church.  Then things got rocky when I got pregnant (out of wedlock) at the age of 20, then into an abusive marriage to someone with serious substance abuse issues, to divorce, to single mom life for many years; my life has consisted of ups and downs.   The one true and consistent thing…was Him.  He stayed with me through every single step.  I am thankful for the life I have lived and I do not have one regret.  Each chapter of my life, has molded and shaped me into the woman I am now.   You are only reading a few details of a few chapters…if you keep reading, the story only gets better.  The Author is absolutely amazing!

God took the time to redeem every moment, to clean up my mess and straighten my crown.  I met an incredible man who has only encouraged me to grow and heal.  When I had my second child, I started longing to be part of a church family again.  Over time we started going to The Rock and were never the same.   I met Holy Spirit on my knees one evening and have never looked back.  Being from a Baptist background, I had never experience God on that level.  In a very short time, it was all true, there was no doubt.  The Word was true, He was undeniably real and my life was forever changed.

By the time I had my third child, it had really sunk in that it was an absolute necessity for me to find time for just God and I.  The past two years has been that journey.  It was not until recently that I came to the conclusion and complete understanding that my time with the Father may not look like what I thought.  It may not be sitting in my house of silence, with a nice cup of coffee, my journal, my Bible and a nice long hour to soak in Him as much as I want.  It is just not that season.  Right now it is a season of littles running through my living room, jumping from couch to chair to rug, dodging the hot lava or tea parties in the living room with lifeless stuffed animals, or fighting for my children to maintain self control long enough to get through a couple of hours of homeschool.  All the while trying to maintain my sanity and finish seminary, let alone some quiet time to meditate on Him and pray.

ABSOLUTE JOY!

Now that I am 40 years old and have only just in the past few years, found where my needs are truly met.   The only place I can be fulfilled, is in His presence.   There are many tables (that may temporarily fill my needs) that I am invited to sit at but He has prepared a table before me, with a smorgasbord of the things in life I need to not just survive, but live.  To live out the calling He has for me.  To live my life completely and utterly for Him.  I may be amongst my enemies but I will plant my heels where they are, take a seat and trust my most gracious Host to provide me with all that I need to feel completely satisfied…to feel significant and like I belong.

I am His daughter…the daughter of the One True King.  I am royalty and I DO wear a crown.  My crown might be crooked on days, but there is rest for me, in knowing I am His.  I find my peace and joy in that alone.  He never asked us to clean up or straighten our crown when we dine with Him.  He will handle the clean up and He will straighten my crown.

  About My Crown was originally published on