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Entries in Morgan Farr (7)

Tuesday

Feb072017

Love Notes

In this Valentine's Day and Parenting UPGRADE, Morgan Farr—a mom with young children who transitioned from feminism to biblical womanhood—encourages parents to share the true Source of love with their children through "love notes."

"Each day I strive to instill a good work ethic, teach self discipline, and most importantly, demonstrate godly character to my sons," Morgan says, "but it isn't always easy."

Like Morgan, I (Dawn) have two sons. I remember those challenging days when I wondered whether anything I taught and modeled was "getting through" to them. But I'm sure of one thing: they knew they were loved.

Morgan continues . . .

This Valentine's Day, I want my sons to learn more than just paper hearts and candy.

This year, I will write three love notes for my sons to read when they are older. These notes will help them to see what real love truly is as they deepen their understand the perfect love of God.

Today I want to share these notes with you.

First and most importantly, I want my boys to know that the Creator of the universe made them by hand.

"For you created my in most being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13).

Long before I knew my boys where there, God knew. He formed each and every part of them, to His exact specifications.

Second, I want my boys to know that it is alright for them to stand strong.

"Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the works of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Many things in this world will try to pull them away from the work of God. Many things from this world will try to undercut and downplay their role as men of God.

I want them to know that they can stand firm in His unwavering love.

Third, I want my boys to know that once they accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are reborn with a commission—a great one, in fact.

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fatger, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Christ has a calling for each of my son's lives. They may not have a garage gym ministry like my husband and I do. They may be mechanics, professors, senators or translators.

Whatever it is that they do on this earth, I want them to remember the real work to be done for the kingdom of God.

Charles Swindoll wrote:

"Each day of our lives, we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."

These love notes are the deposits I am focusing on this month.

What love notes will you focus on with your family?

Morgan Farr is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with her wonderful husband Brian and their two sons. She is a homemaker who dedicates her free time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one interactions and physical training. Morgan writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog. You can find her training programs on her blog, FarrFunctionalFitness.blogspot.com.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 7:16AM

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Monday

Jul182016

God's Road Map for Woman

Dawn Wilson

Morgan Farr is a young mom with many talents, but I'm most impressed with how she grew into a fresh understanding of womanhood—and how she shares it with others. In this Biblical Womanhood UPGRADE, she invites us to think carefully about who we are.

"Navigating the societal expectations for women can seem a lot like tightrope walking. One wrong step and you’re done," Morgan says. "Thankfully God laid out a road map for us long before we knew we needed it."

I (Dawn) appreciate this strong perspective, but I know this is also true: sometimes we're not willing to "see" and study the map because we don't like the destination. I'm grateful for Morgan's biblical stance.

Morgan continues . . .

Anything involving women, let alone biblical womanhood, is a touchy subject in today’s world.

Feminism and its proponents shriek about equality and how oppressed everyone is, while simultaneously trying to force us to believe and follow their mantra.

I read recently about a college that now recognizes 23 different gender identities, so that no one feels left out. Apparently calling someone female who doesn’t feel female is oppressing. If we do that, we are trying to keep her down.

Back when I was in college there were only two; male and female. And I believe that—despite what media may tell us—that is still true.

Even a quick glance through the Bible will show you the following three things.

1) We were made male and female, in the image of God.

The reality is, “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). When He created each one of us, He knew exactly what He was doing.

There is no third, fourth, or fifth sex. There is male and female, period.

2) Not all women are called to do the same things.

We live in a world that celebrates androgyny. Little girls can’t play with dolls and tea set while little boys can not play with trucks and toys guns or we are forcing gender stereotypes on them.

Let me tell you from experience: even if you gave a little boy a doll, he will turn it into a “gun”. Boys are hardwired to provide and protect. Girls are hardwired to love and nurture.

This doesn’t mean women need to be "barefoot and pregnant" in the kitchen all their lives. God does call some women to extraordinary things. Look at Deborah in the Bible. Her story is awesome! But we are not all called to be Deborahs. Some of us are called to be a Mary, Anna or Ruth. And that is ok.

As long as each woman is closely seeking after God’s heart her purpose in life will become clear. That may mean running a Fortune 500 company. That may mean serving your family in love daily. That is between each woman and God.

3) Women are not second-class citizens.

Women are not to be ashamed of being female. We were designed specifically by God to be the helpmate of man.

We live in a fallen world, and as such, people sin. Throughout history women have not been treated as equals—not because God is mean, but because man sins. The Bible is very clear that men are to “love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). He designed us for His glory.

We are the exact match to man’s job of glorifying God. While man does it through sacrifice, we do it through submission.

Christ submitted to His Father and died on the cross for our sins. Both are necessary to show the true magnitude of Christ’s death for our sins, a debt we could never have paid on our own.

Don’t give up on being the woman that God has called you to be. Stand firm in your faith and fulfil the role that God made you for, whatever that may be.

How can you better follow God's road map for women today?

Morgan Farr is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with her wonderful husband Brian and their sons, William and Henry. Morgan is a homemaker who dedicates her free time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one interactions and physical training. She writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog, The Forgiven Former Feminist. You can find her thoughts on fitness, C-Section recovery, and training programs on her other blog, Farr Functional Fitness.

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Monday, July 18, 2016 at 9:30PM

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Tuesday

Feb092016

Add Some Color to Your Quiet Time

Dawn Wilson

Morgan Farr is a strong woman both physically and spiritually, yet she struggled with Quiet Time. In this Spiritual Life UPGRADE, she shares how she overcame her frustration.

Morgan asks, "Have you ever just dreaded doing your quiet time? Does it feel like doing what you are supposed to do, but it just doesn’t feel personal?"

Yes, that's a problem I (Dawn) have encountered many times, and God gave me a solution almost identical to what Morgan is going to share here!

Morgan continues . . .

Quiet time is one of those Christian phrases that can be overwhelming to new believers. As someone that didn’t have a relationship with Jesus until my 20s I can tell you, I used to be so very frustrated with "quiet time."

I tried everything that people suggested to be diligent in reading my Bible and none of it fit.

A few things I have tried:

Reading just my Bible
Reading my Bible with with a Bible commentary
Reading my Bible with a concordance
Reading my Bible and taking detailed, organized notes
Following a Bible-reading plan
Reading through the Bible in a year

None of it really stuck and that made me feel like the worst Christian ever.

I mean, really, what kind of Christian dreads quiet time?

Finally, one of my mentors suggested that I think about what makes me … ME.

After really thinking about it, I realized I like the academic side of studying the Bible. I love to study, but that isn’t enough. A quiet time is so much more than just studying. Quiet time is your time to communicate with God.

So how would I have a quiet time and personalize it between just God and me? He is the creator of the universe.

When it hit me that the Creator of the universe loves me and wants a relationship with me, that changed everything.

The Artist of the universe, the Creator of color wants a relationship with me! So why can’t I add color in my quiet time?

I am that person who loves nothing more than a brand new pack of crayola markers, so using color in my quiet time just seemed natural.

But how do you do it?

I am sure many of you have heard of Bible journaling. If you google it—or check it out on Pinterest—you will find all kinds of really awesome examples. They are beautiful and delicate.

I tried my hand at it. But honestly it was a little much for me. I didn’t want to make a mistake in my Bible. I am an absolute perfectionist and the idea of illustrating in my Bible made me very nervous. I was unable to actually do my quiet time.

Since Bible journaling was too much, I had to come up with something else.

In lieu of creating an actual drawing in my Bible, I use a system of color-coded symbols to mark the text of my Bible. I gathered up the symbols from around the internet, and the colors were based off of my associations with each group.

What does my Bible marking key look like?

Purple is God’s "team members" (Father, Son, Holy Spirit...)

Red is the cost of our salvation (blood, cross, sacrifice...)

Orange is sin. because it makes me think of traffic warnings (lust, cursed, suffering...)

Brown is all the things with earth (nation, land, home...)

Blue is the things we give back to God (prayer, repentance, believe...)

Green is the things God does for us (grace, bless, forgiveness...)

Pink is for family interaction (family, marriage, child...)

Using this system has made me so much more willing to do my quiet time! I like being able to look back at a text and see if it was more about the cost of our salvation or the gifts that God has given us.

I also like that it doesn’t take forever to complete my daily reading using this method. Having a one-year-old, writing a blog and running a full-time, functional fitness gym ministry doesn’t leave a lot of down time.

That means I have to be even more diligent about utilizing my quiet time with God to the best of my abilities. In Colossians 3:17, we read,

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

I am so grateful that God made me just the way He wanted to, with a love of Him and the color He created.

Does this sound like a system you might use? Do you use a different kind of coding in your Quiet Time?

Morgan Farr is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with her wonderful husband Brian and their seven-month-old son, William. She is a homemaker who dedicates her free time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one interactions and physical training. Morgan writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog. You can find her training programs on her blog, FarrFunctionalFitness.blogspot.com.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2016 at 8:51AM

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Thursday

Dec102015

Upgrading Your 'Pinterest Perfect' Christmas Season

Dawn Wilson

Morgan Farr is a young, highly-motivated wife and mom and her passion to help women build physical, emotional and spiritual strength makes me smile. In this unique Christmas UPGRADE, Morgan shares a personal story that changed her perspective.

Morgan says, "As a new mom and a recovering perfectionist, I was in search of a 'Pinterest perfect' Christmas season until God reminded me of what really matters."

I (Dawn) have felt that pressure to be "perfect" at Christmas. Haven't you? That pressure does not make for peace! Thank the Lord, there's a better way.

Morgan continues . . .

Normally, Christmas is a beautiful time. The music, the juxtaposition of the red and green—it just gives a warm and delicious feeling.

This time last year was an especially beautiful time of the year for me because our first son, William, was born. It was such a sweet and lovely time.

But this year is a little different. I recently learned:

God will humble us exactly where we need it—even during the holiday seasons.

Let me set the stage for you. I am currently 20 weeks pregnant with our second son, Henry, and I have been experiencing some morning sickness.

Recently, I was getting ready for my group of ladies to come to my home for Bible study and some holiday festivities.

Now, I should clarify that I like for my home to be spotless when the ladies arrive. I color coordinate for the season we are in, I have coffee and tea available, and I always have some kind of little snack for the ladies as well.

On this particular morning, my son needed a diaper change. As I changed him, I got hit with a horrible bout of morning sickness. I left my son clean but naked on the floor as I ran to the sink to be sick.

I didn’t quite make it.

Instead I was sick on my son, on the floor, on part of the wall and the snacks that I made for my ladies.

My son proceeded to play in the mess, and then grab onto my leg with his dirty little hand. So my outfit was ruined, the snacks were ruined, and my son was crawling around the house naked smearing vomit on the floor. My husband came downstairs to help and all I could get out was a strained, “catch the baby!”

My friends were so understanding when they arrived, yet I was irritated I had ruined our holiday festivities. And that is when God humbled me. He used this gross little episode to teach me what is important in the holiday season. Yes, God used morning sickness and a toddler to teach me the meaning of Christmas.

This is what I learned:

1) We have to recognize that it is all about Jesus.

The Christmas season isn’t about the wrapping paper. It doesn’t matter that I have a beautiful centerpiece on my table if I let people leave our Christmas party without the knowledge that Jesus is their Savior. Without Him, they are bound for hell (Matthew 25:46).

The Christmas story isn’t awesome because of the story itself, but rather for the story that follows 33 years later when that little baby grew up and died on the cross for us.

2) We have to recognize that it can’t be perfect.

Until we are reunited with God in heaven, nothing here can be perfect.

Jesus was born in a manger, and it's not the pretty scenes you see in yards during the holiday season. He spent his first two years in Egypt hiding from Herod who wanted to kill him. Not pretty.

No amount of red, green, and gold at the holiday season will cover up the reality that we live in a world of sin, and this world is temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18).

3) We have to recognize that God loves us anyway.

God doesn’t love us because we are perfect. The fact is, we aren’t.

God loves us because of what His one and only Son did for us (Galatians 1:4). When Christ died and rose from the dead, He defeated Satan and his evil plans for the world. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been invited into the Kingdom as a child of God.

Oh, how much He loves us!

God used a toddler, morning sickness and a Bible study to remind me of the point of this holiday season.

What about you? What things do you need to let go of to keep focused on Jesus during this holiday season?

Morgan Farr is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with her wonderful husband Brian. They currently have two children, one-year-old William, and Henry, who they will welcome in April. Morgan is a homemaker who dedicates her free time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one interactions and physical training. She writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog, The Forgiven Former Feminist. You can find her thoughts on fitness, health and training programs on her other blog, Farr Functional Fitness.

Graphic adapted from a photo at Pixabay.

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Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 9:06AM

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Tuesday

Jul282015

Upgrade Your Fitness - at Home!

Dawn Wilson

Morgan Farr is a young mom with an adorable little boy who is passionate about physical fitness. In this Health & Fitness UPGRADE she shares how to get more fit at home.

“How can I get fit and healthy," Morgan says, "if I can’t afford a gym membership or a personal trainer? I hear this question ALL the time."

OK, I (Dawn) have to admit I've used this excuse and others, but Morgan isn't about to let me (or you) get away with it.

Morgan continues . . .

It is hard in the regular world much less in the Army world for moms to get away long enough to work out at the gym. But I am here to tell you that it can be done and without spending a ton of money!

We all know that fitness an important part of life. If you don’t take care of the temple that God has given you, you can’t work as efficiently for His kingdom. This is even more important when you are a wife and mom, because you have people depending on you every single day.

I have heard a lot of excuses as to why people can’t work out, and the most common one is that they can’t get to the gym. But the thing is, you don’t have to go to the gym to work out.

You can do it from home.

You don’t need fancy equipment.

All you need is:

1 car tow strap
1 medium carabiner
1 eyebolt
1 duffel bag (I like the ones from Army surplus stores because they are usually very cheap.)
1 40-pound bag of salt pellet
1 old car tire (I use the old ones from my car when I get them replaced.)

That is it. That is all you need to effectively work out at home.

You will now use these six supplies to make two pieces of equipment.

1. Making a sandbag

Take the sandbag and dump in 10 pounds of the salt. I typically put it inside two trash bags just to keep things tidy.

Tie off the top, securely. A ponytail holder or two works great!

Save the remaining salt, you will need it in the months to come.

2. Making a sled:

Drill a hole in the side of the tire for the eyebolt. You want the round part on the outside portion of the tire.

When you have the eyebolt secured, use the carabiner to hook the car tow strap to the tire.

So now you have a ten pound sandbag and a tire sled.

Here are a list of the things you can do with this new equipment: overhead press, seated press, alternating press, back squat, sumo squat, overhead squat, farmer carries, weighted lunges, sandbag get ups, unweighted tire drags, weighted tire drags, unweighted hand over hand tire pulls, weighted hand over hand tire pulls.

And those are just the movement with those two pieces of equipment!

That doesn’t include bodyweight movements like: air squats, sit ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, split squats, sumo squats, crunches, and burpees.

When you mix and match these things together you get an incredibly varied workout. Your own creativity is your only limitation! If you don’t know how to program your workout and you need a little help you can always look up workouts online.

My husband and I publish “travel” workouts for the fitness community to use at any time. These workouts are designed to be done with a sandbag and a tire sled or no equipment at all.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 says,

“Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

Don’t disqualify yourself. Get in the race. Start where you are, and work to get better.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what workout program you follow. It matters that you are out there working on your body, making yourself more fit for God to use you in any capacity.

How will you start to build up your body for Christ?

Morgan Farr is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina with her wonderful husband Brian and their seven month old son, William. She is a homemaker that dedicates her free time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one interactions and physical training. Morgan writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog. You can find her training programs on her blog FarrFunctionalFitness.blogspot.com.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 9:00AM

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