Today I am writing this and putting my name on it, but in the future all of the Cowgirl Conversations will be anonymous... so that #1, God Gets ALL of the Glory, and #2 this is a safe place for all Cowgirls to come, share, and put on their armor of God... so here it is... The story behind Cowgirl Armor...
... Cowgirl Armor is a faith-based vision birthed from my own struggles with fear and insecurity as a young girl, wife, daughter, woman, and competitor. With God and through scripture I am learning daily to seek Him first (Mathew 6:33), to put on the the armor of God (Ephesians 6), and to confront fear (Joshua 1:9), but most of all to open up about my struggles, and share real life stories with others that may face similar battles. Cowgirl Armor’s purpose is to build a community of women (especially cowgirls/competitors) who fight the good fight of faith together, reject isolation and fear, and live as conquerors in Christ, equipped daily with the armor of God!
Cowgirl Armor started from a place of adversity and trials that I was going through and honestly have been going through what has felt like my whole life. I struggled with fear—fear of failure, fear of missing out, fear of not being enough, fear of not being perfect—all the things that come up when you put yourself out there in any arena of life. I didn’t really know how to deal with it at first. So I didnt. I swept it under that rug, the one that looks perfect on top, but there are A LOT of THINGS under there if you know what I mean… and as I walked through life, God opened doors for me, to bring people that I needed at just that right time, to love on me, pour into my life, and speak His Word into my life. So naturally I went ALL IN!
I started with, ‘I need the facts,’ so I dug into Scripture, especially Ephesians 6 and the armor of God. Wow… its powerful… The WHOLE armor of God…we are not fighting flesh, BUT mighty powers of the dark world… so PUT ON… Every piece of God’s Armor (yes HE designed it) and that is; the Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, our Feet Shod with the Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, The Helmet of Salvation, the Sword of the Spirit, and PRAY passionately….
At first this wrecked me, and at the same time, it also ignited a deep fire within my heart. That I will boldly stand and pursue this, I am not alone, God is with me, He has made this armor for me, He knows what I am going to walk through, and I want to walk with Him through it all!
One of the biggest breakthroughs was realizing I was not actually alone in this fight. I used to think that talking about what I was going through made me weak—that if I admitted to fears, it meant I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, strong enough, smart enough, talented enough, you name it I had the I am not(bla bla blach) and I had it down… but the TRUTH is that….IT A LIE and its from the enemy.
Through reading the Word and putting on the armor of God, I gained the courage to start opening up to others about what I was feeling and walking through. As I was honest, raw, real, and authentic, I found that people responded with, “I feel the same way,” or “I’ve been through that too.” That opened a whole new way of thinking for me: Why are we all battling this alone? Why are we letting the enemy control our thoughts, minds, and emotions as women—in any arena in life? I have had ENOUGH!
That realization inspired me to move forward in faith and be more than a conqueror. I wanted to “kick the enemy’s butt” by refusing to stay isolated in fear. And so here we go…
Honestly there’s been a lot of adversity in bringing Cowgirl Armor to life. It’s been on my heart for a long time, but I didn’t have the courage to talk about it because I felt like I might be the only one, and I felt embarrassed and intimidated. Scared of what others would think of me, would say about me, how they would judge me, and it kept me from going all in. But that little nudge from God has been there, and its been growing stronger every day, and what was a nudge, has become a wildfire, so here we go, ALL IN for God!
So I started some conversations with my peers, friends, and close people in my circle that I trust, and started sharing the truth… not the “ how are you? Oh I'm great, so good, busy and lovin life’... the lies I have told over and over. But I started sharing the truth, ‘ I am not sure about this… or I am struggling… or I have major doubts… or i am not ok… or I have been battling (this or that). And you know what… my friends, the people i thought were strong, invincible, could not ever experience THESE problems…had the SAME or similar battles and struggles that they had or are walking through as well! And it all became clear: we shouldn’t be doing this alone. We shouldn’t let the enemy sabotage us and keep us bound by fear, limiting our possibilities in and out of the arena. No more.
My heart for Cowgirl Conversations is to build a community of cowgirls—women who are fighting the good fight together in faith and knowing we are not alone. We’ve all gone through trials, tribulations, and adversity, and we’ve come out the other side as conquerors and victorious. Through the Word of God, we can fight together.
Cowgirl Armor is about women standing together, equipped with the armor of God every day, fighting FROM victory, not for victory, because HE already did that for us! (John 19) We are more than conquerors through Christ (Romans 8). And finally, Ephesians 6, and the concept of the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD has been and is the foundation of this vision.
When two or more are gathered, it shall be done in Jesus’ name(Matthew 18:20). So let’s fight TOGETHER, walk through trials and adversity together, and live as women who know they are putting on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD.
I have so much more to share, of my own personal stories as well as other cowgirl stories as well. This is how I see it coming together for this season, and that may very well change, but this is just me, getting started, showing up, NOT PERFECT, and going to have bumps in the road, but showing up, speaking up, and sharing life, the good, and the marred and dusty roads too.
We will share COWGIRL CONVERSATIONS, they will all remain anonymous, for two reasons. 1. I want God to get the Glory in ALL OF THIS. 2. I want it to be a safe place to come, share, learn, grow, cry, laugh, and show up perfectly as you are, with Him, and do this TOGETHER!
So it begins with us… Lets PUT IT ON, TOGETHER NOW, and LETS PRAY THIS TOGETHER…
11Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser! 12Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage. 13Because of this, you must wear all the armor that God provides so you’re protected as you confront the slanderer, for you are destined for all things and will rise victorious.
14Put on truth as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph. Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart. 15Stand on your feet alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace.
16In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one! 17-18Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken word of God.
Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all his believers.” Ephesians 6:11-18 TPT Bible App
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