Heirloom Ladies is a blog written by Christian women, for ALL women. We’re all about women teaching women – everything from life skills to family challenges to spiritual encouragement.
Our Mission
Allow us to explain the idea behind our title and how we hope it ministers to women of all ages and backgrounds.
Heir(esses).
The inspiration of the “Heir” part of “Heirloom Ladies” comes from Romans 8:17 (NLT), “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.”
As heir(esses) and daughters of the King, we have so much to give because of what He has given. Our mission is to equip women for life and eternity, and we believe that every woman has a unique perspective and wisdom to offer.
Because of this belief, we don’t have just one or two authors on this blog – we have multiple. This website is a ministry of a large group of Christian women striving for the same goal – stronger faith, stronger relationships, stronger families.
Loom.
The second part of our title is a nod to the amazing skills and talents we possess as women and how to share them with others. Creating a bond between ladies of all generations is key, realizing how much we all have to offer.
Titus 2:4-5 states, “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger womento love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
In our busy modern times, many have forgotten how to sit at the feet of those older (and wiser) women and soak in their wisdom. Titus 2 tells the older women to “teach what is good” – this comes in many forms. How to be a real friend. How to love our spouse well. How to raise our kids in the Kingdom. How to run a home
efficiently and with grace.
We want to give the older ladies (many of whom aren’t tech-savvy and writing blogs) a platform to share the nuggets of wisdom they’ve gleaned from a life well-lived. There are so many skills from by-gone eras that are all but forgotten by today’s generation. Let’s resurrect them.
Younger women have a lot to offer, too. Many young women are “in the trenches” of life, building a home, raising babies, launching a career. This lends itself to a unique perspective on how to keep God first when life is busy.
We see this type of “busyness” in the Proverbs 31 woman: “She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.”
Women in their young years share what they’re learning as they strive to live a Christian life when their hands are full. Full hands require an even fuller heart to keep going strong.
Every woman has an heirloom to hand down to someone else. A message near and dear to their heart that needs to be shared. Our goal at Heirloom Ladies is to share them.
Administrators
Words can’t express our gratitude to the Deerfoot church of Christ for funding this ministry for women and allowing this dream to become a reality! Connect with Deerfoot via their website, Facebook, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Deerfoot “Plant and Water” podcast!
While the blog articles at Heirloom Ladies are written by many women from all walks of life, there are currently 3 women “behind the scenes” who keep the site up and running.
Rhonda Hodges
The mastermind behind this project is Rhonda Hodges. She has a deep desire to reach women for Christ, and believes in the power of publishing to do so.
Rhonda is a project manager for banking software at Finastra. She has an Executive MBA and B.S. in Pre-Law from Faulkner University. She has worked in banking industry for over 20 years.
Prior to working at Finastra, Rhonda worked in branch banking at AmSouth, SouthTrust and Wachovia Bank. In those 10 years, she worked as teller, financial service representative and financial specialist. The years in branch banking helped her understand the importance of customer service. This has proven to be a wonderful life lesson in how to treat others.
Rhonda is single with no children. She enjoys books, movies, traveling and spending time with family. She has a lifelong bucket list item – to see all 50 states. She has 15 to go as of 2018!
Nia Johnson
Nia Johnson is an assistant professor of Journalism & Mass Communication at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. She has a Ph.D. in Communication & Information Sciences from University of Alabama, an M.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a B.A. in Communication Studies and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Prior to working at Samford, Nia worked as Marketing and Communication Manager for Lads to Leaders, the oldest and largest leadership training program in the church of Christ. She has also worked as Communications Coordinator for the Community Bankers Association of Alabama (now Alabama Bankers Association), as well as an adjunct instructor at Faulkner University, Alabama State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Alabama.
Nia has been married for 12 years to the love of her life, Johnathan, who is the youth minister at Deerfoot Church of Christ in Pinson, Ala. They have one precious son, Joshua, who was born May 22, 2017. Nia enjoys books, movies, traveling, amusement parks and spending time with her family.
Mary Harp
Mary is wife to Richard, minister of the Deerfoot church of Christ in Pinson, Ala. She is a proud boy mama x2, Gabriel (6) and James (4). She feels blessed to be the only girl in a house full of sweet, handsome guys!
She loves traveling and considers her time as a missionary in East Kilbride, Scotland with her husband as one of her richest life experiences. They worked there for 3 years, primarily running a youth outreach program. She also conducted weekly art lessons for the youth club.
Mary received her B.A. in Art Education at Freed-Hardeman university, and has been drawing as long as she can remember. These days though, she gravitates more toward books, writing, and online publication. She is the owner/editor of the Healthy Christian Home blog which encourages families in their quest to be physically and spiritually healthy. When she’s not raising her kids or blogging, you’ll find her with a cup of hot tea and a stack of books.
Site Attribution:
Embroidery hoop image in site icon by Matthew Brinkley from the Noun Project.
It’s Your Turn
Please, stay connected with us! Sign up for our newsletter and receive our free gift. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates!
To get even more involved, we’d love to hear your “Heirloom Story.” Post a photo of something on social media and tell us about a project you’re working on or a spiritual concept you’ve learned. Use the hashtag #myheirloomstory, and you might be featured in an upcoming article or on social media!