Mother's Day, God's Way

"Honor your father and mother..." ~ Ephesians 6:2

“Her children stand and bless her.  Her husband also praises her: There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!  Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.”   ~ Proverbs 31:28-30

Deep in our hearts we all desire for our children to honor us.  Not only for a personal sense of a job well done, but because Scripture very plainly exhorts children to honor their parents.  Yet, many times, even in the church, we see families struggling when it comes to this area.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that our kids are constantly bombarded with messages, through the media, that make parents appear as bumbling fools.  So, how can we, as Moms, raise children that first and foremost honor the Lord and subsequently honor us?

I believe the answer to this question lies in Proverbs 31:30:  “...a woman who fears the Lord...”  As moms, we have the awesome responsibility and privilege of setting the tone in our homes.  Have you ever noticed that if you’re having a bad day, your children will have a bad day too?  When my kids were in school, this wasn’t necessarily true, but with homeschooling, I’ve found it to be an indisputable fact.  However, the opposite is true as well.  When I’ve spent time with the Lord at the beginning of the day, I find that I will be more apt to walk in the Spirit and display His fruits in my attitude and choices.  In other words, when I model a fear of the Lord through godly behavior, my children notice and it encourages them to honor the Lord in their own lives.

In fact, modeling a fear of the Lord is one of the greatest things we can do for our children.  It’s imperative for them to see us in the Word and seeking His face on a daily basis.  Carrying a Bible on Sunday and mealtime prayers just simply aren't enough.  Kids need to see a mom who’s fully dependent on the Lord for everything.    

As my children have gotten older, I’ve allowed transparency in our relationship.  If I’m struggling with something, very often, I’ll clue them in and we’ll pray through the situation together.  I can tell my kids all day long that they need to trust in the Lord, but when they witness me honoring Him in a difficult circumstance, they get it.  It’s in those lightbulb moments, that I see my kids make God honoring choices in their lives too.  And if they honor Him, they in turn honor me and my husband.    

The only way we can become a Proverbs 31 woman, who is praised by her husband and blessed by her kids, is to have the fear of the Lord in our lives.  As we honor Him in our decisions and lifestyles, our children will surely follow.  In other words, if we want our children to bless us, they first need to see us bless Him. 

On this Mother’s Day, we can be thankful for this passage in Proverbs, because it reminds us that as we reverence the Lord, He transforms us into the virtuous women that our families need.  To me, that's good news! 

1. Take time this Mother’s Day to individually tell each one of your children why you are so thankful the Lord gave them to you.
2. Make time to tell your husband why you thank the Lord for him and how much he means to your family. 

Renewal By Waiting

Hi Ladies!  My name is Dawn and I’m so excited to be a part of Parakaleo.  Two weeks ago, my friend, Patrice, told me about an opportunity to write a monthly devotional to share with other moms.  I’m very thankful the Lord has opened this door and I look forward to getting to know you all better.  For the past week and a half, I’ve enjoyed reading the posts that have been coming to my inbox.  

Before I go any further, I’d like to take a minute or two to tell you a little bit about myself.  I’m a mom to three amazing kids; Hailey, 16, Chase, 12 and Jillian, 11.  In a few months, my husband, Brian, and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage.  Six years ago, we relocated from Ft. Lauderdale to the mountains of North Carolina to plant a church.  I’m a native Virginian, so North Carolina was a little like going home for me, although, I’ve never lived a such a small, rural area before.  I would describe my life as organized chaos, between homeschooling, spending time with my family, working, and helping my husband in the church.  I’m very thankful for this opportunity to share my heart with you and I pray, that through this blog, the Lord will continue to be glorified and we’ll continue to be edified.

I don’t know about you, but I have a very difficult time waiting.  Whether it’s waiting on my chocolate chip cookies to finish baking (Mmm. I can smell them now), waiting for the Lord to reveal fruit in my ministry, and I’m embarrassed to admit, waiting for the cashier in Walmart; waiting is not my strong suit.  And we all know, as moms, we spend A LOT of time waiting, especially on our kids.  When they’re little, we wait for them to sleep through the night, to learn how to talk, and to learn how to walk.  When they’re older, we wait for them to come home at night, to get their driver’s license, and to receive acceptance letters from colleges.  Waiting plays a big part in our lives.  And sometimes, all that waiting can leave us feeling drained.  Sigh.  

But check out what Isaiah 40:31 says:

“But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”  (NKJV)

Now, that’s certainly good news to me!  With all of the waiting I do in life, the most effective time I spend waiting is when I wait on the Lord.  When I choose to begin my day reading my Bible or a devotional or maybe praying in the shower, it makes all the difference in the world.  Inviting Christ to be the head of my life, each day, helps me put all of the other waiting in proper perspective.  Not to mention, waiting on the Lord, has a wonderful promise attached; our strength will be renewed and we won’t suffer from complete exhaustion and burnout.  I find, the majority of times I’m worn out from “mommying,” is when I’m trying to do it in my own strength; relying on me to get it all done.  And while that’s a bad pattern we all fall into from time to time, I want to encourage you to purpose in your heart to spend time waiting on the Lord every day.  I know this may not seem doable, especially if your children are very young, but I can assure you, that if you carve out that time, be it, five minutes or fifty five minutes, not only will you benefit, but so will they.  When my kids were in the baby and toddler stages, I spent countless hours in the car, either worshiping to praise CDs or listening to Bible teaching on the radio.  At that time in my life, my spirit was refreshed every time I turned my car into my prayer closet.  

Spending time in the presence of God transforms our hearts to be more like His and our homes to be a refuge for our families.  Raising godly children is a mountain sized task  which requires strength that only comes from the Lord.  And by His design, the only way we can tap into that strength is when we wait on Him.       

By the way, the cookies were worth the wait.  Although, they can’t begin to compare with the strength we get from waiting on the Lord!

1.  What hinders you from spending time with God each day?

2.  How do you define “waiting on the Lord”?

3.  Think of some creative ways you and your children can wait on the Lord together.