Enjoying Your Mother's Day Gifts

Happy Mother’s Day, ladies! Maybe some of you were treated to special meals, cards, flowers, gifts, jewelry, chocolate, and other loving gifts today from your families. Or maybe some of you received none of these things and felt forgotten today. Whatever the case, you were already given the one gift that qualifies you to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mom…..CHILDREN! And God himself is the one that presented you with that precious gift. He is kind, isn’t He??!!

Often when we receive something as a gift, it comes with instructions, use and care guidelines, or tips for maximum enjoyment. Did you know that when God gave you children he gave you a special manual to help you enjoy your role as a mom to the maximum degree? It’s true! The One who breathes the breath of life into every newborn infant, and created the parents that were involved in the procreation process that brought the child into existence, knows the very best way for children to be raised to adulthood. He has had these principles written down in His word, the Bible, available to all who would read and apply them to their lives.

Often the principles in the Bible that affect motherhood in the greatest way are principles that relate to heart attitudes of the parents. I’m very thankful for the wealth of wisdom regarding such topics as the discipline and instruction of children in the Bible, but I have to say that before I can get to the "how to's", I need the kind of help that simply starts with my own heart, and deals with the sinful attitudes with which I struggle.

With that said, when I cultivate the following three heart attitudes, I find that I greatly enjoy the eight gifts that God has so graciously entrusted into my care for a few short years. And really the years of having children in our homes passes quickly, so there is no time to waste.
So, to fully enjoy your Mother’s Day gifts (your children), ask God to give you…

I. …a heart of excited joy

Your child is a display of God’s amazing handiwork! God is revealed in His creation and man is the pinnacle of His creative genius. Psalm 139 talks about how each and every person is wonderfully made. When we look at a beautiful painting, we not only admire the beauty before us, we say “Whoever painted this is an awesome artist!” I marvel especially when I hold a newborn baby and see the perfection of each little fingernail and eyelash. Modern science in all of its technological advances, can’t fully explain how the human body works in all of its intricacies. It makes me say, “There is a God! Look what He can do!!!” Beyond that, the Christian can say, “MY God did this, and he is amazing!” It should fill our hearts with joy to know the God that made the whole world and your child.

When you think of your child, you should also get excited! The same God, who made children and put them into our families, has exciting work to do through you. His plan is that parents would be the primary instrument through which the next generation of worshippers would be raised up. Psalm 78:1-4, and verses 6 and 7 tell us that God wants parents to tell the next generation to come of the wonders He has done, and that He is worthy of their trust. It’s an exciting privilege and He wants to use you to lead your children to Him.

Ask God to give you….


II. …a heart of humble gratitude

We live in a culture that is all about demanding rights and getting what we “deserve”. But the Scriptures teach that, from God’s perspective, our sin makes us deserving of only one thing—death! So when God comes to undeserving sinful man and offers His Son Jesus Christ to pay for their offenses against Him, we should marvel at his grace and bow before Him in humility and gratefulness. For the believer, we should see everything He gives beyond His forgiveness as a further marvel of His kindness to undeserving sinners. That’s how we should respond to such a gracious gift as a child. We should say, “That you would give your only Son to save and forgive us is unfathomable, but this too??!! Thank you, Lord!” I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks.”

Now I know that this seems easy to do when your child is an adorable newborn, sleeping sweetly in your arms. But even if he grows into a sweaty, disrespectful teen that is loud and selfish, he is still God’s gift to you, and God will give you the grace to love unconditionally from a heart of humble gratitude. James 4:10 says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. After all it is by grace that God loves us, and we have all acted like problem children toward Him at one time or another!

And finally, ask God to give you…

III. …a heart of confident trust

There are so many factors in our lives that could tempt us to be anxious about our ability to care for our children. Will we have the wisdom necessary to teach and train them? Will we be able to survive the workload, the sleepless nights, and the crying? Where will the money come from to pay for all the doctor and dentist bills? How will I afford enough food to feed hungry teenagers and their friends? The list goes on and on.

Many times, upon hearing that I have eight children, people have remarked, “Your husband must make a LOT of money!” I love it when I get a comment like that, because while my husband has always worked hard to provide for all of us, it is a great opportunity to say, “It is God who always provides!” We have had children in our home for 20 years and God has never failed to provide what we needed.

Matthew 6: 33 says that God knows about all of our needs, and we should just concentrate on the priority of seeking His kingdom and righteousness. We can be confident that He can be trusted to meet every need that we have.

Beyond physical needs, God has also graciously provided many resources to help fulfill our spiritual responsibilities to our children. We have access to our heavenly Father at any moment through prayer. We were given the Holy Spirit at the moment we were born again, to produce His fruit of love, joy, patience, etc. in our lives. We have His Word that equips us for every good work, and His people to encourage and help us along. There is no need to fear, but be confident in God and trust Him to help you.

Can you see why Hebrews 4:16 is one of my favorite verses? It says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Enjoy your children. They are truly precious gifts from God!

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Forbear and Forgive

Isn't it funny how the irritating things that others do can seem so hard to live with? In a single day we are faced with many quirky, sometimes maddening, even hateful things perpetrated against us by those we love. Especially when I am tired, these things, usually done by my children, seem as irritating as sand blown into my eyes, or a pebble in my shoe that seems to grow with every step I take.

But I've been meditating on Colossians chapter 3 lately and am thinking about the phrase that says, "bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, whoever has a complaint against anyone." It is humbling to recognize how often I am tempted to complain. That is mostly because I am selfish by nature. But there is a clear prescription given in this verse for dealing with those things we want to complain about. Christ calls us to forebear and forgive. That means putting up with all those irritations and further, direct acts of unkindness, and forgiving the ones who do those things. That is what true, unconditional love chooses to do.

When my heart needs to be motivated to do this, I focus on the very next phrase, "just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." Nothing shrinks the irritating sins of others down to size for me like being reminded of my own sins. I have been guilty of all the things that I hate for other people to do! And though it's bad enough that I've sinned against others, my sin first is against the Lord Himself. I stand before the Lord each day as a debtor who owed a debt that was too great to ever be repaid. But because the One I owed is merciful, He Himself paid my debt for me and forgave it all.

Keeping my eyes on the cross, and the mercy I received that I didn't deserve, helps me love and give grace to those around me, whether they deserve it or not. His grace given to me shrinks the boulders in my shoe back down to pebble size.

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In The Valley

I have been listening to Sovereign Grace's cd called Valley of Vision, a collection of songs inspired by the Puritan book of prayers called The Valley of Vision. It is so encouraging that I had to share the words to the first song.

In the Valley
When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision
It's here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley's where You make me more like Christ
Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find your joy in my sorrowYour wealth in my need
That You're near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my loses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley's where Your power is revealed

(Copyright Sovereign Grace Music )
Click the link below if you would like to take a listen to this song.The words are even better set to music. Very meditative... http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums/category/sovereign_grace_music/valley_of_vision

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Powered by His Might

I am very blessed to live in a house with eight children. So I know firsthand that more children means more joys and trials, more fun and conflict, extra work and play, exhilaration and exhaustion, and a greater need for PRAYER!

I love the example of Paul as he prayed for his friends, the Colossians. In Col. 1:9-12 he asks God to fill them with the knowledge of His will so that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. He lists five components of a worth walk:

1. to please the Lord in all respects,
2. to bear fruit in every good work
3. to increase in the knowledge of God
4. to be strengthened with the power of His glorious might
5. and to joyously give thanks to the Father.

From a human perspective those five elements are impossible for us to attain. As a mom, I know that it is easy many days to focus on how great the task is and how small our strength is. But notice that the strength to strive for a worthy walk is powered out of His glorious might. Isaiah 40:28 says that “The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.” And in v. 31 He promises that “those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.”

A woman who is striving to walk before the Lord in this worthy way, empowered by His strength and might, is a woman who will be a great blessing to her family. Her husband will have a refuge from the troubles of this world in her love, and her children will find in her a resource of truth, wisdom, and encouragement. I love to pray this for my friends who are also mothers, and I would love for you to pray this for me as well!

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Remember, Respond, and Rejoice!

Recently, a good friend of mine delivered her seventh baby. Seeing her with a new baby boy in her arms caused me to reminisce about what my life was like when our 7th child was born.

My oldest daughter was 11, and of course all the others went down like stair steps from there, ages 9, 8, 6, 4, 2, and then our little newborn baby boy. It was in those years of little children, their constant needs, the constant work that was necessary to meet their needs, the noise, the energy, the fun, the crying and the laughter, that the phrase HAPPY CHAOS was coined. In fact, I used to joke with my husband that my job would be a little easier if I were an octopus! Then I would have an arm for each kid, plus one left over to cook, clean, and help him!

In those busy days, I found that I could easily get distracted, and lose my focus. There had to be an over-arching goal of what God was calling me to do with my life, and if I didn’t focus my mind on that I could get bogged down in the overwhelming work load and forget that this was about way more than just fulfilling the day to day duties of being a busy mom.

For believers that driving purpose for existence is to know and love Jesus Christ, and to give our lives away so that others will come to do the same.

Three little words helped me in those busy days to keep a focused mind and to keep the happy chaos moving in the right direction. I needed to remind myself of these truths often so that I wouldn't get lost in the chaos and forget the big picture of what Christ had done for me, and what He wanted to do through me.

1. REMEMBER…. Christ has saved you!Whoever you are and whatever you do all day, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then this is your starting point every morning. Never lose sight of the wondrous mercy that God has shown you in the sacrifice of His Son. You are finally alive! You, like all of us, were once spiritually dead, you walked in darkness, willingly enslaved to sin as an enemy of God, and existing to carry out Satan’s agenda and your own ungodly desires. Whether in smug self-righteousness or openly fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, we all lived with the wrath of God hanging over our heads. We could not come to God, and we strongly preferred not to anyway, because we loved our darkness too much. These phrases are how the Scriptures describe us: lost and sinful and dead to God.But then an amazing, wonderful, undeserved, and unexpected thing happened to you.“While you were yet sinners, Christ died for you!”

The wise, loving, sovereign God sent His Son to suffer your punishment on a cross so that you could be clothed with the righteousness of Christ

In his book, Finally Alive, John Piper describes our release from our spiritual deadness. I love this quote because it paints such a vivid picture of our captivity to/and love of sin, and then how all that changes when we are awakened to truth and Christ.

P. 58: "God grants repentance-- that is, he awakens the life that sees the ugliness and danger of sin and the beauty and worth of Christ. That truth sets the prisoner free. It's what happens when a person in the dark fondles an ebony brooch hanging around his neck, and then the lights go on and he sees it's not a brooch but a cockroach, and flings it away. That's how people are set free from the devil. And until God does that miracle of new birth, we stay in bondage to the father of lies because we love to be able to tell ourselves whatever we please. We keep fondling smooth roaches and warm fuzzy tarantulas in the dark."

Being a mother that honors God, and keeping the right focus, doesn’t start with parenting "how to’s". It starts with remembering that you once were dead, but God who is rich in mercy has made you alive together with Christ. Remembering this good news is the starting point for every day that we are alive, because it changes everything: your values, your direction, and your purpose on this earth.

CJ Mahaney says, “Love the Gospel. Never leave it. Never stop being awed by the mercy of God displayed to you in Christ.”

2. RESPOND….Christ has a job for you!2 Cor. 5:15 says “and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for HIM who died and rose again on their behalf.”

How do we live for Him?
By exalting Christ and proclaiming His Gospel to our children during the short time that we have them with us.This may seem like an obvious statement, but I can testify to the fact that a concerted effort must be made daily to see that this happens. Every child has needs, and the more children, the more needs and we must focus our minds to make sure that we make the important things happen each day. Also, there are stresses, conflicts, resistance, disappointments, and each of those things can cause us to forget that we are here to live for Him.

Living for Him involves EXALTING CHRIST. In Phil. 1:20-21, Paul expresses his great desire that Christ be exalted.Everyday we make decisions that either exalt the Lord that we say we follow or contradict our confession before our children. Many opportunities arise each day where we choose to show that we love Christ, that we are committed to doing His will, that we long to obey His word, that we want to imitate Him, and that we love the things that He loves. Christ is exalted by our obedient conduct, and our children are watching. Paul said that whether he lived or died, no matter what happened, he wanted His life to exalt the name of Jesus.

Living for Christ means PROCLAIMING HIS GOSPEL: Paul says in Colossians 1:28,29 that his goal was to teach and admonish others with the result that they would be presented complete in Christ one day.
In the same way, we must make the effort to speak to our children about the Lord. Not only through our actions, but we have a responsibility to teach, exhort, encourage, rebuke, convince, and persuade, our children of the truths of the Gospel. There are many opportunities, but without a focused mind to this goal, we can rush through the busy day and miss them. There are many things against us when we set out to do this, but dependent on the grace of Christ, we must keep striving toward this goal. Christ promises to bless his word and cause it to bear fruit. We must labor for this, always praying to the God who loves sinners, delights to transform hearts, and beg Him to save and sanctify our children.

And finally,
3. REJOICE! Christ is all you need! One of the best pieces of advice that I was ever given was this:“Don’t let anything steal your joy!”

It was Brian who exhorted me with those words, and he said them to me when I was discouraged and worn out by a conflict that had lasted for many days with one of my children. He reminded me that my joy should be so securely anchored in Christ alone, that I could be at peace in Him no matter what happened. If everything else that I valued were stripped away, He would still be enough.Having Him was more important that even the good things that I longed to see in the lives of my children.

As Piper says, “Jesus should be our greatest treasure.” The apostle Paul counted everything as a loss in comparison to knowing Jesus.Even in resistance, fatigue, trials, hard work, and little rest, we will find in Jesus Christ alone the deep satisfaction and fulfillment that will allow us to say, “He is enough. I need nothing else in this world to be happy.”
These three truths still drive my every day, as the happy chaos continues! God is good!

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