Your Work Is Most Holy

Mothers of young children, your work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The powers folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your bosoms last night are powers that shall exist forever. You are preparing them for their immortal destiny and influence. Be faithful. Take up your sacred burden reverently. Be sure that your heart is pure and that your life is sweet and holy.

~ J.R. Miller, Grace Gems 


Image ~ In the Nursery, Helen Allingham, 1848-1926

Its Neglect ~ A Strange Inconsistency

Interior with Woman Teaching Child to Pray

I trust there are none here present, who profess to be followers of Christ, who do not also practice prayer in their families. We may have no positive commandment for it, but we believe that it is so much in accord with the genius and spirit of the gospel, and that it is so commended by the example of the saints, that the neglect thereof is a strange inconsistency.       

- Charles Spurgeon

Restraining Prayer, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit v. 51 p. 327

Painting - Interior with Woman Teaching Child to Pray

Pierre-Edouard Frere, 1819-1886

public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Thankful Thursday ~ Some Young Women I Know

Not Too Much To Carry (1895) 
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Thankful today for some young women I know who are seeking God with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind. I hear them saying they are wanting God in all they do, through the joys and the struggles.

They are such an encouragement to me as I see their energies being poured out in telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.

I thank God for them, and pray that He will give them a spirit of wisdom through knowing Him. I pray that the eyes of their heart will be more and more enlightened in His ways, that they will find joy and gladness in their journey (Eph. 1:17-19).

I hope you know the God of their salvation, too, dear one, and that your days are being filled with joy and gladness through His power.

Preparing a Noble Life

I've been reading more of The Incomparable Christ, following along and listening to Nancy Leigh DeMoss as she uses the outline of the book for further teaching on ReviveOurHearts.com. Chapter 4 is about the childhood of Jesus, chapter 5 his youth. 

If you're a mom with children at home, I think her discussion the past couple of days would be an encouragement to you. 

Sharing an excerpt with you today from chapter 5, "The Youth of Christ."

"The influence, example, and teaching of His mother doubtless played an important part in His development. Everything indicates that she was one of those rare women whose glory it is to prepare a noble life, losing themselves in it, and desiring to be glorified only in its usefulness. Mary’s song reveals her as a devout, high-souled woman, fervently patriotic and a student of Scripture. Her song is patterned on that of an older saintly woman of the Old Testament, Hannah."

- J. Oswald Sanders, The Incomparable Christ

A Mother's Songs

I typically like to listen online to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss while I'm getting dressed in the mornings. She helps me set my mind on the things of God before I head downstairs to begin my day. Recently I listened to a precious tribute to a mom from her two grown daughters. 

The mom reminded me of my own daughter, who is a young mom and sings a lot to her little ones. Even the goofy stuff is tender to hear. She can even get them to cooperate easier through a song, which brings more harmony to their home. She teaches so much through her songs, and uses singing to draw the children's hearts to Jesus. 

I sent her the link to the program to encourage her, and thought I'd also encourage you to listen in, especially if you have children still at home. It was heartening to this grandma as well. Although the mother was gifted with a beautiful voice, it doesn't require a beautiful voice to sing to children. Here's a brief excerpt from the program, and if you have a few minutes to listen, click here.

Mom used music to introduce us to Jesus. Even though Julie and I had our own rooms, we often had "slumber parties." Mom would sit at our bed. She would scratch our backs, and she would sing to us. We called it "sing and scratch."

And in those sweet bedtime times, she taught us how much Jesus loves us, and how we were His precious treasures, His precious jewels. She'd sing:  

When He cometh, when He cometh to take up His jewels;
All His jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own:
Like the stars of the morning His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty—bright gems for His crown.

Sending up a prayer for those of you who have children still living at home, that God will give wisdom and joy in the journey.

Painting ~ Pardon Mama  1888 - Emile Munier 1840-1895

Wiki Commons public domain

Coming Alongside

Thinking about our Mom's discussion time this evening around Sally Clarkson's book, The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity. We were talking about being a discipling mother and being intentional in our purposes for our children.

The moms in our group want to disciple their children, want to guide them into eternal truth and godly living, want to lead them to the One who makes life meaningful. It's not an easy task, but one that has eternal value. What we lack in knowledge and ability God makes up for through His abundant grace. He's looking for mothers with willing hearts, willing to expend the time and effort, willing to be involved in something bigger than themselves.

This thing of discipling children is a challenge in our current culture. A challenge because of the decadence of the day, yes, but a greater challenge because of the scattering of families away from extended families who could come alongside and help. No one besides the parents care for their children like grandparents do. One of the moms in our group is seeing that blessing in her own family. She says that when grandma comes for the day a peacefulness comes into the home. She helps with the laundry and such, and the children settle in around her as she reads to them. Blessings all the way around. The American quest for personal independence has run amuck and caught unsuspecting families in the frenzy.

How can grandparents help raise the next godly generation? A comment from Sally Clarkson, but one that could apply to grandparents as well:

What many in our culture don't understand--and many more forget--is that a relationship with Christ is best taught through a long-term personal relationship with someone who knows the Master, not through activities organized around lots of people in impersonal and distracting instructional situations.... Our children will learn righteousness best by seeing it lived out in every possible way in our lives, moment by moment, in the context of normal life.

We help by coming alongside, being involved in our grandchildren's normal life in a long-term personal relationship. Long distance is not normal, everyday life and doesn't develop much of a long-term personal relationship. Oh, but some say, the technology to stay in touch these days is so easily accessible. There are cell phones and texting and email and digital pictures and skype.... and we can do everything but touch each other. Technology cannot substitute for grandma and grandpa's laps, for holding hands as you walk along, for looking at the little bugs as you do and talking about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord in the glorious riot of autumn color. Or for helping with the laundry.

Painting~ Grannie, Joseph Clark, 1878

via I Am A Child, Children in Art History

When A Mother Chooses to Stay Home

Just finished reading this week's chapter in preparation for our Mom's Discussion Group this evening and want to share a bit with you from The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson. I can say from my own experience as a mother that Sally's assessment of the opportunities for stay-at-home moms and their children far outweigh the call to career.

If a woman chooses to stay at home with her children, she has the opportunity of nursing her baby in peacefulness of her own home, caressing her precious little one, singing sweet lullabies to comfort and please the child's deepest emotional desires. She can offer them the restfulness of long, quiet naps in their own bedrooms. She has time to enrich the home environment with beautiful sights and smells--from aromas of homemade soup bubbling on the stove to the beautiful pictures in books--and arrange outings that foster budding intellects and awaken curiosity. And she has the flexibility to change her schedule to respond to teachable moments--those times when children's natural curiosity leads them to question and learn.

Best of all, when a mother chooses to stay home, she has the time and opportunity to craft the kind of relationship with her young children that only extended time together can foster. And from such a relationship she has a much better chance of building a strong moral and spiritual foundation in the heart of her young child, teaching a system of truth and values without the constant challenge of authorities and peers whose lives are totally different. When these advantages are taken away from a child, how can we not count them as a loss to a whole generation of children who are hungry for direction, love, stability, and individual attention?

Painting ~ Mother and Daughter, George Goodwin Kilburne 1839-1924

Wikigallery public domain

The Blessing of Children

Thinking about the time with our Moms Group this evening. Discussion went to Genesis 1, when God blessed Adam and Eve. Part of that blessing was to be fruitful and multiply. Children are God's blessing to us. What an awesome privilege to be part of God's plan of procreating the earth!  He has put it in our hearts to receive this blessing, but because of the Fall and the sinful state of life, many have difficulty seeing children as anything but a hindrance or a nuisance. They're certainly work and responsibility, but God's blessings are always good for us.

Families are a good thing. Children bring life to ..... well, life!  Before I had children, I had no concept of what joy they would bring me. I had delayed blessings because of my own self-focus. Nine years of career-minded thinking, not knowing what joy and blessing I was missing. That's not to say that everything changed in the birthing room. I had to have a heart change, and that took some time. But when I got my focus off myself and onto these new little humans that God had placed in my life, my capacity for receiving the blessings greatly increased. I could have lived in those years forever.

Our group is meeting weekly here in my home to discuss The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson. Sharing something from this chapter that I hadn't considered before:

The fruitful family was even the foundational place in which the Son of God was placed in which to represent his Father in this world. When God chose to bring Jesus into the world, as a full reflection of his glory and being, he chose to bring him into a simple family with a mother and father and, eventually, siblings. It was within the context of this home that Jesus was trained and instructed and loved and nurtured, both protected and prepared for his ministry ahead.

Totally awesome.

Painting ~ The Family Picnic, Frederick Morgan 1856-1927

Wikigallery public domain

Filled With Purpose

I just lost a half hour of blogging. Somehow what I had written just disappeared off the page and is irretrievable. I was writing about motherhood, with some thoughts borne from our Mom's discussion group last evening. We're discussing Sally Clarkson's book, The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity. I must go on to other things in my day right now, but I do want to leave you with a few overarching thoughts from Sally's book:

[Many women] don't know how to reconcile these conflicting messages [from our current culture] with the calling of God on their hearts and lives. What's the cure for this confusion? I believe it lies with a rediscovery of the traditional mission of motherhood, a rediscovery of what God had in mind when he first designed families.... My calling as a mother is the same as any other Christian's: to fulfill God's will for our lives and to glorify him.... The journey of discovering God's design for motherhood has filled me with purpose, peace, fulfillment, and excitement. In fact, I have come to believe that being a mother encompasses all that is best within me. I have come to believe that motherhood, while demanding, is one of the most meaningful roles a woman can fulfill. ~ Sally Clarkson

Thoughts for a New Mother

Young Mother in the Garden ~ Mary Cassatt

I mentioned the baby shower that I attended on Saturday of the daughter of a dear friend. This will be this young gal's first baby. I had been asked to bring a brief devotional and thought I'd share some of those thoughts with you today, as you "listen in."

~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth, you've physically changed since the last time I saw you. Things are about to change even more! Your life will never be the same after a few short weeks.Your heart will never be the same. Your purposes will never be the same. Every day will never be the same! Much will change, and I’m sure you and your husband are looking forward to it with eagerness.

At our house we’ve been going through boxes of family pictures this past month, putting together photo books for our own daughters’ birthdays, both born in May—30 & 33 years ago. My, how the memories have flooded my heart! I came across their going-home gowns in the cedar chest. (I had them with me to show.) I’m sure your mother remembers your and your sister's going-home outfits. Maybe she still has them. Maybe you’ve already picked out some sweet gown for your little girl to wear home. I’m sure she’ll look absolutely darling!

You think about her a lot, don’t you? You wonder what she looks like. What she’ll be like.

I imagine your heart is excited to meet this new little life inside you, to touch her hand, her cheek, to have her eyes meet yours.

You have a lot of joy awaiting you, … but there will be some difficulties, as well. Both of you will make some poor decisions, some wrong choices. You’ll have some heartache. Most of the mothers here probably experienced it. (ALL?) I did. Your mother did. Sometime over tea, ask her about it. She can be your dearest Titus 2 friend, if you let her be.

Which brings me to a few thoughts to share with you.

I’m not looking back and telling you all the things that I did right.  I did a few things right by God’s grace, but in the early years I’m ashamed to say that I was self-focused, impatient, and pretty much clueless about being a mother.  I’m so thankful for His mercy and grace! So I speak to you today out of shortcomings mingled with a few things I’ve learned along the way.

• First of all, I know that you know that this precious bundle of joy, who is finishing her final few days within you, is a gift from God.

King David described it so beautifully when he penned in Psalm 139:

You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven … Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

• God intends for this little girl to be a blessing to you—she is His gift to you. Treat her like that treasured gift, even on those difficult days. Treat her with great respect, with tenderness. Love her Anyway and Always. It's how God loves us. We are to be an image of His divine parenthood, however faint that image might be.

 

• But most of all, point her to God. You will fail her. Mothers and fathers do. You won’t be a super mom. None of us are. Teach her to trust in God, to pour out her heart before Him. Teach her to pray, and pray for her. Pray for yourself and for your husband, that God will give you wisdom.

Generations ~ Loren Entz

• Not only does God intend for her to be a blessing to you, He intends for her to be a blessing to her grandparents. Proverbs 17:6--Grandchildren are the crown of the aged. Give them time together and let God use them in each other’s lives. They need each other.            

• Don’t try to go it alone. 

Grandparents are God’s idea for multi-generational faith-building.

Deut. 4:9--“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart ... Make them known to your children and your children's children.

                  Everyone benefits!

Surround yourself with people who are like-minded. Being a mother is a lot of work, and you will need encouragement.

                  Encouragement to persevere in doing what’s right.

                  Encouragement that being a mommy is important.

                  Encouragement to daily walk with God.

We are Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand—He uses us to strengthen and encourage His children.                 

The purpose of having this shower for you is to encourage you as you step into this new dimension of life.....

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.  May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father…”  — Colossians 1:9-12 

So…

                  Enjoy this little one coming into your life.

                  Enjoy every phase. Try not to miss any of it.

                  Rainbows and childhood too soon disappear.

                  Be intentional as you’re parenting.

                  Seeds sown in her childhood will bear fruit in her adulthood.

                  Play with her, laugh with her. Celebrate each new accomplishment.

                  As we, with your mother, celebrate yours today.

God's Ongoing Act of Creation

Went to a baby shower this evening and was reminded of the awesome privilege as a woman to participate in God's ongoing act of creation. Setting this means of creating life in motion in Genesis 1, God has chosen to create a brand new human being through the miracle of human birth!

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, " Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." ... and God saw everything that he had made and it was very good.

All God does is very good, and the way he does it is very good. God does all things for his glory and our good. One of the ways he has chosen for us to glorify him is through his plan of creating new children, to magnify and exalt the wonder of it all. For his glory, and for our good. 

"And God blessed them." Children are God's blessings to us. They are his gift to us. Every good and perfect gift comes from him (James 1:17). I recently heard a new father remark that he had no idea being a daddy would be so awesome. And a new mother agreed that a baby opens up a completely new dimension to life. Not that it's an easy gift to have responsibility for, but one that we can glorify God through. One of God's good and perfect gifts, blessing us in ways we would not know otherwise. I'm so thankful to have participated.

A third little blessing coming soon to this young mother we honored this evening. God does all things well. 

Painting ~ The Crib, George Goodwin Kilburne 1839-1924