A Godly Mother Part 6

#6) A godly mother disciplines her children in love. A worldly mother spoils her children.

Proverbs 13:24 says: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” 

The world tells us those who hate their children spank them but that’s not what God says. God says if you love them you will spank them.

This was one of Scott and I’s first disagreements. I had just gotten my degree in psychology and I decided spanking was bad. Scott said: “We aren’t going to spank our children because it’s what we want to do or because the world says it is a good form of punishment. We will spank because God tells us to do it and He said if we don’t we hate our children. He knows best.” That was a memorable moment.

I don’t discipline my children because I want to. I am NOT a disciplinarian by nature. I am a passive parent by nature. But I know passivity in parenting is not God’s best and so with my husband and God’s help I work at disciplining my children consistently and in love.

(We are in a "spanking season" right now with four kids five and under :)

I do find though that I rarely spank my four and five year old. Probably because they know if they disobey they will get spanked. Which brings me to another point, don't make empty threats! Be consistent! That is so important. I find sometimes on days when I am in a bad mood that I will spank more... how horrible!! I should spank consistently and in love. Not because I am in a bad mood.

Discpline your children consistently, in love, because you love them and you wants God's best for them.  

p.s. never spank a child for being a child (spills/accidents). Spank a child for disobedience/rebellion.

A Godly Mother Part 3

#3) A godly mother is hardworking. A worldly mother is lazy.

I am by nature a procrastinator. I have to fight this. I try to keep in mind that work is good for me! It was in the garden BEFORE the fall. It is not part of the curse. I always feel better when I have accomplished much and have been productive with my day as opposed to sitting around and “taking it easy”. I think God made us this way. He put in us a desire to have things in order and to work hard.

Listen to this verse that could describe a home of a woman who neglects it. Prov. 24:30-33 says: “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.” Hopefully no one feels like this when they “pass by” our homes. They shouldn't be overgrown with thorns, covered with nettles, cluttered and broken down. We need to tend to them and take care of them as unto the Lord. What does your vineyard look like?

Maybe you aren’t lazy…maybe you are too busy with other things and don't have enough time at home to keep up with the work. I really don’t think the Lord would have us involved in things that cause our vineyard to look overgrown and unkept... He calls us to be "keepers of the home" (Titus 2:5) not "keepers of many things". 

Something else to keep in mind in regards to all this is that we are to adapt to our husbands in this area too. Some of your husbands like the dishes done, or the bathrooms cleaned, the counters cleared off, or if they’re like my husband, they want all the hair ties all picked up J I try to clean my home with my husband's desires in mind. What does your husband desire? What is important to him? Be sure to make a special effort to do what pleases him first.

p.s. this was one of the most convicting lessons for me. I keep thinking about those verses and my vineyard being overgrown with thorns and I am motivated to clean... in fact I think I'll get to work right now! J

Godly Mother Part 2

#2) A godly mother looks for ways to bless her family. A worldly mother resents her family.

Resentment is becoming more and more common amongst Christian mothers. Where does resentment come from? Pride…selfishness…a desire to be served and not serve.

Jesus said: “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Matt. 23:11 According to Christ being a servant is the best thing we can do! And we all know that motherhood=servanthood! The world tells us to be annoyed by the fact that we are serving all day long but Jesus says it is the greatest. 

“It’s not fair. Why do I have to do everything? No one serves me or seeks to help me. I'm on call 24/7 to serve everybody but myself all day long!” These are some of the selfish things I have said to myself that just feed resentment and discourage me from having a heart to serve.

But Jesus says those who serve all day are the greatest in His eyes because we are most like Him when we seek to serve. Who are you going to listen to? Listening to the world will only lead to more bitterness and less of a heart to serve. Look for ways to put yourself last. Look for ways to not get credit. Look for ways to serve with JOY. 

Why do I expect my children to serve/help without grumbling or complaining when I don't practice that myself? Grumbling and complaining (even in our thoughts) only leads to resentment! 

God has given us an AMAZING role/job this side of heaven ladies! Let's do it with thankfulness. Thankfulness is like kryptonite to resentment. 

Reasons I am thankful to be a mom:

1. it makes me more like Christ

2. I get to be with fun little people all day!

3. I get to experience a sort of love that is like nothing else

4. being a mom is a great tool in the hand of the Lord to refine me 

5. anything in life that has value is hard work. being a mom is hard work :)

6. it is what God has for me and there is no place better than in His will

7. it is so fulfilling... it is an honor....

8. what other position allows you to give birth to life and than nurture that little life?! amazing! 

What are the first 8 reasons that come to mind for you in regards to being thankful as a mom? Focus on that list and throw your resentment list in the garbage. 

Thank you Lord for these children that you have GIVEN to me to train in Your ways. Thank you for how You use them to make me more like Your Son and for the joy they bring into Scott and I's lives! You are the best Gift Giver. Help us moms to bless our families rather than allowing our flesh to take over and resent them!

My little blessings: 

Wasting Time?

Wasting time. What does it mean to you? I think some things we consider wasting time might be the best use of our time. Like...

1. Sitting with our children on the floor playing

2. Kissing my little baby over and over

3. reading a "silly" book to my two year old

4. cuddling with our husbands

5. just sitting outside and enjoying the outdoors

There are so many ways to use our time isn't there? Have you ever heard the saying: "Do you love life? Then do not waste time for that is what life is made of."? The important thing is to have God's perspective on using the time He has given us. The question is: How can we impact eternity while living here on earth?

There are only two things that last forever that we have now: The Word of God and people. If we are "wasting time" on either of these then we are making good use of our time. We can't take our house with us. It won't matter if it was perfectly clean or not. We can't take our computer with us. We can't take the television with us. It won't matter if you got to watch that "one show". We can't take our cell phones with us. You get my drift. "Waste time" on things that last and you will have no regrets.

Nancy Leigh Demoss did a series on priorities. You can check it out by clicking here. A few scriptures she pointed out ministered to me in regards on how we should prioritize our time. Here is what she said:

"Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verse 33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Seek His ways. Seek His pathway. Seek His kingdom. Seek what matters to Him. And all these other things in life that are not the priority—the ones that you need will be added unto you.

Proverbs chapter 4, verse 7: “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom.” Where does wisdom come from? What is wisdom? Wisdom is looking at all of life from God’s point of view. Proverbs says that wisdom is the principle thing. Get God. Get a relationship with God. Get His perspective on life.

Colossians chapter 1, verse 18: “The goal,” Paul says, “is that in all things Christ might have the pre-eminence” (paraphrased). Pre-eminence. What does that word mean? I looked it up this morning. It means to be first—that Christ might be first. The head of all things. The spring of all things. The fountain of all of life. The supremacy of Christ. This is my priority.

Psalm chapter 27, verse 4, the Psalmist said, “One thing I have desired [one thing] of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.” The Psalmist said, “My number one priority in life is to live in the presence of God, to learn from Him, to love Him with all my heart.”

Jesus said to the harried Martha, busy doing something very important, but missing out on the priority. He said, “Martha, only one thing is needful in life. One thing is absolutely necessary and that is your relationship with Me” (Luke 10:22, paraphrased). That’s what supremely matters.

Now, if we’re going to have first things first, if we’re going to prioritize God’s priorities for our lives (and the first one of those for every believer being a relationship with God), we’ve got to remember the necessity of the Word of God and spending time with God in His Word. Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NIV).

Job chapter 23, verse 12, Job said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” You want to fulfill that number one priority in life? It’s impossible apart from spiritual food, and we get that spiritual food in the Word of God. That means there has to be time in my day to be in the Word, to be in the presence of God, to be listening to God, to be responding to God."

The Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it."

I have been contemplating this passage A LOT

lately but in a broader sense then usual. I have

been thinking about the narrow way AFTER we

become Christians. We must continue to walk in

the narrow way and not the wide path after we are

saved. The choice to go the less traveled path

continues for life.

Some ways I choose the narrow way:

Guarding what my eyes see.

Guarding what my ears hear.

Seeking to grow and not remain stagnant as a

christian women.

Watching how I spend my time and money.

There are so many ways we must choose to not

walk like the world or in some sad cases, as other

Christians. We must seek the narrow way of Christ!

My friend Kathy sent me this article via email. I feel it put into words what I am talking

about.

Others May, You Cannot

"If God has called you to be really like Jesus, He will draw you to a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience, that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent. "Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their success, of their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity, because He wants you to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He may let others be great, but keep you small.

He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit of it, but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more precious, He may let others get the credit for the work which you have done, and thus make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own.

He may not explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with you. But if you absolutely sell yourself to be His...slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the inner circle.

Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem to use with others.

Now when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven."

–G. D. Watson

Discipline part 3-Studying God's Word

I have pasted below an AWESOME answer to the question: why is it so important for us to read and understand the Bible? When we discipline ourselves to read God's Word we are blessed. Why then do we as Christians have to make it a priority? Why isn't it naturally a priority like sleep, or eating, or hanging out with friends, watching t.v, being on the internet... etc.?! Why don't we crave time in the Word like we crave these things? Because we are worldly. Because we are more in tune with our flesh then our spirit. Because we are not disciplined! If we would be in the Word as much as we are into other non-essential things we would grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All the things we want in other words. The fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22) as opposed to the fruits of our wretched flesh. Enjoy this great answer to the the question: "why should I discipline myself to make reading the Word a priority?"

"Understanding the Bible is important because the Bible is God’s Word. When we open the Bible, we read God’s message to us. What could be more important than understanding what the Creator of the universe has to say? We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason a man seeks to understand a love letter from his sweetheart. God loves us and desires to restore our relationship with Him (Matthew 23:37). God communicates His love to us in the Bible (John 3:16; 1 John 3:1; 4:10). We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason a soldier seeks to understand a dispatch from his commander. Obeying God’s commands brings honor to Him and guides us in the way of life (Psalm 119). Those commands are found in the Bible (John 14:15). We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason a mechanic seeks to understand a repair manual. Things go wrong in this world, and the Bible not only diagnoses the problem (sin) but also points out the solution (faith in Christ). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason a driver seeks to understand traffic signals. The Bible gives us guidance through life, showing us the road of safety and wisdom (Psalm 119:11, 105). We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason someone in the path of a storm seeks to understand the weather report. The Bible predicts what the end times will be like, sounding a clear warning of impending judgment (Matthew 24-25) and how to avoid it (Romans 8:1). We seek understanding of the Bible for the same reason an avid reader seeks to understand his favorite author’s books. The Bible reveals to us the person and glory of God, as expressed in His Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-18). The more we read and understand the Bible, the more intimately we know the Author. As Philip was traveling to Gaza, the Holy Spirit led him to a man who was reading a portion of Isaiah. Philip approached the man, saw what he was reading, and asked this very important question: “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30). Philip knew that understanding was the starting point for faith. Without understanding the Bible, we cannot apply it, obey it, or believe it."

Good Point Tammy-Victory Indeed

My sweet friend Tammy pointed out that chapter 8 of Romans is a little more encouraging then Romans 7. I used the majority of chapter 7 to discuss why it is so hard to live a disciplined life. While we are stuck in this fleshly body we do have victory in Christ and we are guided by the Holy Spirit (if we choose to yield and follow Him). It can be depressing to only read about sin and death having it's way in our bodies but there is also life in the Spirit:

Romans 8:4-5 "So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit]. For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit."

I put the last part in bold because that is what I was trying to say at the end of my first posting on discipline. If we seek after the things of God discipline will come more naturally to us because we are setting on our minds on the things of the Spirit, not the flesh. We can live more disciplined lives as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Thanks Tammy!

Discipline part 2-PRAYER

I was talking to some girlfriends today about the lack of prayer in my life. A great sermon I heard instigated the thinking and goes right along with my discipline series. He says that people start out zealously in things and then peter out. One thing we should never peter out on is prayer. I think if I could just grasp a glimpse of the power of prayer I would be on my knees a lot more. Oh Father, please give me a glimpse...

Listen to this message when you get a chance. It will not be a waste of your time.

http://realitymessages.com/audio/2009-06-14-Prayer_Why_Dont_We-32kbps.mp3