Emma and Jennie wrote us to tell us how they are applying our current series on the Internet:
Jennie:
I wanted to thank you for the current series on living intentionally, particularly as it relates to the use of the internet. The Lord has really used it to convict me to turn off my computer (which for me means email, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) and focus my heart and mind more faithfully on my home and, more importantly, my two precious children (ages 3 and 1)! I have known for awhile that that internet has had too much of a draw on my time and affections, but not until I read Carolyn and Nicole’s posts (”A Mother’s Mission” and “Is Anyone Home?”) that I was sobered enough to actually change my habits. I want my kids to see their mother devoted not to the internet, but to Christ and the responsibilities He has given me. I pray that the Lord will continue to give me grace to put off the inordinate desire for distraction and entertainment and give myself more diligently being a wife, mother and homemaker. Thank you for your encouragement and help in this regard!
Emma:
I wanted to thank you so much for your current series on the internet! Today, I was reading through all the series posts and my heart was so convicted. I am a 20-year-old nursing student from Australia and so I certainly have a lot of responsibilities that come with this season of my life. Today I realised that my priorities do not reflect a heart that is set on seeking God first! Being a distance student, the majority of my study is done through the computer so the internet takes a rather large portion of my time.
Today, I realised it takes too much. Today, before I had even left my bed (how lazy!) I checked Facebook on my iphone. I then turned on my computer and checked emails, Facebook again and my blogfeed as well. I then commenced my study. It was while I was on my study break that I read your current series - I immediately stopped what I was doing and spent time with God in His Word and had my prayer time.
Now I have a new rule: my computer does not go on and my phone remains untouched every day until after I have spent time with the Lord. Thank you for addressing such an important topic, it certainly opened my eyes to bad habits that, with the Lord’s help, I will endeavour to change from now on!
Thank you Jennie and Emma for your example of obedience to God’s Word! We’re all provoked to consider: What is one way we need to change our online habits this week to put first things first?
“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
Recently our friends Doug and Karen sent us a kind note reflecting on many memories from when they knew us as children. Karen often babysat for us and one incident in particular has become part of Mahaney family legend. In Karen’s words, she remembers, “‘losing’ Janelle at the Woodward and Lothrop department store [Janelle would have been quite young at the time] only to find her being fed by an attendant in the candy department to which Nicole said ‘Why do the wicked prosper!’”
I can still feel the righteous indignation of that moment. Here I am, obedient child, staying close to the babysitter in the store. Janelle, by contrast, wanders off and what does she get? A piece of candy! And not just any piece of candy—if I remember correctly she was found at the Godiva chocolate counter!
The injustice of it all! Scripture was the only appropriate response in that moment. And, fortunately I had just the verse.
Have a super weekend everyone!
See you back here on Monday,
Nicole for Carolyn, Kristin, and that “wicked” little sister of mine
2012 at 1:59 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16
The phrase, “making the best,” means to “buy up, rescue from loss, or improve” the use of time. It is a metaphor taken from the merchants and traders of the ancient Near East, who aggressively pursued the best deals when they would buy, sell, or trade.
The idea of this verse is that we are to approach life in the same way we go after bargains. We need to discern the best opportunities life has to offer. Then we must seize those opportunities and make them our highest priorities.
Every day presents us with countless options for how to spend our time. However, only some are truly great deals. Only a few things are really important.
Our job is to figure out what those prime deals are—these key opportunities—and devote all our time and energy to them.
This means choosing not to do a thousand other things. It means saying no to a lot of enticing options.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Obviously, we don’t want the “bad deals” to keep us from what is truly valuable. We don’t want sinful pursuits to deter us from what is God glorifying. But it’s often the good things such as a ministry opportunity, a relational pursuit, a money-making venture, a leisure activity, or a hobby that hinders us from making the best choices.
It’s frequently the good things that distract us from the best things.
So how do we learn to spot the best deals and ignore the bad ones? What are the secrets to discovering life’s most excellent bargains?
“The way we should go and the thing we should do” (Jer 42:3) is found only by prayerful study of God’s Word. In Scripture alone are the signs marking the true bargains for each season of our lives.
(adapted from Shopping for Time)
Yesterday I sought to answer one humble mom’s request for advice. Here is the second half of her question:
I want to be a godly mother who sits on the floor reading books to my little one. I want to enjoy the little moments, singing songs to him, but most of the time I’d rather be getting the laundry folded, the dinner cooking or cleaning the house so that I can scratch another thing off my to-do list. Can you give me any advice? How can I change this attitude on a practical level, for I know God must first change my heart.
What does it mean to be a good mom? How do you know when to play with your kids and when to make them play by themselves? When do you read them a book and when is it OK to fold the laundry?
This mother’s question touches on an important topic, for I am concerned that some moms of young children live under a load of self-imposed guilt. There are many reasons for this and the result is that we often feel guilty for things that are not sinful and sometimes neglect the things that Scripture does call us to. But that is another post for another time! Whatever the source, the solution is, as always, to return to Scripture.
First of all God’s Word tells us what we are called to do as moms. Among other responsibilities, we are to love our children (Titus 2:3-5). And 1 Corinthians 13 spells this out for us: love is patient, kind, not self-seeking or easily angered. You know it well.
The important thing to remember here is that love is not a feeling. It is something we do. So when we don’t feel like enjoying our children, but sacrifice to serve them anyways, this is not sin but obedience. Now feelings are an indicator so we aren’t to ignore them—but they don’t necessarily mean we have sinned. We should not feel guilty simply because we do not feel like enjoying our children.
What we need to do is ask ourselves, Am I caring for my child’s physical, spiritual, and emotional needs, regardless of what I feel like? Am I loving my child (in a 1 Corinthians 13 way) even when I don’t want to?
Sometimes this does mean stopping what we are doing to read them a book or sing them a song. But we also love our children by serving our husband first, keeping our home orderly, serving in the church, and having a consistent quiet time. Sometimes we love our children best by letting them play by themselves for a while!
On a personal note, when my girls have struggled with feeling like they don’t spend enough time “playing” with their children, I’ve reminded them of my mom. I don’t remember my mom getting on the floor and playing with us or taking us to all kinds of special outings or planning special projects.
But she was there for us. Not only was she physically present in the home, but more importantly, she was content to be there. She worked from sun-up to sundown to keep a clean and orderly home, do the laundry, cook economical meals, serve neighbors and church members. She did our hair each morning, helped us with our homework, read us a bedtime story. She was eager to listen to us, available to help us, happy to be right where she was.
And she raised five children who all adored her. I don’t think any of us for a single second ever doubted her love.
May God give all of us grace to love our children with this 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love.
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