Aug
6
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Filed under 52homeHappy 6 months Summer Hope!
“Hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.”
~Charles Spurgeon
Happy 6 months Summer Hope!
“Hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.”
~Charles Spurgeon
Last week we asked the question: How do we raise our children in this world of beauty gone bad?
First, we must show our children what true, biblical beauty looks like: “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Example is essential. We must not merely point at beauty like a distant mountain peak, we must dwell with our children as a vibrant model of the beauty which is precious in God’s sight.
Humanly speaking, no one will make a deeper impression on children than a truly beautiful mother. And yet we often underestimate the effect of our example.
Ask yourself: What am I teaching my children about beauty through my actions, words, priorities, and life?
Sadly, our children will absorb our self-absorption; they will vainly follow our vanity. If we are consumed with what others think about how we look, our daughters will learn that self-focus is the way to fulfillment. If we spend exorbitant time and money on our appearance, we are teaching our sons to prize physical beauty above all.
But if we faithfully seek to adorn ourselves with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, we will be a beautiful example to our children. If we spend our days gazing at the beauty of God, beholding him in his temple (Ps. 27:4), we will show our daughters how to find true joy and satisfaction. If we devote our lives to serving others (1 Tim. 2:9-10), we will encourage our sons to love and respect people and to look for a wife who fears the Lord (Prov. 31:30).
Oh, but you say, I fall so short. Yes, so do we all. This is cause for repentance, not resignation. The gospel offers forgiveness for our failures and makes true and lasting change possible.
None of us will ever be a perfect example of biblical beauty to our children, but as we grow in godliness, we will make a beautiful imprint on our children’s lives.
This one from Michelle is adorable. Have a happy weekend, friends! Nicole for Carolyn, Kristin, and Janelle
My mother had come for a visit when my daughter was about three years old. My mother has a gluten allergy so she tends to have a unique and separate meal from the rest of the family. My daughter, of course, greatly intrigued by Grandma’s meal asked for a bite. “Mmmmm, Grandma!” she exclaimed of the spoonful of plain yogurt, “Looks like ice cream, tastes like lunch.”
Last week 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.
Just give ‘em a hose!
As mothers it can feel like a wave of worldly, distorted messages about beauty has been ominously rising, only to crash on our heads just as we try to get our mothering feet wet.
The pressure on young girls to conform to an ideal mold of physical beauty is so much more intense than a generation ago. The beguiling voice of the seductive woman is so much louder and more enticing to young men than it used to be.
We mothers can feel helpless in the face of this cultural tsunami. It saturates the music in the mall, it’s splashed on the front of graphic T’s and TV screens, and it soaks through the whispers of kids from school.
How then do we raise our children in this world of beauty gone bad? How can we possibly lift our daughters above the rising tide of destructive messages about beauty from our culture? How can we hope to rescue our sons from the temptation to seek a false ideal of physical beauty?
Take heart, dear mothers. We may feel helpless, but God has promised to help us: “Fear not, for I am with you; be notdismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you” (Isa.41:10).
The beauty of grace that has overwhelmed our own hearts through the gospel of Jesus Christ has lost none of its power. Our Savior can do for our children as he did for us. So we pray with hope, hope in God to open the eyes of the hearts of our children to the dazzling beauty of Jesus Christ.
But our parental prayers, as we know, are meant to issue is faithful action. So over the next few weeks here at girltalk, we will consider a few age-appropriate strategies for teaching our children a biblical perspective of beauty.
Happy weekend from the Munchie!
I am a full time stay at home mom to my one year old son. Over the last couple of months I find myself longing for my son’s nap time to come so that I can have some “me” time, either reading online, watching YouTube, checking Facebook or just wasting time on the net while sipping my cup of hot tea. 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.
First, I want to encourage you for your humility. It is obvious you want to be a godly mother and I am confident God will give you grace—and is already giving you grace—to do so!And let me say, I don’t know any mom with young children who doesn’t long for nap time to come! I know I sure did when my kids were little! There is nothing in God’s Word that says you should not desire rest.
In fact, God has ordained rest. He himself rested on the seventh day.
And God created us to need rest. We moms are creatures. We have limitations. We get tired and we need rest. That’s the way God has created us to be. It is one of the ways he reminds us of our dependence upon him.
And as we said all along in our series on the Internet, it is not wrong to enjoy Facebook or read articles online. These can be wonderful ways to relax, stay in touch with friends and family, grow in our knowledge of God and the world etc..
But instead of “me” time, we as Christians should approach all our time—even our leisure time—as “God” time. Therefore we should rest to His glory, just as we work to His glory. And bringing our rest into this light helps us to evaluate it biblically:
Is the content of my restful activities God-glorifying? (1 Cor. 10:13, Col. 3:17)
Is the goal of my rest to be refreshed in order to better serve my family and others? (Matt. 20:26-28)
Is the time I spend on leisure activities appropriate or excessive (one way to tell is if essential things aren’t getting done!)? (Prov. 20:4)
As moms, if we bring our leisure time into the light of God’s Word we can enjoy it for His glory. This will not only protect us from excessive or idolatrous pursuit of restful activities, but it will also help us to enjoy the rest God provides, that we may be refreshed for service.
But you’re asking a great question which has sparked a few more thoughts, so I’ll pick up here next week.
~from the archives
