Honor the Lord through our relationships: Part Three - Mothers

"Because I said so!" "I'm going to count to three and if you don't...." "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" These are all things I'm sure each of us as mothers have said at one time or another. OR if your children aren't to that stage yet, you will say them one day!

But, have you ever said to yourself and to God, 'I want to be a godly mother'? Have you then walked away and not truly pondered God's Word and what HE has to say about being a godly mother? Today I want to give us, as mothers, a foundation of scripture to stand upon as we strive to become the godly mothers God would have us to be.

I am going to start with Verses for today:

Proverbs 29:15
The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.
Isaiah 49:15
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
Isaiah 66:13
As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you
Proverbs 10:1
A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.
Proverbs 28:24
He who robs his father or mother and says, "It's not wrong"— he is partner to him who destroys.
Matthew 10:37
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

By no means do I feel these verses begin to touch the tip of the iceberg where this particular topic is concerned. I know there is a massive amount of knowledge, wisdom and spiritual maturity that needs to happen as we mother our children and seek to be godly mothers. Today's topic is meant to be a starting place for each of us to evaluate what we are doing currently and if we have anything we need to change or 'tweak' in our mothering.

I also know that everyone has their own style of mothering and I think it is awesome that God gave each of us different personalities and different techniques to get His ultimate purpose done through us. If we were all the same, how boring life would be!!

Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin with the verses above. These verses are all ways we can know if our children are becoming or have become children of God. However, I see these verses as lessons we need to teach our children.

Let's take it verse by verse:
Proverbs 29:15, "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother."
From this verse we learn that we need to correct our children. How can we correct our children unless we are active in their lives? So, be active in your childrens lives and correct them when they need correcting. A child left to himself will learn how to act and behave from the people and things around him. In today's society that is tv, video games, friends, etc. Do we really want our kids learning how to act from these types of things? Well, I hope the answer you gave is, no!
Isaiah 49:15
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!"
Compassion. What is it? Compassion is defined as "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it" by Merriam Webster's Dictionary. Let's consider what that means for a moment. Are we truly compassionate? If so, we have a desire to alleviate our children's distress. This also involves being active in our children's lives. How else will we know what is going on in their lives that would cause them distress?
Isaiah 66:13
"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you"
How can we give our children comfort? Well, again, we need to be active in their lives in order to know what areas they need a comforting word. This isn't just comfort over sorrow, but, comfort and reassurance that they are okay and that anything bothering isn't the end of the world. Children today get overwhelmed easily because they don't see hope in their world. Life has such hope though and we need to be sure and show our children comfort by showing them Christ is their hope!
Proverbs 10:1
"A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother."
How do we keep our children from becoming foolish? Well, this is a part of teaching them to be wise. Who is the source of wisdom? Well, some will say the source is actually a what, by saying that wisdom is knowledge. However, I tend to agree with Christ and say that wisdom comes from Christ and knowledge of HIM! We need to be the teachers of our children by teaching them Christ.
Proverbs 28:24
"He who robs his father or mother and says, "It's not wrong"— he is partner to him who destroys."
Okay, this one will seem obvious but, surprisingly we still suffer from the crime of stealing! Yes, we are teach our children not to steal. This reminds me of a story my sister-in-law told me. She was in a bookstore with her children and one of them grabbed a candy on the way out of the store. Well, when they got to the car she realized what her son had done. She immediately told him what he had done wrong and took him directly back inside the store. She had him explain to the store clerk what he had done and told the clerk he was sorry and to return the item. Wow! What a great lesson and definitely the right thing to do. Do you have a similar thing that happened? How did you teach your child what they had done was wrong?
Matthew 10:37
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
Lastly, but, most importantly, we need to teach our children to love the Lord more than anyone and more than themselves. Once our children learn this, everything else falls into place!

Thought for today:
How can I be more active in my children's lives?
How can I better show them Christ's love?

Song for today:
You need a laugh?
This is absolutely hilarious!!

"Mom Song"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6P2w5GkXmU