Books

Look above and truly read those words…”God has not called us to raise perfect children. God called us to raise PURPOSED children.” This quote has been like a broken record in my head lately. I’ve been reading, “Raising An Original” by Julie Lyles Carr(book review to come after I’m done with it!) and it’s really been causing me to stop and think about my parenting. And what my focus is in being a mom .

Look at the picture again and look behind the quote…three little boys running being kids and having fun. Now that I have three boys myself and two of them are 2 and 3 (a very “energetic” age ;)), It’s caused me to ponder again the way I view things and how I see my children. Do I push my kids to be perfect? Sit perfectly? Listen perfectly? Is my purpose as a mom to help my kids achieve some sort of perfection? I have been around kids who’s actions may be in compliance with their parents but their hearts are far from them. Is that want I want? For them to listen to everything I say perfectly on the outside, but inside they are resenting me?

Or instead do I want my kids to grow in who God created them to be? To know that when they do something wrong they know their maybe a consequence, but that their mama loves them so dearly. And that their consequence isn’t because mom is upset and frustrated with them, but because mom loves them and wants to bring about that purpose and godly character in their lives. Each of my five children where put on this earth for a purpose. And its my responsibility as their parent to help them find out what that purpose is. Not what I think it is, what I think it should be or what I want it to be. But instead what God shows them their purpose here on this earth is. Maybe they’ll know when they are young and maybe they won’t be an adult til they truly see what it is. But I want them to seek the Lord and know He’ll show them in his timing.

As a homeschool mama, I get the privilege to have my kids home with me all day and teach them whether that’s bookwork or things of life. Guiding them to be the person that God created them to be. To be confident in who they in Him and not who others think they should be; but to shelter them to flourish to be everything God fashioned them to be. And that takes work! Let’s get a raise of hands of how many of us when we’re having a tough day, escape to Pinterest or facebook or youtube when we’re overwhelmed with a child or children? Instead of what we know will actually refresh us, unlike a virtual reality will…the moments I escape to my phone for refreshment I get off feeling more frustrated and drained. But the moments I use to sit and just pray and ask God for the strength to continue on and the wisdom to know how to handle situations…that’s when true refreshment and energy is found!

Let me be real in saying how often do we really invest into our children outside of our wants? How often when we’re looking on our phones texting and a child comes up telling us something, do we nod along saying “that’s great” or “stop fighting with each other” all without taking our eyes off the screen? Instead of taking that moment, looking in their eyes and put the phone away to show them how much they are loved and matter.  How often do we come up and hug our children randomly and telling them how much we love them? How often do we sit with our child,  young or old, and just talk to see how they are doing and listen to all the random things they come up with?

Motherhood is a chiseling away at your selfishness to help you children thrive.

They need to be guided to do the right thing, shown how to handle emotions, and reminded of how much they are loved. I never want my kids to think that they have to live by some unrealistic expectations or they must always do the right thing otherwise mom will be cross with them. When they fail, that’s how they learn. That’s why I’m here as their mom, to help them navigate these little years of life.

I so often am self-focused and want things to come easy. But to reap great harvest, you have to sow and toil a lot to reap bountifully. I know the vision the Lord has given me, but in order to grasp it I need to raise my children to know their purpose, to love God and love people, and for them always to know that mama’s arms are always open to love them when they fall and when they rise.

BE encouraged sweet mama, you’re not alone in this journey!

Erin

p.s. also be on the lookout soon for a homeschool series! I’m super excited about this because I know a lot of mama’s who want to homeschool but it seems very overwhelming and they don’t know where to start. Or mama’s are homeschooling but haven’t found things that work or maybe don’t even know why they are homeschooling because their so burned out. So since I can’t have everyone over to my house all the time to look through what I’ve found that worked for us, help them find what works for them and encourage them in their homeschooling journey, I’m going to do a series on here where it can all be found! It will be on the why we homeschool, how we homeschool, what we’ve found that worked and didn’t work, schedule vs routine and what’s the point, and a few others in the works! You don’t want to miss this!

“Not long ago I spoke to a group of Christian women about the importance of keeping prayer and time with God a high priority, even if that means that we must get less sleep or skip certain social and leisure activities to do so. Many responded enthusiastically to this reminder, but some balked. One woman remarked, ‘Sometimes we just need to let go of these “unrealistic spiritual expectations” and take a nap!’

Many Christian today have this attitude. anytime someone starts talking about having tireless spiritual passion and pursuing Christ with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we are tempted to reason, Oh, that’s completely unrealistic. No one can be that passionate about Christ at all times. If we try, we’ll only end up putting unhealthy pressure upon ourselves and getting exhausted. It can’t be done.

…In a culture that promotes busyness and self-indulgence, many of us have adopted a lackadaisical mind-set toward our relationship with Christ. few of us possess any lasting spiritual passion. And we don’t pursue it, because we don’t think it is possible to find it.

In Romans 12:11 Paul said, ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord’ )(NIV), I have often read that verse and wondered, How is it possible to never lose my zeal for God and to always keep my spiritual fervor? Certainly it is possible, or God would not have put it in the Bible.

When I think of set-apart Christian women who have live out this command, I remember the lives of many heroic women…whose example of relentless, unwavering spiritual passion never ceases to amaze and inspire me…When I study the lives of these women who pursed Jesus Christ amid some of the greatest difficulties and trials imaginable, I realize I have no excuse for spiritual slothfulness.

…It is only when we choose to live by the ‘too busy not to pray’ principle that we will experience a thriving walk with Christ and, thus, a life that really works.”

-Leslie Ludy, “The Set Apart Woman”