Category Archives: Being a Mom

>A Mom and a Wife in the Making

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It was us promising to love each other forever,

until death due us apart. 

Two sinners entering into a God honoring covenant. 
Two forgiven sinners ready to live a life of sanctification together.
And God blessed us with children,

one by one they came into our lives and we are all now walking in

the Covenant, loving our Maker.
It’s been almost 18 years, and I still wonder at the miracle:
I did become a Wife and a Mom.
I longed for this since my childhood,

and the Lord heard me and answered me.

Today I am still a Mom and Wife in the making,

and I am amazed; 

God calls sinner women like me,

washes us and uses us to teach His Word to little souls,

to nurture lives that will live eternally.
Isn’t God’s Grace incomprehensible?

Because I am still a Mom and a Wife in the making is that I must study  God’s Word,
that is the only way for me to grow in grace.

Do you want to join me?

This Saturday we will start here an eight-week study on Philippians. 
You can find more information here and here.
We will also start a conversation over coffee and cookies
around the book, The Fruit of Her Hands,  by Nancy Wilson. 
You can find our reading schedule here.

A great article I found today at Credenda Agenda written by Douglas Wison, The Wife as a Ruler. Very good one.

(This is a repost  from the archives, ,with some little changes)

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What About Coffee, Cookies and a Good Book? -and a little gift-

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There are some books  I like to read and re-read several times, big books and little books, all kinds of books;  Theology books (my favorite ones) and books about family, homeschooling, homemaking, and being a Christian woman are the ones I most enjoy.

I have been thinking that I want to read again this book, The Fruit of Her Hands. Respect and the Christian Woman, by Nancy Wilson. Every time I read it, I am blessed and  renewed. I love to go through all my notes and jot new ones.

This time, however, I want to invite you to read along and then bring your cup of coffee or tea, some cookies or scones (Petra…) and join the conversation every Tuesday (4 Tuesdays).

This would be our schedule:

Tuesday, October 12, Chapters 1 and 2
Tuesday, October 19, Chapters 3 and 4
Tuesday, October 26, Chapters 5 and 6
Tuesday, November 2, Chapters 7 and 8

If you don’t have the book, you can order it through Canon Press, Amazon, and Monergism. I am pretty sure that if you decide to order it this weekend, you will have plenty of time to read the first two chapters before October 12.

If you don’t have the book, and would like to join me, I will be giving away one book (only USA and Canada); just leave your name and contact information and I will let you know this coming Saturday who the winner is. (I feel so odd doing this, I have never done it before!) The invitation to the giveaway will be closed Friday, October 1st before midnight ET.

Well I must go now, have a most joyous day!

This entry is linked to 5 Minutes for Books.com

Keeping up Family Worship

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It is the husband’s responsibility to lead the family worship, however, we, wives,  are called to be his perfect helpmate.

How can I help my Beloved with this task?

I can help him by preparing our home, our children, the room, the table. Just as the Shunamite prepared her home to receive the servant of the Lord, Elisha, with a bed and a table, a stool and a candlestick. (2 Kings 4:10), so we need to prepare our home for our family worship.

While our husband is away toiling and fighting against thorns and thistles, what are we doing to receive him and have everything ready for our family worship? Is our home in peace or our husband walks through the door only to find out complaints and bitterness? As he walks through the door, what are the first words he hears from me, sweet words of life or words that taste bitter and are hard to swallow?

We ought to prepare the heart of our home, as well as the table and candlestick.

Let us have all the Bibles ready; let us make sure that all the children have whatever our husband wants them to have at hand. We want to avoid all the unnecessary running around the house to find the one missing Bible or book. We should also have our little ones ready; I like to give my little one her night shower before our family worship, just because I do not want to feel “the pressure” of having to give her a shower when it is late! (You know how we, moms, choose to worry about simple things like this one!).

Some families like to make every reunion around the family table  memorable and special by lighting up some candles (nothing superstitious here, I am just talking about creating a beautiful ambiance); I love this idea, but it might not be the best option if you have little ones who would fall asleep! Ask your husband what would he prefer. My husband likes to turn on the lights after dinner so we can follow our Bible reading better.

Take a closer look at what you can do to prepare your home to receive your husband after a long day of toiling, and how you can help him direct a peaceful and joyous family worship.

Pictures taken at my friend’s home as she prepared her home for her family and guests. Thank you, my dear friend, for your kind hospitality. I love you!

As a Baby Growing in Your Arms

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This lesson I learned in the kitchen of my friend. Potatoes and onions with spices were in the oven, the salad was almost ready and the men were outside taking care of the meat on the grill.

She calls herself a “gleaner”.  She loves to collect wisdom from here and there and then she feeds her family with sweet morsels of wisdom. It was almost dinner time; I sat by her kitchen table and ate some of those morsels, sweet indeed, and now I would like to share them with you. Just as a good recipe, you must share the goodness…

Talking about homeschooling… the first days of school (or the first years of your homeschooling journey) are just like those days when we came home from the hospital with a beautiful baby in arms. We did not know how to handle this precious gift. We tried different schedules, different ways to hold him, we did not if we were doing things right. We were tired and overwhelmed at times. I still remember some days in which my husband will get home after work and I was still on my pj’s, still waiting for the perfect time to take a shower! My arms were tired, as well as my back.

But one day, my arms were not that tired; I had managed to take showers early in the morning (all mornings) and I started to wear make-up again. 

The Lord was my strength that day and He is my strength today. He strengthen my arms in such a season, and today He is still my present help in time of need.

I don’t know how He does that, but He does. He strengthens not only our arms to do what He has called us to do, but He also strengthens our soul. Day by day, through the reading of His Word, through the power of His Holy Spirit. He is God. He is able.

Where To Start

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We have been unpacking after a month of being away; we unpacked clothes, gifts, books, Belgian chocolates, art reproductions, and memories.

Now we must jump into what is next, books and notebooks, and schedules and routine. I love all these, I love to have them because they frame my life. They help me love the ordinary and know that in those simple days is where I am called to live my Christianity. I love routine and schedules because they help me grow into a disciplined woman, and the Lord has been gracious to me, He has helped me to find His joy in my daily life.

I have been meditating about Proverbs 23: 12 as I have been preparing my heart for a new school year.

“Apply your heart to instruction
 and your ear to words of knowledge.”

Apply your heart to instruction…

This is a good place to start, I must apply my heart to instruction.

Homeschooling is not easy, it requires hard work, and applying my heart to instruction must be  part of such work.

Think of ways to apply your heart to instruction:

* Wake up earlier.
* Plan your lessons and review them.
* Read good books.
* Learn along  with your children.
* Spend less time in those things that you know are not worthy of your time.
* Set limits.
* Once you set up your school year do not go pondering over the “newest” curriculum.
* Teach with love.
* Teach with joy.
* Teach with enthusiasm.

And obviously this list is just a starting point; pray and search your heart, ask the Lord and your husband and even to your children how can you improve your teaching ministry at home.

Apply… your ears to words of knowledge…

As calendar squares start to be filled up with activities and due dates, remember to apply your ears to words of knowledge.  The Word of God is the first place we should come to drink and find knowledge and wisdom; then we should come to our husband, and then we may find a friend, a godly friend. But beware of friends who complain at all times and are always tired and never happy. Those friends that quench your spirit. Find friends that speak words of knowledge, and once you find them listen to them (and don’t let them the go!). Be encouraged by them. Let them water your soul when you feel tired and overwhelmed.

His grace is sufficient.

Grace for Today... a beautiful reminder at Theology for Girls.

Teaching Our Children God’s Word and When Light Meets Daily Life -IV-

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Friday is here, and so is my sister. This is the second part of this series; part I is here.
So grab your cup of tea and enjoy while you read.

The images on this post are also from Claire B.
 
Light meets our Daily Life...
His perfect light meets us even in the kitchen, over some muffins,
and a godly conversation with our children.
 
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Teaching our kids God’s Word, is a great privilege which we often take for granted; many often figure that our children’s spiritual growth will come out from Sunday School and that as long as they are familiar with Bible stories (Noah’s Ark, Daniel in the lion’s den, Jonah, Adam and Eve, David and Goliath…) and have a favourite one, we are doing well. Oh! How little we value God’s Word! How little we treasure His law! And how little we fear His teachings!
 
If we could focus in teaching our kids God’s Word, read it reverently, and when we pray, pray focusing on what we are saying, studying faithfully, and asking Him to open our eyes and the eyes of our kids to understand what we read, to change our hearts, and to see Jesus Christ throughout the Bible as the only hope for us. Many read as a habit, routine or even as a hope that if I do all that I need to do, I’ll be good with God. Do we read to our kids, not just the story of Daniel as a cool story with lions in it with angels and a great miracle? But a story where we see God’s sovereign hand throughout the whole book, teaching us that God does as He pleases, and He bends the heart of whomever He wants to bend. We can see God’s character, God’s mercy, God’s providence, God’s wrath, God’s forgiveness… Much about God’s character is shown to us through each of these stories.
We see Jesus Christ, the promise the hope.

Why not teach our kids ALL about God? We are often afraid that they are too young and that they may not understand. But they understand! They need those truths now that they are young; they need to understand them now and anchor them in their hearts. We are obliged to do so if we profess to be Christian parents. They need to fear God and be wise.  We need to teach them stories written in the Bible like the one in 2 Kings 2:23-25 to understand the dangers of mocking others. We need to teach them that Jonah, was not a fantasy story, but was real, the people he was asked by God to preach to, were sinners; and we can see God’s sovereignty, God’s judgement, God’s faithfulness, His patience, His love, His wrath! God does as He pleases! We can trust this God in the Bible and teach our kids, that they too can trust Him.

We need to show them who God is in everything we do and say. We need to be a witness of Christ inside our doors, before we are a witness to the world. We need to live Christianity in the secret of our house if we want our kids to follow Christ. If the world is more persuasive than their religion, they will follow. But when they know Christ, love His laws, know the doctrine to defend their faith; then Christ, His love and His forgiveness will be far more persuasive for them than any treasure the world may offer.

That is why, for as long as we are parents, we need to bring our kids to the cross, bring them to the knowledge of Him who died for them, explaining their need and dependence in Him. Forget for once about self-esteem and teach them to find their value in God alone, in that sovereign Lord who does as He pleases. They will know who you are talking about. They will know that Lord is in control of all and their souls can rest in Him. If they are good at something is because God made them good, therefore that must use that for God’s glory. If they lack abilities, also the Sovereign God gave them that so that they will not boast in themselves, but go to Him and ask.

We need to bring them to Christ, to the cross and to their need and absolute dependence on Him every day, every hour, every minute of the day.

May God give us grace to live our lives showing all that Christ is to our family.
 
Norma. 

 This is a repost from the archives.