Colossians 3:17, 23-24 And whatever you do whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since you know that ou will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Jesus Christ whom you are serving.
Our work is for the LORD.
A friend and I have been having an ongoing conversation this week about being "who God made us to be" or "who God made me" (WGMM) to be. Too often we prioritize our lives to meet the expectations of others or what we think we should be or should be doing and forget that that isn't necessarily WGMM to be. Then we find ourselves struggling, often discontent as we try to "serve men" rather than the One who made us.
Our work is for the LORD.
As mothers who have been given the responsibility of teaching and raising our children we have a big job to do. Of course with small ones in my home I see that immediately in my day-to-day job description, but I don't imagine that job ever truly ends. Once that child is placed in our arms and subsequently our hearts we will be forever known as "Mother". And one day we will be rewarded or paid for the job we did for good or for bad. Our work as mothers matters to God. Our job must never be taken lightly!
Our work is for the LORD.
There will be times, and as they grow older those times increase, that we can not be with our children every moment of every day and as they enter adulthood and we release them even further we can know that our employer, God, is ever present and able to always supply the help our children need. Sometimes we get "motherly arrogance" that only we can help our children, but there are times that our kids can and will make it without us - even should make it without us. Our children need those experiences to cope without out, otherwise how will they learn dependence on God?
Being not so far away from those sleepless nights which on occassion still occur, I can remember as I heard my child crying in the night and I sleep-deprived longing for sleep would cry out to God to comfort my child, to send Holy angels to comfort them. ANYTHING for sleep, right? But one night as I prayed that and the Psalm that says He gives sleep to those He loves ... I heard one of those "still quiet voices" in me that said something in response to asking God to comfort my child that that is why He gave me to the child, to comfort her ...
I am not saying we can't ask God to help us in times of trouble or sleep deprivation, by all means, but the answer might not be as we expect. His answer might be to give us more strength to make it, not to lay in bed while He comforts the child ... although there were nights I prayed that prayer that often her crying would stop and she would go back to sleep. Either way I could depend on my ever present help and as such we should do our best to teach our children the same ~ dependence on Him!
Sometimes we "wonder-moms" need to humble ourselves and get out of the way! God can use fathers, grandparents, church leaders, teachers and members, school teachers, neighbors and friends to assist our children in their journey as well as us and we should be (and I am) glad for the assistance.
God has given each of us the responsibility to train, nurture, develop, prepare and teach our kids again whether they are 4 or 44! While the training at 4 may certainly differ than that at 44 we can still have influence in our children's lives while we are with them or not. We need His guiding presence. May we be faithful to our high calling as mothers and faithful to our Employer!
Our work is for the LORD.
The world will most like not reward us for our selfless love and diligence, our families may even fail to notice the 10 lbs of laundry you just folded, or the time we took out of our day to sit in the middle of the kitchen floor to read a book to our kids. We may never get the credit or thanks on this earth that perhaps we feel we need or feel we are due (especially if we start thinking "is it worth it?", but we can rest assured that in God's eternal Kingdom it matters especially if we do it unto Him and not for the eyes of others.
Our work is for the LORD.
Colossians 3:17, 23-24 And whatever you do whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since you know that ou will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Jesus Christ whom you are serving.
Some of the devotional thoughts above today are again brought to you and influenced by my reading of the book The Power of a Positive Mom: Revised Edition by Karol Ladd.
Our work is for the LORD.
A friend and I have been having an ongoing conversation this week about being "who God made us to be" or "who God made me" (WGMM) to be. Too often we prioritize our lives to meet the expectations of others or what we think we should be or should be doing and forget that that isn't necessarily WGMM to be. Then we find ourselves struggling, often discontent as we try to "serve men" rather than the One who made us.
Our work is for the LORD.
As mothers who have been given the responsibility of teaching and raising our children we have a big job to do. Of course with small ones in my home I see that immediately in my day-to-day job description, but I don't imagine that job ever truly ends. Once that child is placed in our arms and subsequently our hearts we will be forever known as "Mother". And one day we will be rewarded or paid for the job we did for good or for bad. Our work as mothers matters to God. Our job must never be taken lightly!
Our work is for the LORD.
There will be times, and as they grow older those times increase, that we can not be with our children every moment of every day and as they enter adulthood and we release them even further we can know that our employer, God, is ever present and able to always supply the help our children need. Sometimes we get "motherly arrogance" that only we can help our children, but there are times that our kids can and will make it without us - even should make it without us. Our children need those experiences to cope without out, otherwise how will they learn dependence on God?
Being not so far away from those sleepless nights which on occassion still occur, I can remember as I heard my child crying in the night and I sleep-deprived longing for sleep would cry out to God to comfort my child, to send Holy angels to comfort them. ANYTHING for sleep, right? But one night as I prayed that and the Psalm that says He gives sleep to those He loves ... I heard one of those "still quiet voices" in me that said something in response to asking God to comfort my child that that is why He gave me to the child, to comfort her ...
I am not saying we can't ask God to help us in times of trouble or sleep deprivation, by all means, but the answer might not be as we expect. His answer might be to give us more strength to make it, not to lay in bed while He comforts the child ... although there were nights I prayed that prayer that often her crying would stop and she would go back to sleep. Either way I could depend on my ever present help and as such we should do our best to teach our children the same ~ dependence on Him!
Sometimes we "wonder-moms" need to humble ourselves and get out of the way! God can use fathers, grandparents, church leaders, teachers and members, school teachers, neighbors and friends to assist our children in their journey as well as us and we should be (and I am) glad for the assistance.
God has given each of us the responsibility to train, nurture, develop, prepare and teach our kids again whether they are 4 or 44! While the training at 4 may certainly differ than that at 44 we can still have influence in our children's lives while we are with them or not. We need His guiding presence. May we be faithful to our high calling as mothers and faithful to our Employer!
Our work is for the LORD.
The world will most like not reward us for our selfless love and diligence, our families may even fail to notice the 10 lbs of laundry you just folded, or the time we took out of our day to sit in the middle of the kitchen floor to read a book to our kids. We may never get the credit or thanks on this earth that perhaps we feel we need or feel we are due (especially if we start thinking "is it worth it?", but we can rest assured that in God's eternal Kingdom it matters especially if we do it unto Him and not for the eyes of others.
Our work is for the LORD.
Colossians 3:17, 23-24 And whatever you do whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since you know that ou will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD Jesus Christ whom you are serving.
Some of the devotional thoughts above today are again brought to you and influenced by my reading of the book The Power of a Positive Mom: Revised Edition by Karol Ladd.
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