Scales From My Eyes

Hello old friend. It has been too long. 

God started whispering to me a few months ago. Write. Change. I heard it. Yet, I knew I needed to hear some other things before I knew what to write and how to change. Perhaps it would help if I chronicled how I got to where I am.

It's hard to pinpoint where it started. For those of you who have read since the beginning, my life had become remarkably similar to my first post. Angry mommy, mean wife, grudge holding matriarch of the family. This lovely behavior was only inflicted on my husband and children, the people who are closest to me. But I couldn't see it. I saw myself as the loving mother, caring wife, all around caregiver. That's when God removed the scales from my eyes.

I have always found that phrase so interesting. It originates in the story of Saul becoming Paul. God blinded him physically to alert him of his spiritual blindness. When he was visited by Ananias, a servant of the Lord, God removed the scales from his eyes and Paul could once again clearly see physically, and now spiritually. When we are in sin, we don't often recognize this. If we did recognize it, then we would be required to change. The Holy Spirit is so good to alert in us the need to repent and turn from our sin. But the problem comes when we are blind to the sin, as Paul was blind to the fact that he was wrong about Jesus. Charles Spurgeon gave an amazing sermon on this. He expounds on the fact that it is possible to be going after something with all your might, but to be going after the wrong thing. To be blind to the sin in your endeavour. To have scales over your eyes and to be unable to see that you have the incorrect focus. This is what my life has looked like for... I am not even sure how long. I have been unaware that my words were like daggers to the hearts of my most cherished people. My actions were slowly turning them against me. I saw that, I saw them being unkind to me, becoming distant from me, disobeying and yelling and screaming at me. But I was completely unable to see my part in it, unable to see the damage I was unleashing on them.

God is so good to not allow me to go further in my sin. Just as God used Ananias to remove the scales from Paul's eyes, God used my husband to remove mine. After three very difficult, painful conversations unlike any in my life, the scales fell off. Or maybe were ripped off. I went from being so self righteous in every decision I made, every word I said - no matter how hurtful or sinful - to being sorrowful and pained at the sight I now saw. The realization of the hurt I had caused, the tears I had induced, the havvock I had orchestrated. All the issues I attributed to everyone else had a root in my treatment of my family. It hurt so badly, so painfully. It ached in my body and I was so full of regret. If I didn't have the loving embrace of Jesus at that moment, I don't know how I could have moved forward. He comforted me and reminded me that I can change and that He will show me the way.

That began the process to this moment. The moment where I start over and try to figure this out. "This" being how to be a different person. How to be the person God wants me to be. He removed the scales and now, in His infinite goodness, He will show me the way. I have to trust Him for each step. I don't get to see the whole path, I just get to see the next step, which is the hardest part for someone who has tried to be in control of everything and everyone for so long.

The first step was apologizing to my kids and my husband. I told my kids that God and I had a conversation and I realized I wasn't being a very nice mommy and that I was sorry for that. I told them if it was okay with them, I wanted to start fresh and try my hardest to be the best mommy I could be. Before I could even finish the sentence, Sadie hugged me and said, "Oh Mama, it's okay!" and Tucker said he forgave me, and Ava gave me a smile. God was so good to remind me that children are resilient, that He can protect their hearts from my mistakes, and that it is never too late to change when you recognize that you've done wrong. Jimmy has also been forgiving, but also continues to remind me if I start to slip back into who I was before. Although that is not always fun (or is never fun), it is always necessary and I thank him for that. He is my partner in life, given to me by God to become more holy through situations like this (even when it hurts).

The next step is getting back to writing. This is where God speaks more clearly to me then anywhere else. This is where I insist on quiet, so I can hear Him best, where I dig into His Holy word to discover the gems of knowledge He has so sweetly blessed us with. This is where I can process through what He is saying to me, so I can learn and grow. This is where I can have accountability and confession. Maybe this is where I can tell you what God tells me and we can grow together. This is where I can document the changes that He has made in me, so if I slip up or forget I can go back and say, "Lord, I am a mess and you are so good to me and I don't deserve the grace I have been given through your son." 

This is the place, The place it started, the place I grew, the place I want to change in again. God's timing never ceases to amaze me. At the beginning of a new year, I have a fresh chance to be the person I want to be, the person God made me to be, the person I am destined to be through God's will and plan.

Lord, thank You for not giving up on me. Thank You for removing the scales from my eyes and allowing me to see myself for who I really was. Please don't ever let me go back to being that person. Change my heart to be like Yours. Let my words bring life and not destruction. Let me be hyper aware of every word, every look, every decision and how that affects my family. Let me be more like you every day of my life. Thank you for second (and third and fourth and infinite) chances. You are too good to me and I don't deserve it.

Amen

What Do I Do With This Child?

Where do I even start... My 4 year old is insane. Ok... Probably not, but sometimes I really do wonder. She is prone to have wild tantrums that turn her into an animal like creature whose rage cycle can only be shutdown by isolation from people and until she fills her yelling/screaming/kicking quota. I wish I was kidding or exaggerating, but it happens. And I am frustrated. I think I am the most frustrated because after trying everything under the sun I thought I had found a solution. We worked on a goal of not having tantrums all day, and if she made it through the day she got a sticker on her "Happy Chart." For six days straight she made her goal everyday and I felt like we had finally found something that's works. But in the last 24 hours she has had two. And they have been worse then ever. It's like she saved up all her crazy juice and now spewed it all over us.

"God, what do I do with this child?"

Now I sit with my Bible, looking through passages that I have underlined before, searching for an answer. I turn to my trusty Fruit of the Spirit for comfort, but God draws me right below it.

"Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." (Galatians 6:1-5, 9, 10 NLT) (underlines mine)

This. This is exactly what I needed. I'm sure Paul had adults in mind when he wrote this, but the way it relates to a parent and child is spot on. Boy, did I need this one,

"if another believer is overcome by some sin,"- When Ava is struggling with her emotions and self control, she is overcome (if you could witness how overcome she was, you wouldn't believe your eyes). And we as parents sometimes are overcome while they are overcome. We are overcome with anger at the behavior, resentment that you have to deal with situation again, and fear that they are always going to be like this. I pray everyday that this phase will pass. Quickly.

"should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path."-The out of control behavior caused by refusing to listen to someone who wants to help you is a sin I would like to help her learn to give to Jesus while she is a child making child size mistakes in my home rather then making adult size mistakes that have lasting consequences later. How can I help her with that? By matching her anger with more anger? Or "gently and humbly" helping her back to the path of peace. And sanity. For both of us.

What I have learned so far in my parenting journey is this: every tantrum, every sassy answer, every lie, every screaming no!, is an opportunity. It's an opportunity for me to show my kids Jesus' love, care, and forgiveness. He loves us when we sin against Him, even though we don't deserve it. He cares enough to gently help us back onto the right path through gentle correction and discipline. And He forgives us. Every. Single. Time. Every time. When we don't deserve it. Ever. But He does anyway. And that is my goal, to show my children Jesus through me. I will make mistakes, and I pray they will forgive me. But I will try. And because God knew we would get frustrated, just like I am today, He gave us this verse.

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."(Galatians 6:9 NLT)

He gives me what I need. Every single time I ask for it. And even when I don't.

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me, even when I deserve that. Please give me the same unrelenting love and commitment to my children, even when they don't deserve it. You are so good to us. Amen

 

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What To Do When You're Tired, Frustrated, and Selfish

Do you ever start reading the Bible and come across a passage that you can´t believe is in there. You read it several times through just to make sure you read what you thought you read? Well if you haven´t, go ahead and read Matthew 14:1-12. And then you can send me emails saying, ¨What the what?¨ and I can try to explain it the way my Bible study leader did today.

Thankfully, that was not the end of the story. Matthew tells us of the horrific end to John the Baptist and then ends it in only the way Jesus could. He tells us, ¨Now when Jesus heard {about the beheading of John the Baptist}, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.¨ Matthew 14:13{inserted from prior verses for clarity}

Jesus just found out that John the Baptist-the proclaimer of the Messiah, the chosen prophet, and-oh yeah-Jesus´ cousin-had been beheaded by an evil ruler and his even more evil wife. That is enough to make a person sick, sad, and looking for solitude.

But don´t forget, the people of the area are starting to catch on that this man is like no other man. He is healing sickness, bringing new life, preforming miracles-and they have no idea what He is going to do in the near future to confirm His identity as the son of God. They want a piece of this man. They want His presence. They want His healing touch.

So what does He do? He had every right to send them away. After all, He was morning His cousin and friend. He was tired from a long journey. And He was being mobbed left and right and he was just in sight of rest.

What does He do? ¨When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.¨v. 14. He had compassion and healed them.

When I read this today, it struck me. It struck me like no other time I have ever read this. Jesus was tired. Probably more tired then I have ever been. Yet...He saw them. He interacted with them, He healed them, He loved on them, He gave them what they were looking for.

And as I contemplated this...as God often does, He made it relevant to my life. When I am exhausted, scared, frustrated, mourning, or just plain selfish, and my kids need me...I can choose to respond as Jesus did. They don´t see tiredness, inner feelings, or the thoughts going on in my head. They see their mom. You could be their favorite person in the whole world and all they want is a little bit of your time, a portion of your attention, they just want to be loved on.

And this is not just for parents of young children. This is about that person who needs you, who likes spending time with you, the person you might not even realize looks to your for inspiration and joy. They are in your homes, at your jobs, in your churches, in your neighborhoods. Whoever and whenever it is that someone needs you and you feel like you have nothing left to give, remember... Jesus and His compassion for us when He was searching for rest in a desolate place.

When we are in the middle of these feelings of inadequacy, under preparedness for a task at hand, mental exhaustion, or whatever it may be, it is easy to dismiss or distract. But the joy, the beautiful joy that comes from giving that child or that person the last ounce you have with a happy heart and genuine intention, that joy could be just what you needed to get out of that emotion cycle and finish your day renewed.

Jesus came to this earth to have the full human experience so He could better comfort us when we are down and celebrate with us when we feel joy. He knows how you feel and He shows us the perfect example of how to respond.

In the same way He had compassion on the people that day over 2000 years ago, He has compassion for us. When we need Him, He will be there. Every. Time. Lean on Him, let him refresh your soul so you can be that person for someone who might not know Him yet.

Thank you Father for sending your son as the perfect example. It is impossible to be perfect like Him, and that is not what you ask for. You look at our hearts and our desires to strive to be like Him and glorify you. Please give me the energy and inclination to respond to my children, husband, family, friends, and neighbors as Jesus has responded to us all along. Thank you for giving us your word which is relevant and timeless. You are awesome. AMEN!

Joy (Covered in Poop)

Sometimes, life is just perfect. And sometimes, life is full of crap. Literal crap, like a toddler covered in poop. This is what a found a few weeks ago in my youngest daughters room. Sadie was supposed to be taking a nap when I heard her chattering away to herself. When I poked my head in the room to check on her, my nose was met by the aroma which could mean nothing else.

¨Poop Mama!¨

She sounded so happy. As if she had discovered instead of waste coming out of her butt it was play-dough. There was my sweet baby, standing in her beautiful crib, covered in feces. In my horror I snatched her out of her crib, held her at arms length, ran her up the stairs, and plopped her in my tub. At this point I had enough sense in me to snap a picture, because, although at this moment I wanted nothing more then to make this go away, I knew later this would be something I was glad I documented.

After I scrubbed the literal crap out of my little girl, washed everything in the crib, and detailed that bed like it had never been cleaned before, I laughed. I laughed at this little person I made who had the idea that poop was fun to play with. I laughed that one day soon this would be a funny story to tell. I laughed because there was not much else I could do.

I thought about the children God has blessed me with that bring so many emotions and experiences to my life. Although it would be hard for you to think of a shenanigan that my kids haven´t pulled, I am thankful for their curiosity, their imagination, their tenacity, their spirit, and their joy. I could easily get upset, scream, and complain about all the mischief my kids get into (and don´t get me wrong, sometimes I do.) Or... I could laugh. I could imagine all the amazing things my kids will experience in their lifetime because of their active minds and unstoppable hearts. And I could imagine all the joy that I will experience by watching them live their dreams.

So if you gave me the choice between a well behaved, compliant child without curiosity and spunk or a spirited, joyful, child who is full of life, I would pick the one covered in poop any day.

¨A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.¨ Proverbs 17:22

A Lesson in Mommyhood

As I have said many times, this blog is a record of my journey through life so I can remember what happens, since time flies by. I have to record this conversation immediately so I don't forget the words.

Ava and I playing house while everyone else was at worship night:

Ava: Mommy, do you want to play house with me?

Me: Sure Ava.

Ava: Ok, you are the girl and I am the mommy. Ok?

Me: Ok.

Ava: I am going to put you to bed. (putting blankets on me.) Good night! I am going to sleep over here in my room.

Me: Mommy! Mommy! I need you, I'm scared! (reenacting a typical night in our house.)

Ava: It's ok honey, what's wrong, what happened?

Me: I had a bad dream, I want you.

Ava: Oh, it's ok. You know what I'm going to do? I am going to pray for you, ok? Jesus, please help Caite sleep with no dreams and help her to calm down so she can be happy tomorrow. In Jesus name, Amen. Ok, do you feel better? I can sleep right here next to you tonight if that makes you feel better.

Me: Ok mommy, I love you.

Ava: Ok, it's morning time!

Me: I don't feel good mommy, can you take care if me?

Ava: Yes, I am going to pray for you. Jesus, please heal her so she feels better so we can have a fun day tomorrow at the beach. Amen. Ok,I am going to get you some remedies. Ok, there you go, do you feel better?

Me: Yes mommy, thank you.

This game of role reversals went on for another hour quite similarly. I was sick, she would take care of me so sweetly. I would build a tower of blocks and she would take pictures and videos of me on the IPhone. She folded the laundry and I put them in piles. We mirrored our everyday life, but just with her doing my job and me doing her part.

But the cool thing about tonight is God uses the ordinary, everyday things to give us revelations and open our eyes. God gave me a few beautiful gems that I would have never noticed without Him.

1) Even though some days seem like my kids don't here a single word I say, they talk through me saying bedtime prayers, they scream in my face when I tell them they can't do something,even when all this happens, they still hear me. She said the exact things I say to her, "let me pray for you," "let me get you a remedy," "let me take a picture of you." When she is being mommy, she says the words she remembers mommy saying.

2) When I first pretended I was scared after she put me to bed, I was being silly to show her how she sounds sometimes. But for a split second before she opened her mouth to comfort me, I was afraid. I was afraid she would mimic me in a different way. If she said, "you're fine, go to sleep, do not get up again," she would have been just as accurate. That made me sad... Sometimes conviction hurts.

3) Several times this week we have discussed treating others how you want to be treated, and tonight my tiny girl showed that to me. She was so sweet and loving and kind. She was patient and gentle to her "little girl." She showed me how she wanted to be treated as a child.

I was so in awe of this little creature. This child who can go from laughing to punching in seconds, who feels everything in life 100%, who is so unpredictably volatile sometimes I wonder how she will get through the next 15 years of school. This baby girl was being the sweetest mama I wish that I could be daily.

I could feel guilty for the way I act sometimes, I could wish I was the perfect mom, but I'm not going to do either of those things. I am going to take tonight as the sweet, precious gem of a reminder that it is. A reminder that God can allow them to remember the good and forget the bad. And, that the lessons I am trying to teach my children can be taught me in even more clarity then I have been able to teach them. I learned a lesson in being a mom tonight from my little girl. Thank you Lord for allowing these beautiful lessons to come from the mouths of babes.

The father (mother) of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. (Proverbs 23:24 NLT)

 

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Your Mission: Motherhood

This is the written version of a talk I did today at the Mom’s Group at the Movement Church in San Marcos, Ca (which just happens to be the coolest church ever ;-) I hope it blesses you today.

Good morning! I am sooooo joyful to be here today! When Lacie asked me to speak to you, I was so excited, like sooo excited to talk to you. I was sitting in a MOPs group just like this at the old building almost exactly 5 years ago very eager to see what God wanted to teach me in that season of my life. He used this group to grow me and teach me so much over the time I spent in the group. And I am excited for what He wants you to learn today.

My name is Caitlyn and I have been going to the Movement for just over 5 years now. If you want to know a little about me, I am married to a very wonderful man named Jimmy. We just had our 7 year anniversary in January. I have three children, Tucker is 6, Ava is 3 and Sadie Mae is 1. I am in love with Jesus and love learning about Him, I am a homeschooling mom, I think I can do every single thing on Pintrest, even though I can’t, and I occasionally write on my blog. So that’s me. J

After Lacie asked me to speak here, I asked God what He wanted me to speak to you about. And pretty much immediately, He showed me the scripture that I should talk about. It is Deuteronomy 11:18-21. If you want you can turn there in your Bible or on your phone. It says, "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.”

This is also similar to Deuteronomy 6:7-9. So, on the same day I read these verses, my parenting devotional was regarding these verses, (imagine that ;-). It was discussing the Jewish custom of wearing phylacteries. Phylacteries were the Jewish interpretation of this verse, “bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” These phylacteries were small leather boxes worn on the bicep and the forehead, tied on by leather straps. They had 4 scriptures from the Torah in them, including the one we just read. So they were literally binding the verses to their head and hands. But what would happen with some people, is that if they only took the section on binding to the outside, and didn’t read the beginning of the section which says, “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and soul,” so then the boxes were worthless. They were just an outer show, and the inner heart was still hard. God gave me a picture of the phylacteries dissolving into the hands and head. It was as if the verses were guiding the hands and the mind. What if every move your hand made was directed by the Word of God. What if every thought was held captive and inspected by the Holy Spirit. This made me think that life would be so much more directed. It would be like the Holy Spirit is directing you on a mission. And whether you realize it or not, you ARE on a mission.

And that’s what I want to talk to you about today. Your mission. I am going to go ahead and venture that because you are sitting here in this room, you are either a mom, a step mom, or a soon to be mom. There are some kind of children in your life that you have an effect on. So part of your mission in life, I am going to go ahead and say, your most important mission right now, is your mission in motherhood. Whether it has been your life long dream to become a mom or you somehow ended up here in a way that wasn’t what you planned, this has always been God’s plan, His mission for your life. When you undertake a mission, you don’t just bumble through it. You don’t just go minute by minute through the mission. You have a goal, you have a plan, and you realize it is important. Without these three things, you cannot have a successful mission.

You start with a goal. All great missions have a goal! Whether your mission is to conquer the world or successfully exit Target without losing one or more children or losing your mind, both of these have a goal. What is your goal? What is your goal for motherhood? Your ultimate goal is to raise little people who have a passion to truly know the Lord, like really know Him, not just know of Him. The more specific goal is dependent on you and your family. I would suggest you take some time and think about 2-3 sentences that describe the kind of people you envision your children being when they grow up. Is loving God and loving His people your thing? Then include that in the list. Are you all about giving all God’s people the grace that He so lovingly gave you? Then put that on the list. Whatever it is that God has put on your heart, put it on the list. Ask Him what your family should look like to bring Him glory, and be open to what He says. Because sometimes it wasn’t exactly what you had in mind. Ask Him what the goal should be.

Once you have your goal, you can form a plan. Now this plan is something that will be ever changing with your child’s age and situation. And this plan looks different to every single person. It is based on your goal and every thing you plan has that end goal in mind. I don’t want to tell anyone what there plan should be, I want God to do that. But I learn so much better when I have examples, so I am going to give you some examples straight from our verses in Deuteronomy.

“You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” This does not say, talk to your children about God on Sunday morning and whenever they are in trouble. It says all. the. time. Morning, Noon, night. Good days and bad days. In joy and in pain. How do you do this? Here are some ideas:

When you wake up in the morning, or should I say woken up usually, say, “Look at the beautiful day God has made!” And if you don’t feel that way, then you fake it till you make it ;-)

When you walk out the door, say, “Look at how hot/cold/sunny/cloudy/rainy/whatever God made it today. Thanks God!” Listen to praise worship in the car and in the house. Talk about all the things God made that you pass by. Pray for your child before you drop them off at school. Pray their mind is protected from the bad influences and soaks in the learning. Pray they are a blessing to everyone around them and that they have an opportunity to talk to their friends about God. Say grace with them over meals and teach them how to say there own. Say prayers with them when they go to bed. Tell them you love that God made you to be there mommy and that there is no one else in the world you would trade places with. Tell them you love them the way God made them. Hug them tight. These are just a few ways to get you started. Ask God the specific ways to talk about Him to your kids.

Another way to reach your kids about God from Deuteronomy is, “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Write scripture on note cards and put them on your doors, walls, and steering wheels. Use a dry erase marker and write verses on your mirrors. Put a note card at eye level on the space right above your sink, since we tend to spend so much time there ;-). The more times you look at these, the more it will draw you to God’s word. The more you are in God’s word the easier it is to carry out His plan, His mission. You will start to memorize the verses from seeing them. You will hide them in your heart. You will say them to your kids. And once your kids learn how to read they will be drawn to them too. I have a first grader who loves reading. Whenever he sees a street sign or an advertisement, he is drawn to it, locked in to reading it. How awesome is it to see Him lock in on scripture and read that. Amazing!

Serve with your kids. One thing God has put on my heart to teach my kids is to serve others, especially the less fortunate. This came out of Matthew 25:34-36, “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Last year I was looking for somewhere to serve with Tucker, who was 5 at the time. My friend from the church I grew up at told me she served the homeless a warm meal in the park every Friday and we were welcome to come. We tried it and have been going back ever since. I usually bring all three kids. I strap one to my back, and the other two stand by me and hand out waters, forks, napkins, and cookies. They have become comfortable with a different kind of people, they get to help others, they see that not everyone has everything they want or need, and they have formed relationships with a few of them. It is great to bless the people, but it is an even better blessing for us, something I hope sticks with my kids forever. This might be something for you, it might not, but find out whatever your thing is, and do it. You will be blessed because of it.

With all of these things being said, I want you to remember one very important thing. There is only one perfect person that walked this planet. And it is not me. And it is not you. So be prepared to make mistakes. It happens. It is how you handle the mistake that makes the difference.

I will never forget a story that I heard right here in this very MOMs group. I can’t even remember the mans name, (I was later told it was Al Menzoni) but he was writing a book about parenting. His children were already grown and he was gathering information to try to help young parents raise their kids. He was using stories from his children’s childhood to illustrate his points. He was planning on including the story of his biggest parenting mistake. When he daughter was younger, probably 8 or 9, he was trying to put her to bed. It had been a long day, he was tired, she was overly tired, and she just wouldn’t go to bed. She said something particularly rude to him and he reached over and slapped her on the cheek. He immediately burst in to tears and apologies. They hugged and cried together. He said sorry and she forgave him. It never happened again, but he carried this with him for all the years since. Now that she was grown, he wanted her to read the manuscript before it was published since it had this story in it. She read the pages carefully and when she finished she looked up at him and said, “Dad, I don’t remember this.” He was shocked. He had held on to this failure, this all time big mistake for all these years. And she didn’t even remember. It’s because he apologized. Sincerely apologized to her. He didn’t try to make it her fault, he didn’t tell her, “If you wouldn’t have made me so mad I wouldn’t have smacked you.” He admitted he had done wrong and asked for forgiveness. And she had given it to him. Friends, children want to forgive. They have hearts that want to love and want things to be right with you. Be humble and ask for forgiveness when you have done something wrong. It can change your relationship with them forever. This story changed my heard, prideful heart to be humble and real with my children. So with that in mind, look at your goal. Whatever you goal is, you have to have a plan to get it there. It’s not just going to happen, you have to have a plan.

So you have your goal and your plan to get to that goal. Now you have to understand how seriously important this mission is. It is so important. Eternally important. It is kind of scary to even fathom how important this is sometimes, but please, just go there with me for a minute. For the first 18 years of your child’s life, you are your child’s greatest influence. You set the foundation for every decision your child will make for the rest of their life. You get to help form a person. Who they become determines the choices they make, and these choices effect their jobs, their spouses, their coworkers, their friends, their children, their grandchildren, pretty much every person they come in contact with. You effect how they look at God. Whether they ultimately follow the Lord is not entirely on your shoulders. You plant and water the seeds, God grows the plant. But, he gives us a promise in Proverbs 22:6 says, “Raise up a child in the way he should go: when he is old he will not depart from it.” Please friends, if you hear one thing today here this. This is an important job. Probably the most important job. There will be other missions God gives you that are very important, but none that have the generational legacy that motherhood carries. Realize this fact and forever change your legacy. You can’t go back and do it over.

So, now you have your directives. You need a goal, you need a plan, and you need to understand how truly important this mission is. You might have already realized you are on this mission or this might be the first day God opened you eyes to it, but today is the day. Ask God to tell you wonderful details about this mission He has put you on. He will tell you. And you will be blessed.