by Christine Hoover

If there is one thing I want to do well, it's rearing my children to know God's voice and love his ways. But if there is one area that I feel most inadequate in, it's rearing my children to know God's voice and love his ways, and every other little thing I'm trying to teach them under this larger umbrella, whether it's tying shoes or polite social interactions.

I panic when I think of my children embarking into adulthood, typically because I imagine that they'll have to call me to come tie their shoes or they'll freeze to death because I'm not there to remind them to wear pants and coats in the winter. Or they'll spend every waking minute in front of a video game console because I'm not there to monitor every second of their activities. Will they ever walk with the Lord? Will they become leaders in their homes and influencers in their communities? Will they love people well? It seems impossible.

And then I remember that a man isn't built in a day and to keep my eyes in the moment, to take small steps, to do the next thing.

But even for the moment, I often feel powerless and overcome at the mountain in front of me. I feel like I should be better at this than I am. Or maybe it's that I feel like all these things come easily to a “good mother” so I must not be one. I want to be a good mother but how do I get there?

I am so impatient with myself, so quick to throw my hands up in frustration or surrender. And I find myself thinking that God feels that same way toward me: impatience that I'm not further along, frustration that I fail, irritation at my faithless worrying. Those thoughts show that I often perceive God huffing at my weaknesses, wishing I could get it together already, arms crossed and foot tapping. The good thing is, however, that he knows we are weak and that he doesn't expect us to be anything else.

He's been talking to me about this. Some of it has been conviction. All of it has been hope-filled. The main point that he is driving into my heart over and over and over is that I cannot manage my life, I cannot control or change my children, and I cannot work hard enough to produce men of valor. I am weak. I have no authority to change the hearts of my children.

But he doesn't stop there, just driving nails in my coffin. He continues: I hold all power and I will be strong in your weakness. You must come to me every single day, acknowledge your weakness, ask for my power to parent, and let me produce incredible results far beyond your imagination in the hearts of your children.

This is so what I want: to know deep in my soul that a good mother is not one who bakes intricate treats, who schools a certain way, who manages her household within an inch of its life, or who has her children in a million wonderful activities. A good mother is one that acknowledges her need for the power of God to train and teach and change the hearts of her children.

The most important thing I can do for my children each day is to trust God and acknowledge my weakness, not rely on myself. He will take my meager offering and turn it into a miracle.

About The Author:

Christine Hoover is the wife to Kyle (a church planting pastor) and a stay-at-home mom to three kids. She is the author of 31 Days of Love Letters and the new book, The Church Planting Wife: Help and Hope for Her Heart. She enjoys helping other ministry wives embrace God's calling on their lives through her blog.

"A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

Are you ever intimidated by the "Proverbs 31 woman"? Sometimes I am. How can we compete? Here's a woman who brings her husband "good, not harm, all the days of her life"; gets up before the morning light; feeds her family; shows good judgment in her purchases; works "vigorously"; helps the poor; has time to make bed coverings for her household and garments for sale; has enough faith to "laugh at the days to come"; "speaks with wisdom"; has no use for idleness; and earns blessing and praise from her husband and children!

Let's be honest, we can't compete… but maybe we don't have to. I'm not convinced, for example, that the woman described in Proverbs 31 is one literal person. Or, if she is, that she achieved all her accomplishments during the same period of life. Rather, I think that through the writings of Solomon, the Lord has provided us women with specific examples of the behavior to which we should continually aspire - just as all Christians aspire to be like Jesus, even though we'll never actually reach His level of perfection.

I believe that the key to understanding Proverbs 31 is found in verse 30, the next to last passage in Proverbs: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." According to this verse, a "woman who fears the Lord," - who seeks His will for her as wife, mother, and follower of Jesus - is the Proverbs 31 woman, no matter how a particular day or season of her life is going.

My encouragement to you as a wife is to seek God and submit to His direction - and add a dash of love in the process. I promise you that you'll please your Maker, bring honor to your husband and family, and find a personal contentedness that will never be matched.

- Shirley M Dobson

May you know that you are wildly loved by your Father, just as you are. Not because of what you accomplished today, or didn't. Or how you feel about God at this moment, or whether you complained, or spent time reading your bible, or messed up in the worst way, or celebrated a victory. He adores you, just because.

And with of this knowledge, may you feel empowered to love your children the same way. The way God asks you to, the way your kids deserve, and the way you want to.

May you feel equipped to tackle every challenge, every situation, and every day with courage and joy even if you have to "start over" 10 times by 9 a.m.

May excitement fill your heart every morning for all that the day can be. Your children are your treasure, and this day is a gift-- may you fully embrace it all.

May you lay your head down at night with a heart that is bursting and memories too plentiful to count. May you know unspeakable joy at the end of the day.

May you recognize that though these days are so (so, so, so, so) long, the years are short. They are a breath. And as you exhale yours in the darkness of the night, may your cup overflow with thanksgiving. May your dreams be sweet and your sleep be restful.

Sleep well, Momma, knowing that the work you are doing is good, and your Father is smiling on you.

- Malinda Fuller

by Rebecca Barlow Jordan

If you are a mom or grandmom, you are deserving of blessing and honor for who you are and for all you do. No matter what your age - single or married - here is a prayer of blessing for you for every good work, every good word, and for every act of love you have ever offered on behalf of the ones you love..

Dear Lord,

Bless every mother and every grandmother with the finest of your spiritual blessings today. Confirm in her heart and spirit the work of her hands and the love that she has so freely given to those children under Your care. Validate her worth daily so she has no reason to doubt whether she is loved, valued, and cherished in the eyes of her Heavenly Father.

Create in her a deep sense of your protection and trust, so that worry and fear will disappear as she places her loved ones into Your care. Let her know that every prayer she has prayed and every encouraging word she has spoken on behalf of her children/grandchildren has been transformed into sweet, fragrant offerings before Your throne.

Whisper deep within her spirit the sweet words she longs to hear from You--that nothing can ever separate her from Your love. Help her to nestle daily into the promises of Your Word, standing with faith on the things You declare are true. Let her know that You reward faithfulness, but that true success doesn't lie in her accomplishments or accolades. Let her rest in the knowledge that she has done all she can--and that she and those she loves--truly belong to you. Bless her with a servant spirit so she can teach her own the joy of hearing one day, “Well done!”

Remove any guilt, false or real, and replace them with Your amazing grace and forgiveness. Help her see her children or grandchildren through Your eyes, knowing that in Your hands is the safest place they can ever be. Calm every doubt, and strengthen her confidence in the Only One who can bring good out of any situation.

Teach her that she cannot meet every need of her child's life, but that You can. Give her wisdom and guidance to train those precious children in Your path, and then to leave the results to You, Lord. Help her to love without limitations, to pray without ceasing, and to live without regrets. Bless her with such a sweet dependency on You that she will acknowledge her inadequacies, yet recognize and accept Your reward of praise--and Your sense of pleasure in having her as Your own beloved child.

Where prayers may still seem unanswered, and dreams are not yet realized, open her eyes to see beyond this world to a Hope that never disappoints, and to a Father who will never leave or abandon her. Give her courage to persevere even in the most difficult moments of her life. Bless her with honesty, integrity, and a playfulness that shows her children she is human, yet unswerving in her desire know You.

Let her joy be contagious; let her passion be pure; and let her life overflow with all the blessings she deserves--on special days, and on every day of her life.

In Jesus's name,

Amen

About The Author:

Rebecca Barlow Jordan is an inspirational author, speaker, and passionate follower of Jesus who loves to encourage others heart to heart. She has written 11 books and over 1700 other articles, greeting cards, and other inspirational pieces. ...

Volume 3 No 142: May 10 2013
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJ_142.htm

Volume 4 No 218: May 9, 2014
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJ_218.htm

Volume 5 No 284: May 8, 2015
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJ_284.htm

Volume 6 No 348 May 6 2016
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJA_348.htm

Volume 7 No 415 May 12, 2017
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Newsletter/MWJA_415.htm