"Praying mothers, teaching mothers, faithful mothers - the Church needs you. She needs mothers who will crave children, and love them and bless them to be warriors of the next generation. Motherhood! Blessed Motherhood! The time has come to once... again sing the praises of this calling. Though bloodied by the barbs of feminism, Christian motherhood will not be vanquished." ~B. Phillips

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So many women long to be mothers, dreaming of birthing their own children and offering a loving home to a little one. I cannot begin to feel that pain, even though I have dear friends who have endured the heartache and grief in the loss of children they have only known in their hearts.

Many Christians would like to suggest that spiritual motherhood is the answer to their loss. It is not. Deep pain is not comforted by a second best. Only the Lord can heal that wound, in His own timing and way.

However, I do believe that all women are called to spiritual motherhood -- simply put, to answer the call of Titus 2 by mentoring, loving, and training the next generation of women, and even young men in the appropriate ways a mother ought to teach their son. Unfortunately, most of us feel inadequate in this department. We pigeon-hole the Titus 2 woman, expecting her to be a silver-haired, season gal, seeking to teach us how to become a Godly woman. The reality is that the Scriptures do not call us to look for an older woman. No, the Scriptures instruct us clearly...

The rest HERE...

"Children are a blessing!" Sure, out in public or via our blogs/social networks we talk all about how are babes are blessings. Uh huh. But how many of you are sincerely experiencing your children as blessings in the day to day? How often does the thought pop in your mind that your kiddos are burdens (shhh...don't tell!)? You don't want to think that way, but some days it's just so...hard to be a mommy. Don't worry, I can't read your mind, your secret is safe with God. He knows. He knows that so often we are exhausted, exasperated, and sometimes even lost when it comes to truly experiencing our children as being blessings, not just "in theory" blessings. He also knows that there is joy to be had. Read the REST HERE...

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All around me, young mothers are stretched, and stressed, and struggling. Mommy burnout is rampant. And while, I’m sure that to some extent, it’s always been hard to manage a house full of young children, I also have a sneaking suspicion that it’s worse today, that the women of modern generations face handicaps our foremothers didn’t have to.

The REST HERE...

Rise early before the family. Start a load of laundry, make the kiddo's breakfast, kiss hubby good-bye as he walks out the door. Fold that load of laundry, wash the breakfast dishes, and sit out the chicken so that it can thaw for dinner. Encourage the children to do their chores and get them started on their school work. Then, clean the bathrooms, dust the living room, and vacuum the entire house. Drive the oldest child to art lessons and the middle child to soccer. Pick up hubby's dress shirts from the dry cleaners and don't forget to stop by the store on the way home because you're out of toilet paper. Do all of this BEFORE lunch, because there is another list to tackle in the afternoon.

Let's face it- our lives are busy, very busy; if we're honest, maybe even too busy. I dare say that we have lost the art of being still. We are constantly on the go because there is always something that HAS to be done.

The rest HERE....

Just like a military leader we have to remember to keep up the morale of the troops. It is so true that if Momma isn’t happy then no one is happy. So, Momma must stay happy. No matter what.

The REST HERE!

If you are like me, you long, as a mother, to provide a safe and secure dwelling place for your children during their years of upbringing. I want to make sure that my children and teens are safe physically, emotionally, mentally and most importantly – spiritually. How much better protected and prepared for life all of our children will be growing up near the altar of the one and only living God!

In Part 1, we first examined how we could situate our children near God’s altar. We learned that we could continually keep our children before Jesus, by praying for them constantly. Today we will examine how we can spiritually shelter our children from the world before they are spiritually ready to test their wings and fly.

“Where she may have her young” is literally translated as “Where she may place; arrange or make a home for them.” As the sparrow looks carefully for the best place to make her dwelling place, so we must create our homes as a place near God’s altar. To keep them near God, we must carefully arrange our children around God’s altar, raising them solely for HIS use. Mothers, we must purposefully place our children around the things of God, constantly reminding them of God’s thoughts on every matter, as instructed in Deuteronomy 6:6-8, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” We must live our lives for God out-loud, constantly reminding our children - in word and in actions - of God’s commands. The REST HERE...

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by Lisa Metzger

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.”
Psalm 84:3, 4

What better place for mother “sparrows” to build our homes than near the altar of the Living God! In this world that we live, our dwelling places truly need to be situated near God’s altar. We should be “ever praising” Jesus! But how can we do this?

Of course we cannot physically build our dwelling places near the altar of the Most Holy, but we can live out our lives as though we are physically there. Over the next few months, we will look at ways to continually place and keep our children near the Lord’s altar. The Rest HERE.....

When my third child was born, my oldest was three. And they were all active boys!

My husband and I were outnumbered and my life was completely up-ended. For the next three years, I couldn’t even go shopping at Target by myself with the kids. While one raced down the aisle, the toddler climbed out of the cart - all while the baby, who disliked being confined from the moment of his birth, screamed! I was a mess! I felt like climbing over the cart and racing down the aisle screaming myself.

In those difficult three years, I kept trying to regain my old life. An organizer and leader by nature, I’d volunteer to oversee something at church and then make my kids and me miserable trying to get it done. My heart is heavy when I remember the times I dragged my three little boys to one event or another, only to leave angry and in tears because they couldn’t sit still.

Instead of accepting my life as it was, I plowed ahead, wanting to serve God and certain He was pleased with my sacrifices. The problem was that my innocent children made the real sacrifice by enduring my non-stop lifestyle. I wish with all my heart that someone had taken me out to coffee and helped me get some perspective. I was too blind to see. The REST HERE....
 

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In our current culture, people must stay busy. They must justify their existence by proving how "involved" they are.

This is especially true for those of us who stay at home to raise our children. The hoods of our minivans are never allowed to cool--we are expected to be a taxi service for our children, to volunteer for everything at church, to spend time involved in civic activities, and to be available to everyone for everything.

Our Christmas newsletters reflect our desperate need to prove we are doing things; we list all of the activities our families are involved in--from piano recitals to infant swimming classes.

Homeschoolers seem especially susceptible, since they feel they have more to prove to family, friends, neighbors, and authorities.

But is this the life God calls us to? Perhaps it is possible for some of us to keep up with grueling schedules, but I am led to believe the ones who can actually live a rich, Godly life while constantly on the run are few and far between. The rest HERE.....

When God appeared to Moses as I AM THAT I AM out in the backside of the desert, He commissioned him to deliver the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. But Moses was fearful to take on such a task. He had no strength of his own to accomplish it. God then said to him, "What is that in thine hand, Moses?" (Exodus 4:2).