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Order Please!!

This is the first week of summer vacation at our home.  School is done and we are transitioning into the lazy days of summer.  But, I can't seem to get a handle on things!  There are books to organize from our old homeschool year to the new year and they always seem to be on the kitchen table!  My husband is recovering from surgery and at home with us for a few weeks, which is very different from when he goes to work each day.  The garden continues to produce and vegetables sit all around waiting to be preserved.  Church obligations come fast and furious...cook for family breakfast, VBS, camp etc.... 'stuff' I need to deal with seems to be everywhere!   Clutter seems rampant and a million things that need to be done seem to scream at me. I need some order here!!!

In the midst of these chaotic days, I do purposefully sit down to read God's Word each morning.  Being involved in a Summer Book Club, I am reading The Ministry of Motherhood. This week's chapter brought some much needed peace and calmness to my disorder!
The verse this morning was Matthew 4:19 where Jesus told His disciples that they would become "fishers of men".  This was His call to a life of ministry and discipleship.  It wasn't just an every now and again 'fishing trip' or way to minister here and there, but a deliberate, committed path of life.   Jesus' work in our lives today begins with the call to leave behind our old ways, goals and distractions of the world and embrace Him and His ways.  As Christian mothers, we are called to follow Christ, to take His message to the world and raise our children to heed His call. There is a cost to discipleship and that cost is everything.  It is our plans, goals, thoughts and lifestyle.  But the beautiful promise from the Lord is that we will find true life in Him as we abandon our all for His all.

Passing this legacy to our children will involve our households having a different set of values from the world.  Our homes and lives should have the thought of 'does this reflect and make known the Lord to others" at the forefront.  This is the kind of questions at the heart of following Christ and how to keep ourselves and our families to focus on the eternal, not the ordinary.   Hard?  YES!  Will disappointments come?  YES!  Will we make mistakes?  YES!  But as we count the cost, we understand the importance of living intentionally day by day, holding values solid and living out a life extending grace.  What God has called us to do, He will give the ability to complete.

The closing prayer of the book today stirred and challenged me greatly:
"...Help us not to get so caught up in mundane parenting issues that we forget to focus our children's hearts on Your kingdom.  Above all, give our children a passion for You and Your purposes.  Build a heritage of righteousness in the lives of our children so that generations to come may serve You faithfully."

A heritage of righteousness.  Right here, right now, in our lives, homes and families is where this takes place. 

Comments

  1. such a great post. I needed to hear this. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great closing - "A heritage of righteousness" and "a passion for You and Your purposes." That's a much better place to focus than on the mundane.

    ReplyDelete

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