Good morning, busy mom!

Last night I was visiting with a friend and we were talking about traits we have seen in “successful” people.

I’m not talking about strangers or movie stars or talk show personalities or TV preachers either.  It’s easy to assume things about people who might appear successful from the outside.

When I think of “success” I think of people that I have interacted with and whose lives I have watched unfold.

Those whose lives are bearing fruit.

As I thought about this more today, it occurred to me that they have five things in common, all these “fruit-bearers.”

• They get up early.  I have noticed this in the past two years: almost every person I know who is effectively balancing motherhood and marriage is an early-riser. They recognize the value in getting up early and having an hour or two to nurture their body and spirit.
• They’re self-disciplined.  Self-disciplined in what they eat, in taking care of their own bodies and in managing the tasks they take on.
• They’re humble.  They recongize and bear witness to others that any success they have enjoyed in this life has come from the Lord.  God blesses humility.
• They know how to work … and play. This balance is essential. I must admit, this is hard one for me. I’m more of a worker-bee—but I’m learning to relax.  It’s funny that relaxing is something most of us really have to work at!
• They emphasize relationships. At the end of the day, they recognize that true worth is found in people, not things.

What traits do you see in the lives of those fruit-bearing friends of yours?

Plant with the Harvest in Mind,

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Good Morning, Mom!

Few things can capture the heart of a busy mom like her child can.  It’s why we work so hard, isn’t it?

Love.

It’s why I was so captured, I think, by this verse in 1 Thessalonians 1 this morning:

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul was encouraging the new Believers in Thessalonica, who were suffering for their faith. He was telling them, in essence, “I’m proud of you. I’m praying for you.  I see what keeps you going.”

I love reading God’s Word!  Every morning, God shows me something new about Himself.  Sometimes, He simply reminds me that nothing I am doing is unseen.   But most of the time, reading the Bible offers encouragement. Encouragement to press on. To live a life that pleases God. To love my husband. To teach and nurture my children.

Paul too, knew the power of encouragement.  In this passage,  we find him taking the time to encourage the church there in Thessalonica.

Notice how carefully he chooses his words, starting off by telling the Thessalonians that he thanked God for them.  (Don’t you love that!?) He went on to say that he was noticing something about them: that their work was “produced by faith, their labor prompted by love (ever had a baby?), and their endurance inspired by hope.

I smiled as I read this part.

That’s like motherhood too—isn’t it?  The work of motherhood is also produced by faith.

Faith that in due season, there will be fruit.

The labor of motherhood is prompted by love.  Right from the start!

And finally, the endurance needed for the days of mothering is inspired by hope.  The hope of good things to come if we don’t give up.  The hope that as we train our children, they will walk in the truth. It’s truly a hope that is prompted by love.

Where is your endurance coming from these days?

Look to the Lord, busy mom!  His love produces faith, love and endurance.

Inspired by hope,

Starting in the fall of 2013:

Do you remember the old Coke commercials about how it was “The real thing?”  I really liked that ad campaign. In fact, I had their magazine ads taped to my locker when I was in school.  Ahh, the memories.

I love this picture because of everything in this photo, Coke is the LEAST “real” thing.

It’s funny how we get fooled into thinking something is real when it isn’t.  In the culture we live in, we praise celebrity, we chase after money. Often, good is bad and bad is “good” these days.  Have you noticed too?

Christians have taken a real hit in recent years too.  Not because of Christ, but because of the way we represent Him.  The things we say carry weight. They tell if we’re the “real thing” or if we aren’t. And our actions – well, they speak even louder than our words.

I’ve been reading in 1 Peter today. Wow. This is good stuff.  Peter is talking about how we can be the “real thing,” also, except his advice carries with it eternal significance.  The apostle referred to the letter’s recipients as “aliens” (1:1), a word that suggests Peter was speaking not just to Jews or just to Gentiles but to Christians who were living their lives in such a way that they would have stood out as “aliens” among the surrounding culture.

Living near to Jesus Christ for more than three years had provided the apostle Peter the best possible example of what it looked like to live a holy life in a hostile world. More than any other man who walked the earth, Jesus modeled a life that was surrendered to the Father. Jesus showed us how to be in the world and not be “of” it.

Peter admonished Christians to be ready to give an answer for the reason we live the way we do, too!

Check this out from chapter 3:

“Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick.” (The Message)

The “utmost courtesy.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been on the receiving end (and to my embarrassment, the giving end) of unkind remarks. I’ve done stupid things. But I’m trying to do better. And not just for myself, either.

I want to do better because at the end of the day, the world is watching my witness. And even more important than that, my kids are watching me. They live with me! They know if I’m “the real thing” or not.

As a follower of Jesus,  I want everyone who sees me to see Him in me.  His ways are not like the world’s ways. Because He is the only “real thing.”

I don’t want people to look at me and say, “Wow! She home schools!” or even “She’s a great mom/wife.” … I want them to see Jesus. And that takes some serious surrender.  (At least for me it does.)

It means that when the world around me is, well–worldly, I am not. And I’m not talking about fashion. I’m talking about sin. We live in a sinful world.  We often answer to wicked leaders, don’t we?  We pay taxes to governments that do not honor God.  Our world is suffering because it needs Jesus.

We live in a world that is desperate for “the real thing.” We just elected a president based on two words. Do you remember what they were?  Hope and Change.

If you know Jesus, then you’ve got what the world is looking for.

Can other people see Him in you?

You’ve got “the real thing” living in you.

Let’s be like Jesus today, busy moms. He’s the only one truly worthy of imitation.

He’s the real thing.