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Have you ever had tension in your home? Dare I say arguing? Fighting between siblings? You’re not alone.
Ephesians 4:1-3 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
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I’ve been reading this morning in Ephesians chapter 4. We’re going to talk for just a minute about how we might apply what the apostle Paul was saying— to moms. Now, there are so many applications that we can take away from this short passage but the thing that comes to my mind as a mom is all the little arguments and bickering that I encounter every.single.day with my own children. I’m reminded here to be completely humble, to be gentle, to be patient and to bear with my kids in love—making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace.
I want to teach my children to be peacemakers. As mothers, we set the tone in our homes. You have an opportunity to come alongside your children today when you see them struggling and arguing and fighting—and be an example to them. You won’t do it perfectly, but you know what? You don’t have to do it perfectly because God wants to give you His strength. Remember we talked about that the other day… His strength is made perfect in weakness.
Here’s the thing: Your kids don’t need to see you perfect, they need to see you surrendered. There is freedom in surrender. Freedom to fail—and through our weakness, to allow His strength to shine through. A surrendered mom is a mom who can teach her children how to be at peace at home and with others, not because she has it all figured out, but because she is surrendered to the One who does.
Take a moment today and ask the Lord to help you be the things He wants you to be. Helpful, patient, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace. See if it doesn’t change the way that you look at your kids. You know, the older I get, the more I realize how much grace I need, and it moves to want to extend grace to other people, because I recognize my own need for grace each day.
God is so patient with me! He is so forgiving and that’s good—because I know I can be a difficult person sometimes! I appreciate God’s grace in my own life. So give Him your day today, mom, and then as you go out and wake up your children, let that be your guide today. Patient and bearing with one another–keeping the unity of the Spirit in your home a privilege. You set the tone.
Let me know how it goes!
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Not found but I did find an awesome blog u wrote about balancing life….thx for encouragement.
The link above took me to balance article.
if you type “finding unity” in the search box on the homepage, you can find the link for the audio file.
They kill me!!!
http://heidistjohn.com/keeping-unity-at-home/
“Fostering Unity in the Home” will take you right to the audio
Thanks for the scripturr
Thanks. I wish I would have read this before yelling at my kids to get for school this morning. :(. I need reminders that they are little and need me to be the positive example at ALL times.
This has been an issue at our house. Thank you for the reminder. Today will go better!
Thanks for this – it really hits home with me this morning as I’ve been contemplating how to make today better than yesterday.
Two realities struck as I read this: 1) that I *can’t* make today better – only God can; and 2) peace in our home really does begin with me and God at work in me so I can share him with my boys. So thanks for the encouragement – I’m going to write those verses down and focus on them as I go through today. 🙂
Sometimes is so difficult to me to keep patient at home, because I have things to do, like dinner, washing clothes… and I worked all day, I woke up early in the morning… sometimes I just want to get home, you know and lay on the sofa and wacht tv with a diet soda in my hand.. but I can’t… sometimes I am really tired and exhausted but I have to study and be with my little girl… I really pray for patient sometimes.. I breath til 10 and I feel better. Is just me or it happens to you too??
Thank you…nice!!
yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the….
yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, and the….
I like it, thanks.
Perfect.I get tired of all the bickering. I need them to have self-control, not brother control.
I needed to hear this today:)
I love your posts. I just finished speaking to my mom and a friend about how calm I have been lately because I have surrendered to Him. It’s not easy and takes practice but totally worth it.
wish I’d read this an hour ago 🙁
YES – and it is so frustrating! Thanks for the tip!
Oh my goodness . Yes. Today was horrible …love your words
Setting the tone first thing in the morning is definitely an area where I struggle. The kids don’t always wake up little rays of sunshine, and when they start bickering its hard to handle at times. I’m sure everyone has noticed though that the kids can easily move on and act as if they’ve never argued. For me though, I remain stressed for a while longer. Surrendering is a wonderful advantage that we have, and handing it into God’s hands takes away the need to “fix” things all the time. Thank you Heidi for the time you give to us!
yesterday … today too!
Hello Heidi!!
I’m constantly in awe of how The Lord works in my life!! At dinner time my kids always ask – “So, what was the best part of your day?” And honestly, yesterday, I was so ‘spent’ after days of increased bickering, arguing and disobedience from my kids, that I (unfortunately) said “when I go to bed tonight!” Of course as soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted them. However, it did open the door to a good discussion about everyone’s (including mine) behaviour of late!! And we talked about most of the points you raised in today’s blog. So, right now, as I’m doing my devotions God is gently reminding me about last nights discussion. Continuing to be my parent – gently directing me along the right path as I start my day. Thank you Lord, and thank you Heidi :))) It’s going to be a great day. Lil (Australia)xx
Thank you so much for sharing these. This message SPOKE to me today. Not in the way you intended it as far as me being a homeschooling Mom, but it spoke to me as the Treasurer of a large congregation. I did some further study with it and was reminded of the ‘bigger’ picture. Just in time too…as I am heading off to a voter’s meeting where we will be discussing our goals and finances for this next year. Please keep up your ministry! You will probably never know how much God is using you to do his work. God Bless!
Oh boy did I need this today after yesterday’s disaster of a day. I am definitely posting your quote on my forehead today (and in my heart). Thank you!
Living Surrendered.
Oh, Heidi! Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to encourage us moms! You are so unbelievably precious to me.
I needed to be reminded of your words today as I am waking up to a new day following a cranky mom day. 🙁 My darling boys and sweet husband gave me so much grace last night as I muttered heart felted apologies for words I cannot take back! How easily my children always give grace to me — I want to be like them in that… And this morning, it’s like they remember it no longer while I’m still sad. Trying to let go, give myself grace and start with a spirit surrendered to The Lord. Thank you for reminding us that we cannot do this homeschool thing without Him!
Thank you so much for all your mothering encouragement. I love that you not only encourage according to the Word but that you are needing it too. That you are a real mom going through your day just like me and every other homeschool mom. Thank you for being real. I did want to mention that on the pod cast the music is so loud that it is hard to hear you at moments. What about a softer song. Just a suggestion. God bless you and all you put your hands to.