Tag Archives: be encouraged

This is Who You Are, Day 4

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After my daughter had just given birth, I had the privilege of walking through a learning season with her.  Little Noah was a couple of weeks old and I was really loving the new season I was in—a season with little ones of my own and a grandma is truly a special time. But Noah’s birth was a little scary and ended in an emergency c-section. So began our daughter’s new journey of learning to trust the Lord with her child. It’s never as easy as it sounds, is it?

Matthew 14:22 is a passage that I wanted to share with you.  Something that jumps out at me in the this passage is the fact that Jesus went to get alone by Himself and pray. Don’t you love that?  The Lord Himself, God incarnate—prayed.  Shortly after that, we read the story of Peter walking out onto the water to Jesus. As soon as the storm grows, his faith falters. Jesus calms the storm and then says to Peter, “You of little faith!”  Why did you doubt?”

I think it’s easy for us to find ourselves in the same position that Peter was in.  As I was explaining to my daughter at her baby shower, life throws things at you that you cannot possibly expect.

Here are a few things I’ve been learning about how to be a faith-filled mom:

Faith-filled mothering is constrained by love.  As mothers, we are preparing our children for a world that we will likely never see.  Often, we make decisions that our children do not like—even painful decisions because love tells us that it is the right decision to make.

Faith-filled mothers are dependent on prayer. We read in verse 23 that Jesus got alone to pray. Even the Lord needed to pray.  Here was Jesus, physically tired, tempted and alone—yet He took the time to pray to His Father.

Finally, faith-filled mothering is not fear-based. It is not afraid. My grandfather used to say that “fear was present when Jesus was absent, but always absent when Jesus was present.”

Matthew 28:20 says, “I am with you always.”  If you want to be a faith filled mother today, anticipate God’s grace and goodness in the lives of your children.  Believe His promises for your family. “Train up your children in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

Be brave!  The Lord is with you.
Even though I hate to see the winter go, I love the change of seasons. Change is just part of life, isn’t it?  Change happens with our children, our families, and our friendships. It happens in politics and in our churches. Sometimes change is very hard. Sometimes, it hurts. Sometimes I struggle to accept change as it comes into my life and disrupts the way I like things. Sometimes, I resist—but I’m learning acceptance is better.

I’ve been thinking lately about all the changes my husband and I have been through over the past 25 years. From ministry to marriage, we’ve seen a lot of ups and downs. When I was younger, I thought I knew so much more than I do now! I didn’t know there would be so.many.changes. in my life.  From my parenting style to the realization that I had a lot of growing up to to … change has just become part of life. Isn’t it funny how the older you get the more you realize how much you DON’T know?

Looking back, I can see that very few of the painful changes have ever happened on my terms—and many of the good ones were on God’s terms, too. His terms, His timing.

I still have so much to learn about God’s timing.

Accepting God’s timing is just part of accepting the changes that inevitably come. I find myself very nostalgic as I watch the kids grow and leave the nest we’ve spent over 25 years building.  But then, I remind myself, “that’s why we built the “nest” … so that the kids could grow and leave it!  Funny, isn’t it?  As I get older, changes in my life have given me another reason to be grateful for God’s Word. His mercies are new every morning.  He is so faithful. He is trustworthy.  That means that even when I’d rather things were different, I can trust God’s heart for me. Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah said about God’s unchanging nature:

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

God never changes. He’ll see you through whatever you are facing today. His mercies are new for you right now, busy mom!

Hang on tight to the Lord in every season of life. He’ll get you through.

Thankful for an unchanging God,

Heidi

This is Who You Are, Day 2

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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

I looked in the mirror one day and laughed along with God. No joke. I laughed.

Why? Because I have seven kids, that’s why. And I think it makes God smile. Why? Because it’s me, that’s why. Me.

The woman who has to buy silk plants because I have a startling ability to kill both plants and small animals. (I boiled my fish to death in their aquarium when I was 14. True story. In my defense, the thermostat broke while I was at school. But still. I think I have PTSD from that episode.) God knew all about my anti-nurturing qualities and still, He saw fit to entrust me with seven precious lives. S E V E N beautiful pairs of baby feet. Made just for me and my husband by the God of the universe.

I think God is smiling at me right this minute, thinking about my dead fish and my silk plants—and those seven precious people who call me … MOM.

You see, God knows me. I’ve learned He knows me better than I know myself. He knows my name. I like to picture Him saying it … I listen for it. And I hear Him—in the stillness that comes with the morning light. I hear Him. “Heidi.”

Just.Like.That. Gentle, patient, like a father should be.

Like any good father, He knew I was terrified of motherhood. Terrified that I was destined to repeat a generational sin in my family. Terrified that I was not equipped to take care of a baby. Terrified that I would mess it up. And even more terrified to admit it.

My Father knew my fears as a young mother-to-be.

And He still knows them. {He’s good like that.}

Sometimes, Father lets me wrestle with a question. Sometimes, He sends an answer. Rarely early. Never late. I think He knows when I need an answer and when I can wait a while longer.

In September of 1991, I had a question that couldn’t wait. I needed an answer. Life hung in the balance. New life. I was a woman who was about to give birth. My fear of failing bubbled to the surface. My spirit struggled under the weight of an uncertain future.

He knows my name. He knows my name.

Could I do this? Really? Could I overcome my fear?

Just a few days before our precious first-born entered this world, I broke down. As I sat in the living room of a dear woman of God, I confided in her. I unpacked my fears. I told my story, and God sent me His answer through this precious friend. Rarely early. Never late. “I can’t do it!” I wailed. “I don’t know how! I don’t know how not to be angry.” It was all I had ever known, really. Anger.

He knows my name.

“Heidi, ” Nola said, “Why are you crying? God has made you new. You are a new creation! You are redeemed! Called by name. Loved. Set apart. You are not bound by your past. You.Are.New.”

He knows my name.

In that moment, I was set free. Free to be the woman God made me to be. Free to be the mother I wanted to be. That was nearly twenty-two years ago. Do I still battle with my fears? Yes. Do I struggle? Fall? Fail? Yes. But here’s the thing: I’m learning what it means to be truly free. Free to be imperfect. Free to ask for help. Free to mess things up. To ask for grace —grace to be the woman God sees when He looks at me.

He knows my name.

He knows your name too, precious mom. He knows your fears—He’s seen your failures.

And He loves you.

You can trust Him with those. Lean hard into His arms. He can hold you up.

He knows your name. Can you hear Him saying it? Look up. Listen. He knows your name.

This is Who You Are, Day 1

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Not long ago, in a moment of desperation and frustration, I looked at my husband and lamented, “I live in a state of constantly disappointing someone!” That’s how I felt after forgetting to get back to one of my grown children about a coffee date while simultaneously being behind in everything from laundry to dinner prep.

And yes. I have helpers. That day the kitchen helper complained that her chores were too much, and one of my teens blurted something out about being “ruined” because of homeschooling. Super. Just what I didn’t need to hear. The devil knows exactly where we’re weak, doesn’t he?

I’d love to tell you that I reacted positively to these minor challenges, but I didn’t. I retreated to my room and hosted my own pity party, complete with a Netflix binge session and ice cream.

It felt good, actually. Forget those kids! They can make their own dinner tonight! For that matter, they can do it for the REST OF THEIR LIVES! Our ten year old poked her head into my room and observed that I was “in a bad mood.” She was right. I was.

“I’m just a mom!” I complained. I can’t keep up. Why am I even doing this? Who cares? It doesn’t matter anyway!!

Do you hear the lie? For those few hours that week, I forgot I was part of a battle.

I had forgotten that where mothers are concerned, the devil doesn’t need to change tactics very often. One of his favorite tactics is to tell mothers this simple lie, “You’re just a mom.” But here’s the truth: There’s no such thing as “just a mom.”

Many moms believe this lie because they don’t realize the implications it carries with it. If you are “just a mom,” then:

you are not part of a battle.
you are not capable of training warriors.
your role is insignificant.
it doesn’t matter if you are strong or not.
your role is replaceable.
your role is just for one generation.
your walk with God is not important.
the spiritual battle doesn’t include you.

Do you see? There is no such thing as “just a mom.” You are literally shaping the hearts and minds of an entire generation of children. Moms matter, and the devil knows it. This is why he works overtime to discourage Christian moms from taking an active part in the spiritual nurturing of their children.

We can’t afford to let Satan lie to us any longer. Too much is at stake. We’re dealing with more lies in this generation than in the past sixty years—and it’s time to put this one to bed for good.

You’re more than “just a mom.” You’re more than “ordinary.” You’re ordained for the kingdom purpose of raising your children to follow God. And “just a mom” can’t possibly do that!

Believe it today, and allow the power of the living God to rest on you.

Nothing Worth Doing is Ever Easy -Including Homeschooling

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Tired.

Exhausted, really.  Some days, we wake up and we seriously don’t know where we are. Texas?  Florida? Tennessee? Louisiana? Michigan? Kentucky?

You see, the inside of the RV looks the same every morning.  Often times, we pull into a site late at night.  So it is quite often a surprise to the kids to see where we are.  This morning, we started the day in Niagara Falls, NY.  Tonight, we’ll end the day in Ludington, MI.

As I type this, the kids are settling in for six more hours on the road.  A movie is playing. RV is gassed up and tummies are full.  It’s a good feeling.

Got a lot on your plate?

But in case you get that “wouldn’t it be nice to RV with our kids” feeling, I’ve gotta admit: it’s not easy.  Just a few hours ago, kids were crying, dad was stressing, cars were cutting us off, cell phones were ringing, baby was crying and a half-gallon of orange juice was spilling behind the couch.  But that’s just this afternoon.

That brings me to homeschooling.  It’s not easy.  And anyone who has been at it for more than a week knows it.  It’s not a secret that homeschool moms sacrifice their time and energy (and sometimes, their sanity!) in order to educate their kids at home.  More often than not, homeschool moms share many things in common: her pastor thinks she’s crazy,  her mom wonders what she did wrong and  her best friend is always trying to talk her into putting her kids in school so she can “have a life.” As  my dear friend Steve Lambert says, “Only homeschool moms would choose to be LOCKED UP all day with little people while the rest of the civilized world sends their kids off to be taken care of by someone else!”

So true.  It is a sacrifice. It’s hours of work, days on end.  And just like everything else worth doing in this life, we are looking far down the road. Successful homeschool moms are not looking at today.  They’re looking years down the road. They know that the sacrifice they are making today will, Lord willing, pay huge dividends in the future.

Yes, it’s worth it, homeschool mom!  At the end of the day you won’t find a more worthy calling as a mom than to homeschool your kids. And really, nothing worth doing is EVER easy.  Take marriage for example.  Or parenting. Or being an entrepreneur. It’s difficult.  But stick with it … and one day …you’ll get to see that your little tree bears fruit. Fruit that has an impact into eternity.

You see, for the Christian parent, homeschooling provides an amazing opportunity for for you to disciple your children.  To have them by your side, to teach them of God’s love – to show them- what it looks like to “stay the course” even when it’s difficult … these are lessons that homeschooling will help you teach without making one lesson plan.

If you’re wondering if it’s going to be a pain in the neck at times, well, it is.  But if you’re looking for a lifetime investment that will yield dividends far into the future, then homeschooling is for you.

Stick with it, busy mom!  Fruit takes time to grow. But in due season, you’ll reap a harvest of JOY for the sacrifice you’re making now.

It’s worth it!
heidi

 
Heidi St John Guide to Daylight