Good Intentions

A Wise Woman Builds Her House....

Well, it appears that I am in the habit of posting once a year, around this time!  I always seem to have "good intentions" of blogging more and getting back in the groove, however life enters and here I am one year later.

I came across the above FB page and Proverbs 14:1, just happens to be one of my favorite verses..."The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands."

Now again, we are here at the idea of intentions.  None of us wakes up in the morning and purposely intends to tear down our own house. I love that this verse speaks to the inner, hidden part of me~ my heart.  God knows my heart and He sees my thoughts and knows if I am intentionally aligning them with Him or if I am haphazardly going through my day on my own "good intentions."

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Matthew 12:34b

I didn't intend to speak quite so harshly.  I didn't intend to anwser e-mails for that long.  I didn't intend to get caught up in the phone conversation for 45 mins.  I didn't intend to forget to take out the meat and now have to pick up something quick for supper on our way there.  

 Please don't hear me saying that occasionally we forget or some things must temporarily take priority over others.  I am trying to communicate the importance of being intentional with my intentions and aligning them with God's purpose for me each day.  He has been incredibly gracious in giving me a husband and three sons to care for, serve and love each day.  In this calling,  I long to do well and glorify God. Therefore, I must be checking my heart and what motivates me.  I should be finding my love for God at the top of the list, along with my desire to serve and love my precious family.

We are a busy people, filling up our lives with nearly anything that comes knocking on the door.  I think about women of the early 1900's and how much they were required to do in order to just simply provide the daily needs for their families.  I also think about how they did not have near as many distractions.  They did not have blogs, FB, Pinterest, twitter, Bunko club, shopping, the fitness club,  etc...

They woke up with the purpose of meeting the needs of their family.  In Genesis 2:18 God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Survival in that day kept them from being distracted by self-fulfilling enjoyments.  I am assuming that each woman fully walking in the will of God was fulfilled by living out her God-given purpose of meeting the needs of her family. Of being that suitable helpmate...

I am convinced that I too will be fulfilled in living out the purpose God has called me to in serving my family with the right intentions. The intention of building my house, and not tearing it down. The intention of building up the lives of those in my home, rather than tearing them down. There are noble callings that God gives each of us that may call us out of our home, but I know in my heart that my husband, children and home come first.  Ministry can happen with my home as the hub, making my ministry linear and not a list that leaves no time at the end to serve others.  All of my life is a ministry and my home is the place in which I start and finish each day, so I long to give my best there and not my leftovers.

Isn't it tempting to give others the best and then rest on the "grace" my family offers when I give them the tired, worn-out, spread thin rest of me?  Isn't it easy to want to give the right impression to others and rest in knowing that my family loves me no matter what?  Since, my family and my home are good gifts from God, I am certain that He longs for me to give my best there also.

Too much in the world tells me to empower myself and seek out what makes me happy and fulfilled.  The job of telling me what I need to do with my time and resources belongs to God alone. Married, single, divorced, widowed, a mother, an aunt, a sister~ each of us has a "home" in which we can build and invest.  May each of us be careful to live wisely and find our fulfillment in Christ alone. I pray that building your house will be enough to fill your cup!

Child Training Tuesday

Tonight, I am spurred on to be on my knees for my children. Although the outcome of tonight's presidential election is saddening and disappointing, I ultimately trust in God alone. He is the author of all things, past, present and future. I know He is sovereign and I praise Him for that gift.

My prayer is for my two sons to bow the knee to Jesus Christ and come to the point of personally realizing their need for a Savior. I do not know what the future world will bring, but I do know in my heart that I must be channeling as much Truth as I possibly can into my children.

A friend of mine posted about children watching television and she posted this question:

"Do we not realize the power we give away when we let our children sit mindlessly in front of the TV and be filled with who knows what? If the average kid watches 2 hours of TV a day, getting all sorts of subtle information on how they should look, think, and act, do we seriously think that as parents, we are giving MORE than 2 hours of specific instruction to our kids on what their family believes about how you should look, think, and act like? (click on makingtheconnections on the right sidebar for the complete post)

We should be giving time, quality and quantity. This is a huge burden God has placed on my heart recently for me as a mother. I am now in the process of cutting back and downsizing my life, including my home and obligations. Both of these things take up precious time that I need to be investing into my sons. I have been in serious prayer about what is best for them right now. We are doing some good things, but I long to be doing what is best for them. Regardless of society's opinion, friends questions, or family pressure. When I became a mother, I said, "OK God I will do it your way. These are your precious children that you have entrusted to me. Show me the way and I will walk in it."

When I have to leave my children with someone else, I expect nothing but the best care they can provide. So, how much more does my Heavenly Father expect with his children? My challenge to all of us as mothers is to get on our face before God and ask Him to show us where to downsize. Then ask Him to show you how to turn that time around to invest into the lives of your precious children. I am a servant of Christ and this life is not my own.

Father, help me to be diligent in investing time and truth into my sons lives. Change their hearts and mold them to be men who follow hard after you. I do not know what the world will look like for them, but I do know they will need to trust in You alone to survive. Show me how to impart the Truth to them, so they can stand firm in an ever-changing world.

A wonderful prayer resource for your children is Praying the Scriptures for your Children by Jodie Berndt. (http://http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?ISBN=0310232163)