"A Mom after God's own heart"

God has really been working on me lately. A few years ago I went through a study at church by Elizabeth George called "A Mom after God's own Heart" but i was going through a rough time and unfortunately didn't run towards God and really concentrate on the study, but instead ran away from him and didn't get much out of it. Then about 6 months after that I went through "A woman after God's own heart" with a lady from my church and I got more out of that. Lately I have been realizing that when I do quiet times I am doing it "just to get by" but not to really learn or change my life. I have been really convicted about my walk with God and if I am teaching my children at 100% to follow God themselves. I comforted myself in the things my husband and I are doing right. We do a bible time at dinner and another one before bed. My 5 and 3 year old are memorizing verses, joseph knows 4 and samuel is learning 2. We teach them to pray and turn to God in all situations. So i sit back sometimes and think "i'm doing ok....i'm doing better than some other moms I know". But God doesn't want us to just do enough to get by, he wants us to give him all of ourselves.


So along with me setting limits on our technology, I am re-doing the study A Mom after God's Own Heart. It was so refreshing today during my kids rest time (sam and jonathan nap, and joseph spends some time watching t.v or playing in his room) I sat down and read my daily devotional in my Women's devotional bible, then I read the first chapter in the book, and did part of the study guide for that chapter. It talked about mothers in the bible, and how their heart and what's most important to the mom will show through her actions and her children will pick up on it.

I need to make sure my walk with God is growing and thriving, so that I can really teach my kids how to have a walk that is growing and thriving.

Some key points I got out of the chapter today are:

"The role of godly parents is to make sure the hearts and minds of their children are saturated with the Word of God" pg 21

" From a godly home life and upbringing, a child can learn how to live a godly life in a sinful world." pg 18

" God works through faithful parents who, in spite of dark and difficult days, walk obediently with him." pg 17

And for my friends who are moms and going through rough times in their homes listen to this great message from the book, in reference to a story about Timothy.

"Do you need encouragement? Take these words to heart-" "Despite division within the home, Timothy's mother instilled in him a character of faithfulness that carried into adulthood... Don't hide your light at home. Our families are fertile fields for receiving gospel seeds. It is the most difficult land to work, but it yields the greatest harvests. Let your children ... know of your faith in Jesus."



One final note, she gives 5 things that you should do to start becoming a mom after God's own heart.... some of them i was already working on but some of them I needed to focus on. The stuff in paranthesees is from the book, then I paraphrase what it is we should do.

1. "Develop a template for your weeks"- what do you want to accomplish- are there bible times for you and your kids every day.

2. "Analyze your TV time"- not only limit how much TV your kids are watching but you yourself too.

3. "Choose a devotional book"- Get into the word and start feeding your spirit so you can feed your kids spiritual food.

4. "Memorize one verse"- We as moms needs to be memorizing scriptures right along with our kids.

5. "Pray for your heart"- Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. We need to give our hearts to God each and every morning.

My challenge is for the mom's out there and to myself- Make sure that you are getting spiritually fed so that we can truly make sure our children get good spiritual food. This is an area I have been weak in. I was making sure my kids did their quiet time, but didn't always make sure that I did mine. They need to see my love for Jesus, so that they will know how to love him and serve him as well.

Well that's all for now.... keep me in your prayers... as I try to grow closer in my walk with God...