#265 - HEY MOM! You Are Raising World Changers!

Proverbs 31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.

Let's just be honest, if you are a mom with kids in the home, it can sometimes be overwhelming. I had that day the other day when I felt like all had gone awry, and it looked like I had gotten nothing accomplished. A "Favored One" (what we call our kids instead of "yayhoos!") had spilled juice - so MOM got to clean the table and floor, had to change kids clothes because they got wet, had to change my clothes because they got "spit up on", had to give kids bathes in the middle of the day because they got sandy, sticky syrup all over sippy cups and the table, pretzels & waffles under the table.... not to mention just preparing meals.... by the time one meal was done and cleaned up (which could take hours between all the interruptions and distractions) it was almost time to start on preparing the next meal.... and the list goes on! If you are a mom, you may very well know just what I'm talking about!

On days like this, it is good to remember two important conversations I had regarding my kids. One with the Holy Spirit in my quiet time one day and one discussion I had with my husband.

1) Holy Spirit: On one overwhelming day... I had asked the Holy Spirit how to do a good job as a mom. Not just ANY MOM.... but a Christian Mom wanting to raise up kids that will make a difference. WHAT does that Mom do? How does that mom model her day? There were so many voices coming at me! Watching other mom's do the job of "Mom'ing." You may know some of them.... those moms:

• The Overly "Involved in my kids Preschool" Mom   

• The "I make the classmates at my kids preschool awesome cookies, gifts and crafts" Mom  

• The "Have my kid in lots of sports" Mom  

• The "Go to activities with my kids all over town" Mom

• The "Uses Scissors and Glue and does crafts at home" Mom! (argh... ahhhhh) 

• The "Go to the library and read 100 books in 2  days with my Kid" Mom (ok, slight exaggeration, but u know the mom who has her kid counting and reading when they are practically still an embryo! ) 

• The "ambitious teach my kid how to ride his bike, go to the park, go to the zoo, go to the Lowes Building workshop, go to... go to.... go to...." Mom! 

You know.... THAT MOM!!!! Granted... on my more ambitious days, I may do some of those things, but I found myself looking at everyone else's best days and comparing them to my frazzled, no make up on, dishes piled up in the kitchen sink, fly-away hair kind of days.

So, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit one day, I had to be reminded of my MOST important job. And what He had told me was this, "It's not the activities, the busyness, the "things" you can get caught up in, but it is the atmosphere you create. What is the atmosphere in your home." 

2) My Husband - In our conversation, he basically reminded me of the GREAT IMPORTANCE of my job! I am raising up WORLD CHANGERS! YOU, fellow Mom, are raising up WORLD CHANGERS! For my kids, it is my job to teach, prepare and instill things into them that will allow them to make a difference in this world for Jesus! Whether they grow up to be the President of the United States or the President of the Girl Scouts, a business owner or a missionary, a musician or a ballet performer.... MY JOB right now in this season is to RAISE UP my kids learning the Word of God, learning principles from the Bible. At ages 4 and 2, those principles may simply be "sharing" or "being kind" or "talking in a kind manner," whatever it is based upon their age, MY JOB is to mold and shape the World Changer in each of my children.

So.... on those days, where I feel frazzled or while washing 'the sticky' off the kitchen table I wonder, "What I'm doing, does it really matter? I'm not shooting out Corporate America emails. I'm not dealing with winning a new multimillion dollar account. I'm not meeting with the CEO of XYZ Corporation. Is what I'm doing really important?" The answer is, YES! Wiping noses, washing peanut butter and jelly off the light switch, cutting sandwiches into 1/4th's,  peeling off the apple peel, giving smooches, tickling kids, chasing them around, jumping on the trampoline, and practicing Bible verses.... despite that fact some of these tasks seem insignificant all are important tasks of this Mama.

And what YOU are doing raising your kids, IT MATTERS TOO! YOU Mom, YOU are raising up kids who are going to change someones life! When Jesus' Mom, Mary, was changing the equivalent to a poopy diaper, she may have felt that task was insignificant, BUT Mary, that mom, was raising up a WORLD CHANGER! Friend, YOU TOO, are raising up someone very special. YOU TOO are raising up someone who can make an eternal difference in the life of someone else.

Mom, your job is important! YOU ARE RAISING WORLD CHANGERS! 

NOT Walking in FEAR about your Children & Life!

Psalm 91:11 (NLV) - For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

Psalm 118:6 (GNT) - The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid…

Job 3:25 (AMP) - For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me.

As a believer, it is great to walk in and KNOW the promises that God has stored up for us. Often, before knowing some of these promises, I was living in fear, doubt and unbelief without even knowing it. Now as a parent, I can see where it is crucial to STAY in a spirit of FAITH and not fear. To PRAY prayers out of FAITH, based on the Promises in the Word and not pray prayers out of FEAR! Faith is from God. Fear is from Satan. John 10:10 reminds us that the enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy, but GOD has brought us LIFE and brought it abundantly! The enemy, Satan, wants me to live in, think about and meditate on fear based thoughts. BUT, when I am walking and living in fear, I am walking and living according how SATAN would have me live, NOT based upon how GOD wants me to live.

Let me give you a few examples… this morning, as I was journaling, I felt led to thank God. This was my prayer.

Bless Tyler today. Show him favor in all he puts his hands too. Thank you that he walks in divine health every day of his life AND I thank you for the angels that surround him wherever he goes!! EVERY DAY! 

I was praying a prayer based out of FAITH because the WORD has given me specific PROMISES that I can cling to and hold on to. As I was praying for Tyler, I envisioned literally an entourage of angels surrounding him as he goes out and about, as he drives in his car. The thing is, an entourage of angels lines exactly up with the WORD OF GOD! As it says in Psalm 91:11, "For He (God) will order, His angels to protect you wherever you go." In THANKING God, I am but putting HIS Word to work. I am putting Him in remembrance of His Word, a promise that has already been given to me as a believer. THAT PROMISE IS FOR ME! PROTECTION is a promise for ME and MY FAMILY!

Often, the life of Job causes many people to walk in a life of fear. They look at the story of Job, how his family, home, business and health was all stripped from him. Unfortunately, they miss the part about Job LIVING in FEAR. Job sacrificed offerings daily, out of FEAR for his family.

Today, AS A BELIEVER, someone who has the Word of God, the Bible, which we can go back to again and again to reference…. I CAN KNOW God's Promises and I can stand on them for my life and the life of my family! I can pray prayers based upon the WORD, out of FAITH because it is the WORD OF GOD. It is a PROMISE for me!

No fear for my children. I'm not immune to Satan wanting to PLANT seeds of fear in my head. I'm not immune to Satan trying to tell me something is wrong with Timothy while I lay in bed. Granted, don't get me wrong, it is good to check on your kids. But, as I lay there, I need to first check myself. Am I being led of God or led of Satan. Am I walking in faith or fear? My first response is to take every thought captive and under the obedience of Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 10:5). If the enemy is trying to get me into fear, my job as a believer is to STAY IN FAITH and stay OUT OF FEAR. I may even say out loud, "I refuse to fear. My kids are covered under the blood of Jesus. According to Ps 91:11, angels are protecting my children because that is a PROMISE God has given me. My kids are fine. I take every thought captive. Fear you must GO in Jesus Name! I refuse to walk in fear!" 

Once I have taken thoughts captive, then I determine whether I am going to check on my kids…. I may fall asleep peacefully, or I may go cover them up and make sure they are warm. Whatever it is, I'm taking faith-based actions, and not taking rushed and hurried actions because the enemy is planting fear in me about my children's safety. I heard my pastor say before, when the enemy tries to get him in fear, he'll often "cook an egg." If you think about it, fear almost always causes you to panic, rush and hurry. "Cooking an egg" tells the enemy, "NO! I WILL NOT FEAR and I WILL NOT RUSH. I'm going to just take my time! I'm not in a hurry. I choose to walk in faith. All is well."

I encourage you today, if there is something in your life that the enemy continues to try and use against you, whether it is safety for yourself, children, husband, maybe it is finances, health, whatever it is, FIND A PROMISE IN THE WORD on that issue! Find a Promise that you can USE against the enemy when he tries to get you in fear over the situation. The enemy is smart, and he WILL try and use fear against you. He is here to kill, steal and destroy. Do not let him steal your peace and joy by causing you be in fear. SHOOT BULLETS BACK at him of the WORD OF GOD! Those are sure to stop him in his tracks!


PS. Psalm 91:11 and Psalm 118:6 are BOTH two of the memory verses that Tyler Jr (age 4) and Trinity (age 2) know and can recite. If they say they are afraid, I want them to KNOW that we do not need to be afraid! FEAR has NO place in our home because THE LORD IS WITH US, WE WILL NOT BE AFRAID! And we have BIG ANGELS TO PROTECT US WHEREVER WE GO! There are not monsters in their closets, there are ANGELS in their room protecting them! 

Minus the Condemnation!

Romans 8:1 - Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Have you ever had a day that one thing after another seemed to not go as planned? Your "To-Do List" piles up with unchecked boxes, glaring out at you the undone nature of each item! The check-list person in you begins to feel guilty about the list, replaying in your mind whether you could have done something different.

Frustration.

Guilt.

Condemnation.

Well friend… I'm hear to remind you that condemnation is from the enemy. Today is a new day! Allow the condemnation the enemy is trying to get you to accept be washed away. Remember that when you became born again, the blood of Jesus from the cross washed away that condemnation. Romans 8:1 reminds us that for those of us in Christ Jesus, those of us who are born again, there is NO CONDEMNATION!

So today, start anew! Have a fresh new start! Like a blanket of snow before it is touched, while it still sparkles and glitters in the light… allow your day to start anew. Lets wash away the undone checklist and start new today.

One thing I like to do before my day begins is ask one question. "So Father, what should I do today? What should be on my list?" Sometimes my list is short. Sometimes my list is long. But at least I know when I ask, not only have I acknowledged Him so He can direct my day but in doing this it's also a way of applying 1 Peter 5:7, casting my cares (including my schedule) on Him. He cares for me! There is NO condemnation! I refuse to allow condemnation to come down on me because I AM IN CHRIST! What a great feeling! What a great reminder! When a day does not go as planned, I can cast it on the Lord and start anew, start fresh. Cast the day, my list and plans on the Lord and start new minus the condemnation!