Mom Advice #1
Best advice that Mom's give!
Maybe because Mother's Day is coming up or maybe I'm knee deep in it (sometimes it feels like I'm sinking!), that I was thinking about motherhood today. I absolutely love love love being a mom and I'll take all the ups and downs that motherhood brings! It's worth it all! I hope to be the best mom I can, living up to the legacy that was passed on to me.
When it comes to mothers I was given about the best there is. My mother, Kathryn, had seven children. She is the strongest, wisest, most loving woman you could ever imagine. She is a fierce and mighty warrior who always fights for her kids and grandkids, but she's tender and the most welcoming person to be around. Her house is a warm and beautiful place of peace, and it is filled with the best smells like coffee and delicious food. She is hard working and accomplishes the most amazing feats, yet she somehow always has the time to be there for everyone who needs her. When you talk to her she makes you feel like the most important person on the planet taking the time for what you need, even though she probably just got off the phone with someone else who needed the same thing. I am so thankful to have been raised by this amazing woman of God. As I have gotten older, I realize more and more what a marvel and a blessing she is!
And now I have seven of my own children that I'm raising, some of which are already grown, but many more still to go. I was thinking about what advice I would like to pass on to my own kids. What would be some of the most important lessons that I would like to instill in them while they are still young and tender?
One thing that I specifically remember my Mother saying over and over was this..."Don't go on Satan's territory!" I don't know why this one really stands out to me, maybe I was a rotten kid or maybe she said it a lot to my brothers and I just overheard it! (Wink, wink!) And now I hear myself saying the same thing to my kids!
What this means is don't go places where you don't belong, where you shouldn't be. Don't purposefully put yourself in harms way or play around with something you shouldn't. This could be physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.
Now, I know most of you out there are good people. Probably really good, and you've lived your lives barely making mistakes...but that's not me. I made some really big mistakes, mistakes that could have destroyed my life, if it had not been for the grace of God. I've been so broken because of choices I've made and the repercussions that came with them. I've learned that sin don't play. When you allow something into your life, or your heart, or your mind, it can take a hold of you to where you can't control it anymore and it's now controlling you and the only way to freedom is through God.
For 5 years I led a ministry to woman in jail. I went in once a week. (I'd always call my husband afterward to tell him I was ok and how it went. He liked telling people I just got out of jail!) But, week after week I saw so many broken hearts. Women who would show me pictures of their kids and just sob because they missed them so much and they wished they could just touch them. Women who cried because they missed their mom's funeral because they couldn't get out in time. The holidays were the worst, every heart was broken. There were so many sad stories. Yes, these women were in there for a reason, they broke the law in some way. But mostly they were in there because at some point in their life, Satan enticed them with something that looked really good or really fun, and in the end they found themselves in the gutter. In the end, it led to death. They were hooked on something or into something that ended with them sacrificing everything, even their freedom and their children. They learned that sin don't play. (My prayer is that that lesson stayed with them the rest of their lives and they never went back to it!)
Don't go on Satan's territory. Stay away from playing there. But this doesn't mean you are afraid of going there if you have to. Sometimes you need to go on the enemies territory to fight or to battle. Maybe you need to go there to rescue someone else or take back something he's stolen from you. Like me going into the jail. It was Satan's territory. There are many stories I could tell you of things that happened there, but God is greater! And He was me like a mighty warrior! And He is with you! He will help you if He is calling you to battle, to fight for yourself or someone else you love.
"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." Psalm 144:1
So this is my first "Mom Advice", which I hope to make a regular topic I'll post about. I know this was a little heavy for the first one, but it is something that is dear to my heart. Be wise about your life, pay attention to who and what you're allowing into your life. I'm always thankful for what my Mother taught me! I want to post more of these, so if you have any Mom Advice, please share it with me! I would love to hear what your Mother taught you or what you are trying to teach your children!
