God make mothers to be nurturers. He wove that desire into our design. In fact, I still want to mother even though my kids are grown, so I use my mothering instincts on my cats.
There’s a story in 2 Kings four about the Shunammite woman. She noticed the prophet Elisha walking past her house, and she chose to help him. Her husband built a room for the prophet so he’d have a place to stay when he passed through town. Elisha was grateful, so he asked what he could do for her. She didn’t give him ideas, but Elisha’s servant pointed out that she had no children. So Elisha prayed for her to have a child.
After the boy’s birth, he went out into the fields where his father was working and became ill. He fell to the ground screaming, “Oh, my head!”
The father immediately ordered his servants to take the child to his mother. His mother held him until noon that day, and then he died. The mom went to find the prophet who raised him from the dead.
Let’s focus on that one phrase, the father said the moment he knew his son was ill “Take him to his mother.” That describes us. (of course, there are exceptions). We care for our children and will move all sorts of obstacles to make life work for them. However, we must learn to let our children go and face life on their own. It’s a tough assignment for us.
Today, my guest is Edie Melson. She had a son who became a soldier and went on active duty to fight. How scary. She wrote the book, While My Child is Away. She will give some tips on mothering that child who is leaving the nest.
2:10 What is the Headless Horseman of Faith?
3:30 How can we as mothers listen to our emotions and yet use them appropriately?
5:24 What about those times we fear failing as a parent?
6:45 Tell us the frog story? What does it teach us?
9:00 Share about loving the people your kids are with.
10:30 You had a son in the military, and you know about the ‘what ifs.’ How can we handle those?
13:00 Leaving the child with the Lord:
14:05 How can you avoid the trap of allowing your kid’s choices to define you?
16:10 What about the stuff that hurts?
Edie Melson
[tweetthis]Prayer is the most important thing you can do for your child[/tweetthis]
Difficult relatives can make your Christmas miserable. Family can give us the most fulfillment when we actually connect with them, However, they can also cause the most heartache because we love them and long for their approval. With the holidays coming, we all dread grumpy Uncle Bill or feisty Aunt Sally. Past hurts can also intensify the impact of uncomfortable encounters.
My father used to crack the same jokes every year and expect us to laugh. If I didn’t respond to his humor, he’d tease me about how my face looked, as if he thought I was holding in my response.
Mother would make a huge meal for Thanksgiving. I’d select certain foods, but not others, knowing I couldn’t eat it all. She would always point out what I missed, as if I overlooked that dish by accident. Plus she would attempt to get us all to eat more, even when we were full.
My grandmother would make snide comments with an innocent look on her face, and she’d do annoying things. she favored boys over girls and she’d always make sure we knew how much she spent on the boys. If we asked her to do anything, she’d do the exact opposite.
Well, you know how it goes. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Wow! That’s a hefty command.
Today I have two guests. The first is Angela Breidenbach. She’s a life coach and a terribly fun person. The second is Linda Rondeau. Both can give insight on this issue.
Prayer. We know we need to do it. The Bible commands us to pray, because we have a God who wants to interact with us. However, praying is not easy. It’s not easy! Trying to set up a regular time to pray takes herculean effort. Whenever I prepare to pray, I feel a sudden urge to do other things. Suddenly I have to make phone calls, and I hate phone calls. During a crisis, I can squeak out one work, “Help.” My creativity gets tangled up, and I can’t slow down long enough to concentrate on a conversation with my maker. At a time like that, I recall the Apostle Paul’s command to pray rather than worry. How fast that rolls off the lips, but doing it requires effort.
Once when Spurgeon was very ill, he wrote to his congregation to pray at a blood heat. What an image. Truly he understood the importance or prayer.
Julie K Gillies is my guest today. She believes prayer ministers to a woman’s soul and can even bring healing. We are going to get her input and learn from how it’s ministered to her. She’s the author of Prayers for a Woman’s Soul.
1:45 Do you consider yourself an expert on prayer?
2:20 What practices help you to pray?
7:06 Are you talking about praying through the day or that concentrated time when all you do is pray?
7:52 How do you keep from getting distracted?
I really like the statement, “You are worth praying for.”
9:15 Did you ever feel like you were cheating God when you showered AND prayed? I’ve heard people say to only pray because God must have our full attention.
11:06 Do you see any differences in yourself because of your prayers?
11:51 How do you keep other issues from crowding in?
13:01 Tell me how the Holy Spirit brings up your needs?
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a time when you felt panicked, but I have. My youngest son is disabled. With numerous overlapping issues, he’s severe. I was homeschooling him, and I saw intelligence despite his barriers. A series of events led us to seek complete testing. The idea of testing bothered me because I worried how well he could perform with the number of problems he had. In time found a neuro-psychiatrist who came highly recommended. The doctor administered test over a few days.
At last came our final appointment. My husband and I would meet with the doctor for test results and a final diagnosis. That was the scariest day. The diagnosis he received would impact him for the rest of his life.I can recall my heart pounding and my chest tightening at the thought of driving to the office. I survived by praising God. All day I sought the Lord. I praised him for the air conditioning in the car, the blue sky, the car, the fluffy clouds, the dress I had on, my favorite color. Those prayers kept me calm enough to hear what the doctor had to say.
Think about the words Paul wrote in Philippians four: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving make your request known to God and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” Those words are easy to say. Doing it can be much harder.
Today I have Maureen Pratt. She’s written a book called, Don’t Panic, which teaches how to prepare for a crisis.
Family Internet Safety begins with living unselfishly. You might wonder how I put that together. Let me explain.
Several years ago, my husband and I took a trip with my oldest daughter. At the time, she was young enough that either my husband or I carried her a lot. During that journey, the weather was much cooler than I anticipated, and I didn’t pack warm outerwear. While out visiting the sites, and a lady walked up and said, “She needs to be wearing a sweater.”
I immediately rubbed my arms to generate some warmth and said, “Yes, it’s chilly today.”
But when I turned to look at the woman who spoke, she wasn’t staring at me. She had focused on my daughter who sat in my husband’s arms. How embarrassing! First, I’d made the mistake of leaving warm clothing behind. Secondly, a lady was worried about my daughter, and I assumed she was talking about me.
At that moment, I got an idea of how self-centered I was. I should have been thinking about how the cold might impact my daughter.
Scripture teaches us to be ‘other-centered.’ That is, God doesn’t want us to live to meet our own needs. Instead, he wants us to consider the other person, and as parents, we should be considering our children in every decision we make. I believe that’s one of the biggest benefits parents receive. If we go about our job the right way, we become more mature because our focus goes to our children. Other-centered thinking is healthy.
Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example of unselfishness. Even though he was God, he came to lay down his life for us. The humility there still jars my thinking every time I ponder it. God chose to put aside all his prerogatives to allow himself to suffer and die. How much more should I be doing the same thing?
As parents, the internet and any device connected to the web offers our children a portal into pornography. Boys and girls can see images they are not old enough to view. Many become addicted, and that includes women. This practice is so damaging to marriages, families, and children.
Mike Genung has a ministry to families in this area, and he’s going to give us a few tips on Family Internet Safety.
You may have heard that joke if the mother’s not happy, nobody’s happy. How true! The wife, the mother creates the atmosphere of the home, and a peaceful ambiance provides the best place for everyone to thrive. Katheryn von Bora, also known as Katie Luther, the wife of the Reformer, gave us a fabulous example. She created a boarding house in Luther’s former monastery, and she purchased farms to provide for her family, staff, needy beggars, and students. In the context of the dinner table, Luther discussed Scripture around the dinner table, passing along a legacy of his faith. Students later published these as ‘table talk’ giving insight to the next generation. What what an impact she had. How can our lives have such an influence?
The Bible gives a description of a Godly woman in Titus 2:5. “. . .self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” How interesting God mentions us ‘working at home.’ Today that’s not popular. Our culture demands we have some separate profession because just being a wife and mother is beneath us. Certainly the lady in Proverbs thirty-one had several, but she worked out of her home. “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Women have varied gifts, but God designed us as nurturers to play a key role in the lives of our husbands and children. Who else should we trust to raise our offspring?
Pat Ennis is my guest today. She directs the Home Economics Department at Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Her book, God is My Strength, deals with many issues wives and mothers face today. Listen to her insights on creating a peaceful and nurturing atmosphere in your home.
