Welcome to the 'Rooms of a Mother’s Heart'
Mother’s Day on the calendar this year is May 9, 2021.
However, I know it to be true that every day is Mother’s Day.
When you are a mom … nothing about your life is ever the same again.
Every day is Mother’s Day to a woman who has carried a life for 9 months … or who has stood in strong faith to adopt a precious baby that someone else carried.
Both are miracles and both usher in days of indescribable delight, never –ending frustration and everything in the middle!
I will be talking a lot about motherhood over the next week or so and what it means to raise the next generation of world-changing warriors for the Kingdom of Christ.
As you probably know by now, my 13th book is set to release on April 20, 2021.
This year, for me, Mother’s Day is April 20, 2021.
The name of the book? Why … I am so glad that you asked!
“The Rooms of a Mother’s Heart” is written as a legacy of love to the next generation of women who are spending their days changing diapers, making grilled cheese sandwiches and folding mountains of laundry.
“The Rooms of a Mother’s Heart” is a guidebook to moms who feel unqualified, unprepared and lost in the everydayness of it all.
“The Rooms of a Mother’s Heart” is a lovely call that will remind mothers everywhere that what they do matters … it matters very, very much.
I’d like to share with you this week an excerpt from the book that I have been writing for 40 years … “The Rooms of a Mother’s Heart”.
If you are looking at motherhood through the rearview mirror … this is for you.
If you are in the trenches of motherhood … this is for you.
If you ache to be a mother but it hasn’t happened yet … this is for you.
If you are not sure you have what it takes to be a mother … this is for you.
So … fix yourself a cup of tea or coffee … put your feet up for the next 10 minutes or so … and read on.
And welcome … to … the “Rooms of a Mother’s Heart”.
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“For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 3:11
As with any other building, the foundation of a home determines its capacity for both weight and height. It must be able to support the load of the house that’s being built, taking into account the design, overall size, and building materials. Without a strong foundation, the homeowner is likely to face costly repairs in the future.
What you have the capacity to become, both as a woman and as a mother, depends upon the foundational issues of your faith. If you want your life to be supported by your chosen foundation, then you must spend time in establishing a stalwart one that will stand the test of time and withstand the storms of life.
I believe there are foundational truths that you must build your home upon. If these truths are neglected or overlooked, the cracks of impatience, anger, and bitterness may cause your family to be on shaky ground. However, if you focus on the necessary foundational truths and create a home that is built upon this bedrock, then when the storms of life come—and come they will—your home will remain steadfast in the face of insurmountable odds.
If you focus on the necessary foundational truths, then when the storms of life come, your home will remain steadfast in the face of insurmountable odds.
My dad was a quiet general of the faith; he didn’t bark orders nor did he demand honor but he gently and serenely lived a life of uncompromising commitment to the Word of God. His name will never be listed in anyone’s Hall of Fame nor will he ever be recognized as a prestigious man in the eyes of the world; however, his extraordinary attention to the eternal truth of Scripture will ricochet through generations of those who have been impacted by his unpretentious life.
Dad was an early riser due to his childhood and young adult years spent on a dairy farm. He was accustomed to getting up before the sun to milk the cows and gather the eggs.
As a father, he was known for getting up as early as 4:30 a.m. in order to read the Bible before he had to plow the driveway, fix our lunches for school, or weed the family garden. Often, when I heard my dad stirring in the kitchen, I would also smell the aroma of his instant coffee laced with milk. As a very small child, I would creep downstairs to snuggle into his lap while he read the greatest Book ever written. When I was old enough to read on my own, Dad wrote Bible verses on computer cards so that I could read a portion of what he was reading each morning.
Every Saturday evening, Dad wrote a new Scripture verse on the black- board that hung on the wall behind the kitchen table. Throughout the week, we talked about the verse and committed it to memory. The verse was erased on Saturday afternoons and Dad would challenge his three children to recite it from memory at the dinner table. He didn’t give prizes or rewards for memorizing Scripture but his smile and his quiet, “Well done,” was all the reward that I needed.
“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.
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Your children need to know that there are some things in this world that never change; they need to have an understanding that although the culture may evolve, there is a constant in their lives upon which they can rely. The truth of Scripture is the most valuable commodity that a family can build a life upon. When the Bible is honored in a home, it does a miracle in the lives of each family member. “For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12); it will enable a family of diverse personalities and opinions to find unity and peace.
When the Bible is honored in a home, it does a miracle in the lives of each family member.
When you treasure the Word of God and encourage your children to memorize His truths, it will enable them to navigate the teenage years with purity and righteousness.
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. —Psalm 119:9
The Bible will bring peace to troubled minds and comfort to raging emotions.
My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word. —Psalm 119:28
The greatest gift you can give to your children is the foundation that only the Bible supplies. I am not talking about preaching to your children; I am referring to the absolute necessity of treasuring the Bible every day in your family home.
“Visit many good books but live in the Bible. ”
When we brought our babies home from the hospital, I placed their miniature hands on my Bible and I told them, “This is the Bible. It’s God’s Word to us. We love the Bible.”
When our children were toddlers, we lined up all of their stuffed animals and talked about Noah’s ark and about the importance of obeying God.
We used goldfish crackers to reenact Jesus’s feeding of the 5,000. To the children’s delight and surprise, goldfish crackers would appear all around the room.
Craig and I firmly believed that children only needed a twofold theology until they were about ten years old: they needed to know that Jesus loved them unconditionally and enthusiastically; and they needed to know that the Bible says children are to obey their parents.
Our goal as parents was to stress the truth of Scripture, its unchanging nature, and its application to our daily lives.
We were careful to talk about the Bible both reverently and joyfully. Craig and I deeply desired for our children to know that no one has a better idea than God and that the abundant life is the best life!
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teach- ing and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
—Colossians 3:16
Children learn what they live. If they see their dear mama reading her Bible, they, too, will know the value and the joy that is found on the sacred pages of Scripture. I have always known that I would be unable to leave my children a legacy of earthly treasures, but I was more than able to give them that which will never corrupt or grow old.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
—Deuteronomy 6:5–7
Honoring, memorizing, and reading the Word of God is a foundational issue of family life. “
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!