Category Archives: Being a Daughter

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Yes, Lord

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“You can’t say ‘Lord’ unless you say ‘yes’.”

It was December 1973 when I heard Elizabeth Elliot say those words to over 10,000 college students at Urbana ’73. I was one of those students about to start my last semester of college.

You can’t say:

  •  “No, Lord”
  •  “Wait, Lord”
  • “Later, Lord”
  • “I will if….., Lord”
  • “Not now, Lord”

If I say any of those things to the Lord – Jesus is not Lord.

The ONLY response I can make if Jesus is Lord is “yes’.

How do we feel when our children make excuses when we ask them to do something? We realize that they do not want to obey – so they have an excuse. We don’t like it.

Neither does our Lord.

We want our children to obey because we have their best interest at heart, even when they don’t understand why they can’t have ice cream before dinner, or wear shorts in the snow, or watch three movies a day.

It is because we love our children that we withhold certain things.

It is because God loves us that He withholds certain things.

Jesus was nearing the end of His earthly ministry. He was trying to communicate some very important truth before He left His disciples. (We do that as well with our children, don’t we? “Now one more thing before I go …”)

Luke 9: 57-62

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![c] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

In each of these situations, people wanted to follow Jesus, BUT….

Jesus tells them that is not how it works.

When we ask our children to obey us and trust that we know what we are doing – it is just what God is requiring of us as parents. We are actually training our children to obey God when we have them practice by obeying us as their parents.

The biggest difference – God is perfect. God’s ways are perfect.

As our children say “yes” to us, they will learn to say “yes” to the Lord.

When we say “YES” to the Lord, we are modeling what it means to follow Jesus.

 

 

 

 

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Mother, Where Art Thou?

 

Four Generations 1979

Four Generations 1979

Praying.

I have a vivid memory of walking home from school and getting near to my house  – 600 E. Illinois Street – and seeing my mother rush across the street to be home when my brothers and I arrived.

My mother had been at Cristal Parker’s – our neighbor across the street. They had been praying for their children.

Of all the many wonderful qualities that my mother has – praying for me is the one that means the most to me. I am so thankful to have a mother that STILL prays for me. I had two grandmothers that prayed for me as well.

What a legacy of faith!

On Mother’s Day we as mothers may be asking ourselves – “am I the kind of mother I should be?” We may be hard on ourselves and think ” I am not this way….I am not that way…” making mental lists of our deficiencies.

We women can be so HARD on ourselves.

Yet of all the things my mother and grandmothers did for me – praying for me is of the utmost value.

Paul says to Timothy who he was discipling in the faith – II Timothy 1:3-6 NLT

3 Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

Paul mentions the spiritual heritage that Timothy had from his mother and grandmother.

This is the legacy we can leave as well – one of praying for our children and grandchildren. I am so thankful for my praying grandmothers.

Thank you , Mom, for continuing to pray for me even as you reach your 87th year.

This is the legacy I want to leave my children and grandchildren – one of faith and prayer.

“Nana, where art thou?”

Praying.

 

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It’s Not About Me

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Once we as women experience a pregnancy, we get a true picture of what it means for our bodies to not be our own. We feel that little life (or lives) moving inside and we realize it is no longer about us. We may feel sick from certain smells that never bothered us before pregnancy, we also may crave certain foods for no apparent reason. We are no longer in charge and often don’t even understand the changes taking place in our own bodies. This is just the beginning.

Romans 12:1 says “Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

As a mother of young children your body is a living sacrifice. You are no longer your own. You get up in the morning, change diapers, breastfeed, have meals, tend to chores (when able) and meet others’ needs all day long according to their schedule, not your own. A loving mother sacrifices her own wants and needs for her family.

I can still remember thinking when our four children were small that I would never feel rested again.

I couldn’t imagine getting enough rest. Yet, God convicted me with the truth of the above scripture one day at our home group. The home group leader, Phil, asked us to think about what in our lives were hindrances to worship. The immediate response that came to my mind was “my children”! Then I felt shame.

These children were gifts from God!

Why did I see them as a hindrance? Because I did not see my service to them as significant in God’s eyes. I thought a “ministry” was more important. Yet, the Lord showed me those children were my ministry at that time. NOTHING was more important. Offering my body as a living sacrifice WAS an act of worship – one very pleasing to our Lord.

As we contemplate this Easter weekend the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, let us embrace the sacrifices we make as mothers  – moment by moment, day by day.

Jesus is our example – He laid down His life.

As His follower, I must present myself a living sacrifice and recognize it as an act of worship.

…. with love and thankfulness for the redemption of Jesus’ resurrection – have a blessed Resurrection Day!