Since being a first time mom I have been exposed to the pluthera (understatement!) of information out there on how to be a parent. What to do, what not do, the best ways to do things, the best products to use...and on and on! Though some of these things have been helpful, and I am a research-guru (just ask my husband...I bore him with all the new revelations I am discovering), I don't find many "mom" conversations/debates about how to raise our families and homes to love the Lord. How to disciple them, share the Gospel and establish ourselves as woman at the feet of Jesus every day.
During my first several months as a new mom, I began to see how my relationship with Christ was deeply impacting my home, marriage and my daughter. Even at her young age, I desired to let God's love pour out of me and through our home. After breifly seeing a book recommendation from a friend's profile on facebook, I ordered and began reading, The Missional Mom by Helen Lee www.themissionalmom.com and found myself desiring to create a home that glorified God in many different ways. I highly recommend the read!
I love the verses Deuteronomy 6:5-9! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (ESV) You've probably read these verses often or heard them many times. But I have found these verses very encouraging and helpful in how we (both Joel and I) want to teach the love of God to our children and ourselves. What I saw in these verses, was that the LOVE of God is what is being talked about to our children. It is the LOVE of God that is to be written on our doorposts and gates. Doorposts are the frame work. They secure the door. They are the entry way in which we exit and arrive. The first thing we see and the last thing we leave behind. I strive to write Christ's love all over the framework of my marriage, my children's lives and our home!
I have thought about writing a blog for quite some time (at least 6 months or so!). I hope someday my children will read this and see the path God has taken our family over the years. God has been teaching me so much in this new chapter of my life and I want to share it with you! I pray, that the ministry of your family is an exciting one!
