Momma, we must do better

First off.....it's been a long time since I wrote anything on here. :) Life has been amazingly crazy busy and I am thankful for the opportunities God has been giving our family lately. Second, before you get mad at the title of this post, I am a mom so I am writing based on that viewpoint. I am in no way saying Dads don't need to do better too, but I am writing specifically from my Momma perspective. Just thought I would throw that out there.

Ok, so a lot has been on my mind lately. I have been toying around with writing this post for probably two months. Things just keep coming up in my life that remind me of what a high and humble calling God has given me by allowing me to be a mom. I am beyond thankful, yet spend a lot of time frustrated and discouraged by what I see around me. Can anyone relate to that? Raising tiny humans who are now not so tiny (I am the shortest in my family now) is difficult. There are a lot of tough decisions we have to make on a daily basis. Tough, not necessarily because you don't know what to do, but tough because they go against what the world might see as normal or right.

A few examples come to mind. Clothing. Goodness gracious are clothing options getting more and more difficult to find for my daughter. I desire for her to feel comfortable in her clothing while also modeling modesty the way I believe a Christian should. That means pretty much we follow the "raise your hands and touch your toes, if anything shows, go change your clothes" policy. :) It is a hard decision make, and frustrating for her when it looks like all around us the girls her age (and older/younger) are showing WAY more skin than we believe is appropriate. As her Mom, I model modest behavior and have discussions with her on a regular basis for why it is important and why she can't wear something. This post isn't focused on modesty, though maybe I should write one someday. Momma, we must make choices that honor God, not choices that allow our kids to "fit in". They aren't supposed to fit in. We are called to be not of this world as John 15:19 says "If you were of the world, the world would love you as it's own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." We should expect the world to not understand our decisions. Sometimes that's really hard.

Another example; making decisions because you are trying to protect them. We live in a town with a lake/beach. Over the summer our town is full of tourists. The local kids will be dropped off or drive to the beach and hang out all day. Our kids don't really understand or agree with our decision to not allow them to do that. However, since I grew up here, I know what happens at that beach. I know the possibilities and temptations that they would face if I left them there alone for hours at a time. Momma, we need to make these tough choices for our kids, even though it might make them feel "less popular" or give them a case of FOMO. They will survive, I promise. Our calling as Christian Moms is to raise up children who know God, love Him, and desire to obey Him. That means we must be able to tell ourselves no and our children no. We must be able to do the right thing even when we don't feel like it. Ephesians 5:15-16 are good verses to contemplate in these situations "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." Yes, I know there is evil everywhere since we live in a fallen world. However, we need to protect our children where and when we can. Eventually, they will be on their own, making these decisions themselves. If they don't know how to handle being told no now, they won't be able to tell themselves no later when they are making all the choices. That's scary, and unfortunately, that's exactly what we are seeing in the younger generation that's beginning adulthood.

Lastly, we need to teach our children correct priorities. I understand life is busy. We have two kids in multiple sports each as well as other clubs and activities. I feel like a taxi most days. It is exhausting and overwhelming at times. It seems like everything is fighting for their attention and time. We must be able to align our priorities with what God says our priorities should be, not what the world or our kids think they should be. That means, we need to get our family to church. Hebrews 10:24-25 is exactly what we should be desiring "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." This verse just isn't focused on attending church gatherings, but church going is the way we stir up one another to love and good works and encourage each other. We can't do that for each other as believers, if we aren't in church. I know there are vacations and situations that come up, but what I am talking about is consistently missing church for other activities. This teaches our kids that if something else "feels" better/more fun/more interesting/etc. than church, go for it! Miss church and do what you feel like. No wonder most kids stop going to church at all when they move out to college. Momma, we need to make church a priority. Even if that means missing a game, a boat outing with friends, or some other activity/job. Let's teach our children that honoring and worshiping God is most important.

I know making these choices is difficult. It makes you feel like you're the bad mom who doesn't support or allow your kids to enjoy life. I get that. I struggle with this almost daily. I fail. But God has placed in my heart a desire to know and love Him and has given me the immense responsibility to raise my children to do the same. I don't take that lightly. You shouldn't either. We need to make the hard choices and point our children to Jesus at every opportunity. They might not understand our choices and they even might get angry with us. That's ok Momma. You are the parent, not the best friend. You might think that if they are angry they won't get anything out of going to church, not being allowed to wear something, or not getting to go somewhere. However, if you use those conversations to point them back to Scripture, God has an amazing promise for you in Isaiah 55:11 "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." It might not be right away or super visible to us, but God's Word will accomplish what God desires. Trust that and trust Him. Let's do better Momma. I love you all. Till next time.