by Kimberly | Nov 13, 2017 | Books, mothering, parenting, Uncategorized
Six years ago, we were newly married, starting our journey together as husband and wife. We weren’t even pregnant yet. We decided we would go through the book of James together. My husband memorized it. I prayed it daily for him, myself, us, and our future. We entered into our marriage with difficult relationships around us. We needed wisdom for how to navigate these relationships and for how to head into our future together. James was a perfect book to study through as newlyweds.
Today, our boys are five and four. And I’m going through the book of James again with a small group of women. I need these verses and the Lord’s voice to enter in to my parenting and give me great wisdom as to how to parent these two little boys. With the Lord’s help, not the world’s wisdom, we can parent well.
He has promised to help us. He has promised to give wisdom to those who ask. He has also given us His Word. This is how the Lord defines wisdom from above. How can we have parenting that is wise – with His wisdom. The following is from James 3.
(Parenting) wisdom from above is pure. It is not bought or coerced. It is done with pure motives. It is without error. This is why we need Jesus in our parenting. We are not perfect. We will always fail in our parenting. Our boys do not ultimately need us – they need Jesus.
(Parenting) wisdom from above is peaceable. Where we don’t raise our voices or cut off our children because we are doing something and they are interrupting. We seek to bring peace (not fairness) to our children’s lives when they are interacting with each other. I seek to appease and pacify, but I find it truly difficult to bring peace in our home. That is why our sons need Jesus – He is our Prince of Peace.
(Parenting) wisdom from above is gentle. Amazingly I find this difficult unless I’m showing affection. I get irritable because I’m being interrupted. I am not gentle if they are doing something wrong. I need a Gentle Shepherd to shepherd my heart so I can in turn shepherd my children’s hearts.
(Parenting) wisdom is open to reason. This is getting easier for me, by the grace of God. Open to reason in parenting is (I think) being willing to hear help from others. These tips and help may come from my husband, my friends, my pediatrician, books I’m reading, etc. Find those moms and dads who are (generally) ahead of you in the parenting game and seek them to pour into your life as a parent. Watch them. Learn from them. And that is why we need Jesus, He is all-wise and the perfect teacher.
(Parenting) wisdom from above is full of mercy. Isn’t God so rich in mercy! I love it. I apply this to some discipline. And hear me out – this does not mean never disciplining your children when they have disobeyed. This means walking in step with the Savior who showed you great mercy and plead with them to know how to interact with your children at all times. They may have done something wrong. And the best way to show them Jesus in that particular moment is by talking to them about Jesus – not giving them a timeout or spanking. Jesus is lavish in mercy to us!
(Parenting) wisdom from above is full of good fruits. Abundantly pouring out in good fruits. This is an opportunity for you to encourage your kids. One saying we use in our our is “God is helping you become more…” We don’t want to tell our kids that they are acting better to focus on their good works. We want to help them realize that everything good in them is from God. And to not wait for the big things they do, but be encouraging them in the times you see any kind of good fruit – even a little bud. And Jesus helps us bear fruit if we abide in Him!
(Parenting) wisdom from above is impartial . See the pure paragraph above.
(Parenting) wisdom from above is sincere. It is hard to be a mom. Even those who love being a mom every moment find some moments hard. But, let us sincerely think about Jesus has called us to. To shape little hearts and minds. To point them to Christ. To grow little boys into men who will one day shape the world around them. Jesus sincerely came to this world to save us.
(Parenting) wisdom from above will reap a harvest. We can definitely know that God will bless efforts to shepherd our children and reward us. It is a promise. And he is faithful.
One tool I’ve found in helping me pass on wisdom to my children – and hope in the Gospel – is Pass it On by Champ Thornton. It is a Bible study on Proverbs, with a great introduction to the book, commentary some, focusing on the Gospel (how Jesus fulfills wisdom). But it is also a journal for you to fill out and pass along your thoughts to your children. I’ve started doing this for my sons. It could be used once a week, 30 minutes, and it would take you less than a year for each kid. What a treasure it would be for your children.
Pass It On was given to me by Litfuse. All thoughts are my own.
by Kimberly | Oct 21, 2017 | 31days, lavish hospitality, mothering
What is the goal of motherhood?
You know what – I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers.
Basically – here is what I think the goal of motherhood it is.
With God’s grace, shepherd your children to see their need of Him. If along the way you teach them how to do well in school, be model citizens, grow up to be a great wife or husband, be honorable, then they are good side effects.
But, the goal of motherhood is to point them to their Creator. And point them is all we can do. That has been the hardest thing for me to come to grips with – I can’t save my kids. Only God can save my kids.
And, if we attempt to put on a mask of motherhood perfection – we are not being hospitable. Not to ourselves, our kids, our husbands, or our friends. We will only let ourselves down.
Quote from Beyond Bath Time by Erin Davis
by Kimberly | Oct 19, 2017 | Books, mothering, parenting
As mamas, we all need help – and having resources to help us in our journey with God, especially in the little years that can be so lonely, help tremendously.
Lord Have Mercy is a devotional written by Ellen Miller for moms – and it doesn’t matter what stage your kids are in.
I love how it is saturated with Scripture. I love how they are short because you know that moms don’t have all the time in the world to do a quiet time. I love it how it is practical and calls you to action.
But, I don’t really see that it is so much better than other Mom devotionals out there – or even devotionals in general. I just didn’t strike me as a must read or must recommend. It may be perfect for another mom, and it is saturated with the Word of God, but just a personal opinion.
Thanks Tyndale House for the book. All opinions are my own.
by Kimberly | Oct 18, 2017 | 31days, Books, lavish hospitality, mothering
As a mom of two preschoolers, two things I think about the most of anything is my children’s safety and their eternal life. One I can do something about and one I can only point them in the right direction.
Its funny, this week my 4 year old had 5 shots and 1 toe prick to draw some blood. All routine for a 4 yo check up. As I was holding his arms across his chest as they were sticking the needles in his thighs, I watched him scream over and over again. I didn’t feel like I was providing much safety for him. And after the pricks were over, he was calling for Daddy – all he wanted to do was go see Daddy. To have Daddy hold him.
Now, if something happens when Daddy is around, then he calls out for me. So the kid can’t make up his mind.
And now thinking back, I think of me, holding his arms down, covering his face to he couldn’t see the needles being put into his legs, closing my eyes in tears as he screamed, wondering if he would ever trust me again.
Isn’t that often how God is. We are safely in his arms. Being held in the palms of his hands, nothing can take us out of his grip. But, how often does his face cover our screams? How often do you think that God cries and longs for our hearts when we are hurting?
On this earth, I think we are to be “little Christs”. So, we are to be Jesus with skin on. Being hospitable to people may be holding them in their pain, letting them cry, catching their tears. My husband often does this. And I think of the safety I feel in his arms. And it makes me long for the Savior – who will never hurt me but was hurt for me. So that I may rest secure in Him.
Quote taken from a new book by Lavon Gray (thanks New Hope Publishers) Tuning Your Heart to Worship
by Kimberly | Oct 15, 2017 | 31days, lavish hospitality, mothering
One of the deals with motherhood is that you tend to get interrupted. Whether you need to change a diaper in the middle of a church service, breast feed in the middle of the night, calm an anxious heart in the wee hours of the morning, get out of bed before your alarm clock goes off because a preschooler wants some juice. It might be to miss out on something you want to attend because you have a teenager who needs to get somewhere.
Interruptions come. That’s just a fact of life. The life of a mother, that is.
And I’ve learned that it usually doesn’t make me smile when I get interrupted. I like to do what I’m doing and that’s that. Whether its making dinner, working on a blog, or running errands, I want to do them how I want to do them.
I need God our gracious Father to show up in my heart and mouth and face when my little boys interrupt me. I need to be ready to color with them, read with them, talk with them about the same topic I’ve already talked about for 4 hours that day, sing one of their songs for the 30th time, and watch the same kids movie with them that they know by heart.
Thanks to Sandra for writing this blog post where I pulled this quote.
by Kimberly | Oct 2, 2017 | kcreatives photography, mothering, photo shoot
I’ve been a little busy in the last few months, moving, etc, that I’ve not been able to blog about this little maternity session yet. And yes, the little sweet boy is over a month old now – but I still wanted to share these photos with you. I’m so thankful for the friendship of this mama, and all of her creative help and encouragement over the last few years.
Thanks to the beautiful Mommy model, Celina D, and Kandi Daniel Studios for coming along too! We shot at Turnipseed Farm south of metro ATL. Such a fun day.
