Metro Moms

The 5 D's

One of the challenges I've been facing recently as a mother is being content with my "boundaries."  My days are pretty much all the same, consisting of the 5 D's ~ Diapers, Dishes, Discipline, Dirty Laundry, and Dinner.  Recently my husband, Kyle, and I were talking about the upcoming month.  I just couldn't help but notice he was going to be gone a couple more Saturdays than usual.  Hmmm...God used our conversation to reveal that I felt "entitled" to a break on the weekends, and that certainly wasn't going to happen with him off doing one of those fun things he gets to do while I'm home doing the 5 D's!  (Please tell me you've thought the same thing at times...)

How easy it is for me to forget: "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, indeed I have a beautiful inheritance" (Psalm 16:5-6). It's so easy for me to forget my calling and God-ordained job description -- part of which is to joyfully release my husband to fullfill his God-ordained calling to provide for our family and to serve Him in ways I can't always participate in as I'm caring for our home and children.

Ahhh...thankfully I don't have to look far for help.  Here's a quote from Sheree that has been helpful for me:  "Apart from the cross you are doomed to fail. This job description [of godly femininty] is far too high for any woman to reach! Yet the cross provides all we need for growth and change.  Because of the gospel, you can trust God to empower you to fulfill the call to biblical womanhood." 

What good news!  God has given the grace I need to embrace the boundaries that He has ordained for me! He has created me to serve in my home, to care for and serve my husband and children -- not to expect them to serve and care for me.  (Though I admit it, it's nice when they do...smile). Turning to God in repentance for my discontent is beginning to bring me so much joy.  I love it!  This week my prayer for myself and for you is that while we are taking care of the 5 D's let's "Serve the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing" (Psalm 100:2).

If the issue of contentment is also a mothering challenge for you, I refer to you Chapter Five of Lies Womens Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  It's been a means of grace and help to me!

Posted by Taraleigh

Orange Juice

I haven't yet adjusted to the challenges that hit me with grown children.  With small children it seemed most of my friends were facing the same things, so I had a wealth of help and examples from which to glean.  But with grown children the struggles can be so varied that I find myself often surprised and unprepared when a challenge hits.   I hope that  my most recent challenge as a mom will help to prepare others in case you, too, find yourself face-to-face with spoiled orange juice.

The expiration date said June 25, 2006.  I have never had to notice this part of the orange juice carton, that is, until now. My 24-year-old son, who loves orange juice so much that he drinks a large glass of it every morning on his way to work, married his beautiful bride on June 3, 2006.  That was 3 months ago, and now I have to throw away something because he no longer lives here; this is not the place he calls home.  I couldn't be more thrilled, yet why am I crying?  Could it be that the Lord is using a simple beverage to address an idol in my heart?  (If you want to know more about what an idol is, see Sheree's post on Monday and Tuesday of this week for a link to more information.)

I have prayed for years that my children would grow up to love the Lord and to love the local church.  They do!  I have prayed that they would love being a part of our family and call us not only their parents, but their friends.  They do!  I have prayed for the day to see them fall in love with and marry their best friend.  Two of them have!  So, why am I crying over spoiled orange juice? The Lord is graciously showing me that even a good thing can become a source of sinful cravings.

I loved being a mother of a house full of little children, but those days are over.    I loved being a mom of teenagers full of life and activity, but that season is over, too. Now that my three children are in their twenties, I am watching God reveal His plan for their lives.  He will be faithful now as He has been faithful in the past.  It is far too easy for me to cling to the temporary rather than that which never changes...and only HE is unchanging.  My parenting days aren't over, things are just different.

I am learning that God has many surprises for me throughout my lifetime, some I’ve anticipated and others were unexpected blessings.  Whether I realize it or not, God is at work in every moment of every day, and He is commited to revealing sins that are attempting to make my life more about me and what I want above that which is eternal.  Change is hard, but change is so good!  It pushes me out of my normal routine and makes me embrace something new.  God doesn't waste anything! He used a carton of orange juice to remind me of what used to be and to direct my gaze to the Truth, which never expires, no matter what age my children are.

Suddenly, I have an overwhelming desire to go to Publix and be different - I think I'll buy some Pomegranate juice. I hear it’s good for you; and my twenty-year-old daughter loves it!

Posted by Debi

Carpet Lines...and Chuck E Cheese

Last week we talked about the simple joys of motherhood.  With the joys, though, come the challenges.  Many of our struggles as moms come when we react sinfully to the sins of our children.  What comfort to know that God has provided a remedy for our sin at the cross, where Jesus paid the penalty for our sin!  This week we will talk about "Mothering Challenges" and how God is helping us.  We pray you will find comfort and hope that your struggles are shared by others...and that you will also find help in seeing how God is helping us to see and repent of our sin.

Sheree and her husband, Benny, who serves as Executive Pastor of our church, have been married for 33 years.  She is Mom to seven children (three of whom are married) and Granma to five (soon-to-be six) precious gifts from God.  Since the Lord sent Sheree to Metro, we have benefited greatly from her wisdom, compassion and --most of all -- her pursuit of humility.  She helps us to see what it looks like to embrace our God-given call to love our husbands and serve our families in a way that glorifies God.  She will be faithful to remind us of the truth in ways that are sure to make you laugh, cry and when needed, repent.  Look for her posts and read them ALL - for there you will find help for your soul!

Have you ever noticed how often you use the word normal as something you will someday return to?  "This is a busy season, but things will return to normal"..."Yeah, things have been kinda crazy but when life gets back to normal I'll be fine"...Have you ever thought or said these things?  I sure have!

The question is:  What is "normal?" For many of my mothering years I just knew I'd "get back" to whatever normal was.  I finally gave up.

Which leads me to confess one of my greatest challenges as a mom -- a craving for order and predictability in the midst of an active, often unpredictable family who doesn't mind the "lived in" look at home and a wall calendar filled with stuff. I love things like vacuum lines in the carpet, the smell of pine cleaner, finding the scissors in the spot they're supposed to be, knowing days in advance that a child needs something for a school project, and crossing things off my to-do list.  Sometimes, though, this preference becomes an idol in my heart. (Click on the idol link to read more about this.)

When this craving meets real life, I often find myself in a predicament.  A sinful predicament, to be honest.  My preference for order can quickly become a sinful craving when I am not carefully guarding my heart.  Too often, I just want everyone I live with to be like me!   In His sovereign love for me, God blessed me with a large, loud, active and messy family who love to bring their like-minded friends into our home on a regular basis.  As God has dealt with my selfish, proud and self-righteous heart over the years I have found peace in confessing my sin and seeing Him change my heart. 

So when my son called me last Thursday from the community college saying, "Hey, Mom, my ride home fell through so can you pick me up?...and, um, that means I'll need a ride to the basketball scrimmage tonite...and Mom, I'm really sorry I didn't call at lunch to give you a heads up like you asked but Justin's car was low on oil and when we tried to put oil in a little rubber thing fell down into the hole and he's afraid it's gonna like make the engine blow up or something if he drives it too far..." I was so glad God has been at work in my heart yet again.  (You'd think this craving would have died when the house was full of seven children who got their heads stuck in half-opened closet doors, ate coins that required fishing through potty chairs, broke bones, fell out of the top of bunk beds in the middle of the night, and flushed too many things to remember down toilets.) 

As Jake and I were driving home from the community college yesterday I silently thanked the Lord for once again using a providential interruption in my day to remind me that order and predictability aren't the most important things in life; people are.  By pursuing a balanced perspective on responsibility and self-discipline -- while seeking to repent of my sinful craving for tidy rooms and an organzied calendar -- God is helping me to grow in joy.

Off to put some vacuum cleaner lines in the carpet...or should I see if I can meet the grandkids and their moms at Chuck E Cheese for lunch?