God's Plumb Line (a weird title... I know)

I have been MIA for a month (actually a month and 2 weeks I think).  While I have still read each devotional the past few Mondays I didn't do as much self reflection and application as I had been and I've missed it.  I also failed to communicate them to you and I'm sorry about that.  You can read all about our busy month and my excuses for not blogging here.  It is a time commitment that I obligated to many weeks ago and we are a little over halfway to our year.  I am committed to keeping this up for my own accountability and to encourage others along the way.  So, here is to finishing out the year!

A Plumb line ( I had no idea what it was until I googled it AND my husbands a builder, oops!) is a tool that someone would use when building a wall to make sure it's straight.  It's a cord suspending a lead weight that is used to show a builder if the wall is vertically straight.  If a wall isn't straight, overtime, it will collapse.  It is not sturdy and does not stand strong.  Without the plumb line, the wall would lose its structural integrity. 

From the book of Amos:

"Then he showed me another vision.  I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight.  And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" 

I answered. "A plumb line".  

And the Lord replied, "I will test my people with this plumb line.  I will no longer ignore all their sins.  The pagan shrines of your ancestors and the temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end." 

                                                                                                    Amos 7:7-9

Now knowing what a plumb line is I hope that scripture was a little easier to understand, it was for me. The Lord was using the plumb line as an analogy to how he was going to "check" or hold his people "accountable" and "measure" their sin.  God wants us to be strong and structurally sound and knows that sin causes us to go down crooked paths and ultimately leads to our destruction. 

So, Karol Ladd tells us that our plumb line is God's Word.  What I love about that is yesterday in church, Pastor Randy said something that really stuck with me, "Do you acknowledge your sin or only justify it? To live by and justify the word of God is to KNOW the word of God".  I was convicted.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says. "All scripture is inspired by God and Is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do."  I feel like so many people "nowadays" constantly justify their sins.  There is a "reason" for everything. We all sin, duh, daily I sin... but it doesn't make it right if I make up a really good excuse or I can justify it in my own head.  Acknowledging it and admitting I messed up, then going to God's word on what is right and good is the only way to learn from that sin instead of justifying it in my own mind.   Pastor Randy's sermon was related to America's sin at the moment, more specifically the politics surrounding abortion and Gay rights.  I am not going to talk about my specific point of view on this blog other than sharing his sermon message in that Americans are justifying their point of view and they are breaking God's heart.  They are not acknowledging what the bible says, what it means and how it applies to these issues and more importantly peoples lives.  America needs God's plumb line and that's all I am going to say.          

"To build strong lives, we need to measure ourselves against the plumb line of God's Word." (Ladd) What is our role as mommas to little ones growing up in a society of people who don't measure their lives against God's word? Well, we need to reach our children with God's word.  We need to learn and lead by example for our children.  Who else can we count on to do it? 

I need to read my bible more, I need to know and understand God's word better so that I continue to be built into a strong, sturdy woman and momma of God so I can raise my kiddos to be the same.  My sin is not forgiven because I, capital I, can justify it.  It is forgiven by the Grace of God when I can so humbly acknowledge and admit my sin to him.  I pray I can raise my Pax and Brinlee to do the same - growing as a momma is the first step right? 

Choices to make this week:

- I will choose to begin systematically reading God's word, ask the Lord to reveal any sin that lurks in my heart, teach my children the importance of knowing, loving, and obeying God's word. 

 

Prayer from Karol Ladd for us:

"Powerful Lord and gracious Father, I praise you for the wonderful blessing of your Word.  Thank you for giving me a plumb line by which I can measure my life.  Help me to honor you in the way that I live.  Thank you for wanting the best for me and my family.  Help us to be "structurally sound" as we study your Word together and learn to walk in your ways.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

       

The Grace Challenge

Grace is: 1.a state of sanctification by God  2. a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill, mercy 3. a fevor rendered by one who need not do so.

This week is all about grace and how we as moms, teachers, aunts, grandmas, etc are the example for the children in our lives on how we not only give them grace but also how we give grace to others. 

"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.  Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the Lord. Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.  Confront your neighbors directly do you will not be held guilty for their crimes.  Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbors as yourself. I am the Lord"
                                                                                               Leviticus 19:16-18

I was a little confused after reading that scripture, but thankfully Karol Ladd clears things up.  This was at a time when thousands of Israelites were traveling to the Promised Land through unknown land and had a very long way to go.  In order to have some sense of civility they were given the laws above for dealing with both people and circumstances as they traveled.  As hard as they are to follow in real life, our real life... a  few of those laws would be great to live by today (navigating the craziness of life and motherhood, right?).   

Thankfully as Christians today we have the beautiful gift of God's grace in our lives due to Christ's sacrifice on the cross for US.  We are not under a strict law like these Israelites were... as recievers of Gods grace, we should be giving it as much as we are recieving it.  This is hard for me sometimes and you know your lying if you say "oh, not me".  Life is challenging, busy and complicated for everyone in many different ways.  We are faced with situations on a daily, weekly, monthly basis where we have to make sound decisions on how we will react to people based on our beliefs and values.  We are put in situations where its challenging to give grace to others.  I am going to quote Karol Ladd in her book, because she says it better than I could, "And what does grace toward others look like? I think it looks alot like todays [scripture].  Guarding our mouths from gossip, forgiving, not holding grudges - all of these are practical ways we can shed God's grace on the people around us.  Let's teach our kids, through our words and our example, to reflect on the goodness of God's wonderful grace and, in turn, to offer that grace to others." 

I will admit, I am a WHOLE lot better at giving grace to Paxton because he is a baby/toddler/child - young.  Its somehow easier to give him grace because he is so innocent and trying to distinguish right from wrong.  I think I needed this devotional today to help me work specifically on giving grace to adults in the form of guarding my heart from grudges.  I take things people say and do towards me way to personally and hold that feeling inside in the form of a grudge.  I am going to work specifically on this.  We all apply things differently in our lives - I hope you can use her devotional in your life as you need it this week and beyond.

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on God's great love and grace towards me.
- This week I will choose to show grace toward others.
- This week I will choose to ask God's help in guarding my heart and mind.
- This week I will choose to ...

Prayer:
"God of grace and mercy, thank you for pouring your grace on me through the sacrifice of your Son.  I praise you that through faith in Jesus, I am forgiven.  Help me now to forgive others.  Guard my mouth from gossip and my heart from grudges.  Teach me to be a conduit of your grace so that grace flows freely through me to my family members and all the other people in my life.  Thank you for your Word and the direction it gives for living and loving in grace.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

I challenge you this week, as I am challenging myself, to use God's grace in your life in whatever way you feel you need it.  I am constantly reminding myself being with Paxton all day, little ears are listening and little eyes are watching... we have a big responsibility on our hands in teaching these little ones how to be better people than we are.  Thank goodness for God's grace :)

Have a great week!         

" I Will Help You'

Good morning! How did last week go? Were you able to be a little easier on yourself, knowing God created you in His image and not the image of others? Here is last weeks post if you missed it: Created in His image.   I hope you had a fantastic New Years and were able to sneak in lots of extra snuggles with your kiddos and hubbys.  I know I did and I loved it :)
 
This weeks devotional is similar to last weeks but focuses not just on the fact that God created you but that he also has equipped you with what you need to be the mom/wife/employee/ etc. you want to be.  Key word: equipped :)  Here is the scripture for this week:

But Moses pleaded with the Lord.  "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker.  I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me.  I'm clumsy with words." 
"Who makes mouths?"  The Lord asked him. "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and do as I have told you.  I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say."

WOW - I'm caught...  Much like Moses in this scripture I, all to often, focus on what I can't do or feel I am unable to do.  Over time... all of the " I cant's" turn into negative feelings about myself and a feeling of inadequacy and weakness.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all of the things I am saying "I can't" do that I forget to stop and ask God for help or I forget to stop and realize that I have him as an everlasting guide and partner.  The thing that this scripture reminds me/us of is that we cannot do it all and we cannot do it all alone.  Isaiah 41:13 says "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you 'Do not fear, I will help you." 

As moms we are faced with challenges all the time where we want to say I can't... my latest particular challenge has been since I have stayed home with Paxton.  Staying out of the mindset of keeping a perfect home, cooking a homemade meal nightly, being a "perfect" momma to Pax and finding alone time to exercise without feeling guilty.  I'm not saying thinking like this is ok... but I am being honest in that I do feel this way sometimes and for the record, Pinterest is not helping either (we have a love/hate relationship) and I have a loving, supportive husband who does not put unnecessary pressure on me... these are my thoughts and feelings.    You probably have your own "I can't" feelings... I can't bear to get it all done, I can't bear to deal with this anymore, I can't be good at this mom thing because ______, to name a small few. Karol Ladd says it best, "As moms we need to hear God's voice saying to us.   "You may not be able to do it on your own, but I made you.  I know what you need, and I can help you."  Whenever you are tempted to think, I just can't do it, remember that as God leads you, he will give you what you need.  He made you and he is able to equip you for the job".  In my own thoughts, the job of motherhood and of being a wife!

As given in the devotional, Do you trust God to be your strength in your weakness? What "I can't" do you need to give over to him?  I'll go first... 
I need to give over to him the "I can't" of holding it all together all the time.  I am allowed to fail and allowed to not be my version of "perfect". 
Your turn! Comment below :) 

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on what God can do, not what I can't do.
- This week I will choose to seek God's leadership and guidance.
- This week I will choose to ask him for help in all the tasks I undertake. 

Prayer:
"O wonderful Lord, you have called me to be a mother.  You have given me a monumental and magnificent job! But I can't do it alone; I don't have what it takes.  I need you.  I need your equipping.  Help me to replace my "I can't" with "but God can".  Help me to follow you and only do what you are calling me to do in your strength.  Thank you for creating me and caring for me.  May my life glorify you! In Jesus's name I pray, amen"

As we go into this week, we need to stop and repeat to ourselves, "I will help you" as a reminder to pray and ask God for help when we feel we can't do it alone.  We are freaking awesome moms, no doubt, but we need help and affirmation that we are equipped with what we need - only God can do that for us :)

Have a great week, see you next Monday!

"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging."
                                                                                                     - Joseph Campbell

Created in His Image

Happy Monday... hope you had a great weekend!  I woke up this morning super excited to get started with this "journey" and really at peace with my decision to blog about it.  I know I need more of God's word in my life and more accountablity.  I hope this blog and Karol Ladd's devotional does this for not only me but you too :)  I love that it follows the Bible from start to finish.  This first one focuses on how we, as people, women, moms, etc. were created by God, in His image, and he views us as perfection.  We all view ourselves as perfect moms right? Ha, wrong!  Here is the key scripture from today:

So God created people in his own image;  God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.  Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.  And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was.  Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way.  Genesis 1:27-31

How do YOU view yourself as a mom? I'll be honest, I am harsh on myself... critical sometimes.  I am my own worst critic most of the time and know that I hold some unrealistic expectations for myself .  I criticize and analyze myself daily on choices and decisions I make... sometimes making me more productive and other times slowing me down. Sound familiar maybe? To be created in Gods "own image", those are some big shoes to fill, that means we need to be like God.  I don't know about you but I don't feel very "God Like" all the time.  What I learned today though was that it's OK.  It doesn't mean we have to be exactly like God.  It just means that we are a reflection of Him since he created us and we should work towards and strive to be as much like Him as possible - especially when it comes to what we teach, how we treat and what we show our children.  God doesn't expect us to be perfect moms... he only wants us to rejoice in who we are, not who we aren't, and give thanks to him for that.  When you feel like "I wasn't cut out for this" or "What was God thinking?" or "I can't do this" just remember that God created you and you are perfect in his eyes.  Let's not be so critical of what/who we aren't as moms, and be more thankful for what/who we are. This applies to our children too.  God views them as perfection,  I know, I know... we view our children as perfect too, but c'mon... there are days (weeks) when we just say "Why? Why God?"  Just remember, they are a unique and special creation of God too- as hard as it may be to see at times, it is true :) 

In what ways do you see yourself as a unique and special creation of God? (this question is given in the devotional and there is a place to write the answer.  Answer the question in your head or better yet comment your answer below so we can all rejoice in each other :)) Okay, I'll go first, I see myself as compassionate, have good intuition, always put others before myself and manage time well.  Your turn!  

My choices:

• This week I will choose to rejoice in the fact that I am created in God's image.
• This week I will choose to encourage my children to know that they are made by God in an excellent way. 
• This week I will choose to enjoy every person who crosses my path as a unique creation of God.
• This week I will choose to... (fill in the blank with your own)

My prayer: Karol Ladd closes each devotional with a prayer.  I really love that she lifts this to Lord and opens with scripture and closes with prayer. Glorious Creator, marvelous Father, thank you for the way you created me and each and every one of my family members.  Thank you for caring so much about mankind that you formed us in your image.  I rejoice in your excellent creation! Help me to love and bless my kids, recognizing that they are a reflection of your image.  May they begin to grasp the wonderful fact that they have been created in an excellent way for your glory.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

I am going into this week knowing that while I may not see myself as perfect, God does.  I am not a perfect mom, never will be and I need to work towards not criticizing myself because of it.  I hope you can too!   (don't forget to comment below if you're comfortable, do it as anonymous :)) I hope this post blesses your week in some way and gives you a boost to be the mom God designed you to be! :)   

Have a great week, see you next Monday :)  

Introduction and Welcome!

Hi Moms, future moms and those of you who aren't moms but know you will be or want to be one day :)

I've added this new page onto our family blog, Mommy Monday Motivations, as you can read :). Why you might ask? Well, I am starting a new 52 week devotional called "The Power of a Positive Mom" written by Karol Ladd. It is a devotional focused on busy moms and how we impact our children. When I found it, I instantly wanted to share its message with others because I knew it was going to help me and ultimately, hopefully, help someone else. My goal is to post the "gist" of my devotional each Monday and offer my insight and thoughts to the teaching as it applies in my life. You will click on a link I provide on this page each Monday to go to each post. (see below for post 1 - they will be labeled with each date)

I know the Bible is rich with with wisdom and overflowing with practical, powerful tools for living a contented, positive life as a mom. I want to dive into those tools and use them as my "spiritual fuel" as I go throughout my week. AKA - accountability to God, myself, my husband and my son. Paxton is getting to the age where he is watching and listening to everything I/we do. I want to be a positive light for him and ultimately an encourager to other moms who struggle with the same things I do being a mom.

I just recently finished reading a book called The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. A sweet friend sent it to me, to encourage me when I needed it, when I first made the decision to stay home with Paxton. This book helped me to see my role as a mom in Paxton's life and ultimately our future childrens lives. It explains very tenderly and in a non-sexist way the mission that God laid out for us(as women) when he created us. It very explicitly tells us that as moms and women, we are created and expected to encourage and teach one another (as it applies to our children, other moms/women and husbands) . I am no expert, don't claim to be, don't want to be. We all have strengths as moms but lets be real, we also have our weaknesses. We all need God's help and I am just a first time mom reaching out to others and other resources as to how I can work towards being the kind of mom I want to be. I want to pass along what I learn. These blog posts will be all about being a positive mom and starting your week off with the right mindset. As a mom, you give of yourself all day, all week long. My hope is that sharing intimate moments with God about being a mom on Monday mornings will fill me with inspiration and instill in me encouragement to continue to be the positive mom I want to be all week long. I want to share that with you and hope you will gain something from it as well.

Here's to us and see you on Monday!