Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to our mothers and all the moms out there!

Derick and I are both so blessed to have such amazing moms. They are so encouraging, loving, caring and inspiring. As I learn from their examples, I see so many things I need to work on and want to implement into my own parenting. Thank you ladies for being such great role models for me!

August of 2013, Derick was on a trip from Nepal (where he was working for a couple years) to Japan, when we started texting for the first time. A few days later we “met” over a Skype call, and three days later as Derick was climbing Mt. Fuji, I arranged to meet up with his mom for the first time at a Dixie Cafe in Rogers (pretty close to where I lived). And that was the beginning of our friendship!

Even though Derick and I hadn’t even met in person yet, I had the privilege of getting to know his mom and hang out with her a lot. I’d go over to their house for dinner, stop in late after delivering a baby, visit their Sunday school and church, invite her over to my family’s house, and she even took me for a drive in Derick’s car to get a milkshake! lol  I knew that if mine and Derick’s relationship continued to marriage, God would be answering yet another prayer of mine…that I’d have great in-laws!

“Mima,” as our boys call my mother-in-law now, is a constant blessing! Her joy in Jesus and outlook on life exemplifies the phrase, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade!” We can always count on her for an encouraging word, advice, babysitting help, prayers, and much more! We realize how truly blessed we are!

Now that I’m a mom myself, I realize just how rewarding, yet hard parenting can be. I tell people all the time that I don’t know how my mom did it! She really is amazing! I have learned so much from her example and I’m always looking for ways to glean more wisdom! Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group that she was speaking to…I had tagged along to several of these kind of things as a kid, but now that I’m in the “MOPS” stage of life, my perspective is totally different!

My momma taught me the importance of instilling scripture into the hearts and minds of your young children. I recently started teaching Israel some Bible verses and I was amazed at how quickly he picked up on them! Even when I was looking at homeschooling curriculum (yes, Israel just turned three but I’m just excited!), I was reminded of all the fun things my mom did with us kids to help make learning fun! It seems like no matter what I’m doing (cooking, gardening, singing, organizing, etc.), I am reminded in some way of my mom!

The greatest things I see in my mom’s life are grace, love & patience. She lives gracefully and is quick to offer grace whenever it’s needed. She is so patient with people and situations, even though things around her aren’t always perfect. She is always there for us and loves her husband and children unconditionally. And most importantly, I learn from her that to be a Christian mom (someone who has asked Jesus to forgive their sin, and asked him to take control of their life and become their “boss”) doesn’t mean you’ve got it all figured out, but just that you have a relationship with, and daily communicate with the one who does have it all figured out, Jesus Christ! My mom teaches me so much about this!

Who are the special Mothers in your life and what do they mean to you?

Here is a list my mom shared with me of, “16 Things To Pray For Your Children.” I posted this on some of my social media accounts recently, but thought I’d share it here too in case anyone missed it. I believe a preacher by the name of Tom Harmon came up with this list.

“16 Things To Pray For Your Children”

1. Their salvation.
2. Their mate.
3. That they would fall in love with God’s Word.
4. That God would keep them from evil.
5. That they would have a conscience void of offense before God and man.
6. That their character would be more valuable to them than their credentials.
7. That they would stand up for what is right, even if it means standing alone.
8. That they would be kept from the love of money.
9. That they would be kept morally pure.
10. That they would have the heart of a servant.
11. That eternity would burn in their hearts.
12. That sin would always be distasteful to them and that they would be broken easily over sin.
13. That they would love each other.
14. That they would trust God with their parents and not allow rebellion to set in.
15. Regardless the hardship, that they may never become bitter against God.
16. That our boys would be glad to be boys and our girls glad to be girls.