Faith of our Mothers

There are many things I could say about Mothers' Day. 

I think the first thing I want to do is praise my own mother, who has been an example of a godly woman, wife, and mother to me. Throughout the years, her testimony has shown brightly before me. I have memories from very early years of her talking and praying with me every night before bed - we would talk for nearly half an hour, and it was never enough. She chose to stand firm and raise her children, dedicating her life to them, amidst a culture that scorns motherhood. She stood firm even when all of her support from crumbled away beside her, in a way that few Christian women ever face.

Mom and I at the Creation Museum for the first time - '09

Our family went through some trying years when I was reaching my teen years, and I chose to rebel in spite of her godly example. She had little help in guarding me from the path I was headed on. I'll put in plainly for you: I was considering ending my own life. God never let go of me, though - I couldn't have escaped His love if I tried. It was through the influence of my mother that my heart was brought to salvation and a path of submission to Christ. In the past three years or so I have discovered and keep on discovering in deeper ways what it means to walk with Christ. Not a day goes by without my mom and I having at least one big conversation about Christ and what it looks like to follow Him. She gives me counsel. She has been the one who has protected my heart and my path. She sets an example for me in every way...  how she has given her life to stay at home raising my brothers and I, given us all of our education herself, and led us spiritually. How she now teaches and counsels other women. How she loves and serves her husband. Most of all, she has prayed faithfully for me. 

Enjoying Christmastime - 2008

I have the blessing of regularly hearing my mother praised by other people - every woman in her life has been blessed by her friendship, counsel, and example. She's the kind of woman that young mothers aspire to be like. She sets an example to girls who come from a worldly youth by how she has excelled in becoming a godly woman even though she had no example. She is a first generation Christian who has lived with a multi-generational goal of raising up children for the Lord. I can't express how much I have been blessed and influenced by her.

Buying a Christmas tree for Christmas 2008

Also, on Mothers' Day, I think of my dreams of being a mother someday. To all of you girls reading this - you are the future mothers of the world! As I listened to the sermon this morning in church, I could hardly contain my excitement. Oh, how I long to be a virtuous woman! May we, the future mothers of the world, start preparing now. And I'm not just talking about learning to cook, take care of children, and keep a home, although those things are important. The most important thing we can do to prepare for marriage and motherhood is learn to be a humble servant of Christ. Our hearts are what need work. We need to become loving and patient, submissive and supportive to our authorities, and quick to serve. Slow to speak, slow to get angry. Praying always. Teachable. Humble. Sacrificial. This is what it takes to be a godly wife and mother.

At Letchworth State Park - December 2011

And lastly, my heart goes out to everyone who does not have a mother in their life, or who has a painful relationship with their mother. Not everyone has two parents in their lives, and not everyone has two godly parents in their lives. I just want to encourage you to trust in the Lord who is faithful, no matter what.

If you have time, you may like to read through the lyrics to the hymn, "Faith of our Mothers," sung to the tune of "Faith of our Fathers." It was a blessing to me as I considered all the ways mothers affect the lives of their children, inspiring them to never forsake the faith.

Just got our hair done - Fall 2010

Faith of our mothers, living still
In cradle song and bedtime prayer;
In nursery lore and fireside love,
Thy presence still pervades the air:
Faith of our mothers, living faith!
We will be true to thee to death.

Faith of our mothers, loving faith,
Fount of our childhood's trust and grace,
Oh, may thy consecration prove
Source of a finer, nobler race:
Faith of our mothers, living faith,
We will be true to thee till death.
 
Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,
For youthful longing, youthful doubt,
How blurred our vision, blind our way,
Thy providential care without:
Faith of our mothers, guiding faith,
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our mothers, Christian faith,
Is truth beyond our stumbling creeds,
Still serve the home and save the Church,
And breathe thy spirit through our deeds:
Faith of our mothers, Christian faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Happy Mothers' Day everyone - now go and be a blessing to every mother you can!

Being goofy with Cody - 2008

An eventful week :)

Wow! The past week has been good. Last Saturday I went to a youth event called the Gathering and it was REALLY good! I had to show up at my church at 8:30 AM because it was a 2 hour drive. We all carpooled and had a fun van ride. When we got there they were giving out door prizes different things and we all had fun trying to answer the questions, and just talking and hanging out. Then the whole group of about 430 people all sang some really awesome praise songs to God and it was so encouraging to hear that many voices raised in praising Him. After that, there was a message presented by a speaker and it was really good. It was about living out our salvation. When it was over we all filed out and made our way through the lunch line and just ate and enjoyed the nice day for a while. We laughed and had a ton of fun, then headed back in and there were more door prizes, and then more awesome praise music. There was another message which was REALLY good. It was about Esther, and how huge of a sacrifice she was willing to make to do what's right. If you think about it, she was really well off. She was the queen of Persia, she was considered the prettiest girl in the country, she probably had servants catering to her every whim, and basically anything she wanted could be hers, but she was willing to sacrifice all of that, even her very life, to do what God wanted. She was willing to live a truly dangerous life for Jesus Christ. I was challenged to do the same. I must be willing to sacrifice anything (including popularity, friends, reputation, etc.) for Jesus.

On Sunday I went to the morning service and really encouraged by the sermon to stand and fight. Pastor spoke form 1 Kings 19, about Elijah. Elijah was a man of God, but in this chapter, things got tough and he went and hid and pouted. He listened to Jezebel's threats even though he KNEW how much more powerful God is. We can't let the enemy bully us into that state! We have to stand our round and not try to run from our problems.

That afternoon we went to a coming home party for my friend Abby, who just got back from Papua New Guinea. It was SOOO nice to see her and her family again! We all spent time together and had a crazy and fun time. We stayed there until 12:30 AM talking and it was really encouraging.

The other days this week haven't been very eventful, so I won't write about them. That's all for now!