Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Happy Mom

"Let your God attend to you where you have the Spiritual fortitude to be joyful of demeanor so your children will rise up and call you happy." Beth Moore

This morning my friend Emmy brought me a wonderful treat, her copy of Beth Moore's Wising Up: Wisdom for Moms DVD. God impressed upon my heart that my stress level needed extended quiet time this morning while the kiddos were at preschool. I scrapped my To Do list and put in the 90 minute DVD and listened. What a luxury. What a treat. What a difference I pray it will make in my attitude as I pick up my little people today.

The takeaway point that challenged me most was Beth's comments on Proverbs 31:28: "Her children arise and call her blessed." Beth proposed that the original Hebrew text actually indicates the woman's children call her happy. Ouch. I thought about how frequently my children are able to sense various emotions from me: tired, frustrated, busy, serious, distracted, overwhelmed, mildly amused. How often can they sense pure happiness? That is a tough one.

Children can sniff out a fake. Happiness cannot be feigned. I must strive to not just behave as if I am happy, but to BE happy.

Lord, fill me with a joy that spills over onto my children. Help me to truly delight in them in a way that is authentic and meaningful. Help me love them well and with a happy heart. Help me instill in them a confidence that they are individually, uniquely, deeply loved and a blessing to me and our family.

11 comments:

Mary said...

I will make that my prayer today too. I know that for some time my son has seen right through me. At eleven, he calls me out on it. I often think about what memories he will look back on when he's 20, 30, 40. I don't want it to be memories of mom being a grouch and right now I'm truly scare that's what he will recall.

Dena said...

John Piper (he is my Mark Buchanan!), talks a lot about the "fight for joy", and I have found myself lately needing to fight for it. Fight to treasure God above all else, esp. in the midst of some long, difficult parenting days. I find that if I am treasuring Him, it does spill over in a way that is real.

Thanks for this post, a great reminder that one of the things need the most is a happy, secure mom.

Courtney said...

ouch is right...wow. thanks for sharing. i should get my hands on a copy of that! thanks for the challenge...i know all too often i wouldn't be considered "happy" by mine...I want to be though!

Sallie said...

ooh... I gotta work on the happy thing I think!

God bless,
Sallie

MaryBeth said...

thanks, as always, for the wonderful reminders... my kiddos could stand to see a happier mom more often!

Katie said...

Ooo, that's a prayer we all can use. Children see us so clearly at times. I have to keep reminding myself that laughter accomplishes so much more than the uptight mommy. What I love most about my dad is how much we laugh with him. I need to work on that one.

Anonymous said...

it's hard to be happy all the time with 3 isn't it? I find myself struggling all the time - especially when walls are getting written on, sibling fighting/annoying one another, etc. A happy mommy is what I need to strive for...

Email me - where'd you find your Clark Mary Jane's you commented on over at Big Mama's the other day? I've been searching for some and can't find them local. And I hate to buy online since I want to try them on...

Fran said...

That was good. I'm really thinking about doing one of the "Wising Up" sets when our current Superfabulous Ms. Beth study is over.

I hope our emotions today are nothin but joy!! Thanks!
Blessings~

Christi said...

What a beautiful reminder! This is something I've found I'm struggling with lately. This will be my prayer, too.

Jon Gage said...

I'm delurking to tell you that this post really spoke to me. I have 3 children also but my son who is 3years old is my challenge. I am going to have to get that DVD! I can tell that you are such a great mom. Your children are beautiful!
Jenny from VA

Unknown said...

This hit me close to home. I homeschool, and my oldest (8th grade) has started talking regularly about how I never seem happy, about how much happier I was when he was away in school during the day. Then (ouch) my littlest (8yrs) came and asked me if I wished I didn't have them (kids) sometimes. I said of course not, and she said good, because sometimes I act like if I didn't have them I'd be happier because the house wouldn't be so messy. I know I am rarely "happy" when it's just me and the kids because stress and little things annoy me, but I am realizing more and more how important it is to show happiness and peace to them. If I can't trust God enough for that, how do I think they will want to strive for God's peace? I didn't say that very well...I hope I made some sense! Thanks for this post.