All things family: Mothers

Various projects have taken my blogging time recently...but I'm still here. This would have been a great post for last week. But here ya go anyways. Stop by soon for some fun conversations I had with my preschoolers.

*= Favorite posts- Both happen to be by Rachel Jankovic

*Motherhood as a Mission Field "Look at your children in faith, and see how many people will be ministered to by your ministering to them. How many people will your children know in their lives? How many grandchildren are represented in the faces around your table now?"

*Motherhood is Victory "These mouths we are feeding — these are the mouths that God has ordained to use to silence the enemy....The victory is ours, because the Savior is ours."

Mothers for whom Jesus Died- I never thought about Mothers that are not physically mothers due to past abortions...but John Piper reminds us of not only their motherhood but that Jesus came to die for "abortion-committing-mothers." So good.

All things family...

Here is the round up of All things family....
* = My favorite

*Prayer Journaling for your Husband and Children*- This was my favorite this week. Grab a pen, journal & bible. Leave a legacy of prayers and prayers fulfilled that your family can eventually look through and praise God! Love this!

Desperate, Breathless, Dependent Parenting- "Some people tell me it is brave to raise my kids in Africa. They could get malaria or be bitten by a poisonous snake. They don’t have a Sunday School class. They can’t eat gluten-free foods. Their friends are Muslims. They live far away from cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents….My initial reaction is to be tempted to say, 'Well, I think it is brave to raise kids in America.' "

The Everyday Questions of Motherhood- "The constant battle of motherhood is more subtle, more everyday, more hideable. At the center is one question: Will I sacrifice?"

Forgiveness for Moms who Fail- Distorted guilt of moms, what true guilt is and Christ as the answer for guilt mom's feel

Lecrae's 'Man Up' Mission to Address Father Absence- What 116 is up to and the trailer for their short film on Manhood.

10 Ways For Moms To Respect Their Daughters -"She deeply desires to be loved and the deep admiration of respect is most profoundly felt for her in words and acts of love. She is comforted and secured by the knowledge that God and her parents love her."

All things family...

Here's my round up of posts that are All things family hope you find one or two interesting/helpful. Happy Friday!

Five Problems I have with Slutwalk Marches "Over the past year, more than 50 SlutWalks have taken place in the US, Canada, and around the world, including Australia and Britain. The events are similar to “Take Back the Night” rallies. But they differ, because addressing sexual violence is only one of their aims. SlutWalk also wants to aggressively redefine notions about woman’s sexuality."

The Littleness of Motherhood "Even the temptations to sin are little. Getting huffy about water on the bathroom floor. Falling into full fledged worry over a diaper rash, a cold sore virus, or a teething baby. Stumbling into pride over potty training, homemade bread, or well dressed children. Getting selfish over a moment with your coffee. Feeling that somehow the smallness of it all justifies the sinfulness in your attitude."

Ten Ways for Moms to Respect their Sons- Some practical help for moms with sons.

5 Things You Should Know About Child Sex Offenders- Super helpful-especially if you have any part in children's ministry. For more on Protecting Your Church from Predators go here-with Deepak Reju.

Women aren't fish and men aren't bicycles-“Even in Christian circles, we cultivate an attitude of independence in our girls. The underlying message is that women need to be independent because men are untrustworthy, and will almost certainly let them down….But can a woman truly "win" in a world without men? Is she better off without ties to a godly father, uncle, cousin, husband, or brother?”

How eternity shapes our mundane- On "Parental Amnesia"

All things family...

The ones that I found this week seem to go mostly for the ladies. But I'm pretty sure thats who read this blog the most-at least whom comment the most. My FAVORITE this week was "Motherhood is Application". I really enjoy the way she writes and how she applies the gospel so clearly. I hope you will too. I noticed that she (Rachel Jankovic) has also written for the Desiring God Blog on occasion and through them I discovered another gem she writes for called Femina. Anyways, hope my finds this week are encouraging in some way...Woot! It's Friday!

Keeping Home Priorities in View- "...with great gratitude to God, I testify that my parents were not hypocrites. That is the worst possible heritage to leave with children: high spiritual pretensions and low performance. My parents were the opposite: few pretensions, and disciplined performance."

On Misreading Daughters- A post on the tender hearts of little daughters.

Ladies, Don't Compartmentalize God- Having a worshipful attitude amidst the messy, busy life.

Motherhood is Application- “The days of a busy mother are made up of millions of transformations.
 Dirty children become clean, the hungry child fed, the tired child 
sleeping. Almost every task a mother performs in the course of a normal 
day could be considered a transformation. Disorder to order, dirty 
clothes to clean, unhappy children to peaceful, empty fridge to full…”

All things family...

Here is my round up of posts concerning families. There were some good ones this week. Hope you find some helpful or at least interesting.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made “And indeed we found that she had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Thankfully, the tube had not ruptured so she did not bleed to death. We had to excise the tube where the baby was growing (leaving the other tube for future pregnancies). What we found inside that tube is pictured below. A dead baby at about 10 weeks of age.”

The Lorax: Branching Out - The political side to The Lorax.

Understanding Complementarianism- Don't know what that is? Well Justin Taylor put a really helpful list of websites, audio and articles on this topic to help us learn more if you don't already know.  Be sure to also check out his follow up post on decision making for complementarian couples

The Fear of Baptizing Children. Ever wonder about the right age for a child's baptism to take place. Well you will find this article helpful. He did a follow up post here .

How an Affair Begins a quick post on how listening to another person's spouse can be dangerous.

Motherhood is a calling “Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn't have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won't be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.”

Brothers, love your wife more than seminary "Deeply dwell on the Gospel. Your affection for your wife can only go as deep as your affection for the person and work of Christ. Because marriage is a picture of how Christ has loved His church, if your heart has grown cold toward the cross, you can be sure it has grown cold toward your marriage. Thus, do everything possible to keep your heart soft toward Jesus."

Fearfully and Wonderfully Drawn “Diversity within my family and diversity within faith-filled communities is necessary for the displaying and the building up of the Body. And, it is inside the safe and comfortable boundaries of family that my children are free to explore and discover God’s hand on them.”

All things family...

Should I Divorce if I Am Miserable?-Dr. Moore answers the moral dilemma of a reader.

16 y/o Augustine and the Enjoyment of Wanton Sin- Augustine recollects an event and thinks about the secrecy of sin.

8 Ways to protect your child from sexual abuse- I love the first one and think it's key. "Every part of your body is good and some parts are private"

Be a Real Husband and Dad- "Real husbanding and fathering never gets put on hold for any season, or for any degree program — no matter how hyped we are about our little pastoral callings. Way too much is at stake with our families right now to just go through the motions while we prepare ourselves for some future ministry. In Jesus we become the real husbands and dads we're called to be now, in seminary, for the good of his church tomorrow."

All things family...

Tell your children what Hitler did- From Desiring God Blog John Piper briefly tells why it's important to your children the atrocities Hitler committed.

How we should think about "Self-Worth" From Desiring God Blog John Piper answers some questions surrounding "Self-Esteem"

Out of the rubble: Courageous Motherhood A story about how one mom lost two legs protecting her children from tornados and how her story reminds us of Christ's love.

What every man wishes his father told him- It's a new book. Read the review here by Tim Challies

Our Children are spring-loaded for worship From Desiring God Blog- John Piper talks about an experience with grandchildren.

The Gospel or Karma: Do your kids know the difference? From the Shepherd Press Blog

Lessons from a Newly-Wed: Husband Worship Guest Post from a Newly Wed on Husband worship. See her very own blog The Nava Nest.

Is motherhood all it's cracked up to be? Guest Post from a new mom on her new experiences and how she is seeing the gospel.

All things Family...

I don't have time to read every single post of the blogs I follow but before clearing my blog roll I always skim for topics about family life-especially parenting and children. Here are the ones that I found and liked this past week or so. Hope you find some helpful.

Some Thoughts on Guns and YouTube Scoldings as Parenting Tools Remember that video of a Father putting his daughter on blast b/c she wrote badly about her parents on FB? Here are some thoughts on that as a response.

How Shame and Guilt can Enter Into Parenting "You're not going to eat after I worked so hard on it?" "There are starving children in Africa" "Do you know how I hard I work to put food on your plate?" Sound familiar? Here's a great video on why those things can be destructive and devoid of the gospel.

How to help your husband when he's crticized C.J. Mahaney and his wife, Carolyn, talk about how to be a helper to your husband when he is being criticized by the church/family/friends. Good things to keep in mind!

Kids Feel What Parents Expressively Feel A video by John Piper on an experience he had with his grandchildren.

Teach Children the Bible is Not About Them (Thanks Chrisha) A great post by Author Sally Lloyd Jones of The Jesus Story Book Bible

All things family...

Preparing Eight-Year-Olds for Marriage- Looking for a good blog on marriage, parenting & children? This is a good one to follow called Shepherd Press. This particular post takes a look at Tim Keller's book The Meaning of Marriage and talks about why it's important to teach children about biblical friendship so as to prepare them for future marriage. Very good post.

10 Ways to Love Your Children- From The Resurgence blog here are some biblical ways to love your children. Enjoy.

Healing After an Abortion- In this video David Powilson talks about how to heal from the guilt and shame of an abortion. I am Pro-Life. But doesn't that mean I don't have a heart for those who have had an abortion. I can only imagine the weight of carrying that around. I pray this video blesses someone.

C.S. Lewis on Young Parents- some fun quotes from C.S. Lewis.

Daddy Dates- Oh how I love this idea. James does something similar on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He takes care of Rosie in the mornings while I sleep in. 

All things children: Abortion, Stories, Instruction & Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Abortion & Adoption- "Out of the 52 million abortions in the US in the past 38 years, how many other Jobs’s have we extinguished?"


Hitler killed disabled children, and so do we-"...people with disabilities are frequently the first to be targeted for destruction."


Stories are Soul Food: Don't Let Your Children Hunger - A great post by N.D. Wilson on why Christians don't have to have a mistrust of telling/reading/creating stories that are fictional/magical.


Parents, Give Children Clear Instructions - Joel Beeke, is coming out with a new book on parenting on how to raise children in the covenant of grace. In the sampled passage, he talks about how parents may give a simple command but that when the child receives it, he/she may get something completely different. Check it out. 


Steve Jobs- I wanted my kids to know me - Shepherd Press is great blog that deals with family, children, adoption, & culture. The big talk right now is Steve Jobs, see what we can learn from the regrets of a man who changed technology. 

Children: Blessings, obedience, teaching & scripture memory

Just caught up on a ton of posts from Reader. Here were some of my faves that are related to children.

Children are a blessing for the Lord-All Children

Give the gift of obedience

Ten tips for teaching children

Scripture memory with children

A Response to the Warren interview & Egalitarian Wives

I'm officially changing wednesdays to "Good Read Wednesdays." (That is- until I come up with an improved and more catchy name, any ideas?) So here are some that I found particularly interesting this past week.

Piper Interviews Rick Warren: If you were one of the people that got all excited (in a "what-the-heck-type-of-way) when Rick Warren was invited as a main speaker to Piper's pastor's conference then this should interest you. Also, here is a response by Tim Challies on the interview itself.

I'm a complimentarian man with an egalitarian wife; Can I pastor? Russell Moore will address ethical issues from time to to time. This time he was asked if a complimentarian man could be a pastor even though his wife is egalitarian. His advice? Well, if he (the husband) is called to lay down his life for his wife-he could also lay down his calling...at least for awhile to study scripture with his wife ;) Check it out.

Recovering from Child Abuse: Help and Healing for Victims I love CCEF, their counseling issues never exclude Christ and the Word. They are solid. In this article David Powlison encourages victims that 1) Identity is bigger than abuse 2) Story is bigger than abuse and that Jesus redeems both of those things. Praise God for Christ centered counseling!

Money & Raising Genderless Babies

I've really been lacking on the Wednesday children's books haven't I? I'm starting to think I may have to change it to "Good-Reads-Regarding-Children-Wednesdays." :) So today instead of a children's book recommendation this week I've found a couple of articles that I thought would interest readers who follow.

Training Your Children Tim Challies discusses a book he recently read on training your children to steward their money for the glory of God. To do this he says kids need to have both money and a realistic context to use it wisely or badly. He gives helpful grids to guide parents in the amount of money they give their children depending on factors such as age and where you live.

The Myth of the Genderless Babies Albert Mohler writes about one family that is raising their child genderless, only close family members know the real gender but to the rest of the family, friends, and the outside world, they don't want the child's gender to be a part of who the baby is. Mohler talks about why the gender is important, and what we are saying about God when we disregard it.

Kid's sleeping & modesty

Enjoy some helpful articles I read over the past couple of weeks. Hope they encourage you!

Stickers from a Bunk Bed: Jessica Thompson (daughter of Elyse Fitzpatrick) writes about how using God's word with little ones can be used in the wrong way. If we use scripture to give law instead of point to Jesus, we aren't giving them what they need.

Go to sleep! This is a book review of "Go the ____ sleep!" by Shepherd Press ( a great blog to follow). Its a popular new book on Amazon about getting your children to sleep. The review uses the beliefs and ideas that are approached in a "child-centered" way to talk about secular parenting and encourage parents not to let the child rule the home.

A Few Modesty Questions Going to youth group I always heard that you shouldn't make your brother stumble by what you wear and that beauty is found on the inside of me not on the outside. As I've gotten older, I appreciate the women that encouraged us as young ladies to dress modestly, but I think they missed the biggest part about modesty-that it's not so much about the clothes I wear, but about my heart. These questions help women see the heart behind their clothes. So helpful!

How to Make Your Kids Hate Church

The Resurgence came out with a hilarious post titled 5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church. It really just made me laugh because their sarcasm is so right on. Here is a taste of the first one. But go here to read all 5 in completion.

#1 Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public

Go to church...at least most of the time. Make sure you agree with what you hear the preacher say, and affirm on the way home what was said especially when it has to do with your kids, but let it stop there. Don't read your bible at home. The pastor will say everything you need to hear on Sundays. Don't engage your children in questions they have concerning Jesus and God. Live like you want to live during the week so that your kids can see duplicity is okay.

(You have to read the rest. So good!)

Sex, Puberty, & Death

I love it when blogs I follow post biblical things that are about children or relate to children. So I wanted to share 4 that may encourage you as well:

How to talk to your kids about sex -Grace & Mark Driscoll

What puberty can teach us about discipleship -Russell Moore

Should we baptize young children? -John Starke (Gospel Coalition)

How do you respond when your 12-year-old dies? -Rob & Terri Stellrecht (from Justin Taylor's blog)

I'd love to read any great posts you've read about children then week as well!

Family Worship

Last night I caught the last half of Joel Beeke speaking to the men at Desiring God Pastor’s Conference. (I’m not sure how many men follow this blog, but either way, I think it’s helpful for single mom’s leading devotions as well). The Desiring God blog listed some of his practical advice on Family Worship. Here are the ones that stood out to me:

• Be short in your prayers when your children are young: 3-5 minutes when your children are young, 7-8 minutes when your children are older. Be simple in your prayers without being shallow. Be direct in your prayers, naming your children by name and spread out their needs one by one before God.
• Don't make Family Worship too long and provoke your children. Maybe 10 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night.
• Involve the whole family in the reading, as soon as your children can read. Even before they can read, give them a Bible. If you have 20 verses to read and you have 5 people in your family, each reader should take 4 verses.

To read all of them go here.