So I read.
I read a lot.
I read The Word and I read books about The Word. I read books about mothering and books about keeping my eyes on Christ.
I read because it's crazy how fast I forget.
The Cowboy has been traveling a lot this month. And him being gone has given us some glorious phone conversations that my heart has needed. Truth be told, there are so many parts about homeschooling that I stink at. And somedays I get so caught up in trying to keep up with the homeschool Jones' that I forget that my ultimate goal with these kids of ours, is Christlikeness.
The Cowboy is so good at reminding me that we are more concerned about their hearts than we are about anything else. He's constantly reminding me that we need to stay consistent and steadfast with their schoolwork but more important than completing their daily tasks, is their heart attitude when doing so.
I was adding in writing pages to our oldest's notebook on Sunday and in the very back I came across this...
It's something he wrote on his own time. I didn't even know he had written it. (And I asked him if he minded if I posted it here and he said he didn't mind at all.)
I was so blessed by his words and the evidence it produced of the Lord's work in his life. For a brief moment I was tempted to get caught up in the few mistakes he made in his writing. I texted a picture of it to the Cowboy and made a comment about the mistakes. And the Cowboy's response was simple and life-changing all in the same moment__ "Love, his heart is more important than his spelling."
For the past week I have found myself whispering that sentence more than once__ "his heart is more important than his spelling." In a performance based world, that is so hard for me to remember.
When I forget my vision for these years that I have with these kids under our roof, I miss out on such glorious gifts as watching them all grow in their own relationships with the Lord.
For the past three days I've been stuck on the introduction in this tiny, lovely book, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full.
Stuck in a good way.
Stuck because everything she mentions in these few short pages is water to my soul. Everything she mentions on these pages, I long to be the center of my days with these kids. When I remember these words, it changes my mothering, my homeschooling, my daily decisions, & what I find to be the most important thing.
"The Christian mother's hands are full with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3) and her work in nurturing her children in the fear of the Lord is her privileged participation in God's work in uniting all things in Jesus (Eph. 1:10). This Jesus, whom we gladly serve, offers rest to mothers and fills our hands with his blessings. Day and night, moment by moment, we must chose to rest in Jesus. That's what it means to treasure Christ when your hands are full, whether you have one child or a dozen.
When your eyes are fixed on the horizon of eternity, it effects your vision for motherhood. We need to have our eyes see a view of God that is so big and so glorious that it transforms our perspective of motherhood. In the context of eternity where Christ is doing his work of reigning over the cosmos, we need to see our mundane moments for what they really are__worship. In the daily and nightly work of mothering, we're given dozens of invitations to worship God as he reminds us of the hope we have because of the gospel.
{He rescued this awesome old ladder from the neighbor's burn pile and cut the ends off and gave it to me as a gift cuz he knows I love all things old. Love this kid.}
Perhaps you woke up before the sun today so you could enjoy fellowship with the Lord and get some work done, and now the day feels like it is just dragging on. I'm with you. I don't know how many times I've wondered: "Is it bedtime yet?" On days like this we need to remember that each day is like a sigh that is too brief to measure, yet it is chock full of eternal significance. And into this brief sigh of an ordinary day, the Holy Spirit erupts and overflows with the love of God in Christ into our heart. This is astonishing! Jesus invites us into something far more steadfast and indestructible than the permanent purple marker that your child used to decorate your ivory-colored cabinets. Because of his love, Jesus invites us to himself. He says in John 15:9 "AS the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love."
Yes please Lord!
These things. ALL of these things. May you stamp them in the depths of me and DAILY help me to have a mind set on eternity.
Help me to see my day to day as an act of worship.
Help me to find my joy always in You.
Remind me hourly of my vision with these kids__ that above all things, they might know your extravagant love for them. :)
{Excerpts from a lovely little book, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full, by Gloria Furman.}
