So lately parenting has seemed a little hard. Don't get me wrong, parenting is hard everyday. We have tough decisions to make and we only want the best for kids.I've been on a spiritual journey lately of trying to understand my role as mom. You see, I'm tired of everyday being the same routine. Wake up, get the kids dressed, argue with my toddler on why she can't wear a dress every single day to school, find lost shoes, calm fits over why leggings are twisted oddly, sign papers last minute, reminders of the afternoon activities, explain why we have to brush our teeth every morning, the list goes on!
My bible studying began to figure out how to run my household everyday based on how God wants me to do it. You see, one thing I struggle with as a mom is having a short temper. It's not something I like to admit, at all. I want control over that and to help my days run more smoothly. That little snippet on my temper has been erased three times....because I'm that hesitant on sharing my flaws. But if sharing my flaws and what I struggle with helps one other mom know that they aren't the only one struggling with this then I'm 150% ok with that.
The things I have learned so far on my spiritual journey to being a better Woman of God in my household has been so helpful! I'm going to break them down for you in 5 tips!
1. Make time everyday to spend time with God
This shouldn't be a struggle for us, but I'll admit sometimes the day gets away and it's 5:00pm with no prayers/talks sent to the big man upstairs. So start your morning off with a talk to God. Whether it's before you get out of bed, while your drying your hair or on your daily commute; get your talk in with God. He longs to hear from you and He wants to be a part of your life. Sometimes we don't need to spit out a beautiful prayer worthy of a being typed on a beautiful image to share on our social media. Honestly, some of my best prayers I've prayed started out as me just talking to God and telling him what I'm struggling with. Mark 1:35 says: "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."
2. Get in The Word, Read your Bible!
The days are spent running from one thing to do to the next, I absolutely get it. The best way I can tell you to read your bible is first to decide when you process information better. I'm not a morning person so mornings don't work for me! I do my best studying at night!
3. Show your children how God takes care of us
Showing your children the good things God does for us can be so easy! For instance, let your children pray with you and hear the things you pray for. When the time comes that God answers some of those prayers show excitement to them and jog their memory of that prayer they helped you pray about. This is also a great opportunity to explain that sometimes God doesn't answer all of our prayers the way we want. It's a good way to explain that, just like we are their parents, God looks out for your best interest too and He shows us this in how He answers prayers.
4. Create sticky notes scripture
One thing I've started to do is create sticky notes or pieces of paper that I write scripture on. I put these on the fridge or somewhere we would all see them throughout some point during the day. This is fairly new to me but it has really helped me during parts of the day when overwhelming, anxious or tough moments come about. When I go to the fridge and I see that particular verse that I wrote it helps remind me to stay strong and remember that I am a chosen child of God who has great purpose in this life and in my home.
5. Show your Husband and Children Grace and Love
This one should be so easy!! But somedays, it's just plain hard. Tempers get lost, we have to explain things more than once, messes get made, things get forgotten, and the list of triggers for the fleshly response happen. I'll be the first to admit that showing Grace is NOT at all my thing. It doesn't come easily for me. Which is why I started on this spiritual journey in the first place. Because God showed me more grace than I EVER deserved when He sent His Son to die on the cross for MY sins. You see, the devil knows our weaknesses just like God does and he patiently waits until the right moment to put his worthless two cents in. The devil loves to tempt people, and the one place he knows he can find us the most is at our homes. Why does he find us best at home? Because we are real at home. Because we aren't perfect and at home is where we really are. Mess and all. Do you know what I mean by home is where we really are? Let me explain. This is where we choose to watch tv instead of our bible, where we choose to listen to country music instead of Christian music, where we choose to say some things that we didn't really mean at all but we were mad, where we raise our voices when we shouldn't. You see, the devil loves that we don't have it together at home, this is why he knows he can find us best here. So mommas, are you going to keep letting the devil win over your home? Are you going to take a stand and claim your home back with me?
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15
Do you have a prayer need that I can help you pray about? Leave a comment below and let me pray for you. You don't have to say what you need prayer about, just simply say "pray for me"!