Am I committed to being a teacher of what is good - of God's truth that is beautiful, noble and praiseworthy?
A Video For You
Sally recorded a message for you! Be encouraged![video width="960" height="540" mp4="http://momheart.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/14847679_1537574372926762_2868366012821012480_n.mp4"][/video]For more information about the upcoming Renew Your Heart Conferences, click here.
How Can You Encourage Younger Moms?
How can I encourage younger moms to develop loving attitudes and words of grace for their children?
Quote taken from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
Integrity as a Leader
Kellie has been a friend and Mom Heart group leader for many years. Last weekend, she was part of a Leadership Intensive at Sally’s home in Colorado. Here are some of her thoughts on the exhortation we received from Sally.What is integrity? What does it look like in our daily lives as women, mothers and representatives of Christ?
Last weekend at Sally’s leadership intensive we were encouraged to ponder our own lives of integrity. One specific question Sally asked was, “Are your lives consistent at home and in public?”The dictionary defines integrity as 1. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. 2. The state of being whole and undivided.
As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, “You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.” 1 Kings 9:4-5
As a Mom Heart leader considering the question, I must ask myself if there are any ways in which my public and private lives are different from each other. In order to live "whole and undivided" in Christ, my actions and attitudes should match inside and outside my home.Am I quick to forgive a mom in my group from an offense but not my own children? Or what about vice versa?Am I having my own quiet times and seeking the Lord for direction in ministry as well as my home?Am I building up both my children and husband as well as my Mom Heart group members?Are there private sins that must be addressed in my own life?
If we have integrity of heart and cherish obedience over compromise, 1 Kings offers us a reward. The heart of David, strengthened in the promises, ordinances, and statutes of God, yielded a harvest of Christ, who is on the throne of Israel forever!What a blessing I find this Autumn morning as I consider the ways of the Lord and integrity in my own life and Mom Heart Ministry.
Proverbs 2:6-7 tells us, For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those to walk in integrity.
May the Lord be your shield today as you walk in integrity.
Kellie and Sally at the Leadership Intensive
Do You Believe Your Children are a Gift from the Lord? Tip #15
PSALM 127:3 – Your Mom Heart
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Many Christian mothers today are confused and directionless in their search for meaning as a mother. Motherhood seems to them just an incidental part of marriage that needs to be planned, managed, and too often endured. They have lost sight of their place as a mother in the grand story of God’s redemption of his fallen creation.
As a Mom Heart group leader, you can help a new generation of mothers discover God’s mom heart—the eternal principles of motherhood that bring the greatest benefit and blessing not just to mothers and children, but to future generations of godly descendants, to your family and community culture, and even to civilization. You can help a mother find her place as an integral and strategic part of God’s plan of redemption.
Your role as a Mom Heart group leader and teacher begins with your own mom heart. The simplest expression of what it means to have a mom heart is a personal affirmation of Psalm 127:3—that you believe that your children are a gift from God, and a reward in this life. If that is your starting point, then it will take you naturally to wanting to help other mothers find that “mom heart” from God. That is how you can truly love your Mom Heart group, by helping each mother find and strengthen her own mom heart.Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
Motherhood is a Calling
God's design for motherhood is a divine calling with eternal purpose and spiritual blessing.
Quote from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
The Mom Heart of Young and Old, Part 2 - Tip #14
The Young Woman: Lessons for a Teacher (Titus 2:4b-5)This is a continuation of our series on Titus 2. Find Part 1 here.Paul does not profile the “young women” as he did the older, but rather describes seven lessons the young moms need to hear and learn from the older mothers. These lessons are obviously about qualities that the older women have already acquired, which is why they are qualified to teach them. So these are qualities for every woman, and every mother. Paul says that the purpose of learning these qualities is about much more than just becoming a better woman, wife, and mother; it is “so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” Teaching and embodying these qualities helps preserve the integrity and honor of the Scriptures that you are teaching.Answer the questions below about how you personally can grow in each quality as a godly woman, and help those in your Mom Heart group to grow in each quality as godly young women.
• “Love their husbands” (literally, husband-lovers) – How am I, every day, choosing to love and prefer my God-provided husband? How can I encourage younger moms to practice loving and enjoying their husbands.• “Love their children” (literally, child-lovers) – How am I, every day, choosing to love and prefer my God-given children? How can I encourage younger moms to develop loving attitudes and words of grace for their children?• “Sensible” – How am I becoming sound-minded and self-controlled, curbing my desires and impulses in order to live sensibly? How can I encourage younger moms to think sensibly and biblically about their choices in life?• “Pure” – How am I choosing reverent and sacred thoughts and desires over worldly and impure ones so I will have a testimony of purity? How can I encourage younger moms to maintain purity in their thoughts and choices?• “Workers at home” (literally, home-guards) – How am I guarding and keeping watch over my home domain and all who live within it? How can I encourage younger moms to value and cultivate the home domain God has entrusted to them?
• “Kind” – How am I exercising God’s kindness toward my family members, and toward others, so I will have a testimony of goodness? How can I encourage younger moms to let kindness, a fruit of the Spirit, guard their thoughts and words?• “Subject to their own husbands” – How am I honoring and respecting my husband in our marriage, family, and lives together? How can I encourage younger moms to cultivate biblical attitudes and desires toward their husbands? What is one trait that you can concentrate on this month in your life? How can you encourage your Mom Heart members to apply these traits in their lives as well?Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Heart.
Faithfulness, Not Fruitfulness
God is looking for your faithfulness, not your fruitfulness.
From Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
Are You Afraid?
As I clung to a pole on the edge of a trapeze platform, terrified of heights and trembling in my boots, the instructor said, “Feel the fear and do it anyway. Don’t let the fear stop you.” That was the nudge I needed to step off the platform into the fun of trying out the trapeze.Is fear of rejection keeping you from encouraging mothers around you? Is fear keeping you from inviting one neighbor to read a book with you? Is fear keeping you from stepping into leadership? Is fear the hurdle you need to leap in order to answer God’s call?Let’s look into what God’s Word has to say about fear:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." Mark 9:24Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass? Isaiah 51:12Say to those with anxious heart,"Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you." Isaiah 35:4
Which of these verses can you cling to as you step out? God promises to walk with us, to transform that fear into faith and to guide every step. Do you believe Him? Ask Him to help your unbelief. He is trustworthy.
The Mom Heart of Old and Young, Part 1 - Tip #13
Are you familiar with TITUS 2:3-5? Such practical, timely, and applicable information for us today.This familiar passage should be at the heart of every biblically-informed ministry to mothers. The Apostle Paul is writing to his close friend and faithful fellow-worker Titus, instructing him to entrust the teaching and training of young mothers in the church to the “older women.” The term “older” naturally refers to being advanced in age, but it also can refer to being older in relative terms. The context of the passage indicates faithful mothers who are old enough to have proven themselves to be mature and trustworthy. It is not about defining when that occurs, but about understanding the spirit of the ministry that Paul was describing.
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:3-5)
Paul’s instructions are in two parts. First, he describes five qualities of the “older women” that will qualify them to teach the younger. Then, he describes seven kinds of lessons they are to teach to the “young women.” In both cases, Paul’s lists are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather representative. He is describing lives to emulate, and suggesting lessons to imitate, but not creating rules to regulate. It’s about the spirit, not the law.The Older Woman: Qualities of a Teacher (2:3-4a) Paul describes this older woman as “reverent,” choosing a term used only here in the Bible that suggests she is fulfilling a priestly role. Within an irreverent and ungodly culture, Paul calls the older women of the church in Crete to stand apart as God’s representatives to the younger women living in and coming out of that culture. The older woman’s behavior should befit whatever God considers sacred, which in this case seems to be their role as older women. In addition to that spiritual quality, Paul says that the older woman should also be known for four other specific traits.First, the older woman must be self-controlled in her words and attitudes, not a “malicious gossip.” Paul uses an unusually strong term, diabolos , that is used mostly of Satan (“devil”) and means here to slander or accuse falsely (he alone also uses the term this way here and in 1 and 2 Timothy). Second, she is to be self-controlled in her desires and habits, “not enslaved to much wine.” By inference, she is to restrain her desires and impulses not just for wine but for anything else that would belie her testimony of godliness. Third, she is known as one who teaches what is good (literally, a good-teacher). The kind of goodness referred to here suggests teaching things that are beautiful, noble, and praiseworthy. Fourth, her teaching should be known to “encourage” or admonish others. In English, we might say that she “sensibilizes” the young women—she helps them come to their senses.
Paul’s profile of an older woman in first-century Crete has lost nothing in the translation of two thousand years. As a Mom Heart group leader and teacher, the qualities Paul describes will qualify you to be an effective minister to other moms, whatever your age.Ask yourself the following questions and ask God to help you embody the spirit of the older woman:• Am I willing to be God’s representative in my personal ministry to the women in my Mom Heart group?• Am I self-controlled in my words and attitudes, refusing to engage in gossip and slander?• Am I self-controlled in my desires and habits, not enslaved to anything that would detract from my ministry for God?• Am I committed to being a teacher of what is good—of God’s truth that is beautiful, noble, and praiseworthy?• Am I a committed to being a teacher of sensible living—of God’s truth that encourages faithfulness, soundness, and stability?Excerpt taken from Taking Motherhood to Heart.
Are You Growing?
If you are growing in Christ, then you have truth and grace to offer other mothers who are thirsty.
From Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
Grace Upon Grace - Tip #12
Every movement has a message. It’s what defines it, gives it direction, and makes it distinct from other movements. There are, of course, competing messages about biblical motherhood— they can create confusion for Christian moms, leading them off in search of God’s truth that too often can leave them feeling either trapped by what they find, or lost and without direction. However, we believe that the beliefs that shape Mom Heart are biblically sound, reflect the true heart of God for mothers, and will give moms a sense of freedom and direction. Our message is what makes us Mom Heart.
Seeing my children develop a heart for God’s service and begin to find their own place of ministry in the world is a reachable goal for me as a mother, because God has designed me to fulfill this purpose. This is the true ministry of motherhood—to usher my children into the living presence of God, to nurture in them a heart for Jesus and the Great Commission he has called each of us to fulfill.The Ministry of Motherhood, Sally Clarkson
TEACHING YOUR MOM HEART GROUPMom Heart teaches a distinct biblical message about God’s heart for motherhood. However, the distinctiveness of our message about motherhood is not just in the details of what we believe, but also in how we teach the scriptures that teach about motherhood. We don’t come to Scripture intent on making all of the mom passages fit into a box, whether our own or someone else’s. Not every theological box is necessarily bad, but when Scripture does not create it, the unfortunate result is too often what we call “Christian law,” or legalism. Boxed-up ideas for motherhood become rules that must be followed—if you’re not in the box, you’re out of God’s will. We believe God is bigger than our boxes.We come to the Scriptures together to listen for God’s heart in a personal letter written by Him to His people, not to cut and paste bits of truth to fit into a manmade doctrinal box. The purpose of a Mom Heart group is to open God’s Word with a spirit of humility and discernment to hear what the Spirit has to say about motherhood and the Christian life. As a Mom Heart group leader and teacher you are following the example of Jesus who taught with “grace and truth,” not with law (John 1:17).
Grace is at the heart of teaching the moms in your group. You are freeing them from counterfeit and burdensome views of motherhood that cannot fulfill their longing to be the mom that God designed them to be. You are helping them find the blessing, purpose, and sense of fulfillment that God intended for them as a mom in His divine design for motherhood. One of the most loving things you can do is to teach the moms in your group in a way that helps them find the message of grace and freedom in Christ, and the confidence of biblical motherhood that God designed them to enjoy.Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.Click here to read the Mom Heart Ministry Values Statement.Click here to read the Mom Heart Ministry Beliefs Statement.
A Mom Heart Picnic in England
Food, fellowship and fun. Perfect ingredients for a time of conversation and connection. Our friends in the UK have been forming more and more Mom Heart groups and there seems to be a special movement right now of women longing to get back to God's heart for motherhood. Several mums made time in their lives to picnic together and get to know one another and each other's children. Jacqui has written a bit about their time together and why she planned the picnic.
As they say at Wimbledon most years ‘rain delayed play’, so after our first attempt at a Mum Heart picnic was hampered by the English weather, we finally managed a get together in the beautiful outdoors and Mr. Sunshine did not let us down.
After putting out an invite on the Mum Heart UK Groups page and our individual groups, a small troupe of us came together to connect, picnic, swap baby-holding duty and give thanks for Sally’s ministry bringing us together on this journey.
Sometimes, for various reasons, mums aren’t able to make the group book study meets and so this seemed like another fun way to provide an opportunity for connection. Being summer holidays here and choosing a midweek, midday slot, I thought we might be able to reach those ladies who can’t always attend. The great thing about Mom Heart ministry is that you can think outside the box and be super flexible and creative in ways to reach as many mums as possible. It’s as if Sally’s ministry has given women the outline of a drawing and we get to colour it in in whichever way we picture it.
So whether it’s a weekly book study, a 1-2-1 catch up, a weekend retreat or a picnic, the outworking is different for all of us, but if we will put the offer out there and invite other mums to colour with us, we’ll always find there’ll be at least one taker!
What simple event can you plan to draw the women into fellowship and conversation?
More Ideas for Growth - Tip #11
Do you need ideas of where to find women to invite to your Mom Heart group? Here are some suggestions from our Mom Heart Leader's Guide entitled Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
• Initiate: Women attending your Mom Heart group will likely represent a variety of cultural backgrounds from within your community. Sometimes you may need to wear your “brave face” to initiate conversations with moms in many settings—swim lessons, soccer practice, on Facebook, at church, and even when buying school supplies and materials. Just step out in faith.• Invite: The women who become a part of your group will probably mention how grateful they are that you stepped out of your comfort zone to initiate a conversation and invite them to your group. Not many others will. Just ask.• Include: Be aware of women who might be marginalized or minimalized and reach out to include them in your group. Look for “mom hearts” that need to be encouraged and helped. You will be touching the life of a woman who is giving life to the next generation.• Inspire: With no support from culture, or even from churches at times, many Christian moms have lost their heart for biblical motherhood. You have the opportunity to inspire them with hope that God’s design for motherhood is a divine calling with eternal purpose and spiritual blessing.
• Influence: Many women are gifted and motivated, but not so many possess spiritual confidence or feel the personal freedom as a woman to exercise the gifts of influence they have from God. If you are that mom, know that it’s OK for you to own your own influence, and to exercise that influence by faith with God’s direction. After all, it’s His influence. Excerpt taken from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
You Have Influence
You have the opportunity to influence other women by helping them find eternal purpose and meaning in their lives at home.
Quote from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.How will you use the influence that God has given you?
Mom Hearts Gather in Singapore
There are like-minded mothers all over the world! Reading about International Mom Heart Groups gets Sally and our team fired up with excitement as God spreads a vision for biblical motherhood around the globe. Paushali is one such leader, having led a group of mothers in Singapore.
Paushali and two Mom Heart friends
Paushali first discovered Mom Heart ministry through Sally’s blog. Living in Singapore, which is a big expat-rich country, people come and go quite frequently. Moms are often new in this place and stay for about 4-5 years. Although friendships are formed quite quickly, many moms struggle to find deeper contacts and fellowship.
Paushali led and hosted a group of 10 ladies. They came from the UK, Australia, Germany and New Zealand. They studied the book Own Your Life and discussed questions, shared what was on their hearts and prayed together. Each week someone brought snacks. It was a joy to see women share their hearts, getting encouraged and encouraging others in their mothering journeys, form deeper fellowships, getting closer to Jesus. There are always challenges as a leader and Paushali’s main struggle was having the women come and go and therefore having unreliable attendance. This is a common struggle for many Mom Heart groups. Knowing you’re not alone in this feeling as a leader, try to give this uncertainty to the Lord and trust that He will bring just the right women to each meeting.
Paushali would like to encourage all of us to not feel shy to talk or invite someone else to your home or meet at a cafe. Everyone seems busy and like they’ve got it together. But everyone has struggles and is lonely in some way or another, looking to connect. There is nothing to lose by asking someone to meet up. If not, then fine. But if she agrees, you have a potential friendship and ministry.While this group has ended due to many women moving away, Paushali would love to gather again with other mothers so that they can encourage and challenge one another to live a life closer to Jesus. Please pray for her as she desires to minister to mothers in Singapore.
Missional Mothers - Tip #10
Broaden the Vision for Your Group
Never before in the history of the world have we been able to connect and communicate instantly and personally with people all around the world. We take the Internet for granted now, but to generations before us the idea would have seemed in the realm of the miraculous. Though it certainly has its downsides, the world is different now because of the wonders of connectedness the Internet has introduced.As we consider how God might use Mom Heart groups for His kingdom, we cannot ignore the mission of the church to go into all the world (Matthew 28:18-20). As former missionaries in Western and Eastern Europe, we have long thought that mothers are an under-served part of the world mission vision. We believe they are a doorway into families and communities. When you reach a mom’s heart, you also reach fathers, children, neighbors, and generations. No matter what the country, culture, time, or place, we believe that a mission that can reach mothers is reaching the “heart” of a culture.Mothers are generally more available, and through their children they generally have many relationships with other mothers in their communities. In their homes, depending upon the culture, they exercise a strong and lasting influence over the hearts, values, and beliefs of their children. That is not to minimize the impact and influence of fathers on the family, but the potential impact of mothers should never be marginalized or underestimated. By God’s design, mothers are uniquely suited and situated to shape the spiritual atmosphere of their homes.
That’s why part of our mission vision for Mom Heart is to see Mom Heart groups starting in other countries—first in English-speaking nations, and then through translated materials in non-English-speaking nations. It will be a long, slow process, but that is part of our long term vision for Mom Heart Ministry.Do you know mothers in other parts of the world? Will you connect them with the materials and ministry of Mom Heart so that we can encourage them in their walk with the Lord? We currently know of groups in Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Madagascar, Ukraine, Australia, and England- what a miracle! Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
Mothers Have Impact
The potential impact of mothers should never be marginalized or underestimated.
Quote from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.
A Simple Mom Heart Retreat Plan
Retreat: nounThe forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.A place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy
Doesn’t the word “retreat” conjure up images of rest and rejuvenation? Joy and fellowship together with other mothers? A retreat is all those things, but also, as the first definition suggests, we need to “withdraw before the enemy” occasionally. As crafters of culture and influencers of the next generation, we are prime targets of the enemy. If we love and follow Jesus, this is a reality that will be a constant battle in our daily lives. Sometimes, I think the enemy can get to us in the daily-ness of regular life more easily than through other entry points. In order to guard against such attack, a wise woman takes time to renew her heart and “gird up her loins” by retreating.
Here are a few simple steps of how to host a retreat for your Mom Heart group:-Choose a date.-Find a location such as a hotel that serves breakfast, a house rental or even a friend’s home with enough room for everyone.-Invite the women. Try to use restful language, not productive language. A retreat is different from a crafting weekend or a planning weekend. Make sure your invitation makes that clear. The goal is to make each woman take a deep breath just by receiving the invitation.-Pray over what God has for the women. Of course, this entire process should be bathed in prayer, but be sure to ask Him what His plans are for the time away. Remember, at the intense mothering season of life, women often need quiet, fellowship and rest more than anything else.-Schedule some silent solitude time. Suggest that the women go sit in nature, on their bed, or in a quiet corner with their Bible and a journal. You might also consider writing a simple solitude time worksheet. Just some scripture with a question or two for pondering. You can find ideas for topics in Own Your Life. A worksheet will give the women who need more direction something to “do” during a quiet hour.
-Plan simple meals. Eat out, bring crockpots ready to be plugged in or take turns cooking easy meals together. Don’t bring your daily chores with you- find a way to give everyone a break.-One Mom Heart leader has used previously recorded sessions from Sally’s conferences to encourage the women during a retreat.Let go of perfectionism. Unless leading retreats is a special calling of yours, choose to be content with a simple gathering of like-minded women in a place away from home. It doesn’t have to be complicated.Have you even taken your Mom Heart group on a retreat? What did your time look like? Please share your ideas in the comments.
Go Reach Others Uniting in Purpose - Tip #9
GROUP: Go Reach Others Uniting in Purpose.Sharpen the Vision of Your Mom Heart GroupIt’s easy for a group to settle into a routine, and to become comfortable and complacent just doing what they’ve always done. When that happens, vision dims and dulls for what God’s larger purpose is for your group. To keep vision for your group sharp, take some time every quarter to talk about your bigger mission as a group. Use the GROUP acrostic below to evaluate together if there are ways you can become more outreaching.G — Go: InitiateDon’t wait for moms to approach you! Prayerfully consider moms you know who may be interested in your group, or need to be in a Mom Heart group, and then take the initiative to go and seek them out. Depending on the size and nature of your group, you can invite them to join your group, or even start a new one for them. You may be motivated, and even gifted, to minister to mothers, but it won’t happen until you go, until you initiate.
R — Reach: InviteSome women won’t respond to a general announcement about a group. Perhaps they feel they’re too busy, or they’re insecure about responding to a stranger, or they just don’t want to risk rejection, or they don’t feel worthy to be in the group. Whatever the reason, when you reach out personally, it tells them that you’re interested in them and that they’re welcome in your group. Sometimes all someone needs is to be asked!O — Others: IncludeThere can be an appropriate time for an exclusive group—if you’re limited in size; if it’s a special needs group; when you are building strategically into the lives of a few committed women; or other special situations. However, always keep in mind that God’s kingdom is inclusive—it is offered to all who will come to Christ. Being biblically inclusive as a group means always looking out for others who need to be included, to invite them in or to help them find a group.U — Uniting in: InspireHistory has been changed by small groups of people united in a common purpose and inspired by a shared vision. You may not change history, but you can change the lives of many mothers through your small group. The mothers you inspire will go on to touch their own families, and other mothers. Always communicate a higher vision for your group, then let the Spirit unite you in reaching for it. You are inspiring eternity-changers.
P — Purpose: InfluenceEvery day, women are fed a steady diet of half-truths and even lies about motherhood by the prevailing culture. What they hear is rarely, if ever, biblical, affirming, or visionary. But you can influence other mothers with biblical truth about God’s heart, design, and purpose for motherhood. You have the opportunity to influence other women by helping them find eternal purpose and meaning in their lives at home. Your influence is purposeful and powerful.How will you use your influence? Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Hearts.