Home is where the heart of motherhood lives.
Believing Prayer: Tending to Your Own Mom Heart
Have you been following along on our series about tending to your own Mom Heart? Not only do we need to learn to tend to our group members' hearts, but we need to first tend and fill our own heart so that we have something to give. Find the earlier posts here.The phone rang late in the night, again. Several of my children have lived and worked overseas from time to time, and so we are somewhat accustomed to hearing from them around the clock.“Mama, I just have something I want to talk to you about. I want your advice and to know what you really think about my situation. Hearing your voice and knowing you care about what is happening to me makes me feel more centered.”I love the fact that my children want to talk to me and be close even though they are now capable adults. So it is with God. We have the amazing ability to have Him with us all the time, in every situation, and He wants us to share every fear, hope, need, and thought of our heart with Him. Just as I love hearing from my children anytime they want to call, so God desires our companionship and conversation, as well as our deepest heart’s trust that He will always help us in time of need.
Prayer is conversing with God and giving Him the right as our Father to lead, to act on our behalf, to help us, and to show us how to live in the circumstances of our lives. Prayer is the venue through which we walk daily, trusting God, giving Him our burdens, leaving our issues and problems in His hands. Through prayer, God can accomplish what we, in our human strength, cannot.Consider the following verses about prayer:
COLOSSIANS 4:2 (NLT) Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 (NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18 (NLT) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.ROMANS 12:12 (NLT) Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.JEREMIAH 29:12 (NLT) In those days when you pray, I will listen.
MATTHEW 18:19-20 (NLT) “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”MATTHEW 6:6 (NLT) “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”MATTHEW 6:9-13 (NLT) Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
Spend some time praying and meditating on these verses. God will remind you what believing prayer looks like for you, in your current circumstances, with your personality and gifts.
Using Different in a Mom Heart Group
This week, several women gathered in my home to begin a new season of Mom Heart ministry. We are meeting to read Different together, discuss it and encourage one another in our faith and in our mothering. I wanted to let you know the simple things that we did to help spark your own ideas of how you might begin studying the book with a few other women.
First of all, I let people know that we would be starting this new book study together. For me, this meant finding some Facebook pages of local mothering groups and letting them know that they are welcome to join us. I always ask women to contact me via email (rather than through FB) so that I am sure to receive their message. I then send out an informational email with details of our meeting and what women can expect when they arrive.
We meet once per month which is the amount that I can sustain as hostess and leader. Ideally, we'd meet more often, but that is not possible in my current season of life. I'd rather meet less frequently than have to quit the group due to burnout. Since our group only meets once per month, we do a potluck dinner together and spend some extra time in fellowship and getting to know one another. This usually includes a time of "show and tell" during which we share resources that are fun or inspirational for our parenting or household management. At our most recent meeting, a group member shared some fabulous picture books about art that she'd found at the library.After our time of fellowship, we move into our book discussion time. Since we haven't started reading the book yet, we watched a few videos about the book together.Sally and Nathan together on the Today Show.
Sally and Nathan answering questions on FB Live for the launch of the book.
Nathan's spoken word poem about OCD.It was a powerful time hearing directly from the authors about their experiences.
Once that was done, I reminded the group about some basic ground rules- confidentiality, not to give advice unless expressly asked for, and to tread very carefully in speaking about our own and other's out-of-the-box kids. Mom Heart groups gather to encourage each other and point each other to a closer walk with Jesus and we want to keep that the main goal of our meetings.
Lastly, I opened it up for people to share how the videos made them feel and how they felt about reading the book together. More than one women shared that they are nervous and very vulnerable because they are in the midst of living with a child that pushes their buttons and/or has issues that make daily life a struggle. There were lots of tears.I am so grateful that Sally and Nathan have written such a vulnerable book about their own journey so that those that are struggling every day can find hope and encouragement. I am grateful to be a part of a Mom Heart group in which it's safe to share those hard things together.How will you use Different in your Mom Heart groups?
Growing As a Leader in Spiritual Disciplines: God's Word
“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us.”
~A.W. Tozer
Growing in knowledge of the Word of God is essential to the ability to obey His ways, to grow in wisdom, and discern truth.Perhaps one of the reasons we, as Christians, have not made more impact on our world for the cause of Christ is that many have not learned or been taught the Word of God, His instruction, His ways, or His wisdom. These verses below show us how important His messages, truth, and ways are to our ability to live a godly life. Without the wisdom of God, we are subject to the world’s philosophies and will be led to foolishness in our lives.• What do these verses teach you about the importance of the word of God? Make notes in a journal about the importance of knowing and following God’s Word.PSALM 1:1-6 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
PSALM 19:1-11 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.PSALM 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.2 TIMOTHY 3:16 (NLT) All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.MATTHEW 4:4 (NLT) But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"2 TIMOTHY 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.There is profound significance living in the power of the Holy Spirit.No matter what I did one morning, I could not get my computer to come on. I saw that the cord was in the right spot on the side of my computer. Yet, when I got down to check the plug, I realized it had fallen slightly away from the wall and had lost connection with its power source. The computer still had all the potential to do endless work, but could not fulfill its potential apart from its power source.
Similarly, we are just not equipped to live spiritually strong without preparation. No matter how hard we try, we still sin, act selfishly, and are tempted in life. Yet, God intended when we engaged in faith by trusting Him for our life and salvation that we would also grow with His Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and learn to walk by His wisdom, trust Him to work through us, believe that He would answer prayer and rest in His ability to forgive us and use us.Simply put, living by the Spirit of God is the only way to make us able to live a truly Christian life.Growing in understanding of how to let the Holy Spirit lead and rule your life gives you the power to live the Christian life. Without His strength and wisdom, you are not able to live a full Christian life. Merely “gutting it out” will not work. Your works will never be good enough to enable you to live a Christian life. Only as the Spirit works through you will you be able to grow—it is Christ in and through you.
Ponder the following verses about what it means to be “Spirit-led”:JOHN 20:21-22 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”JOHN 14:26 (NLT) “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”ROMANS 8:26 (NLT) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.GALATIANS 5:22-23 (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!1 CORINTHIANS 6:19 (NLT) Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.JOHN 16:13-15 (NLT) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”TITUS 3:5-6 (NLT) [H]e saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.GALATIANS 5:16 (NLT) So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
What routines or habits are you building into your life this year so that you can spend more time in God's Word? Are you reading it, listening to it, pondering it and gathering His wisdom for your life? How are you setting an example in word and in deed to those around you (your children, Mom Heart group members)?
Serving God Everyday
Becoming God's BondslaveEve was the first created woman. She chose to turn away from God’s ways, to listen to Satan, and to follow a path that led to death in her relationship with God.Mary, the mother of Jesus, modeled for us a new way to love God. She redeemed the picture of what it meant to be a woman who was committed fully to living as a child of God.
LUKE 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. • What was in Mary’s heart that communicated her understanding of her whole life with God? • How does her statement differ from the behavior of Eve, who pondered Satan’s words and chose to go in his pathway?GENESIS 3:4-6 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.Do you see yourself as a bondslave of God? In Old Testament times, a bondslave was a slave who, after a period of service to a master, determined that he or she would rather remain in that service than ever be set free (Deuteronomy 15:16-17). A bondslave lives to do the will of her master.Mary told the angel she wished to remain in the Lord’s service, placing herself at His command.• Have you determined to be the Lord’s bondslave? • Does He have rights over every area of your life? Consider making this commitment now.LUKE 22:42 (NLT) "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."Perhaps Jesus grew up hearing Mary’s narrative about herself, that she committed herself to being obedient to God’s will—that she said, “Be it done to me according to your will.”It’s incredibly comforting that Jesus, Himself, walking on earth in the flesh, trembled at the thought of the cross—even asking that the suffering it entailed would be taken away from Him. He truly understands our weaknesses and the way we turn from pain! But as our example, He ultimately prayed, “Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.”A child learns how to become a devoted servant of Jesus not only by instruction but also by modeling. Perhaps Jesus is a reflection of His mother’s words and story in his own story of seeking to please God.• Are there areas in which you tremble at something you believe God wants you to do? Can you, today, say along with Jesus, “I want your will to be done, not mine”?JEREMIAH 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD,“Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.• Could you boast that you understand and know God? If you’re not sure, what might you begin doing in order to get to know Him better? What do you think it would mean to live your life to know God—His ways, His thoughts, His heart, His will?As a parent, I want my children to know me fully and to respond to me in love. And so God as our Father cares about our desire to know Him, to be with Him, to be like Him.MATTHEW 4:20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all fishing when Jesus called them. They responded by immediately leaving their nets and boats—their very livelihoods—in order to respond to that call.• Do you understand that becoming a follower of Christ means leaving your old world, values and habits behind, instead following Him to His ways? • Are you willing to leave everything in order to follow Jesus?ROMANS 12:1 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.• Paul urges us to worship God by offering our whole lives, body, mind and soul to Him. Is there any way in which you are living your life that is not pleasing to God? Ask Him.
A New Book!
Have you discovered the joy of reading a book alongside another mother? It is one of the best ways to build camaraderie, spark conversation and create like-minded friendships. We are so excited that tomorrow (January 24th), Sally and Nathan have a new book to encourage mothers. This book is unlike anything the Clarkson family has written before. Written from both Sally's and Nathan's perspectives, this book gives a peek into life with an outside-the-box child, shedding light into an area that is so often hidden. Different gives us encouragement to love our children well, even when they are mysteries to us. Different also shows some of what life has been like from Nathan's perspective, opening up a window into what is usually inaccessible: the mind of a child with hard diagnoses.[embed]https://youtu.be/ABbRGUOiRHU[/embed]This book has the potential to draw women into your Mom Heart groups that have never found a compassionate, listening ear before. Women that have been isolated, lonely and despairing that they could ever have hope amidst very challenging life circumstances. To love these women will be a gift.
Are you going to use this book in your group? How have you reached out to mothers that are alone? Let's brainstorm how to get this book into those women's hands![embed]https://youtu.be/kE5AtROoKAE[/embed]
This Fallen World
“Mine!” I was said to scream out when I was just two and a half years old. The occasion was my grandmother’s visit to our home. Gifting my two brothers with cowboy hats, play guns and holsters, she thought she was being generous. However, her gift to me was a lovely little doll. I had no interest in the doll; I wanted the guns my brothers had!Running after my youngest brother, I grasped his gun and holster tightly and would not let go, screaming, “I want this!”We all recognize sin, selfishness, and self-absorption in ourselves—and quite easily in small children who have not learned to hide it yet!When we observe God -- His creativity and majesty in creation, His faithfulness every day, His ability to hold our world together, His goodness and beauty surrounding day after day -- we understand His desire to bless us, to be near us, and to be a Father to us.However, as a result of the fall, when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God and willingly disobey His commandment not to eat fruit from the tree of good and evil, the world has been in rebellion to God. Relationships are difficult and often broken; natural disasters invade our lives. Illness, corrupt governments and leaders, and difficulty of every kind show evidence of this separation from God. There is a ruler of this world, and he wants us to give allegiance to him and his ways, and to abandon the ways of God.
Satan is called the god of this world. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, we read, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God." (NLT).Consequently, we find chaos in relationships, foolishness of every kind, and lack of understanding of God’s creation, as His purposes and ways are obscured. We now live in a world system that has been separated from God for thousands of years.The consequences of fallenness touch every arena of our lives. We are in a battlefield from the moment we are born. Satan wants to win our allegiance, and God wants us to be redeemed to be able to live in relationship with Him as His children.If we do not understand the nature of the battle, we will find ourselves surprised by the difficulties we encounter and be thrown off our feet by our circumstances. If we accept and understand this reality, we will be more prepared to face our days with faith, strength, endurance, and wisdom.Peter tells us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).If we do not understand this as a kingdom issue—of choosing which kingdom we will serve and to which master we will bow our knee -- then we miss a great part of the significance of our becoming Christians (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 6:24). God’s plan is that we leave the kingdom of darkness and come into a new adoption as children of God, bowing to Him, living for Him, learning of His ways, so that we might grow in righteousness and find His favor (Ephesians 1).
Salvation is not just about getting into heaven when we die. It is about our heart allegiance, our commitment to seek to walk in the ways of God, to love Him and to know Him.The reality of this is that we are born self-centered and self-absorbed, and so is everyone we will ever meet. Satan, knowing His time is short on this earth, rages and storms about seeking whom He may destroy. If we understand the significance of this, we will fight our life battles better.PROVERBS 4:18 (NLT) The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.MATTHEW 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”• The pearl of great price is Christ Himself. What have you had to give up, just like the merchant who sold all he had, in order to give your own life to God? • What are you still holding on to, that you might need to consider giving up?PSALM 119:73 (NLT) You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. • God is our Creator. Who could possibly know us better? • Have you considered that He is able to help you follow His commands when you feel unable to do so?Consider sharing these truths with your Mom Heart groups to encourage them in their faith walks!
Love God With Your Whole Being
Do you want to grow in your faith? You are setting an example of walking a Christian life to your children as well as to your fellow Mom Heart group members. Today Sally reminds us of the foundations of our Christian walk.
“Give me the Love that leads the way
The Faith that nothing can dismay
The Hope no disappointments tire
The Passion that'll burn like fire
Let me not sink to be a clod
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God”
~Amy Carmichael
Knowing, Loving and Serving God is the Centerpiece of a Christian’s LifeWhen Sarah, my first child, was birthed and placed into my arms, I was immediately smitten. Tiny little fingers wrapped around my thumb, dark blue eyes beneath the squint peered upward, and my heart could barely believe that she was mine. Somehow a motherhood intuition kicked in and I wanted to protect her, care for her, and give my life for her well-being.
This is a small picture of how God feels about us. We are his beloved children and He has taken full responsibility for our lives. He wants to be close to us, to care for us, to teach us the amazing ways of His heart, mind and soul, and He designed us to know Him and His protection and love every moment of our lives.Often, we perceive accepting Christ as our ticket into heaven. But coming into a relationship with God is so much more. It is the center point of everything we will do. It requires our total allegiance. We have come from a kingdom of darkness into a Kingdom of light. We now begin to grow into the people He created us to be. Our past is forgiven and forgotten and now, it is all about Him.Understanding the amazing heritage He has provided for us as children of God will change our lives totally. It is not about “doing” all the right things, but instead it is about growing in relationship to Him, learning the ways of His love, His goodness, and then out of the realization of that love, learning to obey Him and follow Him so that we can fully live for His glory.I had lived most of my life in the southern part of the United States before I became a missionary. My values were like the people around whom I had been raised. I spoke their language and lived by their values. When I moved to Europe, it took some time to begin learning another language, what the values and customs were, and how to live and prosper in the new land where I now lived.
So it is with us when we become believers. We have lived in the land of darkness and moved to a new country of light. It will also take us a while to grow into the new ways— to learn the language and messages of God, to understand the values and priorities of our new place, and to grow comfortable in obeying the new laws.Christian maturity, then, is a process of growing closer to our heavenly Father each day, giving up the ways of our past life, and learning to grow in the ways of His kingdom. Let these verses help you remember what He considers important in your becoming His child.DEUTERONOMY 6:5 (NLT) And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.MATTHEW 22:37 (NIV) Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”These two verses are the centerpiece of what God desires of us when we put our faith in Christ. His desire is that we love Him deeply, and that we love Him from our heart—the center of all that we value and all of our affections. He wants us to love Him with our soul—our personality, interests, pleasures, skills, appetites, habits, feasting, living, and in all of our activities and being. He desires us to worship Him in the thoughts of our mind, our ponderings, our ideas, and what we allow to enter into our minds and affect our thinking—what we read, watch, listen to, and who we follow. It is a whole life commitment.Christianity isn’t just a theological idea or a commandment to be kept. Becoming a Christian is not just about having salvation for eternity when we die. But it is a way of living, growing, and loving for the rest of our lives. We leave the kingdom of darkness -- this world and its ways -- and become people of light. We are adopted into His family with a new allegiance to our King, His Kingdom, and His ways, and we move every day out of loving obedience to serve Him.Christian means “Christ in one,” and so when we become believers in Christ, His Spirit begins to form our heart to become like His heart, to give us the love Christ embodied, to teach us obedience to righteous ways that will give us wisdom and stability, and to grow stronger every day in our personal relationship with Him.Receiving Christ into our lives will change every aspect of our lives and the way we live them. God incarnate means that He comes inside of the very “meat” of our lives--carnem in Latin means meat or flesh, carne in Spanish means flesh. So to incarnate Christ means He lives incarnate, in our very flesh or the meat of our bodies. God lives His life through us. God is an artist, a father, a lover, a husband, a cook, a shepherd, a savior, a teacher, a healer, an obedient son, and so much more. When we love Him and become His, we will become His light, His creativity, His love, His redemption, His truth, His care, and so forth, as He lives through us. When people come to know us, they will come to understand the reality of God.
Loving Christ with all of our hearts means we will turn all that we value to Him, allowing Him to be the centerpiece, so that we are shaping our actions and faith after the One who was embodied God.Hebrews 1:3a tells us, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” So to follow God means we must ponder and obey the ways of Jesus and allow Him to incarnate our lives—to live through our very flesh.• How can you love God this way? • What does it mean to love Him with all your heart? Mind? Soul? • How might loving God with your heart affect or direct your affections—the things you treasure? The ways you live out your personality and desires and dreams with His Spirit giving strength, love, and wisdom through you?MATTHEW 6:21 (NLT) Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.• Your soul includes your personality, will, character, etc. How will you love God with all your soul? What areas might require some training, discipline, repentance, and/or prayer if we’re going to be able to truly say we love Him this way? • What about loving God with all your mind? How does the fact that you love God affect what you read, what you’re willing to take into your mind, the way you worship, and the thoughts you cherish?
Things to Ponder as a Leader {4}
Am I self-controlled in my words and attitudes, refusing to engage in gossip and slander? Your words matter!
Things to Ponder as a Leader {3}
Am I committed to being a teacher of sensible living - of God's truth that encourages faithfulness, soundness, and stability? As a Mom Heart leader, you ARE a teacher. Are you choosing sensible living so that you can teach those that are watching you?
How am I Exercising God's Kindness?
How am I exercising God's kindness toward my family members, and toward others, so I will have a testimony of goodness?
Are You Available?
If you are a woman of God who is faithful and available, He can and will use you.
A Texas Christmas Tea
Are you gathering with your Mom Heart group to celebrate Christmas together? These events can be small or large, simple or elaborate. Today Tami shares about the annual Christmas tea that she hosts to encourage mothers in her community.Thirty moms gathered together to celebrate the Christmas season at our Mom’s Christmas Tea held at the In My Garden Tea Room in Texas. This was an opportunity for precious women to get away for a special time of fellowship with other moms. Our theme this year was:
“Christmas is a time to remember the promise we have been given, by the birth of our Savior.”
On the night Jesus was born, the innkeeper missed Christmas because he did not have any room. He was busy, pre-occupied and his inn was full because of the census. After the shepherds saw Jesus and went back to share the good news, no one else in Jerusalem went to see Jesus. They were busy with feasts, festivals and ceremonies. In our culture today, there are so many activities we engage in over the Christmas season. Often we become overly busy, allowing our calendars to fill up quickly. How do we remember Christ? Do we push everything aside that makes its way to our table and put up a nativity scene and think, there, that should do it? “Making room for Jesus is not the same as celebrating Jesus.”
During our tea, two moms that have been attending my Mom Heart group for several years shared Christmas traditions with a Christ focus. Candi shared "Birth of Jesus Treat Bag” and Leska shared “A Meaningful Christmas” about various types of Advent activities. Our keynote speaker was Debi who currently serves on the Mom Heart Texas team. Debi read from The Life Giving Home, December. She shared how we can get caught up in doing “too much” during this season. "It is our privilege to extract the precious out of the ordinary to glorify our God."
Once again, gift giveaways were part of the event. This year, I focused on moms whom I have met that have written a book or created something to encourage us on our mom walk. As their parting gift, each mom received a lovely tea cup and saucer, plus variety of teas and chocolate.As Titus 2 moms, we are called to share our walk with one another. My trials and my joys can be encouraging to another mom. My hope is that our time together was an avenue to encourage each other and celebrate Jesus this season. May Our Father bring encouraging women into your life that help you keep your focus on Christ.What sort of celebrations does your Mom Heart group participate in together?
God Wants You to Learn and Teach the Scripture | Tip #17
Do you ever feel like you’re not really qualified to teach anyone the Bible? The apostles probably felt that way at some point. They had relied entirely on Jesus’ divine words and instruction for three years, and then He was gone. Jesus had taught “as one having authority” (Mark 1:22). How would these common, “uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 1:13) be able to pick up where Jesus left off?If you feel that way, just remember that the apostles had no natural authority to teach others anything about God. But Jesus had taught them, and it was enough that each apostle became “like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Their authority would be supernatural, coming from Jesus and the Holy Spirit and not from themselves (see John 15:26-27, 16:13-15). If you’re following Jesus, and reading His Word to become like him, then you’re walking in the same shoes as the apostles did. And don’t miss the bigger truth: All of what the apostles had then to start the church, we have now collected in the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven books of the New Testament. In your Bible, you have all you need to lead and teach with the authority of Christ.
The apostle Paul foresaw that the Scriptures would be all that followers of Jesus, then or in generations yet to come, would need in order to grow in Christ and become mature. Paul was in a Roman prison waiting to be martyred when he wrote his last letter to Timothy, his son in the faith and ministry protégé. He reminded Timothy not to worry that he (Paul) would soon be gone, but to continue to teach what he knew to be true:
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Paul boldly declares that “all Scripture is inspired by God.” It is not just a passive repository of inspiring information, but “God breathed” words that are useful and beneficial “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training righteousness.” By God’s design, its purpose is to make every person who is dedicated to Him adequate and capable to live for Him, “[fully] equipped for every good work” (see Ephesians 2:8-10). In the same spirit, Paul admonished Timothy earlier in the letter, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2:15). Scripture is the tool for whatever work we do for God.
As a Mom Heart group leader, you have a “good work” to do. God wants to use you to help others grow in Him. When you read the words “the man of God” in 2 Timothy 3:17, Paul meant you as a woman, too. The term for man, anthropos, is more accurately translated “the person dedicated to God” (NET). In other words, the power and purpose of Scripture is for every person, male and female. God has given Scripture not only to help you become mature, but also to make you capable and fitted to the work of ministry and fully equipped to help others become mature. Scripture, the Word of God, is the heart of your ministry as a Mom Heart group leader—it is the message God has equipped you to teach.Ask yourself the following questions about your teaching ministry of the Word of God:
- What biblical truth and wisdom have I “learned and become convinced of” as I have followed Christ? What influence has Scripture had in my life since childhood? Who has influenced me as a believer?
- When reading the Scripture, am I reading words about God, or the God-breathed Word of God? How do others know that the Word of God is “living and active” when I teach?
- How have I profited from Scripture’s teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness? What specific benefits has it added to my life?
- As a “person dedicated to God” (NET), how has Scripture enabled and equipped me for life and for ministry to others? If my Mom Heart group is a “good work” that God has equipped me to do, is there any reason I should feel inadequate or unprepared to fulfill that ministry? How do I teach my group that Scripture can fully enable and equip them as well?
Excerpt from Taking Motherhood to Hearts
Renew Your Heart in 2017
Have you ever taken time away? Time to be poured into with inspired wisdom while surrounded by like-minded mothers who long to live intentionally for God and His purposes? Time to make new friends and deepen old ones?
If you’ve followed me and my ministry to mothers, you already know that 2016 was a pivotal year for our conferences. It was a year of embracing God’s ministry to moms with two hands–celebrating 20 years of WholeHearted Mother and Mom Heart Conferences on the one hand, and accepting that it was time to let them go on the other. I strongly felt God saying it was time for something new. Something fresh. Not just for me, but for you. As I enter a new season of ministry to moms, perhaps the final lap in my race with God, I have an even deeper desire to mentor, teach, and encourage women in their profoundly important roles as moms and life-givers. I want to help women from every role in life understand more deeply what it means to have faith in Christ and grow in that faith as His follower.
I find my heart focused on what so many precious women I have ministered to through the years have shared with me about the challenges of motherhood and life, and their need to be constantly renewed by God. And that is what I hope to do this year, and for as many years as God allows me to continue speaking, through the new Renew My Heart Getaway. It is on my heart to renew your heart. I hope you will join me as we start a new journey with God in 2017.
The new Renew My Heart Getaway will be a different kind of event. Many women through the years have told me they would like more of me, more time for interaction with other moms, and more time for reflection. After the final Mom Heart Conference in February 2016, I thought and prayed about “what’s next?” and discussed it with Clay and my Mom Heart leaders. It became clear to all of us that the next season of events needs to be slower, more personal, and more interactive, focusing less on topics such as how to be a “good mother” and more on how to be “God’s mother.” We want to strengthen and renew the spiritual life of all women. After 32 years of parenting, I’m convinced that being God’s mom is the most important factor in being a good mom, spouse, and friend. And to be God’s woman means you need to continually renew your heart by His Spirit. That’s the vision and purpose of the Renew My Heart Getaway.Join us and bring your Mom Heart groups, new friends, and especially mothers that are desperate for encouragement and inspiration. Many women ask for this as a Christmas gift. And what a gift!Go HERE to Register and Find out more.UK and European Friends --- In addition to the United States Getaways, Sally will be hosting an event in England. Saturday, March 18, 2017, Sally will be speaking in NW Greater London for a 1 day Conference! For more information, email mumheart2017@gmail.com. Full details including how to register will be released soon.
Following Jesus’ Example
Golden fall light streams through the windows. Each morning I raise the blinds on all the windows to let in as much light as possible. Dappled leaf patterns, bright blocks of light and sunshine reflecting off individual blades of frosty grass remind me how Jesus is the light to our souls and lives. Without Him, there is darkness. As I pondered the person of Jesus this morning and how His example can influence my daily life, I came across a verse that is a framework for my role as a mother and Mom Heart group leader.
Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23
Jesus did three things in Galilee – He taught, proclaimed the gospel, and healed all kinds of sickness.
As Jesus was a teacher and we seek to emulate Him, therefore we are teachers as well. We teach our children about God and His character. We teach our Mom Heart groups what the Bible says about living a life of faith as a mother and we remind them that following Jesus doesn’t mean only ministry with those outside our homes or only on Sundays. Following Jesus’ example as a teacher first means teaching those entrusted to us in our homes. We teach them what God is teaching us as we read, pray and seek to grow in maturity.Secondly, Jesus proclaimed the gospel. The gospel is the good news. We proclaim the good news that Jesus died so we don’t have to have eternal death; we proclaim the good news that we can produce fruit if we abide in Him; we proclaim the good news that out knowledge about Jesus can transform into wisdom, peace and hope for the daily-ness and trials of life. This journey of life is incredibly difficult and painful at times, but if we walk with Him, He will give us peace even through the valleys. These things we proclaim to our children and our Mom Heart groups.
Lastly, while Jesus was in Galilee, He healed all kinds of sickness. What a privilege to be a part of another’s healing. We can be God’s instrument to help women find healing from heart-hurts, from deep held beliefs that are lies, from fear of asking for help, from perfectionism, and from harsh and angry habits as mothers. God may use us to encourage others to seek professional help in areas that need healing. Listen for God’s voice and step out in His wisdom, not your own. Help heal by pointing people first to the Lord.For both our children and the women in our Mom Heart groups, we can follow Jesus’ example to teach, proclaim, and heal, always from an outflow of what we’ve allowed God to pour into us.How have you seen mothering your children to be similar to nurturing your Mom Heart group in these areas?
Things to Ponder as a Leader {2}
Am I self-controlled in my desires and habits, not enslaved to anything that would detract from my ministry for God?
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Biblical Support for Mom Heart Groups | Tip #16
Why do you lead or attend a Mom Heart group?Many small groups for moms probably start with the vision of getting out of the house and getting together for mutual support and fellowship. That very natural impetus has created “Mom’s Day Out” ministries everywhere you turn. And in the thick of raising young children at home, that is understandably a very appealing idea. However, moms need more than an MDO to keep going.
Your role as a group leader is about much more than just facilitating fellowship; it is also about preserving and passing on God’s truth to other moms that can change lives and affect eternity. The same conviction that drives you to teach your children the truths they need for life should also drive you to take your role as a Mom Heart group leader and teacher just as seriously. It’s the same conviction that drove the apostles as they started the church after Jesus left them. It’s the same conviction, driven by the same scriptures, that continues to grow the church today. The biblical methods for expressing those convictions have remained the same since Jesus gave us our marching orders as His disciples.Some moms are ready and eager to enter the battle for moms’ hearts and minds. Others are cautiously confident and willing to consider giving it a go. Others are emotionally resistant, thinking they are neither qualified nor gifted to actually teach. Whichever mom you are, here’s the reality for everyone: Being a Mom Heart group leader and teacher is not just about what you think you can or should do for God; it is about what God says he can and will do through you. If you are a woman of God who is faithful and available, He can and will use you.
There are a few key passages of Scripture that have shaped the growth of the church for two thousand years. They have shaped our own Clarkson family commitment to personal ministry for four decades, and now feed our vision for a movement of Mom Heart groups. This post does not allow for an in-depth study of each passage, but you can glean from them the larger principles what God wants you to know about the biblical methods that shape this ministry, and can shape yours, too. God wants to use you to make a difference in the lives of other moms. These passages are speaking to you, not to “someone else.” You can gain confidence from His Word to be the teacher that He has prepared you to be.
God Wants You to Make Disciples – Matthew 28:18-20 (Acts 1:7-8)
All ministry in Christ’s name—in every place to everyone of any time—begins with the final words of Jesus that end Matthew’s gospel:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)
For forty days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers and instructed His apostles about the kingdom of God (see Acts 1:1-9). At the end of that time, He gathered His apostles together to let them know that they would soon “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (1:9) and that they would become His “witnesses” not just in Israel but in all the earth. In His final words before ascending into heaven Jesus commanded them to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19), assuring them that He would be with them “always” through His Spirit (see John 14:16-17f).
Jesus’ one simple command to “make disciples,” carried forward by His Spirit-empowered followers, has fueled and fired the growth of Christianity for two thousand years, and will continue to do so until “the end of the age.”As a Mom Heart group leader, you are part of that wildfire of faith. You’re adding fuel to that fire when you respond to the “Great Commission” of Jesus by going to your world—your neighborhood, your church, your community, your city— to make disciples. Just like the apostles who spread Christ’s teaching of the kingdom of God in their place and time, you are empowered by the Spirit of Christ within you to be a witness and worker for Jesus in your place and time. You “Go” because Jesus is with you, in you, empowering you by His Holy Spirit to be His witness in your little corner of the “remotest part of earth.” No matter who you are, God wants to use you to make disciples.Ask yourself the following questions about your ministry for Christ from the passages in Matthew and Acts:• How does Christ’s last command to “make disciples” apply to me, right here and right now? How can I be a disciple of Christ ready to make disciples?• Where and when can I “go” to make disciples? Am I standing still, or moving forward for Jesus and His kingdom? What part of the world can I reach?• How am I “teaching” disciples about Jesus and the things that He and His followers taught? How am I teaching them to guard all that Christ and His Word teach?• Is Christ with me? Do I believe He is “always” with me, all the time and in every place? How does that make a difference in my life?• Is the Holy Spirit within me? Do I believe that I receive “power” from Him? How does that make a difference in my life?• Am I a witness for Christ? Do I believe that Jesus will use me to witness for Him right here and right now? How does that make a difference in my life?
God Wants You to Teach Others What You Know – 2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-2
The apostles knew what they were being sent out to do, but how did Christianity grow so rapidly and spread so widely to become the largest religion in the world? The spiritual engine of growth for Christianity was in an uncomplicated principle of disciple-making that Jesus taught His disciples—teach others to teach others.The growth of Christianity, though, is about more than just a methodology. Before anything else, it is about the message that inspires the method. Without the message of truth in God’s Word, the method would be just religious activity. Listen to what Paul wanted Timothy to understand:
Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. ... You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-2)
Paul packs a lot into those few verses, exhorting Timothy to “retain” (hold onto) the truths he had heard, “guard” them as a “treasure,” stay “strong” in Christ, and “entrust” the message to others he could trust. This was long before the new Scriptures that were still being written would become what we now know as the New Testament. In that first generation of Christianity, it all had to be truth invested in hearts and minds by faith.In delivering his exhortations to Timothy, Paul touches on key words of the Christian message—faith (1:13), love (1:13), Christ Jesus (1:13, 2:1), Holy Spirit (1:14), grace (2:1), witnesses (2:2), faithful (2:2), teach (2:2), and others. These were not just “God words” in a final pep talk to Timothy; they were the life-changing language of hope and truth that opened hearts to the message of the gospel in all its fullness. They are powerful words that have changed the world, and should change you as a person, and as a Mom Heart group leader. It is a “treasure ... entrusted to you.”The incomparable message you have to teach and to share as a Mom Heart group leader is unlike any message ever shared in all of human history. It is the one true message that explains all other messages. You have the opportunity to open the pages of God’s Word to the women in your group and draw them into the depths of His story and glory.Timothy was one of the first links in the chain of “faithful men” (NASB) who would preserve the “treasure” of truth in the Bible that you now read, study, and teach. You are carrying on Paul’s admonition to “entrust [what you have learned] to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” And just to clarify, Paul was not excluding you as a woman in his charge to Timothy. A better translation is: “entrust [what you have learned] to faithful people [anthropois ] who will be competent to teach others as well” (NET).That’s you. You are one of the “faithful people” that Paul envisioned teaching others to teach others. As a Mom Heart group leader and teacher, you have a message of inestimable value to give to the women in your group. If you feel inadequate for that task, just know Paul felt the same way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:5-7). As a fellow “earthen vessel,” ask yourself the following questions to ponder your place in the process of passing on the truth of Scripture to other faithful followers, the same truth that Paul passed on to Timothy:• How can I respond to Paul’s admonitions to “retain,” “guard,” “be strong,” and “entrust”? How am I, as one entrusted with the truths of God, preserving, promoting, and passing on that “treasure” to other faithful people?• What can I do to make sure that I can “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”? What am I doing to strengthen my spirit with the grace of God? How am I opening my spirit to receive God’s grace through the Word, prayer, and fellowship?• How am I deliberately entrusting to other trustworthy women the truths that I know and am learning? How do I do that actively, and not just passively? How can I be strategic?• How am I growing in my knowledge of the deep truths of Scripture revealed in Paul’s words to Timothy? What other treasured words are doors into deeper understanding of all that God has done for us in Christ? What can I do to study these words?God has given you a great privilege and responsibility to lead the women around you. You can do it!
Lead From Your Own Story
We are thrilled to introduce you to a dear friend, Holly Pakiam. Holly and Sally are local friends in Colorado and ministry partners to the mothers around them. Holly is married to a pastor and homeschools their four children. She enjoys drinking countless cups of coffee, eating dark chocolate, reading til the wee hours of the morning, taking long walks in the foothills, and merrily observing the outdoor pets that don’t require feeding (deer, squirrels, coyotes and an occasional bobcat or bear.) Holly will be popping in here occasionally to share her heart with us.Hello dear friends of Mom Heart. It’s just starting to look and feel a little like autumn here in sunny Colorado. The leaves have fallen, but we’re still enjoying warm days in our mild fall season this year. My heart is content.
I recently had the privilege of being a part of Sally’s Mom Heart Intensive this past October. A group of over 40 women gathered together in the Clarkson’s lovely home to hear from Sally and discuss aspects of what it looks like to be a Christian leader in our culture today. I’d love to share with you a few thoughts from my time with Sally. In leading a group of women, we are quick to become aware that we are all flawed and sinful people who are aiming to follow after God. We are dearly loved children of God, but we are ‘not yet’ what we will be in the end (1 John 3:2).How do we lead while we remain painfully aware of our inadequacies and shortcomings?What can make leading even more difficult is when others make us aware of our inadequacies and shortcomings! I mean, have you ever left your group feeling a bit discouraged wondering if anyone cares how much time you’ve put into preparing your home for them? Or the investment you made thinking through creative ways to help the group connect? Or how you took the time to bake muffins and scrub your kitchen sink to create a clean and welcoming environment?
Holly with some of the Mom Heart Leadership Intensive women
I’ve realized as a leader, I’m too often affected by discouragement or even encouragement from others. Once a fellow mom and friend shared with me how grateful she was for my leadership and care for her. Naturally, I felt quite joyous, on top of the world, at least for a time. And then the next week, a different friend complained that I’m not available enough - to walk through life with her the way she had hoped. It’s a battle not to feel sad and disappointed when I’ve let people down.Of course we are going to disappoint others. It’s a normal part of life. And it’s natural to feel sad when we disappoint others and sometimes healthy for people to express this sadness to us.How do we move forward and not let those words define who we are?We return to the beauty of the Gospel.
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Your story— with all its flaws and shortcomings— is the perfect backdrop for the light of Christ to shine. Christ in you is more than enough; Christ in you is your hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). In Christ, you have all that you need. The best treasure you could offer is Christ—even if you offer it in a ‘jar of clay’.So…Lead your group with confidence in who the Lord has called you to be. He has created you as a unique woman with a unique calling and a unique personality.Lead your group out of the season that you are in. We’re all in different seasons of life. You may feel like you’re in a season of winter and all you can offer is a place for moms to gather. Lean into that and refuse to let the enemy whisper that you ‘should’ be doing more. Maybe you’re in a season of fall and the harvest is plentiful. You’re newly an empty nester and life has allowed you more space and capacity to invite women into your home on a regular basis.
Lead your group out of your own weakness and inadequacy. Through honesty and vulnerability, people will see the glory of God’s grace.So, lean in. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. Open the Scriptures, listen to His still small voice, and walk in obedience. The Holy Spirit will help you.
Holly's beautiful family