Motherhood

I'm in Chapter 5 of Lies Women Believe - and wanted to take a moment and share a few gems.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss quotes Dr. Dorothy Patterson on the subject of feminism and the 'liberation' of women.

"Women have been liberated right out of the genuine freedom they enjoyed for centuries to oversee the home, rear the children, and pursue personal creativity; they have been brainwashed to believe that the absence of a titled, payroll occupation enslaves a woman to failure, boredom, and imprisonment within the confines of home."

and

"It is true that many 'perfect jobs' may come and go during the child rearing years, but only one will absolutely never come along again--the job of rearing your own children and allowing them the increasingly rare opportunity to grow up at home."

For all the moms who are in the 'trenches,' take a moment and snap your fingers.

Really I mean it...take a moment and S-N-A-P.

That's how quickly the time goes when you're raising children - I know, we all hear it when the first baby comes - all those grandma's in the store, "Honey, take time to really enjoy that baby, because before you know it, they'll be grown and gone."  They are 100% right.

It's really hard some days to think that one day the house will be quiet, there won't be anyone arguing, fighting, jostling for position, no more dirty diapers, spit up, throw up, potty training, learning to crawl, walk, run - wait STOP!

Teaching them to talk - will you please sit down and be Q-U-I-E-T! - laughter, snuggles, giggles, story time, tears, fears, dreams and aspirations for the future.  What if... How did... Why does... Who did... When will... Where can...?

Ask the Lord to help you when you are in the thick of it and want to pull out your hair, or theirs, or both! This season is really, really short...if you'll live to be 90, and you are 20-30 years old now, 20 to 30 years of child rearing goes by in a flash.  Savor those moments - remember when you want to 'blast' them with your tongue - bite it instead.

*For all those times you are or have served your husband and/or family with every:

• meal prepared;
• load of dirty clothes washed (those things multiply quicker 'n rabbits!);
• trip made to the grocery store, school, dentist, music lessons, sports practice, store;
• scraped knee, boo-boo or band-aid applied;
• encouraging word spoken;
• night hour spent rocking a sick or scared child;
• dispute arbitrated;
• moment spent building with Legos (my personal favorite), coloring, helping with school work, reading a Bible story, listening to a husband/child describe their day;
• moment spent interceding for the spiritual growth and protection of the family (as a whole and as individuals).

(* list taken from Lies Women Believe, Chapter 5.)