A Quote for Mother's Day

"The saintly women desire nothing else than the natural fruit of their bodies. 

For by nature woman has been created for the purpose of bearing children. 

Therefore she has breasts; she has arms for the purpose of nourishing, cherishing, 

and carrying her offspring. It was the intention of the Creator that women 

should bear children and that men should beget them."

Luther’s Works, 5:355

painting by Mary Cassatt

"Luther frequently celebrated the blessings of children and the wonderful calling of motherhood.

This quotation from Luther is just as jarring today as it was in the sixteenth century. In Luther’s day, church authorities had despised motherhood and privileged celibacy. Today, society has transformed motherhood from a badge of honor to a symbol of disgrace. Sure, Hallmark still sells plenty of Mother’s Day cards, but just as this celebration can be neatly scheduled on the calendar, so also motherhood must fit the schedule of one’s busy lifestyle, rather than vice versa. Our “pro-choice” world insists that true womanhood requires the ability to choose against motherhood. But if motherhood is to be a choice, shouldn’t it be God who does the choosing? After all, it is God who puts to death and brings to life (Deuteronomy 32:39), and it is God who opens and closes wombs (Genesis 29:31, 30:22)....

Luther understood that it was through marriage that God blesses all the institutions of the earth, and that it was through marital procreation that children should be born, and the church would prosper. If the devil were to destroy motherhood, he would achieve a great victory against the church. There would be fewer children being born, and fewer being raised in God’s Word..."

 from the article Celebrating Mother's Day, Luther-style, By Emil B. Huntington

Another Quote

"Christian childrearing is a pastoral pursuit, not an organizational challenge....

The more children you have, the more you need to be pastorally minded.  Look to each of 

their souls and their needs.  If you are focused on upkeep of the house and the schedule, 

as long as your child is not interrupting you, you don't worry about it. 

If you are being a parent who is pastorally minded, you will stop whatever it is 
you are doing to go see how your daughter is up in her bedroom....

Be a pastor to your children.  Study them.  Seek them out.  

Sacrifice the thing you were doing to work through minor emotional issues....

[W]hile your children are little, cultivate an attitude of sacrifice.  

Sacrifice your peace for their fun, your clean kitchen floor for their help cracking eggs, 

your quiet moment for their long retelling of a dream that a friend of theirs allegedly had.  

Prioritize your children far and away above the other work you need to get done.

They are the only part of the work that really matters."

from Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches, 

by Rachel Jankovic, pgs. 50, 51

Quote for the Day: "The 20 Minute Rule"

I tried this method the other day and it actually helped me get calmly through an episode involving three or four simultaneous "catastrophes" in my kitchen which could have easily sent me into an emotionally packed reactive outburst, but, this time it didn't. 

It's from Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches, by Rachel Jankovic -

"In that early and intense phase with the twins, I developed the 20 minute rule. 
If things started seeming really out-of-control, I would look at the clock and note the time. 

Then I would tell myself that in 20 minutes this would be over.

If I just kept my head down and did the work, 20 minutes was all I needed. 

And actually, it was true. 20 minutes is enough time (if you are moving quickly and not moping) 

to change three diapers and one complete outfit, spank one disobeyer, tuck two people into naps,

 and sit down to nurse the other two. The storm would have passed in 20 minutes if I was 

cheerfully getting things done. But that moment when you first discovered the blowout, and then 

the two-year-old hit the one-year-old (who is now having a naptime meltdown with a dirty diaper),
 and both of the babies were mad because we were in the car when they decided it was lunchtime, 

and now, thirty minutes later, you still haven't nursed them, but first you've got to change 

the whole outfit and maybe can't find the clothes...     well, that moment.  
What was it? A moment.  It passes.  But when it passes, you will be very 

glad if all you did was work right through it.  No self pity, no tears, no getting worked into a dither.

Look at the clock, look at the work you must do, and bear down. 
That super intensity will almost always be over in twenty minutes."

John Philip Falter
Mother’s Little Helpers (1953)

Potty Training Success or Not

My three year old isn't potty trained yet.   It must be because I haven't bought her this!

"Digital 2-in-1 iPotty with Activity Seat for iPad"

Beware of the Back Door Tactic

My sister-in-law found *this article* and I like how it exposes the subtlety of one tactic Satan uses aiming to separate and destroy relationships within the church.

Here's an excerpt -

"This is how it works! Satan gets another Christian to sin against us in deed or word. 

It pleases Satan if a person with spiritual significance or authority, such as a parent, pastor, 

spouse or leader in the Church sins against us. Their spiritual status, their office, magnifies 

their offense and intensifies the damage that it does. 

This is a kind of ritual abuse, the misuse of holy things against us.

After the offense has occurred, Satan gets us to brood over it, like a stuck track or a video loop, repeatedly and obsessively in our minds, with every greater emphasis on the gravity and 

injustice of it. As we process the offense and its effect on us, Satan gradually distorts our remembrance and our assessment of it. He uses this offense to encourage us to bring our mental accusations against the offender in the court of our minds. There he presides over the proceedings as we hold a secret trial in which we both prosecute and pass judgment on the wrongdoer...."

Has anyone else out there had Satan try to get in their "back door" with this method?
Well I have, and it is every bit as damaging and corrosive as the article points out. Exposing these tactics of our Enemy makes them lose their power as we become aware of their source, their goal, and the damage they are causing. We are in a spiritual war, we mothers at home.  Any evil thinking we allow in our own minds against any member of the body of Christ will be picked up by our children and will affect the state of the church, for we are all members of the church, one Body, present and future, and we always need to hear and speak words of conviction that help keep us clean, over and over.

...The Lord Added to Their Numbers

The church of God is growing!

Congratulations to Leah, one of the authors of this blog, on the birth of your son. 

Here is a prayer for their family as well as, all the homes blessed with new little ones.

"With joy and thanksgiving we praise You out of the fullness of our grateful hearts that you have gladdened our home and life with this newborn babe.

We know that this child is a gift of Your bountiful hand. Grant us grace and wisdom to bring up this precious soul in the knowledge and understanding of Your Word, which makes us wise unto salvation. Watch over him with Your tenderest care and continued grace until the day we bring this little one to the font of Holy Baptism.

As surely You will endow our child with faith and strengthen him in spirit, so too endow our child with a healthy body, and strengthen and preserve him according to Your good and gracious will.  Grant that our child may grow in favor with You and bring sunshine and joy into our hearts and our home.

Keep us all in Your grace, forgiving us daily our sins, and filling our souls with peace.  You are our hiding place. And now to You be the praise, glory, and thanksgiving, for this precious gift, this day and forever; through Jesus Christ, who is the Friend of children and the Savior of all. 

Amen"

Lutheran Book of Prayer

An Expectant Mother's Prayer

Seeing as I am going to have a baby sometime within the next week or so (hopefully soon!), I have a deep appreciation these days for written prayers that not only bring comfort to me in their reading, but also help supply me with better words than I could come up with to give utterance to the groanings of my spirit unto God at this time.

Even better than that is the tremendous comfort of knowing that the Spirit intercedes for me with groanings which cannot be uttered.

But since uttering is good too, here's a prayer that's perfect for me right now -

"Oh great God and Father of all who call upon you, magnificent are Your works;

 I glorify Your holy name. You are my helper; complete what you have begun in me, 
and keep this child safe from all harm, and daily bestow on us health and strength. 
Guide me through Your Spirit, and let me be constantly mindful of 
my privilege and my responsibility as a mother. 

At all times let me place my trust in You and Your fatherly care, 
knowing that from generation to generation your mercy is upon those who lean upon you. 
I commit both my child and myself to your mercy and goodness. 
Relying on Jesus, my dear Redeemer, I pray, give me calmness, patience, and quiet happiness, 
and make me, in good time, a joyous mother of a happy child.
 In Jesus name, Amen."

from the Lutheran Book of Prayer