I have been listening to Lorrie Flem’s audio Colorado Power Pack bundle. This bundle includes eight hours of godly wisdom for wives and mothers. I have not had the opportunity to listen to all eight hours due to some Internet connection complications we have been experiencing in our home (if you have read many of past blog posts or follow me on twitter I am sure you are already well aware of my frustrations with my Internet, but anyway…) however, those that I have been able to download and listen to have been very beneficial to my heart, mind, and soul.
I listened to a Queen and Her Castle at just the right time (God has a way with timing doesn’t He). I listened to Lorrie as she shared about how my home is the greatest sphere of influence that I will ever have for the Kingdom of God. I am a woman who is very involved in the ministry of the church. Today I am the Children’s Ministry Director. Before that I taught Precept, and I led Children’s Church, and taught Sunday School. I have served in the children’s department, the youth, the college and career and the women’s ministry. I also am involved with special ministries outside and inside our church that minister to the body of Christ in our community.
These are all very important to me and I believe that I have been called by God to serve in every area that I have ever served in. However, none of these should come before my service to my husband and my children. I am first a wife and mother. As you can see from the list above, these ministries have changed. God moves me here and then there, but my husband and my children are the same. They remain. They are who will be with me through what ever life throws at me. Therefore they should hold priority.
Lorrie is very clear in presenting this truth. She also is very clear in making a valid point that as I hold my husband and children and home in their proper priority place I should do so with an attitude that reflects that this is done so because I love them and count it all joy to be able to love them. I should never resent or have an unseemly attitude towards the ministry that God has given me as a wife and a mother.
The world wants me, as a woman, to forsake anything or anyone that gets in my way of succeeding in modern society’s idea of clout and prestige. How foolish would I be to believe that a moment in the spotlight would be worth forsaking the ones that I love more than life itself. Even if that spotlight is a “Christian” spotlight.
The God ordained ministry that God has given me first and foremost is wife and mother and I am not to look at this calling as though it were “baggage”. I am not “trapped” by my husband and children. Being a wife and mother is not something that is holding me back from being all that I can be.
Even by those in the church we hear over and over again how being a wife and mother is a drain on your womanhood and your life. We gasp when someone marries young or has children early in their marriage and we act as though they have just put a bullet in their head and committed ambition suicide. It’s truly insane and backwards. I dare say on the very brink of a reprobate mind.
I can receive no greater honor than to know that my husband and children are loved well by me.
An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good not evil all the days of her life….
Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her…
Proverbs 31:10-12, 28
I loved how Lorrie points out that the Proverbs 31 woman was not described by a man. This passage of Scripture, this wealth of wisdom, was given by a woman, a mother, taught to her son, as she shared with him the kind of woman he should seek as a wife.
Dear mother, never ever lose sight of the impact that you have on the very foundations of society. Wife, never lose sight of the impact that you can have on the soul of your husband as you choose to lay down your life for him. Not because you have to. Not because he deserves it. Not because it looks good on Sunday… choose to lay it down because Christ chose to lay His down for you.
Your marriage and children, your ministry in your home, should always come first. However, I do disagree with those who believe that if the marriage and home is struggling then you should drop all ministry work and focus on the marriage and family. I believe this makes marriage an idol. I also believe it takes a person away from the accountability of knowing that others are depending on the success of this family. We must remember that marriage is not about having our own personal needs met. God uses our marriage, our family, to impact the lives of others, and the eyes of those others are always on us, and I think that’s a good thing. We make better choices when we remember that others are watching us.
I also believe that stepping completely away from ministry can cause even greater resentment towards one another and could end up pulling your entire family out of the safety of the assembly. It is possible to re-prioritize without forsaking what God has called you to do. This is when it is time to share your struggle with those who can help you continue to fight the good fight of faith. Many times we need outside eyes to see things in the correct light.
So if you are needing encouragement in the area of marriage, motherhood, and/or ministry… then I recommend this bundle to you.
I write this as a Gabby Mom, for Eternal Encouragement magazine, having received this Colorado Power Pack for an honest review. I also write this because I was blessed by the teaching this bundle holds.
You have an opportunity to receive your own free bundle. Just follow this link, Encouragement: Colorado Power Pack, and fill out the form.
