Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. Psalm 127:3-5(NLT)
In today’s culture, when someone asks “What do you do?”, we tend to respond with “Oh, I’m just a stay at home mom”. If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t any trophies being handed out for staying home with our kids, wiping snotty noses or changing dirty diapers. When God called me to homeschool last year I wanted to stick both fingers in my ears and scream “I can’t hear you!” But the Lord kept speaking to my heart about being present at home and serving my family well before he releases me to minister to the world. It’s not that we can’t minister outside the home if we are a stay at home mom, but instead that our home and family gets the FIRST of us, not the leftovers.
If you have been following my blog for long, you know that I love to write about faith, family and fitness. I began to do First Fruit Friday’s where I share a devotional and/or workout to encourage you in your walk with the Lord and your physical health(in that order #faiththenfitness).
A few days ago I set out with a mission of recording a few fun drumstick songs that I could share with you to do at home. My kids love to workout with us and asked if they could join me. I said yes and away we went recording the video. I immediately noticed “whoa, we are way off.”. We were so off the beat that I began to forget the choreography we had planned and for a brief moment I was frustrated. I was frustrated that it seems every time I have a dream or a plan to do something my kids get in the way and “throw off my beat”. I know this is a lie but I believe it’s something all of us moms struggle with on a daily basis. We are torn because we know we are called to be at home for a season yet we still have really big, God sized dreams. In this struggle it is tempting for bitterness and anger to arise. Wondering when we will get our time to shine. When we will have the time for “me” again? I call this “stinking thinking”. It’s stinky because it’s simply not the truth. The truth is that the work we are doing now IS kingdom work that will last for generations to come. You ARE making an impact.
I recently read a devotional that reminded me that as parents we are the only ones who can sharpen our arrows(our children). So whether you are a full-time stay at home parent OR a working one, you are sharpening your arrows on a daily basis. We must be intentional with this time with our children and teach them the ways they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it(Proverbs 22:6).
For today’s First Fruit Friday, I challenge you to this:
- FAITH: Ask God how he wants you to sharpen your arrows. How can you teach your children spiritual principles? God will show you something unique to your family that your kids will cherish forever. I can still remember things my parents did with me and my siblings as kids where seeds were planted and they have blossomed in my life 20 years later. Those seeds are powerful. Plant them.
- FITNESS: Invite your kids on your health and fitness journey. I get asked often how we got our kids to eat so healthy & how we get them to exercise. The very simple answer: we do it with them! We eat healthy, we offer healthy options and we exercise and invite them in to our space. Remember that awkward video I told you about recording? Here it is for your viewing pleasure. I called it “Fun Family Fusion” because it turned into drumsticks and kickboxing and whole bunch of laughter. Give it a try with your kids, I promise they will love it!
Praying blessings over everyone who is reading this!
Xoxo,
Rachael
Rachael, I love your heart for motherhood! One of the greatest blessings and missions for me was to be a stay-at-home mom. Bless you as you pour into your children. They are such a gift from God! I’m so happy to have you sharing your heart and message at Fresh Market Friday!!