Category: Family

The Power of Surrender: Trusting Your Capacity as a Mom to Jesus

Hey there, moms!

Being a mom is hard, isn’t it? You’ve got a million things to do, and it feels like you’re always running on fumes. Some days it feels like you’re just not cut out for this mom thing, and that can be really discouraging.

May I tell you something? The best thing you can do for your kids is love Jesus well and trust your value, identity, purpose, and capacity to be a mom into His hands. I know, it might sound cheesy or cliche, but stick with me here.

First of all, when you love Jesus well, you’re tapping into a source of love and strength that goes beyond anything you could muster up on your own. Jesus loves you fiercely, and when you’re connected to Him, that love overflows into every area of your life. That includes your role as a mom. You’ll find yourself more patient, more kind, and more forgiving. You’ll be able to offer your kids the same grace and mercy that Jesus offers you.

And when it comes to trusting your value, identity, purpose, and capacity as a mom to Jesus, it’s all about letting go of the pressure to be perfect. We live in a culture that tells us we need to have it all together, all the time. But that’s just not realistic. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to have days where you feel like you’re failing. But when you trust that Jesus sees you as valuable, no matter what, it takes the pressure off. You can rest in the knowledge that you don’t have to earn your worth – it’s already been given to you.

Same goes for your identity. Being a mom is a huge part of who you are, but it’s not the only thing that defines you. When you trust Jesus with your identity, you can lean into the other parts of yourself that make you unique and interesting. You can pursue hobbies or passions that bring you joy, knowing that those things are a reflection of the creativity and beauty that God has put inside of you.

As for purpose, it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of motherhood and wonder if you’re really making a difference. But when you trust Jesus with your purpose, you can rest in the knowledge that He has a plan for your life – and that includes your role as a mom. Even the small things you do, like reading a book with your child or playing a game together, can have a huge impact on their lives.

Finally, when you trust Jesus with your capacity as a mom, you’re acknowledging that you can’t do it all on your own. And that’s okay! God has given you the strength and ability to be a mom, but He doesn’t expect you to do it perfectly. When you surrender your limitations to Him, you’ll find that He is able to do more through you than you ever thought possible.

So, moms, take heart. You don’t have to be perfect to be a good mom. Just love Jesus well, and trust that He’s got you and your kids in the palm of His hand. And who knows? Maybe by doing so, you’ll be able to show your kids a little bit of Jesus’ love along the way.

P.S. Thank you, Mom for trusting Jesus well and trusting your value, identity, purpose, and capacity to be a mom into His hands.

P.P.S. Thank you, Lauren for trusting Jesus with your purpose. Resting in the knowledge that He has a plan for your life, including your role as a mom. Even the small things that you do, like reading a book with our 4 (sometimes more) kids or playing a game with them, can have a huge impact on their lives.

Fatherhood. A Letter To My Children

To my children: Leland, Lindley, Lincoln, and Lloris. I pray you walk with Christ, and if in God’s providence He should give you children of your own, you raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. That is far and away the greatest joy a father can experience.

No duty in my life is more important or more sacred than my role as a husband and Father. That is where my true character is most accurately seen, and it is the best single gauge of my overall success or failure as a leader and role model. Everything else I do as a business analyst, healthcare IT professional, softball/baseball coach, and bible study leader, would be severely compromised if I failed to lead my own family properly. In fact, this is one of the key tests of whether any man is fit to lead the church, because “if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Timothy 3:51). Conversely, if a man cultivates grace, godliness, and the mind of Christ in his home life, the fruit of the Spirit will naturally be seen in abundance throughout every facet of his life – his performance in the workplace, all his relationships, and his conduct in the world.

Furthermore, because home is where a person’s true temperament is most clearly on display, no one knows the real character of a man better than his own children. They see with a keener clarity than most dads realize. If a man’s public persona is merely a hypocritical veneer that disappears in the privacy of the home, the kids will be the first to see that. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine anything more destructive to a child’s moral and spiritual development. An ungodly, hypocritical, or indifferent dad is not only a constant, full=time negative role model; his influence also breeds cynicism, unbelief, discouragement, resentment, and a whole new generation of hypocrisy in his own children. Thus “the iniquity of the fathers [is visited] on the children to the third and fourth generations” (Numbers 14:182; cf, Exodus 20:53; 34:74).

On the positive side, however, no one can have a more potent or longer-lasting influence for good in a child’s life than a spiritually strong father. Bringing our children up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:45) is not only a duty; it is also a great privilege, for “a wise son makes a father glad” (Proverbs 10:16; 15:207). There is no greater joy in life than to see one’s own children walking in the truth (cf. 3 John 48). In other words, nothing is a more worthy investment of any father’s time and energy than this: Be a godly leader in your own home. The returns you will reap include eternal riches of inestimable value, and the earthly rewards alone are sweeter and more valuable than any amount of material wealth.

I trust these words, will be a help and encouragement to you as you pursue that goal. I have purposefully kept it brief, simple, and focused. That is, after all, in keeping with the biblical instructions for fathers. Fatherhood is, of course, a prominent theme from Genesis to Revelation, and principles of parenting are scattered throughout. But glean and organize all of them together and what you will discover is that the Bible’s guidelines for fathers are few and simple. Unlike many of today’s parenting manuals, Scripture doesn’t treat parenting as an arcane or bewildering conundrum. The Father’s duties are straightforward and fairly basic. What makes fatherhood seem difficult are our own inconsistencies and weaknesses. That’s because parenting is first and foremost a spiritual task – one in which personal righteousness, self-control, and the mortification of our own flesh are all necessary prerequisites to proper discipline and instruction of our children. In short, the only way to be a dad who leads well is to be a dad who lives well.

May God bless you and empower you in your pursuit of that goal.

  1. but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God? (New American Standard Bible 1995, 1 Timothy 3:5)
  2. ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ (New American Standard Bible 1995, Numbers 14:18)
  3. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, (New American Standard Bible 1995, Exodus 20:5)
  4. who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (New American Standard Bible 1995, Exodus 34:7)
  5. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (New American Standard Bible 1995, Ephesians 6:4)
  6. The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother. (New American Standard Bible 1995, Proverbs 10:1)
  7. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother. (New American Standard Bible 1995, Proverbs 15:20)
  8. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. (New American Standard Bible 1995, 3 John 4)