I don’t remember the last time, if any, I teared up reading a blog post. Thanks to my amazing husband for sharing this with me. It’s just what I need right now. Here it is:

Motherhood as a Mission Field

via Desiring God Blog by Rachel Jankovic on 6/16/11

 

There is a good old saying, perhaps only said by my Grandfather, that distance adds intrigue. It is certainly true — just think back to anything that has ever been distant from you that is now near. Your driver’s license. Marriage. Children. Things that used to seem so fascinating, but as they draw near become less mystical and more, well, real.

This same principle certainly applies to mission fields too. The closer you get to home, the less intriguing the work of sacrifice seems. As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.

Home: The Headwaters of Mission

If you are a Christian woman who loves the Lord, the gospel is important to you. It is easy to become discouraged, thinking that the work you are doing does not matter much. If you were really doing something for Christ you would be out there, somewhere else, doing it. Even if you have a great perspective on your role in the kingdom, it is easy to lose sight of it in the mismatched socks, in the morning sickness, in the dirty dishes. It is easy to confuse intrigue with value, and begin viewing yourself as the least valuable part of the Church.

There are a number of ways in which mothers need to study their own roles, and begin to see them, not as boring and inconsequential, but as home, the headwaters of missions.

At the very heart of the gospel is sacrifice, and there is perhaps no occupation in the world so intrinsically sacrificial as motherhood. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live the gospel. Jim Elliot famously said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Motherhood provides you with an opportunity to lay down the things that you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field.

Faith Makes the Small Offering Great

If you are like me, then you may be thinking “What did I ever give up for them? A desk job? Time at the gym? Extra spending money? My twenty- year- old figure? Some sleep?” Doesn’t seem like much when you put it next to the work of some of the great missionaries, people who gave their lives for the gospel.

Think about the feeding of the five thousand when the disciples went out and rounded up the food that was available. It wasn’t much. Some loaves. Some fish. Think of some woman pulling her fish out and handing it to one of the disciples. That had to have felt like a small offering. But the important thing about those loaves and those fishes was not how big they were when they were given, it was about whose hands they were given into. In the hands of the Lord, that offering was sufficient. It was more than sufficient. There were leftovers. Given in faith, even a small offering becomes great.

Look at your children in faith, and see how many people will be ministered to by your ministering to them. How many people will your children know in their lives? How many grandchildren are represented in the faces around your table now?

Gain What You Cannot Lose in Them

So, if mothers are strategically situated to impact missions so greatly, why do we see so little coming from it?  I think the answer to this is quite simple: sin. Discontent, pettiness, selfishness, resentment. Christians often feel like the right thing to do is to be ashamed about what we have. We hear that quote of Jim Elliot’s and think that we ought to sell our homes and move to some place where they need the gospel.

But I’d like to challenge you to look at it differently. Giving up what you cannot keep does not mean giving up your home, or your job so you can go serve somewhere else. It is giving up yourself. Lay yourself down. Sacrifice yourself here, now. Cheerfully wipe the nose for the fiftieth time today. Make dinner again for the people who don’t like the green beans. Laugh when your plans are thwarted by a vomiting child. Lay yourself down for the people here with you, the people who annoy you, the people who get in your way, the people who take up so much of your time that you can’t read anymore. Rejoice in them. Sacrifice for them. Gain that which you cannot lose in them.

It is easy to think you have a heart for orphans on the other side of the world, but if you spend your time at home resenting the imposition your children are on you, you do not. You cannot have a heart for the gospel and a fussiness about your life at the same time. You will never make any difference there if you cannot be at peace here. You cannot have a heart for missions, but not for the people around you. A true love of the gospel overflows and overpowers. It will be in everything you do, however drab, however simple, however repetitive.

God loves the little offerings. Given in faith, that plate of PB&J’s will feed thousands. Given in faith, those presents on Christmas morning will bring delight to more children than you can count. Offered with thankfulness, your work at home is only the beginning. Your laundry pile, selflessly tackled daily, will be used in the hands of God to clothe many. Do not think that your work does not matter. In God’s hands, it will be broken, and broken, and broken again, until all who have need of it have eaten and are satisfied. And even then, there will be leftovers.

Rachel Jankovic is a wife, homemaker, and mother. She is the author of “Loving the Little Years” and blogs at Femina. Her husband is Luke, and they have five children: Evangeline (5), Daphne (4), Chloe (2), Titus (2), and Blaire (5 months).

another Valley of Vision prayer:

“GOD OF THE PASSING HOUR, Another week has gone and I have been preserved in my going out, in my coming in.

Thine has been the vigilance that has turned threatened evils aside; Thine the supplies that have nourished me; Thine the comforts that have indulged me; Thine the relations and friends that have delighted me; Thine the means of grace which have edified me;

Thine the Book, which, amidst all my enjoyments, has told me that this is not my rest, that in all successes one thing alone is needful, to love my Savior.

Nothing can equal the number of thy mercies but my imperfections and sins. These, O God, I will neither conceal nor palliate (lessen the gravity of offense by excuse, apology, etc), but confess with a broken heart.

In what condition would secret reviews of my life leave me were it not for the assurance that with thee there is plenteous redemption, that thou art a forgiving God, that thou mayest be feared!

While I hope for pardon through the blood of the cross, I pray to be clothed with humility, to be quickened in thy way, to be more devoted to thee,

to keep the end of my life in view,to be cured of folly of delay and indecision, to know how frail I am, to number my days and apply my heart unto wisdom.”

 

Amen! I pray that you have an amazing day gathering together tomorrow as a local expression of God’s glorious church. I am learning how precious and vital church is; not just Sunday mornings, but through the rest of the week as well. May we all seek to worship and praise God unashamed tomorrow, and seek to carry that throughout the week by the power of the Holy Spirit.

from the Valley of Vision prayers:

“O God, the Author of all good,

I come to thee for the grace another day will require for its duties and events. I step out into a wicked world, I carry about with me an evil heart, I know that without thee I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by thy power.

Hold thou me up and I shall be safe. Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error, my affections from love of idols, my character from stain of vice, my profession from every form of evil.

May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore thy blessing, and in which I cannot invite thy inspection.

Prosper me in all lawful undertakings, or prepare me for disappointments;

Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny thee and say, Who is the Lord? or poor, and steal, and take thy name in vain.

May every creature be made good to me by prayer and thy will; teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,

To improve my talents, to redeem my time, to walk in wisdom toward those without, and in kindness to those within, to do good to all men, and especially to my fellow Christians.

And to thee be the glory.”

Amen

This is a poem from the Puritan book of prayers called the “Valley of Vision.” more to come in the next few days…

“My Father, If Thy mercy had bounds, where would be my refuge from just wrath? But Thy love in Christ is without measure.

Thus, I present myself to Thee with sins of commission and omission, against Thee, my Father, against Thee, adorable Redeemer, against The and Thy strivings,O Holy Spirit,

against the dictations of my conscience, against the precepts of Thy Word, against my neighbors and myself. Enter not into judgement with me,

For I plead no righteousness of my own, and have no cloak for iniquity. Pardon my day dark with evil. This night I renew my penitence.

Every morning I vow to love Thee more fervently, to serve The more sincerely, to be more devoted in my life, to be wholly Thine;

Yet I soon stumble, backslide, and have to confess my weakness, misery and sin.

But I bless Thee that the finished work of Jesus needs no addition from my doings, that His oblation (offering of His body and blood) is sufficient satisfaction for my sins.

If future days be mine, help me to amend my life, to hate and abhor evil, to flee the sins I confess.

Make me more resolute, more watchful, more prayerful. Let no evil fruit spring from evil seeds my hands have sown;

Let no neighbor be hardened in vanity and folly by my want of circumspection (acting cautiously).

If this day I have been ashamed of Christ and His Word, or have shown unkindness, malice, envy, lack of love, unadvised speech, hasty temper, let it be no stumbling block to others, or dishonor to Thy name.

O help me to set an upright example that will ever rebuke vice, allure to goodness, and evidence that lovely are the ways of Christ!”

Madison: “Some more, some more…”

Me: “You want more snow, Maddie?”

Madison: “Pease.”

Me: “I’m not in charge of the snow. God makes the snow. Do you want to pray to God for more snow?”

Madison: “Pease.”

So here I was, praying with a little two-year-old girl. I said God, if it be your will, please give us more snow. Maddie would really like some more snow. In Jesus’ name, amen. We had this same conversation and prayer for a few days running. Even on the day it was 55 degrees, Maddie was playing outside and walked over to the small trace of snow left on the ground and said, “Some some, some more, pease.” I kept telling her that God was getting things ready for springtime and that we probably wouldn’t get any more snow this year.

It was so awesome to get Madison up from her nap today and show her the snow falling and accumulating on the ground! She stared out the window as I whispered in her ear, “You prayed to God for more snow, and he gave it to you. Thank you, God!”

What a simple prayer. It’s not like she would be devastated if it didn’t snow again. I was actually counting on it NOT snowing again. I could have just said, “We’ll see” instead of leading her to pray and ask God. What a gift. I wonder if in that moment Madison gave any thought to the power of her prayer in faith, or if she thanked God in her precious little heart. I wonder what she was thinking. I know I was so thankful to share that with her. And I thanked God.

Ok, I’ve been contemplating on just retiring from my short-lived blogging experience, but this article that I’m reading is intensely good. I want to share a snip-it that is rocking my brain (aka causing me to ponder)! It is an article by Edward Welch titled, “Who Are We? Needs, Longings, and the Image of God in Man.” The following is on page 3 of the article and I’ve stopped there to blog, so I may write more later as I get reading some more. A little context – Welch is writing about a brief history of psychological needs and where that idea grew from. He is talking about the intersection of psychological and spiritual needs in our churches today. It’s a long quote, but please, bear with me because it’s great...

“The Christian community walks right in step with the secular theorists up to this point, but then it adds a significant twist to the secular, Maslovian view of needs. The popular, evangelical view, like secular view, is that problems arise out of unmet needs. However, the way these needs are satisfied is uniquely evangelical. Instead of looking for relational needs to be met solely in another relationship or some type of autonomous self-love, Christian theorists suggest that we can have these needs met in Christ. Christ offers unconditional love and a sense of a personal significance; Christ meets out need for companionship, encouragement, and comfort.

At first, this has a plausible ring to it. Christ is a friend; God is a loving Father; Christians do experience a sense of meaningfulness and trust in knowing God’s love. It makes Christ the answer to our problems. Yet since these needs remain unsupported biblically, we should pause to consider whether there may be a different biblical interpretation of emptiness. The experience is real, but embedding it in constitutional, psychological needs may be wrong.

Notice, for example, some of the fruit of this psychological-evangelical model. It essentially creates two different gospels: one for spiritual needs and one for psychological needs. The good news for spiritual needs is that our sins are forgiven, we are adopted as children of God through faith, and we are given eternal life. The good news for psychological needs is that Christ fills us with identity, significance, personal respect, and self-worth. He makes us feel good about ourselves. But is that really the gospel? Doesn’t the gospel, in a very real sense, obliterate our preoccupation with ourselves, equipping us to be preoccupied with loving God and others? Is it possible that looking for self-worth or significance is a fundamentally misguided goal? Should we be asking other questions such as, ‘Why am I so interested in me?’ “

 

thoughts, anyone?……

I just started reading “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elizabeth Elliot. I would like to encourage you with some quotes and thoughts from what I’ve read so far. I’m sure there will be plenty more to come from this book…

“Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup, and have made my lot secure” (Psalm 16:5)

I know of no greater simplifier for all of life. Whatever happens is assigned…Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good… A quiet heart is content with what God gives. It is enough. All is grace… My assignment entails my willing acceptance of my portion… It depends on our willingness to see everything in God, receiving all from His hand, accept with gratitude just the portion and cup He offers. Shall I charge Him with a mistake in His measurements or with misjudging the sphere in which I can best learn to trust Him? Has He misplaced me? Is He ignorant of things or people which, in my view, hinder my doing His will… The secret is CHRIST in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

“He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, gives unto each day what He deems best. Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.” ~Lina Sandell

 

I pray that we all can be calmed and reassured by the One who unmistakably assigns our portions in life for our good and for His glory. Let us press on to know the One who alone is worthy of our trust. Let us be reminded in the every day trials and “hindrances” that it is all part of our sovereign Lord’s will to make us more like Him and to draw us to Himself. He is the end to which we live and move and have our being. Shame on us for asking those questions about our portion to the God of heaven! Our Maker, Creator, Sustainer, Almighty Lord, King of Kings, Everlasting One, Abba Father, Helper…  Let’s approach the throne of grace and seek forgiveness for all the times we question His will in and around us.  He will give us a quiet heart in the midst of tempest if we trust Him.  From Him, to Him, and through Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen! (Romans 11:39)

Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward… Psalm 127:3

It’s easy to shout “Amen!” to this passage when the kids are both sleeping, playing, laughing, and snuggling up with mommy and daddy (that’s my personal fav).  It’s much more difficult to feel “rewarded” at 4:30 in the morning when our daughter decides to wake up or when she is throwing a fit about something. It’s hard to see the blessing when our newborn son doesn’t want to go to sleep until almost midnight. There are many more sleepless nights and tantrums to come I’m sure, and I’m sure there will be plenty more laughs and snuggles down the road, too. In all these things, I must cling to Christ as my ever constant source of hope and strength. I cannot just listen to myself when I get discouraged about those child-rearing days that seem hopeless or go un-noticed by other people. I need to talk truth to myself and be continually transformed by the renewing of my mind through the Word of God. As sinful as I am and as much as I am fighting against the world, Satan, and my own flesh, I need to constantly be reminded of the sovereignty of God. I need to be reminded of who He is: that He is faithful, trustworthy, and He is steadfast in keeping his promises laid out in scripture. I need to live out these truths in hope. My children are a blessing and they are a reward. I will train them up in the way they should go, trusting and praying that they will not depart from it when they get older. Little by little, day by day, especially in the days where I feel inadequate or discouraged. I must take heart, knowing how much God loves me and my children. My reward in this life is great (my children) and my reward in heaven is greater still (kept there, unfading and undefiled!).  I need to remember that these rewards don’t come to me because I deserve them or worked for them (as most rewards given reflect). I am rewarded because Christ’s work on the cross was imputed to me. I need to live in thankfulness for such grace!

Happy birthday (yesterday) to my wonderful husband. You are the best friend I’ll ever know. Your desire for God encourages and challenges me. Thank you for being the spiritual and physical provider and protector of our family. I couldn’t have imagined anyone else to help and stand by the rest of my life. God’s plan to bring us together as one is truly a blessing to me. Thank you. And to God be the glory for all that you are and will become. I am by your side always*

“Every single thing that happens to us expresses God’s love to us, and comes to us for the furthering of God’s purpose for us. Thus, so far as we are concerned, God is love to us–holy, omnipotent love–at every moment and in every event of every day’s life. Even when we cannot see the why and the wherefore of God’s dealings, we know that there is love in and behind them, and so we can rejoice always, even when, humanly speaking, things are going wrong. We know that the true story of our life, when known, will prove to be, as the hymn says, “mercy from first to last” — and we are content.”

J.I. Packer, Knowing God p. 123

Let us press on to know Him, yes, let us press on to know our Lord…