How to Better Incorporate God into My Life and My Childrens

I feel like this is something I deal with everyday. I want to stay in God's word and be an example to my children. Then I turn around and sin. But, we will still sin even though we are in God's word. The difference is our sins are forgiven.

God has really worked in my life as far as holding a grudge and getting angry with others. Let me tell you, I could hold a grudge like none other. Once you did something to make me mad, hurt my feelings, etc., I could completely harden my heart against you with the snap of a finger. My mother-in-law caused all kinds of problems around here. It was a really hard time for us. God worked on me and I've come to realize that no matter what her actions, I needed to respond in a Christian way. That doesn't mean I can be walked over. But, I can politely put her in her place : ) My feelings for her used to control me and just made me an angry person. It was affecting my walk with God and things she did would just eat at me. Why should I let her put me through that? I started prayign for her and gosh, I even found myself being nice to her!!! In fact, she recently went through some cancer and I put together a caring bridge site. She cried and said it was the nicest thing anybody has even done for her. Let me tell you, this is all God working in our lives because I never would have believed that I would do something nice for her.

One way I have found to stay in God's word is to do Bible studies everyday. I can't just go to church a couple of times a week and really stay in His word. You should check out Beth Moore's Bible studies. A lot of churches do them with the women. Ours doesn't. So I just do the workbooks on my own. I get up before the kids do and it takes about 30 minutes. That 30 minutes makes such a big difference in my day. When I skip a few days, I can see a difference. At your children's ages, I would read Bible stories to them. Get them into Veggie Tales or other Christian movies. Pray with your kids. When my daughter was 2 1/2, she had a bad case of bronchitis. After going into a coughing fit, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, let's pray." AH HA! I knew she had it.

As far as staying home with your kids, pray and pray about it. If it's something you really want to do, God will provide the way. When I quit working to stay home, we cut back a lot. On paper, we should not have been able to make it. God provided and I've been able to stay home the whole time and I'm homeschooling now. We did it all through prayer.

L.

I think that everything has been said by others. I just want to tell you not to be so hard on yourself. Becoming a Christian changes your desires....you recognize sin and desire not to sin, and repent when you do. Notice I did not say that you do not sin. Don't expect yourself to be perfect. God is still working on us all. I admire your desire to make your children's lives better. That is what ultimately brought me to God 12 years ago. My girls are teens and involved in church and their youth group, and have been involved in church since my youngest was 1 and my oldest 3. They still have the same pressures in life to deal with, and there is no guarantee that they will not make mistakes. It is really hard to live in this world as a teen. I pray every day that they will not succomb to the pressures of this world. They know that they have someone to turn to when the pressure gets to much (Jesus Christ). I just hope and pray that they always call upon Him. I wish you the best in your endeavors and consider your children blessed to call you mom.

Hello B., I completely agree with Theresa about this; is best discussed in person or over the phone. You can e-mail me as well or I can always call you on the weekend.
I know that you are putting on God's face just by trying to be the besty mommy and person you know how to be. It is natural to want to be home. I think God put it in our hearts to be with our children. With my first son, I worked until he was three. God knew how much I wanted to be a SAHM. God has made that possible after three years, but HE had to make some changes with my husband's job and so forth. My husband is in a line of work that he never thought he would be doing. Anyways, this was not the main topic.
As a person who has given her life to the Lord, you must surround yourself with godly fellowship. Other moms in your situation would be good for you. I am sorry but my children need me. I thought I would be able to write in more detail. I would be happy to encourage you more. Please contact me. i have been in your situation and I have friends that deal with working, teaching our children the Word of God, and more. I am sorry that I could not write more, but I am sure you understand. A.

B.,

It is awesome that you want to make God a part of yours and your childrens lives!!! Your right it isnt easy to stay on a straight path, but through prayer you can ask God to give you the strength to do His will. In addition it is very easy to add God into you childrens lives. Go to church, read them Bible stories, pray with them before they go to bed at night, say blessings at the table, and the list goes on. Be very open with your children. When teaching my children to clap I tell the to "clap for Jesus" and when getting them to raise their arms over their heads to change their clothes I say "praise the Lord". But above all you can teach them by example. They learn best by watching you if you follow in Gods path then they will as well. Going to church will be of great importance there you will get the support you need to follow in His path and during service you can take the kids to sunday school and they will help you in teach your kids about our Lord. About staying home with your kids just pray about it. I was a single mom for about 3yrs I longed to be home with my daughter but wasnt able to between school and work I hardly ever saw her. But them God brought a wonderful man into my life, at first i still had to work but about 1 1/2yrs ago He opened a window in our lives that has allowed me to stay home with my girls. Remember God has a reason for everything and in time maybe your husband will get a promotion or a new job that allows you to stay at home. Pray, pray, pray. Trust that God will provide. He always has for us. GOD IS GOOD!!.
God bless and good luck.

A.

Hi B.,

It is wonderful to hear that you are seeking to live a Christian life and share that with your children. I am a grandmother of 7 (3 girls/4 boys)and mother of 2 sons. Right now I have guardianship of my almost 4-yr-old granddaughter - and just when I thought I could relax!

My "free advice" is to find a church where you feel welcome and where God's word and the Bible are taught. Attend church regularly and be sure to get your little ones involved. A church that has "home groups" is always a good place since you will meet other families more quickly.

There is also nothing like spending quality time with your children, however you cannot spend every waking, breathing minute with them. Take time for your marriage too.

It may not be possible for you to be a "stay-at-home" mom at this time, but remember, as long as you are on a schedule with your little ones, and they know what to expect from you and their daddy, they will flourish in their environment. When you add the spiritual ingredient, you cannot fail! Life is difficult, but God is faithful and loving. God will give you all the strength that you need to raise your children in a Godly way as long as you diligently seek Him and pray.

Many times I have wished for things or situations in my own life to be "better" or like someone else's life, but I am truly thankful that my life went as it did. I have learned a lot over the years. The most important thing I have learned is that my God is bigger than any situation in my life and He is faithful.

Your responsiblity as a mom is one of the most important things you will EVER do in your life - just remember that it doesn't matter if you cannot do it as a "SAHM", it only matters that you do it with the love that God has given you for those precious little ones.

I wish you the best and pray that you find just exactly the church and young Christian families that will be a wonderful support group for you and your family.

In Christ,
D.

PS: Finding time to share God with your children is easy. Just teach them to pray with you at mealtimes, teach them to pray with you at their bedtimes. Read them little Bible stories. Remind them daily that God loves them. Talk about God's love to them often so that they develop their own relationship with Him. Let them know that God is a loving God by showing them through your actions toward them. Take them to church and Sunday School (very important). Pray with them often about many things, if they get hurt, if they are facing a problem, etc. Your actions as a Christian mom will speak volumes to them.

DEar B.,

If I wrote everything I had to say, it would take me hours. So please give me a call so we can talk. Hopefully I can help you. ###-###-#### L.. Call me any time.

You can't expect to never sin. Getting jealous about not being able to stay home and being angry when someone says something mean about your children are not things that you can expect to never happen. God knows that these things are probably the hardest things not to do. Of course, being in the Word daily is going to help you stay strong against sin. I'm assuming you go to church? Surrounding yourself with Godly people will also help with this. One way that we are starting to encorporate God into my daughter's life is to have her fold her hands and pray before meals (she's 19 months old). You sound like you're doing a wonderful job with your children. Keep up the good work.