teaching toddlers theology :: day 3 are we off the hook?

In the time that I've been a mom, I've heard some godly writers, preachers and the like basically give young moms a free pass from having a daily time with the Lord, because of the constant demands and lack of time that we have. While its tempting to agree and appreciate feeling off-the-hook, I realize how wrong that kind of thinking is! Here are three reasons why I believe we as moms should never allow someone to convince us that we're off-the-hook:

First of all, as a mom, how much MORE do I need the Word of God and that quiet time with Him than I ever have? Certainly now more than ever! Because I am constantly pouring myself out physically, mentally, emotionally, etc all day, I'm usually not getting a whole lot in return. I NEED the Lord! His comfort, strength, grace, wisdom, love, peace, presence... are all what I need throughout everyday! I get that from spending time in the Word, and keeping my heart and mind in a state of prayerfulness throughout my day! God provides what no other human can, and he wants to have relationships with us, even while we are mothering in the little years!

Second, if we are not filling ourselves up spiritually, what do we draw from when it comes to investing spiritually in our kids? If we maintain our relationship with the Lord, and continue to grow in him and spend time in His Word, our "cup" should be so full that any extras overflow onto our kids! We need to have enough in our hearts and minds, so that we have something to give our kids! How can we have anything to give or teach our precious children, if we have nothing (or very little) spiritual going on in our hearts?

Third, I don't know about you, but I always seem to have time to blog, or get on Facebook, or respond to that email... No matter how crazy busy our lives are, we all make time to do the things we really want to do, stay at home mom or not. We need to keep evaluating how we spend our time, and be sure that there aren't "time-suckers" that are taking time away from more important things, like our time with the Lord!

Of course, I'm not going to say this is easy! As a mom, yes, it IS difficult to find that time everyday to spend in the Word and in prayer! Many days we don't get very many quiet moments, and when they do come, we have other ways we'd like to spend them. It just means that we must be purposeful in this area of our lives. We have to plan time with the Lord into our day.

I've been trying to put some things in place in my life so that I keep my time with the Lord consistent and a priority in my day. Staying off the computer until I've spent time in the Word, and putting "Time with God" on the top of my To-Do list, are both ways that I'm trying to schedule it into my day! But for all my best efforts, it doesn't always happen everyday. I do give myself some grace, though, because I know that this season of my life IS busy and things happen. If I miss my time with God one day, I just try harder the next day! And my time with God doesn't look the way it always has. It may be shorter, or interrupted, or with children around (more on this tomorrow) but I make the effort no matter how quick or interrupted so I can at least get a Word from the Lord, and give that moment of my day to Him. And I try to "pray without ceasing" during my day by keeping my heart in a state of prayfulness.

We just get this one shot to raise godly men and women... And our spiritual influence starts earlier than we want to admit! Despite being constantly physically exhausted and emotionally drained, we can't check-out spiritually- for our kids sakes! This is the one area we must stay on top of! We can't allow ourselves to think that we're "off-the-hook!"

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This is Day 3 of a 31 day series. If you'd like to catch up with where we've been, go to this intro page.

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