My blog has been strangely quiet, although my life certainly has not been! But like you, I had turkey to stuff, ham to glaze, sweet tators to make sicking-ly sweet, biscuits to bake, dressing to uhhh-well, dress and macaroni to cheese. Family was coming!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, in fact, one of my all time favorite ones. But I have missed you, my bloggy friends. And we have alot to catch up on.
First of all, I will be announcing the winner of the give away this weekend. I ap0logize for letting that deadline get past me.
As you may know, I have taught Bible study to MOMS for the last 20 years. Twenty years. I KNOW! I have written 40 Bible studies designed to encourage and inspire women in the fine art of Christian mothering. My boys were 8 and 10 when I started teaching this ministry to MOMS. And I had no idea what path God had planned for my life, but I am exceedingly grateful for the privilege. Not only has it "forced" me to study God's Word and keep "short sin accounts", it has enabled me to spend countless hours with other like-minded moms.
One of the sweet side benefits of teaching MOMS, is that I have had no small number of moms pass through my life, sharing with me their amazing and sometimes aggravating adventures of training up children in the way they should go. One of the topics that tends to surface around this time of the year, is the issue of how to enjoy the holidays which involves honoring all the family traditions, making memories, and balancing time with the in-laws and extended family members without sacrificing the creation of their own immediate family's time and traditions together.
I think everyone can relate on some level. So here goes . . .
Think of Tevye singng in Fiddler on the Roof. Can you hear it in your head?
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!
Tradition, tradition! Tradition!
I am about to launch into a series on FAMILY TRADITIONS. And I know this is dangerous ground-messing around with generations of family traditions. But as the mom of adult children I want to share some insight on traditions. The treasure of traditions and the trap of traditions. The delight and the danger of them. The fun and the frustration. The tension created between making memories and coping with the disappointment of unmet expectations. The precious balance between celebrating family bonds and the reality of creating obligatory relationships with our adult children.
I am the mother of 2 great grown sons. My guys are wonderful godly men who chose to marry precious godly women. Praise God. While the boys were at home, I invested my life in them and so did Craig. We poured unconditional love, affirmation, discipline, training, encouragement and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ into our sweet boys. Craig and I lived intentional Christian lives. And we parented with intention and direction. But ultimately we left the results of with the Lord. And they both chose to walk with the God we love.
We raised them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And when the time came, we released them. The Bible teaches we are to raise and release our children so that they can move into God's plan and purpose for them without the "over much" emotional involvement or entanglement of mom and dad (it is usually mom who just cannot cut the apron strings). God has a plan for your adult children. If they take a spouse, they will be able to cleave to the spouse and build their own household of faith.
That is the Biblical perspective, but now how does that work? What does that look like?
As I have talked to lots and lots of moms, one of the thing they struggle with is juggling the needs of their immediate family and the often expectations of their parents or their in-laws, especially as it relates to the holidays. Understand this. These are godly women with a heart to honor the Lord Jesus, serve their family, bless their husband, care for their sweet little children, and walk in the ways of the Lord. Yet, they struggle because the extended family has one idea for the holidays, the in-laws want their fair share, and new traditions rightfully need to be created with her own immediate family. I told you this was dangerous ground!
So what's a mom to do?
I told you this was going to be a series. So stop by tomorrow and we will share some more. Blessings. And I hope you have a glorious holiday.
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