The closest MODEL of Jesus

For the past few days, I've had something on my heart and mind that I cannot get released from, so, in obedience to my Heavenly Father, here it goes....

As a mom who is very grateful to my savior, Jesus, for saving me and as a child of God who genuinely desires to be fruitful in the Kingdom of God, I constantly pray that my fruitfulness will begin in my own household....I pray daily that my children will come to know Jesus as their PERSONAL savior at a young age, that they will be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and that they, too, will be fruitful in the Kingdom of God. I talk to God about my role as a mother and a wife daily and just as He promises in His Word, He talks back to me, helps me, encourages me, and yes, corrects me in His loving way daily!

So, on Sunday, when our sweet baby Kate was being dedicated back to God, Landis and I thrived on every Word being spoken over her. It was a very emotional morning for both of us.  We view a baby dedication as much more than a "religious" ritual that you do because you are "suppose to" - we KNOW that our Kate is a gift to us - but, ultimately, she is God's child and He expects us to equip her with His Word and His Spirit so she can accomplish what He has planned for her in the Kingdom of God. As we expected, God has big plans for Kate in His Kingdom - she already has the hand of the Lord upon her.  (Even her name, which I will write about one day, has a meaning that corresponds with the Word of God and was spoken to me before she was conceived.) Landis and I have a huge responsibility - we have promised God that we would raise both of our children under His Word and that takes diligence and, most importantly....it takes parents that love Jesus and serve Jesus whole heartedly THEMSELVES and out of abundance of their hearts comes the Word and Spirit in their household.  And....this is why I'm writing today....

Our pastor said this when dedicating Kate (and he also said it 3 years ago when we dedicated Luke)...the closest MODEL of Jesus that our children see is his/her parents. Wow!  If I want my children to KNOW Jesus as their personal savior, it starts with ME....I have to MODEL the character of Jesus and show my children the personal relationship that I have with Jesus....I have to abide in Him, daily, minute by minute with every situation I am faced with - whether that be with other people or with my children.  You see kids watch and listen to everything that we do as parents - EVERYTHING (even when we don't know they are paying any attention).  So, when they watch and listen, who are they seeing???

I now understand that they should be seeing Jesus and the only way that will happen is if I seek Him - daily, diligently, constantly, and whole-heartedly.  I now understand that exposing my children to the Word of God and the Spirit of God is more than just teaching them a scripture or two or more than sending them to Sunday School.  Exposing my children to the Word and Spirit requires that I show them Jesus in everything that I do - how I treat people, how I respond to negative circumstances, how I discipline them, and most importantly, how I LOVE them.  Y'all by writing this, I'm not claiming to have this mastered....I am FAR from it and I am so thankful that I have a patient savior who extends His grace to me and helps me each day.  The bottom line is this....in order for me to show my children Jesus, I have to KNOW Him personally and abide in Him myself...it all starts with ME and my relationship with my beautiful savior and I have to make HIM my number one priority and the rest will come in alignment.  

Not ironically, a great friend of mine and a sister in Jesus wrote a beautiful blog about this same topic just last week....she is a wonderful, Jesus loving, mother of three children....I LOVE her heart.  Her words (inspired by the Holy Spirit) are worth any mother's time to read...please check out her blog at
http://www.lindseybroere.com/uncategorized/first/ 

(I love you, Lindsey, and cannot wait to see you soon!)

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this today!

Toddy