A-Z Reminders for Busy Mamas

A. Always keep Christ the center of every sphere of life and learning.  

  When we keep Christ as front and center He will keep us balanced and light our path.

B. Believe that He will be faithful.

"He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."  I Thessalonians 5:24

C. Cast all burdens and concerns upon the Lord.

"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 

D. Delight yourself in the Lord.  

"Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4

E. Enjoy the little people surrounding you.  

  Our little ones are growing up so very fast.  The little years pass quickly, and it is important to really treasure these precious moments while they are little and innocent.  I encourage you to take the time to hold their little hands, rub their chubby feet, draw them close, read stories, and sing lots of songs with them. The older children are wonderful, but there is something unique and precious about our little ones; we don't want to miss the joy of the little years.  Yes, little people are a boatload of work, but they also make us smile and laugh like nothing else.  :)  

F. Faithfulness.  

  Yes, just faithfulness.  The word faithful is full of so much meaning.  We want to be faithful wives and faithful mothers.  Being faithful as a tired mama is not always easy, but our Lord is faithful and the more we abide in Him the more He will build faithfulness into the fabric of our lives.  We want to model faithfulness, so that our children will learn from our example.  

G. Give Thanks continually.  

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 
- I Thessalonians 5:18 

H. Hope in Christ.  

  Mamas, our hope has to be solidly rooted in Christ alone.  Our hope is not in homeschooling, not in a parenting style, not in our friends, not in a perfect curriculum, not in a ministry, not in a parenting book, etc.  These things can all be great helps to us, but they are not the Savior.  When we put our hope in things other than Christ, we will be devastated when people, methods, ministries, etc. fail us.  Remember that Christ alone can save and redeem broken people.  

I. Invite your children to enter the Father's presence with you daily.  

  When we are at home all day with our children we have multiple opportunities to take our children before the throne of grace each day.  Never get too busy to invite your precious ones into the Father's presence with you each day.

J. Joy in the Lord.  

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."  - Philippians 4:4

  We have the daily choice to choose to find things to be grateful for and to rejoice in the Lord in.  It is a discipline to choose to find the good in our hurried, chaotic days.  Even when things are crazy, there is ALWAYS something to be glad in the Lord about.  

K. Kindness.  

  As busy mamas we have the choice to speak words of harshness or words of kindness.  We can say the same exact thing either in a harsh way or in a kind way.  Our tone of voice can make all the difference in the world.  Sometimes it is helpful to just lower our voices to take some of the intensity out of our words.  Kindness goes a very long ways.  I frequently remind my children that their tone makes all the difference in the world.  This is something I have to remind myself of as well.  One of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness.  

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

L. Love.  

  When our babies are born it is easy to be filled with an incredible amount of love for our sweet bundles.  As those babes grow into strong willed children and young adults with ideas of their own it takes a work of God's Spirit to give us ongoing selfless love that suffereth long and patiently bears with their weaknesses.  Of course a mother's heart always loves her children, but only the Lord can give us the kind of Biblical love that is patient and kind and always hopes and perseveres.  

M. Meet with your Lord.  

  Busy mamas desperately need time with the Lord to renew their minds and gain strength for their days.  One way I spend time with the Lord is by listening to the Bible on my iPhone.  I also love to pray when I am alone in the van running errands.  It is a time I can pray about what is on my heart without interruptions, and it is important to daily pray without ceasing in the moments as well. 

N. Never GIVE UP! 

  There are difficult and challenging seasons in the mothering journey, but  hardships should not cause us to give up.  Instead, by God's grace, we need to press into the Lord and allow Him to carry us through the rough patches and the turbulent waters.  It is encouraging to remember that we serve the God who is Lord of the seas and can say, "Peace be still." 

O. Offer Forgiveness.  

  Busy mamas have opportunities all day long to extend forgiveness to their husbands and children.  Christ has forgiven us much, and we need to also forgive our families much.  By doing so, we show an example that will help our children learn to forgive as well.  

P. Praise.  

  I have found that when we practice praising the Lord by singing to Him daily that it really does a lot to tune up attitudes in our home and build faith in our children.  We don't always feel like praising, but there is power in praising our Lord and it is an act of obedience to Scripture.  

Q. Quit complaining.  

  Oh, this one is so hard for me.  It is easy to complain about all the inconveniences, the chaos, the messes, and the frustrations of my day.  This is an area where I still need much sanctification.  We need to turn our complaints into praise. 

R. Refresh your spirit. 

   Sometimes busy mamas need to take little breaks to refresh their vision.  We need refreshment physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  It is important that we get enough sleep, eat healthy, and spend time in the Father's presence.  Then there are those little things we can do to refresh ourselves.  For me, sometimes just getting some fresh air can give me a little refreshment and a pick me up.  Sometimes treating myself to some tea and chocolate also gives a little happy spot in my day.  

S. Saturate yourself in truth.  

  As busy mamas we may have to be creative in taking in truth to feed our souls.  We may not have a quiet hour each morning, but we can still be intentional in feeding our souls with Biblical truth.  Some ways that have been helpful to me have been listening to the Bible on my iPhone, listening to and singing hymns, tuning in to encouraging podcasts, reading to my children, attending church, reading little bits here and there, etc.  Ask the Lord to help you intentionally feed yourself on His truth even if it is in little bits all throughout the day.  

T. Trust in the Lord. 

   Sometimes we just don't understand our circumstances or what the Lord is doing in our lives.  We grow as we learn to trust the Lord and wait upon Him.   

U. Understand the will of the Lord. 

   There are many good things in life, but not all of them are the will of the Lord for your family.  I think that as we walk with Christ year by year He helps us to gain a clearer vision of His plan for our individual families.  Since we can never involve ourselves in every activity, it is most beneficial to understand the will and direction of the Lord and choose those activities that best align with His direction for our individual families.  What my friend is pursuing for her family may not be the direction the Lord is leading my family.  We need to pray for discernment to understand the will of the Lord.  

V. Vision.  

  There are plenty of days when I wake up not feeling like serving my family in the same mundane tasks and dealing with the same struggles all over again.  I have learned to get up and pray for extra vision on these days.  I pray that the Lord will help me to remember that no day is just a mundane day.  Every day is important in light of eternity.  I pray for increased vision to see that my days are of eternal significance and to redeem the time for the glory of God. 

W. Wither Not!  

  Psalm one tells us about the man who mediates on the law of the Lord.  Verse three tells us that "His leaf also shall not wither."  

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." As busy mamas we want to bear spiritual fruit in our families and we want to not wither under the pressures of life.  It is the strength of the Lord and His Word that can keep us from withering.  Life can be so hard, and many battles are raging for the hearts of our children.  As we abide in Christ and spend time in His Word we will be preserved and given strength to not wither.  

X. eXPect the goodness and deliverance of the Lord.  


"As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death." - Philippians 1:20

  No matter what is going on in our earthly lives we can hope in full expectation that God is our deliverer and will right our wrongs and deliver us whether in this life or in our eternal home.  When we know Jesus we have eternal hope that will not disappoint us.   

Y. Yearn for His coming. 

  As I grow older I grow more and more homesick for heaven.  I see all the sin in our culture and so much suffering in so many people I know.  Won't heaven be such a joy when all tears will be wiped away and we will forever worship our Lord Jesus in complete unity and holiness?  I am looking forward to that!  
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." - Philippians 3:20-21

Z. Zeal. 

 Sometimes young mamas start out with a lot of zeal but sometimes lack knowledge and the wisdom of the years.  Conversely many times older mamas are running low on zeal but have more knowledge and wisdom.  I think it is important to pray that the Lord will grant us both zeal and knowledge.  We need both!  

                                           

  I have enjoyed writing out these A-Z encouragements, and I hope it blesses you.  It has ben a way of counseling my own heart as I have written out these thoughts.  May the Lord continue His work of sanctification in all of our lives that we may bring Him glory and praise.  

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