Lord, thank you for a wonderful spiritual family....
Behind all the smiles is the journey of COMMITMENT that we have chosen to walk thru with each other through the different seasons of our lives in past years .
my G12 family during our cny dinner:
I am in the midst of reading an empowering book ," women in ministry" by Ps Claudia Ceasar and this sentence sprang out to me...
" a mother has the ability to affect her children's destiny thru her words, actions and choices "
Isn't that powerful! Actually, more than a position of a mother, I was thinking of our position as WOMEN and more spectifically all my spiritual daughters. Yes, every one of their CHOICES NOW will affect their children to come . Their choices on who they marry, how they want to live their lives,what they want to invest their time in, etc..
"Lord, help me that I may be able to help my all my daughters ( spiritual and physical) realise the power of their choices on their future children's lives and that you would grant me the grace to empower my daughters to catch a heart of a mother that we as women will rise up to the high calling you have given us as mothers to influence the next generation. "
"What is home? A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out the cold. Yes, but home is more than that.
It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother, the strength of a father. Warmth of living hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Home is first school and first church for young ones, where they learn what is right, what is good, and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick. Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where fathers and mothers are respected and loved. Where children are wanted. Where the simplest food is good enough for kings because it is earned. Where money is not as important as lovingkindness. Where even the tea kettle sings from happiness. That is home. God bless it. ~Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink"
Just this afternoon I was digging up some old photos and to my surprise, I found a BARNEY book!!! And it's teaching about COLOURS ! Splendid... just what I was looking for ( was teaching baby about colours this morning) !
And I passed the book to baby Gracia...... can you imagine how proud I was.. seeing Gracia READ Barney ( instead of watching TV..) .. Ha ha so intelligent...must have taken after daddy..
hmmm....however after a minute or so later..
:P
My meditations on Galatians .........
"You are all SONS OF GOD through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ......if you belong with Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal 3 :26-29
Lately the lord has been reminding me of who I am to Him, HIS DAUGHTER. When I was reading Galatians, this verse sprang out to me affirming me once again that I AM HIS DAUGHTER. Not only that, this time, it also states my INHERITANCE through the promise to Abraham.
I went back to read Genesis ...
" I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. " Gen 12:2-3
Wow, what a blessing! Lindee will be a great nation and Lindee's name will be great and all peoples on earth will be blessed through Lindee. It sounds overwhelming but yes, it's true and God will fulfill his promise just as He did for Abraham and Sarah ...... SUPERNATURALLY! ( Gal 4:23)
As I reflect on the challenges that I faced recently in coping as a mother to all my daughters, the lord's word above spoke new confidence in me.
How easy it is to be gripped with fear when we face challenging and difficult situations of our lives when we dunno know how things are going to turn out and whether we have what it takes to make it thru.. How often we are driven by fear to face the responsibilities and tasks before us.
But the Lord is affirming me once again for the 3rd time of His father's heart to bless me as His daughter in a SUPERNATURAL way.( ya, this is His third time affirming me- once thru my meditation on 2 Cor2 :14 , 2nd time by Ps Melvin' in his sermon week before last week and then once again in this devotion in Galatians) .
Thank you Lord for the relevation of your father's love for me, that I may face every challenge in my life with full confidence that you are with me and I will see you work supernaturally in my life to be a blessing . Regardless of how difficult things may be , I will not let fear rob me of my joy and freedom in living as your daughter.
"It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm , then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery " Gal 5:1
excerpts from a song by philip,craig and dean that sings my heart's desire....
" Lord I wanna be just like you
cause she wanna be just like me
I wanna be a holy example
for her innocent eyes to see
help me be a living bible, Lord
that my little girl can read
I wanna be like you
cause she wanna be like me "
" Declare the areas in your life that you want to claim victory for this year " I led my spiritual children in this faith exercise during our cell time just abt 2 weeks back.....
For me that night, I declared that I will be a victorious mother - both physically and spiritually , and left cell feeling high about being victorious. But it was from then on , the challenges that threatened my victorious spirit surfaced..............
"Gracia's crying again to be fed for the 3rd time and it's 4am!!!!!!!!" By then, I was totally exhuasted and my frustrations got the better of me and I told daddy johnson that THAT"S IT... I'm going to IGNORE her cries. Instead of reprimanding me, daddy just gentle pat me to sleep and lovingly told me that he'll take over.
I lost my cool , I felt defeated... is this what a victorious mother should be ? I felt mocked at , like an inner voice telling me ' haha what kind of victorious mother are you???'
I took some time to just meditate in the lord's presense and remembered a message from Ps Khong recent sermon To be ALWAYS thankful. thatI realised God was doing a deeper work which my physical eyes cannot yet see but only a thankful spirit is able to see the beauty of God's blessings unfolding in the midst of the challenges... I saw the depth of love demonstrated by daddy johnson thru his patience in coping with a frustrated mum and crying baby. How blessed I am to have such a loving husband. And I realised the lord was teaching me about "PATIENCE".
I learnt that....A Victorious spirit comes from resting in the confidence as the Lord's daughter allowing Hin to lead me to victory as He do a deeper work in me , it's not a high emotion neither is it demanding victory on our conditions. Thank you Lord for your grace in revealing to me this nugget of truth.
Yeah, I'm not only dressed up for my retro party, i'm also dressed to blend with my daddy& mummy's bedsheet =)
It all starts with 3 first...... I think Gracia was about to raise a prayer request...
Just today, I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotions when I was not able to go for a gathering at Belle's place for a family potluck time.
It dawned upon me that I was lonely and longed for fellowship with my girlfriends and sisters . For an extended time, I was so caught up with meeting Gracia's needs-esp having to wake up almost every other hour in the night to feed her ( she's probably teething also , thus the discomfort interrupts her sleep, and mine).
I guess I've neglected my own needs. These feelings are also probably intensified as the struggles of not returning back to work re-surfaced again ( have taken another six months no pay leave). Please dun misunderstand, I thoroughly enjoy taking care of baby Gracia ( she's so cute) but the other side of me also yearns to be in a community of adults again , to have the freedom to go out have lunch to eat at my fav stalls at Ah Moy, to enjoy the silly jokes with my collegues......
Picked up a book "The Mother Load- how to meet your own needs while caring for your family" that I borrowed from the library but left on my shelf for a looooooog time. I realised I have to finish it by today coz today is the DEADLINE!
It was a wonderful time of rest... coz it seems that I hadn't had time for myself for the longest time... just the extended time for myself (reading ) brought so much refreshment.
Also, while I am sharing on this blog, one of my dear sisters Stella offered to drop by my place (before heading for Belle's place) to visit me and also help me. SO, I can go to Belle house afterall !!!! Thank you Lord, you know my innermost thoughts and struggles and you send help so timely.
I thank God for reminding me that I need also to take care of myself , to wait upon the lord and receive so that I can continue giving. I thank God for the the space he created for me this afternoon with my baby sound asleep. I thank God for the "angel" He sent in the form of my dear sister , Stella to help me so that I can go to Belle's house tonight afterall =)
It's a wonderful reminder today that I need to take care of myself emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually so that I can take good care of my daughter in all tis same aspects . Gracia needs a happy mother to raise a happer Her =)
Thank you Lord for reminding me the need for SABBATH.. to find rest and find myself in the midst of all the "CHOAS"
Something that I read from the net on spiritual mothering:
Written by Beth Moore
God created every life to be fruitful and multiply, but this God-given dream represents more than physical offspring. I believe our dreams to have babies represent a desire to have fruitful lives, to invest ourselves in something that matters and makes a difference.
In the Old Testament, God promised great numbers of physical descendants. In the New Testament, His emphasis is clearly on spiritual offspring. God calls us to be fruitful and to multiply until He calls us home. Potential for spiritual offspring is virtually limitless. God desires to empower you to bear spiritual offspring. God created you to bear much fruit. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a mommy more than anything in the world. Now my children are almost grown. Recently my older daughter and I were enjoying a time of rich fellowship together when she paused and asked, “Mom, when Melissa and I grow up and perhaps even move far away from you and Daddy, will you be OK?”
A lump welled in my throat, but I still answered confidently: “Yes, darling. Most people just need to feel useful. As long as I have Jesus, I will always feel useful — even if I occasionally feel lonely.”
I have tried my hardest to keep my children from growing up, but all my efforts have failed. Sometimes I think: “What will I ever do? I was born to be a mommy!” Then I remember God has called me primarily to women’s ministry, and I will always have the opportunity to “mother” a few spiritual offspring as long as I am willing to invest myself.
In fact, one of my spiritual daughters has a particularly dry and delightful wit. She is a gifted Bible teacher at only 27 years of age and hardly ever misses an opportunity to affectionately rib me about my age. I introduced her once as a spiritual daughter, and later she said, “Since you led the person to the Lord, who in turn, led me to the Lord, wouldn’t that really make you my spiritual grand-mother?” After that I called her a smart aleck, we had a great laugh, and every card or gift that I have sent to her since that remark have all been signed, “Love, Granny.”
If God chose for you to have physical children, prepare yourself! They will grow up! Then it is time to enlarge your tent and invest in spiritual children! If God chooses for you never to have physical children, He is calling you to a bigger family! God purposely placed the dream of fruitful lives in our hearts. Oh, how I love the paradoxical ways our glorious heavenly Father works. Only He can bring gain from loss. Only He can make us more fruitful in our barrenness!
One final thought. Undoubtedly one of the reasons I wanted children was to bear offspring who were the image of my husband. I wanted little Keiths and Keithettes! I did not want them to look like me. I have always thought Keith was far more beautiful than I. You see, the same is true of our spiritual offspring. Once we fall in love with Christ, we are so taken with His beauty, we want children to look just like Him. That is spiritual parenting in a nutshell; raising spiritual sons and daughters to look just like their Father in Heaven. What could be more important? "
see the 3 generations in this picture??
"why she cry so much before she sleeps not like xxx's baby who sleeps so easily " , " why she ....? ,
These were some of the many comparisons I used to make about Gracia with the other babies whom I met and read about . Often I was left frustrated and dissatisfied and sometimes even felt like a failure as a mother becoz of my unmet expectations of how Gracia should behave.
I forgot that the Lord created Gracia as a unique individual with a personality of her own. Instead I was trying to "force" her into my mental mould of an ideal baby rather than celebrating her uniqueness.
Gracia is a very sociable baby and company makes her very happy. Her smile always melts my heart =)
Yes, mothering has become so much more enjoyable when I learn to celebrate the uniqueness of all my children, that includes my beautiful spiritual daughters too.
Yes, by God's grace I've been blessed with a new life in my family - a beautiful daughter - Baby Gracia
After a long absense from my blog, will be starting afresh to share on my journey in growing as a mother so as to constantly remind myself of God's goodness and grace that has brought me thus far.
It's been almost 6 months and in many ways, I have changed and life been much richer eversince...
