3 Steps To A Spectacular Kid’s Ministry Group That Matters

3 Steps To A Spectacular Kid’s Ministry Group That Matters

  

Reading Time: 3 min 3 sec

 

I dropped my head in my hands and sighed. A sense of dissatisfaction eked into my soul. I must be missing something. Why is it that every Monday starts with such a promise? I have these great intentions of working ahead, dreaming, evaluating, or even time spent recruiting.

Instead, my week seems to fly by in an endless cycle of crisis management. I feel like I am constantly behind as I run to fill volunteer slots, send out newsletters, attend staff meetings, and prep for upcoming events. 

I want to build a Kids ministry that is more than checking a box. I want to create a ministry where kids’ lives are transformed. If only I could stop the relentless clock of Sunday morning long enough to figure out how to get there. This isn’t what I signed up for…

Today, we will talk about three steps to building a spectacular ministry group that actually matters.

Point #1- Pro-Active Vs. Reactive   

Point #2- Wonder

Point #3- Seek Wisdom 

mom life

1. Point #1-Pro-Active vs. Reactive  

 

A quick stop at your local bookstore will overwhelm you with the endless variety of leadership styles available. We could easily dive down the leadership rabbit hole, never to return.  We want to focus on briefly addressing a reactive and proactive style of ministry.

A reactive leader spends their days running around putting out fires. They are great at problem-solving. And though they passionately care about their ministry, they can live in the moment and never take the time for big-picture planning. This leadership style, left unchecked, can be stressful, and exhausting, and can quickly lead to burnout.

A proactive leader on the other hand can see the big picture. They are gifted at making sure they meet their long-term goals. They can get so caught up in planning for the future that they can struggle to address daily issues promptly.

I am here to advocate that as leaders, we need to develop both our proactive and reactive skill sets. Have you ever heard the phrase, “What gets talked about gets done?” My variation on that is, “What gets scheduled gets done.” We need to block out and protect time in our weekly schedules to focus on our long-term goals, otherwise daily tasks will dictate our ministries.

At the same time, we need to develop healthy flexibility, understanding that the needs of our pastoral role do not always match a pre-planned schedule. A healthy ministry can’t run on autopilot. Like anything else, it needs regular evaluation and maintenance.

Next Steps- Are you a reactive or proactive leader? If you have not already, block out time on your schedule to focus on evaluation and long-term planning. Set up safeguards to protect that time on your schedule (i.e. set a reminder on your phone, turn your phone to silent, and treat it as a standing meeting on your schedule).  Check out Trello. It is a free, visual time management software that has been very helpful in my own ministry setting.

 

2. Point #2- Wonder

 

You have blocked out your schedule…now what? These last two steps are not in any sequential order. I would encourage you to write down your vision or goal for your kid’s ministry. Start with this exercise if you are struggling to articulate a vision for your ministry.

What are the characteristics of a child that has just graduated from your ministry? What do you want them to have experienced, learned, and developed while in your kid’s ministry group? What tools do you want them equipped with?

Imagine one of your families has just graduated their last child from kid’s ministry. What would you have wanted them to have experienced, learned, and developed as a family in your church? Duplicate this process with your volunteer team as well.

Don’t rush through this process. Give yourself time to research, to learn how kids connect best with Jesus. Don’t forget to incorporate your church’s vision and purpose in your overall plan for kid’s ministry. You want to confirm that your vision for the kid’s ministry is in step with the overall vision of the church. The last thing you want to do is to create a silo ministry that is not working in tandem with the rest of the church. The vision for your ministry is the foundation upon which everything else is built. This can sound overwhelming, but as the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.”

Next Steps: Check out organizations like the Children’s Spirituality Summit for the latest research on the Christian spiritual development of kids. They offer a conference every year where pastors and educators encourage, brainstorm, and learn together. They also publish all of the keynote topics from the conference in a book which you can find on Amazon.  I buy it every year it’s that helpful.

 

3.Point #3-Seek Wisdom

Even the best vision cannot happen in isolation. We need to take the time to hear from God. It can be challenging to hear from him on a deadline. I would encourage you to utilize several days of your blocked-out time to create space to be with Jesus. Take a prayer retreat or a walk to a park.

If you don’t do this regularly, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Silence your cell phone (or leave it at home). Go for a walk, sit at a park, or in a quiet place. Nature is one of the primary ways where people meet with God. 

mom life

Spend a period in silence, practicing listening for his voice. Present your heart to God. Sit with him and ask him for his timing, direction, and wisdom. Take your time, and don’t rush this experience.

Talk with your uplink or boss and express your vision for ministry. Ask for their input and wisdom. What do they see that you don’t see?  Spend time in prayer, asking God for his wisdom and grace. Discuss the best time and way to implement the new vision. People have a hard time overall with change. So give yourself and others grace as you move slowly, faithfully implementing God’s vision for your kid’s ministry.

Putting in the work by scheduling time, envisioning a better ministry and seeking out wisdom takes effort but it will provide a framework for a transformational ministry. My prayer for you is that your children’s ministry will thrive and you will witness your kids connecting with Jesus in powerful ways each week.

 

If you want to know how to get started in transforming your Kid’s Ministry: grab our 8 Primary Ways Kid’s Meet With Jesus Guide (below). And join the MIW Community of children’s pastors who are hungry to lead a transformative Children’s Ministry. 

What about you? What is your #1 issue when it comes to developing your Kid’s Ministry?   Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!   

 

Worn Out? How to Replenish your Soul with this One Life Hack

Worn Out? How to Replenish your Soul with this One Life Hack

 

  Reading Time: 6 min 4 sec

 

Do you ever feel like you are moving so fast that you can’t catch your breath?  That if one more thing is put on your plate you are going to sit in a corner and cry?  You miss your family, deep conversations with your spouse, and a break from ferrying the kids to different activities, and the endless routine tasks? You spend so much energy keeping all the balls in the air that it can feel like you are just running around in circles.

 

I will get a break, you laugh to your friends, when Tommy’s basketball season is over, when I complete this major project for work, when my daughter stops teething, when we take that vacation.  It’s funny how postponing works, rest is so elusive, always in the future, always just out of reach.

 

You read the passage, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt. 11:28-30 MSG) and you have to laugh, because when have you ever lived freely and lightly? 

 

In a culture that celebrates workaholism, rest can be seen as a weakness.  We celebrate the “super mom” who can make that partnership at her firm while juggling the PTA, homework, children’s activities, homecooked meals, and perfectly clean bathrooms (come to my house, please), when that picture is just as unattainable as an airbrushed supermodel in a magazine.  As a culture, we act shocked (and judgmental) when we discover that “super mom” is a myth.

 

Unlike the world who measures our worth by our accomplishments, and the number of activities we can juggle, God has another way.

 

Imagine God smiling softly on you and saying, “Listen, I love you. My love for you is beyond your comprehension. I love you so much that I don’t want you to implode.  I designed your body to need rest, and the pace you are setting is not sustainable. Come with me… I have a plan already in place.  I will show you a world of deep abiding rest, a place where you can learn what it means to live freely and lightly.”

 

So worn out, burned out, and tired mom, join us as we discover a life hack that could save your health, your relationships, and your faith.

 

 

1. What is Sabbath?       

 

2. The Best Day of the Week

3. Practical Ideas for Your Sabbath

 

  1. What is Sabbath?

The Sabbath is a day where we set aside work, and activity to find abiding rest and delight in God’s presence. The Sabbath has been around from the beginning of time, though it has been observed on different days. And God from the very beginning acted as our model for how we should arrange our day to day lives.  

 

In Genesis 2:2-4 it says, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

 

God values rest, and He designed us as humans, not robots, who need rest in order to serve and live well.  Eugene Peterson says that, “Sabbath is that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God is doing.

 

It’s hard to be present with anyone when our mind is traveling a million miles a minute, and we are trying to mentally juggle our schedule, worries, and responsibilities in our head. We learn that if we want to hear God’s voice, deepen our relationship with Him, and find deep soul rest from the demands of this life, we need to set aside time to rest and recharge.

 

Ruth Haley Barton in her book Sacred Rhythms describes the practice of Sabbath this way, “The point of Sabbath Is to honor our need for a sane rhythm of work and rest. It is to honor the body’s need for rest, the spirits need for replenishment, and the souls need to delight itself in God for God’s own sake. It begins with a willingness to acknowledge the limits of our humanness and take steps to live more graciously within the order of things.”

 

Observing the Sabbath is a very counter-cultural activity, a time when the world saying you don’t have time to relax; God is asking you to slow down and learn the rhythms of rest.

 

I would challenge you to set aside time, this week, to rest in God’s presence.  

 

2. The Best Day of the Week

In the Sabbath, God is giving you not only permission but encouragement to play! The Sabbath should be the best day of your week! Seriously, it is a day when you get to set aside your to-do list, your worries, your dreams for the future, and just BE finding rest and delight in God’s presence.

 

You will accomplish more in your week as a rested individual than if you spend seven days a week and all of your energy at work. Wayne Mueller in his book, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest,says it poignantly, “If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath – our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us.

 

Taking a day of rest to realign your heart, and soul to Jesus is crucial to your (and your FAMILY’S) overall health. You are modeling sustainable practices that your children will take with them for the rest of their lives.  

 

It’s a given that you will need to make some changes your schedule in order to make this happen. Creating a lifestyle, where you take off a day to recharg takes practice and effort. You can ease into it by making small changes each week.  Know that it won’t be perfect, it will definitely be messy, but it will be worth it! 🙂

 

So, what does Sabbath look like in real life?

 It will look different for everyone, but it should be the most anticipated day of the week. Sabbath is centered around worshipping Jesus in community, and time spent with family and friends.  We plan a rotation of our favorite meals and prep them on Saturday.  We have spent our Sundays taking walks, and naps, having quality conversations, playing games, participating in joy-filled hobbies, and time spent just being present with Jesus.

I would encourage you to walk slow, finding joy in being present with your loved ones and with God on this holy day.

3. Practical Ideas for Your Sabbath

 

Here is a list of practical ideas to jumpstart your own rhythm of Sabbath rest. Your day might look completely different from mine and that is okay!   

 

1. Sleep In

2. Participate in Joy-Filled Hobbies

3. Feast Day- We eat our favorite meals and desserts on this day!

4. Worship God in Community

5. Reflection- Reflect over the past week, where did you see God’s presence at work. Reflect over the upcoming week, what worries or concerns do you need to give over to God?

6. Have each family member choose one thing to do on the Sabbath

7. Take a walk– By Yourself or with family- Notice God in the smallest things of creation.

8. Spend time with Family– Put down the cell phone, and be present for your family.

9. Read a good book

10. Enjoy Silence

11. Listen to Music

12. Invite over Friends and Family

13. Participate in Art– by yourself or with your family

14. Reflect over the week as a family– What was the highlight?   Where did you see God at work? What are you looking forward to this upcoming week?   What do you need to give over to God?

15. Take a nap

16. Light a candle- as a reminder that God is with you and in you

17. Play with your family– Board Games etc.

18. Start a specific tradition for the Sabbath

19. Take a break from Social Media

20. Take a break from shopping

21. Give Hugs

22. Speak words of Affirmation-  over family and friends

23. Pray over the upcoming week

24. Spend time in God’s word

 

What about you?  What are your favorite ways implement Sabbath in your own home?  

 

Do you want more super practical tips on how to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus for yourself and your family?  Most Important Work is all about helping moms LIKE YOU with tools, to nurture a lavish love of Jesus in your heart and in the lives of your children; through creativity, curiosity and everyday life. 

Don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

 

Want to Go Deeper?  Here are 2 excellent books I recommend.

 

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The choice to establish your own sacred rhythm is the most important choice you can make with your life.  

Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a “rule of life” that allows for regular space for the practice of the spiritual disciplines, this book takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life. 

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Pushing Pause in the Midst of the Christmas Chaos!

Pushing Pause in the Midst of the Christmas Chaos!

  

Reading Time: 4 min 27 sec

 

I walked into our local craft store on the day of Halloween and had to weave through a maze of boxes because Christmas had arrived at the store in full vengeance. I love Christmas as much (if not more) than the next girl but I started realizing that as a culture we sprint through fall to get to Christmas.

We don’t place value on being present in our current season of life but are always looking ahead to the next big thing-constantly worried that we will miss out. 

You see this theme repeated in our eating patterns, where instead of finding enjoyment and contentment in the produce that season provides, we jump ahead expecting to have access to every type of fruit or vegetable no matter the time of year. If I want cantaloupe in January, then my word, I should get cantaloupe in January.

 

Christmas has been turned into a season filled with a flurry (pun intended) of holiday activity. We want to give our families a Pinterest worthy Christmas season filled with as many Instagram moments as possible. 

We are all about the destination instead of the journey.

 

Advent offers us a counter-cultural way to approach the celebration of Jesus birth. It offers us an opportunity, to walk slowly, press pause, and enjoy a season full of hope, and rich anticipation.

  • Walking Slowly

 

  • Pushing Pause

 

  • Engaging the Senses

So, grab a cup of coffee and a thick blanket and let’s see what God has for us this season.

 

1. Walking Slowly

The Advent season encompasses four Sundays, starting on the Sunday closest to November 30th and ending on December 24th or Christmas Eve. 

Advent is a time full of hope; Jesus the Savior of our souls, has come and will come yet again! A time of rich expectation, both as we prepare to rejoice in the day of Jesus birth, and as we anticipate His second coming.

 

Luke 12:35-38 (MSG) says, Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!”

 

Advent is a special time, where we not only prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ’s birth but to serve as a reminder, to live with expectation, with excitement, with joy, JESUS IS ON HIS WAY! 

 

It can be hard to live with hope and expectation when our ordinary days are so bombarded with the pain and evil at work in this world.  We know Christ is coming back, but sometimes it can feel like he will be arriving at some future time, never today.

 

 Sybil Macbeth in her book, The Season of the Nativity says it like this, “But what the season of Advent tries to teach us is how to wait and to not lose heart, to live in hopeful patience. We rehearse during Advent the way to wait during the rest of the year, which is really the way to live during the rest of the year!”

 

When you engage in the season of Advent you learn patience and how to wait with hopeful expectation.

 

  1. Pushing Pause

God wants to invite you to press pause and experience the season of advent in a totally new way. He wants to invite you into a place of rest, expectation, anticipation and joy. 

Pushing pause is not sticking a couple of advent activities into an already crazy schedule. If we are not intentional, Advent can be regulated to just another thing to check off the to-do list.

Jesus is inviting you to experience Advent with your heart instead of just your head. You might know a lot about the season but have you truly experienced it?

 

So how do you practically press pause?

 

By choosing to take time each day to refocus your heart on Jesus. Spend some time in silence and reflection just being present with God. Travel through an Advent devotional (they are literally everywhere) or reflect on a passage of scripture. 

Here are some passages to get you started:

  1. Isaiah 40:9-11
  2. Matthew 1
  3. Luke 1
  4. Mark 13:31-37

Reflection Exercise:

  1. Choose a passage and read through it slowly several times.
  2. Ask God to underline a word or a phrase.
  3. Reflect on what that word or phrase says to you.
  4. Pray and tell God your thoughts.
  5. Ask what is the Lord inviting me into?
  6. How can I respond?

 

 3. Engaging the Senses

Spending time with the Father without activity; in prayer, reflection, silence, and study is the foundation to Advent. Advent is not about doing but more about being.  Being present with the One who is ever present with us.

As you are immersing yourself in anticipation of what Jesus has and will do, I would encourage you to choose one or two symbols or practices that will serve as a daily reminder.  

 

Here are Some Suggestions:

 

  1. Spend some time with your children reading the Bible stories (or the passages listed above) that led up to the birth of Jesus. Children love and need repetition, as it allows them to engage deeply with the experience. Taking the time to engage with a passage and looking at it from different angles gives children the space to experience truth in their own lives.

 

  1. Make or buy an advent wreath. Take time each week to gather everyone together, to light a candle and pray. This will become a meaningful tradition, as your family experiences setting aside time to focus on the meaning of Advent.

 

  1. Find or make one meaningful symbol that will remind you (and your family) to press pause and not focusing on rushing towards Christmas day. To help you in this process, I have included directions to one of my favorite Advent Calendar activities below. This is a great activity to make with your children and needs only a couple of supplies (woohoo!).

 

I hope you join me this season in walking slowly, pressing pause, engaging your senses, and sitting with expectation and longing for what God has done, and will do through Jesus’s birth and second coming!

 

What about you? What are your favorite ways to engage in the season of Advent? 

 

If you try any of these activities, let us know! Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest.

Want to Go Deeper?

1. The Season of the Nativity – Sybil MacBeth

8 Life-Giving Ways You Need to Be a Healthier, Happier Mom

8 Life-Giving Ways You Need to Be a Healthier, Happier Mom

  

Reading Time: 6 min 43 sec

 

 I never really understood the sacrifice my mother made over the years until I became a mom. The first year as a young mom can be a straight up culture shock, as you adjust to life as a 24/7 caregiver.  You are happy to serve, to care for this completely helpless young life, but at times it can seem like you are walking around in a fog and half of you is missing.

 

Your lack of sleep, and the stress of the daily learning curve and new routine, can affect your motivation, and mental and emotional energy.  Sometimes all you want to do is veg out in front of the tv and make it through another day.

 

 Yes, a new baby throws your sleep cycle ( no sleep is more accurate) to the curb and to survive, as you adjust to being a new mom, self-care doesn’t even make the priority list.  But what should be a temporary season, can quickly bleed over into an unhealthy pattern that sets the tone for how you operate as an individual, and as a mom for the rest of your life.

 

New baby, new job, multiple kids, projects at work, home repairs, playdates and soccer there will be something to give you a reason to live your life running from emergency to emergency.  You tell yourself, I’ll take care of myself later until you are utterly too tired and worn out to keep all those plates in the air.

 

 We will be talking today about 5 Practical ways (plus 3 bonus tools) to replenish your body and soul and prevent burnout.

  • Date Yourself

  • Silence and Solitude

  • Community

  • Sleep

  • Spouse

  • Schedule

  • Time with Jesus

  • Exercise

 

In Matthew 11:28-30 it says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 

What would it look like to get away with God? What would it feel like to take a real rest?  Jesus said that he will teach us how-to walk-through life’s rhythms with grace, stepping freely and lightly.  The Father says he won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on us.

So why do we think that it’s okay, to burn the candle at both ends,

 playing martyrs to our own expectations of motherhood?  

 

What would it feel like to truly operate in the world, out of a place of grace?

 Tish Harrison Warren, in her book, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in the Everyday Life says it this way, “Similarly, when we denigrate our bodies—whether through neglect or staring at our faces and counting up our flaws—we are belittling a sacred site, a worship space more wonderous than the most glorious, ancient cathedral. We are standing before the Grand Canyon or the Sistine Chapel and rolling our eyes.” 

We are God’s precious creation, his beloved, his chosen, his adopted child and he is asking us to take his hand and step into a life of grace, living freely and lightly, will you join me?

 

Here are the 8 practical steps:

1. Date Yourself

Take time to invest in the things that bring you joy. That could mean carving out time to craft, go to a coffee shop, experiment with different recipes in the kitchen, get a massage, or go to a movie. It is about taking the time to recharge your batteries.  Set aside the pressure to be productive.  Invite God’s presence into your time and enjoy yourself; explore, create, wonder, and delight in whatever and however, you have chosen to spend your time.

 

  1. Silence and Solitude

This is a hard idea for most people as we are a society that doesn’t know how to be alone with our thoughts. We are so used to being tethered to our smartphones that taking the time to get away without constantly checking in can feel foreign.

However, revisiting Matthew 11:28-29, God calls us to, “Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.”

God is calling to us to get away with him. To set aside distractions and just be in his presence.  This is a tool that extraverts or introverts can fit easily into the rhythms of our lives.  

Practice silence and solitude in the shower, during a walk, over your lunch hour, while your child is napping, in the early morning, or late at night before you go to bed. Invite God’s presence into your time, and focus your thoughts on him, just being in his presence with no demands.  Start spending time in the silence with Jesus for 5 minutes (blanket and a cup of coffee optional).

 

3. Community

Go grab a coffee with one of your close friends.  You were never meant to walk through life alone but in community with others.  You need friends and family who care about you to come alongside and help shoulder life’s burdens.

You need to be able to share your thoughts and feelings in a safe environment knowing you will be met with love and encouragement.

We need each other.

If you don’t have a community of close friends, I would encourage you to check out a small group your local church, where you can be known and know others. 

 

4. Sleep

 

There are tons of studies that tell us that the average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If you are at a stage in life, where that suggestion is more dream than reality (trust me, been there, done that) try twenty-minute power naps. It gives you the energy you need without making you feel like you got hit by two by four.

 

Take a nap, your to-do list will still be there.  Remember, you are giving the gift of a rested mom to your family.

 

 

5. Spouse

 

Time alone with your spouse cannot be forgotten. The ability to have adult conversations, without having to operate as a parent, allows you to reconnect with your spouse on a deep level. Your spouse (next to God) is the most important relationship in your life. Your husband will be there long after the kids move out of the house. 

 

Go play a sport, explore a new part of your city, or go for a walk. If you are unable to get away, put the kids to bed, and go sit outside (it will feed the illusion you are a million miles away).  

 

6. BonusExercise

 

A 30-minute walk to clear our heads can make a world of difference. Not only is it good for our overall health, but it helps to remove tension and it allows you to sleep better at nights. Find an activity you love to do, and plan to get out of the house, 3-4 times a week, and burn that stress!

 

7. Bonus-Schedule

 

Take 10 minutes and look at your schedule. Ask yourself, what activities bring you joy? What activities feel like you are pushing a boulder uphill? Do you have room to breathe, is there margin in your life? Or are you running from one activity to the next? Is there an dominate activity that could be cut back (or removed), for your overall health?

 

Notice if the word, “should” pops up in your evaluation. It can be a tipoff to look harder at that activity and whether or not it should be exited from your calendar.  Your calendar is a good indicator of where your priorities lie.

 

8. Bonus-Time with Jesus

 

Spending time with Jesus is crucial to finding rest in the middle of stormy seasons of life. Imagine Jesus is holding out his hand, calling out to you and saying, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

 

 Jesus doesn’t want you to live in a permanent state of frantic activity or utter exhaustion. He wants you to find rest. We won’t learn to live out of grace, standing firm in the midst of storms if we don’t spend time investing in a love relationship with Jesus.

 

Can you imagine a time where spending time with Jesus was not an obligation, but a necessary delight in your life?  If this idea of delighting in Jesus, sparks something in you, I would encourage you to check out David Benner’s book, Surrender to Love.

 

Start with taking 10-15 minutes each day and spending it with Jesus. Read slowly through a passage of scripture, not trying to get it done, but meditating on it, and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you. 

 

I would encourage you to pick one thing off this list and incorporate it into your week.  You got this!

 

If you want to know how to get started in living a deeper life with God; grab our Deeper Life Beginners Guide (below). And join our community of moms who are hungry for more Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their families.

What about you? What are your favorite ways to recharge your batteries, to replenish your soul?  Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

 

Want to dive in deeper? Check out these resources.

 

  1. Liturgy of the Ordinary – Tish Harrison Warren

  2. Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in Rhythms of Rest – Lynn M. Baab

  3. Organized Simplicity – Tsh Oxenreider you try any of these activities, let us know! Leave a comment, and don

 

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30 Inspiring Quotes for Moms in the Trenches

30 Inspiring Quotes for Moms in the Trenches

Reading Time: 4 min 20 sec

Isn’t the power of words amazing, how God can use them to light a spark in our own lives?

 

I once read the quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery,

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men and women to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.  Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” 

 

I was immediately captivated with this idea that no matter what role we play in life (mom, executive, homemaker, teacher etc.) we are all in positions to inspire others.  Our calling as parents, with the power of the Holy Spirit, is to foster a curiosity for the things of God in our children.

 

As we make that umpteenth peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or fold another basket of laundry, it can be encouraging to know that we are not alone. That women and men since the beginning of time have had the same struggles, the same frustrations, the same sin, and yet they have been used mightily by God in the lives of their families.

Have you ever had a quote immediately catch your attention, something inside of you jumping out and saying, “Yes, that rings true for me”?

Have you ever asked God why those words resonate with your soul?

 

I included an activity below that will allow you space to ask God that question. 

So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

ACTIVITY:  I have compiled a list of my top 30 inspirational quotes and instead of just scanning them quickly, I want to encourage you this week, to take some time and read through them slowly. Then choose a quote that jumps out at you, bring it to the Lord in prayer, and ask Him to speak to you through those words. 

 I would love to hear about your experience!  If you try this activity, let us know! Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest.   

Mom Inspiration 

 

1. “The first act of love is always the giving of attention”  Dallas Willard

2. “Know that even when you are in the kitchen, our Lord moves amidst the pots and pans.”  Theresa of Avila   

                               

3. “Homemaking is surely, in reality, the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes?… The homemaker’s job is one for which all other’s exist.” C.S. Lewis

4. “What if Christians were known as a countercultural community of the well-rested-people who embrace our limits with zest and even joy? Tish Harrison Warren

 

5. “Children are most like adults in their feelings. They are least like adults in their thinking. More information does not make them think like us.” Catherine Stonehouse

 

6. “When I worry, I got to the mirror and say to myself, ‘This tremendous thing that worries me is beyond solution. It is even too big for God to handle.’ Then I have a good laugh.”  Corrie Ten Boom

 

7. Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be  Theresa of Avila

 

8.  “Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built.”  James Dobson

9. “Since it is so likely that Children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” C.S. Lewis

 

10.  “God is forming us into new people. And the place of that formation is in the small moments of today.” Tish Harrison Warren

 

11. “It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts.” Corrie Ten Boom

 

12.  “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” C.S. Lewis

 

13.  “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”  Dallas Willard

 

  1. Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes.”  Teresa of Avila

 

  1. “In the nitty-gritty of my daily life, repentance for idolatry may look as pedestrian as shutting off my e-mail an hour earlier or resisting that alluring clickbait to go to bed.”  Tish Harrison Warren

16. “Here is a truth you must never forget: God is more interested in the person you are becoming than in your work, or your ministry, or your job.” Dallas Willard

 

17. “Worship is love on its knees before the beloved, just as mission is love on its feet to serve the beloved.”-N.T.Wright

 

18. “Coffee is born of extravagance, an extravagant God who formed an extravagant people, who formed a craft out of the pleasures of roasted beans and frothed milk.”  Tish Harrison Warren

 

19. “Sometimes we’re so concerned about giving our children what we never had growing up, we neglect to give them what we did have growing up.”   James Dobson

 

20. “You must take the time to consider why it is you have no time to spend time with the Father.”  Dallas Willard

 

Your Christian Journey

 

  1. “I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me.”  C.S. Lewis

 22. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”  Corrie Ten Boom

  1. God wants a child’s heart and a grown-up’s head.”  C.S. Lewis
  1. Prayer is talking to God about what we are doing together” Dallas Willard

  1. Only the humble person will let God be God”  Dallas Willard

  1. So how is it with your soul?”  Ruth Haley Barton

  1. “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”  Corrie Ten Boom

 

God’s Love for You

 

28.  “God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created.”  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity  

                                                                 

29. “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to him and if they were  to allow his grace to mold them accordingly.”  St. Ignatius of Loyola

 

30. “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still”. Corrie Ten Boom

 

 What about you? What is your favorite quote? 

 

If you try any of this activity, let us know! Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest. about you? What are your favorite ways to increase your child’s awareness of God? 

 If you try any of these activities, let us know! Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follo

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