Mom's & Mantras

In my nearly four decades of preaching, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I actually preacher a sermon about mothers on Mother's Day. I have never liked letting the world determine which days are special, which by it's very nature is an admission that some days aren't. Hence, my hesitation to feel pressure to focus one day on things that should be every day (i.e. Day of Prayer, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. etc.) Nevertheless (don't you love that word?), last Sunday, as part of a month long series on God's Incredible Family, I talked about God's Incredible Moms. She is a woman of "noble character" (Prov.31:10-31), a woman of "great worth to God" (1 Peter 3:1-6), and my last point was "She must be aware of Satan's successes." The three sub-points for this, were originally the main points, but I decided it was too negative for a Mother's Day lesson. I won't elaborate on them, but I did want to share them on my blog. (The whole lesson is on the church web page)
1. What is sad is to see women who have to be the spiritual head of the family.
2. What is sad is to see women who have learned to be as big of a jerk as men are - sometimes.
3. What is sad is to see women who don't understand the importance and joy of being spiritual Moms.
I suspect you can do your own "explain, illustrate, & apply" to each point, and yes I know there is a lot to say about Dad's, but his is about Moms. Dads are week after next.
One of the toughest things anyone has to deal with as a parent is remembering what REALLY MATTERS. Keeping priorities straight! Keeping the main thing the main thing! Basically remembering that you only have one chance to do it right and then you spend the rest of your life reliving your mistakes, your immaturity, and your regrets. It doesn't have to be that way if you stay focused on what REALLY MATTERS.
I believe the other side of the coin is just as important. A Rootism that I have written about before is this: Real wisdom is knowing when something "Just really doesn't matter." If you are uptight and stressed out about all of life's responsibilities and the need to "do it all perfectly," - learn to say that phrase as a mantra for life's "mole hills". Take a deep breath - think about what you are uptight about - it's not life or death, and it's not about eternal matters, and it's not about self-worth! Repeat it over and over several times - IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER.
I use it often - sometimes several times a day. It works for self imposed deadlines and for people who treat you by their own mantra of "What have you done for me lately." What does matter is being at peace with God.