Missionary Mom Musings

As I shared in my previous post, I sometimes find myself feeling that I should be doing more..... Sometimes I wonder what I am accomplishing with my life by being a stay-at-home wife and Mom, a homeschooling Mom, a missionary wife and Mom....... I do lots of little tasks throughout the day, and sometimes, it feels like the day doesn't amount to much. If I'm not careful, I can find myself lying in bed at the end of the day wondering what I did with the last 14 hours of my life..... some days, I feel like I accomplished more than on other days, but what if feeding and clothing and teaching and cleaning really  IS  a big accomplishment in the grand scheme of things? In his book 'Mastering Life Before It's Too Late', Robert J. Morgan writes in Chapter 23, "I'm convinced we're too enamored of the dramatically big when most of life is blessedly small. Sometimes we mistakenly equate smallness with insignificance, but that's an indictment against God&#

As a mom, I wear lots of hats. I make food for my family, keep the house clean, wash laundry and dishes, write newsletters and thank-you notes, plan ministry trips, attend Bible Study, host Bible Study, attend church, take the kids to gymnastics and karate....... you get the idea :-) My family are wonderful helpers and we all serve and work together and that is a great joy and blessing. But sometimes, I find myself *feeling* like I should be doing more...... like I need another job, something I can do from home. Why? Because I get jealous and become discontent...... I spend too much time on Facebook looking at what other people have or where people are going on vacation or....... Do I need any of those things? No! Our lives are so incredibly blessed; we have a beautiful home, working vehicles, plenty of food to eat (and friends to share our table with), clothing, wonderful times of vacation with family, etc. Before Rodney and I ever got married, we knew that when we had kids, we w

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith, with our Savior extending forgiveness even when He was dying on the cross. Jesus loved those who had nailed Him there, uttering a prayer asking His Father to forgive them. He didn’t hang on to bitterness or anger, but showed grace and love to those who had wronged Him. This is a fitting time to consider before the Lord any people we might need to forgive as we follow Jesus’s example in extending His love to those who hurt us. When we ask God through His Spirit to help us forgive, He will come to our aid—even if we take what we think is a long time to forgive. When we do, we are freed from the prison of unforgiveness. ~Amy Boucher Pye Today was a hard day; I was tired, I was hungry, I was expecting my kids to act much older than they are. I got angry, I raised my voice  yelled, I acted in a way that showed I was living according to the flesh rather than the Spirit.  After a Mommy Time Out (yes, mommy's somet

As missionaries, we have the privilege of raising up a support team, a group of people who will partner with us in prayer and through financial giving while we are on the mission field. Before we left for Africa in 2011, we were focused on gaining financial supporters so that we could be at 100% of our support while on the field. But during that time, we also started an e-mail prayer team that we would e-mail prayer requests and praises to once a week or once a month or whenever we needed prayer. It was amazing to see how my perspective shifted from finances to prayer after we arrived on the field. The challenges of navigating a new culture, learning and speaking a new language, cooking new foods, all while caring for a house and my family (our son was 2 years old at the time and I was 4 months pregnant with our daughter when we moved to Africa) meant that we relied heavily on our team of prayer supporters to uplift us before the Throne of God on a daily basis. It was (and is) beca

I am a missionary wife and homeschooling mom, so many of the posts on this blog will fit into these categories. This is a space for me to share life's hardships and joys in the hopes that others will be encouraged. Sometimes, as a mom, I can have doubts and feel that my abilities are 'not up to par'. I often question myself and my decisions, asking and wondering if I am doing enough, wondering if I am teaching my children enough, if I am teaching them the 'right' things that they will need in order to lead successful, productive lives. And other times, I wonder why I doubt my own abilities. God has uniquely gifted me with the right tools to teach and train and equip my children, to manage my household, to support and love my husband as he works on airplanes (which he loves!). God has also blessed me with the gift of hospitality, which I seek to use for His Glory every chance I get! Right now, I am reading two great books! One is called "Mastering Lif