Book Review: Ministry of Motherhood, Chapter Eight

Inspiring a New Kind of Love (emphasis mine/ my comments italicized)

Whew - this chapter was convicting.....conviction is ALWAYS good...condemnation is not from God....learn to discern the difference for your spiritual health....don't blow off conviction by lableing it condemnation...don't wallow in condemnation and become morbidly self-centered. Conviction leads our gaze to God, His grace, dependence on Him, and the strength He offers for me to change. Condemnation leads my gaze to ME....my failings, strength and frankly leads me to be independent of God.

"When we consider how to pass on the gift of inspiration to our children, we often think of taking them to church or getting them involved in a children's program or youth group, and those activities can be very positive. But even more important {snip} is doing for them what Jesus did for his disciples: helping them develop a heart of ministry by showing them what it means to reach out in love and compassion to others. " p 88.
"It's easy to condemn the Pharisees' attitude, but don't we sometimes do the same thing? Aren't there certain people we find acceptable for ministry and others who seem too threatening to reach? {snip} Do we sometimes avoid reaching out to people simply because they make us uncomfortable?" p 89
I have some comments here but I think I'll save them for the discussion question entry. I do think that Christians in general and homeschooling Christians specifically need to be aware that we are called to MINISTER to groups that may not look like US. Which means we need to sometimes be WHERE those folks are...in but not of the world...

"Jesus, as far as I can tell, never related to people according to how well they fit into a particular group. Instead, he saw them through the lens of their needs, and he loved them." p 90
"He felt compassion for them (Matt 9:36 - 38). That's so important. Passing on the gift of inspiration to our children is partly a matter of vision, which helps them understand that God wants to use them in this world to spread his kingdom. But vision alone is not enough. The vision defines the purposes of God, but compassion defines the heart of the vision. When we understand that God's love reaches into the dark and depraved corners of people's lives to bring healing and eternal life, then we will see people not for what they are but for who they are - people Christ loves and who need his redemption." p 91.
Again, I have some thoughts here but I am thinking that I'll hold them and see what discussion develops before sharing. This forum is tough for me. When I lead a study I purposefully draw out what others think. I share my thoughts after others have shared theirs. One, that helps them learn to share the things of the Lord. Two, often a leader's thoughts have the unintentional result of shutting down conversation - and I don't want to do that. Three, often we all learn so much by hearing how others state what we are thinking - clarity develops as we bounce what the Holy Spirit has shared with us off what He has said to others...... I've thought about this. Some are starting to comment on the discussion threads and quotes that I've published. I'd love to see more discussion...and I wonder if sharing my thoughts closes down what others may share....so we'll see how to make this work. This first discussion is a learning process. LOL

"Trying to love people the way Jesus did can be intimidating. It can push us well beyond our comfort boundaries. " p 92
I tend to have a hard time finding the boundaries between allowing all in to my close circle where time is sucked away....and cocooning....saving ALL my time for ministry to my family. More thoughts on that later. ::smirk::

"So often in the context of our family routines the Lord has given us opportunities to reach out to others." P 92.
I loved this quote. We learned about 7 years ago that the way for us to find relationships for our children was to go ahead and become involved in things we found meaningful and watch God bring those relationships to our family. Of course, we move a lot, and so this was an issue. The kids are not around folks they've seen since they were 5 years old. We had been doing all the typical things to find friends (church groups, homeschool groups, park days) and not finding friends. We gave up and began to do those things that were meaningful to us and God brought relationships into our lives.....some "friends" were 20 years older than our kids but hey....those are precious friendships. LOL In other words we learned that in the context of our family routine God brought ministry opportunities AND relationships for us all. That was several assignments ago.

"Even as Jesus died for us (Rm 5:8) when we needed it, following him means befriending others who, like us, are in need of his grace. Then, once a relationship is formed or a friendship is started, we seek opportunities to share the truth of God's love and forgiveness as gently and attractively as we are able." p 93 Note that building relationships or "life style evangelism" doesn't mean "no evangelism". ::snort::

"When we follow in the footsteps of Jesus to reach out in love to those in need, we will ignite in our children the sense that they are worthy to consider themselves part of the solution in meeting people's needs. Patterns of ministry will naturally be caught as they learn from us and from Jesus a new and initiating love. In the process they will be inspired to give themselves in ministry to become skilled and loving works for his harvest fields. " p 94
This works. I've lived it as a child and as a parent. I grew up in a missionary/pastor family. We were always told that it was a "family calling" not "Dad's calling". We didn't resent ministry because we knew we were part of the ministry. God had called our FAMILY to minister in Africa, in the Philippines etc...and we all made sacrifices for the sake of the call.

Years later I married a man in Bible College. We discussed this. We've raised our children with the same philosophy. God called our family to Hardin, to the Air Force - not just Mike. We sacrifice time. We move a lot. We don't always like where we are...but we KNOW that God called us a family and that we are all part of the ministry that God has called Mike too. The children have naturally learned what ministry looks like and have blossomed into their own ministries...which look different than ours in key ways...but which have at their heart to love God wholeheartedly and to love others as well. It challenges me once again to be sure that I'm including my children in my ministry schedule. That I LIVE my spiritual life before them. When I take a meal to someone in need- they can help prepare it or make a card. When I teach a study - they can be part of the meditating time and help me clarify my thoghts. When I have a project night - they can attend. As our older girls matured they attended Precept Bible studies, helped prepare for retreats and attended retreats, Bre did bulletin boards for women's ministries....they watched children so that I could be out of the home teaching....and yes, at times we went overboard...but all in all...they were part of the ministry, they learned naturally to minister and wow do they minister now. ::snort::

This was a great chapter....convicting, affirming....

OK - trying to set quotes off with different color - next time I'll leave the quotes the normal color and put my thoughts in a different color - less of my thoughts.