Mothers Day in a whole new way

Wierd. Why is it that this year as I listened to the mothers day sermon, I was not only grateful for the blessing of a wonderful mother but was struck by the idea of the kind of mom i want to be when i have family of my own? I started thinking about the little things that I want to do with my kids to hopefully bring them closer to Christ. I want to be someone they can turn to with their struggles as well as their joys. Someone who listens to them, protects them, and loves them. Not overprotective but guarding, holding their best interests at heart. Its an odd thought to be struck by in a way but in the words of Mack I'm "such a girl" so maybe its not to weird. So what traditions do i want to have with my kids?

1. Blessings before bed

My mom and step dad always blessed me before i went to sleep and they still do to this day. Its one of the things i remember most. Praying for the little things that i asked them to and the things that were coming up in my life. I love that they care enough to do that each night.

2. Praying before each meal

Pretty self explanatory on this one. Pray before you eat. Thank God for his provisions and his blessings.

3. Eating meals together on a regular basis

Its a chance to catch up and find out about each others day. If you miss a day or two a week for different activities or things its not the end of the world but that time together is very important to me with my family and when i have a family of my own i want that time with them as well.

4. Daily Devotionals

When we were younger my parents always did this devotional book with us each night. It would have a story, a bible passage, and then some discussion questions. I feel like that really helped me grow in my faith. Learning the basics of applying my faith in my life with my parents by my side was a great thing for me. As we got older we started doing personal devotional books and Bibles by the Bedside and now we spend our own time in the word each night.

5. An Open Home

I want to have a house that my kids feel comfortable inviting their friends too, not to focus on material things but i want them to have fun inviting their friends over. Theres always one or two of your friends that seem to have everyone over all the time and i want my house to be that one. There's a lot of things out there that i want my kids to stay away from and if they and their friends have a house they have fun at then maybe it will help keep them out of trouble. I suppose in a way is so i can monitor what they do as well haha.

6. Love

One of the greatest things that my parents did to encourage my faith was letting me watch the way they treated each other. They loved each other they treated each other and us in a Christ-like manner and it was such a shining example to me and i want to be that to my children as well.

I guess this all fits into my dream for the future. I am so blessed to have the wonderful mother I do, I appreciate all that she does and has done for me. I hope that one day I'll be as good of a mother to my kids as she has been to me.