Filling Up Mom with God's Love

Filling UP Mom with God’s Love

Filling up mom with God’s love is from the Vintage Collection of Mommy Jammies Night and this wonderful presentation is by Judy Dudich who stopped blogging some time ago to focus on her family and homeschool. Her very popular blog was enjoyed by many. Enjoy this presentation.

We are promoting the movie Unseen Film.org a movie that discusses suicide. It is free with handouts and support materials. Visit the website for more information.

Homeschooling mothers are vastly different and unique from one another; and yet, most likely, every group of homeschooling mothers usually has some things in common, as well.

Think if five “common” adjectives you would use if we were to generalize the personality
of “the average homeschooling mother”:

Creative?
Innovative?
Multi-tasking?
Diligent?
Devoted?

A common thread among homeschool mothers:
* They are too HARD on themselves!
* They spend time praying, reading, researching, learning, practicing, and instilling
gentleness in their children, and they, themselves ARE gentle with children…

But not with themselves — is this you? The time has come for homeschooling mothers to hear a message of LOVE…a message that encourages you to be gentle with yourself.

What does God expect of Us?

Does He expect us to know everything?
Does He expect us to succeed in everything we do with our children?
Does He expect our kids to score perfectly on the SAT’s?
Does He expect us never to grow tired or weary or frustrated?
Does He expect us never to fail?
Does God expect us to try our best?
Does He expect us to surrender ourselves to His holy will each day?
Does He expect us to persevere in times of struggle?
Does He expect us to pray?
Does He expect us to LOVE?
Does He expect us to forgive others AND ourselves?

Do whatever He tells you~
* In Mary, the mother of Jesus, we find an example of complete trust, hope, persistence, and surrender in the Lord; as well as confidence in prayer.
(See John 2:5)

Do you trust God completely with your marriage, family life, and the education of your children? Or, have you fallen into the enemy’s trap of thinking YOU are responsible for the outcome of these things and therefore, feeling like a failure when it doesn’t turn out the way YOU have planned?

* Mary is persistent in her plea to Jesus.
Much like the Canaanite woman (See Matthew 15:25) who continues to ask Jesus to help her, even after He has seemingly answered “in the negative”, so too, does Mary persist (after Jesus says, “Woman, how does your concern affect me, my hour has not yet come”) by instructing the servants (i.e. US) to ‘Do whatever He tells you”.

* Our faith is tested in homeschooling and we must persist; like Mary, the Canaanite Woman, and the determined widow who makes her plea to the judge. (Luke 18)
They had complete trust and persisted until their need was met. Think for a moment of what Jesus tells the servants next. He tells them to “fill the jars with water”. These were jars used for ceremonial washing and each jug held about 20-30 gallons of liquid. The servants fill them to the BRIM.

We must do the same!

The work you do each day and the efforts with which you serve, care for, teach, and nurture your family is the water with which you are filling the jars!
* God does not need us to perform His miracles/work. ~ Think of the Miracle at the Wedding in Cana Jesus did not need the water to be there in order to bring forth the wine. He could have brought the wine into existence by thinking/commanding it into existence.

~ Each and every day, God is inviting you to “take part” in the work of His hand and in the sacred work He is doing in the soul of your spouse, each of your children; and in your own soul. *God gives us an opportunity to take part in His Divine Plan. ~ We must remember that we are educating for eternity and within that realm
, here is a much larger picture at-hand than merely checking off items on a to-do list or measuring our tasks and accomplishments against those of our neighbors.

~ God accepts even the smallest of efforts if offered with a joyful and willing heart out of love for Him and gratitude for His blessings. * We Do Not Provide the Wine
~ Understanding that our good deeds can never “merit” our Salvation; which is a GIFT, freely given to us by Jesus Christ, we must then understand that we have nothing to give which can be offered to the Lord as though it were already the “wine” in the jars.

~ All of our tasks, duties, and good deeds as wives, mothers, and homeschooling instructors are “water”. But, that’s OK! We must learn to accept that fact (that we are not able to give anything “of worth” outside of Christ) and FILL THE JARS, with love. ~ NOT filling the jars, because we feel that “we are not good enough”, “not
capable enough”, or “not ‘whatever’ enough” is a sin against God’s mercy and charity. This is a tool that the enemy uses (tricking us into believing that we are not good enough) which, left unchecked, will lead us to despair.

“We are not called to be successful, only faithful” ~ Every homeschooling mother should heed the above wisdom of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Thinking that we must meet a certain status quo, or achieve a certain level of success, is a self-induced and skewed mindset. The Lord wants us to love, and to love as He loves. That’s it! If you wake up every day and provide a safe and loving atmosphere in which your child has an opportunity to know, love, and serve the Lord, then you are a faithful
servant; even if that child rejects your teaching, fails in his/her school work, or takes a path in life that is opposed to your convictions and beliefs. (Call upon GOD in times like these for the Lord will not forsake the prayers and tears of a mother’s heart.)

Similarly, if you succeed in raising children who go on to ivy league schools and climb to the tip-top of the corporate ladder, making gobs of money and living lives of luxury and ease, but they have never been told the Good News, have never learned compassion, or the joy of serving others, or empathy for fellow man, or how to LOVE for the sake of God, then where is your faithfulness? (St Paul reminds us that “faith without works is dead” in James 2:26)

*Get Out of God’s Way
~ Learning to “just fill the jars” and step aside so that our Lord and King, Jesus Christ, can take what we have done in obedience and submission to the Father’s calling, and bless it, change it, and make it holy, is the true essence of “surrender”. ~ “Do your best and leave the rest”, “Let go and let God” and other familiar
sayings are true. The point is, God does not have a big checklist in heaven where He ticks off items according to “how well” we do on a given day. We must do our best to tend to our families, and love God with our whole mind, heart, and body, and then LET GOD BE GOD and do what’s needed to carry out His Divine Plan.

*SURRENDER OUR MISERY
~ The most difficult thing to let go of is our own misery. Everyone has it. The complaints. The whining. The fatigue. The self-pity. ~ Gratitude and joy go hand in hand and part of surrendering our misery is to look for the JOY in our lives and give thanks to God in all things.

~ The “water” with which we fill the jars is made up of: our love, our gentleness toward our children, our focus and diligence in our work, our joyful hearts, our charitable acts, and our faithfulness to the Word. This is the “water” Your Savior will transform into His heavenly wine! ~ You are doing a mighty and sacred work. Just by being there for your children, helping them to learn, and tending to their temporal and spiritual needs, you are filling the jars.

~ When you persevere in a marriage that is hurting, forgive the offenses, overlook the faults, and forge ahead, in prayer, trying to restore what satan and the world has damaged and torn, you are filling the jars. ~ When you can’t see past the mountain of laundry, don’t have a moment to spare for yourself, and are feeling like quitting more than giving, but, in spite of it all, you give anyway, you are filling the jars.

~ True giving starts when you feel you have nothing left to give but give anyway. * Each day is a new JAR. * Each moment brings an opportunity for you to fill it.
* Nothing you do in sin or by fault can empty your jar. * One drop of water in the jar is enough for Jesus to make wine. (Meaning: When you are struggling and feel you can’t go on, but you DO go on, in surrender and by faith, you are filling the jar)

* Your prayers for others can fill THEIR jars, as well as your own! Mothers! Pray for one another!
Strive to surrender in:

Homeschooling
Marriage
Friendships
Faith Life
Family Life
Schedules

JUST FILL THE JARS AND JESUS WILL MAKE THE WINE! “I Surrender”, written by Judy Dudich encourages you to make God the center of your daily life and to
reflect upon the Scripture Verse: Joshua 24:25, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.

Judy Dudich was the owner of Homeschool Faith and Family Life Website – no longer available
She is the author of “A Thankful Woman’s Book of Blessings.”

TWITTER: @Benmakesten
FACEBOOK: Search “Judy Dudich” & “Homeschool Faith and Family Life”

Special Thanks to Our Network Sponsor – Unseen Film

After finding his grandson Owen preparing to end his own life, Alexander takes him along on an errand. As the day unfolds, Owen learns new information about his grandfather’s past and unlocks the secret to facing his own future.

Click Here to Download the Film for Free and get Resources for Your Family