A Mother’s Impact on Her Children: A 3-Day Parenting PlanSample

The Glamorous Life

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.

James 1:16

Many women feel that the job of “mom” is boring and monotonous—and they are right! But so is practically every other occupation. I (JCD) once stayed in a hotel next to the room of a famous cellist. I could hear him through the walls (believe me!) as he practiced hour after hour. He did not play beautiful symphonic renditions; he repeated scales over and over. As the cellist strolled onstage that evening, I’m sure many in the audience thought, What a glamorous life! Some glamour. He spent the entire day alone in his hotel room.

Few of us enjoy heart-thumping excitement each moment of our professional lives. How thrilling is the work of a medical pathologist who examines bacterial cultures from morning until night or a dentist who spends his days drilling and filling? The job of a homemaker can be about as boring as most others. Yet in terms of significance, no job can compete with a mother’s task of shaping and molding a human being in the morning of life (though humanists would have us believe otherwise).

Not every woman chooses to be a mother, of course, but those who do are worthy of our admiration and respect. “Children,” we are told in Scripture, “are a blessing” (Psalm 37:26, TLB). If so, then mothers are His loving gift to them.

Before you say good night . . .

• If you’re a full-time mom, do you feel God is pleased with your service to Him as a mother?
• If not, what changes do you wish you could make?
• How can your spouse help you make those changes happen?

(mother) Dear Lord, You have called me to the incredibly important job of being a mom. Help me to experience the satisfaction of resting in Your will. Amen.

Excerpted from Night Light for Parents, used with permission.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. (Prov. 31:26, ESV)

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed . . . (Prov. 31:27-28a, ESV)