Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

Devotion for the Week...

Did you enjoy your Mother's Day yesterday? I certainly did. We went to Paul's sister's house for the weekend, and then Paul's entire family, along with a few others (22 people in all!), had lunch together after church yesterday. It was great to have everyone all together!

Being Mom (or Dad, but yesterday was Mother's Day so we're going to focus on Mom here), is a great training ground for living a Christian life in the world at large. Christians are called to be and do many things, most of which are also part of raising kids. Let's look at a few of them.

* Servanthood. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 12:45). Though mothers have been tempted to shout, "I'm not your servant!" since time immemorial, the truth is that mothers are servants to their children. Not to the extent that we never require them to do anything for themselves, but mothers serve their children daily by such things as preparing meals, helping with homework, doing laundry, playing the games they love and we hate (I'm so grateful my boys have all outgrown needing me to play dinkeys) and many other things. The question is, what is our attitude while we're doing these things? Are we doing it willingly? Or are we grumbling and complaining the whole time, even if it's all silently in our own thoughts? And how well does our servant attitude extend to those outside our homes?

* Selflessness. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" (Philippians 2:3,4). This is probably second nature to most moms, at least most of the time. Mothers in general are famous for putting their own needs last and caring for the needs of everyone else first. Again, how well does that attitude extend to those outside our homes?

* Forgiveness. Kids mess up. There's no doubt about it, and there are times we need to forgive them. Moms mess up too, and there are times we need to ask them to forgive us. Both giving and receiving forgiveness are great lessons for kids (and adults) to learn, and both will help them understand God's forgiveness a little better. "Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us" (Luke 11:4). And what about other people in our lives who have messed up and need our forgiveness? Are we able to forgive them too?

* Sharing the gospel. Somehow it's easier to talk about Jesus with children. There's little reason to fear they will make fun of you, or think you're crazy for talking about God all the time. If we've been doing it since they were babies, then they think it's perfectly natural and don't question our tendency to relate just about anything to God. Adults, especially those who don't share our beliefs, can feel like a much tougher audience. Of course, that doesn't mean we should limit ourselves to only sharing Jesus with our children. Paul, especially, provides us with an example we should follow. Though people beat him, tried to kill him and imprisoned him, he never stopped telling people about Jesus. "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders" (Acts 14:3). Who do you find it easier to talk to about God - children or adults?

* Making Disciples. Just because our kids believe in Jesus doesn't necessarily make them disciples. Google dictionary defines 'disciple' as "a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher." A believer agrees that the facts about Jesus are true. A disciple is one who studies those facts, who tries to understand how Jesus lived and how to be more like Jesus themselves. Sharing the gospel - making new believers - is one part of the process, but Jesus calls us to do something much deeper. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19). We are called to make disciples, to tell people about Jesus in such a way that they want to know more, and then, of course, to help them in their quest to learn about Jesus and the Christian life.

Being Mom gives us so many opportunities to practice living as God wants us to live. But our Christian living should not stop when we walk out the door of our home. How well do we do at living out these principles with the people we don't live with?

Comfort

Devotion for the Week...

One day last week I spoke with a new mom who has suffered some baby blues these first couple of weeks after her baby was born. I couldn't really relate, because I never went through that, but there was another mom with us who had gone through it and could relate. She could tell that new mom, "I understand. I was there too. I know how you feel."

It's a phenomenon I've seen a lot. Whenever moms gather, no matter how varied the ages of our children, we share stories. Inevitably, there are struggles with discipline, or feeding, or sleeping schedules or whatever it may be, and some of the other moms offer their own stories of how they got through that same sort of problem. Moms are really great at encouraging each other through those tough times, and at offering hope that it is possible to get through them while also preserving your sanity! As I know from experience, sometimes it helps just to know that someone else has dealt with what you're dealing with.

It works for non-childrearing problems too. In fact,the Bible says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).

This world is full of problems. Some are small in the grand scheme of things, like 'my child is a picky eater' and others are much bigger, like 'I've just been given a scary diagnosis.' No matter what we are facing, we sometimes feel alone in it. We feel like no one understands what we are going through, that no one has been where we are. Feeling alone can make the problem feel even bigger, and scarier, than it already is. 

But God doesn't leave us there, feeling alone. He sends help, in the form of another person who does actually understand, who knows what we are going through and offers us hope and comfort. You see, no matter how much you feel like no one understands, odds are that someone else has gone through a similar enough situation that they can offer you help and hope. 

 Maybe you're not ready to talk yet, though. That's fine. Maybe you'll never be ready to share your story with everyone. That's fine too. Some things are just too personal to share with the general public. But if you are able to talk, even to only a couple of people, then I am willing to bet you will find comfort and hope in the process of sharing your situation. And, eventually, your story will probably be a source of comfort and hope for someone else too.

Background quilt is Sparkler

As our verse says, God plans it that way. He loves to work through people, offering encouragement to those who are discouraged, comfort to those who are hurting, a listening ear to those who just need to talk. Really, no matter what form of comfort you need, God can use another person to offer it. And then, sometime down the road, it will be your turn to take the comfort you've been given, along with the hope and encouragement, and pass it on to someone else.

Flower Box in Make Modern Magazine

I am so excited to finally be able to share my Flower Box cushion, which is in the newest issue of Make Modern magazine! This issue (their 5th) is now available from here.

I hesitated about submitting this design because my style is rather traditional and I didn't know if it would be considered modern enough, so I was especially thrilled when it was accepted.

The cushion is made with one 12" block and uses both traditional piecing and applique. Apparently I like to make mixed technique projects, since my Twirling Star pattern is made with traditional piecing and paper piecing. Do you like to mix techniques in you projects?

When I needed to submit the pictures, I didn't actually have a 12" pillow form and the only form my local store had was a rather pathetically stuffed 14". It fit in my cushion cover, though, and made it look nice and full. I have since bought a properly stuffed 12" pillow form and it looks exactly the same, so I guess now I can make another cushion cover :)

Cushion covers are quick projects that give that gratification of a finish almost as soon as you start! Plus, they're small enough that you can practice your machine quilting without committing to a huge quilt.

If you make a Flower Box cushion, or use it as a block to make a larger quilt, I'd love to see it! Send me a picture or a link to a blog post, or tag me on Instagram (I'm @devotedquilter).

In celebration of my first publication, I'll be linking with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, TGIFF and Finish it up Friday.