Day 2 of #21Days4Sons ~ The Importance of Obedience

I'm taking part in the #21Days4Sons over at The MOB Society where we are reading Warrior Prayers for the first 21 days of May.

So far we are in day 2 and I'm really enjoying the challenges, the book, and praying the scripture for my sons.

Today's topic is on Obedience. I was challenged by how important it is for me, as the mother, to teach my son(s) Biblical obedience. I'm the type of person that likes a visual aid, and I love the example that the author gave us on how the teaching of obedience lies a great opportunity in sharing the Gospel message with my son. She used it like this:

“Son, you’re right. You didn’t obey mommy.  God says you must obey mommy and daddy, doesn’t He?  It’s hard to obey, isn’t it?  Everything in you wants your own way!  It’s fun to hit your brother sometimes.  It’s fun to be too loud and sometimes, it makes you feel good about yourself to tell mommy no.  But God, Who made you, says you must obey.  You can’t do it by yourself, can you?  No matter how hard you try to be good and obey mommy, you just can’t get it right all the time.  That’s why we love God so much, Son!  He knew you couldn’t do it by yourself!  He knew you would choose to sin instead of obey!  He knew you would need help!  So He sent His only Son Jesus to die for your sins and take the punishment you deserved.  Then God raised Jesus from the dead and now Jesus is with God in heaven, just waiting for you to confess your sin and ask Him to help you fight the sin in your heart!  Isn’t that great news?  We need Jesus! Let’s pray now and ask Jesus to help you!”

(McGlothlin, Brooke (2011-05-02). Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most (Kindle Locations 318-325).  . Kindle Edition.) 

I'm seeing that I really need to take these opportunities when they come about and teach my son how important it is to obey. I sometimes tend to be a "fly by the seat of my pants" parent mostly because I'm too lazy to get to the heart of the issue. My prayer for myself is that I will have a plan and a renewed vision on the importance of teaching obedience to my son.

"If our boys never learn the importance of obeying and see their inability to obey by themselves, how will they ever recognize their need for a Savior?"

WOW!! I hope and pray that I will set an example of obedience for my son(s)! Today was revealing and I'm looking forward to see what else is ahead in the #21Days4Sons.

Today's Warrior Prayers through the Scripture:

Warrior Prayers for OBEDIENCE

• Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, may Lincoln obey the Lord our God so that it will go well with him (Jeremiah 42:6). 
• May Lincoln obey his parents in the Lord, for this is right (Ephesians 6:1)
• May Lincoln obey his leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over his soul, as those who will have to give an account. Let Lincoln do this with joy and not with groaning (Hebrews 13:17). 
• May Lincoln obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). 
• May Lincoln return to the Lord his God, and obey with all his heart and all his soul all the commands God has given (Deuteronomy 30:2).
• May Lincoln walk after the Lord his God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey His voice.  May Lincoln serve Him and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 13:4). 
• May Lincoln stop his sinning and begin to obey the Lord his God (Jeremiah 26:13). 
• May Lincoln obey Jesus’ commandments, and remain in His love (John 15:10). 
• May Lincoln show his love for Christ by obeying His commands (John 14:15). 
• May we be full of joy at Lincoln’s obedience (Romans 16:19). 

Warrior Prayers for SUBMISSION TO AUTHORITY

• May Lincoln obey his leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over his soul, as those who will have to give an account.  Let him do this with joy and not with groaning (Hebrews 13:17). 
• May Lincoln submit himself therefore to God.  May he resist the devil, so he will flee from him (James 4:7).
• May Lincoln submit to laborers of the Gospel and to everyone who joins in the work (1 Corinthians 16:16).
• May Lincoln submit to others out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21).
• May Lincoln be subject to the Father of spirits and live (Hebrews 12:9). 
• May Lincoln agree with God, and be at peace; so good will come to him (Job 22:21). 
• May Lincoln be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God (Romans 13:1).
• May Lincoln submit himself to the Lord (2 Chronicles 30:8).
• May Lincoln, who is younger, be subject to the elders.  May he clothe himself with humility toward others, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). 
• For freedom Christ has set us free; may Lincoln stand firm therefore, and not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). 

If you're interested in joining in and would like to pray along with us for our sons, grandsons, and/or future sons (like sons in-law), go to The MOB Society for more information! I won't be posting everyday, but I do usually tweet some thoughts through out the day on the topic that's given, if you'd like to follow along: follow @bethanyev

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My lesson from my son on parenting and God...

I had this little thought(s) go through my head the other morning as I was trying to start my morning devotions.

As my son is watching his morning cartoons, drinking his chocolate milk, he's constantly talking, asking, replaying the scene he just saw, and is constantly saying, "mom, mom, MOM!!!" 

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOUR FINE!!! 

Can you just PLEASE be quiet, and sit still for a little bit as I try to read my Bible?" 

(Now know this: I'm tired...I know that I've been short with him lately, I feel like a horrible mother, the house work is piling up, I just want to be in bed till baby gets here....that's where I'm at... that's why my response is so...fleshy)

My thoughts turned to, how do we sound to God? As His children, does He hear, "God, God, GOD, over here, look, LOOK over here! See?! hey, hey HEY!!! are you paying attention?!" Are we always asking sounding so selfishly for things that we probably don't need or deserve? Do we sound like annoying little children?

But then as I started my morning in Psalm 27 and was reading about God, being our shelter and how he never leaves us, and is always a caring God for His children, I was rebuked by my thinking process from earlier on. God has a concern for His children, He cares. So much more than I ever will for my son. 

So during those times when I'm asking God repeatedly, over and over, with a child like attitude, He actually shows that He's concerned and pays attention to my needs. As a parent I saw how I was not always responding to my son's needs with the right attitude. With CONCERN, with CARE.

Then I read more on how the psalmist has confidence in God. Confidence in God's care and protection and confidence in knowing that God will never forsake him. This made me think of a child like faith. My son, as he's young, has the confidence in me for his protection. In his little mind, I'm never going to leave him, I'll always be there to take care of him. Now as he grows older he'll grow to understand that as humans, this isn't always possible and he'll learn to trust God, but in his mind for now, he's fully confident in me. Am I like that with God? Do I have that kind of faith?

I was not ready for my morning to be (really a lesson from my son) a rebuke on my parenting skills, for the parenting lessons and example of how God is to His children.

So here are some lessons/reminders for me:

• I learned that I need to work on my response and to be more patient with my son and show that I care just as God shows His children
• I learned that I need to be a better example to my son of God's care and concern
• I was reminded of the child like faith and that I too can have confidence in my God just as my son has in me. (But with God it's for oh so much more!)
• In the end I'm praising God for His care over me and that He's concerned and apart of every part in my life. Knowing that I can have confidence over everything because He is with me is such a help in this journey through motherhood!

Our children need to see Christ in our lives, and need to see us live it out on a daily basis. I'm no super Christian by any means and am still growing and stretching like every other Christian. I'm always learning and don't want to stop. I thought that maybe I'd share some of my thoughts as I've enjoyed reading others go through some of the same experiences/lessons. 

Has there been anything that God is teaching/shown you recently? Please share! Thanks for stopping by!

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Pregnancy update: 30 weeks and 3 days!!!

Sorry I've been bad and not updating over the last couple weeks. I've been tired tired tired....Same old story for the last couple weeks. Just can't seem to get this fog off me. Pregnancy brain has been terrible and I just don't want to do ANYTHING!!! That's my excuse...Sorry...

So here it is. It's down to the final weeks!!!! We're in the single digits for the countdown!!!

(I take horrible pics, I know...)

How far along: 30 weeks and 3 days

Countdown: 9 weeks and 4 days

Size of baby: (still measuring a week bigger) a head of lettuce (19 in, 3.9 lbs)

Maternity clothes: Whatever I can find, (which has been hard) I need more tank tops and shirts. I hate to buy more clothes for just a few more weeks of big belly.... So I might pull out my maxi dress and see how that looks. Like today I'm wearing a dress/shirt from Express. Forgot how much I liked it! Bonus! It's comfy!!! :)

Movement: LOTS!!!! and lots of braxton hicks contractions too. Definitely more than last pregnancy. I think it's mostly because I don't drink water...I know....I really should be drinking water. I'm trying. I'm just not a water drinker.

What I miss: Being able to walk like a normal person. I'm so over with this waddle.

Sleep: Can't get enough. Though, I did pretty good yesterday without my nap! That's a first in a long while! My energy level comes and goes.

Symptoms: Sore back, fatigue, REALLY BAD PREGNANCY BRAIN!!!!

Cravings: candy. I think I ate most of my son's Easter candy. I can't go to Aldi's without buying some of the  Australian strawberry flavored licorice. (you know, that really soft licorice....my BIGGEST weakness right now) I heard of someone who refrained from eating candy and bought a little stash of her favorite kind to reward herself for after delivery...hhmmmm...can I do it???

Best moment of the week: Lincoln telling me that I make his heart happy! Makes all this mommy/pregnancy business all worth it! :)

What I'm looking forward to: The moment they place my son on my chest and we get to see each other for the first time!

Other random updates since last pregnancy post:
I passed my 3hr glucose test, so I've been spoiling myself. (which you've probably noticed with all the candy eating lately)
I had an ultra sound done yesterday and my placenta is not low like it was earlier on, so that's good news.
I got to visit my sister in Indianapolis couple weeks ago.
I rearranged Lincoln's room and made it into the 'boys room.' There's a pack n play in there and I'm making a dresser into a changing station.
I packed a diaper bag. (this one is just crazy to me, I don't know why....but it is)
Preschool with Lincoln has been put on hold.
Lincoln likes to look at the recent ultra sound pictures! One of them he pointed and asked,
"what's this?"
I said, "It's his pee-pee."
"OH!! HAHA!!!"
His reaction was just too funny!! He cracks me up!

So that's pretty much it! Thanks for stopping by!

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The Good Bad Ugly Link up hosted by: www.diamondsdogtagsdiapers.com

My bookshelf

I've been in a reading mood lately. Most of my bookshelf contains mothering/parenting books. My problem is that I will start a book, get to a spot that doesn't interest me, I'll take a long break, or something happens like I'm too busy, or I'll find a different book. After a while, I'm half way through 5 different books not being able to retain a whole lot. So, I've been trying to be good, not to rent anything from the library, so that I can give myself time to read what I have at home and actually finish them. I've been picking up books through paperbackswap.com and plan on swapping them back for the others that are on my wishlist! Thought I'd share, I know it's a lot. But I hope to at least read 15 books with in the year! Is that a lot? I've never counted or kept track how many books I've read...This is a first.

Here's where I'll start.
Learning to Live Financially Free by Marybeth & Curt Whalen (started months ago and would really like to finish it this month...)
The Power of a Postive Wife by Karol Ladd (JUST started)
Savoring Living Water by Lara Williams and Katie Orr (click on picture to go to the website)
(Fun read) The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What's on your bookshelf that you have read or would like to read? I might like to add it myself! Let me know if you've read and recommend any that are on my list!

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog