May 18, 2012

Being Intentional in Motherhood


Since becoming a mother, time seems to be on the fast-track. Days are slipping away into the months, and the months are turning into years. Last night I remarked to my husband that I couldn't believe our eighth wedding anniversary was coming up next month.

Time is literally flying by.

Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  (Ephesians 5:15-16)

I have received some strong admonitions from the Word lately, feeling a little like a kick in the pants, to become more intentional in my parenting. Even though I have always wanted to steer away from going into survival-mode there are times when we get to the end of the day and I am thankful we have done just that---survived! However, when I look at the mother instructing king Lemuel in Proverbs 31, I see an intentional woman. Not only that, but she instructs him to search for an intentional wife!

What does being intentional look like practically? 

Being intentional to me means praying about our day together. When praying with my children at bedtime, we pray for the next day. That our actions and attitudes toward one another would be loving, and that we would be obedient to God. It means having forethought, making a plan, prayerfully considering what activities should and shouldn't be included in our daily routine. For me it also means sacrificing my time to get down and dirty with some activities - - finger painting! Being intentional is carving out time to read, play games, allow the kids to help me. It means on purpose training them in the ways of the Lord, training them in obedience, training them in gentleness and thankfulness. For our family, it's also a large reason why we chose to homeschool. Homeschooling forces me to have interaction with my kids that I might miss if they were in school six hours a day.

What does it look like for you? 

3 comments:

Jenna Renee said...

Visiting from Women in the Word Wednesday! Love this post, how insightful!

http://lawyergirlruns86.blogspot.com/2012/05/women-in-word-wednesday-2012-summer.html

Lisa Maria said...

Hi Karina

Visiting from GMG...as an older mom I can tell you how fast this time goes! Enjoy them! From your side bar I see we have a lot in common. I love to cook and bake myself and I love Dr Eggerichs. I'll come back to check out your blog more later on.

Unknown said...

WOW... I sure needed this today. Turning off computer and using my daughters nap time (she is 2) to play a new game with my son who will be headed to kindergaten in just a few months. I let go of my morning bible time to exercise and the past two weeks let even that go to catch up on sleep- I miss that daily prayer time :) Thanks again for such a meaning post!