31 Days of Heavenly Mothering

I am so excited about joining the, "31 Days of Writing" challenge that is hosted by Myquillin Smith of The Nester.
I read a book this year called Heaven on Earth, about Waldorf homeschooling, and there were so many lovely things about it, but the spiritual aspects of it were not necessarily from a Christian perspective. I have also read many parenting books that were written by Christians, but so many of them dealt intensely with how to get our children to behave and seemed to completely overlook the other more joyful aspects of growing up in a Christian home.

 As a young mom, I was very guided by these behavioristic books and it took having a child with a learning difficulty for me to start studying child development and realizing that children need lots of sensory input to develop healthy mental abilities. 
It is very hard for a child to get that proper development when they are kept in a playpen for hours or in blanket training. It is also hard for them to develop confidence and decision making skills if they are not allowed any decisions at all. Teaching children to obey, so they can obey God might be a good place to start, but there is a whole lot more to bringing up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

What should Christian mothering look like? That is the topic that I am going to explore here in the next 31 days.
Christian children can be creative and artful and sweet and well mannered at the same time, but I think we have made Christianity way too much about behavior and overlooked what a happy adventure it is. If we have overlooked it ourselves, chances are, our children aren't getting that message either.

On the other hand, for some of us in our efforts to shy away from behaviorism and legalism, we might be making life harder for our children by not teaching them some basic civility that is necessary for a family or society to function.

So join me over the next 31 days as I use three important passages of scripture to illustrate Heavenly Mothering, mothering that nurtures children to be both kind and creative, obedient and adventurous, respectful and radiant, all for the glory of our King.

Day 1-Introduction (this post)
Day 2-Heavenly Mothering is Intentional
Day 3-Heavenly Mothering is Aware
Day 4-Heavenly Mothering is Prepared
Day 5-Heavenly Mothering is Prayerful
Day 6-A Heavenly Home is Joyful (Psalm 100)
Day 7-Mutual Service
Day 8-Heavenly Mothers Sing
Day 9-Heavenly Mothers Know Their Maker
Day 10-Heavenly Mothers Don't Follow Strangers
Day 11-Thankful
Day 12-Heavenly Homes Are Full Of Praise
Day 13-Heavenly Mothers Speak Blessings
Day 14-Heavenly Mothers Are Merciful
Day 15-Heavenly Homes Are Honest

Day 16-Dependent on the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22)
Day 17-Loving
Day 18-Joyful
Day 19-Heavenly Mothers Seek Peace
Day 20 Heavenly Mothers are Patient
Day 21 The Fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness
Day 22-God is Good
Day 23-Heavenly Parents Need Faith
Day 24-Meekness is a Fruit of the Spirit
Day 25-Temperate -My son had surgery and I showed temperance by hanging with him instead of writing a blog post.

Day 26- Prepared to Parent (Ephesians 6:14-16)
Day 27- Heavenly Mothers Obey
Day 28-Heavenly Homes are Peaceful
Day 29-Heavenly Mothers are Armed and Dangerous
Day 30-Heavenly Mothers are Watchful
Day 31- Conclusion

For more posts on Family from the 31 Days of Writing series click here