Raising Children...or Producing Mini-Me's?

As a mother, raising my children is one of the top priorities in my life.  I believe that motherhood is more than just "taking care of the kids".  It is a calling.  And any calling that God places on an individual He also anoints to complete the task.  Isn't that great news?

You are not just surviving through your days with your children, you are walking in an ANOINTING!  

Yes, sometimes that anointing gets drowned out easily in the bickering, spills, and boo-boo fixing but deep down,we must acknowledge that it's there and so much bigger than ourselves.  Ultimately, I want my children to grow up in the Lord with hearts to serve Him and the world around them.  I pray they will see needs and find creative ways to meet them.  I hope that compassion will flow from them along with all the fruits of the spirit and that they will live their lives committed to a higher calling.  But sometimes I forget this.  Too often I focus on the "be nice to your sister" "don't do that" and "pick that up" and fail to use the small life lessons handed to me to teach far bigger principles.  There are days I yell in frustration, lack joy, and become distracted by things that aren't really a priority at all.  Some days all I want to do is countdown until bedtime and be done.  But thank God for His grace to start anew when I realize I am off track!  Though daily I will continue to strive to have my actions meet where my heart is, one lesson has been ingraining itself deeply in my being recently:  

If you want your children to grow into a certain somebody - 
you must first BE that certain somebody. 

How can I expect my children to walk in love when I yell at them?  How can I hope they learn compassion towards others when I am too busy in my own life to reach out to someone that needs my help?  How can I strive to teach them patience when I am anything but?  It's a known fact that children copy what they see.  It's important to ask forgiveness when we are in the wrong but we must constantly strive to be the people we visualize our children to one day become.  

Raising children is less about rule following than it is about example setting and relationship building.  

And that is where I plan to start - each day and each moment.  Focused on my calling as a mother and on placing my heart in the hands of my Father so that He will mold me and make me into the person He wants me to be.  Everyday I see my children learning and taking steps closer to the destinies they have in their life and I choose to focus on that rather than the small battles that we all face as humans.  

How about you?  How can we better walk out our 
callings as parents? 

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