Don’t Be That Mother-In-Law

May I start by saying this is not a “bash” on Mother-in-laws (MIL) article. This post was inspired to challenge daughter-in-laws before it’s too late. To challenge them to break the bad MIL wrap… and to prepare their hearts in hopes of becoming an AMAZING… what I like to call, mother-in-LOVE to your sons’ or daughters’ future spouses.

I have a dear friend who would always remind me of this cute rhyme. I’m sure some of you have heard it:

“A son’s a son until he takes a wife. But… A daughter’s a daughter for the rest of your life.”

Having both a son and daughter of my own, that rhyme always bugged me. My friend, a very wise woman, shared the way she now says the rhyme:

“A daughter’s a daughter for the rest of your life. But…a sons’ a son…If you LOVE his wife.”

My desire here is to talk about a topic that is a sore spot for many, sore for so many that jokes are abundant about the subject. Song lyrics lament the dreaded mother-in-law (i.e. Huey Luis and the News). Even movies have been made depicting the Monster-In-Law (with J-LO and Jane Fonda).

As hard and fake at times as my relationship with my MIL has been over the past 22 beautiful years that I’ve been married to her son, I must say God has used that relationship to challenge and grow me.  As a result, I VOW to be the best mother-in-LOVE to my kids spouses that I could ever be.

This short but transparent post is written in LOVE to them (my kids future spouses) before I ever even know what they look like.

And for you my new friend, this post is to challenge you to prepare your heart through prayer and supplication for your future son or daughter in-law as well.

♥♥♥

Source

We as moms with young kids need to break the bad MIL wrap by deciding now and becoming ourselves one day…Mothers-in-LOVE.

The in-law thing… sucks…Really who came up with that title?

Mother-in-law

Father-in-law

Brother-in-law

Sister-in-law.

Daughter-in-law

Son-in-law

Correct me if you’re not feeling it like I am, but its a throwaway title don’t you think?

It’s sorta like the messy, rude, annoying neighbor on the block… Let’s call them the neighbor-in-law; nobody really wants to get to know that neighbor anyway.

It is all this in-law stuff that has empowered me to write this article.

My kids are ages 15 & 13, but time flies so if I have to gift wrap this article as a wedding present to act as a love letter to my children’s spouses on my true desire to love them with all my heart- so be it. Or perhaps my future son & daughter in-law will have this post to smack me over my head if I ever cause any ripples, fights or tension in their marriage.

You could call it a bit of MIL insurance to remind me “Not to be that mother-in-law.”

Let’s be honest who else is talking about this topic?

There are books on marriage, raising children; self help books, fitness book, books on finance, and books for dummies: But, not a one on the mother-in law.

Well girls we’re talking about it now! And in the months to come we are going to take a journey to camp. 

I like to call it our very own mother-in-law boot camp.

A post on mother-in-law’s to be. Mothers-in-law in training,

….training to be mothers-in-LOVE. Mothers in love with the choice our children make for a spouse. Mothers modeling the love Christ showed for us by laying down his life for our sake.

I look forward over the next few months at Roo Mag to walk through God’s word together as we prepare our hearts to one day meet our children’s future spouses.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we would all become the Mothers in Love God intended us to be!

This entry was posted in Mother by Shelene.

Just A Reminder..........

Wednesday nights are back on at NorthStar!!

Preschool, Children and C.O.W start back up this Wednesday night, so come on out.

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Let Go of the Past

It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22–23

We can find peace in the knowledge that God’s compassion and kindness is new every morning and that His faithfulness is abundant. God has provided a way for your past to have zero power over you, but it is up to you to receive His gracious gift of forgiveness, mercy, and a new beginning. Also, we must never forget that He is able to overcome and do far more than we could ever imagine that He could do for us (Ephesians 3:20). Don’t allow mistakes in your past to fester and threaten your future.

When you ask God to forgive you for something that you have done wrong, He is faithful and just to do it. He continuously cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We are said to be new creatures when we enter into a relationship with Christ. Old things pass away. We have an opportunity for a new beginning. We become new spiritual clay for the Holy Spirit to work with. God makes arrangements for each of us to have a fresh start, but we must be willing to let go of the past and go on.

Lord, I want to be a new creature in Your Spirit today. Thank You for Your abundant mercy and faithfulness to me. I want to be faithful to You as well. Amen.

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From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

The Good Cry

So I set aside a few hours today to watch movies.
Well, let me back up a second. Here’s the deal.
I woke up today feeling a little off, a little blah, after actually going to bed that way too. Well, 'blah' is not even an accurate word. If you are of the female gender you know know what I mean. There’s nothing that hurts, no one thing that is on my heart and mind. And that is the issue at the core. There are a lot of thing on my mind and heart.
So I decided to not let it get out of hand – to do something about it.
I’m not obsessing. Not by a long shot.  This is just a time when there happen to be a few things I’m working through simultaneously; caring for my mom, missing my son, contemplating decisions, grieving some areas of my life, and simply in a search for some answers that seem so long in coming.
 And one thing that almost all women can relate to is the fact that when we have days or even seasons like this – and then sometimes for no apparent reason at all – we just need a good cry.
Men make fun of it. They don’t understand it. I think it frightens them a bit. Emotion on that level usually does.
But we understand one another. And we also know what having this special time set aside can do. If handled properly it provides a cleansing that nothing else can.
So why do we need days like this?  I think it’s because as women we’re made as a reflection of the emotional side of our Creator. And that’s become a beautiful thing to me.
If men were a full representation of Him there would be no need for us. But God saw an infinitely better plan. To have us truly be the other half of one another, and to complement one another. To fill in the gaps He made us differently for a reason – to help us discover and understand HIM more!

So today I celebrated both my emotional side and my need for Him, but in a very selective way.
I got my bible, my devotional, and spent time with Him in prayer and in conversation first.
His word tell me “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
I poured out and worked through the things known, and eventually the things hidden that He revealed that are also putting a bit of weight on my heart and mind.

Then with the right choice of movies the rest of my day of cleansing began. I watched movies today like Steel Magnolias, Finding Nemo, and Facing the Giants  - movies that tug at my heart and provide good lessons and reminders (and yes, there are several in Finding Nemo by the way). These and many like them result in a good cry for me because the cry comes with a ‘better ending than the beginning’.
I went through a lot of Kleenex today people.

Once I was done with the movies I returned once again to finish that much needed conversation with God. My chance to verbalize what I was feeling now, what He had said to my heart over the last few hours, and the chance to thank Him. I thanked Him for being my everything, for understanding me, for speaking to me, for being patient, for already working for my good in these things that were my concerns, and then I handed everything on my heart and mind over to Him. And I told Him that I’m very thankful to be made truly in His image
John 11:35 “Jesus wept”
 Luke 19:11 “But as Jesus came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.”
 It brings me unbelievable comfort to know that Jesus, God’s Son, a part of the mysterious Holy Trinity, and Creator of the World wept. He wept for those He loved, those suffering, and for those in need.

I used to hate to cry by the way, hated that feeling. It seemed a weakness to me. But as I’ve grown older, closer to him, and now that I understand more how He designed me, why He created me with certain traits, I see this is another way to undergird my need for Him. And it draws us closer together.

It’s not that I like to cry, and I hate that I can make that really ugly face sometimes when I do – one that can even freak my dog out. But I love the fact it is by His design that I can and need to cry. That He made me like Himself. That He created me with the capacity for deep love, to be concerned for others, for compassion, empathy, sympathy, and a need to pour my heart and my eyes out to the only One who can calm, heal, touch, encourage, and mend me.

So I feel better this evening, refreshed and renewed.
“… weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning” Psalm 30:5
I am His daughter. I turned to him today to be emptied out and then filled. And I believe it pleased Him to come to me in that sweet time, and to do just that.
If you need a good cry invite him to meet you there, seek Him out in very specific ways.
Romans 8:15-16 “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”Give Him the chance to hold you, to speak deep things, to renew you and take your burden. Don’t go there by yourself, you weren’t made to cry alone – let Him weep with you.

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Movie Night - This Friday!!

Ladies - our FREE movie night is almost here!
 
The two choices are "Princess Bride" or "Runaway Bride"...
 
Get details and register NOW please at http://northstarknox.com/#/ministries/women
 
Then on Friday July 27th when we arrive at Sherrill Campus at 7pm we'll take a vote and the majority rules! With these two choices we can't go wrong :)
 
Join us for a fun relaxing evening!

Balance and Contentment

Posted by Victoria Osteen

When you think of the word contentment, what does it mean to you? Are you content in this life? Are you content in all circumstances? Some people get confused about the concept of contentment because they think it means they have to settle where they are, or just sit back and go with the flow. However, there's a huge difference between being content and being complacent. When you are content, you are satisfied; you're full. It's not that you aren't pursuing your goals or striving to reach new levels; you are just able to enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going.

For example, everyone knows that if you send a woman to the mall to buy a new sweater, she might stroll through fourteen different stores while she's there. She keeps her "mission" on the backburner of her mind, content to browse the stores and enjoy her journey. On the other hand, most men can't understand at all why a woman would spend all that time wandering around! A man's approach would be to get in and out of the mall in ten minutes. (Eight if he's been to that store before and knows his way around.) That's because most men are more mission-minded. They focus on the goal, whereas most women focus on the experience. The truth is, we have to have both. We have to be mission-minded and enjoy ourselves on the way to reaching our goals. When we learn to have balance in our approach to life, we will experience contentment in our journey.

One of the best ways I know to find contentment in your circumstances is to reach out and help someone else who is in need. There's always someone in your life that you can impact. There's always someone who needs what you have to give. When you turn your focus toward helping others, your own challenges seem more manageable, and sometimes, they simply disappear. That's because whatever you make happen for other people, God will make happen for you.

Today, I encourage you to find contentment in your journey by reaching out to others. Focusing on others instead of your own circumstances brings balance to your perspective. When you live in balance, you live in supernatural contentment and position yourself to be a vessel of His glory all the days of your life!

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation." (Philippians 4:12, NIV)

Don't Compromise

by Joyce Meyer - posted July 16, 2012

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men. —Psalm 31:19

God is good to everyone, but I do believe He reserves special rewards for those who are bold and never compromise their faith when they are with unbelievers. Our verse for today says that He has goodness wrought for those who take refuge in Him before the sons of men. We must be sure that we don’t live one way in front of our Christian family and friends and then another way in front of our unbelieving associates. 

Our calling as believers is to be lights in dark places. We must maintain our integrity at all times and never compromise our moral standards. However, if we desire the approval of men we often do whatever it takes to feel accepted by them, even at the cost of displeasing God and going against our own conscience. 

It is much better to please God than to please men. The apostle Paul stated that if he had wanted to be popular with people he would never have become an apostle (Gal.1:10). He would have missed the privilege of serving God as he did. It is tragic how often people say “no” to God in order to say “yes” to men. We must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). 

When we follow God we have peace, and we experience the rewards of God in our life.  I encourage you to take a stand for what is right in your life. Don’t let the fear of rejection pressure you to sin against your own conscience.  

Love God Today: Do you want God’s goodness stored up for you? Live your Christian faith openly in front of the people around you.

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From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.