Changing Pace

            I was driving down the road the other day on my way from church to home.  It isn't very often that I make that trek separately from Ryan, but this was one of those odd instances.  It just so happened to be a rainy day and as I drove the only thing that was on my mind was the need to get two sleepy children into bed.  

            And then it let loose- the rain began to pour so fast that I had to slow way down.  My windshield wipers were on high and I still couldn't see so great.  It then hit me, I was running in high gear and God was showing me that I needed to slow down.  Not just me, but all the travelers that were on the road at that time.  I whispered a prayer of thanks for the reminder and we sang choruses of praise.  I explained to my little ones that we serve a wonderful Creator and that He taught me a valuable lesson.  We need to change our pace every now and then and remember how to love this life that He has given us!  We are so blessed and we are often in too much of a hurry to realize the multitude of gifts He presents to us daily.  

           By the time I reached the edge of town, the rain had let up and we were able to drive a little quicker, but that short reminder was all it took.  

             I have thought about that instance from time to time and am grateful that our Heavenly Father sends us reminders every now and then that point toward Him.  We just have to slow down enough to realize them.  What in your life might He be sending to make you slow down a little?

Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

I thought I would share a portion of President Theodore Roosevelt's speech "On American Motherhood."  It was given in Washington on March 13, 1905 before the National Congress of Mothers.  I found it to be very encouraging and insightful.  Read his words and ruminate upon them.

"No piled-up wealth, no splendor of material growth, no brilliance of artistic development, will permanently avail any people unless its home life is healthy. . .unless the average woman is a good wife, a good mother, able and willing to perform the first and greatest duty of womanhood, able and willing to bear, and to bring up as they should be brought up, healthy children, sound in body, mind, and character, and numerous enough so that the race shall increase and not decrease.  There are certain old truths which will be true as long as this world endures, and which no amount of progress can alter.  One of these is the truth that the primary duty of the husband is to be the home-maker, the breadwinner for his wife and children, and that the primary duty of the woman is to be the helpmate, the housewife, and mother. . .Into the woman's keeping is committed the destiny of the generations to come after us. . .The woman's task is not easy- no task worth doing is easy- but in doing it, and when she has done it, there shall come to her the highest and holiest joy known to mankind; and having done it, she shall have the reward prophesied in Scripture; for her husband and her children, yes, and all people who realize that her work lies at the foundation of all national happiness and greatness shall rise up and call her blessed." 

Becoming Beautiful Inside

We all love to be beautiful.  It is part of being a lady and being feminine.  While it is nice to dress stylish, we need to take a look at what truly is most important to us.  We live in a world where we are constantly concerned with how we look, dress, and measure up to everyone else.  We spend our time figuring out what the latest fashions are and what is and is not in style.  It fills up a lot of our thoughts and actions.  I am by no means saying that dressing well is wrong, but we need to look deeply and see whether our "inside" is beautiful.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."   I like how the easy-read version puts it, "It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful.  No, your beauty should come from inside you- the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.  That beauty will never disappear.  It is worth very much to God."

The beauty of your inner self-  it consists of a gentle and quiet spirit.  What exactly is that?  Dictionary.com gives this definition of gentle-

1. kindly; amiable: a gentle manner  2. not severe, rough, or violent; mild

Verb
1. to tame
2. to mollify; calm; pacify
3. to make gentle 
4. to stroke; soothe
5. to ennoble; dignify

Synonyms
1. peaceful, soothing; tender, merciful.  Gentle, meek, mild refer to an absence of bad temper or belligerence.  Gentle has reference especially to disposition and behavior and often suggests a deliberate or voluntary kindness or forbearance in dealing with others; Meek implies a submissive spirit; Mild suggest absence of harshness or severity, rather because of natural character or temperament than conscious choice; 2. temperate 3. noble 4. manageable, docile, tame, quiet 5. courteous; polished

Just look at all those things we need to be striving for!  That short verse in 1 Peter has a lot of things wrapped up in it that creates in us a beautiful spirit.  I liked that the description in the dictionary of mild was a natural character quality and not a conscious choice.  Wow, that is going to take a lot of hard work to be mild naturally.  I know that I have a lot of work to do to become the lady I want to be.  I desire to have that wonderful beauty that will never disappear, for that my dear friends is worth very much to God.

Contentment

". . . for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."  Philippians 4:11

Oh boy. . . contentment is sometimes a really hard thing.  Well not just sometimes, it is really hard pretty much all the time.  Paul wrote in the book of Philippians that he had learned to be content no matter what happened.  I wish I could be like that.  I try really hard and am always striving for it, but I know I fail.  

One of my biggest trials in being content has to do with where we live.  I really want to have a house in the country!  I didn't grow up in town and I feel like a fish out of water.  I want my kids to grow up with lots of room to move around, fresh farm air, no traffic, beautiful sounds of nature, animals, and lots of good hard work.  Well, right now we are living in the middle of town with neighbors all around.  Needless to say, I have a hard time being content sometimes.  But, God has placed us where we are at for the time being because He has a purpose.  We sometimes can't always see that purpose, but He always has one.  Regardless of that fact, it still is hard to be content.  One thing I know though is that God is creating in me contentment and patience.  Every day that I desperately want a country house, God is working on me and quietly whispering,  "Have patience my child.  I know what is best for you.  Let my peace come over you and bring you contentment.  Be happy where you are at now."  And that is what I do.  I let God's peace bring me contentment.  I can handle anything that comes my way with Him on my team.  Does that mean that I have settled for living here the rest of my life?  By no means.  Just because you become content with where you are at now does not mean you have to give up your desires or dreams or aspirations.  You must just learn to have peace of mind in your current situation.  Just as our earthly fathers want to provide for our desires, so does our Heavenly Father.  In His time.

God wants us to be content.  We need to totally rely on Him and His timing for things.  He knows what is best for you and has the most amazing plans for His children if we just wait for Him.  We've gotta be content with where we are now.  Your battle may not be with where you want to live, but I am sure that you have something.  We all do.  I pray that you will let God handle your battles, give Him the reins, and learn to have His peace in everything.

Praise for our Lord!

We try every day to have a little "rug" time.  It is good training for getting your children to be able to sit still for longer than a few seconds or minutes!  I have a soft rug that Justus sits on and he is not allowed to stand up or get off until I tell him he can.  He actually enjoys it most days.  Moriah sits in her activity seat for now, but soon she will have her very own rug to sit on.  While we do this, we usually read.  We started out with The Book of Virtues and now we are reading Psalms and Proverbs.  We read the one that corresponds to that day.  With the combined chapters it is a perfect amount of time for sitting and the length always varies and is never exactly the same.  

April 8th we were reading Psalm 8 and Proverbs 8.  One of the verses I found to be quite insightful.  Psalm 8:2 says-

" From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise (or strength) because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."   

What I had never realized before is that the part after "you have ordained praise" flows smoothly into the next part with no comma or pause.  It is all part of the same.  I had never thought of it quite like that if you read it with no pause.  What I realized from that verse was this-  our children and babies are silencers of God's foes and avengers!  It is no wonder that His enemies do not like us to have so many children.  We are creating an army for the Lord even while they are little tikes!  That is why it is so important to train our children up in the way of the Lord!  

From our children's mouths come praise for our Lord and defeat for our Savior's enemies!  

Welcome!

I've had the urge for a while to start a new blog, and after receiving the blessing of my husband I made the jump and began Mother's Apron Strings.  I wanted to create a blog where I could encourage other ladies in their Christian walk of Godly Ladyship.  

I decided upon the name Mother's Apron Strings after much thought.  It seemed to fit so well, as the values that we learn while we are little and holding on to "mother's apron strings" are the values that we still hold onto as young ladies, sisters, married women, mothers, aunts and grandmothers.  

This blog is for all ladies regardless of your age or marital status.  Whether you are the mother "wearing" the apron, or you are the young lady who is still learning from your mother's "apron strings," or whether you are waiting for children to arrive and grasp your "apron strings" or whether your children have all "let go", I am hoping my writings will be a blessing to you.  

My goal is to encourage you, bless you, and even make you a little uncomfortable at times.  I hope that I am a blessing to the Lord and serve Him well.