Hey there!

Jan Burt here dropping by your inbox to share a few notes about what I shared with you last Wednesday and thank you for letting me spend some time with you.

~ Mom life comes with ups and downs and at times, a sense of overwhelm.

~ Sometimes it seems as if, no matter what we do as moms, there is someone ready to tell us we made the wrong choice. Social media plays a large role in our lives and at times it leads to "mom guilt".

~ The Lord wants you to be blessed in your role as a parent, and He has ways of helping you to refuel and relax that will benefit you as well as your children.

~ Among your children, there could be the next Joseph or Esther, or the Timothy or Ruth of the future. People who will make this world better, for God's kingdom and for His purposes and His glory.

~ A line from an old poem says this: "The hand the rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." That's referencing mothers and is a great reminder of just how important motherhood truly is.

~ In Exodus 4:2 the Lord asked Moses, "What is in your hand?" Moses had a huge task ahead of him, and God used the very thing which was in Moses' hand - a staff - during the exodus from Egypt and during the following four decades in the Judean wilderness. Ask yourself, "What's in my hand?" and ask the Lord how He might want to use what is in your hand for your good, to bless your children, and for an impact in His kingdom.

~ It takes a lot of God-given discernment and insight into each different situation with our children to know when to step in, when to intervene, and when to let things play out on their own according to the Lord's timetable. It will require you to pray for your kids in each unique struggle that they face, so that you don't step in when God is doing an important and formative work in their life as part of His preparation for the man or woman He wants them to become.

~ There will be hard things in your children's lives, and many of those hard things are the groundwork being laid for what will come in their future.

~ Joseph's character was not formed in a handful of hours in the bottom of the pit his brother's threw him into. He was able to handle what came into his life at the young age of 17 because he already had high quality, good character. Character matters and sometimes what God is doing in your child's life is more about "saving a nation" at some point in the future than about one single family.

~ Joseph was, by all accounts, an obedient son. He went where his father sent him, he did what he was told to do, and he wore the coat his father gave him. You may have a very obedient child, and they may be treated poorly because of that obedience. Obedient children can be seen as spoiled, as bratty, or as a goody-two-shoes. But God sees their obedience and He will take good care of them, even during the hard times.

~ Ruth walked away from everything she had ever known and walked straight into a future that led her into the lineage of King David and the Lord Jesus. She was an "odd duck" in the land of Israel, to say the least, but God blessed her in spite of being different in that society. He can do the same for our children.

~ Timothy was able to do the work of a pastor in a New Testament church in spite of being very young. He did his work remarkably well, and our children may do some amazing things for the kingdom of God as young people. Timothy did not appear to have a father in the picture, based on what we read in the Bible. I wonder if any of us moms feel as if there are some key pieces missing in our children's lives? But what if God is doing a remarkable work right there in the middle of those missing pieces?

~ Esther was an orphan raised by her uncle in a land of exile. When a nation is taken into exile, the conquering people work hard to strip away all of the identity and individuality of the nation they took over. Esther had a difficult childhood, and yet her orphan status and growing up in exile did not prevent her from being a key figure in the history of the Jewish people. God can use your children in mighty ways, even if there are some things in their lives that we, as moms, wish were easier for them.

~ As a mom, you are a key part of what God is planning for the next generation. It is a privilege to parent in this era of time.

~ Walk closely with the Lord day by day, listen for His leading and follow as He leads, and trust that His love for your child is big enough, vast enough, wide enough, and deep enough to immerse them and surround them, no matter how things look right now, or how things play out in the future.

~ Don't forget, each one of you, that while you are keeping your hand on the cradle of your child's life, God is keeping His hand on you.

Thanks so much for letting me stop by your inbox and for such a wonderful time with you all last week. I'm really blessed and thankful to have met you!

Lord bless!

Jan Burt

And I'll drop a link to my podcast, The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, here in case any of you might want to check it out. :)