Working Moms – Part 4 of 4

Interestingly, the Proverbs 31 woman was not suppressed by the male-dominated culture. In those days, it was expected of most women to care solely for their homes. They seldom had equal opportunities and most of them were uneducated. Sadly, it’s still like this today in many countries and cultures around the world.

This woman described in Proverbs 31, however, was someone with authority. She had the freedom to make her own business decisions and to earn her own money. Nowhere in the passage does it mention that her husband controlled her affairs. He doesn’t even seem to be threatened by her business savvy. Instead, he seems to have had full confidence in her decisions and even praised her for her accomplishments.

She seems to have been her own boss, which would have allowed her to choose her own hours. Perhaps, when her children were small, she didn’t have so much time on her hands to pursue being an entrepreneur. During this time, she might have acquired or developed skills that later became useful in business ventures.

Sometimes even hobbies become careers. Endeavor to put your energy into those things that give you fulfillment, and God will bless you. Never underestimate the potential that God has placed in you. Give yourself permission to be the unique you that He made you to be, and watch Him put it all together.

No matter the job, business, or career, we must never make money our priority. We cannot serve both money and God because our hearts will follow after one master or the other. That doesn’t mean that we can’t pray and ask God to give us success in our work, but if money becomes the issue, then it will have control over us. If we live for the pursuit of money, we will rob ourselves of living joy-filled lives.

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Working Moms – Part 3 of 4

Sometimes you may be doing what God has called you to do, but you continue to feel unfulfilled. When my first two were still in diapers and I was their primary caregiver, I knew that I was in the center of God’s will, but it was a constant struggle. Regularly I felt as if I was dying a hundred deaths. Those are the times when we must learn how to draw strength from God.

Perhaps you feel that your efforts are going unnoticed. Maybe you’re wondering why you even bother. Give yourself a break once in a while. Reward yourself for those “thankless” jobs. Go and have some fun… make a memory… be creative.

One thing that I want to make clear is that God never intended women to be suppressed in the home. There’s much more to moms than cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and so forth. Those jobs in themselves can take up all of one’s day. For me, it felt as if I was one of those pet hamsters running endlessly in a suspended wheel.

The good news is that God created moms to use their different gifts and talents as much as everyone else. In the Bible, there were a number of women who had jobs and who were leaders. Some even supported Jesus and His disciples financially. Most of these women were probably mothers, but they were also involved in the world around them.

One of the best examples of an all-round woman is the famous woman of Proverbs 31. It’s possible that she wasn’t a real person, but rather a representation of an ideal woman. Whoever she might have been, I didn’t always like her. She was too perfect and seemingly able to accomplish everything with superhuman strength. I thought, “How could the rest of us women ever hope to live up to her standard?”

I figured that, of course, her husband must have adored her. Who wouldn’t want a wife that could do everything? Yet, if you look closely you will notice that she didn’t achieve everything single-handedly. At times, she actually had others working with her. Actually, we all could accomplish much more if we had people helping us like she did. Not only can we accomplish more, but we can feel energized knowing that not everything rests on our shoulders alone.

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Working Moms – Part 1 of 4

Being a mom often requires a delicate balancing act. Sometimes, you may even feel more like the clown in the circus rather than the acrobat. Jumping from the role of wife, to mother, to employee, and all the rest, can get you into quite a knot if your rhythm is wrong. Timing and balance are of the essence.

What if you feel deep down inside that you are meant to be spending more time with your kids, but don’t think you can because you need to work to make ends meet? Deciding how much time you’re willing to spend away from your kids is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll ever make in life. At the end of the day, your family is your number one priority. A job is something that passes away, but a family is something that remains forever. Therefore, our families should come first.

So how do you get it right? Everything that I’ve written up till now has pointed to hearing from God, staying connected to Him, and knowing your own limitations. By being obedient to Him, you will have your priorities in the right order, and He will look after you.

The thing is, people too often feel pressured to make decisions that in the end were not God’s best for them. For example, money pressures can rob you by becoming work pressures. Before you know it, earning money becomes your main focus, rather than your family. The question is, will you let the pressures rob you or will you resist the pressures and submit yourself to God’s solutions? God has a solution for every problem.

The Lord knows what’s best for you and your family. You can trust Him to help you make the right decisions. You should not allow anyone or any situation to dictate to you something that goes against your own gut feelings. When the pressure is on, stop and hear from God before making a decision that you may regret later in life.

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Finding Balance - Part 1 of 3

God desires that we live out of a relationship with Him so that there will be a healthy balance of priorities to our day. When there’s an imbalance in our lives it’s important to find out what’s causing it, why it is there, and how we can change things to improve the quality of our lives. Imbalances can be harmful to our peace and joy and, of course, our health. Sometimes it’s as simple as choosing to get enough sleep, but at other times it’s more complicated than that.

If you can’t see the way out of a bad situation, ask God to give you wisdom and the right strategy for improving your circumstances. If we do not seek God’s help, the outcome could deteriorate rather than improve. Some people find a sense of comfort in pretending their problem isn’t there. The consequences of choosing to take no action, however, could make the problem worse.

One very common area of imbalance for mothers is in their roles as homemakers. Many good moms will often try to do everything for the other members of the family. I’d like to call it the “Supermom syndrome.” The reasons why moms feel they need to do-it-all may differ. Perhaps they’re too tired and don’t feel they have the energy to persuade others to participate. Or maybe they fear failure and so they overachieve. Whatever the reasons may be, the fact still remains that they place unrealistic expectations on themselves.

"God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference."

by Reinhold Niebuhr

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Happy Moms - Part 1

The previous blogs were about developing a healthy relationship with God. These next few blogs are about developing a healthy relationship with ourselves. Cultivating a healthy relationship with ourselves is not a new concept. However, it’s not about becoming self-absorbed. It’s about rediscovering what makes us unique and what our purpose is. It’s also about creating balance and boundaries.

Each of us has the ability to positively influence thousands through the people that cross our paths every day. Satan knows this will hurt his cause, so he undermines our self-worth and keeps us so busy with other things that we become ineffective. Insecurities and busyness also cause us to miss out on God’s best for our lives. That’s why we need to take timeout so that we can protect what God has entrusted to us by staying focused and centered.

One thing I’ve come to realize about us moms is that we are quick to take care of our kids and slow to take care of ourselves. It’s also possible to neglect our husbands when we’re so concerned about our children. We may think that if we sacrifice our own needs all the time that we’ll build a perfect home where everyone is blissfully happy. The truth is that until we get our priorities in the right order, we’ll all suffer for it.



I was a stay-at-home mom for about four years. It was hard being restricted to the house for most of the day. Raising demanding and crying tots almost full-time drove me crazy. I was stressed out of my mind and very unhappy.

I would recommend all moms to have at least one job or hobby outside of the home. If you’re feeling stuck, then you’re not in a happy frame of mind. Once I was able to get out of the home and focus on something other than the kids, I became much happier. The best part was that as my needs were being met, I was better able to meet my family’s needs.

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