The Profession of Motherhood
I have a long list of books I love. It's growing every day!
Here's my most recent favorite.
Jill Savage. Have you heard of her? You'll find more of her writing at Hearts At Home.
Want to hear what I love about this book?? Here are some highlights:
She starts by discussing a mother's desire for accomplishment.
"Webster's Dictionary defines accomplishment as "something done successfully; work completed." Therein lies our problem. A woman in the profession of motherhood doesn't often see ultimate success for more than a dozen years, and the responsibilities of motherhood are such that we feel our work is never completed."
We, as young mothers with children under the age of four or five,rarely never (!) think about empty nest syndrome, let alone middle school! It is hard to think past the messes of today. But these children of ours ARE growing up. And fast.
"We may be pursuing a result that we will only see decades from now, but let's not lose sight of our extremely important goal."
Jill has so many nifty tips and teaching tools -- I'll share just a few:
1. Make sure you tell her [thank you for folding my laundry, the house looks great, I appreciate your commitment].
I definitely have more to learn, but I'm on my way to setting more goals, organizing my home, playing with my kids and finding value in the profession of motherhood.
And trying to envision this boy in college.
Here's my most recent favorite.
Jill Savage. Have you heard of her? You'll find more of her writing at Hearts At Home.
Want to hear what I love about this book?? Here are some highlights:
She starts by discussing a mother's desire for accomplishment.
"Webster's Dictionary defines accomplishment as "something done successfully; work completed." Therein lies our problem. A woman in the profession of motherhood doesn't often see ultimate success for more than a dozen years, and the responsibilities of motherhood are such that we feel our work is never completed."
We, as young mothers with children under the age of four or five,
"We may be pursuing a result that we will only see decades from now, but let's not lose sight of our extremely important goal."
Jill has so many nifty tips and teaching tools -- I'll share just a few:
- Put some magazines in your "waiting bag" -- you know, for those times we wait at the doctor's office, the hair salon, for music lessons to end... You can be writing thank you notes, mending clothing, or reading a book while you wait!
- Teach your child the ACTS prayer acronym: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication and have them fill-in-the-blanks. "Dear God, I praise you because you are ________. I'm sorry that I _____. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for __________. Please help __________. I love you. Amen.
- The organizational idea of "a place for everything and everything in its place" ----> "everything has a home".
- The idea of "grace space" -- allowing others to be different from ourselves, recognizing the unique way that God has wired each one of us, rather than trying to change others to be like us.
1. Make sure you tell her [thank you for folding my laundry, the house looks great, I appreciate your commitment].
2. Give her a bonus [I'm taking the kids to the park, you deserve an hour to yourself].
3. Communicate to her that you value her presence at home [thank you for teaching and training our children and being available to them].
4. Discuss her needs for adult interaction [send her out one night a week for some mom time].
5. Assist her in household tasks when you are home [all about teamwork].
6. Talk, talk, talk, talk to her [listen with your eyes].
7. Take her out regularly [it communicates how much you value relationship].
I definitely have more to learn, but I'm on my way to setting more goals, organizing my home, playing with my kids and finding value in the profession of motherhood.
And trying to envision this boy in college.
