Don't forget...

I love my husband and kids so much, that I sometimes forget to breath. I forget about me. I forget to examine/assess myself. And when I do come to my senses, I start hating myself, because what I see when I do assess myself, is not what I want to see. That is the mistake so many of us make. We start asking the question "WHY?" Instead of "HOW?"
We have to love unconditionally. We have to die to self and esteem others higher. But you know what, if it does not come naturally, it's probably loving not with a Godly love.
I think I sometimes battle with that, but God is so faithful. He reminds me that I am important too. I cannot love my husband, or my kids so much that I forget about myself.
God loves me so much, but He will never forget about Himself. I have to love... I need to love... I want to love, but it has to be a love that pleases God.
As a wife, as a mother, I need to love myself in order for me to be healthy. Loving myself enables me to see my husband and kids in a better way.
When I battle with myself, and not love myself, I will never be able to freely love my husband, kids and others the way God wants me too. I am important to God if others don't see me as that. I am obligated to love myself in order for my kids to see that, that is important.
In His love
Leslene


Sent from my BlackBerry®

You don't have to be unfair...

"You can only grow if you're willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." ~Brian Tracy

Speak to your daughter about what is making her feel awkward or uncomfortable.
I have a daughter and I can say we are in a time of powerful bonding. I am granted a life with my daughter which was a longing for many years. She is only 17 years old, and we now have a beautiful and rewarding relationship.
Mom's we have to realise, that what you are going through has a personal effect on your daughters. I am so guilty of this, but oh so grateful for a chance to make things right and to be the mom I should have been from day one.
I do however believe the trial, issues and emotions I went through was necessary. I am so much wiser and ready to be a mom.
If you have daughters that are still very young, now is the time for you to get over your emotions. Now is the time for you to think before you act, be wise with words you utter and see the awesome transformation in yourself and especially in your daughters.
We can no longer wake up when your kids are out of the house, raising their own families. It will be too late. They will either raise their families with the very same issues, emotions and hatred you reared them, or they will do it different.
The no communication or bad communication factor between mothers and daughters cannot continue for generations and generations to come. It has to stop here and right now. You mom, has to decide.
I remember there was a time when I was hurting so bad, and taking my frustrations out on my daughter, just made things worse. I felt worse afterwards and the only thing my daughter longed for, was her mommy. I thank God for Jesus. I thank God for using Paul to write Roman 12:2. "Do NOT be conformed to the things of this world, but YOU be transformed by the renewing of your mind...."
The problem with today's mother's are, they focus too much on a husband who feels so trapped by the wife's nagging, or by their own faults, pushes the husband further way and they forget about their kids.
Your husband Is a grown man who can be very immature in their ways of thinking. What is your job mom, keep calm and pray, not about them, but for them and leave it with God.
Get your relationship right with your son's and daughters.
I WANT TO THROW THIS CHALLENGE AT YOU TODAY:
For one hour everyday, take your eyes off of your husband, your bills, your friends and spend time with your daughter or your son.
Think about your struggles and ask yourself, do I want this for my daughters and sons?
I want to challenge you not to ask "WHY is this happening?"
But change the question to;
"How can I prevent this from happening?"
Trust me, you will have the answer sooner that you think.
Life can be really unfair, but you don't have to be.
I hope my writing has touched a mom or a mom to be, today.
God bless
In His Love
Leslene

#RELAX, Open your heart, #LOVE is on the way

There are so many things happening in our daily lives. Husband's and wives turning against one another. Children standing up to the parents even grandchildren have no respect. Husband, wife, I want to ask you a question today. WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING INTO YOUR HOME? 
Whatever happens outside your homes, should not affect your home. What you do and bring into your home, affects your home. Husband if you don't have respect for your wife, how do you expect your sons and daughters to respect their mother. Wives, I ask us the same question.
Stop stressing about everything happening and do what the scriptures says: “Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!” – Jude 1:2 (MSG).
As long as we play our role, relax in Christ, God will do the rest. If your husband doesn't want to look after you when you have the flu, deal with it by letting go and let God. Look after yourself. After all, he ain't your mother. he is your husband, and men are different to woman. Praise God for the man/husband who does look after his wife.
Do your part and let love be your motivation for a changed marriage. I am writing this, because I know what I'm talking about. I know what it is to really want my husband to look after me in a way I know is sometimes impossible. I know what it is to force my husband to do things that made him fall short of the glory of God. NOW, I thank God for my husband who tries his best.
STOP stressing ‪#‎RELAX‬, everything's coming together, open your hearts,‪#‎LOVE‬ is on the way...

In His LOVE

Leslene

Best Friends In Marriage

The Bible repeatedly says of marriage that "a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife." The message is clear; our spouse should be our best friend. If they are not, we need to get this right.

 

What are some qualities of a best friend?

* A desire to be together. This is why I believe a weekly date is so key to staying in love with your mate.

* Great communication. Best friends can talk about anything.

* Loyalty. Best friends are loyal. They keep confidences.

* Willingness to forgive. They accept one another and are so committed to the friendship that they choose to forgive and work through it, even when the other friend lets them down.

 

Is your spouse your best friend? If so, thank God for a marriage like He has in mind. If not, ask God to forgive you and to help you forgive your spouse, and make a commitment with your spouse to become best friends.

A special thank you to RFTH Ministries

 

In His love

Leslene

CLEAVE

When God's Word says of marriage, "A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife," the word cleave means to "join together," "to glue," or "to cement." This implies that there will always be pressures on the marriage to pull apart.

Pressures like:

* Busyness that leaves little quality time.

* Work can become all-consuming.

* Demands of children. Children are a blessing and we feel so responsible, but our spouse is to come first.

* Money, how it's earned, saved, consumed, or wasted. It can become an idol and put before our spouse.

* Health problems.

This is the reason wedding vows include "in sickness and in health. "Infidelity." This is the big one. This one can be devastating.

Yet when a husband and wife commit to cleave, no matter what, and look to God for strength and help, a marriage can withstand any pressure that seeks to pull it apart.

A special thank you to RFTH Ministries

 

In His love

Leslene

Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,

You are a gift of God to your husband and your kids.

But you don’t always feel that way, do you?

There’s a low-level feeling of guilt that creeps into your heart from time to time. Sometimes it bubbles over into tears, usually on lonely, difficult days.

You scan blogs and read books about being a good mom. You find some helpful tidbits here and there, often from women who are grandmothers now. Women you can learn from but who seem to have forgotten the struggle. They seem to have it all together.In your heart, you want to be the kind of mom who trains up kids to make a difference for the kingdom. You know it’s an honor to be entrusted with these kids. You know you’ve only got one shot. You want to be the mom who teaches them the Bible, models how to pray, and trains them up in the fear of the Lord.

But most of the time you feel like you’re barely holding it all together.

Your house cleaning can’t keep up with your kids’ mess-making.

The kids embarrass you by acting up right when your guests arrive.

Your husband doesn’t get just how worn out you are by the end of the day.

You come to the end of your patience. You lose your temper. Then you feel worse.

The last thing you consider yourself to be is a “good mom.” And you think to yourself, It’ll be a miracle if my kids turn out okay.

And – surprisingly – that’s right where God wants to meet you. The place where you admit your powerlessness and your need for Him.

It’s only by God’s grace that any kid grows up to be a force for the kingdom.

You see, there are no perfect kids and no perfect mothers. No matter what you read in blogs, see in magazines, and learn in books. There are sinful kids and sinful moms and dads.

And the only thing greater than both is the grace of God. The God who says “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The God who loves to forgive, to transform, and empower.

God loves you – not because you are a good mother but just because you are His precious child.

God loves you – not because you’ve mastered all the skills of parenting but because He has.

It’s divine grace that will transform your parenting – not guilt.

It’s grace that will keep you going and serving and scrubbing when you’re exhausted and worn out.

It’s grace that will conquer your feelings of inadequacy and remind you of God’s love for you in Christ.

It’s grace that goes for the heart of your kids, not just their behavior.

God has demonstrated the fullness of His love for you through the cross of His Son, even while you were still a sinner.

He has promised you His presence.

He has spoken His approval over you in Christ.

He is the perfect Father who delights in you as a daughter.

Find in Him your Treasure and Joy. Be to others what He is to you.

So walk in freedom. Let Him hold you together when everything seems to be falling apart.

Bask in His unfailing love for you. And rest in His promise of power.

Written by:
The Gospel Coalition Blog

Your job description....

This simply means finding some time during the day to meet with the Lord. It doesn’t have to be before all the kids are awake. It doesn’t have to be in the pre-dawn stillness. Your job is to love God. How you make that happen can look a million different ways and it all depends on you.

Your second job is to love and serve your husband. Husbands are to do the same for their wives, but that’s for a different post. If your husband really likes homemade bread, maybe you could make it for him. But don’t make homemade bread simply because you see other moms posting pictures of their homemade bread on Facebook.

Your calling as mom is to love your kids and teach them to follow the Lord. They don’t need to know Latin by age six. If they do, more power to you. But that’s a bonus, not part of the job description. Your job is simply to love your kids with all your exhausted heart, and to teach them to love Jesus. That’s a high calling. Don’t go throwing in other, extraneous things to make your life more difficult. If you want to teach your kids to sew, great. But don’t be crushed by guilt if your kids aren't making stylish blazers by the age of 10.

Moms, Jesus want you to rest in him. He wants you to chill out. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Don’t compare yourself to other moms. Don’t try to be something God hasn’t called you to be. If the mom blogs are making you feel guilty, stop reading them. Be faithful to what he has truly called you to do, and know that he is pleased with you. When your kids are resting, don’t feel guilty about watching an episode of “Lost”, or whatever your favorite show may happen to be.

Love God, love your husband, love your kids. Keep it simple and chill out.

If all moms and wives just stick to what they have been called to, there will be less problems in homes and our kids and husbands will listen to the instruction given to them.