Great Commission Moms

Our summer of starting 52.4.Him has not looked anything like I had imagined. We have not been as consistent as I would have liked and the summer was simply chaotic. However, the biggest change I have noticed from this is our perspective. Perspective is the overarching theme of 52.4.Him. --Creating an atmosphere that trains our hearts and our children's hearts to seek out and meet the needs of others. I have seen a shift in our homeschool group towards serving this year, and other friends and family, as well as in our own home. Maybe it is not every week as I wanted, but we are moving in that direction. And as I told C this morning, "we reward hard work not tangible achievement!"

This summer I had the privilege of visiting New York City and New Orleans. I was quickly reminded of how "easy" it was to do ministry when we lived in New Orleans. Needs are everywhere. In our current location, needs are certainly everywhere, they just look different and you have to look for them. I find myself constantly praying, Lord, give me eyes to see and ears to hear as You do.  This is exactly where He wants me. Seeking Him for where to place each step.

Sometimes as a stay at home mom, my perspective can get skewed. I know my primary ministry is to my family, my children and my husband, but it shouldn't stop there. I want to raise children that are aware of the world around them. To see others the way God sees them. To have a worldview bigger than themselves-- rooted in God's Word and yearning for the nations.

As we were in New Orleans, it was so easy to slip into an attitude of begging God to place me back in an area where ministry is "easy." But that isn't where He has me right now. He has me in a house in a subdivision in my hometown. The very last place I always thought I would be. Give me the inner city, give the village in South America or Africa. But here? I never imagined here. Yet, this is where I am. And this is where God has called me and my family to serve.

So we diligently see out opportunities to serve as a family. This summer, we had the privilege of hosting 2 exchange students for a few weeks. What a great way to serve! As I have heard it recently: "A reverse mission trip." We got to show love as a family and share our faith in word and deed. Opening my kids eyes to the intercultural world of which we are a part, showing them that there are people different than them and God's love and ours is to be shared.

In a time where Cuba is sending missionaries to the U.S., what are U.S. Christians doing to further the Gospel? Moms, what are you doing? Homeschool moms, what an amazing opportunity we have to infiltrate the minds and bodies of our children with service to others, meeting needs and making disciples. I want my prayer to be every morning, Lord, make me a Great Commission mom. A mom with a heart for her children and for the nations. A heart that seeks to make an impact inside and outside my home. Reaching the nations one day and one heart at a time.