Monday, May 14, 2007

I'll be back...

I've decided I need to take the rest of the month off. I'm just too tired to write posts the way I want to (especially the nutrition related ones) and sitting in front of the computer puts my mind into a deeper fog. So, I feel that I need to pull away from my computer for a while.

Hope to see you again in June,

Renata

Friday, May 11, 2007

Is motherhood a higher calling?

Biblically speaking, motherhood is a blessing, as it was God's wish for us to be fruitful and multiply. Children are also a blessing, as demonstrated when Jesus instructed the people to "let the children come to me." There are many, many, passages in the Bible that reinforce this, but nowhere do I see that it is a higher calling.

Then why are we told that it is a higher calling? Is it because we have chosen to deny ourselves of certain things? Is it a reaction against our society's perception of children as an inconvenience, hindrance or a risky venture? Is it because we see motherhood as a job? Is it because we are seeking our satisfaction through our performance? I don't know.

But what I do know is that it’s not a higher calling. As disciples of Christ, whether or not we are spouses or parents, what higher calling is there than to abide in Christ and to be conformed to His image? Although motherhood is definitely an effective tool that God uses to accomplish that process, it is not the only one. So, regardless of who you are, remember that God has given you all you need to be a holy, useful vessel unto Him (2 Timothy 2:21).

And for you mothers out there, have a great and blessed Mother's day.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Steeped in Tradition

We finally made it to a local farm today to pick strawberries, and of course we had a lot of fun. When I first went a few years ago, I put my kids up on this big scale and took pictures of them. I decided it would be a great idea to track their growth by taking a picture on that scale each time I visited the farm. This time, however, the scale was being used as a display for some shortcake mix, so that prop was not available for picture taking.

Disappointed, I noticed how attached I was to that little tradition I started. It was almost like that was the only reason I had gone to that farm. Never mind that I took about 60 pictures and we did have fun. My kids were not on that scale and the visit simply was not complete.

This experience has shown me how hard it can be to break away from tradition when we have so many fond memories tied to it. I have come to understand how easily we can elevate our tradition to a level it was not intended to have -- thus forgetting what we set out to do in the first place.

Friday, May 4, 2007

How do you define a "good mother"?

Sure, I'm trying to be a good mother, but in my pursuit of being a "good" mother, I have realized that I don't know what that is. I know what a "bad" mom would look like, but because we don't do all the things a "bad" mom does, does that make us good? Are we supposed to be better than the bad moms (is there really such a thing?), the best that I can (but does that make the "cut" of being good?), or is there something else?

So, if I havent confused you already, what do you think makes a good mother? Or should we be asking, "what makes a mother good?"