I’m so excited that my friends Ruth Schwenk and Karen Ehman have a new book out called, Pressing Pause! This set of devotional thoughts is the perfect pause to add to your quiet times. Today, Ruth is sharing with us about ways to bring peace into our busy days as mamas. Welcome, Ruth!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
(Matthew 5:9)
I have four children ages seven, nine, eleven and thirteen years old, so sometimes it seems less than peaceful in my home. Every single day I scramble to spend time mothering my children, doing three to five loads of laundry, helping with schoolwork, cleaning, cooking, and balancing all of the activities we’re involved in. It seems we have just cleaned up from breakfast, and it’s already time to have lunch. Two minutes later (or so it seems) we’re thanking God for dinner.
Managing a household can be overwhelming, and it sure doesn’t seem peaceful to me. But Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” When I read those words, I’m reminded that I’m called to be an instrument of God’s peace everywhere, including in my home.
But there’s one problem—and that problem seems to be me. I often wonder, Am I the one who creates most of the chaos that happens in our day-to-day lives? We are called to be instruments of peace, but can’t we just as easily be instruments of chaos? Am I so focused on my own agenda at times that I can’t focus on what really matters?
Ouch. Those questions hit too close to home for me.
As a mother, I’m an instrument of peace at home with my family. God wants to use me to bring peace to my household and into my children’s lives. Oh, yes, it can be really hard! But by living intentionally, keeping the most important things at the forefront, I find my days look and feel drastically different.
When I prepare for the day by spending time with God, studying His Word, and praying, I am at peace. Ultimately, without God, we will not have peace.
When I’m nurturing the relationship I have with my husband, I am at peace. Our babes are watching and following our relational lead. If we love each other well, we will bring an atmosphere of peace to our home.
When I’m intentional with my children, I am at peace. We are prone to distraction, but our children need our attention. They need us to squeeze them, encourage them, teach them, laugh with them, read to them, and pray with them. We create a sense of peace when we engage wholeheartedly with our children.
God wants to use us to be instruments of peace in our homes. Will you bring that peace today?
Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. Come and make your presence known in my home. Quiet my soul, right now, in this place. Reign in my heart and in my home so that this place can be defined by peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
To think about:
What is creating chaos in your home right now?
What can you start—or stop—-doing today to bring more peace into your home?
Ruth Schwenk is the founder of and blogger at thebettermom.com where her and her team share about parenting, marriage and much more. She is a pastor’s wife, mom of four energetic kids, a lover of coffee, and dreamer of big dreams. Ruth is the co-author of Hoodwinked: Ten Myths Moms Believe and Why We All Need to Knock It Off. Her newest book, Pressing Pause: 100 Quiet Moments for Moms to Meet With Jesus, co-authored with Karen Ehman is now available wherever books are sold.
Whether you’re juggling a career, kids’ schedules, and church commitments or you’re covered in spit-up and anxious about what the next eighteen years might hold, you can carve out a few quiet moments to rejuvenate your spirit.
Pressing Pause offers you a calm way to start your day, to refresh yourself in Jesus and drink deeply of His presence so that you are ready to pour out love, time, and energy into the people who matter most to you.