Mom Heart Moments #160

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

WHEN YOU ARE TAXED BY your children, your friends, or your husband, what flows out from the depths of your heart? What you are pouring in will surely spill out in your words, your eyes, your attitudes, your actions. Filling our souls with beauty, goodness, humility, faith, and the love of Christ must be intentional so His life will be what spills over onto others when we are “squeezed.”

Jesus said it is not the outside —our performance for others or attempts to do righteous works —that determines what a man or woman is like. It is possible to fool others because of our behavior, but it is never possible to fool God. He sees what we are like on the inside.

The starting point for spreading inspiration and faith is cultivating our own hearts. If a mama is reading Scripture, pondering the heart of Christ, worshiping Him, and following His ways, her children will draw the love and sweetness of Christ from her every day.

If a mama is engaging her mind in great books, learning new ideas, and stretching her own intellect, her children will also benefit.

If a mama is developing her character and taking small steps to become more self-disciplined, more of a servant leader, more patient, and more generous with lifegiving words because of her obedience to Christ, her children’s souls will be watered by the strength of her obedience.

If she engages herself in meeting the needs of others and reaches out with the redeeming message of Christ, her children will learn not just to hear words of the gospel, but to live the gospel.

Don’t worry primarily about having the right rules, the best formula, the right books. Be concerned, instead, for your soul —what are you planting there? What are you watering in the depths of your heart attitudes?