Gallup Poll about Stay Home Moms

Recently I read a few blogs about the latest Gallup poll   This was interesting to me especially considering I am a stay home mom.

 I always wonder about the procedures for conducting these Gallup polls.  Do they call people at night?  How do they get a balance of people?  If these people call at dinner time and try to talk to many stay-home-moms that would be the worst time for them.  I am always skeptical for these kinds of reasons.

Many of the bloggers wanted to try explain why stay-at-home moms (SAHM) would have more of these negative emotions.  I personally have a hard time believing this, but I guess that is because I know so many happy SAHMs who wouldn't change a thing!


Then I began to look more closely at this portion of the poll.  Worry, sadness, stress, anger, and depression are the categories they somehow examined.  Again, I wonder what the question was or how was it phrased. Since I can't seem to find that information, I began thinking about each of these categories from a Biblical perspective.  What does God say about each of these emotions?  Do I experience these emotions more so because I stay home?


Worry-  I don't tend to think of myself as a worrier, but I am sure that I worry more than I should.  Jesus told us not to worry so if I am worrying I am actually sinning.  It is something I need to confess and repent for committing. Did I worry more as a working mom or now as a SAHM?  I think partly I worry less now because most of what I worried about before was missing out on my children's lives.  Do I never worry now?  I try not to.  I keep reminding myself that God is in control and all I have to do is stay close to Him (ie, read Bible and obey it) and all will work together for good.  No matter my circumstances I know the One who can take care of it.  I believe in His omnipotence and faithfulness.


Sadness-  I think they are times when sadness is a fact of this sin- cursed world.  But our sadness should be tempered with the knowledge that this is only for a short time.  At the same time that I am sad about a situation, I can find comfort and even joy from God's word.  Here are some wonderful scriptures about joy.  Again, it can be sinful to dwell on sadness, if I am not reminding myself about the joy of the Lord.  Am I more sad now than when I was a working (outside of house) mom?  No.


Anger-Again, if you are a Christian you know this is another area of sin.  We are called to avoid anger, to prevent anger, if possible, in others, and to repent of anger toward others.  Here are just a few Biblical quotes on anger.  Am I more angry as a SAHM?  Well, I have to admit that my frustration level is tested every day at least once a day.  I think this is one area I feel more tempted than the others.  Thankfully I have learned that it really is possible to avoid this if we all get proper rest, food, and exercise we need.  It also helps to notice ahead of time the things that get us pulled into habits of anger and prevent these triggers if possible.  Some of my favorite bloggers are blogging today about what to do if you need to home school on a day when you have a rotten temper.

Depression-  The word depression might not be in the Bible directly, but I think everyone would agree that is the feeling of total hopelessness.  Christians again are in sin, if we are letting ourselves dwell on depressing thoughts and attitudes.  We need to repent and then constantly remind ourselves of the hope that is within us.  This is one area I am not tempted with thankfully.  I tend to be a half-full kind of person.  I don't think I suffer any more since I started staying home, either.


Stress- This one is also not directly quoted in the Bible.  Again, I think this site that have been linking to for Bible verse collections has some great verses for this topic.  I know we all suffer from stress.  I do not think my stress levels have been increased because of being home.  


Ultimately, I know that I have been much happier since I have chosen to stay home.  I feel sorry for the moms who have so many of these negative emotions, stay home or working.  I pray that they will find conviction, comfort and strength in God's Word.  This was a good reminder to me as well.

With All My Heart~

Telling the Story of Jesus

This is a picture of one of our "God book" shelves.  When the girls were little we made a rule that on Sundays we would focus our reading or video time on godly books and movies.  I use to tell them, "Let's read one of these books.  It is God's day, so we will read a God book."  That has stuck!  We call these picture books God books because they are all about Him or living like Him! We have added chapter books and devotionals to our bookshelves as the kids have gotten older in order to strengthen our children's understanding of the Bible and the gospel message. 

Yes, we are book junkies! ;)

This past week friends asked me for a book recommendation.  They wanted to give their 5yo niece a book about Jesus.  They were looking for a fairly simply written book that presented the gospel without watering it down.   So I began rummaging through our shelves and found many different options.  I thought I might share these on the blog for anyone interested.  

Make your plan!
Before making a selection, it is important to think about what the reading setting will be.  If you are going to be reading to multiple ages (such as in family worship) then you may want a more difficult book that will speak to the oldest, but can still be helpful to the youngest.  When we had the first 3 girls they were all within three years of each other.  Once they were all above age 3 it was pretty easy to find a book that they could all relate too.  Then God gave us our baby girl.  She is four years younger than the youngest "older girl."  There is eight years between the baby and the oldest "older girl" so it can be hard to find one that challenges Hannah and still helps Lydia.  I keep reminding myself that we will repeat many of these books for Lydia so I try do not feel too bad for her.  So what we try to do is have a varitey for our children.  Some days we read short stories with a godly moral.  Other times we read a biography for the older ones.  Also a few nights a week we read right out of the Bible.

Choose the best style!
How often you read will also influence what type of book you pick.  We do family worship at least 3 times a week.  We usually read a biography one night, a short story another night and then the Bible then next night or two.  We also sing 3 songs before reading and end with prayer, if you were wondering.  If you are looking for something to read off and on when you get a chance before bed, you may consider a short story book where it won't matter if it has been two weeks since you read it.  If you are more interested in a book to be read in one sitting, then you would probably want a picture book.  Your child may request it often or you may make a habit of reading it every month or so. 

Do it together!
I generally don't recommend finding a book the child can read to themselves for a couple of reasons.  For one, it is sometimes hard for parents to determine a reading level.  You may think because the book has primary looking pictures that it is appropriate for a child to try to read.  Even though it may have fairly small words, the syntax (word arrangement) may be too difficult for a young child to read with comprehension.  Second, and more importantly, we are instructed in the Bible to be directly involved in our children's learning about God.  (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)  If your child has a question you will be there to answer it.  As you see your child living through out the day you can remind them of the things you have been reading.

So here is the short list! ;)

My favorite picture book is from John MacArthur. It is lovely and very gospel oriented! It would definitely need to be read to the child(ren) by an adult, but it could be finished in one sitting.  There is a Kindle edition, but I would really miss holding the book with my child.  If you buy the hard back then they can flip through the pictures and enjoy that on their own.

Allegory is another wonderful way to teach children truths in a form that will keep their attention.  RC Sproul, Sr. has written this book which we also love!  Our girls often select this book to read during quiet time even though they have read it before.  You can also buy the audio book if you don't have a lot of time to read it yourself.  You could listen to it together in the car possibly.

My last favorite picture book for teaching about the gospel is this large paperback book.  The pages are glossy but the pictures are black and white.  I love the lessons taught in this book.  My only critique is that the little girl asks some pretty deep questions.  They sound more like questions from a youth or adult, but my girls didn't seem to be bothered by that when we read it.  It uses allegory also to help the child understand the grace, mercy and ways of God.

If you are able to do family worship at least once a week, I recommend this chapter book.  There are 35 chapters in this book, but each is only a couple of pages.  There are no pictures, but if your child enjoys being read to it is easy to imagine the story and characters. When you visit the link, you will see that the author is a mother who wrote these to illustrate Biblical truths for her young daughter.  Our big girls all love this book. Actually we will be reading it with Lydia starting next week.

My last recommendation is for an audio book that we have listened to at least 5 times through in the last 4 years since we bought it! 

We have several versions of this wonderful book.  We have the very abridged children's book that is barely recognized as this story; we have the modern language version in comic drawing style that goes with our Pilgrim's Progress board game.  Then we also have a slightly abridged version for adults still with much of the original language.  By far, we all prefer this version.  We have listened to it just before bed for story time.  We have listened to it during the 15 minute drive on the way to church.  Sometimes the girls ask to borrow it and listen to it for an hour or so.  Again the allegoric style is very appealing and leads to some great discussions. 

If you are still reading, thanks for staying with me.  I hope this is helpful to someone.  It has been great for me to look back at some of these books that we need to read again with our girls!

With All My Heart~

Tearing Down the High Places

In our homeschool Bible class we have been studying the two kingdoms of Israel before captivity and exile.  It is like watching a movie where the person is in danger and instead of doing the smart thing, they walk right into the pitch dark basement with a bat for defense.  You wish you could stop them.  You might even scream out to try because you already know the danger they are in and how this scenario will play out!

2 Kings 15:1-5
15  In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 4 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. NASU

Did you hear us scream?  We just want to say to the king, "Go all the way.  Obey God completely!  Tear down those high places!  Stop allowing the people to sacrifice (this was typically children) and burn incense to false gods!"
  Every once in a while we do read the happy ending.  This week we are studying one of the godly kings of Judah. (Israel, the northern tribes, had NONE, ever!)  Anyway, it was so nice to hear that again there was a godly king over Judah.  It makes you look forward to a happier chapter.

2 Kings 18:1-6
Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3  He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. 4  He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. 5  He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.
NASU

Now, do you hear us cheering?  We were so pleased to see a godly leader and we could hardly wait to read how God blesses Judah through him.  For the first 14 years there is great blessing.  Then the trouble begins.  The Assyrian king starts trouble.  He takes over the fortified cities of Judah and then requires great tributes (payments) from Hezekiah.  Things don't seem to be going so well for Hezekiah, but Hezekiah again does the right thing!

2 Kings 19:14-19
14 Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 " Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 "Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 "Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, OLord, are God." NASU
Did our cheering stop?  No way!  Read this!

2 Kings 19:35-37
35  Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.
NASU
So now you might think all was good for Hezekiah.  Nope!  He becomes deathly ill.  Again, we cheer as he does the right thing again by going straight to prayer!

2 Kings 20:3-4
3 " Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
NASU
God then graciously gives him 15 more years of life and promises to protect his city during that time as well. 

As we were reading this, it made me appreciate many things about God and His faithfulness.  But it also made me want to be like Hezekiah and tear down the high places of sin.  You know, the sins that are hard for others to get to, that few people (except probably your closest family) will see.  But God sees them.  No place is too high, or too low, or too dark, even the sins that are mostly in our heart. 

Help me, God, to tear down the high places of hidden sin in my heart and to obey your precious words, and to go to you in prayer when the enemy is at my door and I am weak and I am sin-sick.  May my legacy to my children be that I was a godly mom!

With All My Heart~