Mom Heart Moments #296

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPES? On Saturday nights, my family loves to make whole-wheat pizza with hamburger, onions, and green peppers. Beloved recipes can reflect our heritages, experiences, stories, traditions, backgrounds —so many different attributes that encompass the personality of a family.

I believe God offers us great freedom in exercising authority over our children and home. There are “many ways to skin a cat,” as the saying goes. There are also many ways to love and discipline and instruct children. Yet many women live under a phantom overseer all the time that says there is only one way to get it right.

So how do I find my own “family recipe”? I must establish my standards on Scriptural principles. For example, as our standard for the kinds of things we should allow into our minds and hearts, we have always used the guidelines from Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Yet when Clay and I decide what meets those standards for our family, those items may not match up with the standards you have for your family. Some of the movies my children are allowed to watch may be offensive to you. Some of our standards may seem too strict to you. Our choice of clothing style might fit well with your values but compromise the values of others. The same applies to choices about books, food, schooling, college, screen time, and so on.

What does your family recipe look like? What voices create insecurity or condemnation in your life? What pressures make you feel like you need to conform to others? How do you make decisions regarding your family’s standards? Determine to make God’s Word your primary adviser!