who was jeoshophat's wife?

i am so convinced that God has a plan for my boys lives...

a plan to give them a hope and a future!
it excites me to just think about it...
to think about what they will do when they are older!

i am also convinced that satan has a plan as well.

his plan?

not so nice.

he takes everything that God has created as good and enjoyable -

and ruins it.

he makes it ugly.

makes it painful.

makes it looks like he invented it, and that GOD is the one who ruins everything!

he is such a liar.

i am not typically a worrier.

i really don't see myself as the type that stresses and worries about things - 


as a rule.

but i have started to think that maybe i am worrying about my boys.

about their futures.

about their choices.

i realized something tonight.

(you have probably all realized this years ago, maybe i'm just a little slow!)

the worrying that I am doing about MY boys is a little bit um...off.

do you see where i'm going with this?

i am putting too much emphasis on I and MY

The emphasis is supposed to be on My Father!!

it's pretty amazing when you think about it!

i can not be trusting on my parenting abilities, or my decisions or my anything!

i change my mind too much, 
and i eat too much sugar.

oh, that last part was a little confession thrown in there to keep you awake.

i seriously do eat too much sugar though.

but that lack of self-control is for another post! :)

i have done a lot of studies on my own trying to find information about mothers in the Bible


i love reading about David, about Daniel, about Timothy, about these men who were just heroes. these men who lived godly lives, and accomplished so much for God.
but i want to know about their moms! 
what kind of moms were they?
were they sober and serious?
were they goofy and laid back?
did they care about clean houses and whole grains?
did they let their boys eat sugar after every dinner?
(how am i on to sugar again??)
but seriously, there is so much left to the imagination when it comes to these moms!


i just read today about King Jehoshaphat.
he was a good king. he did what was right in the eyes of God.
which is saying something. 
these dudes from the old testament, i'm telling ya.
one king will be all good...then all of a sudden, the son of the next guy is like a beast!
anyways, in 2 chronicles it says that jehoshapaht's mother's name was azubah, and she was the daughter of shilhi.


it then says...


nothing.


like. nothing at all.
i wonder why they even tell us her name?
who was she?
what was she like?


and here's where i start going down the fearful path.
see...jehoshaphat was good. 
but his son?
ended up being terrible!
so was it jehoshophat's wife?


who was jehoshophat's wife?


she's not even mentioned in the Bible!
was it her fault?
i mean...the guy had 7 sons. was she too stressed to parent properly? ha!
for real. that's a lot of boys in one tent!


so - what about these people who are godly...
then have kids who get married and end up bad?
and i'm referring to people in the Bible here, although obviously it applies to today too.


so i start thinking, what if what i'm doing now is all for naught? 
and the boys end up making bad decisions? 
i want to be like azubah (minus the odd name) and not like little-miss-no-name-jehoshopatty-wife


that's when it hit me about the "me" and "i" thing.


i am responsible before God to follow his commands when it comes to my parenting.


Then HE is responsible for blessing and leading and directing my kids.


it's finding the balance between 


God's gonna do whatever He wants, so i'm just gonna sit back and relax


and


i am going to resist the feeling to be lazy right now, and be the kind of mom i think God wants me to do...even when it's easier not to.


parenting is such hard work.


it's easier to give in...


at the time.


but it's better to be consistent...


in the long run.

trusting completely in God is an amazing thing.

it's knowing that he is in control and that he has a plan that gives me the freedom to just relax!


i want to be an amazing example to my kids of what a godly mom looks like.
i want to show them how to love God and serve others.
so i will keep working. 
i will keep trusting.
and know...


God promises that he will bless the house of the righteous.
it's a promise.
God never breaks His promise.
never.


i am going to be offering a ladies class on 
"Intentional Living"
it will be broken into 6 weeks of classes, 
discussing the different areas of life we need to be intentional about.
i would love to have anyone living nearby join me!
they will be sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 at my house.
please let me know if you are interested, and i will let you know when they will begin.