Dimensions of Motherhood

SERMON STARTER

          One of the women who helped establish Mother's Day as a national celebration was the mother of Anna Jarvis.  Mrs. Jarvis held an annual gathering, Mother’s Friendship Day, to heal the pain of the Civil War. After she died in 1905, Anna campaigned for the establishment of an official Mother’s Day to commemorate her mother.

          "Miss Anna Jarvis was as good as her word. She devoted her entire life to the struggle to have Mother's Day declared a national holiday. In the spring of 1908, Anna wrote to the Superintendent of Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where her mother had taught Sunday School classes for over 20 years. She requested that a Mother's Day service be held in honor of her mother.

          Thus, the first official Mother's Day celebration was held at Andrew's Methodist Church on May 10, 1908, with 407 persons in attendance. Anna Jarvis sent 500 white carnations to the church in Grafton. One was to be worn by each son and daughter and two by each mother in attendance. Another service was held in Philadelphia later that afternoon where Anna resided with her brother. Anna had requested that the first official service be held in Grafton, where the Jarvis family had lived so much of their lives and where her mother had served for so long as a teacher and public servant."

          Anna Jarvis' campaign is the reason we have a formal holiday. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared that Mother’s Day should be celebrated as a national holiday on the second Sunday in May.

          It didn't take very long for Mother's Day to change from a semi-religious occasion of prayers for peace and appreciation of the work and love of mothers around the world to a gifts, flowers, candy and dining out extravaganza. Anna Jarvis was actually arrested at a Mother’s Day festival while trying to stop women from selling flowers. Jarvis said “I wanted it to be a day of sentiment not profit.”

          Mother's Day may not have turned out to be the holiday that Anna Jarvis and countless other women around the world imagined, but it is a celebration of mothers...dedicated to honoring the women who give so much to their families without asking for anything in return. Perhaps every day should be Mother's Day, but most families are too busy with everyday business to say thank you for every meal or every good night kiss.

          Once every year, the world stops being busy and says thank you. Flowers, cards and gifts are just the outward signs. What mothers love most is the fact that their families really do notice all that they do and for one day every mom is queen for a day...

Happy Mother's Day!

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

Sheepfold Ministries, May 10, 2009

pastor Phil Roland

 

 

Dimensions of Motherhood

A Developmental Look at Motherhood

Psalms 127; 128

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”

“Nobel Character” – “Excellent” – Virtuous”-  Gr. “dunamis”            Proverbs 31:10

 

Five Dimensions of Motherhood:

I.  THE INCEPTION YEARS - Psalm 127: 1-2

    “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the

        LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.  It is vain for you to

        rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His

        beloved sleep.”

          A. Mate-Selection and Courtship – Proverbs 3:5,6

               “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own

                 understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct

                 your paths.”

                 1. Confusing time

                        a. Include the Lord in your decisions

                        b. Ask Him for wisdom

                 2. Stressful time – Philippians 4:6,7

                     “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,

                        with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the

                        peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your

                        hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

            B. Wedding

                 1. Planning

                 2. Costs

                 3. Family acceptance and adjustment

 

II. THE EXPANSION YEARS - Psalm 127: 3-5

    “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a

        reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's

        youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be

        ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.”

          A. Parental Beginnings

                 1. Conceiving Children

                        a. Pregnancy

                        b. Childbirth

                 2. Providing for Children

            B. Stressful Years

                 1. Toddlers

                 2. Pre-Schoolers

                 3. In-Law Support needed and necessary

III. THE CHILD-REARING YEARS - Psalm 128:1-3

     “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.  When

         you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with

         you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house,

         Your children like olive plants all around your table.”

        A. Elementary School Children

                 1. Learning Boundaries through consistent parenting skills

                 2. Difference in Punishing and Disciplining

                        a. Punishing inflicts pain to teach child lessons

                        b. Disciplining teaches the child the right way – Proverbs 22:6

                            “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he

                               will not depart from it.”

            B. Adolescent - Teen Years

                 1. Puberty and Self-Discovery

                 2. Finding Identity - “Who Am I?”

 

IV. THE MIDDLE YEARS - Verses 4-6

     “Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD. The LORD bless

         you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your

         life. Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!”

          A. The Empty Nest

                 1. Launching the Child

                 2. Releasing the Child

            B. Aging Motherhood

                 1. Laying Foundational Bricks

                 2. Building Cathedrals

V. THE TWILIGHT YEARS – Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

        A. Retirement

            B. Coping with Physical Aging

            C. Finding Meaning and Purpose

            D. Role Reversal

                 1. Parented by parents in our infancy and youth

                 2. We parent them in our old age

 

 

 

 

The Sculptor

 

I took a piece of plastic clay

And idly fashioned it, one day.

And as my fingers pressed it, still

It moved and yielded to my will.

 

I came again, when days were passed,

That bit of clay, was hard at last,

The form I gave it, still it bore,

And I could change that form no more.

 

Then I took a piece of Living clay

And gently formed it, day by day.

And molded with my power and art,

A young child's soft and yielding heart.

 

I came again when years were gone,

It was a man I looked upon.

He still that early imprint bore,

And I could change it, nevermore.                          

 

(Author Unknown)