Growing into a Purposeful Mom

Written by Jenn, Contributing Writer

About 18 months ago, when I first started “seriously” blogging, I changed the name of my blog to “The Purposeful Mom“. At the time, I chose it because I figured I’d always be a mom and so that title would fit no matter what stage of life I was in! 

But I don’t think I really know what that would mean for the direction of my blog. Sometimes people equate the word “purposeful” with “boring” or “overzealous”. This can most definitely happen, but I prefer to see it in a more positive way, and encourage you to do the same, no matter what stage of your mothering life you find yourself in! 

So, what does it mean to be a “purposeful mom”? 

We only have one life to live, right? And since time is short, we should live it intentionally. 

For me, this means being purposeful in my actions, in my every day interactions with my children, with the main goal of pointing them to Christ. 

Each morning we have a choice to allow the day to get away from us, with the end result being nothing but us falling into bed exhausted…or, we can grab hold of the moments we do have and squeeze every last drop of purpose out of them. 

We can seek the Lord, ask for wisdom and receive it (James 1:5), and then set out to teach our children the morals, ethics and truths that will be the driving force of their lives. Whether we stay at home, work at home or work outside the home, we are the primary influence in our child’s life. 

Along with few others, we are the person who will shape our child’s worldview by the way we teach them to act, react and interact with others. We can encourage in them a heart for ministry and for prayer. We are the example. We are the person whom God has called to shelter and nourish their little hearts. Children do not learn to have a love of virtue on their own. They cannot understand a Truth that they have never been taught. 

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9

photo credit

Our role in their lives is like no other, and our children should grow to know that they can trust us, run to us with even the littlest troubles and count on us to intentionally show them what it means to be a lover of God, a trust-er of Jesus and a follower of the Holy Spirit.

How does this happen? Simply by the grace of God! We are NOT able on our own to demonstrate all these characteristics to our children but with the Holy Spirit guiding us through the Word, being purposeful and intentional is within reach! 

Practically speaking, I’ve found that arming ourselves with the resources necessary for teaching our children is essential {here are 25+ Biblical resources for teaching character}. And then, it’s not just in reading and musing but actually carrying these things out and applying these concepts in everyday life. These teachable moments pop up many times throughout the day:

• When my children get along
• When my children fight
• When my son is disappointed because his sister has more than him
• When my daughter needs to work on obedience
• When my children are bored and looking for things to do
• When they see the world’s injustices
• When they think church is boring
• When they want to help others but don’t know how

What does being a purposeful mom mean to you?

Jenn is a pastor’s wife and a mother of 3 beautiful children.
Join Jenn at The Purposeful Mom where she shares how she is learning to live with purpose in the spiritual, financial and practical areas of life. 

Her desire is that we would all :encourage one another and build each other up” 1 Thess. 5:11 

Related posts:

Going from being a Stay at Home Mom to a Working Mom {My Motherhood Story} Why I Don’t Have a Daily Routine {But am Trying to Make One} On Being Organized What To Do When You Pretty Much Blow It With Your Children