Being A Mom on Sundays: What About Their Naps?

I love having my kids on a routine. This is partially because I think that routine does serve them and serve our family, but also because I can sinfully crave predictability. I like my kids going down for naps at exactly the same time, waking up at the same time (if only!), eating at the same time, etc. And guess what? No one consulted me about my kids' routines before they decided what time to start church. (Can you believe it??!!)

Looking at Sundays as something that "gets in the way" of Tali & Owen's routine is a huge hindrance to my joy at church. When I sigh over Owen missing his nap or grumble in my heart about Tali not getting her lunch as early as usual, I am missing the point of Sunday mornings. The point is to meet with the Lord and His people; the point is not for my kids to keep their schedule. What they need most, what I need most is not a consistent routine each and every day of the week. What we need most is a Savior.

As I drive to Sovereign Grace, I want to thank God for the gift of being able to raise my kids in a Gospel-centered church. The fact is that Tali and Owen (and their mommy) need the saving truth that we hear each week much more than we need to maintain my schedule.

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Growing to the Love the Church, Part 2

During this time in my life, I was living at home and substitute teaching, preparing to come to graduate school at Wheaton College. Armed with a new-found desire to love what Jesus loves, I started looking on-line for churches in the Wheaton area. I knew that I desperately needed a local church that was doctrinally sound and Gospel-centered. In my on-line searching, I came across a church that was a part of Sovereign Grace Ministries that looked to be about a 1/2 hour from where I'd be going to school. I was so excited by the thought of being a committed part of a church that loved the Gospel and sought to apply it to daily life. So, I began praying that the Lord would lead me to the church that He wanted me to be a part of.

I moved to Wheaton and several days later, flew to the New Attitude conference in Kentucky with my life-long friend, Jessy. The Lord completely revolutionized my life through that conference. Not only did I meet my husband while I was there, I was spurred on to grow in loving the local church. This love for the church that God had been forming in my heart was shared by thousands worshiping around me. The Lord used New Attitude to ignite that fire that He had started in my heart for the church.

A part of that fuel was several messages that were given at previous NA conferences. (You can get those messages for free on the Sovereign Grace Resource Library.) The Lord used Josh Harris' messages entitled, "Commitment to the Church" and "Married to the Church" to help me form a picture about what practically loving the church can look like. I began to see that if I was to love the church the way that Christ does, I was going to need to be committed.

*Side note: if you are a single person or a young married couple, please check out NA's website and consider praying to see if the Lord would have you go to the conference this year and benefit. Josh & I, along with others from our church are looking forward to going. I guarantee that you will not regret it if you go!

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Growing to Love the Church

Growing to love the church was (and is) a process for me. After repenting before the Lord and asking for His help to change, I found that I needed to start applying Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." When I got ready for church on Sunday, I started praying, "Lord, You love the church. Help me to love the church as well. Help me to love these people that You died to redeem."

When I arrived and saw the people sitting around me, my thoughts began going down the sinful path of judging again and I would pray, "Lord, I don't know their hearts, only You do. Thank you for bringing them here. Please help me and help them to love You more through this time."

When we started to sing and it was more "slow" than I would like, I would ask the Lord to help me care more about praising Him than about musical styles. Then, I would try to focus on the words and worship rather than complaining in my heart about it simply not being "my preference."

The Lord started changing me and I began to enjoy being with His people on Sundays. But there was still more change to take place.

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Why Should I Love the Church?

As I mentioned in my last post, there was a time when (at my best moments) I tolerated church. There was nothing about the church that I loved. But God called me to change.

I had been thinking of the people around me as hypocrites; in other words, I was proud and sinfully judging those around me, not loving them. I had to ask for the Lord's forgiveness for that. And actually, if you happened to be at the same church as me during that time, would you forgive me for arrogantly judging your heart? I want to publically confess that I was sinning and I am very sorry for that.

The Lord began to convict me of this sin and I started to see more clearly that I had to change. Josh Harris puts it well in his book, "Stop Dating the Church"

"As Christians we're called to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). We're to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Can there be any question that part of being like Jesus is to love what He loves? Christians often speak of wanting God's heart for the poor or the lost. And these are good desires. But shouldn't we also want God's heart for the Church? If Jesus loves the Church, you and I should, too. It's that simple."

I did not love the church like God was calling me to. Where does scripture tell us that Christ loves the church? One passage is found in Ephesians 5:

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

According to God's Word, Christ loves the church so much that He gave up His life to redeem us. That is some serious love. Next, I'll share what it looked like practically as God began to grow in my heart a love for the church.

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Do I Love the Church?

This question is something that the Lord has put on my heart the past couple of months and I can't help but keep asking it to myself. Do I love the church-the Bride of Christ? In particular, do I love the local church?

The easy answer here would be "yes!" I mean, come on, my husband is a pastor. I'm there every Sunday unless my kids are sick. Most of my friends are from the church and most of our time is spent in activities related to the church. Those things are my circumstances (and they are beautiful ones!) but what is in my heart? Do I really love the local church?

About five years ago I heard a song by Derek Webb that the Lord used to arrest my heart. These words in particular pierced me at the time and still do, "You cannot care for Me with no regard for Her, if you love Me you will love the church." In other words, Jesus Christ died to save sinners, His Bride. Jesus purchased the Church with His very own blood. It's pretty clear that He loves the church. Do I?

Five years ago when I first heard that song, it was crystal clear to me that I did not love what Christ loved. The local church was far from something I loved. In fact, I somewhat dreaded it unless they happened to be singing some songs that I liked on that particular day. At the time, I did love Jesus Christ and was seeking to live my life for Him. I just didn't see how church fit into that. I was living with my parents in Iowa and going to church seemed like a big pain. I had to get up early on the weekend. I had to sit through what seemed to me to be a boring couple of hours. I thought many of the people around me seemed like hypocrites who really didn't live what they believed. Often, I sat through a service just waiting to rip apart in my mind everything with it that I thought was wrong it. Let me be the first to say that I could not possibly have been described as someone who loved the church.

But God doesn't just leave us in our sin. So as I heard that song by Derek Webb, He began to work in my heart. The Holy Spirit convicted me and I repented from my pride and from not loving that which Christ died to save. God began to develop in me a love for the church.

More on this later...

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