Encouraging Words

The look he got straight from his daddy!

This morning as I was reading in the book "Feminine Appeal", Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother, I came across something that was so encouraging to me and I immediately thought of all my blogger friends. I wanted to share with y'all so you too could be encouraged.

The title of the chapter was "Anticipating The Rewards". Carolyn Mahaney is telling a story of a Valentine's Day card she received from her son when he was 3 years old. On the outside it said "Happy Valentine's Day, Mom! How bout' breakfast in bed?" On the inside it read "Just bring it on up! Not too early, though, OK?" She shared that because that sometimes is our children's attitudes {and spouses'}. Not always but a lot of times, we as wives and mothers are taken for granted and we never see a reward for the countless hours of service.
Carolyn writes: "While we may not serve it in bed each morning, we do prepare 1000's of breakfasts in our lifetime. Each and every day we cheerfully welcome our family members home. We listen with rapt attention to the same story-over and over again. We bring countless prayers and burdens before God's throne. We refrain from anger, even in the face of repeated wrongs. We reserve judgment once more. We plan a myriad of special memories. Faithfully we encourage, constantly we support, and above and beyond we forgive, "seventy times seven" {Matt. 18:22}. We work tirelessly to enrich our husbands' and childrens' lives, and yet our toil at times goes unappreciated. We may wonder if our families even notice our efforts of kindness and goodness. However, Proverbs 31 anticipates that for the godly woman, Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all {Prov. 31:28-29}. She continues to say, "I can tell you from experience that if you devote your life to advancing your family's happiness, the rewards will far exceed the sacrifices. It may be awhile yet before you receive many of your rewards, but being kind and doing good today will yield sweet fruit in the latter years of your life. Marriage will become more precious. Motherhood will grow more dear. However, our greatest returns are still to come, and they will far surpass what we can fathom here on earth. Eph. 6:8 promises, The Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. As John Bunyan elaborates: "Whatever good thing you do for Him, if done according to the Word, is laid up for you as treasure in chests and coffers, to be brought out to be rewarded before both men and angels, to your eternal comfort". So regardless of who takes notice in this life, God is watching. He is recording every expression of kindness and every act of goodness. What greater incentive could there be to advance our families' happiness?"-- Carolyn Mahaney

So... keep smiling and singing as you do all those "everyday chores". God is watching and he doesn't miss a' thing! Have a wonderful day!