Pearls of Encouragement for Christian Working Moms
May 2008
Welcome
Prayer Partners
Blog/CWM Bible Study
CWM Coaching Tips
Article – God Chooses Different Paths for Every
Mom
Final Thoughts
Welcome
May I be the first to wish you a Happy
Mother’s Day! I hope you get some very special
presents this Mother’s Day. I don’t know
about you, but I have kept all the cards my children
have given me. Can I also thank you for all you do
as a Mom? I was talking with a Mom the other day and
we talked about all the disgusting things that have
touched our hands as a Mom. Only a Mom can understand
holding someone else’s chewed gum in your hand
or worse. Welcome to our new CWMs who have joined
our community from all over the world.
Prayer Partners
I’m hearing wonderful things about
how prayer partners are praying for one another. I
have another CWM who would like a prayer partner.
So, if you would like a prayer partner send an email
to
Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com
and put prayer partner in the subject heading. Thanks
in advance for your help.
Blog/CWM Bible Study
I have posted a question on the CWM
Blog, “What do you like best about being a Mom?”
Please share with all of us. Also, someone posted
a question on the Open Comment section and would like
some advice. Please visit the CWM Blog at http://christianworkingmoms.blogspot.com.
I do apologize for not adding any Bible Studies recently
to our CWM Bible Study. I do intend to add another
one in the near future. If you haven’t checked
out the CWM Bible Study you can find it at http://cwmbiblestudy.blogspot.com.
CWM Coaching Tips
If you would like a small daily tip
to help you focus on your walk with Christ delivered
to your email box daily, then CWM Coaching Tips are
for you. You can find out more at http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
Article – God Chooses Different
Paths for Every Mom
A frequent comment I receive from CWMs
is I really want to be a stay at home Mom, but we
financially can’t make it if I don’t work.
Also, some Moms honestly share that they are jealous
of the stay at home Moms. I’m not saying that
is true of everyone, but I have heard many Moms wish
they could stay home and wonder why they do not.
I wanted to point you to a fascinating
story in the Bible that clearly points out to us that
God has different paths for each one of us.
In Genesis 26:2, God says the following, “The
LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go
down to Egypt, live in the land where I tell you to
live.” In Genesis 46:3-4 we see God telling
Jacob, Isaac’s son, something totally different,
“I am God, the God of your father, he said.
“Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I
will make you into a great nation there.” I
will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely
bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand
will close your eyes.”
So, how could God in one chapter tell
one person not to go to Egypt and then years later
tell someone else to go to Egypt? God’s sovereign
plan and will are the answer. It was not time for
Isaac to go to Egypt, he was to follow the plan God
set out for him. Yet, God had a different plan for
Isaac’s son, Jacob. He had Jacob go to Egypt.
Did God change his mind? Absolutely not, God does
not and cannot change, His character is perfect. God’s
timing is always right on schedule. It was not time
for Isaac to go to Egypt, but in God’s sovereign
plan it was time for Jacob. Let me share with you
a quote from Beth Moore in her Patriarch study, (p.
220), “God reserves the sovereign right to direct
one of His children on a path He may have forbidden
to another.” What does that say to you?
What does this story day to us CWMs
and possibly a reluctant CWM? I have often said one
size does not fit all when it comes to staying at
home or working outside of the home as a Christian.
God rarely works the same way twice. He is too awesome
and creative to do the same thing over and over again.
If God did repeat Himself then we wouldn’t give
him the credit for what he does in our lives. Dear
CWM God has a sovereign plan for your life and it
may not look at all like the same plan of the woman
sitting next to you in church. God does not want cookie
cutter Christians He wants us to trust him fully with
our lives and trust Him to guide us in His plan for
us. Now, all of that being said there are Biblical
principles that we all follow as Christians.
The Bible is our source of wisdom and learning about
what God has to say to us. Yet, the Bible does not
say Kimberly you should be a therapist and a coach.
The Bible does not say what your occupation should
be. God gave each of us talents and gifts for us to
use for his glory. We spend time with Him and seek
His will for our individual lives and use the wisdom
he has given us.
Can I say if you are working and don’t
want to be working, spend some alone time with God
and ask if where you are right now is His sovereign
plan for your life. If God’s plan is for you
to be working then accept that is what He has for
you to do right now and do not be envious of a friend
who stays at home. Ask God to shine his glory in your
work place and in your home. Trust that God knows
what he is doing, if he wants you in Egypt and has
decided another woman is not to be in Egypt (figuratively
speaking). God knows what he is doing and He is sovereign
in your life.
My prayer is that God’s sovereign
will for you will fill you with hope and expectation.
Expectation to see what is coming next. I can assure
you that Jacob had to be fearful about going to Egypt
and moving his entire family, but he followed God
and trusted that God would go with Him. Whatever you
are experiencing right now realize God is with you
and it did not catch Him by surprise.
Final Thoughts
One of the things we have been discussing
in the CWM Coaching Tips is not complaining. Can I
challenge you to try and go a day without complaining?
It is much harder than you think. As Christians, who
serve a glorious Savior, we really have nothing to
complain about.
Till next time,
Kimberly M. Chastain
