Our Mothers Matter Series

How many of you would agree with me that mothers are the best? Amen? I have the privilege of having a wonderful mother! I have a mother who loved me unconditionally, even when I did not deserve it; a mother who punished me when I was wrong and sometimes didn¡¦t punish me when she probably should have; She sacrificed of her own needs to make sure my brother, Joey, and I had what we needed; We never missed a meal (big surprise there, huh?)-- always had clean, ironed clothes ¡V were taught the value of money and the value of other people ¡V I was taught by my mother to love Jesus, love the church, and love church people (even when they were sometimes hard to love¡XI¡¦m a preacher¡¦s kid you know) ¡V My mother taught me as a teenager that her word was final and not up for debate (at the time I thought that was nuts, but now that I have a teenage daughter I find in that line of thinking great wisdom). I was blessed with a wonderful mother!

For me it doesn¡¦t end there! I have a mother-n-law who truly loves me¡Kwell at least she tells me that she loves me! And I tell you what ¡K I love her too! She is giving, loving, caring, and kind. All of these wonderful qualities are exhibited in Leslie as she too is a marvelous mother of our two girls.I am blessed with a wonderful mother-n-law!

I realize today that not all of you had a wonderful mother. Some of you never knew your mother. But I am sure there is someone who filled that role in your life- a grandmother, an aunt, a good friend, or maybe even another family member. Still today we come together to honor mothers or those ladies in our church who have taken on the role of mother for children.

The fact is that almost everyone¡¦s mom does much for them, regardless of their age! I even believe that this generation of mothers today do even more for their kids that mothers of the past because of the busy lifestyles of both mothers and children.

Today you hear the term ¡§SUPER-MOM¡¨ referenced for this generation of mothers today. Christianity Today.com had a funny description of ¡§Super Mom!¡¨

¡§Faster than a speeding toddler¡Kmore powerful than a cocky teenager¡K able to leap roller blades and hockey sticks in a single bound! LOOK up on that ladder¡Kis it dad changing a light bulb??? Is a workman painting the ceiling??? NO! It is Super Mom sorting through the laundry pile that has accumulated over the weekend!

Strange alien to a lazy teen, she hustles through the house with power and authority far beyond that of mortal man¡Kwell any man for that matter. Yes, it is SUPER MOM!! Who disguised as a totally weird creature who never was a kid herself fights for truth, justice, and time alone in the bathroom!¡¨

This is a pretty good description of mothers today! If you, per chance, think that the job of mom is not important then look only to a recent survey completed by Salary.com who asked 5.4 million stay-at-home moms to list their job titles and daily duties. Here is what the came up with. Based on a 40 hour work week, moms should make on the average of $43,461.00. But it doesn¡¦t end there¡Kfor the on average extra 60 hours of overtime they put in every week, the average mom would receive an additionally $88,009.00 per year for a total of $134,371.00 for the job of mom!

The reality today is the most moms are under a great deal of stress and pressure. Judith Warner, a mom who lives in the DC area, wrote a book titled Perfect Madness. In the book she interviewed 150 moms across that country and realized that she and many other moms were really overdoing with kids activities. She said, ¡§The pleasures and joys of motherhood are being slowly replaced by stress and a slow boiling anger.¡¨ She pointed out that most moms in America are getting to a point of desperation¡Klooking for answers¡K.seeking solid, proven help as to what a mom should do and what a mom should be in a world filled with Perfect Madness.

I don¡¦t pretend to know how to tell moms how to be better moms. However, God¡¦s Word is filled with many truths for moms, dads, and parents. In our passage today we see that Timothy, one of the great leaders of the early church, was influenced by both his mother and grandmother to become a man of Great faith. These ladies, along with many other examples in God¡¦s word, demonstrate what the Lord is looking for in a Godly mother in both the 1st century, as well as in the 21st century! (READ PASSAGE)