Hearts at Home

Today I’d like to welcome author and speaker, Jill Savage. Jill’s recent book Real Moms…Real Jesus, just released, and I wanted to ask her about her real mom moments..

Jill, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
Mark and I have been married 25 years and we have five children. Anne is 24 and married to our wonderful son-in-love, Matt. Evan is 21 and married to our beautiful daughter-in-love, Julie. Erica is 18 and a college student at Heartland Community College. Kolya is 15 and in the 8th grade. We adopted Kolya at the age of 9 from Russia---the God story about his adoption is included in the Real Moms…Real Jesus book. And Austin is 12 and in the 7th grade.

Tell us about your newest book Real Moms...Real Jesus?
Real Moms…Real Jesus is a book designed to help moms understand that when Jesus lived on this earth he was fully God, yet fully man. We don’t often think about the fact that he was a human being and he lived the full human experience: pain, hunger, fatigue, frustration, betrayal, disappointment. He experienced it all!

There’s one verse in the Bible about Jesus that simply says “large crowds followed him everywhere he went.” Well, isn’t that the life of a mom? Large crowds follow her to the bathroom. They follow her to the kitchen. To the grocery store. She’s in high demand! And when Jesus lived on this earth, He was in high demand, too.

Why did you want to write this book?
Most of us long for a friend who understands. Yes, we need girlfriends who understand what our life is like. But we also need to understand that we have a friend who understands in Jesus. Too many of us think of God as being distant and unable to relate to our daily struggles. But nothing could be further from the truth! He understands and he wants us to build our friendship with Him. He wants to not only be our Savior, but also our Friend.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?
I hope that readers will gain a new perspective about their relationship with Jesus. I also hope to weave God’s truth into the daily life of a mom.

What unique elements will the reader find in Real Moms…Real Jesus?
Each chapter looks at some character trait in Jesus’ life that can help us in our life as a mom. In between the chapters are interactive vignettes that provide brief, refreshing glimpses into our real, messy, busy lives.

There are also questions at the end of the chapter for further consideration and suggested Bible reading in the book of Matthew. If the reader chooses to pursue the suggested reading, she will have read the book of Matthew completely by the end of the book!

There is also a leader’s guide in the back of the book so it can be used in a group setting.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?
Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!


Any closing thoughts?
I am very excited about this book! I believe that if a mom can strengthen her relationship with Jesus Christ, she will feel more equipped to be the mom she wants to be. I’m also offering an online book discussion on my blog beginning Tuesday, April 7. If you’d like to join us, you can subscribe to my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

I’d love to hear a reader’s thoughts after they read the book, too! You can connect to me through my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

Thanks, Jill, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your real mom, real Jesus moments with us.

You can purchase your own copy of Real Moms…Real Jesus by clicking here.

And be sure to check out Hearts at Home, their conferences for moms, and all their online resources here.

Ask and Receive

I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. Psalm 119:166

Obedience…such a great concept but hard to follow up on. We all want to be obedient and do the right thing. Sometimes that is not always the easiest thing to do. We have times where we want to do our own thing whether it is right or not.

John gives us these words to remember in 1 John 3:21-23, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

Our obedience allows us to pray to God and receive from Him anything we ask. His response may not be in the way we would expect it or want it to be, but He will respond. How do we get this privilege, though?

We see in 1 John we are to obey God’s commands and do what pleases Him. But what are those commands? We are to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ and to love one another. Believing that Jesus is God’s Son is crucial to living an obedient life for God. If we don’t believe, then we are not God’s children. Loving one another is so important to God. It’s by our love to others that the world will know we belong to God.

The verses in 1 John also tell us that God will give us what we ask of Him if our hearts do not condemn us. That means we are praying in God’s will and in accordance to what He wants for us. Therefore, our desires are His desires.

Take time today to read your Bible and search out God’s desires. Then, be obedient by making sure you have a relationship with His Son, Jesus, and are willing to love others.

Following the Crowd

"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong" Exodus 23:2a

Last week we discussed why it is important to be a Christ follower. We saw that Christ is the Leader we are to follow. The question now is “How do we follow Christ?” Let me share some practical ways to follow Christ in our daily walk.

Choose to follow Christ and not the crowd. Exodus 23:2a says “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” We have so many opportunities to follow the crowd on a daily basis. When we let our lives get out of control, following the crowd seems like the best thing to do. We look for quick ways to make more money, lose more weight or get more done in our days. Quite simply, that is not God’s way. Jesus’ own words tell us in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Choose to make the Bible your manual for living. God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. Commit to reading the Bible regularly to learn more about how God wants you to live. Join a Bible study, study different topics in the Bible, or read the Bible through. If you are faithful to study God’s Word, He will be faithful to show you the way He wants you to live.

Choose to set a Christ-like example. We have many people that we influence every day. We are mothers, wives, daughters, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and much more. If we are dedicated to becoming Christ followers, then we need to let our actions match our commitment. Be careful in all that you do so that your life will point others to Christ. 1 Peter 3:15 gives us this command “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Commit yourself to following Christ. I promise you that you are in for the adventure of a lifetime.

Christ Followers

“Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10 NKJV

I have been trying to get into a routine of walking for several weeks now. I know that walking will not only help me lose the weight I’ve been trying to shed, but it will improve my overall health and stamina. However, there is one problem…my lack of will power. I just can’t get up in the morning early enough to get the household chores done so that I’ll have time to walk after I take the kids to school.

Sometimes I have the same problem when I’m trying to follow Christ. I just don’t have the will power to keep on going. I know that following Christ will be beneficial for me and for His Kingdom, but there are some days that it’s hard to follow Him. When this happens, I try to re-focus my thoughts and remember what God’s Word says about being a Christ follower.

First, when I realize that I am following the world more than I am following Jesus, I remember that Exodus 23:2a says “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” I examine my thoughts and actions to see if I am following the crowd more than I’m following Jesus.

Next, Psalm 119:166 reminds me to follow God’s commands. “I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.” I search God’s word for His commands so that I know what He wants me to do.

Finally, I heed the words of Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I test my thoughts and actions to see if they are in line with God’s requirements.

Over the next month, we will explore each one of these elements of following Christ in depth. Then the last week of February we will see how the life of Paul was changed as he became a Christ follower.

My prayer for you is that you will allow God to work in your life and show you what it means to be a Christ follower. He alone is the Hope for your home.

What's Your Story?

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4 TNIV

2009 is here, so what are you going to do? Are you going to spend your time spinning your wheels trying to get more accomplished in less time? Or, are you going to allow God to direct your path and show you what He wants you to do? The new year always brings an opportunity to "start over" and begin anew. There are so many things I would like to accomplish this year, but I know that not all of those things are what God wants me to do. My number one priority this year is to spend more time in His Word learning all I can about Him so that I will recognize when He is talking to me and showing me His will.

God was so gracious last year in opening many significant doors of opporunity for me. Looking back, I realize that I would never be able to guess all that He was going to do in my life last year. So, that makes me all the more excited about 2009. As I glance at the calendar for this year, I have no idea what God has in store for me. All I know is that there will be some good and some not so good. But, whatever He chooses for me, I have the confident hope that He will work things according to His purpose.

We read in Romans that we have stories in the Bible to show us that we have hope no matter what we go through. When your story is told this year, will your life reflect that hope? Remember that future generations will be looking back to see what we did with our lives and how we handled whatever came our way. What's your story going to be?

The Book Shelf

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on earth. Ecclesiastes 3:1 The Message

Sitting at my desk working on various projects, I reach up to pull a binder off my book shelf that contains info I need to complete a particular task. Something about this motion has caused me to stop and examine my book shelf closely. I see binders containing information about different church activities I'm in charge of, various versions of the Bible, Bible study aids, notebooks and books about organizing. I realize that I have a book shelf full of binders and information. I have to stop myself and ask "Are all of these really necessary?" See, we're told in God's Word that there is a right time for everything on earth. My book shelf represents my life. If my book shelf is full of binders that represent activities I'm involved in, then maybe I should examine those binders and see if I'm involved in things that God really want me to do. If my book shelf is full, do I continually try to squeeze more on there to make myself feel useful or needed?

I encourage you to look at your personal "book shelf" as we head into 2009. Is God leading you to remove some of those binders so He can replace them with the right binders? Don't get bogged down with your life. Take your schedule to God and He will show you what to do.

Mommy Meltdown

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Psalms 23:1 TNIV

I have to confess...I'm in the middle of a mommy meltdown. This is just one of those times that I let my world get out of control by not allowing God to be my main focus and to be the One in control of my life. As a stay at home mom I continually struggle with self-worth. I know that I am doing what God wants me to do. I know that what I do is very important and will make an eternal difference, but sometimes it feels like it's not enough. I read an article yesterday about some influential women in my state. They all had high-powered jobs as CEO's, presidents, directors and managers of successful companies. Since I'm in the mindset of being in a mommy meltdown, this article just further reinforced to me that I have chosen a position that the world does not necessarily view as successful or worthy of value. There are some days that I want to do something that the world will notice (or even my family and friends) and will recognize me for my accomplishments. But, I have to stop and remember that I am doing what God has called me to do. Yes, that means about 99.5% of what I do goes unrecognized or unappreciated. There are the occasions where people will tell me what great kids I have and how well I am raising them. But those are few and far between.

Last night as I was reading a devotion with my daughter, the key verse was Psalms 23:1. I think God placed that there for my benefit to help me realized that He is all I need and that I lack nothing with Him in my life. So, as I progress through this mommy meltdown, I pray that I come out on the other side better equipped to keep this thought in mind constantly. When I start to have a meltdown because the things I want to happen are not happening on my time table, I want to remember that I lack nothing and that God is on my side.

I encourage you to remember this as well. When all looks bleak and hopeless, know that God is your shepherd and you lack nothing.