Elizabeth George - A Mom After Gods Own Heart: 10 Ways to Love Your Children

T his book belongs to

_______________________________

a mom after Gods own heart.

Elizabeth George

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, Copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicate authors emphasis.

A WOMAN AFTER GODS OWN HEART is a registered trademark of The Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark A WOMAN AFTER GODS OWN HEART.

Every effort has been made to give proper credit for all stories, poems, and quotations. If for any reason proper credit has not been given, please notify the author or publisher and proper notation will be given on future printing.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cover photo Janie Airey/Digital Vision/Getty Images

A MOM AFTER GODS OWN HEART

Copyright 2005 by Elizabeth George

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Elizabeth, 1944

A mom after Gods own heart / Elizabeth George.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1572-4

ISBN-10: 0-7369-1572-9 (pbk.)

1. Mother and childReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. ParentingReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. Child rearingReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. Christian education of children. 5. MothersReligious life. I. Title.

BV4529.18.G46 2005

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 / BP-CF / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

As always, thank you to my dear husband, Jim George, M.Div., Th.M., for your able assistance, guidance, suggestions, and loving encouragement on this project. And a special thank you for the contribution of your wisdom in the From a Dads Heart sections in this book.

Dear Mom,

Without even meeting you, I can tell you are someone very special! Why? Because youre choosing to read this book. When you consider its title, it becomes pretty obvious that you desire to be a mom after Gods own heart. This book is packed with information and how-tos that will show you how to fulfill the desires of your mother-hearthow to become a mom after Gods own heart. As we begin our journey together, a few things will make it even sweeter.

Open your book and enjoy it! Vital information is here. Encouragement is here. Gods Word is here. Ive even tried to make it easy to read for you as a busy woman and mom. In my mind Ive pictured you reading this book in a quiet moment after the kids leave for schoolor while the little ones are napping...or as you wait up for your teen to come homeor as you rock your baby to sleepor maybe even as you recline against a tree while your kids enjoy a romp in the park. Enjoy your book! Carry it with you, and let Gods Word instruct you and give you a power boost and a pat on the back all at the same time.

Open your heart to the priorities and topics covered in this book. They are tailor-made just for you, mom. Theyll give you Gods wisdom and guidelines for this major role in your life.

Open your heart through prayer to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to illuminate Gods Word, to help you understand Gods plan and priorities for your life, and to transform you, heart and soul.

Open your heart to others. Look around. Are there other moms in your church or neighborhood who would benefit from learning what being a mom is all about? Invite them to get A Mom After Gods Own Heart too, and go through it together. Then youll be growing as moms and in the things of the Lord. And to really accelerate your understanding, go through the A Mom After Gods Own Heart Growth and Study Guide. Youll love it!

Open your heart and dream! Dream of becoming the mom you yearn to bea mom after Gods own heart.

And now lets put feet on those dreams! It is the prayer of my heart that the contents of this special book for moms like you will encourage you, excite you, instruct you, and inspire you to follow after Gods own heart!

In His great and amazing love,

your friend and fellow mom in Christ,

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

PROVERBS 4:23

N o matter what you do each dayor in lifedoing things Gods way is a matter of the heart. Whether its deciding how to spend your money or your time, how you treat people, how you dress, or how you do your work, your choices reveal your heart. And the same is true when it comes to how you raise your childrenno matter what their ages.

Why is the condition of the heartboth yours as a mom and the heart of your childso critical? The Bible answers this all-important question.

As you already know from personal experience, the heart is the chief organ of physical life. Its obvious to everyone that the heart occupies the most important place in the human system. But the heart, as used in the Bible, also stands for our entire mental and moral activity, including the emotions, the ability to reason, and the will. The heart is also used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life. Thats why God warns and instructs us to keep [our] heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

In other words, we are to present our entire beings to God.[and] the heart is first. It speaks of the inner life, the mind, the thoughts, the motives, the desires. The mind is the fountain from which the actions flow. If the fountain is pure, the stream that flows from it will be pure. As a man thinks, so is he.