How Can Mothers Instill Vibrant Faith in Their Families?

How Can Mothers Instill Vibrant Faith in Their Families?

Posted on by Michele Morin

Spaghetti sauce bubbles in a pot on the stove, the rich red depths of the kettle wafting fragrance throughout the house. The annual ritual spans three decades:  garden-grown tomatoes, hand-picked, and placed into a basket become jars of winter provision. After all, my four sons could eat a lot of pasta!

But this pot of spaghetti sauce is different—momentous, really, because it’s not mine. My son and his wife grew these tomatoes in their own garden and brought them to my kitchen for transformation. “Canning for dummies!” they say with a chuckle, inviting me to hover over them throughout the process as we puree, add spices, watch over the slow simmer, and then preserve the thick, fragrant sauce in hot glass jars. 

“Twelve quarts!” they exclaim as they high-five each other.

Having homeschooled my sons through high school, I’d like to think this isn’t the first time I’ve taught them something. I’d be kidding myself, though, if I imagined they always received teaching with the same willing enthusiasm as this canning lesson. Unlike a daily algebra class or my arguments for a broad knowledge of world history, this day’s learning experience required no defense. 

While gardening and canning are valuable life skills, Solomon had bigger things on his mind when he exhorted his son, “Forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8). Teaching here refers to direction, instruction, or even law.

As mothers, we stand beside fathers in imparting the gospel to our families. In both structured teaching and purposeful living, truth is passed on and worn like a “graceful garland” on the heads of our sons and daughters (1:9). Today’s post is my response to an invitation from Desiring God to explore what it means (and has meant to me!) to communicate the truth we believe in a way that will not be forsaken by our children and our grandchildren. HERE’S THE LINK to the post!

As a mother, you may find yourself serving as Reminder-in-Chief in your home, and it’s your privilege (and responsibility) to “make every effort” to “establish your children in the truth.”

And Now, Let’s Talk Books…

Since it’s become fashionable to question commonly held truth, it’s good to know that there is a trustworthy resource for answers to the most pressing questions about the historicity and authenticity of the Bible. In our era of widespread biblical illiteracy, Susan Lim asserts that “while comprehensive understanding of the Scriptures is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is nonnegotiable for sanctification.”

Light of the Word is Lim’s own story reinforced with scholarly evidence that knowing the history of the Bible illuminates a believer’s faith. Confusion over the trustworthiness of our sacred text is definitely a non-starter for confidence.

Lim presents mainly extra-biblical sources as proof that Scripture should be accepted as God’s Word and answers a multitude of foundational questions:

  • Who wrote the individual books?
  • When were they written?
  • How do we know that our copies are accurate?
  • Who decided what was included in the canon?

And while the answers are clear and compelling, the story of Lim’s own faith journey prevents the book from becoming just one more apologetic work.

The power and providence of God have clearly been at work through the ages in the miraculous preservation of Scripture. God has spoken. If we claim to want to know him but neglect the primary channel through which he may be known, we are only kidding ourselves.

Holding You in the Light,

In #LightoftheWord, Susan Lim asserts that “while comprehensive understanding of the Scriptures is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is nonnegotiable for sanctification.” @ivpress

Looking for a New Bible Study Plan?

I just created a 13-day plan on the book of Hebrews—one lesson for each chapter.
It’s available for free at YouVersion. Simply CLICK HERE to get started!

Free Encouragement in Your Inbox!

On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and I want to help you along that path.

To add this free resource to your pursuit of biblical literacy, simply CLICK HERE. There, on Substack’s website, you’ll find a prompt that looks just like this image for Living Our Days with Michele Morin. Over on that site, simply enter your email and then click on the purple “SUBSCRIBE” button.

You’ll receive a welcome letter to confirm your subscription and monthly encouragement in your email inbox.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. If you should decide to purchase any of the books or products I’ve shared, simply click on the image, and you’ll be taken directly to the seller. If you decide to buy, I’ll receive a few pennies at no extra cost to you.

Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

Photo by Iñigo De la Maza on Unsplash

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

17 thoughts on “How Can Mothers Instill Vibrant Faith in Their Families?”

  1. These are the good old days as your sons and their families return to the nest, Michele. May there be so much joy and laughter and companionship as you gather ’round the table, have new adventures, and enjoy your grandchildren under your feet. God is so gracious.

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  2. I appreciate your words of faith and wisdom! As a Grand myself (our first grandchild is two years old with another on the way) I often think of ways I can share our faith stories and teachable moments with her while supporting her parents in their own faith journey! Thank you!

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  3. I know how much I need reminders even of truths I’ve known for decades. It’s no wonder my children do as well. May we be always faithful to point them to God’s truth with kindness and encouragement.

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  5. This is a very difficult post for me. I tried to give him a ‘leg up’ one summer on what he would be studying the next fall. He was quite uncooperative. I was very thankful when he got his diploma from high school. He had to take a summer class after he went through graduation exercises. He is now working for the VA and works from his apartment; I am sure he remembers some of the things he balked at back then.

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    1. It’s not an easy path is it?
      And sometimes the “post-grad” course for homeschoolers—and for homeschooling mums especially, I think—is to practice a gritty forgiveness, put the past behind us, and love the person our child is becoming.

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  6. Reminder-in-chief sounds so much better than Nag! The Holy Spirit reminds us but isn’t a nag. My aunt used to say nagging was a mother’s job. I told her I didn’t want to be remembered that way. You provide a beautiful, biblical alternative. “In both structured teaching and purposeful living, truth is passed on and worn like a “graceful garland” on the heads of our sons and daughters.” I’m smelling tomato sauce now.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Thank you for this thought-provoking post of reminders throughout our children’s lives. I agree that adulthood is one of the hardest seasons of parenthood because I believe it calls us to be the most vulnerable. You display that gracefully with your Parkinson’s diagnosis and weakening physical body, but faith-filled soul.

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  8. Loved your article, Michele! As a parent and grandparent, I definitely find that parenting adult children is perhaps the hardest job of all. Now, more than ever, you are living out what you believe in front of an audience who sees EVERYTHING!

    Liked by 1 person

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