Acts of Mothers (Proverbs 31:10-31) MAY 13, 2012-MOTHERS DAY

Acts of Mothers
Proverbs 31:10-31

On the lighter side of life:
"The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn’t getting enough sleep."- John Fiebig

"I’d like to be the ideal mother, but I’m too busy raising my kids."- Unknown

A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world." The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world." - Bits and Pieces, 1989

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother- Unknown

Thesis: The acts of mother’s have pointed to the truth that man and woman were made in the image of God and the sacrificial nature of mothers for their families reflects the sacrificial love God has for the world.

Introduction:
Here is a light hearted presentation of what we all think about our moms, at different points in our lives. Don’t be too shocked moms and kid’s because we all have the same tendencies.

4 Years Of Age - My Mommy can do anything;
8 Years Of Age - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot
12 Years Of Age -My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 Years Of Age -Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either
16 Years Of Age -Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned
18 Years Of Age -That old woman? She’s way out of date
25 Years Of Age -Well, she might know a little bit about it
35 Years Of Age -Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion
45 Years Of Age -Wonder what Mom would have thought about it
65 Years Of Age -Wish, I could talk it over with Mom

The truth is we all learn to appreciate our moms and to acknowledge their vital influence in our lives. The Bible tells us that we are to honor our mothers and the Bible is also very clear in referencing the importance of motherhood and the many acts that mothers perform on a daily basis for their children and their families. These actions need to be acknowledged and honored by others so that mothers will be encouraged to press on in their God given roles.

From Holman Bible Dictionary
The Bible refers to every aspect of motherhood: conception (Gen. 4:1; Luke 1:24); pregnancy (2 Sam. 11:5; Luke 1:24); the pain of childbirth (Gen. 3:16; John 16:21); and nursing (1 Sam. 1:23; Matt. 24:19)…

The Book of Proverbs (see 1:8; 31:1) indicates that even in ancient times mothers shared with fathers the responsibility for instructing and disciplining children. Mothers have the same right to obedience and respect as fathers (Ex. 20:12; Lev. 19:3)…

Jesus enforced the Fifth Commandment and protected it against scribal evasion (Matt. 15:3-6). Motherly virtues are often extolled in Scripture: compassion for children (Isa. 49:15), comfort of children (Isa. 66:13), and sorrow for children (Jer. 31:15, quoted in Matt. 2:18). ..

The fact that God would use a human mother to bring His Son into the world has bestowed upon motherhood its greatest honor. Jesus set an example for all to follow by the provision He made for His mother (John 19:25-27). Jesus made it plain, however, that devotion to God must take precedence to that of a mother (Matt. 12:46-50). Even the Old Testament (Gen. 2:24) indicated that a man’s devotion to his wife supersedes that to his mother (James A. Brooks).
The selfless acts of love performed daily by most mother’s reflects how they were created in the image of God and it reveals to this world that God himself loves and sacrifices like a mom does. The truth is mom’s sacrificial acts for her family and children reflect and point to a character trait of God that many fail to recognize. I know that God created male and female different and he designed them both to fulfill specific roles. But he made two people to represent all that He is. Men reflect one dimension of God and women reflect another dimension of God and it takes both of them together to get a true glimpse of the nature of God himself. Listen to what it says in Genesis 1:26-28: 26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Scripture Texts:
Proverbs 31:
10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

1. Proverbs 31 describes for us the acts of a noble woman who needs to be honored.
a. Listen to the attributes of this noble woman

i. She is priceless

1. A mothers job is priceless!

a. "There never was a woman like her. She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness... The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way."- Andrew Jackson

b. "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest."- Spanish proverb

c. "The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom."- Henry Ward Beecher

d. "I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn word of my good mother." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

e. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws."- Barbara Kingsolver

f. "The future destiny of a child is always the work of the mother."- Napoleon Bonaparte

g. Healthy families are our greatest national resource. - Dolores Curran

h. "If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much."- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

2. Have you ever wondered what a mom should be paid for her work as mom?

a. Salary.com has now valuated the "mom job" of both the Working and Stay at Home Mom! We consulted Stay at Home and Working Moms to determine the top 10 jobs that make up a mom’s job description. If paid, Stay at Home Moms would earn $134,121 annually (up from 2005’s salary of $131,471). Working Moms would earn $85,876 annually for the "mom job" portion of their work, in addition to their actual "work job" salary.

ii. She is trusted by her husband

1. "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." - David O. McKay

iii. She produces good works

1. "Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory: love them, especially when they least deserves to be loved."- Kate Samperi

2. "The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best."- Hamilton Wright Mabie

3. "Making a decision to have a child -- it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."- Elizabeth Stone

iv. She is a hard worker and it shows everyday of her life

v. She provides food for the family

vi. She is an early riser and serves her family and even her servants

vii. She is business savy

viii. She helps in making money to provide for her family

ix. She works vigorously (for example)

1. You count the number of sprinkles on each kid’s cupcake to make sure they are equal.

2. You have time to shave only one leg at a time.
3. You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

4. Your child throws up and you catch it.

5. Someone else’s kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.

6. You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.

7. You hire a baby sitter because you haven’t been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.

8. You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it’s the only one your child eats.

9. You find yourself cutting your husband’s sandwiches into unusual shapes.

10. You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi’s mother.

11. You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

12. You read that the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."

x. She is strong
1. "My mother never gave up on me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back."- Denzel Washington

2.
xi. She is profitable in her business deals

xii. Her light stays on for the benefit of the family

1. We will leave the light on for you

xiii. She is creative in providing clothing for her family

xiv. She is a giver and also helps others in need

xv. She is proactive and prepares and saves for the future

xvi. She makes herself look good in spite of the stress she is under

xvii. She has made her husband and family a success

1. "My mother said to me, "If you become a soldier you’ll be a general; if you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope." Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."- Pablo Picasso

2. "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."- George Washington

3. "There never was a woman like her. She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness... The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way."- Andrew Jackson

xviii. She knows clothes and even makes them

xix. She is dignified and strong

1. Your child insists that you read "Once up on a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor’s office and you do it.

xx. She has a sense of humor

xxi. She speaks with wisdom

xxii. She teaches with faithful instruction (listen to some of these)

1. To Value A Job Well Done

"If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

Time Travel
"If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

Logic
"Because I said so, that’s why."

Foresight
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."

Irony
"Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about."

Osmosis
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

Stamina
"You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

Weather
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

Hypocrisy
"If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!"

Circle Of Life
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

Behavior Modification
"Stop acting like your father!"

Envy
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do."

Anticipation
"Just wait until we get home."

Receiving
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

Medical Science
"If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

How To Become An Adult
"If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up."

Genetics
"You’re just like your father."

Wisdom
"When you get to be my age, you’ll understand."

Justice
"One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

xxiii. She manages her household well (for example)

1. Make sure to change your underwear always; you never know when you’ll have an accident.

2. Don’t make that face or it’ll solidify in that position.
3. Be careful or else you’ll put your eye out.

4. What if everyone jumped into a well? Would you do it, too?

5. You have enough filth behind those ears to grow potatoes!

6. C’mon close that door! Were you born in a barn?

7. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

8. Don’t put that thing in your mouth; you don’t know where it’s been!

xxiv. She is not lazy or idol but she is a hard worker

xxv. Her children love her and call her blessed

1. "A mother understands what a child does not say." - Jewish Proverb

2. "The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent."- Erich Fromm

3. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."- Cardinal Mermillod
4. "Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."- Lin Yü-tang

xxvi. Her husband praises her

xxvii. She is the best in the eyes of the family

1. "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."- Honore’ de Balzac

xxviii. She fears the Lord and deserves to be praised by all

1. No man is poor who has had a godly mother."- Abraham Lincoln

2. "I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."- Abraham Lincoln

3. "The mother, more than any other, affects the moral and spiritual part of the children’s character. She is their constant companion and teacher in formative years. The child is ever imitating and assimilating the mother’s nature. It is only in after life that men gaze backward and behold how a mother’s hand and heart of love molded their young lives and shaped their destiny."- E.W. Caswell

xxix. She needs to honored and lifted up for all that she does for others, her family and for God because her actions reflect the Love of the Lord in her.

1. "Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the Promised Land. She prepares a world she will not see."- Pope Paul VI

2. "The mother is the most precious possessions of the nation, so precious that society advances its highest well-being when it protects the functions of the mother."- Ellen Key

3. "Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world."- Kate Douglas Wiggin

Conclusion:
"Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own."-Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Ephesians 6: 2, 3:“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Remember it is one of the 10 Commandments:
Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Let’s make sure today that each of us honors our mothers.