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CRCF””5-8-11
“A Real Survivor”
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and three kids each for six weeks. Each kid will play two sports and take either music or dance classes. Each man must take care of his three kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook (there is no fast food), do laundry, and pay a list of bills with not enough money. Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time. Each man must also take each child to a doctor’s appointment, a dentist appointment, and a haircut appointment. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished, and eyebrows groomed. During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must attend weekly school meetings and church, and will need to read a book to the kids each night; and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: Each child’s birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size, doctor’s name, the child’s weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child’s favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear, and what they want to be when they grow up. The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if…he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment’s notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years, eventually earning the right to be called “Mom.”
What man among us would be foolish enough to want to play that game?
I used this same opener last Mother”™s Day. Little did I know that I would be living it out a year later!
But, I”™ve only been at this “Mr. Mom” thing for 5 months”¦and certainly haven”™t really even earned the title yet!
A Hopeful Tribute
Proverbs 31:10-31
A mother has the world”™s toughest job!
But when done God”™s way and in His strength”¦
A mother can be truly happy in the middle of it all!
READ Proverbs 31:10-31
1. A Happy Mother Finds Fulfillment
in Serving Her Family. (13-25, 27)
Ӣ Works Hard for the Home
What a busy lady! Not an idle moment!
She works hard to make her home a better place.
Ӣ Finds Fulfillment at Home
Ӣ Teaches Her Children (Prov. 31:1-9 and the rest)
This is the heart of motherhood!
Timothy”™s Momma/Grandma
(2 Tim. 1:3-5, 3:14-17)
My mother was more than faithful in this. And so was Robin with our 4 kids””much more so than me!
—Knows God”™s Word Personally
Leave your children a worn-out Bible and your life will have shown them what it is to live in a love relationship with God! And remember””an example of obedience speaks louder than your words!
—Studies God”™s Word Completely
My Momma is one of the world”™s best theologians! Momma didn”™t just read the pleasant, easy-to-understand parts of the Bible. No, Momma really studied it all and knew God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible, not as she wanted Him to be.
Robin was an amazing Bible teacher to kids for years, and, in the last few years, to other women, especially. In my humble, but accurate, opinion, she was a far more effective teacher than I”™ll ever be!
—Teaches God”™s Word Constantly
Start teaching early””sooner than you think they can understand! And then keep teaching practically! Robin started explaining God”™s truth to our kids before they could hardly talk!
Deuteronomy 6:6-7””“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Now, children/teenagers/young adults””listen up!
Proverbs 6:20-23”” “My son, obey your father”™s commands, and don”™t neglect your mother”™s teaching. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. Wherever you walk, their counsel can lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up in the morning, they will advise you. For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you. The correction of discipline is the way to life.”
If your mother teaches/trains you in God”™s ways, pay special attention and learn and obey. God promises to bless your life if you do!
I know you might get tired of hearing it sometimes”¦but my kids would tell you”¦they sure wish they could hear another lecture from their Momma”¦so don”™t be bull-headed and blow your momma off! Thank God you have her and that she cares enough to be giving you those “lectures”!
2. A Happy Mother Finds Fulfillment in Building
Up Her Husband (10-12, 23)
”¢ Genesis 2:18”” “And the Lord God said, ”˜It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”™”
Married men, do you readily admit your deficiencies and your need for your wife”™s strengths? Do you thank her regularly for the way she is your “completer”?
Ingratitude will kill a wife”™s motivation to compliment your life quicker than anything!
Men, if you”™ll love her sacrificially and honor her, if you”™ll be grateful and encourage her regularly, your wife will find great fulfillment in building you up””that”™s the way God designed marriage to work!
I wish I could redo parts of my marriage and be more appreciative for what Robin did for me”¦but I can”™t. My friend, you still have time”¦don”™t waste it! Appreciate your Godly wife out loud!
3. A Happy Mother Finds Fulfillment
in Her Inner Beauty (26, 30)
”¢ Fear of the Lord is the only way to be fulfilled””the only way to serve your family and build up your husband!
Psalm 25:14”” “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”
Psalm 31:19”” “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men.”
1 Peter 3:3-4– “Don”™t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
This doesn”™t mean that you can”™t “doll up”, ladies! Every man want his wife to care how she looks. But what”™s the focus? What”™s the priority? What gets the time/energy?
Ladies, are you working on your heart as much as your hair? And men, do you encourage your wife to focus on this inner beauty?
A mother has the world”™s toughest job!
But when done God”™s way and in His strength”¦
A mother can be truly happy in the middle of it all!
Conclusion””I”™ve got a great Momma! She did a lot for me growing up: late night talks, a playroom with too many toys, nursed dying ducklings with an eyedropper, regular interrogations after my dates in high school, apple cakes on my birthday, French toast, lots of kisses. But the most important thing Momma did for me, I didn”™t appreciate at the time. She wore out a green, Living Bible””and then obeyed it and taught it to me and my sister. THAT is what has shaped my thinking about life and how to live it. THAT is what gives me strength to live my life even now, even in the current circumstances.
My wife was an amazing Momma too! She wore out a green NIV Study Bible on me and our kids!
{Robin”™s Picture Slide Here}
I want to share a story with you that me and the kids have been kinda amazed by the last couple of weeks.
Just before we found out that Robin only had 12 weeks to live, the ladies had started a Bible study called “Out Live Your Life” by Max Lucado”¦kind of Sovereignly ironic, huh? Robin wasn”™t able to complete the study”¦only got to day 2 of week 2 and then she couldn”™t steady her hands to write anymore.
But Week 1, Day 3 starts out:
“We are given a choice”¦an opportunity to make a big difference during a difficult time. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God”™s love and life? What if we followed the example of the Jerusalem church? They certainly didn”™t have the pedigree to be a world-changing force. At best, this rag-tag group was ordinary. At worst, well”¦
And yet in the book of Acts we find them taking the social issues, political systems, and spiritual lostness of the world by storm. We have no choice but to step back and marvel at the artistry of God who can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. (Here Robin wrote “artistry of ordinary”””sounds like a future sermon!)
Ephesians 2 (NLT)
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil””the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God”™s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God”™s grace that you have been saved!)
“Lifeless eyes. Corpses. Darkness. No shades of bright colors representing hope. But then we come to Ephesians 2:4, and with two small words the picture morphs into something else”¦ ”˜But God”™”¦ What a great expression! But God. There was hopelessness, but God”¦There was death, but God”¦There was darkness, but God”¦Surely we can apply those same two words to so many instances in our own lives:
The cancer was advancing, but God”¦ (Robin underlined this)
My son was wayward, but God”¦
I was content to live for the best money could buy, but God”¦
My marriage was in shambles, but God”¦
“What is your ”˜but God”™ moment?
Robin”™s words: “I have to leave”¦but God”¦!”
Here”™s the amazing part to the story”¦
Robin”™s last words she ever spoke on earth were “I have to leave now”
Not able mentally to have remembered those words from her Bible study, she quoted herself! As Hannah said, Momma couldn”™t have planned that, but God did!
As Nate describes it”¦ “Crazy? Not really. A God thing? Definitely!”
And Nate went on to tell us all one night how the words from her Bible study were like a message to us from God through Robin””“I have to leave”¦but God”
But God still loves us and is still holding us and no matter what the circumstance, He”™s never going to abandon us!
We pay tribute to Robin this morning”¦with hope! I know there are others here who celebrate this Mother”™s Day without your mother here on earth”¦and this closing song is for you, from our family”¦
“With Hope” by Steven Curtis Chapman
Communion