Mornings With Jesus 2016: 14-Day Reading PlanSample

\When I was a young mom I made many decisions concerning my parenting, and the truth is that deep down those decisions were not Christ-motivated. As a mom, I wanted the approval of others. I was trying to live up to unrealistic expectations I’d set up in my mind. And I was trying to earn Jesus’s approval, instead of understanding what He’d already provided through His grace.

“If we take our meaning in life from our family, our work, a cause, or some achievement other than God, they enslave us,” says Pastor Tim Keller. Too often I filled my schedule with activities that I thought were for my kids, but really they were to make me look good.

I don’t need the approval of others to be worthy. I already have Jesus’s approval because of what He has done for me and in me. God sees me as His child, and He loves me completely. “This is My daughter, and I am preparing for her a heavenly home.” When I live my life out of those thoughts of approval, everything changes.

Now, after being a mom for twenty-five years, what do I want most? To seek Jesus’s approval. To look at Him first. To lift my children up to Him in prayer. To encourage the unique gifts Jesus has given my children, and to look into His eyes and hear, “Well done.”

When as a mom I focus on Jesus first, He will guide me on how to raise children who love Him first, who serve others, and who will be smart and successful (according to Jesus’s wisdom and idea of success). This is truly what I’ve wanted all along. — Tricia Goyer

Faith Step: Find ten ways to tell someone your approval of them today. Also find ten ways to reaffirm Jesus’s approval of them. Then, at the end of the day, look in the mirror and remind yourself of Jesus’s approval of you.