This past Sunday was an important day that comes once a year: Mother's Day. It's a great time that we spend celebrating all that our moms have done for us and thanking them for their hard work. At Abundant Springs we looked at a mother named Jochebed and how she was an "Amazing Mom". Did you see your mom (or yourself) in the three points we discussed? If you missed the message you can listen to it here. In case you forgot, here are the three characteristics of Amazing Moms that we discussed:
- Amazing Moms recognize their children are beautiful to God
- Amazing Moms: Give up everything for their children.
- Amazing Moms have great faith (and share it with their kids)
Moms MATTER!
Of course, the big thing that I hope every mom received from the message was encouragement and a reminder that Moms MATTER!
That brings me back to this post. As the children of moms we celebrate Mother's Day once a year, but is that enough? I want to encourage you to consider how you can thank and celebrate your mom for all she has done and is still doing for you the other 364 days of each year. Remember, "On Mother's Day we celebrate all moms do. Their hard work matters; it's what made you, you!" But we should be celebrating them on more than just Mother's Day!
Best of luck to you as you discover new ways to celebrate your mom!
--Pastor Stephen Valcourt
The concept of giving can be a difficult one to address. Even more difficult is a concept within that one: Sowing and Reaping. This past Sunday we watched a message from Craig Groeschel, Pastor of LifeChurch. I think that he addressed it beautifully.
Giving joyfully to God does not immediately guarantee riches beyond imagining or longevity or a lack of sickness. But it does always have some kind of return on our investment. Give joyfully and generously and you never know what God will do for you. I really appreciated Craig's main point: "What you keep is all you have. What you give away God will multiply." How are you going to let God multiply in your life?
This past weekend we discussed where our priorities lie in addressing the needs and health of ourselves and others. If you missed last Sunday, head over to iTunes and listen to our podcast 
I once saw a photo of a turtle lying on its back with its feet in the air. On it someone had cleverly added the word: “Stuck?” This picture was good for a laugh; however, the truth is this image resonates with an unfortunate number of people! It seems almost everyone wrestles with some form of feeling stuck: stuck in fear, stuck in exhaustion, or even stuck in purposelessness. It is a vulnerable and hopeless place to be, but what if I told you there is a way to start getting un-stuck?
If you feel like you can’t move forward because of your fear of rejection, fear of the future, or feelings of helplessness you should know that there is someone who will never leave you, who knows what the future holds and has a plan for you, and who has the strength to help you through any situation. If you are tired and stressed out from working too hard to be who you think you should be, there is someone who says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” If you can’t find your purpose, there is someone who made each person with a purpose in mind.