Earlier this week I was looking through my day planner and found a handful of notes that I had taken from a Mom's Meeting at IHOPKC over two years ago.
I have attempted to make quotes from this meeting many times in speaking to my mom friends, quotes to encourage. The seasoned mom who spoke that night (as you have probably guessed by now) was Julie Meyer, the very prophetic worshiper from IHOPKC. She has three boys, two of which are twins. They are grown now, but she was sweet enough to share what she learned in her season of motherhood with a group of us younger moms, who were just starting out.
Here are a few of the things that she said (my comments and thoughts are in parenthesis):
Julie Meyer - IHOPKC Mom's Meeting 4.21.2010
As women and mothers, we are often so busy moving around that we can only get a few drops of the Lord's presence throughout our days. But if we would just learn to sit still before Him, He could fill the whole glass of our life, which would sustain us for longer.
She also encouraged us to make a list of our callings, giftings, and goals and to keep them in a place where we would see them often. (that was huge at the time for me, but since then, I have heard many Christian leaders repeat this very wisdom about goals and visions - keep them where you can see them often.)
She emphasized that the Lord has a tailor made journey just for us, so we can not, and should not compare our journey to others. She then said we should ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in how to live in our calling in the midst of our current season. Motherhood does not mean that our dreams and life-goals have to sit on the shelf until we are 'free' to pursue them again. We can walk in a measure of our callings even as mothers, even with small babies. Ask the Holy Spirit how.
In reference to that point, she told of how when she was home alone with her babies, that was the training ground the Lord used to grow her in the place of the prophetic. In the season of motherhood, she learned to hear His voice more clearly and to speak His words out prophetically and with boldness! (I want that to come forth while I'm mothering, oh, how wonderful to be able to speak the Lord's words over my family and myself in the season of being hidden in motherhood.)
So she instructed us to listen for Holy Spirit's voice throughout our days and to look for those divine moments. Even as mothers, we are offered glimpses of what the Spirit is doing, if we look for it.
In the training ground of motherhood, Julie learned to be still, listen & trust the Lord's voice at a new level. From there she was able to train her children from the wealth of Holy Spirit revelation she was gathering.
To make your season of training easier, she gave a list of four things to try and do:
1. Look out for the spirit of fear - fear will be a big enemy, and will try to blindside you. To combat fear, step back, talk to the Lord about what you are experiencing, and trust the wisdom He offers.
2. Don't grumble & complain about your season (look for the joy in what the Lord is doing, even in the midst of pain, suffering, or persecution - I have found that worship is warfare against the desire to grumble.)
3. Don't compare your life/ministry/mothering/giftings, fill in the blank, to that of others. Just don't compare! The Lord is working a unique work inside of you, and it will always look a bit different from everyone else you know. (if you can't compare, it either helps keep you humble, or helps you keep from feeling discouraged)
4. Sing the Word/speak the Word - sing it in your house, over your kids, over yourself, in the car, shower, etc. The Word brings life and joy and peace. (We need those things a lot in motherhood.)
Near the end she gave some practical ways to learn to prophesy, here are her three tips to get started:
1. Set your heart toward the Lord, and attempt to sing the Word out loud as often as possible (it connects our hearts with His)
2. Sing prayers from scripture out loud (not a great songwriter? the PrayerRoom.com out of IHOPKC, sings a lot of scripture, so a good place to get started)
3. Turn it around and sing what you hear the Lord saying over you, sing it back to Him.
Lastly, she gave us hope of what we might expect on the other side of motherhood.
In a practical way, there are some parts of our callings as women and leaders, that can not be fully realized in motherhood, but she says, do not worry. And I quote:
"When this season is over, the Lord will open doors and make room for you to move back into the fullness of your calling."
Even still, she encourages us to expect the Lord to meet us and encounter us right where we are right now. Right in the midst of the nitty gritty of motherhood. In the midst of dirty diapers, discipline, and dishes. Be confident. He sees it all, and every time we set our hearts toward Him in the midst of our daily work, doing it unto Him. He sees it, and it counts. It all counts!
Lord, encounter our hearts with the truth of who You are, and how You have been working in our hearts. I speak encounter, not just to mothers, but to women who have lost sight of the biggest goal. The biggest goal is You, Jesus!!!!
Amen. Be blessed.
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