31 Days of Servant Leadership: Admirable

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October 21, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

What is admirable?

The Free Dictionary defines admire:

To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval.

To have a high opinion of; esteem or respect.

To regard with esteem, respect, approval, or pleased surprise.

When was the last time you expressed those emotions for the things of God?

As a society, we are drawing farther and farther away from a biblical mindset. American Christians are too much in the world and compromise.

We regard with pleasure: food, flowers, jokes, entertainment.

We esteem: celebrities, leaders, idols, rich people

We approve: too much of the world.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

There’s nothing wrong with regarding things with pleasure. I admire a great meal, flowers, a waterfall, a keen wit.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

We should respect worldly leaders, if only for their position of power. But they are not above God.

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:13-17

We should not be too much in the world. If we are truly Christ followers, we will want less and less of the world and more and more of Him.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

What do you want your children to admire? Do you want them to equate Jesus with celebrities? Do you want them to be fans…or followers?

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Right

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October 21, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

What is right? Who determines what is right?

When I was a relatively new homeschooling mom, a friend remarked to me about another homeschooling mom who “was doing it right.”

She “did school” in the mornings and didn’t answer her phone or door until school time was over.

I don’t know why that made such an impression on me. The friend who said this is neither a homeschooler nor a Christian. Her opinion shouldn’t have mattered so much, but here I am, replaying the scene in my head almost six years later. And because I felt I didn’t measure up to that “right” standard, I harbored bitterness and ill will in my heart towards them both. I didn’t search my soul for “rightness” or focus on what is right for me and my family. I focused on comparison.

What was right for that mom is not necessarily right for me.

But what we can be assured of, is that God and the Bible are always right. We can teach our children that families have differences. We must be aligned with Biblical teachings. Prune your hearts and relationships and what you expose your kids to based on what is truly right.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Resources for Girls

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October 19, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

Girls can and should be leaders.

In our brave, new world, girls are more natural leaders compared to a generation ago.

While many disdain females in leadership and I will not discuss doctrinal issues, I think girls can and should be taught how to be leaders in their marriage, with their children, and with their peers.

As a mom to three girls, I encourage them to show wise leadership. I teach them how and when to best use their talents in ministry and social atmospheres.

Check out my Girls Pinterest Board for resources:

Follow Jennifer Lambert (Royal Little Lambs)’s board Girls on Pinterest.

These are some of my favorite books about parenting girls.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Marriage and Parenting Resources

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October 17, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Check out leadership resources for parents.

We need to be leaders in our homes to model leadership for our children.

Servant leadership begins in our own hearts. We need to learn how to be successful in our marriage. We need to determine our worldview. We need to evaluate our methods of teaching and raising children. So many decisions! But they must be considered and constantly reexamined for successful Christian families.

Here’s my Parenting Pin Board:

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Noble

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October 16, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

What is noble?

The Free Dictionary defines noble:

Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: a noble spirit.

Proceeding from or indicative of such a character; showing magnanimity.

Grand and stately in appearance; majestic.

As children of the King, shouldn’t we all be called noble? We should train ourselves to have and show qualities of high moral character.

But, many of us do have that, or believe it.

And they’re just really moral heathens.

When they stand before Jesus on Judgment Day, what will Jesus say?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23

Do you want to hear that?

I didn’t think so.

Too many people consider themselves Christians.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
You believe that there is one God.
Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:14-19

But too many people who believe in Christ are really just fans. They admire Jesus and know lots about Him and the Bible.

But they don’t really know Him.

“We’re drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It’s the Oprah god.” Phil Vischer

Let’s really teach kids to follow Christ instead of morality.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Lovely

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October 16, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

What is lovely?

According to The Free Dictionary, lovely means:

1. Full of love; loving.

2. Inspiring love or affection.

3. Having beauty that appeals to the emotions as well as to the eye.

4. Enjoyable; delightful.

When we say something is lovely, it’s positive. But is it worldly?

To use the term lovely as meant in Philippians 4:8, I think that it must “inspire affection” for a Kingdom cause.

We can call many natural phenomena lovely. I love to worship God through Nature. A waterfall is lovely. A butterfly. A flower. A laughing child.

Humanists and even many Christians tell us that we’re all lovely. But I don’t like the imagery they create with their pep talks. Their universal consciousness makes me uncomfortable. Their admonition that we all just need to search for the beauty within make me wonder. Their particular shade of justification deceives and pulls in many doubters and offers a safe haven that isn’t truth.

In Romans 3:10, it tells us that none of us is good.

This is a difficult concept for Christians and non-Christians. No one wants to be told she isn’t good. No one wants to be told she is ugly. How do you approach non-believers with this concept?

But all loveliness and goodness in us is because of Christ. See Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty! Psalm 84:1

Aren’t we all dwelling places for the Holy Spirit?

Therefore, we should take care of these temples as best we can in order to do the work we are called to do. But that’s another post for another day.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Comparison

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October 15, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Comparison is the thief of joy. ~Theodore Roosevelt

I’ve never been very successful meeting other moms at the park or other kid-friendly places.

Somehow, it always goes all wrong. I try to be friendly, but it often falls flat.

On social media, it’s often easier to make friends. But I wonder if I saw this mom or that mom at the park, would they be friendly? Would they look down their noses in disdain or would they feel too embarrassed to approach or return my hello?

Why are we paralyzed by comparison?

Even bloggers stress over the “rules” that say what our header size, sidebar ads, images, font, SEO, etc. should be.

While some rules are well and good, too often they can become stressful, or worse, idols.

But rebellion is just as wrong.

What do we teach our children when we’re paralyzed by comparison?

Do they hear us complain of others? how they look, what they have, what they do?

Sometimes, it’s hard to find balance. It’s hard to feel left out all the time. We have to lean on Jesus when we don’t understand others’ actions or words. It’s hard not to assume, not to jump to conclusions, to bite your tongue instead of lashing back. It’s hard not to rebel against God and man.

I try to be careful with eating and exercise that I don’t teach the wrong message. Being fit and healthy is good stewardship. But my girls already have stereotypes of obesity and I don’t want them to ever think their self-worth is based on their weight.

Do they perceive that they need to change to earn our love?

Do we want to teach them that they’re not good enough?

I rebelled. It wasn’t pretty. My relationship with my parents broke and it’s never been the same. My children suffer from it.

What am I teaching my kids with this attitude?

Why is loving so scary?

It shouldn’t matter what others think so much.

We should be mature and try to look at others like Jesus sees them. We should be diligent to teach our children to find the good in others. We need to teach and act out the Golden Rule. We need to be salt and light.

Jesus loves the sinner but hates the sin.

you are loved. you are special. you are beautiful. you are enough.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Fear

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October 14, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

Tonight is the last night I prayed with and tucked in my eldest daughter as a mere twelve-year-old.

In the morning, as you’re reading this, our household will possess its first teenager.

My terror is not of the adolescent myth, but of all I the damage I have wrought. I pray that it can be redeemed in the few short years I have left of her youth, before she leaves home for her own way.

We all have mother guilt, but most of that is unfounded. For me, much of it is truth.

Children don’t raise themselves to be leaders.

I was certainly not a servant leader…until recently. It’s always a process.

As a mother, I have been irresponsible, neglectful, abusive. It saddens me to admit it. Leaving her father was as much an act of pride as fear.

Fear of who she would grow up to be with that sort of a father.

For thirteen years, I have lived in fear…of her becoming like me.

What holds us back more than anything is fear.

We fear and call it love.

We fear and call it protection.

We fear and call it education.

But it’s still fear.

Fear is most often just projected hurt and anger.

To raise servant leaders, we must trust in Jesus to help us overcome those fears. To enable us to be who He means us to be. To allow our children to be who He intends them to be.

Fear keeps me from loving completely, unabashedly, unapologetically.

Fear is a learned helplessness, of never knowing when or where the pain will appear, so it’s easier to remain in stasis, shielded by a translucent wall rather than unprepared, pink and raw.

Happiest is when that wall comes crashing down in blinks and sighs, during awe-struck, out-of-body glimpses of these blundering souls God has lent me, when responsibility forgets to tear my heart and the dishes and laundry are forgotten.

I grasp desperately for those magical moments to last, but the world always comes crashing back, jarring me into reality, and in my confusion and fear, the wall comes back up.

But real truth lies hidden in the magic.

What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? Luke 9:25 The Message

By losing ourselves, we gain Christ, and by gaining Christ, we learn who we really are. It’s a scary process and we take one step forward, two steps back – our whole lives, it seems – dancing to and fro, like a skittish puppy who doesn’t quite trust.

Aaron refuses to dance with me because I don’t trust him enough to let him lead. I am so afraid of losing balance or looking like a fool.

In the dancing, it’s how we learn. We must learn to trust Him to lead. We must trust that in our stumbles, even our falls, our missteps, He will lead us true, protect us, and redeem our mistakes work out.

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28

We may never make it to Dancing With the Stars, but we can overcome that fear of the music and learn to dance simply, in our way, with our own flow and flourish.

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Fun?

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October 8, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Welcome back to 31 Days of Servant Leadership.

Is it fun being a leader?

I should say not.

Often, I sit back and let others make the mistakes and pave the way while I sit back and observe.

Then do it right.

So, how do we teach our kids that it’s ok to have fun and have downtime sometimes?

All work and no play means a dull life.

Good leaders have a sense of humor and they know how to play hard and word hard. They know how and when to have fun. {Tweet That!}

I’m a poor example. I’m too serious, too stressed. Too responsible.

I often have to force myself to be all motherly – affectionate, fun, patient, kind.

Motherhood is not natural for me.

It’s easy to bark orders and check off the boxes on the list.

Not so easy to make everything fun.

But why can’t it be more fun?

It’s not about easy. It’s all about balance. Trying not to get overwhelmed in the responsibility of all the things, but to try to make time for fun too.

Being a Yes Mom to ice cream for lunch. Leaving the dishes to push a swing. Getting down on the floor to play cards for math time.

Doing art class and calling it a day.

I pray to be more fun. I want my kids to have fun memories.

Balance.

Should we focus on fun?

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