Memorable Moms

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        We all have a list of our favorite TV and movie moms and in honor of mother’s day, I’m sharing a few of mine (in no particular order).

Tess Coleman (Freaky Friday 2003)

 Whether it's Mrs. Andrews or Tess Coleman, Freaky Friday is a classic. 

Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) - The quick-witted mom who shares our coffee obsession along with our love for Casablanca.

Rebecca Boone (Daniel Boone) - The American frontier woman whose strength and courage we can't help but admire.

Queen Clarisse Renaldi (The Princess Diaries) - Reminding us how cool grandmothers can be-in an elegant sort of way, of course.

 

Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables) - taught us that you are never to old to impact the life of a child, or to have them impact yours.

 

 Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blindside) -The strong Southern woman who taught us how to open our homes along with our hearts as we have opportunity and find that we just might be the ones whose lives change.

Olivia Walton (The Waltons) - The ever-present, ever-patient rock her children so often needed to lean on. She taught us to use what you were given, dare to dream and value family heritage.

 Ruth Martin (Lassie) - knew the importance of allowing children to make lifetime friends of the four-legged kind.

Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch) - A lovely lady who somehow managed to keep six kids, a housekeeper, a husband and a dog in perfect order-most of the time anyway.

 June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) - The maternal picture of perfection with her ever present string of pearls. Our society could take many lessons from her.

Endora (Bewitched) - Alright, maybe this is a rather poor example of a mother-in-law, but you have to admit the tests and torments she constantly put Darrin through were entertaining.

 Samantha Stephens (Bewitched) - Life couldn't be easy with a child who could make their favorite toys float over to them, but Sam made managing the chaos of mixing the witch and mortal world look relatively easy.

Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show) - The lawyer who showed us how to effectively (and seemingly effortlessly) do it all, including tips on how to put your husband and kids on the witness stand.

Jill Taylor (Home Improvement) - Forever endearing to us simply for putting up with Tim-the-tool-man Taylor and his constant projects.

Marion Cunningham (Happy Days) - Most commonly known to us as Mrs. C, she harbored one of the biggest hearts we've ever seen.

Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy) - We often forget that our zany yet loveable redhead had a beautiful maternal side, which we were privileged to see with the introduction of little Ricky.

Caroline Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie) - Lovingly referred to as Ma, was probably my first "TV mom influence." She taught us a great deal about patience, hard work and family values. With her recent appearance on the Today show, we learned just how much Karen Grassle took that role to heart as tears rolled down her cheeks during a clip of "her" girls.

Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show) - showing us how to make the best out of rather unfortunate or embarrassing circumstances.

Ma Kettle (Ma and Pa Kettle) -Who can ever forget Ma's unique way of letting everyone know when dinner was ready? "Come an' get it!"

 Donna Stone (The Donna Reed Show) - must have been a sister to June Cleaver, because they shared the same housekeeping gene.

Kate Bradley (Petticoat Junction) - effectively running a business while managing a household and an Uncle Joe.

Amy Duncan (Good Luck Charlie) - BAH BAM!

 Jane Jetson (The Jetsons) - made living in the future look so easy, but then again, she had Rosie...

 

Mother to Mother

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What Young Christian Moms Want

from a new mom’s perspective

We want the older, more experienced mothers to put their arms around us and tell us things are going to be okay. We want to know you also took thousands of trips in and out of the auditorium when your children were small. We want to hear that your (now) teenager tried the lay-in-the-floor-screaming-fit thing too. We want to know your 6-foot-tall son wouldn’t eat meat or vegetables when he was five either. We want to hear that it’s not the end of the world if we have frozen pizza night once (or even twice) a week. Basically, we want to know that things are not as bad as they may seem to us right now. We want to know that “this too shall pass.” We need to hear that you lived through this, we can too.

We want occasional praise. I don’t mean we expect you to stand on the rooftops and proclaim what great moms we are. We don’t want to see our good deeds posted all over Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site of your choice-that isn’t the reason we do them-but we could use some encouragement from those of you who are older & wiser. Send us a card to tell us that you’ve noticed the good manners our children have. Tell us you appreciate us for bringing our children to class and that you can tell we’re working with them at home on memory verses (or just sitting still in their seats!). Commend us for being modest examples in the way we dress. The list of ways to encourage one another is endless!

We want you to back us up. We need you to encourage our children to respect us. When you teach them in Bible classes or when you talk to them in the halls, remind them they are blessed with parents who are trying to bring them up in the Lord.

We want to know your secrets. Please, please, please share these with us. We need to know how you found time to spend in Bible study when you had young ones. We want a copy of an easy casserole or soup. We want to know ways you found to save money. Tell us about games you played with your children. Remind us that dress-up costs nothing and that sandwiches are much more appealing when sliced with cookie cutters. Share the fact that you have a special chair only for reading books to your grandchildren in. Give us a book that helped you get through bed rest when you were pregnant. You might think it insignificant, but it just might be the difference between a good or bad day for us.

We want you to pray for us and then tell us when you do. Pray that we will be the kind of mothers God wants us to be. Pray that we are able to set godly examples for our children. Pray that we are able to help our husbands be the leader of the home God designed him to be. Pray that you will be able to be an encouragement to us in word & deed-and pray that we can be the same for you.

Finally, we want reminders. Remind us that there is no such thing as Supermom. Remind us when we are frustrated because we cannot accomplish everything we want to that we’re accomplishing what is most important-the years to come will bring plenty of time for new projects. Remind us that although we find it hard to believe right now, one day we will miss repeating one sentence ten times. We will miss those millions of “why” questions. We will miss naptime snuggles and clean baby smells. We will miss being able to hold them in our arms. We will miss being the center of their whole world. Remind us to treasure every second we are blessed to spend with our little ones, so that when we become the ones able to give the advice we have no regrets, only precious memories.

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To the many Christian moms I have been blessed to learn from-I am forever grateful.

Mothers Like These

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       Motherhood is one of the greatest privileges God bestows upon us. I am thankful to live in a country that sets aside a special day to honor mothers, but I am more thankful to have the examples of godly mothers to follow. I am so blessed to have a mother who has always done her best to walk in the Lord’s footsteps, as she leads me. She is a woman who has encouraged and guided me in all the right ways. The importance of the role of women in God’s word cannot be overestimated. The influence of women today is felt in the pulse of nations, as she, through home and the children she nurtures, weaves the moral fiber of generations to come. I saw it said simply on a social media site this morning, “Today we honor those who raise the future.” In the Old Testament, the character of a king is revealed just before or after stating the identity of his mother (2 Chron. 24:1-2; 2 Kings 22:1-2; 2 Chron. 29:1-2). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul writing to Timothy, commends his faith, which he learned from his mother and grandmother. Women hold the keys to the home and they strengthen the church because of their God-given role to nurture and teach children.

            I am thankful to be able to learn from the example set by Sarah, who had such faith, she “was delivered of a child when she was past age” (Heb. 11:11). How many truly amazing feats could we do today in God’s service if we only “judged Him faithful who has promised”! I am thankful for Jochebed, who is only mentioned by name in two passages, yet owns a place of honor in Israel’s history because she mothered three great leaders in early Hebrew history. May we take the time to teach our children about our Lord, as she did hers. Children are gifts from God, yet to many people, children are a bother; some women want children, but do not want to be a mother to those children. May we see motherhood for what it is, a privilege, as Hannah saw. May we also pray for the welfare of our children, as Hannah did (1 Sam. 1:27). When there are things we do not understand, may we keep them to ourselves and ponder them in our heart, as the mother of Jesus did (Luke 2:19 & 51). May we be mothers like Mary, who possess a meek and gentle spirit and may be ever present in the background of our children’s lives (John 19:25). May we pattern our lives after the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. And most importantly, may we be the mothers God expects us to be.

A father occupies a special place in the life of children, but a father will never have the influence that a mother does in the life of that child.

1.       Colley, Cindy. Women of Deliverance. Publishing Designs, Inc. Huntsville, Alabama. 2004.

2.     Colley, Cindy. Women of the Genesis. Publishing Designs, Inc. Huntsville, Alabama. 2005.

3.      Colley, Cindy. Women of Troubled Times. Publishing Designs, Inc. Huntsville, Alabama, 2008.

4.      Duncan, Bobby. Inspiring Profiles: Fair To Look On. 2001 Publishing Designs, Inc. Huntsville, Alabama. Second Printing 2004.