Mother culture convictions

Last week I posted about some of my mother culture goals for this year.  

Well.

I don't know how many times I have written something on this blog, hit publish, and then conviction comes around and hits me in the face.

First, though, let me explain what mother culture is to those who aren't familiar with that term.  Mother culture refers to the growth of a mother as an individual, outside of motherhood and the many duties of being a wife and keeping the home.  Some activities suggested for mother culture are reading good books, taking walks, drawing - basically pursuing interests.

But I must ask myself a question.  What kind of growth am I looking for?  I think we should all ask that question of ourselves - get down to the nitty gritty.  What is it all for?  Am I looking for growth just for the sake of growth?  To become knowledgeable about life?  To feel worthwhile?

Not long after I wrote the above post, I felt...selfish.  Mostly about the reading part.  I kept asking myself, Why?  Why do I need to read so many books?  Why do I need to join a book discussion?  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those things.  God gave us this life.  He gave people a talent for creativity and producing things for us to enjoy - like books.  And He wants us to enjoy our lives, which includes enjoying what other people have to offer us.

I like to read; it's enjoyable.  A good book is a pleasure.

But a good book can also be a distraction.  So can spending the time to draw and write in a nature journal.  Or blog.  (ahem.)

I came across this quote the other day from the book Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss:  "All my pleasures are innocent ones...But these things distract me; they absorb me; they make religious duties irksome."

Life is so full of distractions, we all know this.  And when we choose to pursue interests or make goals and then take the steps to carry out those things, we must always stop to consider our motives.

What are my motives?

As a Christian, my desire is to
Draw close to God.
Grow in Christ and His holiness.
Lead my children to Christ.
Set a good example for my children.
Serve my husband.
Love.

I have a ways to go; most of us do.  It is a life long journey, I'm sure.

I do like to read.  I like to blog - it's a way for me to reflect and to share.  And those things are not sins, unless...unless they become distractions; unless they overtake me or consume me; unless they are for all the wrong reasons; unless they cause me to be continually diverted from Christ, from prayer, from seeking Him.

I must be so very careful, because it is so very easy to fall away.  It is so easy to get tangled up in and focus all of my attention on these distractions, and...forget.

So I must pray, always, that my motives are pure.

I must pray, always, that God will lead me in His wisdom and sanctify me.

And I must believe with all my heart that God will do these things that I ask.

Yes, my motive is to grow, like mother culture encourages.  But I must choose wisely - what to read, when to read, what to do, when to do.  Because my motive is to grow in Christ.