What Does it Mean to be a Purposeful Mom?

So I changed the name of my blog some time ago to “The Purposeful Mom“. I still have yet to do many of the things I’ve set out to do here but one thing that got me thinking the other day was this: 


What does it mean to be a “purposeful mom”? 

We only have one life to live, right? And since time is short, we should live it intentionally. For me, this means being purposeful in my actions, in my every day interactions with my children, with the main goal of pointing them to Christ. 

Each morning we have a choice to allow the day to get away from us, with the end result being nothing but us falling into bed exhausted…or, we can grab hold of the moments we do have and squeeze every last drop of purpose out of them. We can seek the Lord, ask for wisdom and receive it (James 1:5), and then set out to teach our children the morals, ethics and truths that will be the driving force of their lives.

Whether we stay at home, work at home or work outside the home, we are the primary influence in our child’s life. Along with few others, we are the person who will shape our child’s worldview by the way we teach them to act, react and interact with others. We can encourage in them a heart for ministry and for prayer.

We are the example. We are the person whom God has called to shelter and nourish their little hearts. Children do not learn to have a love of virtue on their own. They cannot understand a Truth that they have never been taught. 

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9

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Our role in their lives islike no other, and our children should grow to know that they can trust us, run to us with even the littlest troubles and count on us to intentionally show them what it means to be a lover of God, a trust-er of Jesus and a follower of the Holy Spirit.

How does this happen? For me, I’ve found that arming myself with the resources necessary for teaching my children is essential. And then, it’s not just in reading and musing but actually carrying these things out and applying these concepts in everyday life. These teachable moments pop up many times throughout the day:

• When my children get along
• When my children fight
• When my son is disappointed because his sister has more than him
• When my daughter needs to work on obedience
• When my children are bored and looking for things to do
• When they see the world’s injustices
• When they think church is boring
• When they want to help others but don’t know how

I’m still learning how to do this: I’m always learning! And I want us to learn together. Let’s find these resources and tips and share them with each other. That’s part of the reason for my blog! I want us all to be purposeful moms, to be intentional about raising our children, because we only have one chance.

What does being a purposeful mom mean to you?