I am excited to honor our mothers tomorrow. The title of my message is Oh woman, great is thy power!
Mother’s Day 2013
May 11, 2013 — Craig T. OwensMother’s Day 2012
May 9, 2012 — Craig T. Owens
Where would we be without our mothers? I know that seems like an obvious question, but it’s one that is worth pondering again and again.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and we want to celebrate our moms the right way.
- All of the songs our worship team will be leading have been selected by moms in our church
- We’ll have a special message about the value of mothers
- And there is a special gift for every mom in attendance on Sunday morning
“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” —John Wesley
How true this is! So it’s time to celebrate our moms. Join us this Sunday at 10:30am.
A Mother’s Prayer
May 6, 2011 — Craig T. Owens
“Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes
I’m glad we get a special day to celebrate Moms. After all, none of us would be here without mothers! There is something unequaled in a Mom…
- …her kisses heal
- …her hugs reassure
- …her counsel directs
- …her touch soothes
- …her prayers prevail
I can hardly wait for Mother’s Day to arrive so I can share the special day with my Mom. But I also have the privilege of being able to talk to all of the Moms at Calvary Assembly of God this Sunday about the power in A Mother’s Prayer.
We have a special gift for all of the Moms too! I hope you can join us for a special morning of celebration.
The Imbalanced Mother
May 10, 2010 — Craig T. Owens
We had a great time celebrating Moms yesterday. Moms are these amazing creatures that seem to be everywhere and doing everything. This ability to multitask is a blessing, but it can lead to problems if Moms try to perfectly balance their lives through more multitasking.
Perfect balance is an impossibility. Just as soon as you think you have everything balanced, life throws you a curve: a sick child … a flat tire … change of plans … I’m sure you know the drill.
Instead of trying to be the perfectly balanced multitasker, I suggest that you become a purposely imbalanced, God-leaning mother.
Imbalance your day toward God.
Take the time necessary to lean into God, and the rest of your day will be well-ordered.
Dads and kids, the greatest thing you can do to honor your wife/mother, is to make sure she has undisturbed time alone with God. I promise you that after she spends this time, the rest of her day—and therefore your day—will go much more smoothly. Help her to imbalance her life.
Here’s a great poem from Faye Inchfawn written in 1920:
See, I am cumbered, Lord, With serving, and with small vexatious things. Upstairs, and down, my feet Must hasten, sure and fleet. So weary that I cannot heed Thy word; So tired, I cannot now mount up with wings. I wrestle – how I wrestle! – through the hours. Nay, not with principalities, nor powers— Dark spiritual foes of God’s and man’s— But with antagonistic pots and pans: With footmarks in the hall, With smears upon the wall, With doubtful ears, and small unwashen hands, And with a babe’s innumerable demands. I toil with feverish haste, while tear-drops glisten, (O, child of Mine, be still. And listen—listen!) At last, I laid asideImportant work, no other hands could do
So well (I thought), no skill contrive so true.
And with my heart’s door open—open wide— With leisured feet, and idle hands, I sat. I, foolish, fussy, blind as any bat,
Sat down to listen, and to learn. And lo,
My thousand tasks were done the better so.
Homemade = Heartmade
June 22, 2009 — Craig T. Owens
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “I love you”?
My favorite Father’s Day gifts are the homemade, personalized cards that my children make for me. Throughout the years I’ve kept a number of those close to me as bookmarkers or framed reminders on my desk. To me homemade = heartmade.
Yesterday one of my children gave me a card which had this heart-tugging line: “I love you so very because you love me.” And then there was this P.S.: “Don’t stop loving.”
On Father’s Day or Mother’s Day or birthdays, it seems easy to express our love. After a hospital stay or a near-death experience, it seems required to express our love. And that’s as it should be. But what about all the “normal” days in between?
I believe one of the greatest gifts I can give my family is a personalized, “heartmade” gift that tells the recipient that I’m thinking about them. In other words, I need to be actively and deliberately finding ways to express my heartmade love to those close to me every day.
Of the 86,400 seconds I have today, it will only take me a few seconds to:
- Text “I love you”
- Give a gentle squeeze or love pat as they walk by
- Jot a quick note to pack in someone’s lunch
- Buy their favorite candy as I’m checking out of the store
- Stick a friendly Post-It note message to their bathroom mirror
- Start or end their day with a hug
As Gertrude Stein wrote, “Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.”
Don’t make those close to you GUESS you love them, make sure they KNOW you love them. It only takes a second or two.
How will you use your 86,400 seconds today?
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