Daughter Lauren Spalding, Mama Bernice Taylor, me-ugh I look so tired. Sandwich generation at the time. Don’t regret a minute of it – except wish I’d used eyeliner back then. 🙂
TheMOMInitiative.com
Check “YES” or “NO” if you would vote for MY mama as the BEST MOMMY.
- She loved me.
- She tucked me in bed and said prayers.
- She taught me to dress myself, have manners, and be polite.
- We had a jungle gym and she let me play play play outside with my best friend, Debbie, who lived across the street.
- She let me have friends over to spend the night.
- She brought cookies and snacks to help with homeroom parties.
- She took me to church and to Vacation Bible School in the summer.
- She let me sleep late on Saturdays and during the summer months.
- She taught me to do chores on Saturdays, but also let me watch cartoons for a while.
- She made me wash windows and pull weeds when I got older. (not fun)
- She wanted me to be clean and neat.
- She taught me to have a clean, neat room. (She made me clean out my drawers.)
- She taught me to give a portion of my allowance to God.
- She taught me to serve others.
- She taught me the gift of hospitality. We had family and friends over. I learned how to set the table, prepare for large crowds, and serve them tea and coffee; then take their plates to the kitchen for them.
- She taught me how to wash dishes and put them away.
- She taught me to serve Christ by serving others. She was a “care group” leader for her Sunday School class and would call the ones who were absent to let them know they were missed and see if they needed anything.
- She taught me to take meals to people who were sick or grieving the loss of a loved one.
- She taught me that it is not nice to talk bad about people. She said her mother taught her, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
- She helped me learn my books of the Bible and to memorize Bible verses.
- She was always there for me. We had a code. If someone asked me to do something that I didn’t want to do and she said no, I’d say, “OKAY;” then tell my friend mama said no. But I knew she knew that if it was important to me that I could ask again. A simple, “But, I’d really like to” cued her.
I could go on and on but you get the point. Bernice Ruth Taylor wasn’t rich or famous. She never worked outside the home. She was a housewife and a good one! She kept a clean home, always had food on the table, celebrated birthdays and special moments, and was strict. Not overly, but we knew not to talk back, talk down to, or be rude to her. We respected Mama. And, she taught us to love and respect daddy. Every morning at breakfast, she had her kaftan (long robe) on, her hair combed, face washed and lipstick on. She made sure the house was picked up before Daddy got home and that we greeted him with a kiss. “I love you,” were the last words we heard when we parted for the morning or went to bed.
May 26th was Mama’s birthday. You would have liked her and she would have loved you. She had a smile that went ear to ear and eyes that twinkled. She went to be with Jesus in 2002, but there isn’t a week that I don’t think of her and miss her.
Summer is coming and our favorite summer routine was to go to the pool every afternoon. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. We were loved and that’s what made my summer the best.
As you prepare for the summer months with your children, take a load off. Moms can often feel guilty they’re not able to provide expensive vacations or camps. If some of your friends’ Facebook posts push your envy button, don’t follow their every move. Instead, google free fun summer activities. I’d be honored for you to use KIDZ TIME with your children. Give hugs. Have pillow fights. Build tents. Turn on the sprinkler in the back yard. LOVE your kids. They’ll think YOU’RE the BEST MOMMY in the whole world.
Heavenly Father, thank You for our mothers. Thank You for the sweet moms reading this post. Encourage their hearts and inspire them with ways they can show their children their love – not by indulging them with gifts, but by bringing them up in the disciplines that will point them to follow and serve You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 31:12
What other tips can you share about how to be the best mom you can be?
In Christ’s Joy, Debbie
by Debbie Taylor Williams
INVITE DEBBIE TO SPEAK. Use KIDZ TIME with your kids this summer. An easy, fun devotional activity for 3-7 year olds.
READ MORE by Debbie Taylor Williams: * Marriage & Parenting Tips * The PLAN A MOM in a PLAN B WORLD.
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