Fulltime Mama
My name is Elizabeth, and I am the happy wife of ten years to Fabio and fulltime mama to four beautiful children: Joshua-9, Dominique 7, Israel- almost 5, Johann-3 and expecting a new baby in April 2012! We are currently living in Brazil as missionaries and life never ceases to be an adventure!!!
I love motherhood with a passion and am passionate about providing a place here at MamaKnowsBest where mothers can learn, grow, and share ... pooling the wisdom of many into one big jackpot for mothers.
This is an exciting time for us at MamaKnowsBest as we have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Margy Tripp!
Many of you may have heard of the book Shepherding a Child's Heart, which was written by her husband Tedd Tripp. He said at a recent conference at our church that even though Mrs. Tripp's name does not appear on the front of the book, her voice can be heard all through it as well.
More recently they have co-authored another book, Instructing a Child's Heart. These books are invaluable resources for parents who are interested in shaping their child's character from the inside out, rather than just requiring behavior modifications. Mrs. Tripp has generously agreed to donate some of these books to MamaKnowsBest readers, so check the bottom of this interview for details on how to win your copy!
It has been such a pleasure for me to hear from Mrs. Tripp's heart, and I am certain that you will enjoy it as much as I have. She has been so gracious in really taking time to deliver some deep truth to us in her words - in fact, so much so that I want to be sure that we all have time to properly digest what she has to share with us. Therefore, I have decided to publish the interview in several parts. Stay tuned for the final segment within the week! And I hope you have read part one and part two of the interview as well.
INTERVIEW WITH MRS. TRIPP
9. What's your favorite book of the Bible and why? (or if you would prefer to talk about a favorite verse, that is okay too.) This is a difficult question because Scripture speaks with such power and perfect wisdom to all of life.ButRomans 8:28-39 stands out as an overall passage because it is full of the gospel, hope, and comfort for fallen people and our experience of life in a fallen world.It is all encompassing and carries us all the way from our current experience of life to the glories and rest of eternity!There is no experience of life that Paul can describe that can separate me from the most basic need I have – to know the love and perfect commitment of God through the perfect life, atoning death and resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ! 10. What have you found most challenging about motherhood, and how did you handle this challenge? Looking back over the years - it doesn't take long to recognize and identify my failures.This would be depressing and overwhelming apart from the encouragement of the gospel.There are several issues that I must recognize as spiritual truth to respond to the challenge my failures presents me with:
~ I am a fallen person in a fallen world. (Romans 7)
~ I am not dependent on my parenting as the primary means of salvation in the life of my child.I want to be a godly shaping influence in my home because that is what God has called me to do – not because I believe that my parenting will save my children.My children are not saved by works – not their works, or my works.It is God who saves.This is a great relief because, at my best, I could not keep God's law sufficiently to be a redeeming factor in my children's lives.Only Christ lived perfectly and satisfied the Father through His atoning death to redeem my children.
~ I can face my failures in the grace of Christ, repent and go on in the hope of grace in the face of personal failures.That's really what Paul is teaching in Philippians 3:12-14, "…Forgetting what is behind (my failures) and straining toward what is ahead (my opportunities), I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
~ God is full of mercy and grace in Christ Jesus.Reality is that God has provided Christ precisely because of my failures and inability…
This is true not only for my experience as a mother now, looking back at child rearing years, but it is true for every mother as she lives with her challenges, struggles, and failures each day. 11. When life gets hectic, how did you maintain a feeling of connectedness with your children? Mothers need to constantly have honest and appropriate acknowledgment of the extremities (busy schedule, competing responsibilities, etc.) in the circumstances and relationships of life.Mothers cannot do this as peers, but rather as those "…who have tasted of the waters of life…" (Psalm 34:8), and who can attest to its life giving qualities."Kids, we have a challenging day before us, but Christ can give us strength.I'll pray for you, and I hope you will pray for me.I look forward to seeing you at dinnertime.Perhaps then we can catch up, pray, compare notes on our day, and get spiritual fuel for the rest of the evening!I sure love you and appreciate you!"Here is an opportunity to take our faith into the laboratory of life and show our children the power of God – not to necessarily change the circumstances of life – but to give us grace in the midst of upheaval.
This concludes this portion of the interview. I hope you have gleaned much from Mrs. Tripp's wisdom, as I have! Please stay tuned in the coming days for the final portion of the interview, in which Mrs. Tripp will be sharing on the following questions:
12. What book or resource helped you the most as a mother? 13. Have you ever done a home business or worked outside the home, and if so, how did you balance that work with your responsibilities in the home? 14. Looking back, is there anything you have learned since the time your children were small that you would pass on to younger mothers in regard to prioritizing marriage, housework, child training, etc.? 15. Please tell us a little bit about Instructing a Child's Heart.
ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THEIR BOOKS!!! If you would like to be registered to win a copy of Shepherding a Child's Heart and/or Instructing a Child's Heart, please leave a comment below, including your email address so we can contact you. You can be entered for one comment per interview segment, so please leave another comment, even if you did so on a previous segment . We will do the drawing after the last segment has been published on the site. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER AT MKB TO LEAVE A COMMENT! I DONT MIND SHIPPING INTERNATIONALLY AS WELL, SO FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN THE USA! One set of these books will be placed in a separate drawing exclusively for those who have added our button to their blog or website! If you have done so, please let us know so we can check out your site for confirmation.
Any information found on this website do not dispense medical, legal or professional advice, nor do they prescribe any treatment or strategy that should be tested without the advice of a professional. Information presented on this site is for educational or entertainment purposes only. You are responsible for your own actions should you use any information found on this site. Please use common sense and good judgement and be always cautious and wise in everything you do. Remember, "A Wise Mama is A Good Mama."
...Tedd Tripp speaks on parenting...
Comments and Discussion Wall
Posted by Lady Roadkill on April 23, 2009
