Years ago, I came across this adaption of 1 Corinthians 13 by Jim Fowler and it's been greatly challenging and inspiring to me as a mom.
I’ve shared this poem at the last two conferences I’ve spoken at and multiple attendees requested that I would post it on my site as they were so blessed by it. So I wanted to share it to encourage those of you moms who are feeling weary right now.
1 Corinthians 13 for Moms
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love,
I am a housekeeper not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love,
my children learn cleanliness not godliness.
If I scream at my children when they don't follow instructions,
get frustrated and fault them for every mess in our house,
and have no grace and love
my children learn that Mom cares more about having things done exactly her way
than about listening to the needs and hearts of her children.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,”
the taxi-driver to every childhood event,
the counselor when my children fail or are hurt.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,
then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Before I became a mother I took glory in having it altogether.
Now I glory in knowing that God’s in control and His grace is sufficient for each day.
All the projections I had for my house and my children
have faded away into insignificance,
And what remain are the memories of my kids.
Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,
dishes with missing place settings,
and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters, and markings,
But the greatest of all is the Love
that permeates my relationships with my children.
-adapted from 1 Corinthians 13 by Jim Fowler
A testimony from an anonymous reader
We've known for several years now that our HVAC system was dying. As a family, we were all uncomfortable and the unit often reminded us of its impending "death" with loud rattling that shook walls.
Knowing that we had waited and patched the units as long as we could, we began to get quotes for a new system. When the time came to receive our first quote I almost fell out of my chair when they handed me the paperwork showing a total cost of $12,000 to replace both our units and repair the duct work.
This company did however offer financing, and it looked like we might have to utilize the "financing option" to purchase the new HVAC system.
After a few more quotes and some discussions with the companies I started asking if we could get a discount if we paid in cash. To my shock, we were quickly offered discounts from 5-8% if we paid in cash! On a $12,000 bill that is not an insignificant amount of money.
With this new knowledge in hand, we put our nose to the ground and decided to save, save, save! We had less than one year to save before we would face another blistering summer in Georgia.
Here is what we did:
- We held a family meeting
- We examined our budget
- We cut expenses on "non-essential" items
- We planned to put our entire tax return to the new system
Our children are old enough to understand our budget and the need to replace the HVAC unit (they were hot!) After the family meeting, everyone was on the same page and we were all on board to save up for a more comfortable summer next year.
Already having a tight budget, at first we thought we would never be able to save enough, but soon, small decisions started adding up. Every time we saved any amount from a monthly bill, we diverted those funds directly into savings.
Because our budget was already tight we called our service providers for cell phones and internet and negotiated lower rates. The difference went straight to savings every month, we decreased the "food" budget which meant less eating out and we had very simple holidays. Soon we were on track to make our goal!
This weekend, we will have our new system installed and we will be paying CASH!
Our new HVAC system will cost us $8,000 — by paying cash and having the work completed before summer we were able to negotiate the best price, saving us $4,000. What a great feeling we have as a family to know that we all worked together to achieve our goal and we all be cooler this summer!
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
We're excited to have AOL Gathr as one of our sponsors. We had the opportunity to interview them and get to know their company a little more recently:
Tell us about the history of AOL Gathr.
Gathr is an exciting new service by AOL that launched in three markets in fall 2013 and is now available nationwide. AOL has been in the business of helping people for more than 25 years, through informing them, entertaining them, connecting them, and providing them with great products and services.
What product or service does AOL Gathr offer?
With Gathr, customers can bundle together top brands and save up to 60%. Members can save big on subscriptions and credits toward music, movies, games, dining, books, shopping, and more.
We offer brands like Amazon.com, Target , Pandora One, Groupon, Sephora, Zappos.com, Barnes & Noble, LivingSocial, Domino's, Toys"R"Us, Starbucks, Fandango, PBS Kids Play!, and Consumer Reports. Customers can create their own package of products, or choose from one of our pre-bundled packages that fit different lifestyles.
The main focus on Money Saving Mom® is saving money and making our dollars stretch. How does AOL Gathr help us to do that?
Gathr helps moms save big on brands they already use. For instance, our Playroom package includes a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card, a membership to PBS KIDS PLAY!, a subscription to National Geographic Little Kids Magazine, a $10 Toys"R"Us eGift Card, and access to 3,000+ online kids learning games through ABCmouse.com, all for only $20 a month – a 52% savings. Moms can keep their kids educated and entertained – all while saving money.
Or choose our Night In package and save money on a fun night for the whole family. It includes a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card, a $10 Domino's eGift Card, a ShopRunner membership for free shipping and delivery, and a $6 Amazon Instant Video Gift Card, all for only $15 a month – a 57% savings.
Does AOL Gathr have any new products or promotions coming up?
Yes, we are offering Money Saving Mom® users $10 off their first month of Gathr*! They can enjoy savings off our popular Night In or Playroom packages, or any other package of their choice.
Does AOL Gathr do any charity work that you'd like us to know about?
AOL is very supportive of charitable activity by employees, holding an annual company-wide volunteer day and offering employees two additional paid days of volunteer work each year. AOL matches employee's contributions to charities up to $250 per year, and contributes to registration fees when employees participate in charitable walks/runs.
What would you most like your customers or future customers to know about AOL Gathr?
Gathr is a new way to save! We know you work hard to provide the most for your family, so our priority is helping you save big on top brands. We offer 40 products and services from Amazon.com, Target, Pandora One, Groupon, Sephora, Zappos.com, Barnes & Noble, LivingSocial, Domino's, Toys"R"Us, Starbucks, Fandango, PBS Kids Play!, Consumer Reports, and more. We continue to add new partners and would love to hear about new products moms want us to offer.
How can your customers get the most out of your product or service?
Sign up today with our special offer for Money Saving Mom® users and save $10 off your first month*. You'll get extra savings in that first month, and then savings up to 60% each month after that. Make sure to use your subscriptions and redeem your gift cards each month at Gathr.com!
Interested in becoming a monthly sponsor or advertising with us? Find more details here.
*Offer expires 4/30/14. Offer may be used once per account, is not available to current Gathr customers, and may not be combined with other offers. Offer excludes taxes and has no cash value. Offer applies starting your first monthly billing period after using this promo code, and is valid up to the amount actually charged that month. We reserve the right to change or terminate this offer at any time.
