We have always encouraged our children to do things with a “happy heart” (a phrase taken from Veggie Tale’s Madame Blueberry.) Chores, serving family members, and school work must be accompanied with the right attitude, the one that truly brings honor to Him who made us. Grumpy faces, scowls, and moaning and groaning are not allowed.

Yet often I forget one of the most important ways to teach my children how to have this genuine joy for doing what they are asked to: my own happy heart. How often have I grumbled as yet another dish is dirtied? Or when water is again spilled on the table have I moaned at one more thing that must be done? When nap time hasn’t gone as well as I would like I have been known to scowl and stomp around the house, making everyone else as unhappy as I am?

It generally hits me when I see my children displaying poor attitudes that they may be picking up a bit too much on Mom’s sin. I could gloss it over and tell myself that I’ll “try harder next time.” Or I could recognize the extreme seriousness in not showing our children the right way to live.

Moms, when your babies and young ones watch you they are learning how to behave, believe, and how to have the right (or wrong!) relationship with God. Just as they are being taught their ABC’s and 123′s through repetition the continuing pleasant or poor attitudes on our parts are burned into their memories. As I have said before, mothering is serious business. Sure we will make mistakes and we will not one of us become perfect. But we can point our children to our sinless Parent while we ask for forgiveness and strive to better model for them just what God expects of us.

Being a mom is hard and exhausting and continuously reminds you of your humanness. But all the hard work now, whether in training them, or encouraging them, or living out before them self control can have eternal consequences so worth the price.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing. . .”-Philippians 2:14