HOUSE OF ROBERTS BLOG

I’ve heard it said that the mom sets the temperature of the house. That her presence has the power to direct the mood of the home. I really have found this to be true and I have lived with a conviction and sense of authority to help direct my home in a strong, hopeful, peaceful, and joyful way. I have found that my kids will meet the same temperament I bring to the room. So If they come home from school and I am low-energy, frazzled, overwhelmed in nature, irritable, or melancholy, I promise you they will become the product of that environment in some form. On the flip side of that, if they come home from school and they are met with joy, engagement, energy, peaceful direction, and soundness of mind they will become a product of that environment.

This is not just theory, I have played around with this thought multiple times to test it. God brought my eyes to this as a younger mom when all my babies were at home, He would show me how when I was overwhelmed and leading the house in that way how the kids would act and behave. He wasn’t showing me this to make me feel shameful or discouraged. He was showing me this because He had a better way and He wanted to teach me. A couple of things He has taught me over the years in this:

-    Worship sets the mood- This one wasn’t a hard one for me to implement because worship has always been one of the main ways I connect with God but the Lord would have me start the kids days with worship on. When they were eating breakfast and I was getting them ready for the day worship was in the background and as we listened we would sing, and praise and lift our hands in between bites to start our days with praise. THIS injected joy into my family to start our days. I would also use worship as a weapon, if the kids were cranky or having trouble napping, or fighting I would put a gentle worship song on and let it work its goodness into the space. NOW this didn’t always change the mood of the room right away but it always gave me as mom fresh breath to press on in spirit and not in flesh! Also, it was teaching my kids (even if they weren’t taking the tip at 3yrs) that worship was a weapon to use in hard moments.

-     Multi-tasking is for the birds- Ha! Truly I used to wear this as a badge of honor but once I became a mom I couldn’t spin as many plates and still have peace of heart to lead my kids. I remember the Lord was all over me about this one and it was painful because in a sense my life became simpler for seasons. I mean I was still “momin” hard so let’s be honest life was full just with that but He slowed me down with all the peripheral tasks, I wasn’t as involved in all the things and trying to take charge and command in a bunch of other areas of life. This was painful because I truly am a worker bee, a dreamer, I have a go-getter personality, but for my life to have only one job description (a BIG one) to my life didn’t always mesh with my flesh. It was a sacrificial season with young ones, full of hard no’s but obedient yes’s to God and how He was setting the pace.” I found as I yielded to what God was asking of me and allowed him to trim back things for a time. I learned to operate with greater levels of peace and JOY in the season I was in. Having more energy and concentration for my greatest work. My family!

-     Feelings are great indicators but terrible leaders- Oi this is a big one for setting the mood. In motherhood, you feel A LOT of things constantly. It’s a constant vulnerable place to be because there are stressors, sleep deprivation, fears, the kids are sick again, you don’t know what to do about something, and the list goes on and on. If you are not careful you can begin to lead your life and thus your kids' life based on all the feelings you are feeling. This is so dangerous! Not everything that pops in our head is truth and not everything that pops in our heart should be said, and if we don’t discipline ourselves to manage these things properly there is no way for us to not project these feelings on our family. Man me and the Lord taaaaaalk in the days ha! I would say Lord I can’t do this and He would say “With me you can”, I would say Lord I am going to lose it and He would say “No you aren’t, take a deep breath”, I would say Lord I need it to be quiet and He would say “one day you miss the noise” back and forth and back and forth I and the Lord would banter in the days and He would pep talk me! I became the “Queen” of Pep talking myself into motherhood. I would look at myself in the mirror or whisper under my breath multiple times in the day “Gabby, you got this! Gabby your mind is good, Gabby the Lord is with you, Gabby the joy of the Lord is your strength, and the peace of Christ rules in your heart!” This helped me cultivate not living enslaved to my “feelings” but speaking a better word to them! I found doing this helped me set a stable peaceful atmosphere in my home.

Now hear me, I am not saying you can’t have hard days or give in to your feelings sometimes, HELLO we are only human and God's goodness and strength fill in our cracks when we miss it! What I am saying is this should be the exception and not the rule! What I am saying is we as mama’s have way more power than sometimes we know and we should intentionally use that power and authority to build and set the tone for how our homes breathe and function!

I am praying that this week the Lord will make us more aware of the temperature of our homes. That we would see and feel empowered by the Holy Spirit to help set the tone. That we would intentionally bring his presence into it all, we would slow down and be focused in heart in the moments, and we would allow the Lord to strengthen us and not be led by our feelings but only him!