You are here: C'Moms Home Page > Columns > Mothering By Heart Archives

Back to School Time

By Cheri Fuller

Back-to-school time always brings back memories of chalkdust (which I was allergic to), freshly waxed classroom floors, the smell of brand-spanking never-used books, and the lunchroom on the first pizza day.

Maybe you’ve been out braving the crowds at the mall with your children purchasing blue jeans, lunch boxes, and school supplies. Maybe you’ve also searched for the athletic-shoe-of-the-moment. Ads on TV and in magazines try to convince us kids have got to have the latest computers and educational software to be successful in school and have the newest gear to be successful in sports, so we as moms do what we can to provide those.

But the greatest gift we can give our children at back-to-school or any other time isn’t found in a mall, the school supply aisle, or an online store. We don’ t have to charge it on plastic. It won’t shrink our bank account! It won’t shrink or clutter the floor after the new wears off.

And it yields the biggest dividend of anything we can invest in. This gift will outlive our lives! It’s our greatest influence and the best thing we can possibly do to bless our children’s lives, no matter whether they are babies, toddlers, teens, in college or somewhere in between:

“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint on her knees, for he knows he has no power against our prayers.”—Fern Nichols

“By prayer you can live in God’s presence with as little effort as you live on the very air you are now breathing.”—Madame Guyon

It’s a mother’s prayer.

Look with me at what prayer can do in the life of a mother:

Through prayer comes wisdom. There’s a wonderful verse, I call “God’s Private Telephone Number and it’s Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty and unsearchable things that you do not know.” It’s usually things we need to know as mothers! Call it often.
We’ll have more energy. If we pray for our children and give God our worries, our energy and joy won’t be sapped by anxiety. And if our marriage is centered in prayer, the unity candle will continue to be lit and there will be more intimacy and strength in our relationship.
Prayer is our greatest influence on the hearts of our children. We can take our kids to church, get them the best education and be consistent about our family devotions, but we can’t change their hearts. We can’t make them love God and resist the downward slide of the culture around them. Only God through His Spirit can

(Use only with permission of author.)

© Cheri Fuller, 2003-
Cheri Fuller is an international speaker and award-winning author of forty two books including her newest, Mother-Daughter Duet: Getting to the Relationship You Want With Your Adult Daughter, The One Year Women’s Friendship Devotional. She has also authored a number of books for moms like: The Mom You’re Meant to Be, The One Year Women’s Friendship Devotional, the bestselling When Mothers Pray, A Busy Woman’s Guide to Prayer, Connect With Your Grandkids, as well as The One Year Book of Praying Through the Bible. Her books have been translated into many languages and her magazine articles and speaking ministry provide encouragement to moms throughout the U.S. and overseas.

A former Oklahoma Mother of the Year, Cheri has been a frequent guest on “Focus on the Family” and other national radio and TV programs. Her articles on prayer, family, marriage, and children have appeared in Focus on the Family, Family Circle, ParentLife, Guideposts, Today’s Christian Woman, Better Homes & Gardens, and other publications.

Cheri’s passion is encouraging women, mentoring moms, building families, and inspiring and equipping people to connect with God in their busy life so they can impact their kids and their world through prayer. Her ministry and course called “Parenting From Behind Bars” and gives hope and purpose to mothers in prison. She and her husband Holmes have three grown children, six lively grandchildren and live in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Her website, www.cherifuller.com includes a blog, articles, free Bible studies, encouragement, and more.
Search Amazon.com for more books by Cheri Fuller

Home Page

What's New

Topics A-Z:

Forums

Members:

Back to School Time