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YADA YADA DEVOTIONAL JOURNAL 1
By Vickie Courtney

Inspired by this author? Buy the full devotional
book by Vicki Courtney at LifeWaystores.com.
http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/gk.asp?k=DAA1D65EB1

I'm thrilled that you are reading this, because I believe there is only one thing our daughters need more than a mother who is devoted to them -- and that's a mother who's even more devoted toGod.

President John Adams once said, "From all that I had read of history and government of human life and manners, I had drawn this conclusion: that the manners of women were the most infallible barometer to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue of a nation." If this is true, we have received a high calling as mothers of daughters. One look at the magazine rack at the supermarket checkout should convince most mothers that we have a long way to go when it comes to the "manners of women."

I've had it with the culture's negative influences on our girls, and I'm willing to bet that you have, too. It's time for mothers of daughters to unite with purpose. It's time to step forward and refuse to allow the world to take our girls by the hand and lead them through life.

I know that the experiences we'll share in the days ahead will give you renewed hope and confidence in Christ. I know it will make your time with your daughter more purposeful and enriching. This calling of ours -- to raise godly daughters in an ungodly world -- is near and dear to the Father's heart, and I know He will give us what we need to achieve it.

So let's venture out together into His Word and His truth. Let us begin by asking God to lead the way in the pursuit to raise our daughters to be, above all, His girls. While we're at it, let's be bold enough to ask God to leave us forever changed by the time we turn the last page.

Whose Child Is This?

One of the most beautiful accounts of maternal love found in Scripture is the story of Hannah. Barren for many years, Hannah cried out to God for a son and vowed to give him over to God, if God would comply by meeting her request. God did indeed bless her with a son, Samuel. And true to her word, she cared for him until he was weaned, then brought him to Eli, the priest, to live out the remainder of his childhood years at the temple.

"After he was weaned, she took the boy, young as he was…
and brought him to the house of the LORD.... They brought
the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my
lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to
the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted
me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For
his whole life he will be given over to the LORD" (1 Samuel 1:24-28).

What mother could take a child she had nursed at her breast, swayed to sleep in her arms, watched as he took his first wobbly steps -- and then put him in the care of a stranger, releasing him to the plans of God? Only a woman desperately dependent on Him.

Wider Angle

Read 1 Samuel 1. Watch for verses:

8 (the pain of being misunderstood)
11 (the passion of a desperate prayer)
18 (the right way to leave a request with God)
28 (our proper response to every situation: worship)

Hannah's story makes me wonder how much of what I desire for my daughter is just my personal wants and wishes, and how much of it is what God desires for her…

"Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it"(Proverbs 22:6).

"The LORD is the stronghold of my life --
of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

Prayer

Lord, it’s a great privilege to have one of Your children right here where I can love her, and lead her, and watch what You are doing in her. Today I pray…fill in your own thoughts…

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).

This devotional is excerpted from the book, “Yada Yada: Devotional Journal for Moms," by author Vicki Courtney. Watch for part 2 of this e-mail devotional series next Monday.

Related Links

"Yada Yada: Devotional Journal for Moms"
http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/gk.asp?k=DAA1D65EB1

About the Author

Vicki Courtney is the founder of Virtuous Reality Ministries and http://www.virtuousreality.com, an on-line magazine for middle school girls, high-school girls, college women and women. She is a national speaker and the author of several Bible studies, including "Virtuous Reality: Becoming the Ideal Woman," "The Virtuous Woman: Shattering the Super Woman Myth," and "Get A Life!" Vicki became a Christian during her junior year at the University of Texas in Austin, while attending a conference for college students. She resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and three children.