I find myself of late needing to stay one step ahead of my very curious baby. She will put anything in her mouth! Not only will she put it in her mouth, but she'll eat it too. (I know, 'cause I'm the one changing her diapers!) As my little girl grows, she'll learn (with my help) what is not supposed to go in her mouth, and what she's supposed to eat.
Much in the same way, as we grow as Christian women, we need to learn what is supposed to go into our spirits to help us grow. We need to be very cautious about what we feed on. Like that tempting little bit of paper on the floor is to my baby, so are there many things out there that appeal to us. They might not even be that bad, but everything out there has the power to influence us. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:23 "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify." (NKJV)
As Christian wives and mothers, we need to be purposeful about the kinds of books we read. Personally, I can sit and read for hours- I love to learn. But I need to ask myself, "what's the purpose of this? Is this relevant to my life in some way?" Certainly most of us only have a small amount of time in our days or weeks to devote to reading or other forms of entertainment, so I would ask; is that book you just checked out from the library going to enhance your relationship with God, your husband or your children? Is that magazine article going to help you learn new ways to be more efficient around the house? There's really nothing wrong with reading for entertainment, and I believe as busy moms, we need to take some time for ourselves, but just make sure that novel you're reading isn't causing you to become discontent with your life in some way. It might seem perfectly innocent and you might say, "oh it's just a love story" (or whatever), but then when you put it down, and reality comes back into focus, suddenly you're wishing you could be back in the story!
I want to challenge you to be deliberate about what you put in front of your eyes on a regular basis. There are many awesome books out there written by Christian authors. Get a recommendation from a mature Christian friend or your pastor if you don't know where to start. I also have a few recommendations on here of books that have been a blessing to me and have helped me to grow spiritually. Make a goal for yourself of books that you would like to read. I try to keep my reading material limited to the following categories: spiritual growth, marriage enrichment, parenting, health, and a few others. Once you are more fixed in your pursuit of growth, you will see greater results every day!
