Wisdom from Mom

by Chad Allen, Lead Pastor of Cuyahoga Valley Church

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

Proverbs 1:8

My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 6:20

Wisdom from Mom

• Put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
• She taught me to persevere through hardship.
• They won’t buy the cow if they get the milk for free.
• Compassion for people and animals.
• How to be selfless as a mom ??
• “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” I now say it to my girls ?
•  You can learn anything and do anything, you just need to change your mindset.
•  Remember birthdays and don’t talk about yourself, focus on others.
•  Keep our family business to ourselves.
• My mom was moved around a lot as a kid and went to several different schools. Her parents divorced and things weren’t always stable. She was a teen mom. She found herself pregnant with my older sister at just 16… but she kept that baby… took respon took responsibility, still went to college, had a career, made a really good life even with the stigma and stereotypes of being a young mom. What she has always told us and taught me is that there are no excuses in life and that your past does not define your future. We can accomplish anything.
• Stay away from credit card debt. I didn’t listen and had to learn the hard lesson myself.
• My mom and grandma taught me to tithe from my very first paycheck as a teen. A value I have carried throughout my life.
• My teenage daughter has the 50/50 rule on her paychecks, no matter how small. Spend 1/2 and save 1/2.
• Both my parents instilled tithing into me and always attending Sunday services. We grew up Lutheran. Of course my parents served at the church and taught us to do that as well.
• Love.
• People are your greatest asset.
• Two wrongs don’t make a right
• I can’t think of what my Mom didn’t teach me. She’s a wonderful Mom, a great person, a woman who taught my brother and I God and church is first and to always love one another.
• Go to church every Sunday! And she always said to be nice to people, the old saying… If you don’t have nothing nice to say, then don’t say nothing at all!
• Obviously she taught me many, but the best advice was only three words and they were “Just trust Jesus.”
• Mom always said, “They laughed at Noah.” Point being, do what lines up to GOD’s Word and do what’s right, despite majority opinion or belief.
• Momma also used to say, “Life is like a box of chocolates…”
• When God closes one door, He opens another one. And the verse about God clothing the lilies of the field. I can never remember the exact verse, but I remember what she was trying to teach me.
• My mom was the one who spoke the gospel to me as a child. She then showed me through word and action how to cling to HIM in the hard times. When I was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 11 she and I memorized Psalm 91 together. When things got scary we would cling to those verses. To this day when things get scary I envision myself being covered in HIS wings as I lift my concerns and fears to HIM. She taught me how to run to my Rock and my Refuge and to Trust Him with all our cares and sufferings.
• Don’t grab for the last chicken leg on the plate, you’ll get a fork in the back of your hand.
• Don’t major in minor things.
• She taught me how to cook, garden, and budget.
• Mom taught me that God had a special reason for keeping me alive. He apparently still does! Thank you Jesus!
• Do the best you know how in whatever you do.
• Be an encourager today.
• Don’t discuss political opinions or how you vote with anyone else.
• Don’t cry over spilt milk. She always looked on the positive side of everything!! People used to say they needed some “DottieLand” glasses…..(instead of rose colored).
• Work before play!
• If you’re going to laugh about in 10 years, you may as well laugh about it now.
• My mom has taught me to always lean on the Lord in all circumstances. She always reminds me how he will help carry me through any and all situations. We enjoy going to church together and hearing your sermons. They have really helped us through some difficult times. Thank you ?
• During my mom’s final days at Hospice, she had visions. It is those visions she described to me that were her greatest gifts.
• You can fool some of the people some of the time, and most of the people most of the time, but you can’t fool mom!
• Everyone has flaws and bad qualities. Focus on the good in people.
• Work hard. Fight tough. Give all the glory to God.
• I have to agree with some others, there’s really nothing my mom didn’t teach me. She was awesome. One of the best things though was you can do anything you set your mind to do. And later in life we had fabulous Bible studies together.
• The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line.
• Don’t forget to go to the bathroom before you leave, because if you get into an accident they won’t let you go in the Emergency Room.
• My grandma had similar advice: never pass up an opportunity to use the bathroom. ?
• Now 87, my mom recently told me that I should always try and make friends with younger people. She said that if I didn’t I would only experience a part of the circle of life… people getting older, sick, and dying… If I made friends with people younger than myself I’d see the joy of graduations, marriages, babies, job successes etc….
• “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”
• “Do it right the first time.”
• Find yourself a good Christian woman!
• Wait for no man to do tomorrow what you’re capable of doing today. Her strength and her love of God will forever be in my DNA.
• My grandma Hannah taught me to love the Lord, and my mother taught me to seek Him.
• My mother was very disciplined… wish I could say it rubbed off, but I really admired that about her.
• I took care of my Mom for 11 years in our home after she had a stroke… she never complained!
• Don’t be a complainer because it accomplishes nothing and drives people away from you.
• Listen. Forgive. But so much of what she taught me wasn’t in words, it was how she treated others. When she was spoken of unfairly (it happens to pastor’s wives), she would be gracious. Smile, and not even try to defend herself. She would give the rides to the people who smelled bad. I could go on and on. I miss her so much!!!!
• She taught me that God loves me no matter what. Also that God already know the special person he has planned for you. Plus God only gives you what he knows you can handle.
• That God loves you no matter. Be respectful. Treat people with kindness.
• My mother taught me that serving others is more important than serving yourself. I didn’t learn this lesson from words, I learned it by watching.
• She always says “It all came to pass, nothing ever came to stay.”
• Always have a backup plan.
• Reading, writing my first word, patience.
• These merely summarize the things she did teach me and still do.A mother really deserves 3 times the respect and honoring as to a father. This is for all the things she did for us to be who we are now.
  “Your mother, your mother, your mother and then your father.”
• Always believe in yourself.
• My mom shared the Gospel with me, and never stopped praying and pleading with me to come to Jesus! I can only hope to be that kind of mom, that continually prays and shares my love of Jesus and the Gospel message.
• It never hurts to ask.
• Always walk in another’s shoes before you judge someone…..and….what goes around, comes around.
• “Give it time” (be patient) and pray about it.
• God always knows the end from the beginning.
• My mom always took advantage of the opportunity to say something good about someone and conversely always declined to take advantage of the opportunity to say something bad about someone. My mom was a great woman who loved the Lord & people wholeheartedly. She was such a Godly example to me every day.
• She used to say, “Jump only the height of your meter stick”… basically live within your means.
• My Mom was such an amazing human! She had six children and taught us all so much! She loved children and always said we should treat children like gold because “they didn’t ask to be born.” She also didn’t have patience for bragging or meanness or self-centeredness. She taught us patience, kindness, humility and the importance of putting others first. My siblings are all shining examples of her gentle heart, and snappy sense of humor, even sixty years later. Thank you for asking!
• Do your best. Don’t complain. Cook good down to earth food. Always help others. Be frugal. Drive politely. Care for the least of these. Volunteer with anything you or your children participate. Buy good books for the kids and grandkids and read to them often. Marvel at the creation. Enjoy rural ranch life. End well.
• Always stay in touch with your family and friends.
• You get what you pay for.
• Whenever I left the house when I was younger, my mom would ask where are you going? I replied with, going to pick up chicks! She then gave me this great advice. Well… make sure you put them back down.