Category: Mama Hood

Christian Affirmations and Bible Verses for Childbirth

Christian Affirmations and Bible Verses for Childbirth

Childbirth is a life-changing event in which every woman who delivers a child, no matter how that child is born, must be brought to the precipice of sorrow and brought back again to life, forever altered by the child formed in her womb by God. It is my hope to be able to encourage you during that life-changing and altering event to have Christian affirmations or things to think on before, during the process of your delivery, and afterward.  Each birth, no matter how many you have had, changes you.

Writing down affirmations and posting them at the birth is a practice that many women do. It is a way while you are going through the birth process to think positively during the pain of contractions.  Right and good thoughts open up the body to be able to allow the baby to come through the body naturally while fear and anxiety will work against the uterus holding the baby and hurting your body.  I want to encourage you if you are a Christian woman to focus on the Lord through your labor, whether you have chosen a natural labor or an epidural, or are having a c-section we all are faced with fear, unsurety, and pain.

In a matter of weeks, Lord willing, we will celebrate the birth of our fifth child, our third daughter into our family. We have decided if all goes according to plan that we will have her at home for our third homebirth. I never heard about doing this until I was introduced to homebirthing. It is a great idea and the motivation in which I created this printable.

From my experience childbirth’s sorrows (during labor and after) have been one of the most humbling experiences in my life to which I truly felt my limited ability and had to rely wholly upon God to bring me through the process. I prayed, I called and cried out to God for His help, and I thanked Him in each birth when it was over with eyes full of joyous and relief-filled tears. He had heard, He had helped, He gave us an indescribable gift of a child. I have not always gone through the past four labors with right thoughts and it is my goal this pregnancy to prepare my heart and mind to think on God more this labor than I have before.

This list of affirmations – simply, true statements to encourage during labor that are Christ-centered. I have also created a list of Bible verses to think and dwell on. These verses focus on faith, strength, prayer, the reward of the child God created being joined to our family, and can help you through each phase of your pregnancy, labor, and postpartum experience. I have included many of the verses and affirmations in this post, but have also designed a free printable to be able to print off on your computer and have with you during your birth. The printable has more verses and affirmations than are listed here.

Bible Verses for Labor

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Isaiah 40:29 “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalm 127:3

Isaiah 44:2a “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee;”

“Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” Proverbs 31:25

Isaiah 65:23 “They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.”

I Samuel 1:27 “For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:”

Affirmations

God designed my body to birth naturally.

I trust God to guide my baby through the body.

Have patience, the baby will arrive in God’s timing.

Labor is good. God is good. Baby is good.

Faith allows the natural process to keep happening.

God chose this day for my baby’s birth day!

“Peace, be still.” Breathe slowly and deeply.

Rest in the Lord between contractions.

You can download Child Birth Affirmations & Bible Verses.

Please remember that these printables are for personal and church use only.

If you like this link, please link back to this page and website, do not provide this content on your own personal web page or in any other manner.

Ministering to the Mama with a Baby in NICU

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Ministering to people with all types of life situations is important, that’s why we want to focus today on ministering to women who have delivered a premature baby that is staying in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).

Families who have a baby that requires hospitalization have very high stress levels in a very critical milestone of their family life. Mothers specifically go through the ringer when the baby they were carrying ends up needing care that keeps her at a distance from her baby because of cords, machines, etc. Be sensitive to the family’s needs and desires. As each family and situation is different allow the family to set limitations or have some personal time if they need it without distraction.

A church family can reach out and purposefully take action to be a blessing. It is not always possible for them or their baby to receive personal visits but it is possible for you to be a blessing! The only way to know their specific needs or desires is to ask – if you can not get in touch with them contact a close family member, neighbor, or friend then do the things you can to minister to them.

Ministering to the Mama with Baby in NICU

Ministering in Prayer – 5 Things to Pray For

  1. Pray for the healing of the mother after childbirth.
  2. Pray for the medical needs of the baby as well as the hospital staff caring for the baby.
  3. Pray for the financial needs of the family.
  4. Pray for the father and other family members.
  5. Pray for the parents’ comfort and sanity during this exhausting time.

Ministering in Friendship – 5 Things to Encourage

  1. Call when it is convenient for the mother and listen to her.
  2. Write an encouraging note and send it in the mail.
  3. Text her with a reassuring Bible verse (Psalms are great for trials).
  4. Visit her and the baby at the hospital if possible.
  5. Take time to love on any other children in the family.

Ministering by Giving – Gifts to Help Mama & Family

  1. Gift Cards – restaurant or grocery store gift cards (because hospital food gets old), gas gift cards (traveling back and forth can be costly).
  2. Magazines and reading material. A book about preemies might be helpful.
  3. A ring sling for kangaroo care (skin-to-skin mother & baby contact) that will easily go over wires.
  4. A gift bag full of healthy snacks and water bottles.
  5. Hire a housekeeping service to clean the house.
  6. Give a spiritual gift that will help lift up their hearts toward God: a verse in a frame, a Christian music CD, sermon CD’s that will reconnect them with what’s happening in church, a devotional for new mothers, etc.
  7. Any essentials that new mothers would want or need: comfortable socks, a robe, cute house slippers, breastfeeding/pumping supplies, a comfortable pillow with a nice pillow case, etc.
  8. Preemie clothes for the baby.
  9. Money for the drink and snack machines.
  10. Notepads and/or other stationery for writing.

Ministering by Giving Your Time

  1. Be a help to the mother: make phone calls or arrangements that would normally absorb her valuable time with her baby, healing, or sleep. For example, if she is looking for connections for a place to stay (possibly Ronald McDonald House or location in the area if they are traveling long distance) or even someone who could get her in contact with someone who could help her get donor breastmilk if she is not able to breastfeed, or any other need that would take time and contacts to be able to complete that would be your job. *Make sure that if you volunteer for a job like this that it is wanted help that is a blessing and not a burden.
  2. Make them a meal, or freezer meals, or bag up some healthy snacks. Drop them off at a time that is convenient for the family either at their home or at the hospital. We knew a family who had a neighbor who would take meals that people scheduled to drop off at their home so they could stay at the hospital as long as they needed to.
  3. Volunteer to help with older siblings. Give them a ride to church, school, or extra-curricular activities, offer to babysit for some one-on-one time to hear and listen to their cares and concerns, take them out to the playground to exert some of that pent-up energy. Older kids need extra lovin’ when their parents have their focus elsewhere.
  4. Offer to run errands for their family or help around their house. Pick up some groceries while you’re at the store, clean their house (most NICU parents went through some type of an emergency and did not have time to clean their home), or even something as simple as dropping off their library books at the library.

With birth on my mind with our little one I certainly wanted to focus on some ministering that we can do for mothers. I pray and hope that this is a blessing and reference tool for you to use in the times when you face situations like this in your ministry.

Many of these ideas can also be a help to a mother on bed rest, or someone who has gone through a miscarriage, or other family crisis that may require time at the hospital. May the Lord help you and give you the grace to be able to be a blessing to the mama with a baby in NICU.

Other website articles that may help you minister to NICU Mamas:

  1. Gift Ideas for NICU Familes at Ain’t No Rollercoaster
  2. A NICU Parent Survival Bag by Preemie Babies 101
  3. Life in the NICU: 5 Tips to Survive as a Preemie Mom – great article to know the feelings of people going through this situation

Why Santa Ain’t Gettin’ The Credit for God’s Blessin’s

Santa & God's Blessings

I know some of you who only read the title are already arguing with me in your mind… you have your justification for having done or doing Santa Claus in your life. I’m not one of those people who call Santa, “Satan Claus,” so just give me a little slack here and let me explain why Santa ain’t gettin’ the credit for God’s blessin’s in our life.

Yes, in my childhood we did Santa, for those who might be wondering. My mom and grandparents, however, never did let us believe he was a real person. We always knew it was someone else giving us the gift in his name and loved the excitement of seeing what would be under the tree with our names on it from him. We were forbidden from telling other children at school that there really was no such thing as Santa Claus and honestly mocked those who did “believe” because we knew the truth. I understand the thrill, and the fun, but as I see the culture turning anti-God I cannot bring myself to continue that tradition with my children.

My reasons for not continuing that tradition include:

Using the Christmas Season to Build Up Faith, Rather Than Destroy It.

I believe when we use Santa and allow our children to write letters to him, believe completely in child-like faith that he is real, that we are doing them and God a disservice.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “…Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”  Children naturally are drawn to Christ when they are taught to love Him, and I hope to help our children love the story of His birth.

Building Up Their Faith Means I Will Not Lie

Justifying a reason to lie to your children for a period of 7-10 years using the Santa ideology, and then expecting your children to be truthful because it is a Biblical principle causes too much conflict. You can’t discipline your children for lying one minute and lie to them for one month every year because the last I checked lying was a sin (Psalm 120:2, Proverbs 6:16,17). I cannot lead our children into believing a lie without feeling deeply convicted. My desire is to build their faith, not breed inconsistency and deception.

How can children discern between the truth and a lie if they are in the sensitive time of their life where they believe everything their parents tell them? When many children realize that Santa is not a real person they lose faith in those people who allowed them to believe the years of lies. Children are very trusting and I do not want to be the person that abuses that trust. In order to eliminate confusion, our focus must be on Christ alone at Christmas and all other holidays with themes conflicting with our beliefs like Easter, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and etc.

Our Christmas Focus

Our family dedicates all of Christmas morning to our tradition of honoring Christ alone. We have done many different things with our children to teach and emphasize the Christmas story like doing a birthday party for Jesus, dressing up as the Bible characters, reading the Christmas story as a family, and even listening to Christmas-themed audios that encourage us to look to Jesus. We open gifts on Christmas Eve and typically spend time with family in the afternoon. For the past 9 years we have lived far enough from family that we have the freedom to dedicate this time solely to Him without feeling conflicted. We also do not compete with other family members that do choose to add Santa into their traditions.

Christmas Family TraditionsLeft to Right: 1. The kids Christmas 2012  2. Birthday Party for Jesus Table Set-Up 3. Birthday Cake for Jesus (We always put a “?” for Jesus’ age since He really does not have one) 4. The cake was a gluten-free pinata cake 5.The kids Christmas 2013 dressed up as angels, shepherd, and a lamb. I was Mary and my husband was Joseph (not in photo).

Teaching that God is the Greatest Gift-Giver of All

Children worldwide try to be good for a fictional character so they can receive gifts on Christmas Eve. They anticipate it, they attempt to alter their behavior, they lay away thinking about it. Their thoughts are consumed with thinking of the good things Santa will bring. He is lifted up artificially to be the greatest gift giver, but my hope is to create a thought process in our children to realize that God is the greatest gift-giver of all, every day of the year.

We can learn from the Bible about God’s gifts

There are 9 specific Bible verses that are written containing the phrase “gift of God.” 3 references to “good gifts” from God in the New Testament. Ephesians 2:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Psalms 68:19, 103:2, and 116:2, all describe God’s benefits to our lives in being something that is a daily occurrence we should never forget. Proverbs 10:22 teaches, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” The Bible’s most famous verses, John 3:16, 17 tell us about the specific gift of God that was The Ultimate Gift. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” And the gift He gave of His Son’s life as a payment for our sins is a gift that every person can receive (John 3:16 “whosoever” means any one).

I cannot give any gift to our children without God’s help. I can create an atmosphere of teaching them that every blessing is a gift from God and help them to view God as the best gift-giver.

Using Christmas to Focus On Christ and Christian Giving

The Distraction of Santa

Santa often steals the show as children consume their thoughts with writing out long lists and even letters to a Santa that will not even see or read them. Going to sit on his lap at the mall or school and tell them their heart’s desire becomes a fascination (if they’re not afraid out of their wits of the stranger). They are consumed with what they want to get for Christmas. I’m not saying that the entire Christmas season for a typical Santa believer is only filled with him because family traditions of giving tend to be another valued act that is entwined with him.

With the idea that Christ and Christ alone must be glorified at this time, we cannot allow the distraction of Santa. Our children are drawn to the allure but we explain why we must let God have first place. They are completely satisfied with the atmosphere of Christmas that we share together as a family. I want my children to take their heart’s desires to the Christ who already knows their hearts.

Giving in Jesus’ name, not Santa’s

I know many good-hearted people who give gifts in Santa’s name anonymously. Why would Santa’s name be more powerful a gift that Jesus’ name? The Bible says in Matthew 9:41 that if we give in Jesus’ name, we are blessed. “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” I believe it is far more valuable to give a gift in Christ’s name whether in person or anonymously because God receives the glory and He will reward that giving. We hope to promote that in our giving habits.

Love and Thanks Should be Expressed to God and the Gift Givers.

When our children receive those blessings of wonderful gifts on Christmas Eve we want God to get the credit. Yes, we bought the gifts, but from the money that God provided through either the job my husband  has or through people who love us very much. This is one of the main reasons why Santa ain’t getting the credit for God’s blessin’s.

Allowing Santa to receive the credit gives the love your kids would give to you and others away to the wrong place. Gratitude should be able to be placed on the Lord and the gift-giver. Parent, when your children see the love you have for them because you have given them good things, then I believe their heart will be turned toward you. When their heart is turned toward you in thanks, then they are able to perform the Biblical commandment of honoring their parents, and thus glorifying God. After our children give us thanks it is our job to point them to God. Simply saying, “God gave us that money for the gift, be sure you tell Him thank you too” is all it takes to pass the praise to God.

Because the Spirit of Christmas is the Holy Spirit.

So many people cling to the traditions of how they grew up with Santa Claus and add him into their own personal traditions, and then call the excitement of Christmas morning the spirit of Christmas. I am here to say, the same Spirit that overshadowed the virgin Mary is the one that is the true Spirit of Christmas.

The Holy Spirit is the one that works in our hearts as we read the Bible and teaches us the profound blessing of the Christmas story each year. He works in the hearts of our children as we continue faithfully to teach them the truth about Christmas. He is the one that prompts our hearts to give to the needy families and reach out to neighbors. He is the comforter and leader as we speak to people about Christ during this season when joyfulness and open-heartedness abounds.

The spirit of doing things in the name of Santa Claus does not compare with the Holy Spirit’s working during the Christmas season. I want our children to realize His blessings.

My Final Thoughts

Santa ain’t got nothin’ on my God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And that’s why I can’t let him get the credit for how God’s blessin’ our family and we must teach them the Christmas season is all about Him being the best giver of all.