Welcome, Sharise Piquard!

God has been so good to bless us with yet another Advisory Panel member and writer for Those With Young!!

Welcome, Sharise Piquard!

Sharise and I met at a potluck, just about four short months ago. Bill and I host a middle school small group in our homes on Monday evenings. Nate and Sharise were interested in doing the same. They had just moved to our area, were expecting their first baby, and had no family in the area.

I immediately knew God wanted us to be friends. As I listened to her story, I felt like I was going back in time. In one short month, Sharise had quickly gone from a working woman, to a stay at home mom in a new place....and was still waiting on the baby she was staying home for. Oh, I remember those days!

Sharise and I went out to coffee five weeks before she was due to deliver little Eve. We had a great time. I knew our hearts were connected. I loved hearing her heart for the Lord and how he had worked on her heart to move her out of in career in cinematography to start a family. I learned how her dad is a pastor, and she has moved around some in her life. She and her sweet husband, Nate, met in college - John Brown University to be exact.:)

We left our sweet little coffee date, Sharise pulled up to the light, and her water broke. Little Eve made her entrance into this world five weeks early at just over four pounds.

I'm excited to have Sharise here at Those With Young for so many reasons. She's not an experienced mom. She's a brand new mom who is experienced at loving Jesus! We want Those With Young to be continually relevant to those who are brand new to motherhood, so Sharise's input is priceless. I know you will love her as much as I do!

Treasures

I am a new, first-time mom. I’m sure you can all remember those crazy months when the nurses send you home, the visitors disperse, and you are left wondering, “so, what do I do now?” I always knew I wanted to be a mom. Not just ANY mom, but a mom who taught her child to love the Lord! However, I have had a hard time figuring out how to do that with a newborn. All they do is eat, sleep, poop, and cry! Sure, she might smile and coo at me while I talk to her for a few seconds, but in an instant she is wriggling and fussing to do something more entertaining. So I quietly pray for her during my evening devotions and sometimes sing hymns while I rock her to sleep. And most of the time, that is all I do. However, one evening I was reading A Mom After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George and she encouraged moms to speak the Word of God over their children from “cradle to grave”. She wrote about the power of scripture and the importance of speaking truth over our children’s lives as soon as they enter this world. It was as if a light bulb went on. Of course! Why haven’t I been speaking the Word over my daughter from day one? What better way is there to help my daughter grow in the Lord? Even if I feel silly sometimes, I still try to read out of the Bible to my child every day. I get excited trying to think of new things I can do to surround her with the Word of God as she grows. We ordered a toy box the other day that came with free engraving. My husband and I couldn’t think of what to say. If we wrote her name, her future siblings would feel left out. If we wrote “toy box”, we could never use it for other things. So we decided to engrave, “Matthew 6:20-21” which says, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Now she may not understand what that means for many years. But I am hoping that one day she might just realize that her toys are not the treasures, but her relationship with God IS! I feel so blessed that the Lord chose me to help with the important task of introducing her to His Word! So, moms, what have you done to help your children see the “treasures” from scripture?

Sharise's book recommendation:

A Mom After God's Own Heart: 10 Ways to Love Your Children By Elizabeth George / Harvest House Publishers A Mom After God's Own Heart offers 10 principles to help moms make God an everyday part of their children's lives. Moms will explore how to: teach their children God's Word train them in God's ways talk to children about Jesus pray with and for them Elizabeth George, who has two grown children and six grandchildren, gives practical advice and real-life suggestions for helping children---no matter what their ages---incorporate God into daily life. Her husband, Jim, also provides biblical advice from a dad's perspective.