The Storm

“Don’t tell God how big your storm is – tell the storm how big your God is.”

I have to remind myself of this everyday. It reminds me of scripture in Hebrews 11, that without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Keep Your Comments To Yourself

"Unless your opinion is invited or there is obvious abuse.”

~ J.M. Laskas (Reader’s Digest)

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I like this, because it challenges me in a weak area. It goes right along with scripture in the Book of James: to be slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to listen.

Nurture and Admonition

1. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.

2. Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.

3. Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him, if he asks for it politely.

4. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is truly confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.

5. Commend and reward good behavior.

6. Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.

~ Susannah Wesley

I found this quote within the book, Children Are Wet Cement - by Anne Ortlund. Having grown up Presbyterian, I was familiar with John and Charles Wesley, Susannah's sons. While working in the Church Library, I had the priviledge to read her biography. It is difficult to read biographies of people from times past when things were very different. It helps to see it enacted in film - but if one has a great imagination, one can try to imagine what the author is describing.

I have grown very concerned with two approaches that many young mothers have taken in parenting, both in the present and in the past: 1) Children should be disciplined strictly regardless of gender and age, and 2) Children should be coddled affectionately all the time, regardless of gender and age.

I have not seen in the Bible, both Old and New, that a mother is to do either. We are to follow God's example to us. He is not a tyrant who rules with an iron fist, nor is He a mamby-pamby nanny who plays patty-fingers. He is just and compassionate to all his children in equal measure. A mother is supposed to use wisdom and discernment in her approach to motherhood. She is to show respect to her children and assume they are growing into young adults. She is to coach her sons to follow their fathers' example, and to be an example herself to her daughters. She is to encourage a healthy mentoring relationship to her sons and coach her husband how to mentor his daughter. There are stages where sons and daughters need different things from fathers and mothers, and it takes a cohesive partnership on the part of the parents to identify these needs in their children, and monitor them as they mature, modifying their techniques as necessary.

I Would...

“I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.”

~ Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories

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My daughter loves the story this quote is found in. It follows the line of thinking in scripture in the book of Phillipians on thinking about positive and lovely things, because we teach by example.

What A Friend

Friends Don't Make Friends Feel Stupid
~ J.M. Laskas (Reader’s Digest)

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This goes right along with another anonymous quote I've heard: Friends know your deepest faults, and love you just the same. It reminds me of Jesus words in John 15, that there is a friend that is closer than a brother.

To Train A Child

"God is wonderful about developing our gifts according to His own schedule for our lives.
He knows which are the years when there is no substitute for parenting.
It's the job that must be done then, not later."
~ Anne Ortlund (from her book, "Children Are Wet Cement")

This quote really jumped off the page today, after all that I've been going through in my life here at home with my children and my husband's health, abroad with my family and relatives, and my friends.

In a movie I once heard a widow describe his life by using the term that activity suggests a life. That waves red flags at me. When life gets too busy, children begin looking to others for guidance and entertainment. It is a challenge to keep a watchful eye on each child to promote the proper influence. But I have found just ten minutes with each child lasts a whole week - but to smother them and overprotect them can actually send them packing as well.

Proverbs says to train a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown he will remember it. I find that this is the case with myself, and I value the effort my parents put into my life, coaching me in my journey to adulthood. It has contributed to my character as a mother.

Changing and Growing

God uses our carnality to draw us closer to Himself.

~ Chip Ingram

This is one of many encouraging statements from Chip, that reassures me that it's okay to be me - God is still in control - especially when I lose it. Scripture in Romans 8 tells us that all things work together for good to those that love God, and also that nothing can separate us from God. Elsewhere in the New Testament is says that God uses evil for good - He uses it to develop our character into a reflection of His Son. He uses the frustrations of humanity to drive us to our knees which drives us to His throne, where we find pardon and acceptance, and hear the words, go and sin no more.

Discipline

 “The Master prefers to refine by fire, and there is no fire in simulations."

~ Angel Wars

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The Old Testament talks of scraping the dross from molten metals to enhance its purity. The Book of Hebrews talks of the Father disciplining the son He loves. It's one thing to read this and know it, but it's another thing to experience it and be changed by it.