Published by
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September 9, 2007 in
Mothering.
I’m always a little reluctant to tackle subjects like “demand feeding” versus “schedule feeding” and other topics in this general area because women tend to have such strong feelings about these things, and I have no desire to get into a raging debate with any of the Christian sisters about such things. But brace yourselves, I’m going to stick my neck out a wee little bit.
First of all, whoever named the alternative to schedule feeding “demand” feeding was quite clever but not necessarily being fair. Some moms do everything on a schedule, and so to put the newborn on a schedule is simply that mother’s natural way of doing things. But whenever I imagine the alternative described by the word demand, I think of a spoiled child who is still nursing at age three when he should be learning his ABC’s and sitting at the table with a cup. My style of mothering newborns was very similar to my style of doing other things. If we were to the point where my doctor recommended feedings every four hours, I would take a peek at the clock, see that it had only been fifteen minutes, and figure that it just wasn’t dinnertime yet. But if I was just twenty Continue reading ‘Salt and Sugar’
Habits can be good or bad, and we all want to overcome the bad ones and cultivate the good ones. Recognizing a bad one is the first step to correcting it. And once we see it, we have to take action at once. Mental habits of mind can be just as difficult to break as quitting biting your fingernails. But here are a couple of things that might help.
A bad habit is a like a pathway that has been worn in your lawn by taking the shortcut. If you want your lawn to look good again, you have to redirect the traffic by either putting up a fence or by making yourself walk the long way around the lawn. The path is not going to disappear overnight, and you may put your foot on it once or twice before you remember and go back around. But eventually, the grass will grow back in, and you may forget there ever was a pathway wrecking the lawn. That is the grace of God. Continue reading ‘Change the Station’
Published by
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September 7, 2007 in
Mothering.
“Want of early discipline, passing over trifles; yielding when we ought to command — how little do we think to what they may grow.” Charles Bridges, Commentary on Proverbs
“The growth of love evinces its truth. If I see the almond tree bud and flourish, I know there is life in the root. Paint will not grow; a hypocrite, who is but a picture, will not grow. But where we see love to God increasing and growing larger, as Elijah’s cloud, we may conclude it is true and genuine.” Thomas Watson, All Things for Good
“We look into this Book, and, as by the aid of the microscope, we see the minuteness of our Christian obligations; that there is not a temper, a look, a word, a movement, the most important action of the day, the smallest relative duty, in which we do not either deface or adorn the image of our Lord, and the profession of his name. Surely if the book conduced to no other end, it tends to humble even the most consistent servant of God, in the consciousness of countless faults.” -Charles Bridges in his Commentary on Proverbs
I have a lovely friend who has experienced this first-hand, so I asked her to write a short piece about what she has learned about joy. Here it is.Â
“Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the
remembrance of His holy name” (Psalm 30:4).
Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I will say rejoice” (Phil. 4:4).
Part of the Christian’s walk with God is to have joy. He would not
command something if it were not possible to do it. It is easy to feel
joy on a beautiful morning, or when something good has happened to us or
when we feel like a million dollars, look at the first signs of spring
and say with elated emotion, “God is so good.” But what about those
people whose winter doesn’t turn to spring? Whose circumstances are
continuously night with little day dawning? Who suffer long-term under a
load that seems too heavy to bear? These people, due to situations often
beyond their control, may not feel the elated emotions of joy very
often, yet God still commands joy.
So, how is it possible to have joy in a seemingly, continuous winter? It Continue reading ‘Joy is Remembering’
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