Spurgeon (in his entry for today) discusses Deut. 33:27, that God is our refuge. He points out that “refuge may be translated ‘mansion,’ or abiding place,’ which gives the thought that God is our abode, our home.”
Then he goes on to draw connections between our own earthly homes and what it means to dwell in God as our home. I was particularly struck by his idea of home. Here’s a summary of his comments on home.
1. “At home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day.”
2. “Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness.”
3. “It is also for home that we work and labour.”
4. And here’s my favorite: “At home, also, we let our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued.”
What a lovely image! And what a good thought for mothers and wives. We should labor to make our homes all these things and more. And our children and husbands should find that home is where they can let their hearts loose without fear!
One of the things parents should be concerned about is preparing their kids to handle peer pressure. We want kids who will do the right thing, regardless of pressure from friends to do something other than the right thing. So how do we teach them to do this?
I would suggest that we teach them by learning it ourselves. We parents are not immune to peer pressure. Think about it. How many times do we feel an urge to do something, or buy something, because are friends are doing it? Our friends are traveling to Europe. We should go to Europe. Our friends are building a new house. We should build a new house. Our friends Continue reading ‘Peer Pressure’
We mothers are tempted in many ways, but one of those ways is to be worriers. What do we worry about? Oh, we are very imaginative! If we don’t have any real situations on our hands, we can come up with all kinds of potential stuff to worry about.
Now, worry is bad for us. And it’s bad for our kids. It’s an uglifying sin (like all the rest of them). Worry is antithetical to biblical femininity. It is never pretty. It sucks the joy out of our lives, disturbs our peace, and disrupts a gentle and quiet spirit.
How do you know if you are worrying? A worry always begins with “What if…?” And you cannot answer that kind of question. So don’t ask it, don’t listen to it, and don’t get in a discussion over it. Ignore it and let it go find somewhere else to roost. Continue reading ‘Worrying the Kids Away’
Since I so generously shared with you that last picture of Blaire having a misbehave, many of you have wanted to hear some specifics of how to discipline. I wanted to clarify that there is a reason we don’t usually share them. While there are a number of helpful resources for these sorts of questions, I think that it is all too easy for parents to slip into trying to tick off the boxes of the discipline flow chart, and quit looking at the child they are actually dealing with. It is better that discipline be something you need to really think about. It is better that you feel a little lost sometimes. It is a wholesome feeling. You should never rush into discipline thinking you have it all, like your child is a computer and all you needed was a keyboard shortcut. People are complicated, and this is why principles are what we need to be armed with. Sometimes parents need to change it up. Sometimes you see that what you are doing isn’t working, and you need to reevaluate it in light of the principles you know. Sometimes the fool-proof method of another family will not even begin to help yours. That is all well and good.
Continue reading ‘Let’s get Specific.’
This is Blaire, captured via iPhone throwing her first drama queen tantrum. She was full of angst about not getting to eat the wormy pear she snagged outside. The good news is that Blaire has a Daddy who loves her, so she won’t be doing much more of this. Limited time release and all that. Of course she will be doing a great many more things for years to come, but sufficient unto the day is the trouble thereof!
Many of us come from backgrounds of rigid discipline and high expectations. Others of us may not have ever experienced house rule, and have no idea how to set them up for our children. It is easy for us to be in one ditch or the other – either all law and no grace, or all “grace” and no law. But the point is really to be somewhere in the middle. How do we do this?
Continue reading ‘Ungraceful Parenting’
Here’s an article my husband linked to a few days ago on his blog. He mentioned that it should be widely circulated, and since reading it myself, I heartily agree.
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