Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Never stop praying, parents! Pray with your children whenever you possibly can. Pray together in the morning when your day starts, at meal times, when they have owies or hurt feelings or are worried, and before they go to bed. Pray with them when they aren’t feeling well. Say prayers of thanksgiving when all is well. Have them pray. How precious it is to hear the sincere faith-filled prayer of a little child! Most
Month: October 2012
I first learned about the strong-willed child in one of my child psychology classes in college. The information presented at that time painted a pretty dismal picture of what it meant to deal with this temperament. Stubborn, obstinate, rebellious, virtually impossible to discipline- not an attractive list of characteristics. The parents of these children were endlessly frustrated and exhausted. I was happy to move on from this subject of study. And then I gave birth to my very own strong-willed child. From the moment she came on the scene, my oldest daughter was determined to do life on her own terms.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” ~ Psalms 139:13-16 Each one of us is uniquely created with God-given gifts
We live in a scary world full of all kinds of danger that could potentially threaten our kids. Just watch the evening news… child abductions, child abuse, all kinds of accidents, outbreaks of contagious diseases, and even murder. The reality of it all can be so overwhelming! We can easily find ourselves in the grip of fear. Fear that can take us beyond common sense and put us into a tail spin of extreme overprotection. Several years ago, while at a church women’s retreat, I learned a tremendous lesson. One of the women there shared about how we should not
The 2003 remake of the movie Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan has been a family favorite for several years now. The movie begins with the typical crazy morning rush to get the family out the door and off to school and work. As the mom is dropping off her teenage daughter at school, she calls out the window after her, “Make good choices!” The daughter sighs and rolls her eyes as she is walking towards the building. After we had seen this movie for the first time, I would often say this phrase to my girls