Parenting can be one of the biggest blessing in life and something many of us have thought about and hoped for most of our life. Some moments can be so precious that we weep with joy. Sometimes parenting can be highly frustrating and you wonder why you ever decided to have kids! Come on, Mom and Dad. You know what I am talking about, right?
Most of us have thought about having our own families someday; cuddling that infant in our arms, teaching them endless things, taking them to Disneyland, watching them graduate from high school and then going to college. Nice dreams, but did they come to reality for you?
You might have a home that is pleasant, where everyone shows respect and demonstrates love in a healthy way, OR you may be struggling with kids who are argumentative, maybe they are struggling with an illness, sibling rivalry, or refusal to do those never-ending chores. The atmosphere in your home may be tense, filled with loud voices and slamming doors. Your older kids may be hanging out with “the wrong crowd”, or just ignoring you and staying in their cluttered room. What happened to that dream of a happy family? What are you supposed to do to turn things around or is it even possible at this stage?
If there has been a divorce in the family, the tension runs higher and the children act out the devastation they feel inside. More slamming of doors and more isolation. Everything seems to be a debate and nothing seems to get resolved. “How can things begin to heal and change in our family?!”, you ask.
This Tuesday, on Chained No More Talk Radio, our guest is author, speaker, actress and mom, Wendy Speake. Her topic will be “Triggers: When Kids Do Wrong, We Can Still Do Right.” Wendy will talk about the patterns that can affect the atmosphere in the home, how kids use manipulation to get what they want, and how to change patterns, so your home is healthier and can thrive. Tune in Tuesday at 2-3pm at www.toginet.com to learn just what parents can do.
Parents, look at the following Scriptures with Mom/Dad eyes to see where our family stands at this moment and where you might focus to make it the home God would want it to be. Nobody is perfect, but we can sure strive to teach our children how to live well.
“The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal. 5:22
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Cor. 13:4-8
“Train a child in the way he/she should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” Prov. 22:6
Parents, another school year has begun. Now may be a good time to assess your family, using these Scriptures, and see where you can all work on to make it healthier, happier and a place you all love to be! Maybe take one of the concepts at a time for a week/month and all work on that one thing and then move onto the next concepts. Kids could make pictures of each concept to bring it to life and get involved. Be creative and make it fun and see what happens! After all, you’re the parent, right? Blessings on your family.