Scripture
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
~Ephesians 6:4, NIV
Quote
You must catch your child doing good and jump on every opportunity for praise.
~Kathy Keller
Keller just keeps meddling: after spending two weeks on marriage, he has gone to parenting. I am like the young preacher who had no children. He preached a “How To” sermon on raising children–entitled ‘Ten Steps To Raising Children.” Then he had children of his own. He changed his message to “Ten Suggestions To Raising Children.” Those children became teenagers and he changed his message again, “Ten Things Not To Do When Raising Children.” Parenting is one of those things that looks easy from a distance but when it gets up close and personal, it is much harder than it seems. We live in a world where every thing is changing. When I was a kid it was not uncommon to see a child whipped in public but you don’t see that anymore. I’m not sure parents do that kind of thing anymore. My mother literally beat the hell out of me and I am thankful but that kind of thing is frowned on these days.
I set out to be a very strict parent and treated my older two like they were in the army but the more we had, the more slack I became. Holly didn’t get all the whipping she deserved: I was tired by the time she came along. I have a keen eye when it comes to spotting my children’s mistakes but I have always been terrible when it comes to praising them when they do good. A very bold woman confronted me when Holly was a teenager and into everything. She said to me, “I have noticed that you are quick to jump on Holly for her mistakes but I’ve never heard you praise her for anything.” Of course it irritated me that she had the gall to say such a thing to her pastor and I tried to dismiss the thought but I couldn’t. As bad as I hated to admit it, deep down I knew she was right. You will not believe the struggle that took place as a result. The truth is–I was horrible at praising my children. I do a little better with the grands but I still have a ways to go. It takes no effort to be negative but it takes time and energy to be positive. Most of us are just to lazy to do it.
I don’t watch news and I don’t watch debates but judging from Rick and Bubba’s comments this morning: President Trump may have been over confident which is all the more reason to pray for him. A lot is at stake and every believer needs to buckle down and pray for the president.
Sorry about being late again: I am behind but I’m going to try to get back in the groove.