It's not always easy

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 7

Exodus 18:17-18

17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

 

LEARNING TO SAY "NO"

Moses was going to work every day as the sole judge over all the tribes of Israel. The number of people demanding his time was so great he worked from dawn until dusk without making a dent in the workload. His father-in-law, Jethro, saw this and immediately recognized a man who could not say "no" to requests for his time. He suggested Moses focus on only two things — representing the people before God, and handling the most difficult of the disputes. The rest of the work could be delegated to capable men he appointed. Moses listened, delegated, and found himself doing far more than he had ever done before, but in much less time. If this advice worked for Moses, will it not also work for us?

Appropriate boundaries are important for everyone in the family. As the parent, you have the responsibility to set limits for your children and for yourself.

 

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 6

Romans 8:38-39

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

HOPE IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST

The greatest gift you can give your kids is not the newest and best the world has to offer. It is the love of God through Jesus Christ. That is the gift that enables them to resist the creation's lures and live in the love of the Creator. Your kids are going to be bombarded with messages from the world, and those promises are extraordinarily difficult to resist. In fact, they are impossible to resist without the indwelling Spirit. Introduce your kids to the gift that keeps on giving — grace.

Do you pursue God with the same fervor with which you pursue the things of the world? Your kids are watching

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 5

Romans 8:24-25

24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

HOPE IN THE UNSEEN

As Christians, we know how the story is going to end. Yet, the hope into which we have been saved is unseen. What we can see is the world and its demands. We must keep our minds focused on the unseen, or the pressure to live for today's culture will swallow us up. The world demands our attention all the time, from every direction. The ever-present media (TV, magazines, newspapers, internet) distracts us from the unseen and lures us with the false hope of instant gratification. Fortunately, God provides a defense: "the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you" (Rom 8:11).

Demonstrate an eternal perspective for your kids. Talk about the messages the culture is sending and contrast them with the hope we have as followers of Christ. 

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 4

Ephesians 4:15

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

EMPATHY

"Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love." -- John Stott.

The essence of empathy is balancing truth and love. A rescuing parent leans heavily on love, but shies away from truth. A dictating parent leans heavily on truth, but mixes in little love. A counselor parent is able to express his love for the child no matter what they say or do, yet is strong enough to deliver appropriate consequences and to allow his child to struggle so that real learning takes place. It is a difficult balance, and our anxiety or anger often reveals where we fall on the continuum between rescuer and dictator. Is your love too soft, or your truth too hard?

Striking a balance between truth and love models our heavenly Father's relationship with us.

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 3

James 1:19-20

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK

When you are faced with disrespectful, disobedient, or rebellious behavior, it is natural to get angry. Unfortunately the natural response is least likely to uncover the heart issues that lie underneath the child's bad behavior. This is because the "anger of man" distracts us from a pursuit of righteousness. The anger of a parent confronted with a child's poor choice shifts the focus from the child's bad behavior to the parent's angry response.

These verses tell us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Listening carefully, speaking little, and helping your child explore the motives behind his behavior can lead to the sort of insight that points the child toward the righteousness of God. Replace anger with empathy, and see what happens.

Responding to disobedience with empathy rather than anger is difficult, but the reward is great.

Defining Success for Your Child

Like most parents, I parent with a goal – I want my child to be “successful”. More than likely, you do the same. What I failed to consider is that “success” can be measured by two totally different standards.

Raising kids in our culture highlights the problem. We are bombarded by messages from the world’s perspective and it’s hard not to get caught up in worshiping the creation instead of the Creator.
In the world’s eyes, success revolves around finding a good job, advancing in a career, finding an attractive spouse, having good-looking kids, and being recognized for achievement.

Unfortunately, though, most people define a “good” job as one that pays a lot of money. Career development involves an increase in power and authority. An attractive spouse and kids means a substantial investment in clothes, makeup, health clubs, and for some, even surgery. And, recognition becomes a search for fame.

When you boil it down, the world defines success by money, power, beauty, and fame!
God’s definition of success is so much different. Success in God’s eyes is defined in Matthew 20:26-28: “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”

There’s a huge difference between the world’s definition of success and God’s. Tim Kimmel sums it up well when he defines “true greatness” as a passionate love for God that demonstrates itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others.

In the end, we need to trust God for the plan He has for our kids. God’s perspective is so much greater than ours… and He has little concern for the things the world cherishes.

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 2

Romans 5:3-5

 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

DISCIPLINE, CHARACTER, and HOPE

When our children suffer, whether from their own bad choices or those of someone else, we want so badly to rescue them from the pain or to tell them how to avoid finding themselves in that predicament again. But, God has another plan — to perfect them through their trials. Character-building lessons are rarely learned from the triumphs of life. Rather, it is the trials in our lives that teach us how to persevere despite the pain. Taking trials away from our kids deprives them of the chance to grow, build character, and learn to hope in God.

The best character-building lessons are learned from trials. Don't inhibit your child's growth by rescuing them from or taking over difficult situations.

Daily Devotional- Parenting

Day 1

Proverbs 3:12

For the LORD corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

DISCIPLINE AND LOVE

As hard as it is to deliver a consequence to a child for a bad choice, the alternative can often be even worse. When I am tempted to forego discipline, I have to ask myself, "What is the most loving thing I can do for my child?" In almost every case, the answer is to give the child the consequence he has earned, so he can learn the lesson God has designed for him.

A good consequence, delivered with empathy, demonstrates love and respect for your child's freedom to choose and his ability to learn from the consequence of a bad decision. The author of Hebrews says it well: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).