Next week we're getting back into 24/7 Family stuff and I will reflect then.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 3
Today we had 2 inspiring guest speakers. So, I'm not going to post a reflection this week.
Next week we're getting back into 24/7 Family stuff and I will reflect then.
Next week we're getting back into 24/7 Family stuff and I will reflect then.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Another wonderful class that was convicting, inspiring and challenging!
The classes are always so full of amazing principles and truths. I will highlight what spoke to me yesterday and at the end I will give a little recap of my notes that you can glean from!
What is my family about right now? What are our values? What are our priorities? Every year in a wonderful church family group or in books I’ve read I’ve been challenged to write down some family goals and values and my husband and I talk and whereas the conversation is great, we don’t really settle on anything and another year goes by! I was convicted in class that the time is now. Chelsea shared the Cameron family values:
1. Love God
2. Family First
3. Work Hard
4. Tell the Truth
5. Be Kind
I thought, let’s start there! Rather than make excuses, try to reinvent the wheel and waste another year, let’s just adopt those values as well, and as our kids grow a bit we can talk as a family and perhaps tweak some things to be more specific to our family.
Love God – that’s pretty self explanatory! Put God at the head of the family, know God, know His Word, love God.
Family First – Family comes above all else – sports, homework, work, friends… family comes first. My best words, my best attitude, my best energy, my best everything goes to my family first. It’s about focusing on the family relationships first.
Work Hard – at everything! Work hard at family relationships. Work hard at school, chores, job…
Tell The Truth – Truth is key, it’s freedom. It’s important to call things as they really are.
Be Kind – again, self explanatory!
Seems simple right? But to have these written on a wall, to discuss them with my children and let them memorize them, could transform our family. Where there are fights we can go over of values and commitment to each other and ask, “are you telling the truth? Are you being kind?”
A snipit of my notes:
There is nothing more painful than family pain. How true that is. It’s amazing how those closest to us have the most power to bless us and hurt us.
Family pain comes from sin.
1. First we question the clear statements of God
2. Then we distort what God said
3. Lastly we deny the statements of God
Like in the garden in Genesis, “Did God say we cannot eat this fruit or we will die?” Then, “the fruit does look pretty good for eating, what’s wrong?” Lastly, “We will not die if we eat it.” And we all know how that story ends!
Authority
God has established authority in every relationship in our lives.
Authority in the family is:
God>Dad>Mom>Kids
This is the way in which God blesses a family. Our kids will not fall under our authority if we are not under God’s authority and our husband’s authority.
The purpose of authority is for me to see and chose wisdom. It’s not domineering, it’s a protection.
Consistent, loving authority is needed in a home for secure, joyful children
Tying Heart Strings
Fellowship between parent and child is most important. We need to tie strings from our hearts to theirs of mutual love and respect.
- enjoy them
- cause them to enjoy you
- give them time, priority, laugh, touch…
- give them your smile!
You can’t be a better mother than you are a smiler!
WHEW! That’s it for now!
The classes are always so full of amazing principles and truths. I will highlight what spoke to me yesterday and at the end I will give a little recap of my notes that you can glean from!
What is my family about right now? What are our values? What are our priorities? Every year in a wonderful church family group or in books I’ve read I’ve been challenged to write down some family goals and values and my husband and I talk and whereas the conversation is great, we don’t really settle on anything and another year goes by! I was convicted in class that the time is now. Chelsea shared the Cameron family values:
1. Love God
2. Family First
3. Work Hard
4. Tell the Truth
5. Be Kind
I thought, let’s start there! Rather than make excuses, try to reinvent the wheel and waste another year, let’s just adopt those values as well, and as our kids grow a bit we can talk as a family and perhaps tweak some things to be more specific to our family.
Love God – that’s pretty self explanatory! Put God at the head of the family, know God, know His Word, love God.
Family First – Family comes above all else – sports, homework, work, friends… family comes first. My best words, my best attitude, my best energy, my best everything goes to my family first. It’s about focusing on the family relationships first.
Work Hard – at everything! Work hard at family relationships. Work hard at school, chores, job…
Tell The Truth – Truth is key, it’s freedom. It’s important to call things as they really are.
Be Kind – again, self explanatory!
Seems simple right? But to have these written on a wall, to discuss them with my children and let them memorize them, could transform our family. Where there are fights we can go over of values and commitment to each other and ask, “are you telling the truth? Are you being kind?”
A snipit of my notes:
There is nothing more painful than family pain. How true that is. It’s amazing how those closest to us have the most power to bless us and hurt us.
Family pain comes from sin.
1. First we question the clear statements of God
2. Then we distort what God said
3. Lastly we deny the statements of God
Like in the garden in Genesis, “Did God say we cannot eat this fruit or we will die?” Then, “the fruit does look pretty good for eating, what’s wrong?” Lastly, “We will not die if we eat it.” And we all know how that story ends!
Authority
God has established authority in every relationship in our lives.
Authority in the family is:
God>Dad>Mom>Kids
This is the way in which God blesses a family. Our kids will not fall under our authority if we are not under God’s authority and our husband’s authority.
The purpose of authority is for me to see and chose wisdom. It’s not domineering, it’s a protection.
Consistent, loving authority is needed in a home for secure, joyful children
Tying Heart Strings
Fellowship between parent and child is most important. We need to tie strings from our hearts to theirs of mutual love and respect.
- enjoy them
- cause them to enjoy you
- give them time, priority, laugh, touch…
- give them your smile!
You can’t be a better mother than you are a smiler!
WHEW! That’s it for now!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Day One
Last year a friend of mine asked me to attend a parenting class with her called, "Shepherding a Child's Heart." I had heard of a book by the same title, had read a few chapters, and knew that it wasn't really for me, so I told my friend that I wasn't really interested. Her friend, Chelsea Cameron, was teaching the class and I was invited repeatedly. The day before the class started, my friend asked me once again to be supportive of her friend, Chelsea, and go to the first class and I agreed . What I didn't expect was to sob for 2 hours as Chelsea spoke to a room of about 250 women. I had no idea how parched my soul was, how dry my faith was, or how desperate my situation with my children had become. After that first class, I only missed one class because a vacation was unavoidable! When the class ended in April I feared that I would slip back into my old ways. By the end of Summer I felt like an alcoholic that had fallen off the wagon and needed to go back to rehab! Well today rehab began once again and this time I didn't cry. I am not at the same place that I was a year ago and I"m grateful for that. I am a work in progress and God isn't finished with me yet. I have learned a lot and I have a lot to learn! I'm excited to share a small snipit of what grabbed my heart today.
Matthew 7:24-27
"If everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
That rocked me today. I've been fighting for a long time knowing what I'm supposed to do, but refusing to do it. I know the truth, I know what God commands, but I'm lazy and disobedient and I hate it. Hearing these words today and the complete passage struck me that sometimes I am a foolish mom who is building my kids upon the sand - and spending a Summer at the beach, I know how shifty sand is! I know that I need more self control, I know that I need more kindness, yet I fall time and time again. It's foolish. I know that the only solid foundation for a life, a home and a family is upon the Rock of Jesus Christ. Everything else will fail. I must get back to a place where I listen to "these words of mine," the Words of God, and put them into practice as I raise my children. God has called me to a phenominal responsibility of shaping the lives of 3 little people and if I am raising them in my lack of self control, my anger and my frustrations, then I am setting them up to fail. But if I am raising them based on the truths found in the Bible, receiving God's grace daily as I am only human!, and teaching them to have a heart that follows hard after Jesus, then I know their foundation will be solid and the future storms of their lives will not overcome them, but they will walk through them with Christ.
Matthew 7:24-27
"If everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
That rocked me today. I've been fighting for a long time knowing what I'm supposed to do, but refusing to do it. I know the truth, I know what God commands, but I'm lazy and disobedient and I hate it. Hearing these words today and the complete passage struck me that sometimes I am a foolish mom who is building my kids upon the sand - and spending a Summer at the beach, I know how shifty sand is! I know that I need more self control, I know that I need more kindness, yet I fall time and time again. It's foolish. I know that the only solid foundation for a life, a home and a family is upon the Rock of Jesus Christ. Everything else will fail. I must get back to a place where I listen to "these words of mine," the Words of God, and put them into practice as I raise my children. God has called me to a phenominal responsibility of shaping the lives of 3 little people and if I am raising them in my lack of self control, my anger and my frustrations, then I am setting them up to fail. But if I am raising them based on the truths found in the Bible, receiving God's grace daily as I am only human!, and teaching them to have a heart that follows hard after Jesus, then I know their foundation will be solid and the future storms of their lives will not overcome them, but they will walk through them with Christ.
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