Bible Verse Friday #41

"My child, listen when your father corrects you.  Don't neglect your mother's instructions.  What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck". ~Proverbs 1:8-9

My NLT Life Application Study Bible Says the following:

Our actions speak louder than words.  This is especially true in the home.  Children learn values, morals, and priorities by observing how their parents act and react every day.  If parents exhibit a deep reverence for and dependence on God, the children will catch these attitudes.  Let them see your reverence for God. Teach them right living by giving worship an important place in your family life and by reading the Bible together.

Wow!?

Does that weigh as heavy on you as it does me?

"What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck".

That is a lot of pressure.

But I guess you can say it's the best kind of pressure.

It's the kind that motivates you.

As parents we are responsible for molding our children.

Last week I touched on discipline.

This week I'm focusing a bit more on our role as the parents.

Before I became a Mom I had an idea of what it would be like.

The reality of it is a little less froo froo than I imagined.

I wouldn't change it for a minute though.

Being a parent is a lot of work.

It can be stressful, exhausting, and trying.

So many people judge how you raise your kids and for some reason they have no problem verbalizing what you are doing wrong, despite the fact that they don't know you from Eve!

That being said, being a parent means molding your children into Godly people.

You must be strict in some aspects of their lives while still allowing room for their own personalities to emerge.

Since becoming a Mom, Bud & I have had many conversations about how we plan to handle certain situations when they arise.

There are oh so many situations we haven't discussed and can't plan for until they happen, but it's nice to try to get on the same page early on.

Do you and your spouse have talks like this?

If you are a single parent who do you seek counsel with, your own parents, friends, etc?

I realize so often that concepts that I thought I was set on are often pushed to the wayside in lieu of alternate concepts I opt for instead.

I catch myself working on myself more now that I have a little one.

I try to be more patient now.

More forgiving.

Less judgmental (whether or not a woman wants to breastfeed her almost 4 year old is her business)

I am more open to hearing how other people handle situations so that I can stow those ideas away for when nothing I seem to be doing works.

It is Bud & I's job to raise well-rounded, God-fearing/loving, honest, well mannered, patient, creative, etc....children.

I realize, upon reading this verse and feeling the weight of its words, that we can not do this alone.

We must put it in God's hands that he will mold US into the parents he wants us to be.

Only in giving him control of our children will we be of any use in their lives.

I hope you have a Blessed Friday!