Growing up I thought my mother was a total nag. Oh, it drove me CRAZY!! And of course, I said, "when I'm a parent, I will NEVER nag my kids, NEVER". Well, as a parent, I have concluded that I was a totally disobedient child, and my mother's response to my disobedience was nagging (I love my mom dearly, and for the record, I regret being so disrespectful, inconsiderate, lazy, hard-headed, and disobedient.)
So, I will start off our morning character talk about gentleness with a confession that mommy struggles to do what I'm telling them to do. I will remind them as I do every week, no matter which character trait we talk about, we can't do these things on our own. We all need to ask God to help us, develop us, and grow these fruit of the Spirit in our hearts!
Our scripture of the week is Proverbs 15:1 - A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
As I was getting ready for bed last night, I was thinking the coming week and about my quiet time this morning and what I would look at. The Holy Spirit heavily reminded me of Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21. Basically, no matter if my kids obey or honor me, I am still told to do what these verses say. Here they are:
Ephesians 6:4 (AMP) - Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger (do not exasperate them to resentment), but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.
Colossians 3:21 (AMP) - Fathers do not provoke and irritate, or fret your children (do not be hard on them or harass them), lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. (Do not break their spirit).
YIKES folks, I don't know about the other parents out there, but for me, these verses sting. They are basically telling me to get out of my flesh and not to parent out of my own irritation/frustration, but gently and tenderly training my kiddos.
This week, it is my goal to do just that! I hope you have a terrific week!!
Dina
No comments:
Post a Comment