Train Their Heart

"Above all else guard your HEART for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

From a very early age, we have to begin speaking to the heart of our children. From our heart flows everything, whether good or bad. While they are still in the womb we should be reading Scripture to them, singing praise songs to God and speaking of the wonderful things that God has done.

I loved that they pointed out that teaching our children a Biblical worldview begins in our marriages. The way we live as husband and wife before our children shows them what we really believe. It also shows them how we view Christ and the church, as that is what marriage is a picture of. Our actions teach them more than our words. 

We also must die to ourselves and teach them to do the same. Christ calls us to die to our own way and to live in light of the cross. The Bible must be our first go to so that we can train them in what God says, not just what we think. Read and pray Scripture over your kids so they will have it in their hearts.

Training a child's heart is so difficult, as we know how evil our own hearts are. Pray for strength and guidance to do this well and trust that God will do the rest in bringing them to salvation. 

Pray for Your Kids

"The PRAYER of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Prayer is a necessary part of the Christian life. Prayer is communicating with God. Without prayer we are relying on ourselves for everything, when we should be relying on God. 

When we pray, both for and with our kids, we are teaching them reliance on God. We show the that we need God and teach them that they also need God. We need to be intentional in our prayers. I really needed to hear this as I have gotten very lax lately in praying intentionally for my children. I pray for their salvation, but often neglect other things that are also part of a life with Christ. There are so many things I need to add to pray for them regularly. I use to do this and really need to get back to it. 

We also need to pray without ceasing. The Lord is growing me in this and I am so thankful, but I have a long way to go. I must teach my children that we can do nothing apart from God which is what we teach as we pray continuously. 

Prayer is very personal and we must teach them to be mindful of who they pray with outside of the family as prayer connects people in a very special way. 

We must pray and teach our kids to pray. It is so important!

Admit When You Are Wrong

At MOMStogther this month, we had 2 ladies and one of each of their kids come and talk to us about raising Godly ladies and gentlemen, sharing their top 10 points from Scripture. I want to share what I learned from them, starting with their 10th verse and point.

"The bows of the warrior are broken but those who STUMBLE are armed with strength." 1 Samuel 2:4

If we want to raise Godly children we must admit when we are wrong to them. There is only one perfect parent and that is GOD! If we cannot admit when we are wrong we put ourselves in place of God saying, even silently, that our standard is the standard.

I cannot tell you how hard this is! Anyone who is human knows it is challenging to admit when we are wrong to anyone, especially children. But as Kim said on Friday, The best gift we can give our kids is to not be a perfect mom. This makes them depend on the only perfect God. It shows them that it is OK to fail and then we point them back to God and the cross of Christ when they do. God grows us in our failure. If we never fail, then what is our need for God? Praise the Lord He is gracious and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so we can go to Him and seek His help when we do fail. We must teach this to our children.

Admit when you are wrong and show your kids how to seek forgiveness not only from God but others as well.

Taking the Mornings Back

Last semester was insane. Between pregnancy, Jim in class every day, me in class 2 days a week, holidays and vacation, I seriously lost self-discipline. This is not something I am great at to begin with, and so it takes very little for me to slip into a very lazy lifestyle with no discipline and little planning. I just do whatever is easiest at the time.

Newsflash: This does NOT work!

This is particularly true when you have kids. Jim and I were very much "fly by the seat of our pants" during our pre-children days, but with each child I am learning more that it is no accident that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control (or as I have to tell myself, self-discipline). It is not natural at all to be disciplined so as to do things in an orderly manner that is best for others. It is completely natural to do what you want to do when you want to do it with no regard to anyone else. As Christians we are called to die to ourselves and live for Christ, which takes discipline.

So to start this first full week of the new year Jim and I decided we would get up every morning about 6 Sunday through Friday with our older 2 and do individual Bible reading and journaling for about 30 minutes to start the day. (We're working on getting the kids up to that long, but you get the idea.) We want to take back the chaos that had become mornings and turn it into a time to focus first on the Lord, seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness to start the day. This has been a blessing. Adjusting has been a little difficult, but honestly I am no more tired than when I was able to sleep until 8 or 9 and I have been much more productive in my days. God truly blesses our discipline in seeking Him first.

This does not mean days have gone perfectly. Most mornings I want to turn off the alarm and say forget it. But by God's amazing grace we will grow in this as a family and learn to seek God individually as well as together.

Swimming in the Snow

Tonight when I went to water aerobics it was snowing again. This is the second week in a row it has been actively snowing while I was in the water. I am so thankful the seminary has an indoor heated pool so that even when it is -4 degrees outside (as it was earlier this week) we can still use it and get exercise. It is need swimming in the snow since usually it is not our first thought to go swimming when it's cold outside. It's the little things in life that catch your attention. I hope you get a chance to swim in the snow!

The In-Between by Jeff Goins

I received a free copy of this book to review from Story Cartel. I thought the book was beautiful and well written as a whole. The stories of life are a great reminder that not every will live the same life and that our lives may not turn out the way we expect, but that may be better for us. "So perhaps the fact that life doesn't always turn out the way we'd hoped is a blessing, not a curse - if we have eyes to see it." This was my favorite quote and conclusion of the book.
I will say I feel the title was a little deceptive for me. The beginning held to the title, but honestly this is a memoir of what he sees as important events in his life. The end sort of wrapped it up, but still did not really conclude what I would have expected. Also, as a follower of Christ, I found his lack of conviction personally frustrating. I would rather have him say exactly what he believes than to tip-toe around "delicate" subjects because he might offend someone.
None of my dislikes would keep me from recommending this book as it has some great points and wonderful stories in it. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars on a rating scale.

Goals for 2014

I cannot believe it is already 2014! This past year went by so quickly and it seems like I barely made a dent in last years goals, but really God did so much with me. This year I did not prepare as much for the new year as I did last year, but in some respects things have not changed. I have tweaked my goals to match where God has lead me to at this point in my life, but much is similar. So here it goes for 2014.

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily
• Memorize verses with the kids 
• Memorize Proverbs 31:10-31 and Romans 1 (I hope to add more to it, but this is where I want to start)

Marriage

• Go out for a date once a month
• Go on a night away once this year
• Read 3 books together this year
• Discuss plan weekly on Sunday afternoon

Kids

• Spend 30 minutes of one on one time with each child every week
• Go to playgroup each Tuesday
• Take kids to Science Center or Zoo at least once a month
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule
• Keep up with my calendar
• Being fully present when with my family 

Ministry

• Continue to host Women's Prayer once a month
• Have at least 4 Childbirth Conversation classes this year
• Start Childbirth Conversation blog

Personal

• Read a book a month aside from Class material
• Journal 5 days a week
• Write (books) 3 days a week
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing and research publishing options
• Complete Childbirth Conversation book
• Plan for next novel and write in November
• Finish Rosetta Stone Russian level 1 and begin Level 2
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group
• Blog 3 days a week

Health

• Go to water aerobics once a week
• Maintain weight until birth
• Lose weight after giving birth

I have left off things that I would really like to accomplish, however this is where life is right now and I am trying to be realistic, especially with our family growing again. My desire is to grow in Christ likeness and be consistent in my life. May this help me lean on God that much more! 

What are your goals for 2014? May it be a blessed year for you!