Titus 2:4 states, "....so that you can teach what is good 4 to young women. Be a positive example, showing them what it is to love their husbands and children," (The Voice)
We talked about loving our husbands in our previous blog post-- today we will be discussing loving our children.
I think the biggest thing for me is: I LOVE my children. Without a doubt. No strings attached.
However.
It all goes back to 1 Corinthians 13.
I don't show them the appropriate LOVE all of the time.
Love is Patient.
This is the kicker right here. I have about zero patience most of the time when it comes to dealing with my children. The second they start acting up, I feel like I start losing my temper. And I dislike this so much about myself. Love is supposed to be patient- and most of the time, I'm just this ranting, screaming lunatic-- instead of a patient, kind Momma.
I know I want Jesus to have patience with me. If He didn't, He would probably be ready to kick me to the curb by now. So why do I expect God Almighty to be patient with me, but I can't exercise anything close to that for my children?
God- fix my spirit. Please help me to stop sweating the small things. Help me to be patient with them as you are patient with me. Help me to love like You Jesus.
L. R. Knost stated, "When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it's our job to share our calm, not join in their chaos."
I'm going to print that off and post it everywhere so I can see it and remember it every single day. I need to share HIS calm.. HIS peace... and quit joining in the chaos. My yelling never fixes the situation- it only makes for more stress and a less peace environment.
Love is Kind.
One thing God has been dealing with lately is how I speak to my children.
As sad as it sounds, I have been guilty of saying things like: "You're getting on my nerves," "You are driving me insane!!!", and "You are annoying me!" It makes me sick to my stomach when I say those words out loud-- God has been convicting me over and over again because of the words I choose to speak to my children.
"The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice."
"Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they become." (Brooke Hampton)
What we speak to our children becomes their inner voice.....
What would the inner voice of our child be at this point in their lives?
It breaks my heart to think my children's voice would be "I get on my mom's nerves" "I'm annoying."
Love is kind-- I need to be kind to my children. It is so easy to speak whatever to our children because we think A) they probably don't understand most of it and B) they won't be allowed to retaliate back.
But that doesn't mean they don't deserve our respect all the same.
Love Doesn't Boast, Brag. It is not Arrogant.
"I just sat down."
"I do so much for you guys, help me out."
As a Mother, I felt like all I did was brag about what I'd done around the house. Guys, I already got you drinks. Guys, I made you dinner, eat it. Guys, I already took you outside. Guys... I, I, I, I, I!
Why did I have to be a Mother that fed in to my emotions-- if I was upset, aggravated, or stressed.... I seemed to take it out on my children-- and that wasn't fair to them. They didn't deserve that. They deserved a Mother that was loving (correcting, yes, but not miserable.)
Love is Not Rude.
I feel like I am rude to my children at times. I roll my eyes at them. And if God has convicted me for rolling my eyes and constantly nagging my husband... then that conviction should be applied to my children as well. Just because they are younger doesn't mean they don't deserve kindness and their Momma to be polite to them.
Love is Not Easily Angered.
Well, that one broke my heart even more because some days-- I get angry just waking up. And I hate that about myself. Some days I wake up in a rough mood. Some days I wake up and I'm instantly annoyed-- and quite frankly, my babies don't deserve that.
"If another can easily anger you, it is because you are off balance with yourself."
And how true is this?
When I'm peace with myself-- I'm a better Mother.
When I'm stressed-- I'm a worse Mother because I let my emotions get the best of me.
Fill Your Cup.
"Remember to take care of yourself. You can't pour from an empty cup."
I think this is the issue for many mothers-- at least I know it is for me.
I don't do a great job at taking care of myself and I surely don't try and make my mental and emotional health a priority at times.
I'll rush 2 minute showers. I won't leave the home without my children for days at a time. I won't do the things I enjoy. I won't heal my soul from a long day.
Another great analogy I read is:
"Your job is to fill your own cup so it overflows. Then you can serve others, joyfully, from your saucer." [Lisa Nichols]
Are we filling our cups every morning or are we continually running on empty?
My Morning Routine.
Because of the miserable person I was becoming-- I realized I needed a change in my life.
God showed me that I needed to start my morning off with HIM so I could fill my cup with the good things-- the things I needed as a stay at home Mother of three young children: love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, a humble spirit, goodness, gentleness.
If He filled my cup with that, it would overflow on to my saucer and I could fill those around me with the same things.
How we start our morning has a great effect on how the rest of our day goes. If we fill it with rushing, anger, bitterness... our day may very well be full of that. If we fill it with love, joy, peace, worship... our day may very well be full of that.
God, please help me to fill my heart with Your love, Your peace, Your goodness, Your gentleness every single morning so I can treat my children the same way! I want to be so full of the fruit of the spirit that it spills over in to my parenting. Help me to respect my children and treat them with patience, kindness, humbleness, and gentleness.
How we speak to our children-- how we treat our children-- it becomes their inner voice.
What would the inner voice of our children speak today?
We talked about loving our husbands in our previous blog post-- today we will be discussing loving our children.
I think the biggest thing for me is: I LOVE my children. Without a doubt. No strings attached.
However.
It all goes back to 1 Corinthians 13.
I don't show them the appropriate LOVE all of the time.
Love is Patient.
This is the kicker right here. I have about zero patience most of the time when it comes to dealing with my children. The second they start acting up, I feel like I start losing my temper. And I dislike this so much about myself. Love is supposed to be patient- and most of the time, I'm just this ranting, screaming lunatic-- instead of a patient, kind Momma.
I know I want Jesus to have patience with me. If He didn't, He would probably be ready to kick me to the curb by now. So why do I expect God Almighty to be patient with me, but I can't exercise anything close to that for my children?
God- fix my spirit. Please help me to stop sweating the small things. Help me to be patient with them as you are patient with me. Help me to love like You Jesus.
L. R. Knost stated, "When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it's our job to share our calm, not join in their chaos."
I'm going to print that off and post it everywhere so I can see it and remember it every single day. I need to share HIS calm.. HIS peace... and quit joining in the chaos. My yelling never fixes the situation- it only makes for more stress and a less peace environment.
Love is Kind.
One thing God has been dealing with lately is how I speak to my children.
As sad as it sounds, I have been guilty of saying things like: "You're getting on my nerves," "You are driving me insane!!!", and "You are annoying me!" It makes me sick to my stomach when I say those words out loud-- God has been convicting me over and over again because of the words I choose to speak to my children.
"The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice."
"Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they become." (Brooke Hampton)
What we speak to our children becomes their inner voice.....
What would the inner voice of our child be at this point in their lives?
It breaks my heart to think my children's voice would be "I get on my mom's nerves" "I'm annoying."
Love is kind-- I need to be kind to my children. It is so easy to speak whatever to our children because we think A) they probably don't understand most of it and B) they won't be allowed to retaliate back.
But that doesn't mean they don't deserve our respect all the same.
Love Doesn't Boast, Brag. It is not Arrogant.
"I just sat down."
"I do so much for you guys, help me out."
As a Mother, I felt like all I did was brag about what I'd done around the house. Guys, I already got you drinks. Guys, I made you dinner, eat it. Guys, I already took you outside. Guys... I, I, I, I, I!
Why did I have to be a Mother that fed in to my emotions-- if I was upset, aggravated, or stressed.... I seemed to take it out on my children-- and that wasn't fair to them. They didn't deserve that. They deserved a Mother that was loving (correcting, yes, but not miserable.)
Love is Not Rude.
I feel like I am rude to my children at times. I roll my eyes at them. And if God has convicted me for rolling my eyes and constantly nagging my husband... then that conviction should be applied to my children as well. Just because they are younger doesn't mean they don't deserve kindness and their Momma to be polite to them.
Love is Not Easily Angered.
Well, that one broke my heart even more because some days-- I get angry just waking up. And I hate that about myself. Some days I wake up in a rough mood. Some days I wake up and I'm instantly annoyed-- and quite frankly, my babies don't deserve that.
"If another can easily anger you, it is because you are off balance with yourself."
And how true is this?
When I'm peace with myself-- I'm a better Mother.
When I'm stressed-- I'm a worse Mother because I let my emotions get the best of me.
Fill Your Cup.
"Remember to take care of yourself. You can't pour from an empty cup."
I think this is the issue for many mothers-- at least I know it is for me.
I don't do a great job at taking care of myself and I surely don't try and make my mental and emotional health a priority at times.
I'll rush 2 minute showers. I won't leave the home without my children for days at a time. I won't do the things I enjoy. I won't heal my soul from a long day.
Another great analogy I read is:
"Your job is to fill your own cup so it overflows. Then you can serve others, joyfully, from your saucer." [Lisa Nichols]
Are we filling our cups every morning or are we continually running on empty?
My Morning Routine.
Because of the miserable person I was becoming-- I realized I needed a change in my life.
God showed me that I needed to start my morning off with HIM so I could fill my cup with the good things-- the things I needed as a stay at home Mother of three young children: love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, a humble spirit, goodness, gentleness.
If He filled my cup with that, it would overflow on to my saucer and I could fill those around me with the same things.
How we start our morning has a great effect on how the rest of our day goes. If we fill it with rushing, anger, bitterness... our day may very well be full of that. If we fill it with love, joy, peace, worship... our day may very well be full of that.
God, please help me to fill my heart with Your love, Your peace, Your goodness, Your gentleness every single morning so I can treat my children the same way! I want to be so full of the fruit of the spirit that it spills over in to my parenting. Help me to respect my children and treat them with patience, kindness, humbleness, and gentleness.
How we speak to our children-- how we treat our children-- it becomes their inner voice.
What would the inner voice of our children speak today?
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