Look at these two sweet girls. This was taken a few years ago. It looks like the cover of a postcard, right? No one would ever suspect that there are times, on rare occasions, when we are near WWIII in our home.
Although I have liberty to write about anything I choose here (thanks, Bill), I write about parenting more often than not. Perhaps it is because parenting is the one subject for which I am asked the most questions. Perhaps it is because it is the season of life for which I find myself immersed, right now. Either way, I know it is a subject that none of us truly ever perfect, but I’ll share a few thoughts here on what I am learning along the way.
- The response, “Because I said so….” is NOT effective parenting. This just doesn’t cut it, parents. I know. I know. This is what our parents always said and their parents before them. However, if our primary job is to teach our kids, what are we teaching them with that phrase? Nothing? Or maybe that one day they will be able to boss around their kids, but until then “just do as I say.”? Be honest with your children and just tell them why you said what you said. It alleviates the rebellion that some kids feel when they aren’t effective explained the why’s and how’s. Continue reading »
We have all heard the saying, “Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill.” But, do we effectively integrate that into our parenting styles?
Today’s post is a simple litmus test on your parenting. I have discovered than in my busiest times of life, I must frequently evaluate my priorities. Raising children is a season of life, a brief moment of time that will quickly end, and I don’t want to look back on the coulda, shoulda, woulda’s of child-rearing. Here are some questions I ask myself that may also be helpful to you:
My mother was killed very unexpectedly when I was only a year old. It was a Sunday morning and she loaded me into our car to head for church, as she had many mornings prior. She sang and played piano, so I am sure we were headed out early. She drove down our long driveway and into the street. She proceeded less than a mile down our street and BAM! — a drunk teenage driver hit our car, knocking us into a tree. She was killed instantly.
In a day and time when many are taught from a very young age to be selfish, stingy, and demand that we “get ours”(or throw a fit trying), I thought it relevant to go back to the simple principle of generosity. 
Oh, the sweet innocence of a newborn! There is nothing quite so special as holding a cuddly, soft newborn as they gaze up at you with wonder and amazement - their eyes so wide, their futures so bright. When is it, along the way, that we forget that innocence of the children that God has entrusted us with? 
Single parents, married parents, soon-to-be parents, listen up. I think, pray, and really consider what I will share with you from week to week. This one, you must hear! I want to dedicate this post to some good old-fashioned kick-in-the-pants parenting advice.