The flashlight went on all by itself!

I am by no means a perfect parent. I will never claim to be. There are days I feel like an utter failure. There are days that I AM an utter failure. I don't have all the answers. The good thing is I do know where all the answers are... God has given us the Bible. The Bible is never changing. It has not changed since it was written thousands of years before us. God has not changed. Sadly, society...and even more sadly Christians say "well, that doesn't work for my child" or "that was good for back then, but times have changed. things are the same as they were once." or "This works better for us." We have all used an excuse at one time or another for why we raise our kids the way WE want to and not the WAY the LORD would have us to do it. God says that we are to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. There are several things I would like to share about child rearing that I have learned to take to heart over the last few years. I have not Mastered them-I probably never will, but I do try to put them into practice because my Lord requires MY Obedience to him. See, THAT is not an option either.

This post though, is one where I would like to share where I feel like something I WE have done as parents that is showing fruit now. We have been trying to make sure that we point everything we have or don't have in some cases, back to God's provisions for us. We have been telling our children how we ought to be thankful to God for everything. ESPECIALLY the small things that we don't think of. (Examples--toilet paper. something small and yet we are so thankful that we can buy toilet paper! Aren't you!? how about soap? i am sure glad God gives us enough money to buy soap.) See, Its easy to think of the "big" things to be thankful for--the food on the table at dinner time, the house we live in, a car, clothing, health. Not that any of these should be over looked, but how much time do we take to focus on those "small" things? (how about a fork, or socks, or a comb) We constantly here our kids say... "I wish we had....." (you can fill in the blank with almost anything someone else has.) usually the next statement from them is something like "We only  have 1 ______, and ALL the other kids have way more than we do" How do you combat this? My observation....other kids have ALOT more than our kids do in terms of STUFF. But that is all it is-STUFF. So when they say "I WISH.." we say "I am glad we have...., God has really blessed us by giving that to us."

We thought it may never sink in. But then the light started to shine! 2 nights ago we bought a small area rug for our living room. The kids thought it was cool; it was so fluffy and soft. Candice and Clayton were just walking back and forth on it talking about how lovely it was that we got this new rug. Candice said to Clayton "We sure are lucky that mom and dad got this for us." Clayton's reply was "It's nice that mom and dad bought it Candice, but God provided it for us. We should thank Him for it." and TOGETHER they bowed their heads and prayed (and it resonates in my head) "Dear Jesus, Thank you for this day. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for this nice rug that you let mom and dad buy. AMEN."

SOMETHING is sinking in. Something is changing in their hearts. Something prompted them to do that, and it wasn't mom or dad. It was a genuine change. A thankfulness in their hearts to the Provider and the Giver of STUFF. I know my kids aren't perfect. They have a LOOOONG way to go before I can say that they finally got it all down. But for now, I am thankful and resting in the peace Knowing that God's word does not change; it does not return void. And all that we tell them sits in their heads somewhere and the Holy Spirit draws it out of them. I am so thankful that my oldest 2 have received Christ as their personal Savior, and that we can see evidence of the Spirit working in their hearts! I pray they stay soft to His pricking and pruning!