I care about my children’s feelings.  I want them to feel respected and appreciated.   I want them to know that they are valuable and that they are more important to me than anything else.

My family comes first in my life.  They are a gift from God and I cherish every second with them.  I strive to live each day as if it was my last.

Tomorrow is not promised. 

I can’t worry about that.  There is no time to fret about the unknown.

I make sure that my little blessings know that they are desirable, precious, and important.  I remind them that they belong to God and that they are protected by His mighty hand.  I encourage them to seek God’s truths.

They are my jewels from God’s big treasure box.

I know that if I die in the morning I can rest in peace.  Because, my two jewels understand who Jesus is and so do I.  We find comfort in knowing that we belong to the Creator of the universe and that our real home is with Him in Heaven.

I don’t take lightly the calling on my life to create a heavenly home for my family.  A home where laughter reins, peace abounds, and grace unlocks shame.   

Truly there is no place like home.  We fail as a family and we get back up.  We sin and we forgive.  We get knocked down by fear and we get back up in faith.

Sometimes we are silent and other times we are loud.  There are times of peace and other times of chaos.  There is always a lesson to learn and a lesson to teach.

Wisdom lives in our home.   We teach knowledge and understanding to our children.  We praise obedient actions and we provide solutions for disobedience.  We know that we are going to make mistakes and we are o.k. with that.  Because it’s in our mistakes that we learn.

My children are learning to listen to their Dad’s instructions and follow my directions.  They miss the mark quite a bit.  But what do we expect.    Don’t we all?

We all fall short of the glory of God.  We have to be reminded who we are in Christ, and so do our children.  It’s our job to help them be overcomers.

When children feel better about themselves they do better in life.  So jump in the mud puddles when they do and get dirty in the sand with them.   Why shame them?  They are children after all.

What can our children teach us?

Slow down and watch the bugs go under the cracks, see the wind blow the leaves, hear the paper dance across the street, smile at the wind, laugh at the waves, catch a raindrop on your tongue, and hang out by the river with a stick and string in the river.

I’m learning that when I take the time to enjoy life with my kids there is more joy then sadness.   Anger in their hearts doesn’t stay around very long when I pay attention to them.   There is more laughter in our home when I’m the one making the jokes.

I’m constantly looking for ways to make school fun and cleaning a game.   Because if I’m not happy, no one else is.    I can control the outcome of our day by the way I present myself in the morning.

It never fails, the kids are grumpy if I’m grumpy. 

I have observed that the days that I’m empty and selfish, my kids act out more.   I have turned a heavenly home filled with the Holy Spirit into a home filled with bitterness and resentment.    I’m a sinner and I will fail.

I have a choice every day to make.   Will I serve with a joyful heart or will I focus on my selfish wants? 

It’s a battle to give my full self at times.  I struggle with depression.  Anxiety causes me to be too controlling, health issues zap my energy, and my sin nature gets its way.

And every time – God comes to my rescue.  He shows me that He will take over and fill our home with His love.  He doesn’t leave when mommy gets mad.  He comes and holds us together.   He brings us back to hugs, kisses, laughter, and silly songs.

If you had a bad day.  Don’t give up hope.  Kids act out.  We fail to keep a gentle tone.  We forget that we are the grownups and we throw a tantrum right in front of our kids.  We are messy and we will be messy.  It’s expected and it’s o.k.

God’s grace is sufficient in our messy parenting styles.  

I’m learning to trust God with my day to day childrearing issues.   When I go to Him in prayer and meditation He shows me new approaches and He directs me.  God is the perfect parent.  I can go to Him in the good times and the bad time.

The best thing we can do for our kids is to be fully present in person and spirit through the good days and the not so good days.

I believe that the best thing we can do for our children is to let them know we are there for them because we want to be. 

When my day here on earth is done – I want to be known as the one who cared about her children. 

My seven year old son said to me the other day, “Mommy I love you no matter what, even when you get angry.”

He can say this because, I love him no matter how grumpy and defiant he gets.

God loves us too, no matter what.    He is indeed the perfect parent.