Teaching Diligently: Through Delight (Relationship)

I have had the privilege to attend a 'parenting class' that Placerita Baptist has offered on Tuesday mornings.  Here is a sampling of what I have been learning...

 

1. Delight in your children – Titus 2:4
2. Model for your children God's love and acceptance
1. God's acceptance is unconditional – Rom 15:7; Eph 2:4-5
2. God's love is sacrificial – Rom 5:8; John 3:16
3. Spending time with your children
1. Jesus modeled spending time with His disciples – Mk 3:14; Jn 15:4
2. Relationships are built through time spent together
4. Your words are powerful – Eph 4:29
1. Listen to your children – Prov 18:13, 15
2. Talk with your children, not at them – Prov 15:4, 20:5; James 3:10
3. Praise them frequently – Prov 15:23, 25:11
5. Have fun with your children – Prov 17:22

 

So how does a mom begin to delight in her children?

• First, make sure you are in the Word and spending time in prayer. Mothering is hard work. Mothering according to biblical principles is even harder; you need the power of the Spirit to work against your sinful, selfish flesh. Don't try to go it alone; you will not be successful.
• Seek out an older, godly woman who can instruct you and encourage you.
• This is a battle. Fight against your flesh by praying for God's grace to absolutely delight in your children, regardless of your physical condition.
• Daily make the choice, by the power of God, to die to yourself for the purpose of loving your children. That tenderness and affection are feelings, but they follow our choice to choose to love them in this way.
• Develop a plan for dealing with your child in the areas you most frequently struggle. Look to the future and where you want to go with your kids. When you have a 1 year old, it's hard to think about your goal for that child as a preschooler, a grade school child, or a teenager. But just like anything in life, if we aim at nothing, we will reach it. We don't want to get to age 12 with our children before we start thinking about the impact we want to have on them as teenagers. Our influence on them at age 13, starts with what we do at 1 month old. As our children grow, we are developing habits of how we train, how we interact.

 

 

 

 

Outline used by permission from Barbara Scroggins' teaching on March 3, 2009