SMILE IT IS FRIDAY!

With all our talk of disciple, here is a little clip that is hilarious! If it were just that simple we would not mind going through that embarrassment once!
To play just click twice on the arrow!

Keep those questions coming

Question time

We begun our discussion on discipline and I know many of us have questions. I thought for next couple of days if you have a question on discipline would you let me know.
I will search out answers for you and post them here on Monday.
So if you ever wondered about:
How many warnings can I give before I follow through?
What about when my husband says or disciplines different than I would?
What if my child talks back during disciple or even fights the discipline?
How do I discipline when we are in a public place?
Does the volume of my voice make a difference?

And I know there are many more...so let me know. Just e-mail me at girlschat@gmail.com
Janet

A child's heart

Last night we discussed many aspects of raising a child. The joy of making memories with them. How wonderful it is to take an ordinary day and make it extraordinary for our family...it's like we can make a snapshot for them to carry the rest of their lives. Some ideas that where tossed out were; Getting ice cream in your pajamas, boardgames by candlelight, hide-and-seek in the dark and just "watching" God's spectacular lighting show on a pillow on the floor! Great ideas that I hope we all can put to use.
We also discussed how hurried and fast paced our lives are... we must make a concentrated effort to slow down and be still. This doesn't just happen...we must deliberately plan to teach them to "be still" It is a great gift to slow down and linger...to just play or chat or have tea. It is when we slow down that we learn and savour God...meditate on His creation and Word. That is also a great time to teach our children about God.
Proverbs 31 teaches us about a model woman:
"She opens her mouth with wisdom and her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. He children rise up and call her blessed" Prov. 31:26-28
Can there be a greater reward here on earth than to be called "Blessed"? We are told that her words are wise, always pointing to Christ. If we are to model this woman we too must have wise words that point to Christ. Taking every opportunity to teach our children about the Lord takes diligence and perseverance. When we discipline we must not correct just conduct but we must expose the heart so that God can change the heart. God is concerned with the heart – the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). We can only do that as we point them towards Christ.

Here are some scriptures that we can use as we discipline the "heart"

Anger: Proverbs 14:17 A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated.
Matthew 5:21-22 You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!
James 1:19-20 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Harsh words to family: Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Proverbs 18:13 He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame
Ephesians 4:32a Be kind and compassionate to one another.

A complainer: Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.

Selfishness: Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Materialistic: 1 Timothy 6:6-7 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out"
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness: be content with such things as you have.
Lying: Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him; A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one who sows discord among his brothers and sisters.

There are many more to find. Maybe this week as you see your child wrestling with a sin issue, look on a concordance and do a word search to find all that God has to say about that. You can search modesty (if it is a clothing issue), disrespect or taking God's name and using it is everyday language. God's word has so much to say, we just need to listen to Him...That is my prayer for all of us this week.

3 John 4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. "

What is in their heart?

As we have started to look at the blessing of loving children, we have to understand that to love them we must know what is in their heart. When they are young, it is easier to "read" our children. For a 2-10 year old they wear their emotions on their sleeves. They tend to ask question and give much detail. As they get older that seems to get more and more difficult. I remember those middle-school years with Jessica and often meeting her in the hall way, holding her with my two arms and saying "I know the REAL Jessica is in there...would you come out?" Figuring out our pre-teens and teenagers is a full time process but one we can meet lovingly, tenderly and if humor helps that's great also!
I was listening to John Piper's Desiring God Conference this weekend on the computer. Mentioned in a Q&A session were a list of questions to ask your child to draw their heart out...get you to see inside their heart. I thought these were wonderful so I am passing them on for those who have pre-teenagers and teenagers. Remember our greatest opportunity to raise up disciples of Christ is to begin early to point them to His word and His Son. These questions provide such opportunities...

How are your devotions?
What is God teaching you?
In your own words, what is the gospel?
Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
Are you more aware of my encouragement or my criticism?
What’s daddy (mommy)most passionate about?
Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
Are you aware of my love for you?
Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
Do you have any observations for me?
How am I doing as a dad (mom)?
How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
Does my relationship with mom (dad) make you excited to be married?
(On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother (father) and increase their appreciation and love for her (him).)

Some of these seem hard to ask...So we must begin by asking ourselves...are we modeling the life of a woman in love with her husband and with her God? What do they see in us that they would desire in themselves as adults? What areas must we change? Do we have a devotion time we can share with them? Are we letting them know the power of God's word to change us?
These are some of the things we will continue to talk about.

Naples Girls see you tonight!

"The Blessing of loving Children"

I love the title of this chapter...it does not say "the blessing of having children" but it says of "loving" children. And I think this title goes beyond just the birthing process...it implies a "relationship" with a child. It also implies that because it is a relationship it will have many stages and be an on-going relationship.
Most of us have very different birthing stories...some of us laboured for hours and other just a couple! Some of us where alert and awake and some of us wish we weren't! But in the end when that precious little baby was handed to us...there was an instant, never-to-be-broken bond. Those early years were filled with laughter, wonderful delight as we discovered much about the personality of that child. But there were also sleepless nights, cries that we could not understand, sleepless nights, eating problems and did I say sleepless nights?
But as each day passed we began to see this little baby reflect traits that were unique. The crooked smile, the intense stare, the laughter, the cry...I remember I could identify Jessica's cry in a nursery full of babies! I could be in the next room and know it was her cry! This wonderful gift of intimacy with our children must be nurtured and protected first in infancy and later as they become adults we still must be purposeful and nurturing in our relationship with them as adults.
Carolyn exhorts us on loving children with a tender love. It is the same love we are directed towards as we love our husbands "phileo" But as she speaks of it this time she gives us a warning...
"We must not allow our warm affection to degenerate into indulgence. To indulge our children means to allow them to use, do or have what they want to the detriment of their character. Do we give in to our three-year-old's demand at the grocery store? Do we supply our eight-year-old with whatever toy or gadget is the latest fad? Or do we allow our teenager to watch movies that undermine Biblical values? IN OUR EFFORT TO ENJOY OUR CHILDREN, WE MUST NEVER BECOME TOLERANT OF SINFUL BEHAVIOR OR LENIENT TOWARD WORLDLY COMPROMISE"
It is natural for us to want our children to like us....but we must remember that mothering is not always likable but it is always to protect, encourage and point our children towards Christ.
Our faith in God and our submission to His word becomes the greatest tool God can use to bring salvation to our children. The greatest joy and purpose of mothering has to be to make disciples of our children.
Andrew Murray puts it this way... "The natural love of a parent's heart made the child a beautiful one in his mother's eyes, but FAITH saw more than nature could...each child is a being created in God's image with the faint light of divine glory shinning from it..." Our greatest impact and legacy is to raise Christ followers.
The next few days we will chat about our greatest calling as mothers is to raise our children in the "Admonition of the Lord"...how can we do that? With God all things are possible!

NAPLES GIRLS...we meet tomorrow night and I have a surprise for you! Come on time so you can meet her!