The Choice for Parents

In the forums Amand44 and several others,expressed anger and disappointment at the lack of supervision that sees children roaming the streets. The same thing happens here in Australia. Some parents have forgotten that parenting is an active choice. Parents need to do more than just breed children and then let them do as they like. They need to parent their children and not be afraid of using discipline and corrective measures. Mostly what I believe children today need is time invested in them. Too often Mom and Dad are at work. Children come home to empty houses or are left … Continue reading →

What About Santa?

On Saturday we had sirens blaring as fire truck and police trundled down our street. No, not a disaster, it was Santa in the fire truck waving and throwing out sweets to the neighborhood children that flocked out to greet him. It happens every year in our neighborhood. What place does Santa have in the Christian’s Christmas? Does he have a place at all? In a recent newsletter about writing for children I saw an article about Britain and the new range of comics called Christmas Crackers. These comics feature Santa and snowmen integrated into the Nativity story. These were … Continue reading →

Dealing With Grief

Recently I overheard two women in the supermarket car park talking about the death of someone they knew. One said, ‘It happened so suddenly and that’s always harder to cope with.’ ‘Such a shock to the family. No one was prepared,’ the other woman agreed. Is it harder to cope with? I’d dispute that. Are we ever prepared for death? I thought about my own experience with the death of my parents. Yes, Dad’s death left us in shock. It also left me feeling guilty. I was the only home with him when it happened and I used to think … Continue reading →

Fathers and Sons- part 2

Yesterday we looked at Saul’s rashness and willful disobedience to God, but what of his son Jonathon? It would seem Jonathon inherited some of Saul’s rashness and dislike for sitting around idle. Keeping it secret from his father, Jonathon made up his mind to cross over and climb up to the Philistine garrison. Unlike his father, Jonathon acted in faith, trusting God to work for them, 1 Samuel 14:6. The way to the garrison was difficult but Jonathon was not fazed by the difficulties for he trusted God to help them. Jonathon acted but only so far, as he then … Continue reading →

Fathers and Sons – part 1

Does the son become like the father? When we look at some people in the bible we see that a godly parent does not necessarily translate to godly offspring. We only have to look at Eli and Samuel to see that. Both their sons abused their positions and did not follow God, see I Samuel 2:12-17 and 1 Samuel 8:1-5. The opposite can also be true, where a godly parent has a godly son. Take the case of Saul and Jonathon Saul’s problems started almost at the beginning of his reign. Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait … Continue reading →

Parenting God’s Way

‘I want my children to be happy. You can’t deprive them of everything or they’ll go the other way and rebel.’ Is this what you think? Is it how you deal with your children? This comment came out of an column by Ruth Ostrow. The comment made by a parent of her child’s friend, was used as an excuse for providing an unhealthy food for her child. Ruth Ostrow went onto say that Neer Korn, researcher of social trends, found many parents ‘have a guilt complex.’ The result is they try and make up for it by providing treats like … Continue reading →

Friend or parent – part 2

On Saturday when my daughter rang,as we were talking,I mentioned Kori’s blog , and the idea that you could not be best friend and parent to your child. ‘It needs to be a balance between the two,’ my daughter said, which I agree with. One of our favorite shows is ‘Gilmore Girls.’ I have bought and finished watching season 7 which has only just been released in Australia. It’s also one of my daughter’s favorites and for the same reason. We both loved the close relationship between Lorelei and Rory. Even so, there were some times I felt like getting … Continue reading →

Friend or Parent to Your Child?

Can you be a best friend to your child as well as a parent? I not only believe it can be done. I know firsthand it can happen. One or the other seemed to be the idea, when Kori raise this issue in a recent blog. But it can be both. For starters it depends on what you mean by ‘best friend’ To me ‘best friend’ is the person you enjoy spending time, the one you go and talk with, and talk things over with. For me throughout childhood and teenage years and even beyond that was my mother. That … Continue reading →

Laziness – part 2 – in parenting

In parenting – sometimes it’s easier in the short term, not to correct and discipline our children but turn a blind eye to wrong behavior. But it’s not helpful to be lazy in this area. By ignoring behavioral and disciplinary issues, it leads to bigger problems as the children grow up. Look at some notable examples in the bible – Eli’s sons and Samson. Contrast this with someone like Esther, who learned obedience at an early age from Mordecai, Esther 2.20. Though Mordecai was her uncle, he was in all senses her parent figure. Spoiling a child does not show … Continue reading →

Parents. . .Don’t Frustrate Your Children

In my last blog, I talked about the importance of my children understanding that their obedience isn’t required by me or my husband, but by God. What I mean by that is that the order of things was set up by God himself. . .not by mom or dad. I think most parents understand the psychology of requiring obedience, consequences, and consistency. All of our pop psychology books are filled with these ideas. Gosh, even the Super Nanny has the naughty chair–a consequence for misbehavior. If you have found yourself struggling to bring your child into obedience, I am going … Continue reading →