Restoration and Renewal

Day 160: Isaiah 56-61

God is at a distance from the Israelites because of their behavior and disobedience to Him, but God also promises them that they will be redeemed. When Jesus comes, they will be restored. The Israelites will be close to him again because of God's great love.

This past month has been crazy. My children have been dealing with broken arms and allergic reactions. Parenting has been challenging for various reasons. My job has been extremely stressful. We have friends suffering with major illness. Yet, through all this craziness of life, God is there. He is our strength and deliverer. He is our protector. And in the end, he will win. He will restore us, and we will all be made whole.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Restore our souls.

Renew our spirits.

Make us whole again.

Being Affirmed through Scripture

Day 137: Proverbs 13-16

I have said before, and I'll say it again: Parenting is hard work. And as parents, I'm sure we've all wondered whether we are doing the right thing by our children. Especially when it comes to discipline. Well, I read this verse tonight, and it reminded me that disciplining a child isn't mean or evil but instead it is because you care about them. Proverbs 13:24 says, "Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them." Look at that last part: "Those who love their children care enough to discipline them."

Typically, when I read scripture I try to look at everything within its proper context so that I understand it correctly and don't interpret something wrong. But today, I'm just glad to read that verse. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel happy. It affirms me as a parent. And sometimes when I read the Bible, that's what I want--to be affirmed. There's so much out there that makes you feel bad about yourself, and so it's nice to feel like you're doing the right thing sometimes.

Being affirmed is important to humans. I'm not sure if it's a human thing, or if it's the way that God made us to be, but when you read scripture and feel good about yourself, well, that's a good thing. The main thing we have to consider, though, is not to get sucked into the prideful part of self-confidence or affirmation. It's easy to become prideful when we feel we are doing right, but God doesn't want us to be that way. It's an interesting balance.

Thank you, God, for showing me that there is a point to parenting--that discipline shows love. This discovery shows me how much you love me, too. It's a nice parallel.

Hard Day of Parenting

Day 129: Psalm 120-125

It's been a long day. Peyton is sick (he has a fever, he has a bad cough, and he just vomited all over the place), and Elizabeth is being difficult. Sometimes parenting can be so hard. I often wonder how to be the best parent I can, to teach my children how to do the right thing and how to become more like Jesus. I wish there was a manual on this stuff because it sure isn't easy. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. With as important as this responsibility is and how one of God's commands was "to be fruitful and multiple," I'm surprised there isn't more in here on parenting. I sure could use some godly advice!

Elizabeth and the Ten Plagues

After reading about the ten plagues. I had an idea of an activity to do with Elizabeth. So when I got home from work last night, Elizabeth and I sat down at the table, got out markers, glue, magazines, and scissors, and we went to work. First, I read her the story of each plague. Then, we went to work creating a posterboard of the ten plagues. Here is what she made.

We couldn't find magazine pictures of frogs, gnats, flies, locusts, or hail, so we just drew them ourselves. Note that I'm going to have to go back and change where I wrote "Boils" on #7. That's supposed to say "Hail." As you can tell, she did a great job drawing boils in #6!

I had my computer on the table with us and whenever we couldn't find something in the magazines, I searched for a picture of the item on the internet. Elizabeth said to me, "Mommy, you have A LOT of pictures on your computer. You have pictures of EVERYTHING!" It was really cute.

Some of the plagues stories scared Elizabeth (and me, too). But we talked about that--about why might God choose to kill firstborn children or livestock or fish. While we didn't always have answers, it helps to talk about it and to discuss the topic instead of pretend that it is just normal. We also talked about Pharaoh's choices and how had he made better choices or obeyed God earlier, then he and his people would not have suffered like they did. It's about obedience. Obeying God and humbling ourselves.

Overall, we had a great time doing this together. I like how what I am reading in the Bible is permeating other areas of my life. I'm also thinking and reflecting on what I read and what I write many times during the day.

What will your children do?

Day 7: Genesis 25-28

This evening has been a frustrating one for me as a parent. I've constantly had to discipline one of my children due to her disobedience, whining, and stubbornness. She will not do what she is told and thinks that she knows more than me about what she needs. She has been sent to her room at least twice and has been threatened with punishment, including spankings, too many times to count. I'm about to lose my temper.

So, I took a shower to cool off.

Now I'm m reading the passage for the day. One of the first things I read about is Isaac telling Abimelech that Rebekah (Isaac's wife) is his sister. Does this story sound familiar? Several years earlier, Isaac's father Abraham does the same thing with his wife Rebekah. For the sake of argument, let's assume that Isaac knew about Abraham's actions (it just seems too coincidental not to, righkt?). Years later, Isaac does the same thing with his own wife. Isaac had learned from his father, and in this case, it's not a good thing. Isaac made the same mistake that his father Abraham did--and it could have cost him his wife...and his life!! Children learn from the actions of their parents.

And then in chapter 27, Rebekah encourages Jacob to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. She's not a very good example to her son either. It's no surprise that years later Jacob suffers a great deal when the favoritism he shows to his son Joseph is not taken well by his other sons.

Yikes! I don't want to be reminded of this on an evening when I've had enough crying and whining and disobeying for a week!! But I don't want my daughter to behave the same way I did tonight. I want to teach her patience and love above all else. But if I'm going to teach her this, it would help if my actions showed the same. I really do want to pass on to my children good things--things that God sees as good and valuable. What a reminder!