This morning, baby (18 months) cried because Bethel picked up the book she had put down. She wanted the book back. I was faced immediately with the thought that I had to choose what lesson I wanted to teach. I could have dealt with screaming to get what she wants. I could have dealt with [...]
Filed under: Communication and Meaning, Getting Along
Today’s Wisdom Wednesday post is a guest post by Carrie Boyer, a friend of mine here in New Mexico. When she started sharing with me some of the things that God has been teaching her, I thought it might be a blessing for you to hear from her. Lately I’ve been struggling with making some [...]
Filed under: Military Life, Wisdom
Today I decided that the passages I am reading in First Samuel would be of interest to my son, and would be a good discussion opportunity. I could have read them out loud myself, but I decided it would be better to have a male voice reading it. (Lee already has a set plan for [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
One of the things Jay Younts says in his book Everyday Talk that has been a recurring thought is how much we teach when we’re not even talking to our children. When we talk to a friend on the phone about a problem, do we complain, judge motives, speak in anger, or do we react [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
This morning all three children were jumping onto our big beanbag from the stepstool. Laurel has recently learned how to jump, and happily falls into the bag while mom looks away and pretends not to be afraid. Her new skill has caused some tension, though. She’s slow, and it’s hard for the older children to [...]
Filed under: Getting Along
Sometimes when I find my introspection to be unedifying (read: I’m worrying), I have to renew my mind and get back to the basics. Here’s the path I took this morning: I started in Deuteronomy 6:4-7. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with [...]
Filed under: Introspection, Uncategorized
This afternoon David said “It’s not fair that Daddy has more airplane books than I do.” I smiled, and then was determined not to lecture, but instead to ask questions and keep the conversation going. So I asked why he thought it unfair. Not a brilliant question, because of course he didn’t know. Still, it [...]
Filed under: Wisdom
When we tell our children to do something, we want them to be respectful in how they answer. We’ve always allowed for disagreement (by asking permission either to do something else, or to continue what they were doing), but a disrespectful response is not acceptable. We’ve not, however, been consistent in what response we want, [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized
Lee grew up with garden tomatoes and has been encouraging a summer garden adventure, so for the last few weeks, we’ve been cultivating some tomato seedlings inside. The other day I came into the kitchen to inspect the plants, and discovered them all missing. Upon questioning, none of my children have admitted any responsibility. We [...]
Filed under: Lying
Everyday Talk by Jay Younts. (This is cross posted at SharperIron.) Because a wise man studies his speech (Prov. 15:28), parents and teachers of children would do well to consider Jay Younts’s book Everyday Talk, studying with him how to apply Deuteronomy 6:6-7 to their lives and talking about God’s Word “when you sit in [...]
Filed under: Book Reviews
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