As4Me

Sharing My Efforts to Apply God's Word to My Life as Mom. Wisdom Is the Principal Thing.

by Leave a Comment

Daddy on TDY

I thought of all you pilot wives whose husbands are gone for a few weeks and then come home. Lee has been gone on temporary duty. By the end of last week, I could tell they were ready to see their dad. Was it some new phase that David was going through where he really didn’t want to be cooperative in ANYTHING? I think he got in more trouble that last week than he got in the whole month. They were so happy to see their Daddy at the airport, but we hadn’t even gotten out of the car when they were testing their boundaries again.

David said, “I don’t want to read our Bible story tonight.” Emotional me, I was ready to suggest we just put the kids to bed and skip tonight. But Lee got the book out and sat next to David. Wouldn’t you know David got interested and wanted to read another story? I’m thankful Lee didn’t listen to me!

I’ve seen this happen in other times too. I just know there’s going to be a scene if I don’t do what the expressed desire is of one of the children, but if (and when) I choose to do what is right and follow through, I find out that they are more than willing to submit to what I have said. Like Bethel starting to cry when I need to put her down, and then happily finding something to do when she’s actually down. Or David asking for another cookie and saying “Okay” when I just knew he was going to be emotional if I told him no. Or Bethel wanting a particular cup that has a leak and being tempted to give it to her anyway because she is refusing to eat or drink. Sometimes I just need to be brave enough to do what I think is best, regardless of what I think the response is going to be. Sometimes the response surprises me, and I’m glad I made the decision I did. I wonder how many times I lose the opportunity to make the right choices in situations like these.

I am praying for wisdom. I don’t want to react to the bad parenting that I see sometimes around me and go to the other extreme. I need a lot of wisdom.

by Leave a Comment

Some success!

After our long time spent on the potty, David woke up from his nap and after a few more tears, sat on the potty and tried. Nothing came out, but I was happy because he obeyed. (I never asked him to poop; only to try.) The next morning he told me he wanted to try to go poop on the toilet. (I had told him as long as he was choosing not to try to go poop, he would sit on the toilet after each meal, regardless of whether he tried or went. But if he chose to try on his own, he could go only one time each day when he actually had to go poop.)

So far we’ve had three successful tries. This morning he was in the bathroom by himself for a long time, and I wondered whether he needed to go, but he hadn’t called me. I think he was working up the courage (he had unrolled an entire roll of TP in the meantime, and I’m sure fear of mom kept him from calling too). When I went in, I asked if he needed to go, and he said yes.

We have had one “accident” when he went twice in one day. I put him in the bathtub and told him he needed to wash himself. This was traumatic. Through tears, he asked why I wouldn’t clean him up. I asked, “Who put the poop in your underwear?” With a straight face, he said “Bethel did it.” HA!

I think we’re on the right track.

by Leave a Comment

Truth and Practice

One of the dangers of writing or teaching on parenting is that sometimes is is easy to give the impression that I’ve got my life in control. Now the truth is, most of what I share is a huge challenge for me. That’s why I’m sharing it! The truth of God’s Word is often simple. Putting it into practice is the tough part.

But someday I want to look back and say, “See what God did? See what He taught me all those years? See how His grace was evident in my weakness and frailty?”

And years down the road I’d like to be able to point my children to the Bible and say, “This is the secret of a life well-lived. Here is where you’ll find what you need.” I want them to believe me.

This is why the challenge of actually obeying the Bible is the biggest one. It’s not enough to tell our children about God’s Word. We have to live it before they will believe us. And may God give us all the humility to beg him for mercy and grace to be the parents He wants us to be.

by Leave a Comment

Milestones

Although I still lean on the nurture part of the nurture v. nature debate, I have given the nature part of intelligence a little more credence after having children.

It’s not about how much stimulation you can give your kids. It’s not about being a perfect parent. Some things are hard wired.

For example, I’ve been counting with my two-year-old since he was born. Two ice-cubes, five buttons, 1 cookie in two parts, 10 ladybugs that get eaten, only to mysteriously appear with their “friends” at the end of the book. We play a number puzzle from Lakeshore that consists of strips of wood with numbers at the bottom. When the numbers are lined up correctly, you get a picture.

He doesn’t have one-to-one correspondence yet. (He will count things twice, count several things once, and simply doesn’t have the concept.
He cannot count by rote beyond 3. He gets mixed up after that.
He recognizes one or two, but gets mixed up on three or four object. I haven’t bothered to evaluate anything more than that.
He doesn’t recognize numerals all that consistently.

And do you know what? He’s right on track! In some ways, he’s quite average; in others he’s a little ahead of the game (I suspect because we work on these things).

So although it is good to stimulate your child’s brain, it is not good to get carried away, and believe that if we worked with them enough, they would end up super-brilliant. It seems that they’ll learn when they learn, given the opportunity. Keep challenging. Keep stimulating. But don’t get discouraged or prideful when your child doesn’t exceed your expectations.

Currently Reading

Follow me on Twitter

Follow

Get the latest posts delivered to your mailbox: