God created you

God created - Gen 1:1 b God created the heavens and the earth

Maybe it welled up as a result of watching my children tear into presents with tremendous fervor or from the excitement of the child within me but I couldn’t get into my long anticipated package fast enough.  As I waited for its arrival, I channeled my children’s stealth like abilities to search out their hidden presents by strategically stalking the front door in order to be nearby when it arrived.  Once it did, my spirit overflowed with giddiness lifting.  I probably looked like an octopus as my arms feverishly worked to remove the item from the box.  The excitement could barely be contained as visions of special crafts for my children, gifts for family and décor for my home crossed my mind.  Yet, this mountain top high soon descended into a valley of disappointment when I got an error code immediately upon set-up, so I tried a few things until frustrated set in and then I got the idea to consult the instruction manual included by its creator.  After just a few steps more the machine worked!  If only I had consulted the guide sooner instead of trying to figure it out on my own, maybe I would have saved myself quite a bit of time, emotion and energy.  It is true of life in other aspects as well.  Let’s explore this further in the creation story.

We have a manual

In this portion of the first verse, God says He created.  It’s the opener to the entire Bible.  It is the statement that let us know that as the designer, the creator, He knows the intimate details and had a vision in mind of how things were intended to work, what purpose we and our children are meant to fulfill.  For this reason, we should see the bible as a manual for our lives and our parenting as the one place we can consult for all our questions.  2 Tim 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking for correcting for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”.  Our mommy styles vary just as the personalities of each of our children but God’s desire for our good is the same (Jer 29:11)

God’s guidance for parenting

Here are a few things God tells us about parenting. 

·       Be an example.  Ex 20:12 Honor your father and your mother.  Consider that lesson is learned directly by our guidance for them to be obedient and respectful in their dealings with us but it is also taught indirectly in the way they see us act this out in our interactions with our own parents or parent figures.  Titus 2:2-3, 7-8 speaks to how we are to conduct ourselves and teach our children on how to conduct themselves.

·       Discipline them.  Pro 29:17.  Each child will respond differently to various forms of discipline and each error dictates various types of discipline.  Whatever approach the problem calls for do it out of love and not out of frustration or anger but do it so that their course can be righted.

·       Teach scripture to your child.  Deut 6:6-7.  Read the word of your children and explain its meanings.  Repeat it and introduce it in ways they can follow.  Many offer resources of ways to this.  The purpose of Seeds of Motherhood is to offer you one such resource so you and your child can grow together from the same scripture.

·       Speak life over your child.  Pro 18:21 The words we choose to speak over them plants seed that will either grow a fruitful harvest pleasing to the earth or a bitter harvest.  Pro 31:26 “She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue”. 

·       Train them up the way they should go (Pro 22:6).  Each of our children have unique personalities and an unique assignment.  To know the direction they should be trained and the direction we should parent them, we must consistently approach God for guidance.  He created them so He knows the specifics of their makeup and design as it relates to their ultimate calling so let us strive to diligently seek Him in prayer for His guidance in their lives as well as our own.  He can direct you in your time with Him to which scriptures to teach them in the current season of their lives.  He can show you how to use scripture and present it to them so they will learn to walk the path God has for them without being overwhelmed or discouraged by it.

I could go on so search the scripture and as you read it ask the Lord to reveal to you what He is saying to you about your life journey, your mom role and your child.  Study the word and stand on its truths as you go and see God reveal more about the tools you have at your disposable to live out a fruitful, fearless life.               

Sow the seed:  God’s book has all the answers we need to parent the way He desires.

Nurture the seed: All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17