Tag Archives: Parenting

Making the Most of Every Day of the Week

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Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 NIV1

A couple of days ago I found something I wrote for Mother’s Day a number of years ago. In it, I had likened my motherhood experience to the days of a single workweek—because that is how fast the years had seemed to fly by. On Monday, I was changing diapers, fixing bottles, and praying for a good night’s sleep. By Wednesday, I was helping sound out words, drilling multiplication facts, and attending school events. At the time of my writing, I found myself on Friday evening.

I wrote about each of my children and how they had grown over the years. I mentioned my oldest daughter’s upcoming marriage. My youngest daughter was in the thick of high school activities. And my son was about to graduate from high school and go off to college.

I ended my essay with my climbing into bed on Friday night and resting my hand on the massive shoulders of the man I had laid next to for nearly a quarter of a century. I praised God for His grace upon our family up until that point. And I mentioned that Saturday was coming. Although I knew not what it would bring, I was confident that God would lead us through the coming day in the same manner He had led us through the previous ones.

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The Ultimate No and the Greater Yes

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“When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.”  Matthew 13:48 ESV1

Read Matthew 13:47-52

When I was parenting my children, I made a practice of saying yes whenever possible no matter how much sacrifice or inconvenience saying yes might require. I did this for one reason—so that when I had to say no, it meant something. I believe Jesus does the same thing; He says yes way more than He says no. But when He says no it is for a very important reason.

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A Little Change and Much Change

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Jesus said to [Peter], … “Go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to [the collectors of the two-drachma tax] for Me and for yourself.” Matthew 17:26b & 27b ESV1

Read Matthew 17:24-27

My favorite motion pictures are those which are based on true events. Because they deal with real people overcoming genuinely insurmountable challenges, these movies inspire me. They give me the confidence to believe that if these ordinary people with extraordinary character can prevail in such difficult circumstances, maybe I, too, can make a difference in the situations which I face.

Often these films conclude with photos of the actual people on whose lives these stories are based. Some directors are better than others at choosing actors who authentically represent the physical characteristics of those they are portraying. But what about films depicting the events surrounding Jesus’ earthly ministry? Almost every such movie I have ever seen characterizes Jesus’ twelve closest disciples as older men—some balding, others with salt and pepper hair and beards, and still others with ample waistlines. We don’t have any photographs to make comparisons, but I don’t believe The Twelve looked like that at all!

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We’ve Got a Problem

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For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die,’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ Matthew 15:4-6a ESV1

Read Matthew 15:1-9 & Mark 7:1-13

We’ve got a problem in the church, at least in the United States of America. Wives are lonely, and children are being neglected so husbands and fathers can hold leadership positions. Children are running unsupervised through church buildings several nights a week so their mothers can practice with bands which must perform at three services each weekend. Young mothers are living in exhausted frustration because they have no help and no mentors. Retired people are squandering their time in coffee clutches and meaningless activity only to feel utterly useless. Seniors are forsaken, wasting away in nursing homes. The list goes on.

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Rules, Rules, Rules

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He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 ESV1

Read Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28 & Luke 6:1-5

During the raising of our children, my husband and I were blessed with some excellent parenting resources. From one of those sources, we gleaned the valuable advice: Rules without relationship equals rebellion. That truth, paired with other wisdom and the help of God Almighty, allowed us to develop a home with high standards bathed in grace and love to which our children responded beautifully. It is too bad the Pharisees of old weren’t able to discover such life-giving truths from the resources available to them, the Law and the Prophets. Instead, they exhausted themselves making up new rules, trying to enforce those requirements, and attempting to punish anyone who broke those man-made laws.

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