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KIDS; NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Hey friends, how are you today? It has been raining since Sunday.  The Lord and I talked about that, this morning.  Of course, He already knew, but I thought I would just remind Him that it has been dark, gloomy, dreary and rainy since Sunday.  I said I would be most grateful for a sunny, 70° Tuesday, instead of a rainy, 42° one, but He said, “Look up, child”.  

‘still cloudy, Lord, but I will be thankful in spite of the clouds”

So, I did, and I said, ‘thank you, Lord for the rain. I will wear my boots instead of my opened toes heels and my umbrella and I’m sure it will be a good day. I will be thankful, it isn’t snowing.  What’s the weather like, in your neck of the woods?  

Did you know kids are a gift from God Almighty Himself? In spite of the circumstances surrounding their birth; all kids are a gift from God.  EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.THEM. They are His gifts to mankind.  They are uniquely created by Him and for Him. They are loved by Him. They are given to us to bring Him; and Him alone, glory. Children are one of the few gifts, given by the Lord to us, that comes with a guide.  It’s also one of the few gifts that comes with an expiration date. For some the strings are loosened earlier than others. But most must leave the nest.  

my babies

Psalm 127: 3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

The Lord has given us the privilege of being parents for almost twenty-one years now.  Why does that suddenly make me feel old? Ladies, it is a privilege to be called mommy.  Being a mom is one of the few roles that will draw us closer to the Lord. Do you know the Lord rewards obedience? At times, I am amazed at the goodness of our great God.  Obedience benefits me; it allows me a liberty in my testimony that would surely be non-existent without it.  Obedience grows me in my walk with the Lord.  And the Lord continues to give by blessing me, when I obey.  

Quite a few years ago, my husband suggested that we homeschool our kids.  That was more than twelves years ago, when homeschooling was just gaining traction.  Honestly, I did not want to homeschool.  The thought of taking responsibility for the education of our kids was absolutely frightening, although I was a teacher.  I wanted to know how long we would do this, but he said, we will take it one day at a time.  ‘One day at a time!’ What does that mean? I’ve told you before, I like to plan and have some semblance of control.   Are we talking kindergarten, first and second grade? Because that’s as far as my teaching experience went.

2018 Freshman ~ all packed and ready to go

  My biggest fear was that the girls would not go to college.  But the Lord has this thing that He does, I really don’t know how else to explain it. He takes that fear and that obedience, and He says, “look up, child”.  And I did. I told Him, “pretty please Father, don’t make our girls hate me; don’t make me dislike our girls” (24 hours/seven days a week can do that). My God did more than that though, He actually went a step further and gave us a relationship that still surprises me today.   These girls still talk to me almost every day even at college.  And then He went even further and gave to, not one, but both girls received academic scholarships, in the form of free tuition, to their college. To our great and mighty God be all the glory. He alone did this; so that His Name could be glorified.   Both girls are presently at home from college, thankfully, they attend the same college.   The Lord has had to continually remind me of these facts: 

Children come to us equipped with their sinful nature. It is OUR responsibility to show and tell them about the Lord. After all, we are still struggling with that nature ourselves, are we not?

Having children will constantly cause us to evaluate ourselves. (Please Lord, don’t make them be like me)

In the image of God, they were formed and for His glory. Although children are gifts from God, they are not ours to mold and shape into our image (mimi me, anyone?) 

Let us not confused the issue. Although we may love our pets; children are people, not pets. This should never be confused.  Eternity is at stake.  

Delight in your kids because they have very long memories, I can assure you, they forget nothing.  Be very careful what you say, and what you do.  Treat them well, because they have the tendency to remember the bad rather than the good.  I wonder where they got that from? 

Discipline has become almost a taboo word in today’s world.  But let me assure it is impossible to raise godly children without it. Don’t worry, I didn’t say it first. Here is what the Word of God has to say about that! Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.  We are not perfect. We are not going to be perfect parents.  There is enough grace from the Lord to go around. But our greatest responsibility as parents is to raise godly kids. That’s the objective of this role as parents.   Sin in a child is a heart issue, just like their parents. Treat it as such.  Make the Word of God the standard for raising godly children. Oxymoron? In my defense, you would be surprised at the number of people desiring ‘good’ kids without the Bible. Impossible task!

We made a discovery when disciplining the girls. They were more likely to respond favorably when the Word of God became the standard. Pleasing God is more important to them, than pleasing mom and dad.  As parents, this also helps us to avoid sweating the small stuff. If it’s not a sin, is it really that important? You decide! Have a blessed day.  What are some of your own parenting styles? 

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74 responses to “KIDS; NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART”

  8. Beautiful post! Very encouraging! Such sweet phots too! I need the reminder that my kids should want (and need) to please God (over me) even if they’re not a fan of the task at hand, such as when they’re asked to do chores, or schoolwork, etc..homeschooling is a different ballgame for sure, we love it but it’s been a process of trial and error and figuring out each child’s way of learning ❤️

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  10. Great post! You mention how having children will constantly cause us to evaluate ourselves and you are SO right about that. This has been a great lesson for me throughout my son’s life so far because I am constantly learning about myself and discovering what I would like to change! Thanks for your post!

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  11. Your girls are absolutely lovely! 🙂 God really does have this whole kid thing under control, huh? I worry, constantly, about whether or not I am doing a good enough job (please let it be at least good enough, Lord!), but over the years, I have learned that I have only so much “control” over how our children turn out. All we can do is show them to the best of our abilities the way to God and how to live the life He calls us to…the rest is in His hands. Thank you God for children…without them I would be a MUCH more immature person. I still have a long way to go, but they have helped me grow in so many ways I can’t even begin to list them all. God Bless you and your family!

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    • 😂❤️❤️ I know how you feel about the ‘good enough’. But believe me, as someone on the other side, we serve a faithful and gracious God. He takes our inabilities and our mistakes (because you know… we practice on the first born) and He remakes it into a thing of beauty. I don’t know how, but we will trust Him as He does.

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  12. Your daughters are beautiful and definitely take after their mama. Thank you for sharing your heart. As a new mom to be, I am honored that God would bless me and my husband to becoming a mom and dad to guide and nurture and to experience a love that is similar to His love for us as a father and children.

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  14. Thank you for bravely sharing this so more people can see and receive the greatest gift we can ever receive. Amen! to all Him be the glory.

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  15. Kids are such a gift. My little sidekick and 2 1/2 and he finds new ways to make me laugh and shake my head literally everyday. He will also become a big brother in less than a month. The thought of him being the “big brother” still blows my mind. Best wishes to you and your family.

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  17. Kids are such a blessing and your daughters are beautiful. Drawing closer to God while pointing our kids to God is so important in how we parent and how we discipline.

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  18. Your babies have to grown into beautiful, intelligent young women…you can be proud of them, Brenda! I’m grateful the Lord led our family down the home schooling path as well…it wasn’t perfect but it was the right choice for us.

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  21. Hey sis, We were just talking in response to.my.comment on another one of your post. You adviced me as a spanking new mom the importance of staying close to.God and digging into His Word. Love that I logged in toWordpress reader and saw your post and u went in detail.

    Wow so amazing u pushed through your fear and submitted to your husband’s homeschooling proposition and look at the myriad of ways God rewarded you and your girls. Really inspiring for me. Thanks so much for sharing. Pls do share ways in which u disciplined using Word.of God. Especially if u can remember when they were still tiny tots 😀

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    • That’s a good one. My best advice is really for you: don’t be frustrated when you discipline, 2. Always have a disciplinary plan; some children need a spanking (our child #1) but others don’t (our child #2) figure out what works and apply that. 3. If you threaten to discipline, see it through. Believe it not children enjoy security through structure. These a just a few; most importantly allow your kids to see you at the feet of Jesus

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      • Hmm am saving this advice. Thank u so much. I will probably understand better as little one gets older. Its harder when they can’t comprehend speech but they are so intelligent I know they understand the gist of what we are telling her and warning her. They can read our tone and body language. Prayer helps too right? That God give them a teachable heart and obedient spirit.

        I’m.also asking God for wisdom for applying this advice and the many counsel from His Word. God bless u so much sis and continue to increase ur wisdom. I’m guessing parenting gets more complex the older our kids get. So I’m definitely not complaining now and just enjoying her cute attempts to exercise her will 😀

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  22. The weather here has been gloomy, rainy, and chilly, (50’s). But yesterday we got more sunshine than predicted, and the sun is shining out now, though there are clouds. I remember all the times I prayed for sunshine, because it lifts the spirits, and the Lord provided it. There have been many times I prayed for a change in the weather, and it ended up much better than originally predicted. I am thankful for God’s mercy!

    A friend of mine homeschooled her twins, because they were getting teased at school because of their dyslexia. They did so well, and learned so much, their older sister, begged her mom to homeschool her. The daughter has a bachelor’s degree, and one of the twins has an associate’s degree. The public school had given up on the twins, but their mother and dad put considerable effort into doing everything they could. They followed their faith in God and the twins really benefited from that.

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  24. We had a rainy Mother’s Day but I love rain, just not storms. Cake and ice cream moved indoors, and my baby cardinals have flown their nest. Beautiful girls and sound advice, children won’t just be good without being taught of the Lord. Hope you had a great time.

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  25. Great post, Brenda. First, the weather: ours is about the same as yours. Rain and cold. Tomorrow we are supposed to have some sun, so I’m hoping for a nicer day.

    Your girls are beautiful! Your mention of homeschooling is always encouraging to me since I am finishing my first year of it and often worry I am ruining him! I also worry about college.

    When it comes to discipline I have been very lucky with fairly obedient children. When they aren’t time out for the younger one and removing privileges seem to work. For the oldest, who loves to play video games, we make him take a break from his games to help correct him. The youngest loses her cartoon privileges or goes to bed earlier. We’ve been lucky that more strict punishments haven’t been needed but they are still pretty young at 12 and 4.

    Also, before I forget, I want to apologize ahead of time if I accidentally call you Brittany at any point. I now follow two bloggers whose first name start with the letter “b” and I’m bound to accidentally mix up your names at some point, even though I know who is who! 😂

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    • Praise the Lord 🙂 Don’t worry; you aren’t ruining him, they girls thought so too, at the beginning when all their friends went to school. But then decided they had it best. God bless your journey, my friend. Don’t worry, I won’t be offended, my oldest daughter is named Brittany too 🙂 🙂

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  26. Brenda, I loved this – all of it! I was a single mom, a public school special ed teacher, and homeschooled my son (yeah, only the Lord could have worked that out).
    You gave me a chuckle on the “I” suggestion: yes, eternity is at stake. 😁

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  28. Reblogged this on Christian Mommas and commented:
    For mommas/parents homeschooling their children and those thinking about it, Brenda, the author of this article has some encouraging words and testimony for you. If God is leading you in this direction, don’t be afraid to go for it. God is your source and He knows what is best for your children. Trust Him!
    Thank God for the ability to homeschool in the United States. This is indisputably one of the top benefits of living in the United States. Enjoy this inspiring article!

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  29. Oh wow. This is timely for me. I started research on homeschooling. Thanks for showing us it is doable and the scholarship testimony is mind-blowing. God is good!

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  30. Awesome advice. Me and my fiance plan to have children this year. I’ve always believed that children are a blessing from God as well. I also want to homeschool my kids when I have them. I don’t agree with how the schools are being run nowadays. I was a teacher assistant and have some experience in the field. Thank you for your article. It was inspiring to read.

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  31. Brenda, I soooo commend you for listening to God and home schooling your beautiful girls. God knows best. It’s funny, my pastor told me like two months ago, that I had been asking God about home schooling my kids and that I’ve been looking for ways to do this….Idk what he heard but I had never had that thought…lol. Maybe something’s coming that I don’t know about. My parenting style has changed now that my kids are teenagers – It’s like God impresses on me to tell them about certain things and when they say things that are out of line, God speaks to me and tells me what to say to them or how I should correct them in that moment and as much as it hurts me to tell them, because I worry about my kids hating me. I have to tell them, whether they like it or not. Parenting is not easy and you definitely need God and his direction to do it.

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