Yesterday I talked about my "ideals" for my children. And I talked about the flaming arrows that society sends our way to thwart our efforts (cool, I used thwart in a sentence!) But sometimes in spite of our best efforts, our diligent prayers, our teaching, lecturing, guiding, etc. Your children can go ways contrary to everything we dreamed of...
All 7 of my children were brought up going to church...regularly. Some now have fallen out of the habit. There are all kinds of excuses, working, late night on Saturday, didn't want to go alone, etc. I know...I've been there. But they are just excuses. Also, give back to the Lord a portion of what he has given to you.
They are all expected to work and contribute to their own upkeep. In other words, if you live on your own, pay your bills. Get a job, work, keep the job, budget your time and money. Some struggle with this. The 3 still at home have chores they are expected to do every single day. We've got 3 dogs and 4 chickens...they depend on us for survival. We've got garden/yard work, pool cleaning, laundry, kitchen chores, garbage etc. (And if anyone objects to the kids doing chores and being held accountable...we are trying to raise a bunch of kids who can take care of themselves and be a blessing to others.)
They know what we expect from them morally. No living with a person of the opposite sex. Guard your eyes, ears, etc. Don't bring your bad language, lazy habits, or whatever into our home. They have all been brought up in Christian homes, act like it.
If you are in college...GO. Keep up your grades, make this most of this opportunity. Many don't have this and desperately want it. Don't throw it away. I've told them, If Greg can work full time, be responsible for a large family, volunteer at church, work at home, take Master's Classes and make A's...then whats the excuse if you "only" go to college.
I have 1 son who has in the past totally and completely broken my heart and my trust in him. He allowed a perversion to enter his life and he has paid for it. (So have the rest of us) When your babies are little and you dedicate them to the Lord, your intentions are great and honorable. But you can't run their lives. You can love them, cry for them, pray for them, and be embarrassed for the circumstances and situations they find themselves in. But the bottom line is...he is my son, I love him dearly, I pray for him daily. Thats all we can do.
Friday, June 18, 2010
5 comments:
Welcome to the farm ~ we are a blended family with 7 children (3 are married), 4 grandsons, 5 dogs, 3 rabbits, and 15 chickens living on 3 acres in Georgia. I love crafting, sewing, cooking & canning, recipes of all kinds, reading, playing with my little buddies, family time, travel, pinterest and most of all the Lord.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good blog! People sometimes say what a good job I've done when talking about one kid or the other. I often say "they have made wise decisions" because I know that with the same "raising" they got--they could have chosen another direction. PTL when they go God's way.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you don't know whether to slap them or
ReplyDeletehug them (or both!!!) Y'all are SO out of step with America, I can't believe you would raise 7 non freeloading leaches on society...... THANK YOU!!!!
Hi, Donna W. how are A & J? Guess J graduated, how bout A? We miss you here in GA! My Donna, can you pass this on to her? Me
Thanks for this. I have a blog written but not posted about my sruggle with works righteousness and how we want to raise the kids but we know there will come a day when the kids choose for themselves. What a hard thing, this parenthood! It is an encouragement to me to hear even the best of parents say that there is not a formula that guarantees success...
ReplyDeleteMany of our children will experience a brief period of trying to find their own way, but when raised properly in a Christian home we can turn to our Father's promises, Ephesians 6:2-3 and Proverbs 22:6, of grace and mercy.
ReplyDeleteWhen raised by a fool children will reap the consequences, so shall they when raised by a godly person. Trouble is, even our training is no guarantee of roads they will take. But we still have the promise.
So many times you and I have talked about this, you praying for mine and me praying for yours.
Hold on tight my dear fried, the ride may be long but the promise is true.
Thanks for this post. It is very encouraging. We too are raising our children with the same "ideals" as you but only the Lord knows the path they will take. All we can do is pray, which is a lot!!
ReplyDelete