"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." ~Luke 6:45
However, we need to be in the Word, so that what is coming out of us is good rather than bad.
Do you feel like I do when you have not been in the Word and spent time with the Lord, that you are more irritable? Do you find yourself reacting to your son’s behavior in a negative way by yelling, or lashing out in anger? Do you find yourself letting them “get away” with something because you just are too tired to deal with it? I know that I have.
I think if you have a child with emotional and cognitive issues, you can get so exhausted or you just are at the end of your rope and nothing seems to work. At these times, may I suggest that you find more time to be in the Word, pray and tell the Lord how you feel, and ask Him to take control of the situation and give you the wisdom and strength to deal with it and get through it. I know the Lord will be with you, and He will guide you.
It is important that we spend time in the Word together with our sons, and when they do sin, that we take them back to the Word and teach them why it is wrong, and help the apply the scripture to their life. Even very little ones can understand.
There are many resources from Doorposts and another one by a fellow Mom I know that put together the “Childs Training Bible”. You can see it in an earlier post on my blog. http://3dreflections.blogspot.com/2011/03/parenting-resource.html
My pre-teen told me today “Mom, that is what teenagers do”. I quickly told him “No, that is not what a teenager who is following Christ does”. I gave him some examples of teenagers that he described and other teenagers who followed Christ. I will be looking to the Word on the topic we are dealing with to help him to understand what is right. Then I will pray that the Holy Spirit will water that seed and my son will understand and choose the right path.
Blessings to you dear sister in the Lord as you move along on your journey to raise up godly men!
Encouragement from Brooke
The most foundational thing we can ask God for in the lives of our sons is heart change. The Word says that what's in the heart eventually comes out. Bad stuff in the heart? Bad stuff comes out. Good stuff in the heart? Good stuff comes out.
I heard an illustration of this concept once from a pastor friend. He held up a Styrofoam cup with a little water inside and proceeded to ram his hand against the cup so that the water splattered everywhere. Then he asked this question:
"Why did water come out of the cup?"
So what do you think? Did the water come out of the cup because he rammed his hand up against it? Certainly a possible answer. But consider this: could it be that the water came out of the cup because there was water IN the cup?
Think about it … if the cup had been empty when he rammed it, nothing would have come out.
And so it is with our hearts. Life has a funny way of ramming up against us. People pull out in front of you when you're in a hurry. The neighbor's dog won't stop yapping through the night when all you need is a few hours of sleep. Your children pick the day after your favorite relative dies to be little horrors … somehow sensing that mom is frazzled.
Stuff happens.
We get hit. Probably every day. But our response to the hits comes from what's in our cup...or hearts. Bad stuff in the heart? Bad stuff comes out. Good stuff in the heart? Good stuff comes out.
Goal for Today:
1. Commit to praying the ten prayers in thon Honesty in “The Power of Forgiveness” chapter during day twenty.
2. Consider this? What comes out of your heart when you get hit? Our response matters to God and it matters to the people watching and learning from us along the way.
Honesty
May__________speak the truth, giving honest evidence, and not be a false witness uttering deceit (Proverbs 12:17).
May__________have nothing to do with a false charge and not put an innocent or honest person to death (Exodus 23:7).
May__________live such a good life among the pagans that, though they accuse him of doing wrong, they may see his good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us (1 Peter 2:12).
May__________repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all (Romans 12:17).
May__________'s conduct be holy and righteous and blameless toward other believers (1 Thessalonians 2:10).
We pray to God that__________may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that he may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed (2 Corinthians 13:7).
May__________be trustworthy with a little, so he can also be trusted with much (Luke 16:10).
May__________be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined (Titus 1:8).
May__________renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life in the present age (Titus 2:12).
May__________'s lips be free from deceit (Psalm 17:1).
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