No matter how this wisdom is acquired, from friends and family or through your own experiences, when you are able to apply it to your own life and situations, it is invaluable! Here are just a few nuggets that I have written down in my memoir (a brown spiralbrown notebook with the penciled-in title: "Kathy's Book of Gathered Wisdom.")
Children are an inheritance, not an inconvenience.
Give 9 lbs of praise for every 1 lb of correction.
Don't expect your children to be any more spiritual than you are.
Strong-willed children are the future Peters and Pauls.
Speak God's word to them even before they can understand God's word.
Whatever discipline you choose, be consistent with it.
God has a plan for your children. Seek Him and start training them for these things.
Children are born foolish, with lack of judgment and self-control. Don't expect them not to be that way, just train them.
Children go through stages. Stay consistent and "this, too, shall pass!" (Can't tell you how this helped in potty training and bedtime issues!)
Apply the Pat Principle with your kids: "When in doubt, pat." God made lots of patting places - heads, cheeks, knees, hands, shoulders, backs.
Delight in your children!
One of my favorites: Stong in self-will now can be strong in God's will with training. (If you've ever met my daughter, you'd know why this applies!)
The best and most important advice always comes from God's word:
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy." Psalm 103:8 - Good principles to apply to parenthood.
"In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6 - How DO you handle the entire roll of toilet paper flushed down the toilet? Or the entire box of Cheerios spilled on the kitchen floor? (Obviously my children are still young!)
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1 - Yell often?
Remember, your battle is not with your son or daughter. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12 - Your battle is with the enemy. Don't be intimidated by a rebellious spirit. Jesus is Lord above that, too.
The Bible is FULL of what we need. We just have to put the time in to find it!
This blog is a big THANK YOU to all who have given me their advice and allowed me to glean from their wisdom. Again - I can't take credit for any of these words! I cheated! (Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you cheat off of me!)
Kathy
