Heres a quick ACROSTIC I came up with so I could remember how to train my children....Spank. Outlast. Ambush. Consistency. Knit Heartstrings.
Spank....I guess this is really controversial these days but still Biblical and effective so yep....The S stands for spank. “The Lord your God…He will quiet you with His Love.” Zephaniah 3:17
Outlast. I know it sounds easy enough but if you have ever gone face to face with the likes of a strong willed child you know that an outlasting session can bring even a very calm cool mom to her wits end. So we have to be able to win. All battles. All the time. Every time. First time obedience is the goal. Jesus said “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:20
Ambush...I know it sounds like a military operation....and I guess it kinda is....you sneak up on them and take action.Instigate a training session. For example I may tell my 2 year old.."No. You cannot pull that glass of Coke down on your head". Instead of moving the cup I leave it there and *act* like I am not watching.Hence ambush.I lay in wait...til he looks at me to see that I am *not looking* (really I am) when he moves in for his sneak attack I am ready! Thank you Navy Seals!
Consistency. Of utmost importance. This is so hard for the lazy and undisciplined (all of us)but oh so very necessary if we want *first time* obedience. It may take a little time,effort and well thought out strategy up front but the reward of an obedient child is so worth it.If a child that is left to his own will bring his mother to shame then the opposite produces an opposite effect. A child that is consistently trained will make his mother proud. “I will not forget you, See I have carved you on the Palms of My Hands”Isaiah 49:15-16
Knit Heartstrings...Finally...probally the most important part of child training ....we have to make ourselves more appealing to our children than Bob,Bill,Sue, the humanistic teacher, even the Sunday School teacher (and for the record I teach SS and love it). I have to hold my child's heart close enough to mold it into His image. I have to make my life more appealing to my children than the world. Hollywood,peer pressure even peers at church can produce some pretty stiff competition. We love and obey Him because He first loved us. Our children will obey us when they love us. Truly love us. I can demand honor all day long and I should and do but if I really want to mold my childs heart then I have to have a love relationship with that child.
“The Lord your God…He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
None of these things can be accomplished if we are not *with* our children. All the time.“They shall be mine, says the Lord of Host…I make them my jewels.” Malachi 3:16
No comments:
Post a Comment