I have six children and two dogs and a husband living in my house. That's makes me pretty busy, even when I'm not busy. At any given moment there is some sort of drama or life lesson to be learned from it. Last night was no exception.
Patience is a virtue rarely voluntarily practiced in a household of eight. Over the years we have all tried our best to learn that, with this many people, sometimes you just have to wait your turn whether you like it or not. So now we have a new member of the family, my 9 year old stepson, Joey, who just moved with us from his mother's household of three people. I'm sure you can already guess that having another boy in the house has turned it tospy-turvy! He has an energy none of the other children ever exuded. He just can not stay still! To be honest, I really don't remember Darin, my 22 year old, being so hyper at 9. So, needless to say, it's taking a lot of patience on my part to get used to this. Last night it wasn't me who had had enough... it was my husband.
We got the family a Wii game console for Christmas. Most of the children have played a Wii before we obtained one, including Joey. I personally, had never played it until two days ago. After church last night I went to choir practice and the rest of the family went home and began playing Wii basketball. Our number 3 child, Chastity, is awesome at this particular game. Joey "The Jumping Bean" is not so hot at it. It's really quite funny to watch him play. If you haven't played it, you have to use your entire body to play. If you want to shoot a basketball into the basket you pretty much mimic what you would actually do, but with an imaginary basketball. Sounds easy, right? Well not if you have ants in your pants and wave your arms around like a mad man like Joey does. It's hilarious. He doesn't score too many points that way, though, and became a pretty poor sport over that fact. If there is one thing Jerry doesn't like, it's a poor sport (unless it's Monopoly... I think he really likes ticking people off in that game!) So Jerry had to set Joey straight a little and have a talk with him about self control. Joey's feelings got hurt a little and he cried. But he settled down.
Now, we are not the type of parents who really care if our kids are mad at us when we have to correct them. We've told them on many, many occasions that we are not here to be their friend, that we have a job to do to help them become the best person they can be, whether they want it or not. Some people call us strict, old fashioned, out of touch. Whatever! Proverbs 22:6(NKJ) says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 13:24(NAS) says "He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
I do not believe in this "movement" where people are afraid they may hurt their child's little ego, or lower their self-esteem, or break their spirit. Give me a break, people! Do you think the world cares about your little darling's feelings? Do you really think you are preparing your children to stand up for their beliefs when you aren't even challenging them to have any? The world is a scary place, and it's a hard place. It's even harder when you're a Christian. Yes, that's what I said. It's harder when you're Christian.
The world expects us to be perfect, to not make mistakes. We are a walking, talking testimony of our faith and what we do and say, and how our children behave is part of that. Every mistake we as Christians make gets thrown back at us as hypocritical. I know, I know, it's not fair. Well, guess what? Life's not fair! And that's what we have to teach our children. Don't get me wrong, I don't want my children to be pessimistic and cynical, but I do want them to be prepared for reality. Allowing them to experience disappointment as a child prepares them to handle it gracefully and positively as an adult. How would they ever learn to look for the silver lining if they never have to experience the dark cloud? They'll never see rainbows if they don't weather storms.
Say what you will about my child-rearing practices, I can tell you this: my children know I love them, even if I am a strict, old fashioned, out of touch mom. They know I would give my life for them even when they hate me for not giving in to them. They know life can be hard and unfair, but they also know they are strong enough to weather it by the Grace of God.
Patience is a virtue rarely voluntarily practiced in a household of eight. Over the years we have all tried our best to learn that, with this many people, sometimes you just have to wait your turn whether you like it or not. So now we have a new member of the family, my 9 year old stepson, Joey, who just moved with us from his mother's household of three people. I'm sure you can already guess that having another boy in the house has turned it tospy-turvy! He has an energy none of the other children ever exuded. He just can not stay still! To be honest, I really don't remember Darin, my 22 year old, being so hyper at 9. So, needless to say, it's taking a lot of patience on my part to get used to this. Last night it wasn't me who had had enough... it was my husband.
We got the family a Wii game console for Christmas. Most of the children have played a Wii before we obtained one, including Joey. I personally, had never played it until two days ago. After church last night I went to choir practice and the rest of the family went home and began playing Wii basketball. Our number 3 child, Chastity, is awesome at this particular game. Joey "The Jumping Bean" is not so hot at it. It's really quite funny to watch him play. If you haven't played it, you have to use your entire body to play. If you want to shoot a basketball into the basket you pretty much mimic what you would actually do, but with an imaginary basketball. Sounds easy, right? Well not if you have ants in your pants and wave your arms around like a mad man like Joey does. It's hilarious. He doesn't score too many points that way, though, and became a pretty poor sport over that fact. If there is one thing Jerry doesn't like, it's a poor sport (unless it's Monopoly... I think he really likes ticking people off in that game!) So Jerry had to set Joey straight a little and have a talk with him about self control. Joey's feelings got hurt a little and he cried. But he settled down.
Now, we are not the type of parents who really care if our kids are mad at us when we have to correct them. We've told them on many, many occasions that we are not here to be their friend, that we have a job to do to help them become the best person they can be, whether they want it or not. Some people call us strict, old fashioned, out of touch. Whatever! Proverbs 22:6(NKJ) says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 13:24(NAS) says "He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
I do not believe in this "movement" where people are afraid they may hurt their child's little ego, or lower their self-esteem, or break their spirit. Give me a break, people! Do you think the world cares about your little darling's feelings? Do you really think you are preparing your children to stand up for their beliefs when you aren't even challenging them to have any? The world is a scary place, and it's a hard place. It's even harder when you're a Christian. Yes, that's what I said. It's harder when you're Christian.
The world expects us to be perfect, to not make mistakes. We are a walking, talking testimony of our faith and what we do and say, and how our children behave is part of that. Every mistake we as Christians make gets thrown back at us as hypocritical. I know, I know, it's not fair. Well, guess what? Life's not fair! And that's what we have to teach our children. Don't get me wrong, I don't want my children to be pessimistic and cynical, but I do want them to be prepared for reality. Allowing them to experience disappointment as a child prepares them to handle it gracefully and positively as an adult. How would they ever learn to look for the silver lining if they never have to experience the dark cloud? They'll never see rainbows if they don't weather storms.
Say what you will about my child-rearing practices, I can tell you this: my children know I love them, even if I am a strict, old fashioned, out of touch mom. They know I would give my life for them even when they hate me for not giving in to them. They know life can be hard and unfair, but they also know they are strong enough to weather it by the Grace of God.
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