Parenting with Purpose. Isn't that what we all want to do? To be intentional, responsive, and proactive in our relationships with our children. The thing is ... that's hard. I mean, what does it look like? And especially what does it look like in the midst of the daily chaos in our homes? How do we walk that line between "Don't Provoke" and "Do Instruct"? Here are 10 ways to parent with purpose: Don't do those things that drive your kids crazy!! Sounds simple, but really ... if he ... [Read More]
Parent with Purpose
Week three of Starting Well in 2012!! It's all about THE KIDS! Well, actually, it's more about our role with our children and what being a godly parent looks like ... and how we can manage such a noble task in this post-modern world. First up ... Parenting with Purpose. She's eleven. Very soon (like less than a month!) she'll be twelve. Twelve? How in the world did this happen? Two-thirds of the time she will live in our home has likely passed. I look back over the past ... [Read More]
Are you a polite parent?
{We're out of town celebrating my daughter's birthday ... so today, a compilation of posts from the archives on the topic of Polite Parenting. I do hope they are encouraging to you as this new week begins. ~ Teri Lynne} Several months ago I pondered the question ... "What if submission begins with simply being polite?" In the course of that pondering, we looked at applying that idea to our marriages, parenting, and other relationships. In looking at how the idea of submission relates to ... [Read More]
It’s only halftime?
In case you are unaware, I am a football fanatic. I watch college football for HOURS every weekend. It begins with the Thursday night game and doesn’t end until I’ve checked the new rankings on Sunday mornings. We are Auburn fans at Chez Underwood … huge Auburn fans. And my daughter is slowly learning to enjoy the game, or maybe it’s just that she enjoys watching her momma jump around like a crazy woman, I’m not going to ask. Sometimes though, when the games have been on all day she’ll come ... [Read More]
Pay Attention, Momma!
She was busy playing with baby dolls. I was busy doing who knows what. But suddenly, a preschooler was tapping her toes, hands on hips, saying with great conviction, “Pay attention, Momma!” Now she’s ten … and she still cries out for my attention but it’s not always so obvious. I have to listen a little more carefully for her cues and learn the right timing for serious talks and building our relationship as she grows up. If you have not yet encountered the tween/teen years, you may not ... [Read More]
The Point of Obedience
We’ve launched into a discussion of what I’m now calling Polite Parenting. Yesterday, we began by considering: Principle 1: Don’t make it all about you. Remember this is all grounded in a recognition that all our relationships are to be defined by submission to one another (Ephesians 5:21) and that the very foundation of this mindset is being polite. So as we consider the biblical instruction about parents and children, we understand that simple courtesy is the starting point of how we are ... [Read More]
