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Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson has been a wonderful read and a bit of an uncomfortable read all rolled into one. Right off the bat, the gift of grace is tackled and sadly this is one of the areas that I really struggle most {personally} with in our family.
In chapter four, Sally talks about encouraging words and the power of words and our tongue:
“From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.”
James 3:10
…we must be careful not to discourage {our children} through nagging, criticism, and reprimands. Even more important, we must balance our correction with words of encouragement and affirmation, words that our precious little ones will treasure in their hearts throughout their whole lives.”
p. 45 Ministry of Motherhood
I may not literally curse our children, but more often than not the words that I use {or the tone of my voice, etc…} are not encouraging, uplifting or affirming to them. Definitely not something that they will treasure for years to come.
I’m just sayin’.
So today, I’m going to take more deep breaths. Think before I speak {or yell} and do all that I can to encourage the four little hearts put in front of me, remembering that I have been extended an immense amount of grace from my heavenly Father…and He will pour out through me when I rely on Him.
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Your honesty is appreciated… and we can probably all relate. Sometimes I just have to remember that my kids aren’t really “mine”… they’re GOD’s & I’m just babysitting them. That keeps my words kinder & my voice gentler.
Oh wow – God’s perfect timing. I just sent my 15 year old to his room for disrespct and was ready to go up there and give him a tounge lashing. I will now take a much different approach. God’s timing is so great. Thank you Jolanthe.
Came here from SomewhatCrunchy’s blog and I needed to read this too today. So true and so well put.
We’re in the same boat friend, wait til you see my post this Friday ;o)
Just what’s been on my heart lately. I’ve been praying for strength in this area too. My children are so special to me. The were given to me to love and nurture and I need to work harder on making sure my words and my actions say the same thing to them.
I know exactly where you are coming from with this, and I too, struggle most in this area in our home.
“.. remembering that I have been extended an immense amount of grace from my heavenly Father…” The author of Ministry of Motherhood is obviously focusing on the mother/child relationship, but the same principle holds true in all our relationships. Whether I’m dealing with an inconsiderate neighbor or a selfish,demanding relative, I know that my heavenly Father has forgiven me for SO much and has shown SO much grace to me, what gives me the right to have a ‘high & mighty’ attitude with others? Forgive me, Lord, for a spirit that so often doesn’t show your grace!
Thank you for this important blog, Jolanthe.
Amen, Sara!! :) This all has definitely given me a different look at
things, but I get rather irritated with myself that it’s easier {most of
the time} to extend grace to others much more easily than those i love
the most. {ugh}.
I’m adding this one to my reading list.
DO!!! It’s a wonderful book as are all the rest her books I’ve read so
far!! :)
Thank you for sharing this today. I have been struggling in this area too. I have also been dealing with this “internal sort of self- condemning side” that comes along with it…Thank you for reminding us today of God’s unconditional love and grace. Sometimes I think as moms we get so busy and struggle with so much that we forget about that little thing called grace…and also… God’s willingness to help us even with the smallest of tasks. Thanks again! Blessings!
I was thinking about that during a long {quiet} car ride today ~ God is
SO willing to help me in the little things. I just have to ASK!!!
I just started following you today and this post struck me. I need to work on this too. We just got back from IAHE homeschool convention and this topic was talked about in several sessions. Thanks for the reminder.
Moe
http://adoptivemomhomeschoolinganonlychild.blogspot.com/