I can hardly call it a trial... But it has been nothing less than a challenge since the day we moved in.
Teaching, guiding, training and exemplifying to our kids ways to problem solve, speak kindly to one another and more or less get along with one another has sometimes left Tara and I baffled and unable to find our words.
The challenge has been this...
It's one thing to guide and instruct your own child; to break up quarrels amongst siblings, but it's an entirely different thing to be in constant contact with a child that is not your own and finding yourself at a loss as to how to keep that child in harmony with your own children.
But I am learning to not be surprised by God's faithfulness in helping Tara and I figure these sorts of things out as we live out this year in our home. We have had many days where we spend the entire afternoon taking turns walking outside and talking all the kids through ways that they can better handle the situations that they find themselves in... Some days the training has felt endless. But I must admit that I have been blessed to be able to go through this time with such a godly woman. I can't even think of sufficient words to express how grateful I am that Tara and I are on the same page about how we want to train up our kids. I cannot imagine trying to share a home with a mom who didn't know the Lord and really love His Word. The coolest part about it is that we "spur one another on" ( Hebrews 10:24) each and every day.
The challenge for me is learning that I don't always have to be the one correcting our kids. It's such a treat to have someone in our home who pours her whole heart into our kids and has a similar passion for teaching them all about the Lord and His Word. And yet I must confess that it is something that the Lord is working on in me. To let go of my tendency to control everything, especially when it comes to my kids has been difficult for me. My head knows that it is a blessing but my heart and my actions are struggling to accept the treat that God wants to give me in this. I am learning that I can walk up stairs and put my laundry away and not feel like I have to rush back downstairs when a brawl breaks out amongst our MSC. Tara handles all of them beautifully...
The reason that I am writing about all of this is because today was a day of success with all of our MSC. They're starting to get it. Our words (God's Word) are starting to sink in. They played together all morning with very little conflict. They're working things out. And it just felt so good...
This morning I was reading Oswald Chambers...
"Never live on memories; let the Word of God always be living and active in you."
I think that's what's happening to me in this house... It might have been the last place that I thought I wanted to be, but each and every day I can give testimony of the Lord being "alive and active in me."
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Mathew 7:7
I have asked for more and more of the Lord in my life, and it has been given to me...
I am seeking Him constantly and I am finding that His grace is perfectly sufficient for me...
I have knocked and the door swung wide open for me!!!
Blessing Upon Blessing!!!
Teaching, guiding, training and exemplifying to our kids ways to problem solve, speak kindly to one another and more or less get along with one another has sometimes left Tara and I baffled and unable to find our words.
The challenge has been this...
It's one thing to guide and instruct your own child; to break up quarrels amongst siblings, but it's an entirely different thing to be in constant contact with a child that is not your own and finding yourself at a loss as to how to keep that child in harmony with your own children.
But I am learning to not be surprised by God's faithfulness in helping Tara and I figure these sorts of things out as we live out this year in our home. We have had many days where we spend the entire afternoon taking turns walking outside and talking all the kids through ways that they can better handle the situations that they find themselves in... Some days the training has felt endless. But I must admit that I have been blessed to be able to go through this time with such a godly woman. I can't even think of sufficient words to express how grateful I am that Tara and I are on the same page about how we want to train up our kids. I cannot imagine trying to share a home with a mom who didn't know the Lord and really love His Word. The coolest part about it is that we "spur one another on" ( Hebrews 10:24) each and every day.
The challenge for me is learning that I don't always have to be the one correcting our kids. It's such a treat to have someone in our home who pours her whole heart into our kids and has a similar passion for teaching them all about the Lord and His Word. And yet I must confess that it is something that the Lord is working on in me. To let go of my tendency to control everything, especially when it comes to my kids has been difficult for me. My head knows that it is a blessing but my heart and my actions are struggling to accept the treat that God wants to give me in this. I am learning that I can walk up stairs and put my laundry away and not feel like I have to rush back downstairs when a brawl breaks out amongst our MSC. Tara handles all of them beautifully...
The reason that I am writing about all of this is because today was a day of success with all of our MSC. They're starting to get it. Our words (God's Word) are starting to sink in. They played together all morning with very little conflict. They're working things out. And it just felt so good...
This morning I was reading Oswald Chambers...
"Never live on memories; let the Word of God always be living and active in you."
I think that's what's happening to me in this house... It might have been the last place that I thought I wanted to be, but each and every day I can give testimony of the Lord being "alive and active in me."
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Mathew 7:7
I have asked for more and more of the Lord in my life, and it has been given to me...
I am seeking Him constantly and I am finding that His grace is perfectly sufficient for me...
I have knocked and the door swung wide open for me!!!
Blessing Upon Blessing!!!
