Thought for the day.  My husband was watching Andy Griffith this morning.  It was about a spoiled little boy. Andy made a comment that basically if we don’t teach children to live in society then they’re never going to make it in the real world.  On that episode, there was one spoiled brat but all the other kids were good. Somehow today’s society has managed to flip-flop that & now the brats outnumber the good kids.  Unfortunately on occasion mine can be included in the majority. We all want our kids to have more than we did but are we also teaching them to appreciate it? Are we teaching them that all things are a blessing from God?  Are we teaching them that misbehavior yields consequences? I would never ever want to be a teacher…not so much because of the kids…but because of the parents that have the “my kid can do no wrong” attitude. ALL kids can do wrong.  My kids do wrong. But at least my kids know that when they do wrong, they will not only have to deal with punishment at school, they will have to deal with it at home. I’m not here to be their buddy or to be the cool mom. I am here to teach then right from wrong…to show them how to be thankful….and to hopefully equip them for life.  And my most important job is to instill in them the love of Jesus Christ. If I don’t do that, then I have failed as a parent.

It’s all about perception…or is it? I picked up some slap bracelets for my girls at the dollar store about a few years ago. They’re those straight stick looking things that when you slap them on your wrist, they curl around it. They came 3 in a package. When I got home I discovered that 2 packages had been rolled up together. So the next day when I was in town again I stopped by the dollar store and left the extra package. My daughters thought it was odd because we had “lucked out” and gotten 2 packages for the price of 1.  Well first of all, we are blessed…not lucky and something that is obtained dishonestly will not be blessed by God, but that’s a thought for another day… So I explained to them that regardless of how the packages had gotten stuck together that we only paid for one of them and to keep the other would have been stealing. Unfortunately not everyone perceives things this way. How many would say, “It’s only a dollar.”? How many would justify it because they think they’ve been overcharged for something before? How many would consider themselves “lucky” because they got a bargain? But what would those same people say, if the tables were turned, and they were the ones selling 2 separate items, and someone took both but only paid for one? Would that then be considered dishonest? It might be a matter of perception but whose perception? Perhaps if we worried a little more about God’s perception of us, then we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else’s.

Heavenly FATHER, thank YOU for the ever flowing waters of eternal life that never run dry.  For as still water becomes stagnant, so does our lives when we don’t allow YOUR Spirit to flow through us.  And just like still waters draw filth and insects, a stagnant soul harbors sin and uncleanliness.  Please forgive us when we do not allow YOUR spirit to flow freely throughout our lives filtering and cleansing us from all sin.  And LORD, please show us how to guide others to YOUR living water.  All glory be to God.  Amen

Thought for the day.  Stress and exhaustion are not valid excuses for bad behavior.  And by the way…my hubby doesn’t necessarily need to know about this post or he’s gonna say I’m the pot calling the kettle black…lol.  But the truth is, usually when we are tired…stressed…in a hurry…we tend to be a little short with people. And it’s usually the ones we love most.  Our kids, our spouses, etc. One problem is that we teach our kids that this is acceptable behavior. I’ve seen it a million times (and been guilty of it at least 1/2 a million times).  A child misbehaves in public & the embarrassed parent says, “she’s just tired” or “he’s just hungry”. I have said that many times….but I also tried to explain to my girls that even though they are tired..or hungry…it doesn’t make it ok & they understand that there are consequences for their actions.  My youngest is a walking talking snickers commercial. She is an absolute nightmare when she’s hungry. But I don’t just allow her to take it out on everyone around her. I do, however try to keep her fed well so that we don’t have to deal with it…lol.

The bible tells us “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

So I’m gonna put on my armor of God & start trying to do better at not only training my children, but in training myself to be a better example.

Today is laundry day at the Van De Wiele house.  So as I’m taking clothes out of the washer, I realize that, because of a loose string, a big wad of clothes is all tangled up in a big mangled mess.  So what should’ve taken me a couple of minutes seemed to take forever. I could have just yanked them apart but that probably would’ve resulted in at least one ruined piece of clothing.  I could’ve ignored it & threw the whole mess in the dryer buy probably would have not only ruined clothes but it would have taken much longer to dry. So instead I carefully untangled the whole mess & located the troublemaking string.  At this point I could have just cut it off or pulled it out but that would have only been a temporary fix at best. If I had pulled it, it may have completely unraveled the shirt. If I had cut it, it would have eventually worked its’ way out & caused more laundry dilemmas in the future.  Instead, I tied it so it would not unravel further, and then cut off the excess. Un-forgiveness is much like a raveling string. Before you know it, that itty bitty string has managed to work its way in & around other areas of your life that it shouldn’t and, if you allow it, into other people’s lives.  Left unattended, it will tangle & bind you, your family, your relationship, and most importantly, your relationship with God. You can ignore it, but you will end up with a ruined piece of your life that you will never be able to mend. You can cut off the person & refuse to forgive them, but you risk destroying yourself & others close to you in the process.  And then you still have un-forgiveness inside of you just waiting to unravel & tangle up again. Or you can tie a knot in it by forgiving, snip off the hurt & anger, and move on. Either way, you are the only one that can deal with the mess. The question is, how much damage are you going to allow before you deal with it correctly?

Thought for the day.  Played my mean momma card yesterday & made kids help around the house some.  You would have thought they were being tortured the way they were acting. Yes…they are spoiled & we are working on it…but that’s a whole other thought for a different day.  Now I’m not saying that they should have enjoyed it because I guess when it boils down to it, I don’t enjoy the actual cleaning. The difference is, I know that once I’m done, I will thoroughly enjoy & appreciate a clean house.  The girls haven’t quite gotten to the point yet where they look ahead to the benefits of hard work. Being a Christian is hard work. In fact, when we’re faced daily with challenges from Satan through the world, our family, our friends, even other Christians…we realize that it’s possibly the hardest thing we’ve ever done.  It gets much easier as we grow as Christians & start realizing that God is always with us waiting for us to ask for His help. But learning to discipline ourselves to go to Him first with a problem rather than making Him our last resort is easier said than done. But we do it because we know that the reward at the end is greater than anything we could ever imagine.  It’s not just a clean-house reward. It’s a life…cleaned and maintained by God…..forever!

Whether you’re the mom of a newborn…trying to navigate diapers and bottles with little or no sleep, the mom of a head-strong toddler…trying to survive the “I’ll do it by myself!” phase, or the mom of a teenager…trying to guide them into adulthood when clearly they already know EVERYTHING, then I’m pretty sure that at some point, we’ve all felt like we were hanging on by a thread. And while it’s so easy to get overwhelmed, I find my refuge in the fact that, while I may only be hanging on by the thread, as long as it’s His thread, then everything is going to be ok.

For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.” Mathew 9:21-22 NKJV