Parenting and Jogging - Observers

 

So I either run early in the morning or after 6 in the evening, when it has cooled down a little.

 

I get a variety of reactions from other people.

 

A few people smile and say hello.

 

They see what I am doing and see it as a worthwhile thing to be doing. These people are walking or running too.

 

A few people just stare or frown.

 

They think I am crazy to be running around and around the same streets three times a week. These people are sitting or standing on their front lawns.

 

Most people simply don’t know that I am running.

 

They are inside their homes eating or sleeping or relaxing. Or they are out and about working and doing their own things.

 

They don’t care that I am running or that I have a goal.

 

This is so true of parenting too.

 

A few other parents understand and are also parenting with intent. They too have a concrete goal for their precious wee ones.

 

A few other parents simply disapprove or don’t understand the way I parent. They evaluate and judge on the moment, rather than from the perspective of a long range goal.

 

Most other parents simply don’t know or care how I am parenting.

 

This realisation has been quite liberating. I enjoy journeying with those who are on the same path. I can listen but not be surprised when parents on a different journey comment or criticise, knowing they don’t have the big picture view.

 

Most of all, I accept that most others don’t ever see or know the labour of each day for each child, and that’s okay.

 

I parent for an audience of One.

 

 

 

Parenting and Jogging - The Destination

 

Well, I have caught the running bug.

 

I now run three times a week and just love it.

 

As I run, I have heaps of time to think and pray.

 

One of the topics I have been musing over is the parallels between running and parenting.

 

Both have a goal.

 

My running goal is to complete a half marathon sometime this year.

 

My parenting goal has been to raise responsible and morally responsive young adults.

 

Both require planning, hard work and commitment.

 

Neither of these goals will just happen.

 

Tears, sadness, pain and disappointment are evident along the journey.

 

Laughter, happiness, achievement and success are there too.

 

The weekly plan is part of a bigger picture. What I do this week is a step towards the destination.

 

I need to keep reminding myself ‘where’ am I heading so that I have a ‘why’ for my choices today.

 

I need to keep the destination in view.

 

 

The Inportance of Obedience

This post is from the www.girltalk.com/blog website.

 

It is one of my favourite blogs to read and learn from.

 

10

Jan

How Is Obedience a Gateway to Understanding the Gospel?

2013 at 8:20 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed underMotherhood Young Children
One of the most powerful illustrations is from the relationship of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller. You may know the story. Helen was a young girl who was born both deaf and blind. Her parents, at a loss as to how to help their suffering daughter, provided little restraint or discipline. So when Annie was hired to teach Helen, she made no progress at first, due to Helen’s wild and violent behavior. “It was useless to teach her language or anything else until she learned to obey me” Annie reasoned. So Annie began at the beginning. She insisted that Helen obey.

After an extended battle of wills, Annie won. Helen became calm and submissive, able to listen, and able to learn. And oh what she learned! This little girl, whose life was up until now a dark and lonely place, learned to communicate. She learned to “speak” and to “listen” through her hands. She learned to read. And so, Annie wisely concluded: “Obedience is the gateway for knowledge to enter the mind.”

So it is with our children. We have this all-precious gift to give to them—the good news of the gospel. We have much to teach them about God, who He is, what He has done, what His Word has to say about the world and about their lives. And yet to truly practice effective gospel-centered mothering we must first teach them to obey.

“Training must come before teaching” insisted Katherine Howard, Elisabeth Elliot’s mother. “[Teaching] is impossible unless the children cooperate. And they don’t cooperate unless they are disciplined from their earliest days. This discipline lays the groundwork for teaching.”

This is why Scripture equates a parents love with discipline and hatred with a lack of love (Prov. 13:24). Counterintuitive to the post-modern mind, but as true as ever. “Train up a child in the way he should go” Proverbs exhorts us, “even when he is old he will not depart from it” (22:6).
This is both an exhortation and encouragement to mothers. It is an exhortation to moms when we are tempted to neglect loving discipline and training—whether from laziness, busyness, fear of our children’s rejection, or biblical ignorance. We must not neglect this most important biblical mothering priority.

It is also an encouragement to moms who are “in the trenches.” You are faithfully—not perfectly, but consistently—training your young children to obey. You may see very little in the way of results so far. You may be worn out and discouraged. You may wonder if you are on the right track. You may worry because your mothering doesn’t “feel” very gospel-centered at the moment. But your child’s obedience isn’t opposed to the gospel. It is the gateway through which you can bring the gospel message.

So persevere. Be faithful. And I promise—better yet, God has promised!—that you will reap a harvest if you do not give up (Gal 6:9).

 

 

New Year - New Focus

I'm at the stage of life where I have the privilege of a few days on my own each Januray. With kids at camp or work this week, I have had the freedom to pray and think through the coming year.

The chance to start fresh is so appealing.

Is it the hope of something better?

Something more?

There are obviously lots of ways to set goals or plans for the year. I still like to think things through according to categories of social, spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional areas. It works for me.

So one goal for each category for myself includes:

- one fun time with a special friend each month

- memorise a whole chapter of scripture

- complete another Masters paper (slowly getting to the end!!)

- play competitive basketball and tennis again this year

- enjoy learning to play simple hymns on the keyboard.

I do the same with each child, although now I have mostly only one to plan for
as my other two are young adults now.

I try to be realistic, with only a few goals set in each category so as not to overwhelm myself or my child.

To live deeply, with passion and purpose.