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| Photos by/from Brent and Shelly Theobald* |
My Hispanic clients gave me the following questions to discuss in our parenting class:
1. How can I have patience and tolerance with my kids, especially when I return from work very tired?
2. How can I be a better mother?
3. How can I educate my children?
4. How can I learn to understand my baby?
5. How do I protect my kids from bad influences?
6. How can I keep my kids safe and secure?
7. How do I discipline little ones - toddlers?
8. How do I not give in to and always indulge the kids?
9. How do I teach my child that they shouldn't always expect a toy or a reward but need to earn them
1. How can I have patience and tolerance with my kids, especially when I return from work very tired?
2. How can I be a better mother?
3. How can I educate my children?
4. How can I learn to understand my baby?
5. How do I protect my kids from bad influences?
6. How can I keep my kids safe and secure?
7. How do I discipline little ones - toddlers?
8. How do I not give in to and always indulge the kids?
9. How do I teach my child that they shouldn't always expect a toy or a reward but need to earn them
through their actions?
10. How do I fix attractive meals for my kids?
11. How can I play more with my kids?
12. How do I tell a child already jealous of my attention that he is going to have a baby brother or sister?
13. How do you get a child's attention when they are misbehaving?
14. How to you get kids to improve their grades if they are getting bad grades?
15. How can a parent discipline a child when one spouse wants to and the other doesn't?
16. What do you do when kids want freedom from parental authority to do whatever they want to at an
11. How can I play more with my kids?
12. How do I tell a child already jealous of my attention that he is going to have a baby brother or sister?
13. How do you get a child's attention when they are misbehaving?
14. How to you get kids to improve their grades if they are getting bad grades?
15. How can a parent discipline a child when one spouse wants to and the other doesn't?
16. What do you do when kids want freedom from parental authority to do whatever they want to at an
early age?
17. How can I educate my son when I am here and he is so far away in Mexico?
18. How can I learn what to say to my son so he won't rebel against me, because the methods that I have
17. How can I educate my son when I am here and he is so far away in Mexico?
18. How can I learn what to say to my son so he won't rebel against me, because the methods that I have
tried are not working and I don't like things like they are.
Just reading these questions reminds us that it is a scary looking world on the perilous path of parenting! Am I equipped to teach, giving answers to these questions? Where does one begin? I invite you to post some answers! But for now, how about...
2 Peter 1:3-4
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge
Just reading these questions reminds us that it is a scary looking world on the perilous path of parenting! Am I equipped to teach, giving answers to these questions? Where does one begin? I invite you to post some answers! But for now, how about...
2 Peter 1:3-4
"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge
of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he granted to us his precious and very
great promises, so that through them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
The
culture around us is not the key enemy we are to fight to rescue our children's souls from danger, it is the evil desires lurking in their own
hearts! And how do we fight them? These verses, promises within a promise, say we fight them with the knowledge of God and the promises of God! How do we as adults maneuver through this world fighting off the evil desires in our own hearts so that we can be a Christlike example to our kids or to those around us? Parents need the precious promises, too, lest they set their children on the path of perilous parents.
* P.S. Brent and Shelly grew up as missionary kids in Papua New Guinea. Here they are climbing a path on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I have been very impressed with strength of character and the confidence Dean and Ellie Theobald instilled into their children through their example and their loving parenting. Check out Ellie's business and a bit of their story from Ellie's perspective. http://www.ellies-whole-grains.com/about-ellie.htm
Here is some of the story from one of Shelly's perspective, as she posted it on her Facebook wall: "Proof of the story of my birth: only hours before I was born this was where my mother was. With the boat sinking and my sister floating away - how my father had time to take a photo, I am not sure - but I am glad he did.(: Stranded on a sandbar in the dark for hours with no way to communicate with anyone for help - my mother began to go into contractions. finally rescued hours later, my family safely made in to the May River Airstrip - where I was born somewhere between the boat and the plane. Wow! I have amazing parents!!!"
Thanks, Shelly! Your parents were in a perilous time and place, but they were and are not perilous parents! Reminds me of a quote my son Andrew came home with from Pastor John Piper. He was commissioning a young couple preparing to go with their young children to Sudan serve as missionaries. As Andrew relayed it, Piper said, "Jesus never said it is hard for someone in the tribes of Africa to enter the kingdom of heaven. He never said, it is hard for a missionary kid to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus did say that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle; therefore, the most dangerous place to raise children is in the richest country in the world, the United States of America."
great promises, so that through them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
* P.S. Brent and Shelly grew up as missionary kids in Papua New Guinea. Here they are climbing a path on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I have been very impressed with strength of character and the confidence Dean and Ellie Theobald instilled into their children through their example and their loving parenting. Check out Ellie's business and a bit of their story from Ellie's perspective. http://www.ellies-whole-grains.com/about-ellie.htm
Here is some of the story from one of Shelly's perspective, as she posted it on her Facebook wall: "Proof of the story of my birth: only hours before I was born this was where my mother was. With the boat sinking and my sister floating away - how my father had time to take a photo, I am not sure - but I am glad he did.(: Stranded on a sandbar in the dark for hours with no way to communicate with anyone for help - my mother began to go into contractions. finally rescued hours later, my family safely made in to the May River Airstrip - where I was born somewhere between the boat and the plane. Wow! I have amazing parents!!!"
Thanks, Shelly! Your parents were in a perilous time and place, but they were and are not perilous parents! Reminds me of a quote my son Andrew came home with from Pastor John Piper. He was commissioning a young couple preparing to go with their young children to Sudan serve as missionaries. As Andrew relayed it, Piper said, "Jesus never said it is hard for someone in the tribes of Africa to enter the kingdom of heaven. He never said, it is hard for a missionary kid to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus did say that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle; therefore, the most dangerous place to raise children is in the richest country in the world, the United States of America."
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