{"id":10922,"date":"2021-06-23T19:09:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T23:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/?p=10922"},"modified":"2021-07-08T11:25:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T15:25:13","slug":"avoiding-the-parenting-ditch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/2021\/06\/23\/avoiding-the-parenting-ditch\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding The Parenting Ditch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
From my heart - to the unmarried and married with children in the home. \"\u2764\ufe0f\"\n\n\u201cProve all things; hold fast that which is good.\u201d\u202d\u202d1 Thessalonians\u202c \u202d5:21\u202c \u202dKJV<\/em><\/strong>\n\nAlthough I am very thankful for my Godly heritage, it would be misleading to attempt to paint my childhood home as \u201cperfect\u201d. \nWhy?\nBecause I was raised by imperfect parents.\nAnd so were my children.\nAnd so were you.\nAnd so were your children.\n\nMy early years of being a wife and mother reflected my immaturity and even resentment toward my imperfect parents. Instead of striving to stay in the middle of the road by lining up my parenting practices with God\u2019s Word, I jerked the proverbial steering wheel of parenting in order to avoid what I perceived as a parenting ditch by my parents - only to end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. I am certainly not claiming to have \u201carrived\u201d in this area of parenting but I do believe the Lord has taught me some things in my 37+ years of motherhood. \"\u2764\ufe0f\"\n\nWhat am I saying? \nIf you are a momma with children in the home - or perhaps you are a teen or young adult still unmarried, don\u2019t make the mistake of jerking the steering wheel concerning parenting. If you do, you will end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. Your resentment toward your imperfect parents as well as your pride will blind you to your own faults and poor decisions as a momma. \n\nThe verse at the beginning of this post says \u201cprove all things\u201d<\/em><\/strong>. Take time to reflect on your childhood. (Even if you were not raised in a Christian home, you can still learn good character qualities from unsaved parents.) See how your upbringing lines up with God\u2019s Word. Of course, in order to do this, you must first be familiar with what His Word says, right? As Christians, the Bible should be our final authority in ALL decisions. If you\u2019re not faithfully studying and obeying God\u2019s Word yourself, you should probably bow out right now on giving parental advice. \"?\"\n\nThe last part of the verse says, \u201chold fast that which is good\u201d<\/em><\/strong>. \n\nWere your parents honest?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they dishonest?\nLet go of that! Strive to be honest in everything - no matter the cost!\n\nWere your parents hard workers?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they slothful?\nLet go of that! Strive to be diligent!\n\nWere your parents consistent in the home and out of the home?\nHold fast to that!\nWere your parents inconsistent - living a life of double standards?\nLet go of that! Strive to live a life of consistency!\n\nWere your parents faithful to take you to church?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they negligent in that area?\nLet go of that! Strive to be faithful to the house of God with your children!\n\nWere your parents kind and selfless?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they self-centered?\nLet go of that! Strive to put Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last! (JOY)\n\nWere your parents patient and self-controlled? \nHold fast to that!\nWere they easily angered and often out of control?\nLet go of that! Strive to, by God\u2019s grace, control your spirit.\n\nWere your parents sensitive and attentive to your needs?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they always \u201ctoo busy\u201d?\nLet go of that! Strive to stop and take time for your children.\n\nWere your parents always ready to forgive?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they easily offended and bitter?\nLet go of that! Strive to avoid bitterness by praying for those who offend and always being ready to forgive.\n\nWere your parents faithful to teach you from God\u2019s Word?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they negligent in this area?\nLet go of that! \nStrive to show your children the importance of God\u2019s Word by your words and example!\n\nWere your parents humble - quick to ask forgiveness?\nHold fast to that!\nWere they proud - never admitting wrong?\nLet go of that! Strive to live a life of humility!\n\nAnd the list could go on and on - but I think you get the picture. \"?\"\n\nOne final thought\u2026\nBefore you take the time to reflect on your childhood, be sure that your heart is right with God. \nA proud and bitter spirit will only see the negative.\nA humble spirit will see the good and the bad - while considering one\u2019s own weaknesses.\n\nWhen you finish your time of reflection and begin to make your own parenting resolutions, be sure to do so with the same grace toward your parents as you will desire from your own children one day - as they reflect on their imperfect parents. \"?\"\n\n\u201cHonour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.\u201d\u202d\u202dEphesians\u202c \u202d6:2-3\u202c \u202dKJV\u202c\u202c<\/em><\/strong><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From my heart – to the unmarried and married with children in the home. \u201cProve all things; hold fast that which is good.\u201d\u202d\u202d1 Thessalonians\u202c \u202d5:21\u202c \u202dKJV Although I am very thankful for my Godly heritage, it would be misleading to attempt to paint my childhood home as \u201cperfect\u201d. Why? Because I was raised by imperfect parents. And so were my children. And so were you. And so were your children. My early years of being a wife and mother reflected my immaturity and even resentment toward my imperfect parents. Instead of striving to stay in the middle of the road by lining up my parenting practices with God\u2019s Word, I jerked the proverbial steering wheel of parenting in order to avoid what I perceived as a parenting ditch by my parents – only to end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. I am certainly not claiming to have \u201carrived\u201d in this area of parenting but I do believe the Lord has taught me some things in my 37+ years of motherhood. What am I saying? If you are a momma with children in the home – or perhaps you are a teen or young adult still unmarried, don\u2019t make the mistake of jerking the steering wheel concerning parenting. If you do, you will end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. Your resentment toward your imperfect parents as well as your pride will blind you to your own faults and poor decisions as a momma. The verse at the beginning of this post says \u201cprove all things\u201d. Take time to reflect on your childhood. (Even if you were not raised in a Christian home, you can still learn good character qualities from unsaved parents.) See how your upbringing lines up with God\u2019s Word. Of course, in order to do this, you must first be familiar with what His Word says, right? As Christians, the Bible should be our final authority in ALL decisions. If you\u2019re not faithfully studying and obeying God\u2019s Word yourself, you should probably bow out right now on giving parental advice. The last part of the verse says, \u201chold fast that which is good\u201d. Were your parents honest? Hold fast to that! Were they dishonest? Let go of that! Strive to be honest in everything – no matter the cost! Were your parents hard workers? Hold fast to that! Were they slothful? Let go of that! Strive to be diligent! Were your parents consistent in the home and out of the home? Hold fast to that! Were your parents inconsistent – living a life of double standards? Let go of that! Strive to live a life of consistency! Were your parents faithful to take you to church? Hold fast to that! Were they negligent in that area? Let go of that! Strive to be faithful to the house of God with your children! Were your parents kind and selfless? Hold fast to that! Were they self-centered? Let go of that! Strive to put Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last! (JOY) Were your parents patient and self-controlled? Hold fast to that! Were they easily angered and often out of control? Let go of that! Strive to, by God\u2019s grace, control your spirit. Were your parents sensitive and attentive to your needs? Hold fast to that! Were they always \u201ctoo busy\u201d? Let go of that! Strive to stop and take time for your children. Were your parents always ready to forgive? Hold fast to that! Were they easily offended and bitter? Let go of that! Strive to avoid bitterness by praying for those who offend and always being ready to forgive. Were your parents faithful to teach you from God\u2019s Word? Hold fast to that! Were they negligent in this area? Let go of that! Strive to show your children the importance of God\u2019s Word by your words and example! Were your parents humble – quick to ask forgiveness? Hold fast to that! Were they proud – never admitting wrong? Let go of that! Strive to live a life of humility! And the list could go on and on – but I think you get the picture. One final thought\u2026 Before you take the time to reflect on your childhood, be sure that your heart is right with God. A proud and bitter spirit will only see the negative. A humble spirit will see the good and the bad – while considering one\u2019s own weaknesses. When you finish your time of reflection and begin to make your own parenting resolutions, be sure to do so with the same grace toward your parents as you will desire from your own children one day – as they reflect on their imperfect parents. \u201cHonour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.\u201d\u202d\u202dEphesians\u202c \u202d6:2-3\u202c \u202dKJV\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,13,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courtshipmarriage","category-parenting-children","category-relationships"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4o6C2-2Qa","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10924,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10922\/revisions\/10924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}