I just had an "I Love My Job" kinda moment. Caleb laying in my lap just jabbering away, smiling, and being altogether adorable. What a great gift I have in my son.
And I'm so grateful that my husband is supportive of me staying home with Caleb, and willing to sacrifice so that I can.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Honoring Our Children
I've been reading a book my dad gave me for Christmas called "Honor's Reward" by John Bevere. There is so much I'm learning from it. I just finished the chapter that speaks of honoring our children, explaining one way we honor them is by training and discipling them. Since Caleb is now old enough to understand some of what we're saying, I've started to implement training throughout our day. I mentioned in an earlier post, , that I'm teaching him to understand "no sir", to look at me when I call for him, and most recently to come to me when I ask him. Basically, we're starting the early forms of obedience. We do this whether we are playing with toys, eating lunch, changing diapers. I've learned that consistency is essential.
There are times when I ask him to "come to mommy" and he doesn't (actually, most of the time he doesn't; he's still learning what those words mean), so I physically go get him and bring him where he needed to be. I explain to him "when mommy tells you to come to her, you need to crawl to where she is like this." There are times when I ask him to "come to mommy" and of course he doesn't, I honestly just want to forget that I told him to "come" and let him keep playing for a few more minutes instead. But I don't want him to learn that it's ok to ignore me, so I keep at it.
Bevere's description of honoring our children through training and discipline was such an encouragement for me. I honestly never thought of this simple training as a form of honor, but I guess it is. It shows a parents love and respect for their children, that they are willing to do what is necessary to help their child be fully equipped for the future. And it that honor brings forth a reward, for both parent and child.
Yesterday was the first time that I asked Caleb to "come to mommy" and he did, even when it was very visible that he didn't want to. He gave this little sigh, looked back at what he was previously aiming for (the stairs) and instead heading towards me. Of course he got lots of praise for his obedience and self control. I get the reward of a child who is learning to walk this life with Godly character and wisdom.
"The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." Proverbs 29:15
There are times when I ask him to "come to mommy" and he doesn't (actually, most of the time he doesn't; he's still learning what those words mean), so I physically go get him and bring him where he needed to be. I explain to him "when mommy tells you to come to her, you need to crawl to where she is like this." There are times when I ask him to "come to mommy" and of course he doesn't, I honestly just want to forget that I told him to "come" and let him keep playing for a few more minutes instead. But I don't want him to learn that it's ok to ignore me, so I keep at it.
Bevere's description of honoring our children through training and discipline was such an encouragement for me. I honestly never thought of this simple training as a form of honor, but I guess it is. It shows a parents love and respect for their children, that they are willing to do what is necessary to help their child be fully equipped for the future. And it that honor brings forth a reward, for both parent and child.
Yesterday was the first time that I asked Caleb to "come to mommy" and he did, even when it was very visible that he didn't want to. He gave this little sigh, looked back at what he was previously aiming for (the stairs) and instead heading towards me. Of course he got lots of praise for his obedience and self control. I get the reward of a child who is learning to walk this life with Godly character and wisdom.
"The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." Proverbs 29:15
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Arms Open Wide
When Caleb was younger I remember looking forward to the time when he could hold his arms up to show me he wanted me to hold him. I'm thrilled that he's reached that age and it's just as great as I had hoped. It's really all about communication. Caleb can't speak (well, other than the occasional "uh-oh," "dadadada" and "bye-bye"), but when he holds his arms out, he's "telling" me a great deal. "I want you." "I need you." "I'm content with you." "I love you."
I'm his mom, an adult, that will do what is necessary and provide all he needs whether he "tells" me these things or not. I do not place a condition on my provision. Maybe that makes it even more special when he holds out his arms for me or snuggles up to me at bedtime, I'm not forcing it yet he chooses to communicate those things out of a genuine desire and need of me.
If I feel this way, how much more my heavenly Father. I've always loved the prayer Jesus prays the night before His crucifixion. I think it gives such insight of the love and desire of Christ. He talks about wanting us...His creation to be unified with Him. Wow. The Bible is full of examples of how far God is willing to go to gain that unity, that communication and fellowship with us. There's no doubt how much He wants us. As I was looking forward to Caleb being able and willing to communicate with me...God is doing the same.
I'm his mom, an adult, that will do what is necessary and provide all he needs whether he "tells" me these things or not. I do not place a condition on my provision. Maybe that makes it even more special when he holds out his arms for me or snuggles up to me at bedtime, I'm not forcing it yet he chooses to communicate those things out of a genuine desire and need of me.
If I feel this way, how much more my heavenly Father. I've always loved the prayer Jesus prays the night before His crucifixion. I think it gives such insight of the love and desire of Christ. He talks about wanting us...His creation to be unified with Him. Wow. The Bible is full of examples of how far God is willing to go to gain that unity, that communication and fellowship with us. There's no doubt how much He wants us. As I was looking forward to Caleb being able and willing to communicate with me...God is doing the same.
We're formed with His specific plan, created with the necessary gifts to achieve it. I imagine as we're placed in the arms of our parents, God begins His wait for that little one to open his arms wide to Him, to begin showing their genuine desire and need of Him, to begin allowing Him to continue molding us and preparing us for our individual service. No wonder "the heavens rejoice" when we first open our arms to Him. Whether we're 5 or 45, He rejoices.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Finding Joy
Feeding Caleb is one of the most enjoyable times of the day for me (breastfeeding that is, solid feeding is quite stressful right now!). After he finishes, we sit together in the rocking chair, talking, playing, laughing, singing. Today he found it hilarious for me to pull him up to a standing position and sit him back down. We did this over and over, and each time he just cracked up.
He is so joyful about experiencing things in his world, how they feel and sound, what they look, smell and taste like. Whether it be a facial expression he finds funny and wants to imitate, kicking a ball around the kitchen, listening to dad play the guitar, or tasting the petroleum jelly he grabbed out of the jar (oops), his contentment is written all over his face. He is most certainly enjoying the gifts God gave him. It got me thinking how rare it is to see an adult similarly joyful about his world and the gifts God gave him. We are even more experienced, have more abilities, more traveled, more aware of our world than a 9 month old, yet instead of creating more contentment we seem to let it make us more cynical or even depressed. Sure there are things in this world that we notice as adults that less than admirable. We're at fault for that and we have to live with what we've done. Last I checked, we still have those many things God made for us and gave to us. These are the same things that "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. " (Gen. 1:31)
He can see the good here. Caleb can see the good. Why do we let ourselves miss out?
He is so joyful about experiencing things in his world, how they feel and sound, what they look, smell and taste like. Whether it be a facial expression he finds funny and wants to imitate, kicking a ball around the kitchen, listening to dad play the guitar, or tasting the petroleum jelly he grabbed out of the jar (oops), his contentment is written all over his face. He is most certainly enjoying the gifts God gave him. It got me thinking how rare it is to see an adult similarly joyful about his world and the gifts God gave him. We are even more experienced, have more abilities, more traveled, more aware of our world than a 9 month old, yet instead of creating more contentment we seem to let it make us more cynical or even depressed. Sure there are things in this world that we notice as adults that less than admirable. We're at fault for that and we have to live with what we've done. Last I checked, we still have those many things God made for us and gave to us. These are the same things that "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. " (Gen. 1:31)
He can see the good here. Caleb can see the good. Why do we let ourselves miss out?
Saturday, January 17, 2009
"Work done well, work done poorly, and work not done at all"
I just started a new book from a new favorite author of mine, Levi's Will by W. Dale Cramer. It is a novel about an Amish boy that leaves home as a teenager...that's all I know so far as I'm nowhere near done and have no idea where the story will lead me (haven't even read the synopsis on the back yet).
In beginning his nomadic trek through the states working wherever he found a job, the main character, Will, gave a beautiful description of the type of work ethics I would love to instill in Caleb as he grows.
"Work was work and a roof was a roof, even if it was just a harness room with cots. There was nothing he could not, or would not, do. He had never been taught to divide work into categories of good work or bad, easy or hard, dignified or undignified; he had only been raised to recognize work done well, work done poorly, and work not done at all. If manure needed shoveling, in Will's mind the only true indignity was leaving it unshoveled." (p. 45)
This attitude is so far removed from our culture today. I'm not quite sure how one would go about teaching this...other than modeling it yourself.
"With good will render service, as to the Lord, an not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free."
Ephesians 6:7
In beginning his nomadic trek through the states working wherever he found a job, the main character, Will, gave a beautiful description of the type of work ethics I would love to instill in Caleb as he grows.
"Work was work and a roof was a roof, even if it was just a harness room with cots. There was nothing he could not, or would not, do. He had never been taught to divide work into categories of good work or bad, easy or hard, dignified or undignified; he had only been raised to recognize work done well, work done poorly, and work not done at all. If manure needed shoveling, in Will's mind the only true indignity was leaving it unshoveled." (p. 45)
This attitude is so far removed from our culture today. I'm not quite sure how one would go about teaching this...other than modeling it yourself.
"With good will render service, as to the Lord, an not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free."
Ephesians 6:7
Friday, January 9, 2009
Obedience
I've started trying to teach Caleb what "no" means and to acknowledge me (by looking at me) when I speak to him. I thought since he can give me a "high five" or clap his hands when asked, I figured he can learn some simple commands.
I'll preface this by saying, I acknowledge that when he doesn't look at me at my request or listen to my "no", he's not disobeying me. At his age, he doesn't understand what it means to disobey and is simply learning what certain words mean...but I learned a lesson through it all the same.
Throughout my life as a Christian there have been things that I just get wrong a lot. I don't listen to the Holy Spirit's direction and simply do what I want instead. When I've consistently done something wrong, it's easy to just give up and think "I've done this too many times, God's so disappointed, why even try anymore." (or something along those lines). One thing I learned with Caleb is that even though he ackowledges and "obeys" me about half the time, I'm still so excited and proud of him when he does obey. When he doesn't look at me when I ask or when he touches the blinds even after telling him "no", I am of course disappointed. But that disappointment doesn't make me give up on him, nor does it make me any less pleased with him when he choses to listen and obey.
I think that's the way God is with us. Our mistakes and disobedience certainly disappoint Him, but it doesn't lessen His pleasure in our obedience later on.
My persistence will pay off with Caleb. God's persistence will pay off with me too.
I'll preface this by saying, I acknowledge that when he doesn't look at me at my request or listen to my "no", he's not disobeying me. At his age, he doesn't understand what it means to disobey and is simply learning what certain words mean...but I learned a lesson through it all the same.
Throughout my life as a Christian there have been things that I just get wrong a lot. I don't listen to the Holy Spirit's direction and simply do what I want instead. When I've consistently done something wrong, it's easy to just give up and think "I've done this too many times, God's so disappointed, why even try anymore." (or something along those lines). One thing I learned with Caleb is that even though he ackowledges and "obeys" me about half the time, I'm still so excited and proud of him when he does obey. When he doesn't look at me when I ask or when he touches the blinds even after telling him "no", I am of course disappointed. But that disappointment doesn't make me give up on him, nor does it make me any less pleased with him when he choses to listen and obey.
I think that's the way God is with us. Our mistakes and disobedience certainly disappoint Him, but it doesn't lessen His pleasure in our obedience later on.
My persistence will pay off with Caleb. God's persistence will pay off with me too.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Grass is Greener
This is a little old, but I'm finally getting around to writing it...
Apparently the desire for what we can't have begins young. At just 5 months old, I started noticing that keeping something away from Caleb, or telling him he couldn't play with it made him that much more interested in it. The remote control happened to be the first example of this. He would sit and stare at it (perhaps hoping I would look away and he could finally have at it), ignoring anything I did to try and distract him from it. I'm surprised that he would choose sitting and staring at it versus actually getting to play with something. I tried getting a toy remote control and apparently those are just no fun. I even found an old remote that is no longer in use and gave him that (I know, probably not a good idea); it appeased him for a while, but eventually wore out its interest too. At 7 months, he still however, is fascinated with the current remote control. What makes it different than the others? All I can figure is it happens to be the one we told him he can't have.
An entire slew of words come to mind with this, temptation, envy, covet, obedience to name a few.
Temptation is apparently something we must learn to fight from a young age. Obedience in all things is a lesson to be taught, not something we instinctually do. Caleb has much to learn. Now the temptation is the remote control, but who knows what it will be in 15 years. So much better for him, if we begin the lessons on obedience now.
Apparently the desire for what we can't have begins young. At just 5 months old, I started noticing that keeping something away from Caleb, or telling him he couldn't play with it made him that much more interested in it. The remote control happened to be the first example of this. He would sit and stare at it (perhaps hoping I would look away and he could finally have at it), ignoring anything I did to try and distract him from it. I'm surprised that he would choose sitting and staring at it versus actually getting to play with something. I tried getting a toy remote control and apparently those are just no fun. I even found an old remote that is no longer in use and gave him that (I know, probably not a good idea); it appeased him for a while, but eventually wore out its interest too. At 7 months, he still however, is fascinated with the current remote control. What makes it different than the others? All I can figure is it happens to be the one we told him he can't have.
An entire slew of words come to mind with this, temptation, envy, covet, obedience to name a few.
Temptation is apparently something we must learn to fight from a young age. Obedience in all things is a lesson to be taught, not something we instinctually do. Caleb has much to learn. Now the temptation is the remote control, but who knows what it will be in 15 years. So much better for him, if we begin the lessons on obedience now.
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