Partners in Parenting 12/14/15

“Look and really see!”

The Christmas song, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” starts with an interesting line that has nothing to do with hearing.  Here it is:

“Said the night wind to the little lamb,

Do you see what I see?

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

Do you see what I see?”

As you enjoy Christmas as a family, I would love to have you consider what you see and hear.  I don’t mean for you to merely see with your eyes, but possibly the best way to describe what I mean is to ask you to see with your heart.

For instance, take a look at the picture here.  At first glance, I see:

• Table
• Poster
• coloring books
• crayons 

That is what my eyes see.  But my heart sees something more meaningful and much deeper.  My heart sees:

• A student taking initiative to help students at Children’s Hospital to have something to do during their stay
• A school coming together to serve others
• A parent of another student deciding to join the cause by making cookies to raise money for more crayons and coloring books
• A public school cheer team hearing about the project and joining efforts for kids
• An idea becoming a reality for the benefit of others
• Jesus’ love at work

The heart sees way more than the eyes.  God’s heart saw humanity’s need, and he sent his Son, Jesus, to be our Savior.  As you celebrate Christmas, I pray all our families see things with their heart, not just their eyes!

Family Discussion Points!

Play a game of “I Spy” with your kids with physical things.  Then try it with things of the heart like this:  I spy someone serving our family by helping with the dishes or laundry, etc.

Parents, talk about the excitement of seeing your kids opening gifts.  What in your heart makes that event so exciting?

Finally, talk to your kids about how God saw our greatest need and sent Jesus to be our Savior. 

Partners in Parenting 12/7/15

“Gaining Perspective!”

Take a look at the picture.  Can you guess what it is?  It is a close up of something.  Talk with your kids, because they have a better shot at guessing it than most of the parents do.

Yes, I know it is out of focus!  Yes, I know it isn’t fair of me to ask this question. Yes, I am aware that it is hard to figure out!  Would it help if I put a $100 reward on the table for the first person who figures it out???  Or is it just plain not worth your time??

I’m sharing this picture because I have had so many events happen in my life lately where people are struggling with an issue due to a lack of perspective.  It is our tendency as humans to live in the moment as though the moment is all that matters.  This is a belief that Satan would love for us to have because it makes his job of tempting us so much easier.  It is pretty easy to deceive someone whose perspective on life is out of focus on the “big picture.”  It is more difficult to deceive someone whose perspective on life is laser focused on the “big picture.”

Parents, I want to challenge you to take a look at the activities of your kids’ lives, and look at them from a “big picture” perspective.  Allow me to help you!

This is the truth!

• A recent study indicated that 26% of parents with a high school athlete believed their child has enough talent to play that sport professionally.  The real number is a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of 1%.
• I can’t remember which students at Trinity had a detention in October.  I’d have to check our records to find out.
• I can’t recall my grades from grade school or high school.  I just remember my parents being happy if I did my best and equally frustrated if I wasn’t doing my best.
• Since graduating from college, nobody has ever commented to me about my GPA.  They have commented on my character though.

In other words, much of the stuff in life doesn’t matter as much as we make it out to matter.  Seems God always keeps a “big picture” look at us, and maybe we should look at ourselves, our kids, and others that way more often as well!

“No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  Romans 8:37

Family Discussion Points!

Take a look at the picture!  Have every family member take a guess!

Ask your children to read something as fast as possible by holding the paper so close that their nose touches the paper.  Laugh with them, not at them!!! J

Discuss places where your family has lost perspective!

(see the back of the Tweet to see a “big picture” perspective of the picture above)

Partners in Parenting 11/30/15

“It’s Getting Kind of Heavy!”

The heavy snow we got last week was so beautiful.  The snow was wet, so I saw lots of snowmen being built.  The first good snow of the year had lots of kids excited for the opportunity to play in it.  As I drove down the road, I was amazed at the way the snow made all the trees look like each branch was completely white.  It all looked majestic…

…until I woke up the next morning!  My 25 foot tall pear tree was quite different from the heavy snow.  The middle of the tree was all hallowed out.  The branch that broke extended to the peak of the tree, but now it was laying on the ground.

 

The snow was beautiful, but it was heavy.  The stress caused by the weight of the snow was more than that branch could bear.  As I worked to clean up the tree later in the day, I was reminded how life can get that way sometimes.  It just gets “heavy.”  As a parent, I don’t get to just focus on parenting.  I wish I could, but God has given me things to do besides being a parent.  It gets hard when I manage so many other competing things.  So, how does a person keep from “breaking” when things get really “heavy?” 

I don’t have a perfect answer, but I know that for me, I need to remind myself to remove things that don’t matter to God and my family in order to find some relief.  Just think!  If that tree could have removed some snow from its branches while the snow kept falling, it would still be completely intact today.  Especially at Christmas, things get pretty “heavy” with all the things to do, but really, we might be wise to remove some of those things that don’t matter so we don’t “break” under all the stress!  Start with a focus on God and then your family, and see what you can get rid of in the weeks ahead.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  Like 10: 41,42

 

Family Discussion Points!

Have every family member share their favorite Christmas tradition that they don’t want to have stop.  Protect all those things as a family!

Consider and talk about what God thinks would be most important about Christmas time for us today if He were to tell us.  Protect these things too!

Consider getting rid of some of the “heavy” things, OR reducing your time spent on them if you are not able to eliminate them.