Once again, I feel the Lord shaping and molding me...He's still working on me!
His mercies are truly new every morning and I'm so thankful He gives me what I need.
The other evening Beth was doing her morning chore of washing the breakfast dishes. I've taught her how would be a good way to get them completed...fill the sink with sudsy water, fill it with dishes, and start washing away! But, she prefers to grab them one at a time and scrub them down with a scrub brush, then wash with the cloth. Anyway, I explained to her in a frustrated voice that she needed to wash them the way I have taught her. It would save so much of her time and she could be doing other things. To say the least, I wasn't very sweet. I'm sure I'm the only mother that has had those moments of frustration :o) (I know, I know, I should've been thankful she was doing her chores!)
The next day during my Bible time I read this verse:
Proverbs 16:21
and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Wow! That was a truth I sure needed to hear! In my frustration and haste I didn't truly teach my daughter anything except "Oh, Dear, Mom's frustrated again!"
As the school year begins, this is the verse I want to meditate on. I want it to be my personal "theme" for the school year. Sweetness of my lips. I notice when I speak sweetly and lovingly my children's hearts are inclined to hear what I'm saying, and to do it too! It's a far cry from what our flesh tells us will "teach our child."
Lord, Help me control my tongue! I want to be a teacher to my children. Not just a teacher of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, but a teacher of all things they need to live their lives to serve You...even dishes!
So...when I raised my voice to Sarah for singing her poem when I clearly said read it quietly to yourself...maybe it would have been better to say it with more love and sweetly?
ReplyDelete:)
Great verse to share!
Tab
Glad you are so pliable to the HS and to the tuggings on your heart. FTR, I like to wash the dishes like Beth. I hate to have all the dishes in sink while I wash. I know why, but I blame the fact that I have broken dishes and got cut by a knife once (when someone else put it in the sink!). That isn't the reason but it sounds more appropriate to non-OCD tendency people. :)
ReplyDeleteAh Tab! She's singing her poem...tell her Aunt Kami is so proud of her! :o)
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I'm not letting Beth read that!
Love you both!
You mean you do that too?! It took me years to learn to speak with more sweetness to my children, and I'm still not there completely. Great reminder for this school year!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions about prices over here, milk is $4.09/gallon (and we get it in gallon jugs, not the liter bags!), and eggs are around $2.79/dozen. So yep, pretty expensive. I feel blessed that we can go down to the US to buy things cheaper. I fully realize that many of my missionary friends don't have that luxury!
Oh, my tone of voice with the kids has really been bothering me lately. I really want to talk to them nicer, but I'm constantly loosing it with them, then hating myself for it later. How do I get out of this rut? I pray each morning for help, but then my day goes by just like all the others without any change. What am I doing wrong?
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