God power or Brain power?

Father, I pray that you would guide the words I am about to write. I pray that through these blog posts, you will shine, not me. I pray for wisdom , compassion, humility, and a sound mind. Amen.

As a parent to small children, I am hyper aware of all the messages out there for how to parent a child, not to mention my own predisposition to gravitate towards trendy techniques that might make me the "perfect" parent. There is an overabundance of information on what to do. I see statements like "if you breastfeed your child until the age of three years, two days, and 5 minutes, your child will be set up for an absolutely perfect life." or "If you ever put your child in timeout for more than 2 minutes, he'll grow up to resent you and never be a functioning human being". Yeah , yeah, I know those examples are dramatic and not actually things I've ever read, but seriously! It cannot be more true that EVERY one has got something to say about parenting, including myself. It has not been that long that I've realized God power is much bigger than brain power.

You see, Satan wants us to dwell and focus on our flaws as parents. We screw up, and he wants that mistake to fester and infect us. He wants to use a million different outside sources to distract us from the real purpose we serve as parents, and that is to raise them to know and love the Lord, higher than anything or anyone else! God's gift of grace extends into our day to day lives as moms and dads, and he uses every moment to teach and guide us, just as we do for our children. If you find yourself "losing it" again and feel totally frustrated, and inadequate to change these behaviors, it is vital to recognize that God is telling you something. He is telling you to give it to him, not yourself or the latest 5 step guide to be a better parent, or the newest blog that you've stumbled upon. He desires your heart in everything, and through your faith, prayer, and trust in him, he will transform you! By taking the burden on by our own strength and self discipline, we are pushing away the wonderful gift of grace and forgiveness and digging ourselves deeper into shame and self reliance.

 The bible tells us how to raise our children, both by the compassionate model of how Jesus interacted with people, and also by direct verses, like Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." We, as parents, are called to be used by God to raise our children, lovingly, and obediently and then; to trust that he is ultimately in control of them, and he is ultimately the one at work in their hearts. Settle on Job 23:13 for a moment which says "But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does." Allow this to bring peace to your heart and mind, and then pray earnestly, invite him into your day to day life, ask for help, thank him and adore him, and then go in confidence knowing that you've given it over to God.*

*This does not mean we parent passively, lazily, or abusively, but that we repent and move forward and continue to flood our minds with the truth of scripture. Godly mentors certainly can help along the way, God also instructs us to walk with those wiser than ourselves.