Day 18: DiscontentmentProverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. My wife once traveled to Arizona and asked my son what he wanted for a gift.
He replied, “I’d like a snake.” (We were reading Genesis and his favorite Bible character was the serpent.) So I asked him, “You mean like a pretend snake.” “No,” he insisted, “A real snake.” Needless to say he was disappointed (for about three seconds). We all experience disappointment in life, so Paul explains the key of contentment . . .
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Day 17: DeceptionProverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. Children often lie for fear of discipline. My son once blamed his brother for drawing with chalk on the neighbor’s driveway, so I had to explain that his deception concerned me more than his colorful scribbles. “Tell me the truth,” I told him, “You won’t be disciplined for your artwork, but only if you lie to me.” Tearfully, my son confessed his sin and sought his brother’s forgiveness.
In biblical times . . . How am I and my family supposed to respond to suffering? Join AMBrewster as he provides Christian parents super valuable and extremely practical advice for responding well to hardship. Check out 5 Ways to Support TLP. Click here for our free Parenting Course! Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Follow us on Twitter. Follow AMBrewster on Twitter. Pin us on Pinterest. Subscribe to us on YouTube. Need some help? Write to us at [email protected]. Click "Read More" for today’s Episode Notes and Transcript. Day 16: SpeechProverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. While reading The Pilgrim’s Progress as a family, we came upon the characters Faithful and Talkative. “What is Talkative’s personality?” one son asked.
“He talks a lot,” I answered, “Do you think that’s good or bad?” Thinking for a moment, he replied noncommittally, “Well, he could be a pastor.” Day 15: LazinessProverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise. The first week after bringing home a newborn is always difficult. For one of our boys, my wife woke up every two hours to nurse and woke me up as well to share in her misery. My job was to lift our son from the bassinet, hand him to my wife, then fall asleep until it was time to replace our bundle of joy. (I’m convinced that caring for a newborn is a kind of sleep torture to condition parents for the rigors of childrearing.) After just a few of those evening exercises, I became so disoriented when my wife woke me that I would have to ask, “Coming or going?” Thankfully, after the first couple weeks, my wife realized that I was not an essential cog in the late-night feedings. (I had figured that out much earlier, but was wise enough not to verbalize it.) I slept so soundly during that first night of uninterrupted bliss that I asked her the next morning, “Oh, did he sleep through the night?” My wife was not at all amused.
Why do we suffer? How could God allow bad things to happen to good people? Join AMBrewster as he helps Christian parents teach their children the biblical purposes for suffering. Check out 5 Ways to Support TLP. Click here for our free Parenting Course! Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Follow us on Twitter. Follow AMBrewster on Twitter. Pin us on Pinterest. Subscribe to us on YouTube. Need some help? Write to us at [email protected]. Click "Read More" for today’s Episode Notes and Transcript. Day 14: AngerProverbs 16:32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Children often breathe their parents’ second-hand anger. At my son’s back-to-school night, I noticed one student’s artwork with the entire page scribbled in red crayon.
The teacher asked, “What’s that a picture of?” The little boy answered, “It’s my daddy. He’s really, really mad.” Day 13: AnxietyProverbs 12:25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. I was lost, driving through an unfamiliar neighborhood when my GPS died. I looked around my car, but could not locate a single map. (Yes, there was a day when maps were made of paper.) Since I get anxious when I don’t know where I’m driving, I began to feel a headache and a terrible feeling in my stomach. I was also running low on gas and late for an appointment. Then I had a second appointment after that one, which I would probably miss as well and have to pay late fees. My fear started spinning out of control. Then, at that moment, another car blocked my lane . . . .
Day 12: FollyProverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. Your child is a fool. I hate to break it to you, but your child is a wisdom-rejecting, common sense-shirking, God-denying fool. One night, my sons devised a new game called America’s Greatest Talent which required training in their bedroom when they should have been asleep. Course challenges involved scuttling the bookshelf and scaling the bunk bed (without the ladder, of course). The greatest talent was to leap from the top bunk and land on a pillow the size of a postage stamp just inches from the wall (all this in the dark). I walked in on them and found it mildly amusing, but my wife was appalled. Like most parents, we cannot count the number of times we have spoken with shock: “What in the world were you thinking?” Dads, teach your children wisdom, for they are foolish by nature: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov. 22:15). Young fools, unless instructed wisely, will soon become older fools who remain blind in their sin.
Who is God? Your answer to that question will tell you how you suffer. Join AMBrewster as he helps Christian parents understand how their child’s theology will determine how they suffer. Check out 5 Ways to Support TLP. Click here for our free Parenting Course! Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Follow us on Twitter. Follow AMBrewster on Twitter. Pin us on Pinterest. Subscribe to us on YouTube. Need some help? Write to us at [email protected]. Click "Read More" for today’s Episode Notes and Transcript. |
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