Discipleship. . .Shaping Your Child's Heart
Wow - so, so much to absorb! Accordingly, I've upgraded chapter one's analysis from
"It's carries a heap of conviction, a spoonful of guilt and a dash of inadequacy." TO "a mountain of conviction, a bucket of guilt and a cup of inadequacy"! Thank goodness, I don't live next door to the Clarksons, lol!
This chapter - "Discipleship: Shaping Your Child's Heart" - guides you through the concept of *training* your child via the five heartbeats of obedience, discipline, love, protection, and direction.
It is convicting in that it causes me to consider my goals from a biblical perspective: training vs.educating our children, guilt bearing as it shines a *bright* light on so many areas of need, and of course the last cup poured out to reveal my many inadequacies as a parent!!
"What does God's Word have to do with education? Everything!. . . .When you begin to think about how your children learn, you must start where God does. . .with the heart." pg. 25
And here again, the quotes and scriptures in the sidelines are perfect compliments:
"He who knows how to teach a child, is not competent for the oversight of a child's education unless he also knows how to train a child." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
". . .Training a child's will is bringing such influences to bear upon the child that he is ready to choose or decide in favor of the right course of action. . .The final responsibility of a choice and it's consequences rest with the child, and not the parent. . .Merely to force one's will into submission to the other is. . .an injury to both the one who forces and the one who submits." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
I thought this was parallel to God's authority over our own lives - He leads not by force, but through loving guidance and the teaching of His word, he still allows us the freedom to make our own choices and bear the consequences thereof.
When I considered the veracity of all that was laid out before me in this chapter, I had to sadly and reluctantly confess that I am much more confident in my ability to "teach" from an academic standpoint than to train from a "spiritual" standpoint. I myself, am still in need of training :) and I found myself humbled - as a wife, a parent, and a person.
So when they close out the chapter with . . ."your children will want to become only as mature as you are willing to become. Jesus taught, - "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher" Luke 6:40. You can be sure I was brought to my knees in prayer.
Lastly, I share these quotes as food for thought:
"Parents, do you wish to see your children happy? Take care, then, that you train them to obey when they are spoken to, - to do as they are bid. . .Teach them to obey while young, or else they will be fretting against God all their lives long, and wear themselves out with the vain idea of being independent of His control." J.C. Ryle, British minister and author, from The Upper Room, 1888
"How many parents there are. . .who are readier to provide playthings for their children than to share in the delights of their children with those playthings; readier to set their children at knowledge-seeking than to have a part in their children's surprises and enjoyments of knowledge-attaining; readier to make good, as far as they can, all losses to their children, than to grieve with their children over those losses. And what a loss of power to those parents as parents, is this lack of sympathy with their children as children." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
Yes, so much to absorb ;-)
"It's carries a heap of conviction, a spoonful of guilt and a dash of inadequacy." TO "a mountain of conviction, a bucket of guilt and a cup of inadequacy"! Thank goodness, I don't live next door to the Clarksons, lol!
This chapter - "Discipleship: Shaping Your Child's Heart" - guides you through the concept of *training* your child via the five heartbeats of obedience, discipline, love, protection, and direction.
It is convicting in that it causes me to consider my goals from a biblical perspective: training vs.educating our children, guilt bearing as it shines a *bright* light on so many areas of need, and of course the last cup poured out to reveal my many inadequacies as a parent!!
"What does God's Word have to do with education? Everything!. . . .When you begin to think about how your children learn, you must start where God does. . .with the heart." pg. 25
And here again, the quotes and scriptures in the sidelines are perfect compliments:
"He who knows how to teach a child, is not competent for the oversight of a child's education unless he also knows how to train a child." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
". . .Training a child's will is bringing such influences to bear upon the child that he is ready to choose or decide in favor of the right course of action. . .The final responsibility of a choice and it's consequences rest with the child, and not the parent. . .Merely to force one's will into submission to the other is. . .an injury to both the one who forces and the one who submits." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
I thought this was parallel to God's authority over our own lives - He leads not by force, but through loving guidance and the teaching of His word, he still allows us the freedom to make our own choices and bear the consequences thereof.
When I considered the veracity of all that was laid out before me in this chapter, I had to sadly and reluctantly confess that I am much more confident in my ability to "teach" from an academic standpoint than to train from a "spiritual" standpoint. I myself, am still in need of training :) and I found myself humbled - as a wife, a parent, and a person.
So when they close out the chapter with . . ."your children will want to become only as mature as you are willing to become. Jesus taught, - "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher" Luke 6:40. You can be sure I was brought to my knees in prayer.
Lastly, I share these quotes as food for thought:
"Parents, do you wish to see your children happy? Take care, then, that you train them to obey when they are spoken to, - to do as they are bid. . .Teach them to obey while young, or else they will be fretting against God all their lives long, and wear themselves out with the vain idea of being independent of His control." J.C. Ryle, British minister and author, from The Upper Room, 1888
"How many parents there are. . .who are readier to provide playthings for their children than to share in the delights of their children with those playthings; readier to set their children at knowledge-seeking than to have a part in their children's surprises and enjoyments of knowledge-attaining; readier to make good, as far as they can, all losses to their children, than to grieve with their children over those losses. And what a loss of power to those parents as parents, is this lack of sympathy with their children as children." H. Clay Trumbull, Hints of Child Training, 1890
Yes, so much to absorb ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment