I find myself repeating the title of this blog many times during the course of the day...everyday. Why? Because I have a nine-year-old, a four-year-old and a two-year-old!
Seriously, my kids are great. They are basically well-mannered, polite, all-American kids, which means, as any parent knows, that they have selective hearing. They get so busy doing their "kid thing" that they occsionally need to be reminded what we said to them again...and again...and again...and, well, you get the picture.
When I repeat myself for the third time, it is usually followed by "did you not hear me?", or "you need to listen better the first time".
The other day while I was lecturing one of them on how they will get themselves in all kinds of trouble if they don't start listening better, God told me to listen to myself.
"Not now, God...I'm busy threatening my kid."
When I'm doing something important, I don't like to be interrupted. But then that is exactly God's point, I suppose. You see at that moment it was of utmost importance that I drill into my child that I know what's best and that he or she needs to listen to what I have to say because they will find that it will be better in the long run if they do, or at least it will exempt them from getting a spanking for disobeying me.
So I continued threatening my kid, "if you don't listen, I'll...um... what was that , God? You say that You could say the same thing to me? "
How many times has God tried again and again to get my attention but I was too busy to listen to Him right then? I had something on my mind that absolutely couldn't wait...something important, so I ignored God, or at least I told Him to wait until I wasn't so busy.
I love my kids. I want them to learn that I tell them things that will help them and not hurt them. I want them to realize that I tell them the things that will keep them on the right track and out of trouble. When they don't listen, I correct them. Usually a stern talking to will suffice but too often a smack to the back side follows.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us...not to harm us but to prosper us. We are best served when we listen to Him. He knows best. He sees the big picture as opposed to our limited view. Too many times we are like our kids when they are so caught up in what they're doing that they don't heed our instructions, and like our kids, we too have to be disciplined and corrected (Heb 12:5-6).
God never intends to devastate His children. Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation reserved for those of us who are in Christ. Punishment to devastation is dealt to those who oppose God and His rightousness, not to His kids. There is a definite difference in that kind of punishment and correction/discipline.
Hopefully and prayerfully I will constantly and consistently listen for God's leading in my life. Knowing me, I won't always do that. When I don't, I hope that a stern talking to is all I need but if I persist in not listening, I know that God, in His loving and just nature, will spank me to set me back on His path again.
After I do that with my kids, I go to them to tell them I love them very much and I just want to teach them to listen to me and their mom. They respond by putting their little arms around me and assuring me that they still love me too.
I believe God is telling me that I and my children aren't really much different at all. Maybe they inherited their selective hearing from me. Maybe their "kid things" are just as important to them as my "adult things" are to me and they simply don't think they have time to listen to what I have to say to them at every moment.
"What's that, God? You love me and it hurts You when you have to spank me? If I listen the first time I won't get in trouble? Okay, God. I'll try to remember from now on. I still love you, too."
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3831148690415601295&postID=1167750406377459495
Seriously, my kids are great. They are basically well-mannered, polite, all-American kids, which means, as any parent knows, that they have selective hearing. They get so busy doing their "kid thing" that they occsionally need to be reminded what we said to them again...and again...and again...and, well, you get the picture.
When I repeat myself for the third time, it is usually followed by "did you not hear me?", or "you need to listen better the first time".
The other day while I was lecturing one of them on how they will get themselves in all kinds of trouble if they don't start listening better, God told me to listen to myself.
"Not now, God...I'm busy threatening my kid."
When I'm doing something important, I don't like to be interrupted. But then that is exactly God's point, I suppose. You see at that moment it was of utmost importance that I drill into my child that I know what's best and that he or she needs to listen to what I have to say because they will find that it will be better in the long run if they do, or at least it will exempt them from getting a spanking for disobeying me.
So I continued threatening my kid, "if you don't listen, I'll...um... what was that , God? You say that You could say the same thing to me? "
How many times has God tried again and again to get my attention but I was too busy to listen to Him right then? I had something on my mind that absolutely couldn't wait...something important, so I ignored God, or at least I told Him to wait until I wasn't so busy.
I love my kids. I want them to learn that I tell them things that will help them and not hurt them. I want them to realize that I tell them the things that will keep them on the right track and out of trouble. When they don't listen, I correct them. Usually a stern talking to will suffice but too often a smack to the back side follows.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us...not to harm us but to prosper us. We are best served when we listen to Him. He knows best. He sees the big picture as opposed to our limited view. Too many times we are like our kids when they are so caught up in what they're doing that they don't heed our instructions, and like our kids, we too have to be disciplined and corrected (Heb 12:5-6).
God never intends to devastate His children. Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation reserved for those of us who are in Christ. Punishment to devastation is dealt to those who oppose God and His rightousness, not to His kids. There is a definite difference in that kind of punishment and correction/discipline.
Hopefully and prayerfully I will constantly and consistently listen for God's leading in my life. Knowing me, I won't always do that. When I don't, I hope that a stern talking to is all I need but if I persist in not listening, I know that God, in His loving and just nature, will spank me to set me back on His path again.
After I do that with my kids, I go to them to tell them I love them very much and I just want to teach them to listen to me and their mom. They respond by putting their little arms around me and assuring me that they still love me too.
I believe God is telling me that I and my children aren't really much different at all. Maybe they inherited their selective hearing from me. Maybe their "kid things" are just as important to them as my "adult things" are to me and they simply don't think they have time to listen to what I have to say to them at every moment.
"What's that, God? You love me and it hurts You when you have to spank me? If I listen the first time I won't get in trouble? Okay, God. I'll try to remember from now on. I still love you, too."
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3831148690415601295&postID=1167750406377459495
