As I was shelving books in our church library one day and I came across the book, The Parent’s Toolshop by Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW. It’s actually a huge workbook filled with creative ideas on parenting. I opened the book and discovered that I had landed in the chapter dealing with behavior and discipline. The Bible is clear to point out that discipline is necessary for spiritual growth and character development. (. . . but he who loves his son (daughter) is careful to discipline him (her). Proverbs 13:24) “He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.” (Proverbs 13:18) Below are 5 steps that might help to prevent bad behavior.
“Notice children being “good.” Encouragement helps children feel good about themselves and produces a sense of confidence. When your child does something “good”, make an effort to point out their behavior, their kindness to a friend or whatever good they have done. Don’t let a good deed go unnoticed. But be careful not to give false praise, be sure it is specific and justified.
“Show unconditional love.” Don’t make your love conditional, as if I will only love you if you do so and so. The love for your child should have no boundaries.
“Spend time with your child.” Prevent the negative attention-seeking behavior by spending time with your child. By doing so, you will fulfill the need for negative attention.
“Focus on internal approval and motivation.” Help your child to create a positive self-image by pointing out the things that your child does well. For instance, you might say, “Wow, I really like the way you made your bed this morning, and I didn’t even have to ask you.” Another suggestion might be, “Thanks for taking out the garbage you noticed that the trash cans were getting full and I appreciate you doing that.” Try to be specific when you provide positive feedback.
“Build team work.” Create a cooperative teamwork approach at home. When doing chores around the house, children need to believe that their contribution to the overall well being of the family is important. Perhaps you could ask your child for help, for instance you might say, “Hey, could you help me do the laundry, let’s sort the clothes and then you can start the washer.”
Hopefully, these suggestions will help create a more positive environment in your home. May God bless you and keep you. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalms 32:8
A friend was sharing with me recently that her four-year-old granddaughter is learning to pray. One night before she went to bed, she was saying her prayers and began talking to God. She raised her head up to Heaven and began shouting out her prayer. In exasperation, the little girl said, “Nana, I’m trying to talk to God, but he isn’t listening, he isn’t saying anything back to me, he won’t answer.”
Not sure how to answer, the grandmother tried to tell her granddaughter to be patient, and to trust that God will answer her in time. A week later the little girl told her Nana that God does listen. Her Nana replied, “How does God listen?” The little girl said, “God listens because He talks to me when I read the Bible.”
As my friend was sharing this story, the following verse came to my mind, “And he said: “I tell you the truth unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 This little girl had recognized the greatest gift of all, that God does listen, we might just need to open up our Bibles to hear what he has to say.
The older I get, the more I realize that as parents we spend so much time teaching our children, and yet there are so many times when our children can teach us if we are willing to listen. Our children are optimistic they have no fear in tomorrow because they live in the moment of today. That’s a very powerful lesson to learn. Childlike faith means, no questions asked, just believe because I can. Do you have that same level of faith? Do you trust, believe, even when you don’t see or hear God?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6
The following was taken from a copy of Leaves of Gold, given to my father-in-law in 1963.
Verbs-”No one really knows what it is to live until he can truly say these eleven great verbs of life: I am, I think, I know, I feel, I wonder, I see, I believe, I can, I ought, I will, I serve. Life is but the process of learning through daily experience the meaning of these eleven wonderful little verbs of life and acquiring the personal power of each:
I AM: the power of self-knowledge,
I THINK: the power to investigate.
I KNOW: the power to master facts.
I FEEL: the power to appreciate, to value, and to love.
I WONDER: the power of reverence, curiosity, worship.
I SEE: the power of insight, imagination, vision.
I BELIEVE: the power of adventurous faith.
I CAN: power to act and skill to accomplish.
I OUGHT: the power of conscience, the moral imperative.
I WILL: will power, loyalty to duty, consecration.
I SERVE: power to be useful, devotion to a cause.”
-George Walter Fiske
These verbs are quite powerful in nature, and as you think about how each one impacts your life, you become rather amazed that you are what you say you are. For instance, if you say, “I can,” that opens up a wide range of opportunities. You believe enough in yourself to acknowledge that you can, in fact, do wonderful things. “I can” because I have the power to accomplish great things. When was the last time you thought, “I can”? Perhaps today is when you acknowledge that you can do hard things. Never doubt that you have been placed on earth at this particular time in order for God to work through you to do His will.
As I read through the list of verbs, I wondered who Mr. Fiske was and how he had the insight to write this interesting list. Here is what I discovered, “George Walter Fiske was a Congregational minister for some years in Maine and Massachusetts before taking a position in 1907 as a theology professor (later dean) in the School of Theology at Oberlin College, where he stayed until retirement in the nineteen thirties. He was educated at Hartford Theological Seminary and Amherst College and graduated in 1898 with a BD from Hartford and an MA from Amherst. He later got a PhD from Boston University in 1925.”
I can’t help but think that Mr. Fiske wrote these words to encourage, inspire, or perhaps challenge some of his colleagues or even personal friends. We are all learning about ourselves each day, and if we take the time to truly consider what we have learned, perhaps we will realize that we have the power to be an action verb..
This week, I want to challenge you to consider one of these eleven verbs and concentrate on just one. Consider the power you have to make a life adjustment and then see how your life has changed at the end of the week. Hopefully you can say that you have made a difference in someone’s life, even your own.
Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
We’ve all been told to “think before you speak”. There is a reason that for, if we take a moment to think about what we are about to say before we just blurt out what we are thinking, we may be better able to handle the response from the other person. Here is a great way to remember the power of words and to think about what you are going to say by using the letters in the word,THINK.
Start with the T, before you speak, think, is it true?
“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.”
Proverbs 12:22
Next H, is it helpful?
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Then N, is it necessary?
“Teach me knowledge and good judgement.”
Psalm 119:66
And finally K, is it kind?
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
Please take the time to talk to your children about what they are saying either to you, a friend, or to a teacher and ask them the 5 THINK questions. Is what you are saying; true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind?
Words that are true and kind have a way of softening any situation.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa
For additional resources and inspirations go to the resource page.
Make every effort to memorize one verse each day. Try to repeat the verse often throughout the day when you need trust, comfort, strength, joy, peace, hope, or mercy.
Whichever verse you choose, you may want to write the verse on a small index card and keep it close at hand. Trust that God is with you, His word is true, and He will be there to guide and encourage you during these difficult days. You are important to God, and you matter!
Thanks be to God for his love endures forever! Amen
Trust
1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 4-5)
2. “In God, whose word I praise, in God I will trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? (Psalm 56:4)
Comfort
3. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
4. “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…” (Isaiah 66: 13)
Strength
5. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified…for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
6. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” (Psalm 28:7)
Rejoice
7. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
8. “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
Peace
9. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Hope
10. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19)
Mercy
11. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
The word trust means a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something. When you “rely upon or place confidence in someone or something,” you tend to believe or trust that things will work out accordingly. We want to believe that we can trust people to be honest, that their words are trustworthy, and that their actions are filled with integrity. I believe that there is only one word stronger than love and that is trust. There is power in being able to trust someone. When you fall in love, you trust someone with your heart. You place your future in their hands and you hope and pray that they will not break that bond of trust.
For a relationship to succeed, there must be mutual trust and understanding. How would you describe your relationship with God? Do you believe that God can be trusted? Can you trust God has a plan and purpose for your life? Will you trust God to position you in the right place at the right time so that his plan for you will be accomplished?
God can be trusted to work everything out in your life. Unfortunately, we don’t always seem to understand everything that is happening in our lives which creates a moment of doubt. Why is God allowing such pain, heartache, or uncertainty in my life? I’ve trusted in God to do a mighty work in my life and yet, nothing is happening. Perhaps that’s what it may seem like at the moment, even though we don’t see God at work, He is making a way and He will provide.
There is one Bible verse that we can turn to when we are struggling with trusting God with our future, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. If we trust that God has a plan, He has a purpose for our lives, then we can rest in assurance that He can be trusted to fulfill his promise in our lives.
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God. My times are in your hands…Psalm 31:14
The following Bible verses offer encouragement for trusting God, He is with you, He is for you, and He will never leave you. Whatever you are going through, or wherever you are in your walk with God, He can be trusted.
Bible verses for Encouraging Your Power of Trust in God
Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod, and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 37: 3-5 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Isaiah 58:11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding.
Ephesians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Genesis 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.
Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?
1 Peter 5:6 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
“If God created families to nurture us, then He designed brothers and sisters to protect us. Building strong families means that brothers and sisters look out for each other, and not just in physical ways. A sibling has given you emotional support and protection more often than you can count, and you have probably done the same for your own brother or sister.” Siblings have a unique opportunity to show their love and support for their families in a variety of ways. For instance, a brother may show his support of his sister by attending a sporting event in which she is a participant. In the same way, a sister may show her support to her brother by offering advice on what he should wear to the school dance. Whatever the circumstance, brothers and sisters need each other and parents need to foster that relationship by emphasizing how important family members are to each other.
When our youngest daughter, Christine was about 10 years old, she got my attention by saying, “Mom, Alex is being nice to me!” I thought to myself, that is a good thing. It is a fantastic display of family support when siblings are actually nice to each other. Christine was not feeling well that particular day and Alex, my younger son was trying to be nice to her and help her out. On those “rare” occasions that siblings do find ways to help each other, parents should take the time to praise their efforts. Encourage them to find other ways to help support and love their siblings.
“God put you together with siblings in the first place, so you could share burdens, challenges, and victories – great and small. You have a special bond because you are people linked by a common heritage, and you are people forging a common legacy.”
Children Play a Role in Building Strong Families
Below are a few key things for parents to think about when considering the needs of their siblings. Next, apply these same ideas to your children.
“Tell your brothers and sisters how much you love and appreciate them.” Call them often or email them
Anticipate your sibling’s needs and offer to help them as needed
As a Christian, you share a common bond with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember to forgive.
Call your siblings on their birthdays. Celebrate and reminisce about the things you shared when you were younger.
Rejoice with your brothers and sisters when they succeed and share in their sorrows as well.
Friends may come and go in your life but family is the place you can come home to when the world does not treat you right. Theophanes Venard writes, “Happiness is to be found only in the home where God is loved and honored, where each one loves, and helps and cares for the others.” May it be so in your home.
Do you have a burden you are carrying with you today? Are you ready to release that burden to God? You know sometimes we carry burdens that we don’t even recognize and yet they seem to have a powerful impact on the way we treat others. A burden you might be carrying around is the need for forgiveness. Perhaps you need to forgive someone, or maybe you need to forgive yourself. Before you can tackle forgiving another, you must look at yourself and lay it all out on the line. Whatever has happened in the past, whatever burden you are holding on to, you must release it and free yourself. It can be complicated and hard to do, and yet it can also be the most freeing thing you can do to move forward with your life.
One of the greatest lessons in the Bible is “The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant”, found in Matthew 18: 21-35. In this parable, Peter comes to Jesus asking, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? (Matthew 18: 21) Peter must have been thinking, you know seven times is a lot, so seven times must be enough right? Seven seemed like a reasonable amount of time to forgive someone, and yet Jesus in all his glorious wisdom tells Peter, hold on a minute. Seven times is not nearly enough. Jesus very plainly tells Peter, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18: 22) That’s a whole lot of forgiveness going on! Have you ever counted the times you have forgiven someone? Typically we say, “I forgive you,” and then move on, and yet if you said, “I forgive you 77 times,” hopefully by the 77th time, you will mean it.
When your spouse does something that upsets you, or your child disobeys you, or a friend disappoints you, would you be willing to say, “I forgive you, 77 times?” Probably not, you might get annoyed by the 20th time and begin to get angry, but if you stick with it, by the 50th time you might start to mean it, and then by the 77th time, you take a breath and smile. You are now ready to move forward.
Jesus took on all our burdens, that’s something to ponder on for a moment. His sacrifice on the cross is all about forgiveness. Even in his death he said, “Father forgive them, ….” (Luke 23: 34) Forgiveness is the self-sacrificial act of love. When you truly love someone, forgiving comes naturally. It’s just what you do, you choose to no longer hold on to that burden of resentment and release it into God’s hands.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
Perhaps that is the challenge for today, release your burdens, and forgive, because in the end, “it’s forgiveness.”
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…guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:5
Hope is a word that can either be defined as a noun or a verb. As a noun, hope means, “to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true, also it is defined as a “desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment, to expect with confidence. When defined as a verb, hope is a “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment, someone or something on which hopes are centered, or something desired or hoped for.”
Quite often I use hope as a verb. Many times as I close an email message to a friend I will say, “I hope you have a great day!” It is my desire that I want my friend to have a great day, I am “hoping” for the best. I have high hopes for friends or people that I care about, but when it comes to having hope for myself, I tend to have more doubts than hope. Do you consider yourself a “hopeful” person? Perhaps when we surrender our own desires and choose to hope in what God has planned for us we can finally rest our souls.
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:5
When we can find rest in God, we have found hope. Hope comes from knowing that God alone can work miracles, he can do all things, he is working things out for our good. What the devil sets out to destroy us, God will use it for our good.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Genesis 50:20-21
We must believe in hope, even when the situation seems dire. Even when you think that God is nowhere to be found, He is working behind the scenes, getting everything ready for the right moment in which He will show up. Don’t despair, he is still very near. “A despairing heart mumbles, “God is doing nothing.” There will be times when you feel that, “God has left the building”. It may seem like he has forgotten about your life and your concerns. Keep the faith and stay hopeful. “A hopeful heart inquires, “God, what are you going to do next?”, and looks forward to celebrating God’s awesome ingenuity.”
We are called to put our faith, trust, and most importantly to put our hope in God alone. Our hope in God is secure because we can trust that He is working even if that means we must surrender to His plans and not ours.
…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
This particular verse is one that inspired me many years ago when I was feeling weak and worn out. I recited this verse over and over again until I released all my cares and worries into the hands of the Lord. I slowly began to fill my life with hope, knowing that God would take care of everything. I have come to understand that the phrase, “hope in the Lord”, really means to trust or have faith in the Lord. If I “trust or have faith in the Lord,” He will renew my strength and help me to run and not grow weary, and walk and not be faint. I pray that you will believe in hope in the Lord, trust that He will provide, and have faith that all will work out according to His plan. Amen!
May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.
Time is defined as “the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues. Time is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from the past through the present to the future.” Ultimately, time goes on and is the duration from which all things happen.
As I go back in time over six months ago, I was a substitute teacher getting up at 5:30 am preparing for the day as a reading intervention specialist. My day was consumed with blocks of time dedicated to helping young students learn to read and to enhance their reading comprehension. I was constantly looking at my watch to determine when I needed to finish up with one group of students and prepare for the next group. Time was essential, I needed to be on time to pick up students for their reading intervention. If I was too early, I had to wait, (wasting time), if I was late in returning the students to their class, they would have to catch up with their workload. Time marches on, it doesn’t wait for you, you have to keep up with it!
“God will bring judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.”
Ecclesiastes 3:17
I recently took the time off challenge. I put my watch aside and didn’t care what time it was. I turned off the morning alarm and waited for the sun to shine through the window, alerting me that a new day had begun. There were moments that I would look down at my wrist checking the time only to discover that I wasn’t wearing a watch. Time didn’t have the same control over my life as it did before. Perhaps you can challenge yourself today and take off your watch or refrain from looking at whatever device you use to tell time and live in the moment.
Don’t allow time to confine your existence for no matter how hard you try, you can’t control the clock. Seconds move quickly, minutes pass by and hours can seem as if they last forever, and yet mornings turn into afternoons, days turn into weeks, and before you know it, years have passed you by. And yet, in the end, time rules all….
The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, A time to plant and a time to uproot, A time to kill and a time to heal, A time to tear down and a time to build, A time to weep and a time to laugh, A time to mourn and a time to dance, A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, A time to embrace and a time to refrain, A time to search and a time to give up, A time to keep and a time to throw away, A time to tear and a time to mend, A time to be silent and a time to speak, A time to love and a time to hate, A time for war and a time for peace…. He had made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
So often we find ourselves planning for our days, the week ahead, and even months in advance, and yet just as we make plans, our lives change, time presses on but events and circumstances are out of our control.
James, asks us to ponder the question, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life?” He further states this very sober obvious state of our lives, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:13-14) Therefore let us spend our time here on this earth wisely and with great discernment. Let time be your guide, not your burden.
Use your time wisely, making the most of every opportunity. (Ephesians 5: 15-17) Our time on earth may be limited but our time in eternity is infinite. We need to keep in mind though, that the way we use our time on earth will ultimately decide our time in eternity. We say then with full confidence, “I trust in you, O Lord; You are my God. My times are in your hands….” (Psalm 31:14-15)
Allow God to guide you in using your time with purpose, conviction, and confidence that there is a season for everything and His time is just right.
