Cause and Effect

The Bible tells us that Parents are not to provoke (exasperate, frustrate) their children. I understand completely. When teasing or provoking used to go too far with me, as a child, I would become so angry and frustrated because I felt helpless and completely out of control.

The Word of God goes even further when it also says “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but sorrow awaits that person through whom they come” Luke 17:1

Parents, are you that person who could possibly be one of the ‘sources’ of the sin that is happening in your children’s lives? Are you unrealistic in your expectations, ignoring, mocking, being sarcastic, putting down or not loving them so much so that they are acting out in anger, frustration and discouragement? Do they not want to serve the God you serve because of your relationship with them?

Please, please make the conscious choice to not be the one who negatively affects your kids. You might unknowingly push them into sin and as a result bring “sorrow’ to your own life as well.

Love,

Karen

When my distraught 15 year old daughter came home to tell me that her best friend was pregnant, my carefully planned and worded “sex talks” went out the window.  It especially changed when my 10 year old son queried…”I thought only married people were supposed to have babies??” Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever fasted for any length of time? Fasting is a pretty interesting discipline that can be such a great learning tool if you let it. One thing that can be learned is that when the fast is over anything feels like a feast compared to the fast.

An observation that I have made, sadly, over the last few years is that parents seem to either ‘feast’ or ‘fast’ when it comes to being emotionally supportive to their kids.

In some families it appears that there is an abundance of time given in order to listen, support and love children deeply and then there are other families where this is missing altogether or rarely seen at all.

I researched some definitions of emotional neglect and this is what I found:

Emotional neglect can be defined as a parent or parents putting their own wishes, goals, needs, and wants above their child’s; marked inattention to the child’s need for affection; any behavior that interferes with a child’s mental health or social development; name-calling, making negative comments or ignoring the emotional needs of a child.

As I write this, I am praying that as parents you will make it your goal to ask God to help you do whatever it takes to become those parents who choose to be the ‘feasting’ family when it comes to being emotionally supportive of your children.

Love,

Karen