When you fly you listen to the flight attendants go over the safety procedures.  Without fail when it comes to the part where they discuss what to do if the oxygen masks come down, they tell us to put on our own mask first before trying to help any others.  As a mom this can sometimes seem kind of backwards because we naturally want to take care of our children first.  But the truth is we can’t help them if we don’t take care of ourselves first.

As we try to raise respectful, successful children who devote their lives to Christ we must remember to put on our own mask first.  This means taking care of our health, devoting time to ourselves, maintaining an atmosphere of romance in our marriages, and most importantly spending time with God.

Today so many moms get it backwards.  We easily slip into devoting our lives to our children, taking them to playgroups, then music class, later to sports practice and the list goes on and on.  In the hustle and bustle of life it is hard to find time for ourselves. 

 As a stay-at-home-mom with a 2 year old and an 8 month old at home I have recently found myself devoting all of my time and attention to their needs forgetting about my own.  In the process I found myself more irritable, worn out, and just lacking true passion for anything.  My wonderful husband quickly brought it to my attention in a loving manner and gave me some time to devote to myself.  I quickly got my passion back for even the littlest things in life and I have made a plan for allowing me more time for myself.  My energy and love for my children has grown as well.

This weekend is Mother’s Day so I challenge you to take some time for yourself and think about how you are taking care of YOU.  Are you wearing your oxygen mask before you attempt to put your children’s on?  Are you taking care of your health, keeping romance alive, and spending time with God?  Start with God and allow Him to give you creativity for the rest.

Sarah Brown

I was out with a friend recently who said that when she was young she made a vow that she would never be like her Mom who ‘tip-toed’ around her husband to make sure he was happy so he would not blow up.

Are you the kind of parent that when you enter the door of your home your spouse and family feel like they have to change how they are acting or what they are doing to appease you or ensure your comfort for fear of a blow-up or negative discussions ensuing?  Ask yourself what you think your kids may make vows about as a result of your actions or attitudes in your home. What behaviors are they going to want to carry on as they move towards becoming a parent themselves? How much of Jesus are they seeing in your daily habits?

Think about the things that your parents did when you were a child. Which one of their behaviors or actions have you mimicked now that you have children?

Do everything you can to avoid being the one who pushes your spouse and family to feel they have to tip-toe like they are on eggshells when you are around. Have fun, loosen up, don’t take life so seriously and give the control over to God…your and your family’s life will be then filled with happy memories that will last a lifetime!

Remember that your time with your kids is very short but you will leave lasting impressions in their minds…make them good ones!

Love,

Karen

Our daughter was at Wonderland last week and had a great day, with one exception. She said she found it so disturbing how abusive some parents were to their little kids. Some were yelling and swearing at their kids and others were pushing them and yanking them like they were animals.

It always amazes me how some parents think that this behavior is okay because they are the ‘authority’ in their children’s lives. Being a parent, in their minds, somehow gives people permission to overstep God’s laws.

You may not slap your kids around or yell at them constantly but do you spend lots of time with them? Do they get your undivided, fully present attention every day at some point? Neglect, emotional coldness, lack of interest in their lives, withholding affection etc with our kids is just as wrong as physical abuse.

The Ten Commandments are not just Ten Suggestions! Some people seem to stop there and don’t realize that we are not to just follow what God asks us to do, but we are also told to avoid doing what we should NOT do as well!…  And then we need to lead our kids in doing the same thing.

We are told in the Bible to “Not compare ourselves among ourselves” but to compare ourselves to GOD’S standards for life…and we need to get to the place as a parents where we realize that we CANNOT do this on our own but only by asking God to help us do this daily!

Have a wonderful week loving your family!

Love,

Karen

How many of you got ‘the talk’ from one or both of your parents?

How did they do it? Did they hand you books to read or did they sit down and explain sex to you?

So many adults I talk to, that are my age or older, never even got ‘the talk’! I didn’t, but wish I had!

Parents you need to talk to your kids about sex! Forget about your discomfort and start the dialogue. If they don’t want to talk about it, take them for a car ride and lock the doors!!

Start by explaining what will happen at puberty (If you don’t know, then go online and find outJ) Then ask them what they have heard what sex is. If they are older than 10 they likely have heard all the slang terms, so be ready to explain what oral, anal and vaginal sex is in simple terms.

Tell them the very basics, usually by nine years of age, then as time goes on make sure they are knowledgeable about where their value comes from, about pregnancy, diseases, emotional attachment and what healthy relationships look like.

They need to know God’s standard of purity and why He commands it…for their protection and provision.

According to latest studies, your kids’ first source of sexual information is coming from the media, not you, so get in line and make sure that your voices are heard loudly and clearly by them, in the most loving way possible. (AND, be careful what you are allowing them to watch, read and listen to because the media’s influence is huge in their lives as a young person)

Pray lots…

Love,

Karen

With the economy the way it is at present, many people have great concerns about being in debt financially. But when it comes to the ‘debt’ they owe their kids, it sometimes gets put on the back burner until it is too late.
Here are a few things that we, as Dad and Mom, ‘owe’ our kids:

1. We owe it to them to teach them what responsibility means.
2. We need to teach them basic living skills-cooking, cleaning, managing money, personal hygiene etc.. before they leave home.  Or, how about things like taking the time to teach them how to ride a bike, throw/kick a ball, swim, or learn a sport that they enjoy?
3. Teach them to pursue who God made them to be, not what we want them to be.
4. They deserve to be taught at a young age where their value comes from…not from their looks, size, intelligence, athletic ability or money but from who God has made them to be.
5. The mindset that says “Our kids are our ‘slaves’” is so wrong…we need to teach them to serve by our example.
6. Above all, we owe it to them to present Jesus Christ to them in such a way that they are drawn to Him by our lives. We can do our best to do this by living our lives trusting Him completely, praying with them and for them and passionately pursuing the life He has planned for us and them!

Romans 13:8 sums it up well!:
“Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other…”

Love your kids by trying to live debt-free with them…you will not regret this choice!

Love,
Karen