Speaking Good Things Over Our Children

One day after my two older children had left on an outing with their grammy, I was home alone with my three year old son and napping three month old daughter.

I received a phone call from my husband who had been at work all day, and I was eager to talk to him. As we were chatting, my three year old ran into the room, and began to play with the baby's swing. He pushed it roughly, and switched on buttons, and music played, while the swing rocked quickly forward and back without the weight of a baby in it.

"Stop messing with the swing!" I snapped, more interested in getting back to my conversation with my husband.

The three year old switched the buttons off, and then on again in a flash, and ran out of the room.

"Little turkey!" I yelled.

"I not a turkey!" he yelled back.

"Did he just say he's not a turkey?" my husband laughed. "You can have what you say, you know."

That phrase. "You can have what you say." I know it to be true. But how often do I observe outward appearances and call it as I see it? Had the stress of motherhood made me forget to speak good things over my children, rather than just labeling them by the looks of their behavior?

Our culture applauds those who "say what's real", and so we value people when they make seemingly accurate observations. As Christians, though, we're called to go beyond that. To see beyond the see-able. To see what God sees.

In Genesis, we see the universe in chaos. Thankfully, God chose to see past that. He said, "let there be light."

My son came back in the room. "You're a blessing," I said to him.

"OH! Thank you, mom!" he beamed.

Our children need us to remind them how God sees them- not just how their behavior causes them to appear- and certainly not how they make us feel in a moment of tension. God's word is a mirror- to us, and to them.
Let's build up our children to be the awesome men and women God has called them to be!

What phrases can you speak over your children to affirm who they are in Christ?

Linking up with:
Mama Moments Mondays
Teaching What is Good 

No Corrupt Communication

 
Oh, crap!

I don't freakin' know!

How often do we say things like this? I know I've been guilty of more than my fair share of verbal slip-ups...and ones even less tame than that!

One day I was going about my business, when I tripped on a toy or something, and something awful came out of my mouth.

Holy Spirit brought the Scripture to my remembrance from Ephesians 4:29-

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

I was stopped in my tracks. For the first several years of being a Christian, I really didn't have any issues getting over changing my speech patterns. Gone were curse words, I didn't talk about ungodly things like I once did before Christ. Now, years later, when I should know better, I was embracing angry speech, and just letting whatever fell into my brain instantly fall out of my mouth as well.

The root of the word "corrupt" means "broken in pieces." Immediately I think of how this indicates the state of my heart. We all know our words come from the heart, right? Not broken in pieces in the sense of emotional heartbreak or anything like that, but broken in pieces as in unwholesome or lacking integrity. Faulty. Defective.

Wow.

But thanks be to God, there is a way of escape! (1 Corinthians 10:13) And that is through repentance:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

I repented, and God has cleansed me, and given me the grace to stop myself before I continued down the path of corrupt communication. Before I sowed unwholesome speech into the hearts of my lovely children. He showed me the error of my words, and filled in the cracks in my heart with His love!

I love that when we are humble enough to ask for His help, He freely gives it!

What has helped you avoid corrupt communication?

Linking up here:

A Soft Answer-How My Peaceful Response Matters in My Home

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

This afternoon I noticed my son had taken his snack from earlier, crushed it up into a bazillion pieces and scattered it all over the living room floor. Admittedly, my first reaction was to launch into the heated lecture. I mean, really...how many times DO I need to tell him not to do that? Well (miraculously), I paused and began to calmly explain why we don't do that; and started to help him pick up the pieces.

That went over much better than all of my yelling ever would have. No hurt feelings, nobody digging his heels in at my insistence to clean up the mess. It's a much easier (and more effective way) to get what I want.

The Word of God is so clear on instructions for dealing with other people (it even applies to little people!) The Strong's Concordance describes "wrath" in the context of this Scripture as "poison". Wrath can poison the atmosphere of our homes. Certainly life with young children can be provoking, but when we answer softly, we are not only fending off the poison that can so easily infiltrate our environment, but also teaching our children a valuable lesson.

What Biblical lessons has motherhood taught you lately?