Proverbs 23:26

"My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways." Proverbs 23:26

Jacklyn has become a little mini-me. I keep hearing her say things that I say. The other day, Joanna had Jacklyn's favorite book and she gave it to her and then Jackie said, "Joanna, that was so sweet. Your reward will be in heaven!" On the flip side, the other day the dog had an accident in the house and I heard her say, "That darn dog!" It reminded me that they are observing EVERYTHING!

Well, as I was reading the Bible and came to this verse, I really stopped to think about this. I was thinking, what are my children observing and do I have my children's hearts and what do I need to do to keep them. I think this is the key to parenting - that we keep their heart and that we walk in the ways of the Lord and they follow us. There is a great post about keeping our children's hearts here. She reminds us to spend time with our children, teaching them and letting them join us in our work, showing them with a smile that we enjoy their company and prefer them to other things. She, nor I, would suggest child centered parenting, but how often are we so busy that we only half listen to their constant stories or we as moms are so busy washing dishes, making dinner or talking on the phone that we don't take 2 minutes to look up from our work and look at their new dance move or stunt or listen to the new song they made up?

Our mentors always said to remember that people are more important than projects. There are so many things that are easier for us to do by ourselves, but we have to teach and train our children allowing them to help at our side, even if it means it will take twice as long. Also, when we said that our children were whining or complaining a lot, they would ask, "Well, have you been content lately? Have you been joyful lately?" I notice that my level of joy totally affects the joy of my children. Joy comes from having a right relationship with Christ and keeping our eyes focused on Him. Moms, we are responsible for filling our homes with joy - it is contagious.


Throughout this adoption process I have struggled to keep my eyes fixed on Him and instead I get caught up in the sad and frustrating circumstances. How do we keep our eyes fixed on Him? - by letting God's word richly dwell in us (Colossians 3:16) and by meditating on what is true and eternal. All of these crazy and trying circumstances surrounding our adoption are only temporary. More importantly they are opportunities to put our trust in Christ. We are doing this out of love and obedience to Christ, not because we "need" more children. Since it is all for Him, we must trust Him and His timing in all of this. That is easier said than done, when we are so emotionally invested in this and can not wait to welcome these boys into our family. We see this time of waiting as precious time to go deeper with homeschooling, discipling our children, raising funds and stretching/growing our whole family's faith and patience. In this too, our children are watching us and observing the way we walk through these trials. May we do it faithfully unto the Lord, showered in God's grace and mercy.