a crown for old men {day 17}

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Today is my youngest daughter’s 4th birthday.
this picture is a couple months old -- and now a couple of years!

this picture is a couple months old — and now a couple of years!

She is  HOOT… and a whirlwind. 

She has the energy of my entire life in her pinky. [still!]

And today, while reading the Proverb, I came to this verse:

Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. Proverbs 17:6

And it made me stop and think {as it has before} that MY children… are my parent’s “children’s children.”

with the grandparents

with my grandparents <3

And I want them to be a “crown” to their grandfathers, and to their great-grand-parents!
And of course, I was reminded of another Proverb: Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 

And that reminded me of a post I read [link is broken] yesterday… about “the way.” 

Jesus is “the way.” 

So, while rules give boundaries that are necessary, and we should expect rules to be obeyed, our main focus should be on pleasing Jesus… making Him our life.

And that in-between relationship… I know my husband {and I do too!} desires to live such a life that his children would see his heritage/legacy as a thing of glory, as something to desire to pass on to their own children one day.

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Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!

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I’m also on Instagram!
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and I’m on Twitter!

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teaching respect

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to respect carries the idea of “showing regard to, paying attention to”

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Psalm 119:6

Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

[If I pay attention to and regard God’s Word, I will have no reason to be ashamed.]

Colossians 3:23-25

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

[when we disregard God’s commands we will receive proper judgment just the same as the next person. No one is exempt from the consequences of his actions.]

Psalm 138:6

Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

[God will take notice of those who show humility.]

Some things we are commanded by God that show our respect for Him.

Ephesians 6:5-9

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

Hebrews 13:7

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: [and the end of their conversation is this] for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Just because I am “all-grown-up”
does not mean I do not have any authority over my life. untitled shoot-210-2-48
And as usual,
the best way to teach our children is through example.

 


I will teach my children to have respect for each other and their classmates by showing respect for them and other children we come into contact with and also by how I interact with my own peers. 

Part of being respectful is trying to anticipate needs and being responsive when needs are made known.

If I see that someone is walking towards a closed door with her arms full and I have nothing, and I do nothing to help, that is being disrespectful to her as a person. But if I speed my steps just enough to get there and open the door for her, I have shown respect. And it is of no consequence if I even know her.

I will teach my children how to have respect for their teachers and other authority {boss, police, laws/government, etc} by how I show my respect for those individuals.

If I take matters into my own hands even after clear instruction from an authority, then I am teaching my children that they, also, can pick and choose which instructions they wish to obey. But when I do all within my power to do what is expected {whether clearly stated or not} and do not make excuses when I cannot accomplish it, I teach my own children responsibility as well as respect.

And as a stay-at-home-wife/mother, my closest human authority is my husband. That is not to say he “bosses” me, { 🙂 } but he IS, Biblically, an authority in my life. And how I respond to his requests, how I convey my attitude after turning from him-body language, facial expressions… that says more than any words.

And when my children see me disrespect their daddy, they WILL show disrespect to others.

And they will not understand when someone tries to correct them. Confusion will ensue. 

Since my children leave me for the day to attend school, the next most important authority relationship is with their teachers.

I wrote a little about how I must be willing to allow others to correct my children here.

And that lines up with teaching them respect, which in turn contributes to teaching responsibility! 

So each day, my life is about more than “my life.”

Much of my life is about teaching my children to respect others and how to show that respect through kindness of actions and words.

My life is about striving to BE the person God created me to be… so they can learn to be the person God wants them to be!

blackeyed susan

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Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!

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I’m also on Instagram!
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and I’m on Twitter!

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thoughts on singleness

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thoughts on singleness

I had a conversation recently with an unmarried lady friend. She has a growing ministry with small children and visions for that ministry to thrive! I appreciate her zeal, and her love for God is evident.
Yet, she told me that she receives comments regularly from people about her unmarried status. I assume these are well-meaning people, as they seem to think the singleness she finds herself in somehow prohibits her from having a full, vibrant life and ministry.
Let me tell you, my unmarried friend, your life can be as full as you let it be – whether you are married or not! [I have knowledge of more than my share of people who are married yet have neither a full life nor a vibrant ministry for God!]
Singleness lends itself to a bit of freedom that those married, especially with children, do not have. I married right out of college. I do not have experience of the trials or temptations that come with serving the Lord as an adult while still single, but I have witnessed those who do it well as well as those who do it poorly.

In light of that, all ministries are simply an opportunity to serve God. And when we allow Him, He puts us in place to have certain ministries. No where does He tell us that ministry is only for married people. Actually, Paul was given liberty to tell us that if you are content to be single, then that can actually give you opportunities that would otherwise be a closed door [I Corinthians 7:1-9].

Serving God is a command to all Christians: single, married, divorced, child or adult. [Matthew 20:26-28; 28:19-21; Mark 16:15-16; I Timothy 4 {especially verse 6 and 10-12} and many more].  Telling someone their ministry cannot be full for whatever reason {unless pointing out an error in love: Ephesians 5:6-11} is not helpful or Christ-honoring.

As married ladies and mothers, we should pray for those in singleness-that they would be content in Christ. Pray that the Lord would protect them from temptations or “evil” appearances. We should befriend them, on a personal level, so they realize and understand our genuine concern for them as people! When we see evidence of genuine service to God and growth in His word, we should even point them out {but NOT elevate} to our children as an adult to trust and point out areas of their life that they should emulate {such as a humble, teachable spirit or a willing, helpful attitude} and show our children that life is not all about growing up and having a family. Life is all about learning how to SERVE JESUS!

And to my single friends, remember that you are part of the body that is the bride of Christ! You have his love to comfort and protect. You have His peace to be your companion and guide. You have His wisdom to direct your steps and His tender mercies to correct you when needed. [There are MANY Psalms as well as other passages that speak of God’s comfort and protection and peace and guidance and tender mercies! These for for ALL Christians, not just married people.] Never let anyone’s personal opinions on your marital status allow you to believe that anything you are doing for God is somehow less valuable than what us married folks are doing!

 

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{While I am a married lady and my main reason for starting this blog was to encourage other married ladies and mothers, I would not say that this blog is only for married ladies. While many of my posts have examples from married life or from being a mother, the premise for designing31 is not just for married ladies!! We were all created and designed to work together towards reaching others for Christ. While my personal goal is to become the wife and mother God wants me to be, I also want to learn to be the lady and friend God desires me to be too!}

I had a conversation recently with an unmarried lady friend. She has a growing ministry with small children and visions for that ministry to thrive! I appreciate her zeal, and her love for God is evident.
Yet, she told me that she receives comments regularly from people about her unmarried status. I assume these are well-meaning people, as they seem to think the singleness she finds herself in somehow prohibits her from having a full, vibrant life and ministry.
Let me tell you, my unmarried friend, your life can be as full as you let it be – whether you are married or not! [I have knowledge of more than my share of people who are married yet have neither a full life nor a vibrant ministry for God!]
Singleness lends itself to a bit of freedom that those married, especially with children, do not have. I married right out of college. I do not have experience of the trials or temptations that come with serving the Lord as an adult while still single, but I have witnessed those who do it well as well as those who do it poorly.

In light of that, all ministries are simply an opportunity to serve God. And when we allow Him, He puts us in place to have certain ministries. No where does He tell us that ministry is only for married people. Actually, Paul was given liberty to tell us that if you are content to be single, then that can actually give you opportunities that would otherwise be a closed door [I Corinthians 7:1-9].

Serving God is a command to all Christians: single, married, divorced, child or adult. [Matthew 20:26-28; 28:19-21; Mark 16:15-16; I Timothy 4 {especially verse 6 and 10-12} and many more].  Telling someone their ministry cannot be full for whatever reason {unless pointing out an error in love: Ephesians 5:6-11} is not helpful or Christ-honoring.

As married ladies and mothers, we should pray for those in singleness-that they would be content in Christ. Pray that the Lord would protect them from temptations or “evil” appearances. We should befriend them, on a personal level, so they realize and understand our genuine concern for them as people! When we see evidence of genuine service to God and growth in His word, we should even point them out {but NOT elevate} to our children as an adult to trust and point out areas of their life that they should emulate {such as a humble, teachable spirit or a willing, helpful attitude} and show our children that life is not all about growing up and having a family. Life is all about learning how to SERVE JESUS!

And to my single friends, remember that you are part of the body that is the bride of Christ! You have his love to comfort and protect. You have His peace to be your companion and guide. You have His wisdom to direct your steps and His tender mercies to correct you when needed. [There are MANY Psalms as well as other passages that speak of God’s comfort and protection and peace and guidance and tender mercies! These for for ALL Christians, not just married people.] Never let anyone’s personal opinions on your marital status allow you to believe that anything you are doing for God is somehow less valuable than what us married folks are doing!

 

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{While I am a married lady and my main reason for starting this blog was to encourage other married ladies and mothers, I would not say that this blog is only for married ladies. While many of my posts have examples from married life or from being a mother, the premise for designing31 is not just for married ladies!! We were all created and designed to work together towards reaching others for Christ. While my personal goal is to become the wife and mother God wants me to be, I also want to learn to be the lady and friend God desires me to be too!}

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