"O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth;
And I still declare Thy wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God do not forsake me,
Until I declare Thy strength to this generation,
Thy power to all who are to come.
For Thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
Thou who has done great things;
O God, who is like Thee?
Thou who hast shown me many troubles and distresses,
Wilt revive me again,
And wilt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
Mayest Thou increase my greatness,
And turn to comfort me."
I am so proud and encouraged and motivated by the life she has lived. She has faithfully declared His deeds, proclaimed His strength, lived through His power, and trusted in his revival during the dark struggle of Parkinson's disease. What a legacy and a foundation she has given to me--a true gift.
As we were having breakfast this morning, the kids were all in one place at the same time and being still so I decided it was a good time for a devotion. This is something I have never done regularly with them, but I want to start. Perhaps blogging about our family devotion times will help me stay accountable. This was my view (well, my partial view--isn't he cute?):
We have really had a hard time lately with obedience (well, and getting along with one another...and sharing...and anger...and complaining...and, well just ALL the things). Most of this falls on me because I haven't been as consistent as I need to be with discipline. Also, discipline isn't fun. It hurts my heart and makes my stomach upset. So I tend to just let things go. That would be precisely what has gotten us into this mess. So, after praying and talking, Jonathan and I have renewed our resolve with our parenting. Hence our devotion material this morning...
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us [...]"
Ephesians 4: 31-32; 5:1-2
I want to be really careful to not be legalistic in our parenting and in the teaching/leading of our children. Legalism has been a huge stumbling block to me and so many that I know. So, why do we need to obey God? Why do we need to be careful to obey His words? This is what we read:
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him; and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.
He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.'"
John 14:23-24
These verses go on to talk about "abiding" in further detail. The word "abide" is quite possible my most favorite word in the English language. It has such depth and profound meaning. It is my deepest desire that myself, my husband, and our children would truly understand what it means to abide in the Father, and that we would be able to experience the joy of the Father abiding in us.
I can't do this parenting thing alone. I've tried for about 5 and 1/2 years now, and what I described above as our current struggles--that's only the tip of the iceberg. There comes a time in all of our lives that we realize we have been struggling in vain in our own decrepit strength--and we realize we aren't practicing what we have claimed to believe. And we repent. And we pray. And we put one foot in front of the other trusting and knowing that He will never fail us. Our complete surrender in our helpless state pleases Him. "I can do all things through [and only through] Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
And as far as our parenting strategy...
"He gently leads those that have young."
Isaiah 40:11
Lead us, Lord.
Thankful,
Amanda
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