Proverbs 4:23    Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (NIV) I've thought a lot about this verse and how to teach my children to guard their hearts.  They are so influenced by what they see and hear.   I don't want them to just follow their feelings as they go through life.  Feelings change so quickly.  I don't want them to put their allegiance in another person.  People, even the best of them, make mistakes.   I want the source of their lives to come from something greater.  Something unchangeable. Something that will be a solid foundation for them. If it all starts with our heart...the wellspring, the source of all we do as a person...then, "What do you love,"  has to be the question you ask. How do you cultivate a love for something that … [Read more...]

Proverb For Life - Proverbs 10:4 "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." (ESV) Kids catch attitudes quicker than they catch a cold.  This is clear to me in how quickly they adopt my moods.   When I am upbeat and laughing, it makes a difference in their outlook.   But it sure seems true that if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.  There must be something wired into us to help us sympathize with others.  My attitude makes a huge difference in my house. Because of this in our home we try to express a positive attitude about earning money and saving money. If one of the kids wants to buy something I ask them if they have the money.   I try not to say things like, "you can't afford that" or "you don't have the money."  Instead I ask them … [Read more...]

Proverb For Life - Proverbs 13:25  "The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want."  (ESV) One of the character traits I want to train into my kids is thankfulness.  Not just saying thank you when they get a gift or for dinner in some rote manner or robotic reflex.  It’s deeper than that.  It’s the idea that their hearts would be so full of gratitude that they are always satisfied with what they have.  I think the starting point for gratitude training is to help them understand that God made them and they owe him everything.   I want to help them know God is the source of all their talents and their toys.  If they are good at something and someone compliments them for it, the praise should be deflected to God, the source of their … [Read more...]

Proverb For Life - Proverbs 21:20   "Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it." (ESV) In my home my husband is the nerd (in a good way) and I am the free-spirit when it comes to just about everything, but especially money.  He builds spreadsheet upon spreadsheet to track the minutia of our fiscal spending and saving.  He has five and ten year outlooks and projections, plans for obtaining many different streams of income to reduce income dependency on a single source.  He is definitely the CFO of the family. I  rarely think about money at all.   It's just not on my radar unless he brings it up or if I need to check up on the budget and see how much I have left for groceries this month.  By nature I am not a big spender; I … [Read more...]

Proverb For Life - Proverbs 9:7-9  "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.  Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."  (ESV) Ouch. I wish I could say that I was a wise, righteous woman in my response to correction and teaching more often. I'm not. My pride raises it's ugly head and I make all the excuses in the world for why I know better than whoever is correcting me, or even voicing a differing opinion than mine. My response shows my folly. As I have been reading 1 Corinthians over the last two weeks I have thought a lot about my own pride. The deep-seeded hidden pride of my innermost heart. In the first 7 chapters Paul rebukes … [Read more...]

Proverb For Life - Proverb For Life - Proverbs 1:8  "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching." (ESV) I have two amazing little boys who call me mom. They followed closely along behind two older sisters. Now, when I had my girls, I was fairly confident of what to do for them.  We would have tea parties, color, make jewelry, dress up and do all things girly.  We would talk about boys and makeup and problems at school.  I knew where they would be coming from, I mean after all, I was a girl once…a long, long time ago. But boys! Oh snap...I knew nothing about raising boys. Even though I had two younger brothers, I felt RAISING boys would be so much harder. I felt the stakes were so much higher. A feeling of inadequacy overwhelmed … [Read more...]