My Theory in Raising our Beautiful Boy

Verse of the Week:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

My Theory in Raising our Beautiful Boy

Ok, lets all face it.  While the Bible has many wonderful concepts on how to raise children, it doesn't exactly give step by step guidelines in the child rearing. I have concluded that the missing book in the Bible is 1 Katrinalonians (written by me of course!).  In it I would have all the step by step verses on many things related to child rearing.  For example, some particular verses I would create would involve how to keep a straight face at a smiling one year old caught in the act.  A person would look up 1 Katrinalonians 3:2-5, and it would say the following:

2 Thou shalt not smile when your child is caught disobeying.  3 Think negative thoughts while starring at the adorable smiling face and a frown will go well with you. 4 Exercise self control with your mouth muscles to keep your frown intact. 5 A man who coughs and turns his head to hide his grin is wiser than a foolish man who grins and leads his child to more disobedience.

Yep...that is my next calling, write the next book of the bible, 1 Katrinalonians. :)

However, on a serious note, I could not raise Brayden without the Bible.  While the Bible doesn't necessarily give step by step guidelines in child raising, it does provide a wealth of information you can use while going through the amazing journey of parenthood. Many of my theories and ideas of child rearing are based solely on the Bible.  Lately I have been clinging to Romans 12:12.  It says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

1. Be joyful in hope

When I looked at several versions of the Bible, I found that joyful could also be replaced with rejoice, glad, and happy. A lot of people in my family know that I tend to look at the glass half empty at times.  In the middle of a hard day of disciplining or perhaps a sleepless night with a teething baby or even after a week of taking care of a sick child, it can be hard to look at the bright side of things.  With Brayden, I tend to look at his emotions in a negative light.  He has a hard time controlling his anger....mmmm....I wonder where he got that from.  Oh yeah, me!!!!!!  Seeing that side of him makes me despair at times because I do not want him reacting to things the way his Mama has done in the past, but due to genetics, I don't think I am getting out of this one. :)  

However, I receive renewed hope when I take the time to see how wonderful his emotions have been.  We have a very tenderhearted boy.  Already at 21 months Brayden has displayed such sensitivity and love toward others.  I loved seeing him the other day staring at me, and then out of the blue, he ran over and gave me a hug.  I knew immediately what he was doing because I was seeing something his Mama used to do. Growing up, I would just be looking at my parents and feel this as I used to call it, "over come with love feeling" for them, and I just had to go and give them a hug to express it.  Seeing him express such love is beautiful.  I love watching him with children, and sharing!!!  No, not taking, but constantly sharing his toys with others.  What a selfless act.  Brayden is my helper and loves to help me out.  He especially loves helping me with the groceries.  A few weeks back, I had to go outside and finish unloading groceries out of the car.  When I returned inside, this is what I saw.

Yep, the lettuce and Pam spray put carefully away in the wrong spot!!!  However, it was so sweet to see him try so hard to help his Mama out and display a servant's heart.  The other day, I saw him gently petting a cat and kissing it, and to my surprise, the cat didn't run away!  He is so good and sweet with animals.  Brayden's emotions can be so beautiful, and I need to rejoice and place my hope in the good things he does out of his tender heart. 

Sometimes we focus so much on the negative that we overlook a wealth of positives. For example, oftentimes when we look at a photograph we tend to complain that our smile doesn't look right or that our eyes are closed, and because of those things, the picture is ruined.  Whereas, if we would look past the flawed part and look at the whole picture like the amazing mountain view or sunset, we would see something beautiful and be richly blessed.  Don't focus on the negative only with your child, rejoice and thank God for the beauty that you see in them.  It is so important to look at the positives because you don't want your child growing up thinking that you are disappointed in them because you can only see the negative things they do.  Look at the whole picture and rejoice in the good.

2. Patient in Affliction
Other versions of the Bible use the words suffering and tribulation in place of affliction.  Patience in the midst of a trial is such a hard thing to display.  Often times I imagine myself as an amazing mom who exercises patience with Brayden in every situation.  I respond in a calm voice,  no traces of anger are displayed, and I think calmly and logically through each situation. I imagine myself as the person below...

Yep that's me...calm, cool, and collected in the midst of affliction. When in reality I probably look like this...

Yep, that looks more like me!
On a serious note though, I have found that when I exercise patience with Brayden in a situation, I tend to think clearer and make better decisions.  Brayden tends to respond to me better when I am calm, and on the days that he doesn't respond to my calmness, I still find myself less frustrated. Yep, patience is a necessity.

3. Faithful in prayer
Other Bible translations have replaced faithful with constant and steadfast.  I have found that continuous prayer is a must in parenthood.  Prayer calms me down; prayer takes the focus off of the situation and focuses on God; prayer allows me to see things through God's eyes; and prayer allows me to depend on God and become more aware and attentive of what He reveals to me. It was prayer that led me to see Romans 12:12 in a new light as a parent, and that verse has become part of my heart as I try to approach life daily with Brayden.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12