Today's Devotion

Discipline




"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever ~Hebrews 13:8, NLT "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love~Psalm 103:8, New International Version"



I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I had a very relaxing and eye opening weekend. I spent much of the boys' naptime on Saturday reading a book I actually got for work but its on discipline so found it helpful for me personally as well being a parent, as well as reading my Bible. Throughout my readings in both of these wonderful resource books I found the exact same message love is better than fear or anger. Yesterday during church the sermon was on blended families and how we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and how the first Blended Family was Mary, Joseph and Jesus. I feel tremendously blessed to have a wonderful family in my husband, and two children as well as an awesome extended family with my sisters, brother in laws, parents, neices, and nephew (still only 1 but maybe another one in a few weeks depending if Sheldi has a boy or girl!:) But I also have wonderful friends who are my family through our relationship with Christ.



Okay boy this is really all over the place this morning...sorry. Back to what I think God wants me to share with you today. HE is a loving, compassionate and slow to anger no matter what he loves us. I think disciplining children is one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life, and I think I've completed some pretty challenging things, college, master degree, 10K, ect. But all of those combined does not equate to the difficulty that is disciplining children!!! Over and over i've read this weekend about how to discipline with love not fear, and over and over I read in the Bible how God loves us no matter what. If we are to be Christ like in all that we do I think I will try to model my discipline practices after HIM and guide my children lovingly rather than quickly anger and make them scared. One of the key principles in the discipline book I'm reading is "Be the person you want your child to become". I think that is a great message and to extend on that I think we want to be person God wants us to be so we can raise godly children. And in those moments when I am displaying the person that I'm not proud of and definately don't want my children to become, I can take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow, I can say a prayer thanking him for his grace, and ask him for guidance on how to guide my children. Remember he took Paul who killed Christians and then became one of greatest leaders of Christianity, all of this through Jesus' love. So if Jesus did that many yesterdays ago he can help us be better parents today and tomorrow! It's a challenge I'm putting forth for myself as well as all my brothers, and sisters in Christ!



In God's Love,

Sarah