Pointing them to Jesus

I was caught a bit off guard yesterday when a neighbor asked me for  parenting advice. Maybe she wasn't serious, but it got me thinking, maybe people are watching me parent. I sure hope I am pointing them toward Jesus. Which is one of the many gifts I was thanking Jesus for yesterday.

As it happens in any home (at least I hope this is normal), sometime my golden heads wake up crabby, bickering, complaining, blaming...ugly! What's I've come to realize in the past six months is that it's not just a fact of life. It's a spiritual battle. They wake and Satan already has a foothold on their little lives. Imagine how the bulk of the day is going to go when Satan has squelched part of the Holy Spirit out of you. How do I redirect them when we start out this way? The same way I redirect myself: at the feet of Jesus.

This is sometime a tricky part, but I try persevere without being annoying. Sometimes, they are open to reading their devotional book. Sometimes, we start singing a song that pops into my head. Yesterday, I asked the boisterous one to sing her sisters, "The Butterfly Song" that we learned in preschool. At first the sisters resisted, but before too long, everyone was singing and SMILING. Sometimes all we need to get our eyes off self and on Christ. Praise be to God for His wonderful gift!