The Word on Wednesday...

I have been reading an AWESOME parenting book by Christian author, Lisa Whelchel. She was Blair on The Facts of Life and is now a mother of three. The book is called, Creative Correction and is cram-packed with scriptures, ideas, illustrations, example prayers for children and encouragement for parents. I have decided to use a few parenting scriptures and ideas from her book for today's W.O.W.

James 1:20- “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
*It’s easy to get busy, lazy, etc. and start yelling at our kids. Think about it this way: We wouldn’t yell at a tomato plant to make it produce fruit. That would be ridiculous. All we can do is give the plant support to help it grow in the right direction, clip off the dead leaves, fertilize and water it and give it plenty of sunshine. In the end the fruit it produces comes from God- certainly not as a result of our ranting and raving. What makes this a sad analogy is that tomatoes don’t get bruised by our words as our children do. And yelling at our kids does not bring them any closer to godliness. Anger may accomplish our immediate goal, but it won’t achieve for them the “righteousness of God.”

Proverbs 13:18- “He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.”
*Have your child remove money from his/her piggy bank when they argue.


Proverbs 30:17- “The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”
*You know that look- the look that indicates disrespect is lurking in your child’s heart: It’s the rolling of the eyes. If your child does that to you, blindfold them for an hour. It will teach him quite the lesson about the severity of disrespect.

Proverbs 19:22b- “Better to be poor than a liar”
*If you catch your child lying, take every cent in your child’s piggy bank. (Use discretion.)

When your child comes to you and tattles, sit both siblings down and ask each one, “What was your sin?” They will probably try to blame the other, but just say, “I didn’t ask what your brother’s/sister’s sin was. I asked what your sin was.” Then say, “In Luke 6:41, Jesus asked His followers, ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your bother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?’ I’m going to interpret that to mean that you need to take a look at the sin in your own life before you come tattling to me about what somebody else is doing wrong.” Tell the tattler to ask forgiveness from their sibling for the plank in their eye. And tell the other child to ask forgiveness for the speck in their eye.

Philippians 2:14-15- “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
*Explain, “(Child’s Name), you are a child of God and you shine like a star. But, when you argue, your light begins to fade. I want you to always shine brightly, so please think about your attitude.”

Proverbs 1:8-9- “Listen my son [daughter] to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.”
*Buy a necklace for your child and hide it. Then, when your child chooses to obey you rather than go their own way, reward them with the necklace.

Proverbs 2:7- “He [God] holds victory in store for the upright; He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.”
*Boys love shields. Buy a toy one and set it up as a reward your son will receive at bedtime if he can go a day with his walk blameless of a particularly vexing behavior.

Proverbs 4:9- “She [wisdom] will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.”
*Buy a fake crown from a party or costume store. Whenever you catch your child choosing wisdom- for example, listening to you attentively, obeying you immediately, or reading their bible without being told- place the crown on their head and declare them “Queen/King of the Hour.”

If you are a parent, I would highly recommend this book. It takes the mundane out of parenting and gives so many great ideas (so you aren't just spanking constantly or letting the little things go all the time). Not only that, but it quotes a bible verse for just about every misbehavior you could think of.