Jesus Loves Me This I Know

I've been reading a book that my friend gave me for my birthday (thanks Kimb) and it talked about how we as adults forget or never truly know that Jesus truly loves us and that we are valuable to Him merely because he love us. The author of the book said that he made a breakthrough with this thought when his Mom gave him his ratty, old, worn out teddy from childhood and he realized that he was valuable to God because he was God's and God loved him. We are valuable to God because we are His and He loves us and that's what makes us valuable - not what we've accomplished, not because we are smart and attractive but merely because we are His and he loves us.

I really wanted the kids to get this message to so I had them bring down their must beloved possession - not their most valuable - their most beloved. Caileigh brought her purple teddy named "Dolly Bear" which we had picked out together on a trip to Build a Bear when she was 3. Collin brought a small, square, miniature blankie named "silky" which has been recovered countless times and was given to him at birth by Mr Vic, Miss Mo and Alex. Connor brought down a life sized Mickey Mouse which he sleeps on instead of a pillow, also given by Mr. Vic, Miss Mo and Alex. I started asking how valuable these items were. "Could we sell these things for a lot of money?" "Are they in good shape?" "would someone else buy them on e-bay for what they are worth?" After comforting the kids that I was not going to sell them, I asked them why they are valuable to them? What makes them valuable to them? Was the material, now worn? Was it the music that no longer plays? Finally, Caileigh said, "Mommy, it's worth lots because I love it." Ahhhhh, now we come to the point. It's valuable because you love it. Connor, having been in these kind of object lessons before, said, "It's just like how God loves us!" Exactly, God loves us and therefore we are valuable not the other way around. Collin, no slouch on catching on said, " Mom, that's what Jesus Loves Us says. We should sing it!" So we did.

I really wanted the kids to understand that Jesus Loves Them! He loves them no matter what and they can't earn or do anything to change that. He loves them and that's what makes them valuable, they are His.

It was a good reminder to me too. I forget that it's not how I raise my kids, how clean my house is, how much I accomplish but the point is that Jesus Loves Me and that makes me valuable.

Categories: parenting

Pictures

Here's some pictures from Christmas. We had another scavenger hunt for their main gift which was a Wii. You'll see that Connor can't stand up from the sheer joy of the thought of having one. We messed with the kids heads all fall long about NOT getting a Wii so we really had them going. The Wii is fun but what I enjoyed the most is Grammy and Papa playing for hours with the kids and just loving it. Papa can roll a mean bowling ball and Grammy really gets into her baseball.

Christmas was lovely and Mr. Vic makes a great Christmas Dinner. I love not having to cook on Christmas so I just sat around and read and took pictures on my new, pink, camera.

Categories: parenting

Personalities and Kids

We had a great Christmas but the break showed us that we have some parenting issues to work on. While I was doing some after Christmas re-arranging I came across an article I had gotten a while ago on kids personalities and their strengths, weaknesses and their besetting sins. It was an amazing read as I realized that the exact issues we were dealing with were the common sins for each of the kids personalities.

It reminded me that I have to be a student of my children and really understand where they are coming from before I can discipline and train properly.

So for a very quick overview here's a bit of the info for each personality type. They are split into 4 categories:
Sanguine (I in the DISC, Otter)is a total extrovert- high energy and very talkative

Choleric (the D or Lion)is very strong-willed and a "can-do" child

Melancholy ( C or Beaver)is very accurate and detailed

Phlegmatic (the S or Golden Retriever)is very easy going and sensitive

I realize that there can be variations on these types, as in Meyers Briggs and others, but this is a very high overview. What your child is MOST like.

Each of these personalities have their strengths and their weaknesses and knowing what your child is and what they struggle with is a huge parenting help. We can't okay their weaknesses because they are a certain personality but we have to help to strengthen their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing is half the battle.

A great resource for that is "Understanding Your Child's Temperament" by Beverly Lahaye.

I started working on this already and the kids showed a difference in attitude almost immediately.

Categories: parenting