Somewhere between the stern mom looks, the panicked shrieks of, "what did you do?", and the daily mom admonishments for proper growth and training I try to squeeze in an, "I love you" or an "I'm so proud of you." I love my kids dearly, but moms know that the day to day reality of running a home can cause the sweet dream of a family from the Truman show to melt in puddles of toys and dirty laundry.
On any particular evening I find myself frazzled with cooking, cleaning, refereeing, or just trying to spend time with two children who love to compete for attention. More often than not this is followed by raised voices and frustration. What's a mom to do when there are so many demands and so little time? I believe the answer lies directly in one practice, and that is blessing our children. I'm not talking about buying toys or empty praise. This practice is simply looking at our children as God sees them, and taking the time to verbally speak blessing to them and over them.
I will attest that this does not create perfect children, but what a joy they are to me when I stop looking at minute circumstance of raising children and realize the God given gifts He has placed in my care. I have been reading the story in the Bible about Deborah with Kaylie. I continually pray over her that she will have a greater revelation of her destiny. I pray that she will grow to be a mighty woman of God. Yesterday we were driving down the road and Kaylie told Chris, I am going to be a woman of God, and Micah will be a man of God. My heart could only smile.
Micah is still young, and it can be hard to sit an active toddler down for anything. I take many evenings when he is quieting down to just rock him, pray over him, and speak blessings over his life. In those moments, when he is drifting between reality and the land of dreams, there is such a peace that settles over the room.
I know they do not fully understand the meaning of everything that is said, but so often I believe we underestimate the power of words. It is not unheard of to see children or even adults who have low self esteem and no purpose in life. More often than not you can look at a history of verbal abuse. Sometimes it is not as intentional as we think. Sometimes it as simple as saying hurtful words when we are frustrated. It can be neglecting to show our children their true value in our eyes and the eyes of God. Words have power. Life and death to be more precise. I had a teacher in middle school who was always encouraging us to speak life to one another. Today I encourage you as you go about your routine to take a moment and speak life over your kids. Blessing our children has power.
Micah is still young, and it can be hard to sit an active toddler down for anything. I take many evenings when he is quieting down to just rock him, pray over him, and speak blessings over his life. In those moments, when he is drifting between reality and the land of dreams, there is such a peace that settles over the room.
I know they do not fully understand the meaning of everything that is said, but so often I believe we underestimate the power of words. It is not unheard of to see children or even adults who have low self esteem and no purpose in life. More often than not you can look at a history of verbal abuse. Sometimes it is not as intentional as we think. Sometimes it as simple as saying hurtful words when we are frustrated. It can be neglecting to show our children their true value in our eyes and the eyes of God. Words have power. Life and death to be more precise. I had a teacher in middle school who was always encouraging us to speak life to one another. Today I encourage you as you go about your routine to take a moment and speak life over your kids. Blessing our children has power.
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