The Parenting Formula

In the midst of hair-yanking fights and beat-on-the-floor tantrums, I realize there is no perfect parenting formula. There isn’t an easy step-by-step plan I can squeeze my family into that will eliminate the chaos bouncing off the crayon streaked walls of our suburban home.
 
There is no perfect formula but there is a perfect parent, God. He breathed important truths across each page of his Holy Word. There, sprinkled beneath the surface, are treasures to unearth that will help maneuver through the battlegrounds of parenthood.
 
God, being the ultimate parent, sets guidelines we are to follow; establishes boundaries we aren’t to cross; and takes disciplinarian action when appropriate. Even though it’s sometimes painful, his corrections are what mold is into the image of Christ. It’s what builds a love-relationship with him and ultimately with our kids.
 
As parents, we must get into the Word, find God’s formula for godly parenting, and imitate it. Period.
 
I like the way the Message paraphrases Hebrews 12:4-11:

“So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? 

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.”
God didn’t create us only to leave us. When we veer off the straight and narrow, God always steers us back to himself. In just the same way when our kids stray away in disobedience, we must point them back to Jesus. The way we respond, the words we use, the actions we take will either draw our kids closer to their heavenly daddy or further away from Him.
 
These mommy-hood adventures are ten times harder than I imagined. Wouldn’t you agree? Some days spin like an out of control merry-go-with jerks and yanks at every turn. Some days I feel as if I’ve hobbled off the Scream Machine at Six Flags complete with a disheveled look and crazy hair.
 
Even though some days seem well put together while others unravel at the seams, one thing’s for sure… if we remember who we are and whose we are, we will absolutely get it right. If we follow God’s perfect formula for parenting, we will succeed in glorifying his name as well as raising God-fearing kids.

Lord, please help me to live with a Calvary love for my children, who sometimes aren’t so loveable. I so desire to be the parent you intended. Please help me to raise kids that are crazy in love with you. Amen.

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