Train Up A Child

The children are the future of the world.
They will be the mothers, fathers, neighbors, leaders, teachers, mentors of the coming generations!
What they learn today will shape them for the future, yet what are they learning today?
Children learn what they live.
Here is another poem that I remember on Grandma Storm's wall when I was a young girl:

Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Louise Law Nolte

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
But,
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those around them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

When we first started homeschooling, I worried about what to teach our children.
 I would constantly ask God to just hit me on the head with a brick with a note attached so I would know exactly what to teach the children he loaned to us.
And in His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."
So, I asked, "well, what about math and science and history and geography and public speaking and physics and government and foreign language and, and, and,....?"
In His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."
Okay, so......hmmm....um, anything else?
The note on the brick came.
And in His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."

I am NOT kidding! 
This is EXACTLY how it went!
I worried. I wondered. I read endless books on education, homeschooling, how to teach children, etc.
Would my children measure up?
Are they going to succeed in life?
Will they FAIL???
I was certain they would be the first homeschooled students to FAIL!
And this is the message He sent with the brick!
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22: 6

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7

And the brick keeps coming!
Thank you, Lord, for being so patient with me! 
I think I've got it!
Ouch! My head hurts!

"Peace I Leave With You"

Our worries of the day make it hard for us to sleep sometimes. 
 Proper rest is said to be one of the most important things we can do for our health and well being.

Here are a few ideas for peaceful sleep!
1) Go to bed early!
Put the kids to bed and start on your own bedtime ritual! Stop all chores, start a bathing ritual, settle into bed, read a little, count the days blessings, say your prayers and turn out the lights!
2) Create a morning routine: 'hem' your day in prayer, sip something warm, count your blessings, take a few deep breaths and plan your day.
3) Take mini breaks throughout the day to just breathe deeply-inhale slow, exhale slow-all the way to the belly and back!
4) Increase your exercise.  Make sure your physical activity is as great as, or greater than, your mental activity.
5) Get plenty of fresh air and sunlight.
6) Eat food the way God made it.
7) Sip on herbal teas.
8) Take a short nap.
9) Keep your sleeping room dark and quiet.  Eliminate all blue and red lights from electronic devices.  Keep your room as dark as possible.
10) Buy a good mattress!
11) Practice yoga~google relaxing yoga poses.
12) Don't eat anything crazy before bed!
13) Live in peace.
14) Let go and let God!

"A day hemmed in prayer rarely unravels." ~a saying on Grandma Storm's wall.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." ~ John 14:7

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." ~ Psalms 4:8

God's Peace to all!
Love,
Laura