Thursday, September 13, 2007

Shining Like Stars

"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."
Philippians 2:14-15

I had mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was reading Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture. Well, one of the tidbits that has stuck with me is the challenge to parent without complaining. I ride my kids for whining - but I'm equally guilty of this annoying habit. Am I shining? Not really. I'm just another one of the grumpy SAHMs who lists off all the awful things are kids are doing. Can I ever empathize with struggling moms - and probably even one-up them on stories. "You wouldn't believe what my son did last week..." But what if I just keep my mouth shut and offer encouragement instead. How much brighter would my own light shine, pointing them to our Heavenly Father. Something I'll continue to work on...

2 comments:

In Pursuit of His Call said...

I wonder if you're just seeking advice when you tell stories because sometimes I wonder if I'm complaining to others when I share what Little G has done, but really, I share these hardship stories to find out if others have experienced the same thing and how have they dealt with it...Anyway, you have such a great sense of humor that it doesn't really sound like you're complaining...You've been a great encouragement for me in how you parent and so you've shined brightly here...Just wanted to let you know that.

Trish D said...

I am *ALWAYS* in search of godly advice - but mostly I'm just sharing stories to encourage others. All our kids do goofy things, and no parent is perfect! I also look at this blog as a type of journal, so I also want to record some of the crazy moments for myself!