When we were first married we were looking forward to starting a family. About two months after our first anniversary, we got to announce we were having our first baby! We were thrilled!!! I just assumed we would have more babies, since ya know. We figured out how to have one. 😉
But it was going to be almost five years before the LORD allowed us to hold another baby. Those years in-between babies were full of tears, prayers, and learning to trust over and over and over again.
It was also full of raising our sweet girl. She was a super smart little thing and since I only had one, we started school when she was 3. We had a designated school room with some charts on the walls I had made. Flash cards. Puzzles. Craft stuff. And I don't remember what else we had. We were on a tight budget, so most of the school items I made.
Each morning I took my smart little girl to our school room and we sat down to learn. Most days it was fun and she loved learning and going to school. I enjoyed teaching her and was determined to do my best.
Then there were *those* days. The ones where bad attitudes invaded our space. But! It was school time. And. We. Were. Going. To. Do. It. One of those grit-your-teeth-and-smile type of days. We would spend time learning about character traits and Bible, but we were *going* to learn our letters and numbers too. Yupp.
Even if we spent three hours working on discipleship (read trying to get rid of bad attitudes from both Mama and Little Girl) we were going to do "real" school work too. I doubt she learned much, if anything, those days.
Fast forward to today. We've added 7 more kids to our family. My student number is now 5, with 3 tag-a-longs as I like to call them.
I enjoy teaching my children and I'm determined to do my best.
But something has changed. I'm determined they will learn their numbers and letters, progress in math, learn to read, and excel in the other subjects we do. But I'm more focused on character training. In fact, I've canceled school for a day to work on character flaws. There was even once I ended up canceling school for an *entire* week!
"*gasp* Are you allowed to do that??" Oh my yes. Godly character qualities are all throughout the scriptures. You may not find the word diligence or loyalty or thoroughness all the time. Maybe not even at all. But you can see them being displayed.
In I Timothy chapters 2 & 3, and in several other places, you'll find a list of qualities godly men and women should posses. In other places you'll find verses for widows, bondservants, children.....no where is math listed. I'm all for academics! Don't get me wrong. But teaching godly character traits is a priority in our home.
In the front of my Bible I have a blank page and I've started writing down verses and the character qualities I find during my personal devotions. Sometimes it says specifically, like self-control or joyfulness. Other times you just see it displayed. I Timothy 4:15 says "Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress." I see the quality of Diligence there. You could also say Self-control and Faithfulness. It's been exciting, and fun even, to see qualities all over that I never noticed before.
And that tells me it is a very important thing that we need to be focused on.
But it was going to be almost five years before the LORD allowed us to hold another baby. Those years in-between babies were full of tears, prayers, and learning to trust over and over and over again.
It was also full of raising our sweet girl. She was a super smart little thing and since I only had one, we started school when she was 3. We had a designated school room with some charts on the walls I had made. Flash cards. Puzzles. Craft stuff. And I don't remember what else we had. We were on a tight budget, so most of the school items I made.
Each morning I took my smart little girl to our school room and we sat down to learn. Most days it was fun and she loved learning and going to school. I enjoyed teaching her and was determined to do my best.
Then there were *those* days. The ones where bad attitudes invaded our space. But! It was school time. And. We. Were. Going. To. Do. It. One of those grit-your-teeth-and-smile type of days. We would spend time learning about character traits and Bible, but we were *going* to learn our letters and numbers too. Yupp.
Even if we spent three hours working on discipleship (read trying to get rid of bad attitudes from both Mama and Little Girl) we were going to do "real" school work too. I doubt she learned much, if anything, those days.
Fast forward to today. We've added 7 more kids to our family. My student number is now 5, with 3 tag-a-longs as I like to call them.
I enjoy teaching my children and I'm determined to do my best.
But something has changed. I'm determined they will learn their numbers and letters, progress in math, learn to read, and excel in the other subjects we do. But I'm more focused on character training. In fact, I've canceled school for a day to work on character flaws. There was even once I ended up canceling school for an *entire* week!
"*gasp* Are you allowed to do that??" Oh my yes. Godly character qualities are all throughout the scriptures. You may not find the word diligence or loyalty or thoroughness all the time. Maybe not even at all. But you can see them being displayed.
In I Timothy chapters 2 & 3, and in several other places, you'll find a list of qualities godly men and women should posses. In other places you'll find verses for widows, bondservants, children.....no where is math listed. I'm all for academics! Don't get me wrong. But teaching godly character traits is a priority in our home.
In the front of my Bible I have a blank page and I've started writing down verses and the character qualities I find during my personal devotions. Sometimes it says specifically, like self-control or joyfulness. Other times you just see it displayed. I Timothy 4:15 says "Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress." I see the quality of Diligence there. You could also say Self-control and Faithfulness. It's been exciting, and fun even, to see qualities all over that I never noticed before.
And that tells me it is a very important thing that we need to be focused on.
I love this article and it is so so true. Godly character quality is a unique thing to see these days it seems and yet oh so important. I only wish I had learned this when I was younger and when I was raising kids.
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