Raising Small Children

I know a lot of you who read my blog are in a similar time of life and have small children.  That means that many of us probably have the same struggles and thoughts.  One of the things I struggled with (more mentally than ever not requiring good behavior) was Why Require Unregenerate Children to Act Like They're Good?   The biggest thing that had struck me and stuck with me was that when I required behavior of them that they aren't able to fulfill it's an opportunity for me to point them to their need for Christ.  However as I was reading my mail today I saw that John Piper had written a new article on is very topic (see the link above) and he did mention that but also had other points that are very valid and important.  I strongly encourage you to read the article and think about these things yourself. 

Finally he encouraged us to not simply require good behavior but to also:
be forgiving and longsuffering.
praise and encourage each hopeful sign of life in our children.
apologize when we fail (I'm big on letting my kids know I fail and letting them see and hear me ask Christ for help.)
saturate them with the word.
pray for them without ceasing.
and many other things. 

Read the full article here.



And because she actually smiled for me...