Training Children

I have 3 daughters, for which I am becoming more and more grateful. Tonight I was running behind - preparing for the arrival of houseguests does that to me sometimes. My husband called from work to let me know he was leaving there to come home... that meant in 15 minutes he would be arriving home and we generally eat dinner at that time. Panic set in. What would we eat? Nothing was thawed, my freezer was without handy premade meals, and the clock was ticking!

AH! Eggs to the rescue. So in a pinch, I called my 7 year old, plugged in the toaster, and had her begin making toast. Then I called my 4 year old over, cracked a quick dozen eggs, and had her scramble them in the bowl. I was able to cut up some watermelon, while my 2 extra sets of hands helped me get things going. I had the 4 year old set the table, collected the 2 year old and had her plugged into her little booster seat, then my husband walked in. Hurrah for the family that works together! We ate and I truly thanked the Lord for these little hands that had been trained to help momma.

Training requires so much patience, failure, mess, mommy biting her tongue, and then, finally, after enough trial, there comes a time when the training is in place. Suddenly, those little hands that had been such a bother, at times, were a blessing. They are really a blessing all the time, but sometimes it is hard to see them that way. As I watch my children grow from babies into little girls, and now bigger girls, I see such value in training them. Value that not only will come to me, but hopefully someday to others - roommates, husbands, children, or coworkers and friends. Lord, help me to train them well so that they will be prepared to bless others and serve You as they grow.

Rearranging the House

My parents are coming into town with my handicapped adult sister. It promises to be a wonderful 2 weeks, but really ... TWO WEEKS! To accomodate them we have taken the futon downstairs into the playroom, taken all the toys out of the playroom and added them to the living room, rearranged the loft to accomodate my sister, and hung curtains everywhere to provide a little privacy for them as they visit.

In doing all of this I hope I can really show my parents love - real, Godly love. Love that doesn't communicate that it was a bother to arrange things, but instead lets them know that we love to have them with us. Love that finds ways to share our lives with them and glean from them love to remember and reference in the future. I hope we all create memories and have wonderful times this weekend, and in all of that, I hope my children can recall these wonderful sunny days with Grandma and Grandpa and want to have days like that with their own children.
I just hope I can remember this weekend when I am a grandparent and it is my children clearing their children's toys away and rearranging their homes. It is no easy task to take on visitors. Doing it for 2 weeks is saintly. I need to keep my visits short, but frequent... enough that everyone is happy when you come and sad when you go, and that we all say "Oh we really look forward to seeing you soon!"

Thank you Lord for giving us a home to share, food enough for everyone, and beds to sleep in.
You are more good to us than we could ever know.