God's Wisdom for Raising Kids

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Moms, don't despair! There is just an abundance of help and treasure found at Focus on the Family and FamilyLife Today to help us in our journey as a parent.

You will have missed out on a lot of precious gems if you just skim through this posting without first checking out these links.

Reading some of these or listening to the message can change our mindsets on some parenting perspective. These resources can also lift our sometimes dreary and heavy spirit. I am just so very encouraged by these resources.

Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself !

God's Wisdom for Raising Children

Author John Rosemond, a family psychologist who currently devotes much of his time to public speaking and writing, offers biblically-based advice to moms and dads in a discussion based on his recent release Parenting by The Book.

• God's Wisdom for Raising Children (Part 1 of 2)
  
• God's Wisdom for Raising Children (Part 2 of 2)
• John Rosemond's "Bill of Rights" for Children (PDF document)
  

I learnt so much from these podcast. Child psychology and child rearing fads may come and go, but God's biblical principles for raising children never change, even with technology advancement and change of times.

Wisdom from Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley

How to Conquer the Will of Your Child - An article from Focus on The Family - Good behavior from children makes parents happy. But children often don't behave the way we'd like them to because they need our help.

Article from Focus on the Family : Help Your Child Behave

Teaching Teens to Follow Rules :

Are your kids testing your boundaries? Today Dennis Rainey tells parents about the benefits of healthy boundaries, and what they need to do to pass on a legitimate faith in Christ to the next generation.

• Teaching Teens to Follow the Rules, Part 1
  
• Teaching Teens to Follow the Rules, Part 2
  

Big Truths for Young Hearts

• Introducing Your Child to God - Are you helping your children know God? Bruce Ware, professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Seminary, urges parents to use the ordinary moments of life to introduce their children to God and grow disciples in the faith.
  
• Sandbox Theology - Do your children sense God's awesome power? Professor Bruce Ware, author of Big Truths for Young Hearts, encourages parents to use God's wonderful Creation and other everyday examples to give their children a sense of awe at the thought of God.
  
• Helping Your Child Understand the Holy Spirit - How, and what, do you teach your children about the Holy Spirit? Today Professor Bruce Ware helps equip parents to teach their children about the Holy Spirit in terms that even boys and girls can understand.
  

The Minivan Years - Do you sometimes feel like motherhood has you stuck in a rut somewhere between carpool and laundry? Olivia Bruner encourages mothers to get passionate about their role as moms, realizing that the time they have with their children is fleeting and precious.

Encouragement for Stay-at-Home Moms

Dr. Laura Schlessinger talks with Dr. James Dobson about the value of moms staying at home during the childrearing years in a discussion based on her new book, In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms.

• Encouragement for Stay-at-Home Moms (Part 1 of 2)
  
• Encouragement for Stay-at-Home Moms (Part 2 of 2)
  

Yours, Mine, Ours, Whose?

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His, Hers.... Yours, Mine ... Ours ...

Tithing ... Giving ...

Money no enough?

Inflation ... stretching the buck... high oil prices ... pay cuts ...

How do we manage the resources God has given us? What does God want us to teach our children regarding finances and money management?

It is good to take time and listen to some of these speakers, pastors and authors share their take on money and our faith, money and marriage, money and our kids ...

Money and Your Mate

Should you hand your money any differently now that you are married. Tommy Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas gives couples advice about handling money in marriage in these 2 part broadcasts at FamilyLife Today.

• Money and Your Mate, Part 1
  
• Money and Your Mate, Part 2

Resolving Money Conflicts in Marriage

Author Mary Hunt explains how couples can establish and maintain financial harmony in their marriage. In this 2 part broadcast, you will hear of Mary Hunt's personal testimony of how she got into a USD 100,000 debt and how she and her husband worked their way to clearing this debt over 12 years. You will also hear of Dr James Dobson's sharing on how his father's generous heart impacted him as a young boy.

• Resolving Money Conflicts in Marriage (Part 1 of 2)
  
• Resolving Money Conflicts in Marriage (Part 2 of 2)
  

The Treasure Principle

Listen to the interview on Revive Our Hearts with Randy Alcorn, author of The Treasure Principle. This may just change your perspective of eternal living.

• The Joy of Giving
  
• Treasure in Heaven
  
• Giving Back to a Generous God
  

Practicing the Treasure Principle

It's been said that money is the root of all evil. But is it really? Randy Alcorn, author of The Treasure Principle, reminds us that we can't take our material possessions with us to heaven but that we can send them ahead to heaven.

• You Can't Take It With You ...
  
• ... But You Can Send It Ahead ...
  
• ... To Heaven, Your Eternal Home

You Paid How Much for that?

Why are money issues so challenging for couples? On today's broadcast, Dennis Rainey talks with marital researcher Scott Stanley about the root issues behind financial conflicts in the home.

• The Hidden Issues Behind Money Conflicts
  
• How Gender Differences Affect Our Finances
  
• Laying the Ground Rules

Debt-Proof Your Kids

Mary Hunt, creator and editor of "Debt-Proof Living", a monthly newsletter formerly called the "Cheapskate Monthly", talks to Dennis Rainey about her former life as a spendaholic. Hear how Mary's spending led to her being $100,000 in debt, and what she did to crawl out of her money pit into the light of sweet financial freedom.

• Debt-Proof Your Kids, Part 1
  
• Debt-Proof Your Kids, Part 2

We're in the Money... Now What?

Why are money issues so challenging for couples? On today's broadcast, Dennis Rainey talks with marital researcher Scott Stanley about the root issues behind financial conflicts in the home.

• There's More to Money than Spending!
  
• How to Become a Great Giver!
  

Generous Living

Ron Blue, founder of Ronald Blue & Co, talks with Dennis Rainey about the benefits of giving generously to advance God's work.

• Becoming a Generous Giver
  
• Experiencing Financial Freedom
  
• Why Aren't We More Generous?

Some great articles from Focus on the Family on Family Finances :

• Money Management in Marriage
  
• Pursuing Financial Unity
  
• Financial Freedom God's Way
  
• Teaching Your Teen Money Management
  
• Teaching Kids About Budgeting
  
• Should We Pay Our Kids for Doing Household Chores?

Joshua & Motherhood

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What has the old biblical hero and warrior, Joshua got to do with Motherhood?

You will be very much surprised at what you can glean from this faithful warrior's life - not only for yourself, but for your children as well.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss of Revive Our Hearts has been taking listeners through an extended study on the life of Joshua these past few months and I must say I have learnt so much from Joshua and can't wait to listen to the podcast each day.

Joshua was among the 12 spies that Moses sent out to check out the Promised Land. All went to the same place, saw the same things, tasted the same produce of the land. However, only Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report that "the land, which we passed through to spy it our, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." (Numbers 14:7-9)

• Why the difference?
• What lessons can we learn from Joshua?
• What lessons can we pass on to our children regarding Joshua?
• What can we do to start instilling these servant-leadership qualities in our children - to start well and finish well?
  

Below are only a few of the lessons I have learnt from this series.

• Joshua resolved to learn of God at a young age - following and learning from Moses.
• Joshua was intentional about his pursuit of God
• Joshua made choices that determine the outcome of his future
• We need to be intentional in our pursuit of God. We need to pass this on to our children as they will be laying the foundation now for their later years.
• In the midst of trials, be it struggles with kids or family, God provides opportunities for us to grow and to see His Power. God uses these trials to train us.
• I know I am not alone in my trials. That gives me strength and hope to carry on!

I encourage you click on the links below and start listening to these podcasts and begin to learn and grow, and also begin to be intentional about passing on these lessons to our children.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss just completed part 11 on Lessons from the Life of Joshua. Perhaps, I will begin with the series of Part 1 and will post the links to rest of the parts in later postings.

Lessons from the Life of Joshua(Part 1) - Learning to Be Victorious

1. Your Greatest Opportunity
   
2. Your Battle is the Lord's
   
3. Engaging in Battle
   
4. Don't Fight the Battle Alone
   
5. The Powerful Work of Intercession
   
6. The Lord Our Banner
   
7. Your Arena of Battle
   

Do take time to listen to these messages, either on your pc or download onto your ipods. You will find many of these messages to be timely and a great encouragement to weary hearts in difficult times. No matter how difficult, just as our Lord told Joshua, He says the same to us : "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

A Mom's Reflection on Our Words ...

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A Mom's take away from the session of Our Words Can Make A Difference by Jan Holdaway...

I have read Phil 4:8 umpteen times but on Fri morning the words spoke to me..."....think about such things".

The NASB version translates it as"....let your mind dwell on these things.."

Our minds are constantly bombarded with and/or shaped by thoughts and pictures that we receive from people and all sorts of sources surrounding us. At times, they are the thoughts that are being "pushed" into our minds.

Unconsciously, we parents may have allowed such thoughts, philosophies, etc.. to take captive of our minds and we transfer them to our children.

As we allow the virtues in Phil 4:8 to dwell in our minds, they will shape our attitudes and direct our words and actions.

The virtues in Phil 4:8 are not merely "positive thinking" or "emotional intelligence" as taught by the "new age gurus".

They are Godly virtues...

From Mom LL

And some other feedback and comments from other moms :

"It is such a timely message. I have learnt much from the speaker."

"I am so glad I came today. I was feeling low and very burdened by the words I have used on my child. My spirit feels lifted up after the talk and prayer."

"I must remember to say the right thing today, to be encouraging - as my child brings back exams scripts and marks today!"

Our speaker shared with us a funny advert done by British Telecoms. You can watch this on youtube : British Telecom - Ology 80s

Available at Church Library

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Below is a list of recommended resources that are available in our church library. Do drop by this Sunday to borrow them for your reading this school holidays :

Dateable Rules, The: A Guide to the Sexes by Justin Lookadoo & Hayley DiMarco

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex & Brett Harris

Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Dannah Gresh & Nancy Leigh DeMoss

And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity by Dannah Gresh

Who Moved the Goalpost?: 7 Winning Strategies in the Sexual Integrity Gameplan by Bob Gresh

Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship by Josh Harris

Prince Bear & Pauper Bear

The Princess and the Kiss

The Squire and the Scroll

The Garden Wall

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in You and Your Kids by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller.

Parenting is Heart Work

Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids!

Home Improvement: 8 Tools For Effective Parenting

Bring Up Boys - Dr James Dobson

Lies Young Women Believe

Preparing for Adolescence: How to Survive the Coming Years of Change by Dr James Dobson

Boundaries with Teens: When to Say Yes, How to Say No by Henry Cloud & John Townsend

When Mothers Pray

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Our prayers for our children matters!

We cannot force our children down the path we think to be right but we can come on bended knees to the Throne of Grace and ask God to watch over our children and guide them down the right path!

Did you listen to this tribute to a Praying Mom? Tribute to a Praying Mom

I do hope you take time to do so and in so doing be encouraged to keep praying for your children. Pray and ask God to bring other moms into your life who can come together to intercede for each other's kids.

If you are unsure of how to start a mothers' praying group or what to do when moms come together to pray, you may want to visit the Moms in Touch website : MITI Home page to learn more about starting praying groups for your children. Here you will find resources on Getting Started and using the 4 Steps of Prayer as a guideline for your group. Using the prayer sheets to pray the different attributes of God for our children can be very helpful - Prayer Sheets

You can also start a Bible Study group with some other like-minded moms on praying for your children. Cheri Fuller, author of When Mothers Pray has a complimentary Bible Study of the same title that you can download for free from her website Cheri Fuller : Inspiring Women in Prayer You can download in PDF Version* or MS E-Book Version**

I really enjoyed this book When Mothers Pray very much. It inspired and encouraged me to keep pressing on in prayers for our children. Our children need our prayers.

(When Mothers Pray is available for borrowing from our church library or for purchase at SKS Bookstore)

Moms, if we are not praying for our children, who will, who is?

Arise, cry out in the night,

as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water

in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to him

for the lives of your children,

who faint from hunger

at the head of every street.

Lamentation 2:19

Our Words Can Make A Difference

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An old song goes like this "Stick and stones may break my bones, but what you say can't hurt me!"

Is that true? Does what we say to our family matter? Or do we think, it's just my husband or my mom, or just the kids? - No need for courtesy or manners.

How often do we find ourselves shooting off our mouth only to regret it just a second later?

We too can recall the times when we have been hurt by words ourselves an many of us are still smarting from these wounds caused by hurting words.

How can we build and bless our homes with words?

Come this Friday, 22nd May and learn from our guest speaker, all the way from UK, Jan Holdaway that Our Words Can Make A Difference.

Topic : Our Words Can Make A Difference

Speaker : Jan Holdaway

Date : 22nd May 2009, Friday

Time : 9-11:30am

Where : Conference Rooms 1 & 2

See you moms!

Thank You Mom

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Thank You Mom

Thank You, thank you for all the times

You pray for me each week

For sacrificing that special hour

With other moms who seek.

Who seek God’s will in their child’s life

And know this is the way

To share their hearts with the Creator

So we can grow holy each day

You’ll never know how much it means

When you cover me in prayer.

It brings a warmth within my heart

To feel how much you care.

Don’t ever stop praying for me, dear Mom,

Your seeds of love will be

The way I’ll learn to love this God

You are praying to for me.

- Cathy Roby

We are living in challenging times and it is getting more and more difficult to be a kid these days. Our children need our prayers like never before.

Find like-minded moms among your friends or your child's friends' moms and come together to pray for your children!

Your prayers, my prayers, our prayers for our children "lay down the tracks on which God's power can come! Like a mighty locomotive, His power is irresistable but it cannot reach us without rails...." ~ Watchman Nee as quoted by Cheri Fuller in A Busy Woman's Guide to Prayer.

Tribute to A Praying Mom

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Tribute to a Praying Mom

http://www.listen.family.org/daily/A000001935.cfm

Feeling weary about being a mom?

Feeling discouraged about your child's rebellious attitude?

Feeling anxious about your child heading down the wrong road and not heeding good advice?

Then this is one Focus on the Family Radio broadcast/podcast that you will not want to miss!

Click on this link Tribute to a Praying Mom to listen to Ty Nichols pay a tribute to his mom, Fern Nichols, founder of the Moms in Touch group.

Ty shared how as a teenager, he walked away from the values and faith that his parents had taught him and how his mom stood on the Rock of All Ages, pleading on his behalf.

This is a very moving, touching, very encouraging testimony of the power of a mother's prayer!

Whether you are experiencing issues with your child or not, this is indeed one very encouraging testimony and tribute. Brought tears to my eyes when I listened to it and am encouraged to know that indeed, our God is a prayer answering God!!

It is time, we moms, go on bended knees and be the praying sentinels for our children and build a hedge of protection around our children and claim them back for the Lord!

(Fern Nichols also wrote the book, Every Child Needs A Praying Mom :Life-Changing Prayers for Your Children. Every mom should read this book. Book: Every Child Needs a Praying Mom: Life-Changing Prayers for Your Children. This book is available in our church library and you can also purchase it at SKS Bookstore)

Prince Bear & Pauper Bear

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(For more of Emily Lim's new books, please look up our Wordpress blog at Hearts of Moms Blog. Thank you)

Allow me to introduce you to an author friend who turns her trials in life into very inspiring books for young children.

It is not easy writing stories that can captivate the imagination of the child and yet at the same time, engage the child and also for the child to identify himself in the story and draw strength from it. But Emily Lim, author of Prince Bear and Pauper Bear did just that.

Emily came down with rare voice disorder - Spasmodic Dysphonia 10 years ago, which made it difficult for her to speak.

And out of her struggles and trials, she birthed her first book (Prince Bear & Pauper Bear) Prince Bear & Pauper Bear which also won her a First Time Writer Award. And she went on to write 2 other lovely books : The Tale of Rusty Horse and Just Teddy

The illustrations in these books are eye catching. And the values of love, acceptance and friendship, hope and selfless love are weaved all through the stories.

Kids love the illustrations and the stories, moms and dads love the values these books impart.

Do drop by at Emily's website MUSTARD SEED BOOKS by Emily Lim to find out more about each of the books.

Emily's books are available for borrowing from the church library. You can purchase them at all major bookstores as well as SKS.

Books for Teens & Dating

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It's never too early to talk to our children about dating and BGR; never to early to set ground rules and have a heart to heart talk with our teens.

These are some great books for teens to read up on regarding dating and relationships: Most of these books are rated 4.5/5 stars on Amazon.

• Stupid Parents: Why They Just Don't Understand and How You Can Help by Hayley DiMarco
  
• Sexy Girls: How Hot Is Too Hot? by Hayley DiMarco
  
• Dirt on Dating, The (The Dirt) by Justin Lookadoo & Hayley DiMarco
  
• Dateable Rules, The: A Guide to the Sexes by Justin Lookadoo & Hayley DiMarco
  
• Dirt on Sex, The (The Dirt) by Justin Lookadoo & Hayley DiMarco
  
• The Hardest 30 Days of Your Life by Justin Lookadoo
  
• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex & Brett Harris
  
• Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Dannah Gresh & Nancy Leigh DeMoss
  
• And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity by Dannah Gresh
  
• Who Moved the Goalpost?: 7 Winning Strategies in the Sexual Integrity Gameplan by Bob Gresh
  
• Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship by Josh Harris
  

Mothers having Fun! - Happy Mother's Day!

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We laughed till our sides almost split!!

We had good fun - just letting our hair down and being ourselves!

Our Moms having fun with Charade!

Trying to guess the right word.

We had a rich delicious yummy chocolate truffle cake

from ET Artisan Sweets (ET Artisan Sweets)!

It had a 2cm thick of chocolate and it was like eating a chocolate bar with truffle!

Simply chocolaticious!

Tall stalk of sunflowers for each mom!!

We want to be like the sunflowers,

bringing sunshine and cheer to our families!

We want to be like the sunflowers,

with our faces towards the SON (sun),

always depending on the SON (sun)

for our guidance and growth,

following the SON (sun)

from Morning to Night.

O Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You always,

searching out for You,

leaning on You and depending on You always,

just like the sunflowers!

May we be a blessing to our homes!

A BLESSED & HAPPY SUNSHINY

MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OUR MOMS!!!

Purity and Integrity

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Let's not get side tracked by all the noises of sexuality programme that is taking place around us. Instead, let's turn our hearts and attention towards our home and start being pro-active and intentional about passing on the right values to our children.

Values of purity and integrity of heart and body are best taught by us, parents. However, sexuality can be a difficult or uncomfortable topic to talk about - perhaps, because of our upbringing and cultural background or we just plain don't know how to handle it and hence, we just don't talk about it!!

But all is not lost!! We are far more blessed today than our parents, as we have plenty of good help and books around us to help us in this area.

One set of books that come highly recommended are

• The Princess and the Kiss
  
• The Squire and the Scroll
  
• The Garden Wall
  

These books are great for young kids as well as teens - on a princess saving her kiss for marriage and a squire keeping his heart, mind and body pure, resisting temptation. Girls whatever their age never tire of being a princess. And boys will always want to be the knight in shining armour!

And not too long ago, FamilyLIfe Today had an interview with the author and c0-author of the above 1st 2 books, Jennie Bishop and Susan Henson. In this interview, they shared what inspired them to write these books and the accompanying Life Lessons books. They also shared about the struggles of today's generation of children.

You can listen to the interviews or read the transcript from these links :

• The Princess and the Kiss, Part 1
  
• The Princess and the Kiss, Part 2
  

(A beautiful princess received a priceless gift when she was born - her first kiss. What would a beautiful princess do with a gift she could only give once?)

• The Squire, the Scroll, the Authors, and the Purpose
  
• Josh Harris Gives a Dramatic Reading

(There are 5 things your young squire needs to know as he begins the adventure of life ... what are they and how can the squire make this transition from squire to knight?)

You may also want to take a look at this older Jennie Bishop's Books for ideas to plant seeds of purity and integrity in our children.

It is never too early or too late to do so.... whichever age group our children is in, there are good resources available for us to work with.

For moms with tweens or teens, this older post has got good resources that can help jump start a conversation on sexuality : Preparing Your Tweeny for the Teen Years

Do take your time to look up these links and go through the materials. They are very useful resources and have been a great help to many. These resources open our eyes to struggles of our children, and give us ideas on how to help and teach them.

These are such valuable resources to me as they constantly remind me of what I need to do for my children and how to do it. I would have been an ignorant and very lost mom without them!!

Do share these links and postings with your husband too :)

May God give us strength and courage to be intentional and proactive in passing on His values of sexuality and marriage to our children!

What Voices are Our Children Listening To?

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As evidenced in the media over the past few weeks, there are many many voices, whether right or wrong, demanding the attention of our young - school, peers, friends, media, internet, movies .... which is right, which is wrong?

Which or Whose voice should our children listen to?

It seems there are no longer absolute values - they are constantly shifting and changing. Values are now subjected to the norms of society. But is the norm the right norm??

The grounds our children are standing on are shifting sand and that creates a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and insecurity in our children.

What values can our children hold on to that will prevent them from stumbling and sinking or equip them for the challenges in life ahead?

The answer to these questions lie in us. Yes, we the moms and dads!

More so now than ever, we need to build loving and close relationships with our children. We want our children to feel safe and secure with us - to know that they can confide in us and ask us any questions and we will not judge them, to know that we will be there for them always no matter what happens, to know that they can turn to us when faced with difficult / uncertain questions or times.

We need to build close relationships with our children so that we can continue to pass on godly values to them and so that in years to come we can still influence our children in positive ways.

Yes, there is much for us to do and it is a big task and responsibility. And honestly, we can't be that voice for our children or be the main influence in our children's lives if we, ourselves are confused by the voices around us.

So how can we help our children?

In order to help them, we need to return to God and His word, to depend on Him for wisdom and guidance. We need to spend time with Him and learn His ways. By reading God's word and hiding His word in our hearts, we ourselves will not be confused by the voices around and we will be able to discern truths from lies. Then and only then, can we pass on the right values to our children and be the voice that our children listen to.

Let us be the main voice our children listen to in their growing years.

Let us be the solid foundation that they can stand firm and secure in.

With God's help we can do it!

Over the next few postings, if time permits, I will continue to highlight resources that can help us in our mothering journey - on building relationships, on modesty, purity and integrity.

Do go back to our older postings and look up postings on teaching purity and integrity to our children.

• Preparing Your Tweeny for the Teen Years
  
• Teens in Crisis : Why Parents Matter
  
• Moms of Teen Girls
• BOOKS For MOMS with TEENS
  
• What kind of husband will your son grow up to be?
• The Princess and the Kiss
  
• The Squire and the Scroll
• Jennie Bishop's Books
  
• The 7 A's of Parenting Principles (7 A's of Building a Loving Relationship with Your Child)

I do hope that these postings and resources will be a blessing to your walk with the Lord and in nurturing your relationships with your children.

Encouraging our Children

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This is a nerve wrecking time for moms of children with exams. Stressful time for the children too.

This is also a time when mother-child relationship can be strained. I am so mindful of it as I find myself constantly stepping on my child's tail, reminding (nagging) him to study, to finish up his revision, not to watch tv...

One thing that I have learnt through the years is that this is also a time to build a closer relationship with our children and their relationship with God.

What I had done before, which my children have found it to be helpful and encouraging, was to write notes of love and encouragement to them.

A simple note that reassure them of our love for them, reminding them that we are praying for them, and believing that they can do it, gives our children the peace and confidence that they need during this stressful time.

When I first started on these notes, I slipped these notes into my children's pockets or pencil cases without telling them. My son was so surprised to find it in his pocket on his first day of exams and he told me that he read the bible verse and held it close to his heart and trusted the Lord to guide him during the exams. And he told me that when he was stuck with a difficult question in his Math paper, he remembered the bible verse and called out to God and God heard his prayer of help. He said he could feel God's presence with him as he did his Math paper. That was 9 years ago... and he has kept all these little notes and letters in a box!! He just showed them to me not too long ago. :') I was touched and I know that God has used these notes to bless him and speak to him.

So why not, start this week with these little notes of "I love you", "I am praying for you!", "You can do it!". You can also write a prayer or put down bible verses such as :

• "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!- Philippians 4:13"
  
• "Psalms 121:1-2 I look to the hills, where do my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and Earth."
  
• "Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9"
  

You will be surprised at the impact these little notes of love, encouragement and prayer have on the kids. It is something they will treasure and remember. It is also a way of leaving a legacy for them.

You really don't need fanciful paper. Just a little note on any paper will go a very long way to bring a smile to your child's face.

If you want some fancier printouts, you can try these links :

• KidPrintables.com Back Pack & Lunch Box Notes
  
• Alenka's Lunch Box Notes
  
• Dora's Lunch Box Love Notes
  

If you are lost for ideas, you can also look up this link Lunchbox Love Notes for Your Child on what other kinds of notes to write or refer to the email you received a few days ago, entitled "The Power of a Lunch Box Letter". You can find many ideas from these 2 articles.

A little note can go a lonnngggg wayyyyy to fill up our children's love tank!

Let's continue to look to God to draw strength for ourselves and our children during this exam period.