Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Mama's wild ride....

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 (NIV) How can someone sooo cute cause me to want to pull my hair out? God knew what he was doing by making kiddos, puppies, kittens and basically any baby species cute. What He failed to tell us was that packed within that wrinkled little package with big eyes and brilliant smiles lurked something much bigger and not all too pleasant at times. As you can see, it has been quite a trying day with my own bundle of joy. He has been a handful and has pushed almost every last button with me, including a couple I didn't know that I had. If I said "go right" he would go left. If I said "sit down" he would stand up. You get the gist of my day. The bad part is that he was not with me for most of the morning and by 2pm, I was ready to enroll him at the local pre-school down the street. Hubby and I had a talk and are making some adjustments to the little fella's lineup of entertainment activities, particularly TV. We noticed that when the little guy spends any amount of time watching TV or playing video games, his attitude changes and not for the better. It really doesn't matter the content of the show or the games, the mere act of "vegging out" causes him to change from my "Mr Sweet Fella" to "Mr Go to Your Room!" This is an activity that he craves given the opportunity so from now on, hubby and I have agreed that the TV and video games are off limits to him for the foreseeable future. As a result of our new "rule," hubby and I will have to make changes as well. No more TV right before Little Man goes to bed (even one of my favs - Wheel of Fortune) and no video games including my latest trek with Wii Fitness. We will all make sacrifices but are they really sacrifices. I was talking with my buddy today at lunch and we were talking about how we let little things take up our time. They could be harmless such as reading Christian books, watching educational TV, playing mindless puzzle games on the PC, etc .Yet they are harmless if they take us away from our true purpose - pursuing our God, spending time with Him and reaching out to others in His name. Just like my little fella has a attitude and personality transformation, I too am guilty of the same thing in my Christian walk. I too often allow issues (such as my encounter with my offspring today), distractions (good or bad) and many other things to get in the way of being with the Lord or at least finding JOY in the little things. God never promised us that life would be easy. Just look at the lives of those written of in the Bible and you can see that no one has ever had it easy! But, we can chose to make changes and choices in our life to make sure we can focus on Him and never have to go through these times alone. Just as my little man is now going back to the time before TV, video games and the computer, I too must go back to the basics of just simply spending time with the Lord. It doesn't have to be elaborate or extreme - He just wants my time and attention. He wants the same from you as well. Dear Lord - Thank you for reminding me through the parenting of my son that these rules apply to me as well. Thank you for the opportunity to be a parent and I pray that you help me to embody the attributes of Christ as I raise a godly man. I pray for Your strength and Your guidance in all that I do. In the name of Jesus -- AMEN Application:

  • What things or situations change your attitude or rob you of finding God's joy?
  • What adjustments can you make to simply meet with Him and to grow closer to Him?
  • Pray that the Lord will give you the strength and direction to make the changes.

1 comment:

Sharon said...

Paula, your little man is always so well behaved when you bring him places I find it hard to believe the sweet little man would give you a hard time. You are a great Mom. Take it from a mom of 6, enjoy him while he is little. Hugs! Sharon