This week grace has really been on my heart. I know I’ve touched on it in a few of my posts recently because it just keeps standing out to me, and I feel like I need to pass it along. We’re studying virtue this week. That is all about doing right. We are working on character development every day. A lot of my parenting tips are about trying to get our kids to behave a certain way. I really want to keep what is important at the heart. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in what they do instead of who they are. Who they are comes from their heart – from their essence. I want to know my children intimately. I want to have them trust me and not just blindly obey. Part of creating that is the re-pore established as you interact with your children throughout the good times too. Laugh a lot. Smile a lot. Ask a lot of questions. Find out how they feel. Listen. It is all in vain in the behavior is just on the outside. At some point in their lives, if their heart has not been reached, every behavior you’ve worked to develop will come into question because who they are was not pursued enough. Love your kids. Yes, this means training, teaching and challenging, but it also means extending grace and learning about them intimately and responding to each one uniquely.
