Fear driven affair

I am learning that for a longtime, I have obeyed God and wanted to obey Him in order to run away from the consequences of not obeying Him.

Think about it. Instead of having a love driven affair with the Lord, I am having a fear (wrong fear) driven affair. 

This means that if I do this or that, the Lord will punish me, or I will face and have to deal with painful consequence. Instead of thinking that obedience to God is equal to blessings and having a sweet and wonderful companion hip with the Lord.

David says, “The secret of the sweet satisfying companionship of the Lord, have they who fear, worship and revere Him, He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its deeper meaning”. Psalm 25:14

Now, think about this in relation to the children you and I are raising. How many times do they obey you as a parent because they fear that if they do not, there is punishment that follows disobedience? Good in training, but I think as they mature this needs to change because while it is good to correct and to discipline and the Lord disciplines those He loves, we need to mature in faith and take our walk with God higher and to appreciate that we need to do what we do out of our love for Him and not because we fear the consequences of not doing so.

We therefore also need to discipline children while explaining to them the benefits of obedience and not just allowing them to experience the pain of disobedience. That way, they do not look at obedience as a running away from painful consequences but as a means of enjoying a fulfilling life.

My opinion is therefore that any form of correction which sometimes involves spanking the children must be followed up with comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the benefits that come with obedience.

Well, I am on my knees asking God to help me not to obey Him out of fear but to obey because I simply LOVE him and that obedience amounts to great blessings in Him and having a sweet companionship with Him. 

What this teaches me is how much our upbringing affects our relationship with God.Lets therefore train our children in a manner that as they grow they will learn to interact with God in Truth because we share and live the Truth and the Truth will set them free to Worship and LOVE Him.

Imitating Aunt Sly...

Aunt Sylvia is expecting her second baby...this is what the kids were doing the other day imitating her. Goodness, these kids are crazy. Well, Aunt Sly, you have your nieces and nephew watching. The girls began, the boy was just imitating the girls, he is definitely clueless of what is going on.

 Look at these sweet little things

 

Mnara, if you only know what you were doing?Tucking socks inside your shirt????

Okay Aunt Sly, we are waiting for that Baby!!!! You have loads of company!

Not just waiting but….

I have been waiting on God for something. But at same time guess what I have been doing? Complaining and complaining with absolute discontentment towards life and sometimes God. Almost like making a fuss and throwing a tantrum – at whom? God? I have got to be serious!!!.

 

Then the Lord showed me something about complaining and how the children of Israel sealed their fate because of complaining. 

When we complain, we are kind of  telling God…

• God you need to treat me better than this
• You need to be fair to me
• I am more special and better than others ….and the list goes on.

Well, to be honest, this is still an area of disobedience that I am asking God to help me work on. COMPLAINING. Followed by WORRYING….and many more.

Back to patience.

When it comes to my dear Ethan, Tana and Kendi. Waiting can be a serious issue. They want to have it and have it now and also within their terms and conditions. Well, and you think I am better than that?

There are times I am 5 seconds away from giving them what they sometimes want and within those seconds their attitude is pathetic. Yes they are waiting but they are driving me crazy as they wait!

Well, that’s me sometimes! I am waiting on God but somewhere along the waiting – my attitude is pathetic. 

A few weeks ago I felt like God was saying to me, we need to work on your attitude as you wait! I am asking God for help on that. 

So…train your children not only to wait, but to wait with the right attitude. Otherwise, they will still have to deal with it…like I AM.

Memories to treasure.

These are hubby's parents ( Babu and Nyanya) with their grand-children. One Baby Eliana missing in action. Are they not blessed? They all look wonderful! 

 We recently had a great time visiting Nyanya and Babu . I pray that these children will treasure these memories in their hearts.