Another Momma graciously answered my questions. Below are her thoughts and they have again, encouraged me to love my husband and kids more. Thank you Momma Friend 2!
1-What traits or verses have you prayed that God would instill in your kids?
On a practical note, I would say selflessness. Colossians 3:23 stayed on our refrigerator for a very long time. I wanted them to understand that no matter what they do, do it as if they were doing it for Christ alone.
Whether it be cleaning their room, doing their schoolwork, or playing, they could make a difference in our home and in others lives by doing it with a pure/right heart.
On a bigger scale, I would say love the Lord with all your being. Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:30 say it best.
2-What is one lesson you are glad you trained your children in at an early age?
Take everything to God...fears, anxieties, joy, questions. Journaling is another great tool when they are old enough to do that. Trust me, my kids are much better at this than I am these days.
3-How do you balance time between your husband/kids and your own need of personal quiet time?
It's varied over the years, but I guess I would say making time for the Lord before the activities get going in the morning has been most beneficial for a personal quiet time. And I really feel as if God adds time to my
day when I do. It doesn't make sense, but that''s how it seems to work.
Kiddos...homeschooling has allowed lots of time with the girls, but I wish we would've made more of an effort to spend one-on-one time with each of them on a regular basis. We did mommy/daughter,
daddy/daughter dates sporadically but I think they would've appreciated it being more often.
Hubby...we truly have to be very purposeful about date nights. Especially when they were little. Dr. Dobson once said "The most valuable gift parents can give their children is to love each other." Sometimes our
dates were simply snuggling on the couch to watch a movie, but even those could be blown off depending on the day we had. My husband admitted to me years later that he felt as if he had taken a back seat when the
children came into the picture. He didn't resent it, he thought that's just how it was. I needed to realize that when I started investing in our children that didn't mean hubby got put "on hold" until they were
grown.
4-Is there something you wish you would have done more of with your kids?
Play...and maybe worked through a book or two on character traits.
5-Any book make an impact on your family life?
Besides the obvious (God's Word), I would say books by James Dobson played a big role. I listened to him on the radio as well as often as I could. Very encouraging to me as a young mom.
6-How have you dealt with fear/anxiety and the what ifs of life?
Probably just remembering that God is already there in my future and that everything has to go through Him before it gets to me. And that nobody loves me more than Him.
7-What is one trait you would like your children to remember about your family life?
Unconditional love and that home is a safe place for them to talk about anything. (sorry...that was two things)
8-Is there one place or experience you and your husband are thankful you took your children to visit or experience?
We really debated about doing it, but we took a 2 week road trip when they were about 10-8-6. We visited Ohio Amish, friends in NY, Niagra Falls, Ben and Jerry's in Vermont, and back down into NYC, then to DC.
Honestly, we thought we had probably lost our minds even thinking of asking them to ride that much. They still talk about that trip to this day. Camping was also another favorite of theirs.
9-If there was one thing or one word you could encourage me when raising young kids, what would it be?
Live a life worthy of your calling to the best of your ability, ask your kid's for forgiveness when you fall short, show yourself some grace (what a gift God gave us in that!), and leave the outcome to God. I read
once (Search for Significance) that if we did everything right in parenting and produced perfect kids then they would never have a need for a Savior. For some reason, that was so comforting to me.
10-As your kids have gotten older what are one or two things I could be thinking about to instill in them personal devotions-to make their faith their own and not to live on the faith of their parents?
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