Dresses & Muscles

     Girls twirl and dresses flow . . . Boys flex and muscles bulge -- is this not the way it's always been?  I hear the words come out of my mouth before I even taste them, "You look so pretty!" And she does.  Or, "You are so strong!"  And he is.   The compliments flow so naturally from my mouth to their ears, but something flickers inside my head and I stop and wonder, Do they know something else is far more important?


     It's so easy to build up the outside and neglect the inside of our children.  

      In fact, flattering words appear almost effortlessly . . . because we genuinely DO believe our girls are beautiful and our boys are strong, and that's good!  Our children need to know we appreciate the wonderful ways God has created them, but I am reminded of God's words to Samuel many years ago when He said, "Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart."

     Part of our job, as parents, includes ensuring our emphasis goes WAY BEYOND the dresses and muscles . . . to be sure we're building up their hearts.  

    Our children will believe their importance is found wherever we, their parents, show approval.  We need to be reminded that it's what Christ does on the inside of our children that holds the value, then we'll be watching for opportunities to build that up in them.

     Simple ways and words make this possible -- affirm kind acts, sweet attitudes, happy hearts, thoughtful deeds and unselfish choices.  All these things (and many more) come from the heart and that is where the true beauty and strength must be cultivated in our precious children's lives.

"What matters is not your outer

appearance...but your inner

disposition."
I Peter 3:3&4

     

Garbage In, Garbage Out

It amazes me how much attention our society gives to pollution and the environment, of which I certainly have to agree there is a reason to be concerned.  But as so many thousands pour their time, money and lives into "protecting the environment", I am amazed that there is not at least equal awareness of the pollution being poured into our families and the need we have to protect them.  It makes me think of the old saying, "Garbage in, garbage out" - if we pollute the oceans, we will end up with polluted oceans.  Why, then, is it so hard to see the same connection with our families?  If we are exposed over and over to the pollution of our minds, will the same outcome not be a given?

Jesus was very clear on this point, when He was teaching in Luke 6 where He said, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  I have watched this principal play out over and over with our children, and from a very early age.  The music, television and even friends we expose them to will dictate, to a degree, the actions and words we observe and hear back from them.

The other morning I was in the kitchen and overheard something beautiful from one of our oldest, who was in the other room - a worship song being sung full voice.  Now the background to this event is that this particular individual has challenged the types of music we have versus what they would like to listen to, but we have continued to encourage music that communicates God's truths.  To hear this same child singing and worshiping that morning, brought great pleasure to my heart because it is the fruit of holding to a value we feel strongly about. 

The same application is true with television - we have chosen to watch very little in our home, but the odd show or movie we have watched has often either brought direct consequences or blessings.  If we allowed them to watch _______ (worthless but supposedly harmless viewing), which may have been just silly even though not evil, we could often see an immediate change in their behaviour with us as parents and the way they treated each other as siblings.  Fortunately, the flip side was also true, if we put on _______ (something of value) I would often watch happy hearts acting out in good ways, as well as sometimes singing the songs of God's truths.  I am purposefully not giving examples of titles because I feel every parent has the right to decide what they are comfortable with calling worthless or valuable, or no viewing at all; and as parents, each of us will only have to answer for our own family someday. 

My desire in sharing is to draw our attention to a greater evaluation and awareness of what we are allowing our children to be exposed to.  If we can put time and effort into guarding the pollution of our environment, may we certainly be passionately pouring much greater time and energy into guarding the garbage that the world wants to pour into our homes.  My goal is to walk in godliness, while avoiding the trap of legalism - definately easier said than done, but let's ask the Lord to show us what He has for our individual family, and obediently guard those He has entrusted to us.