It's all over the news, facebook, and most definitely our minds. The shooting in Connecticut is a huge tragedy. We see the innocence of all those lives taken, and it stirs us up. I've rarely seen anything quite as popular to post about on Facebook especially among my friends. People are praying for the families, and I can't think of anything more fitting to do in a time like this. I know from personal experience that prayer can lift your spirits like nothing else. It stirs my own heart to hug my girls a little tighter and express my gratitude to God for having them safe in my arms. It spurs me on even more to watch my words and make sure they are kind and at an appropriate volume. What if it is last words they ever hear? It also motivates me to speak more kindly to others I'm in contact with even if it is the cashier at the store. There is very little I can do for all those families in Connecticut affected by the shooting other than pray, but there are hurting people all around me that may need a kind word or even a smile. I can surely start with my own family.
A friend of mine had this written on her chalkboard for her year of homeschooling: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." (Proverbs 25:11) Last week when I was freaking out about homeschooling, my hubby complimented me on what a good job I was doing. I hadn't even shared with him that I had looked at standards that day and was overwhelmed. It melted my heart that he complimented me on that day of all days when my insecurity was fresh in my mind...definitely an apple of gold.
Over the past few months, I have come to cherish all my sisters and mothers in Christ that have lifted me up in prayer. I'm forever indebted to a God that answers prayer and to those who care enough to "cover me in prayers"...like an invisible blanket of protection.
I've seem the light of delight in my own girl's eyes when I pay them a compliment ...and the lights go out when I rebuke them too harshly. This coming week I want to be intentional about keeping the light burning in their eyes. I want the positive comments to far outweigh the negative. One of my favorite family traditions is our nightly recount of our high and low points for the day. I get a glimpse at what was really important in their lives, and I can see some of their strengths and weaknesses. Sundays we do a different thing instead of highs and lows. We brag on each other each take turns sharing what we are most proud of each family member for in the past week. I love hearing what my girls are proud of me for, and I love trying to bring up something original about them.
What ways do you speak fitting words to others? I'd love to have some new ideas to try this week.
During supper we play different games as a way to converse about the day.
ReplyDelete1) We play tell me two things I don't know about your day. This is a bigger challenge when I've been to the school and have an insight on what happened, but it gets us past the normal response of I had PE, I had math, etc.
2) We play two truths and one lie about your day. The kids like seeing if they can fool us.
3) My mom gave us conversation starters from parentslead.org This asks a variety of questions about what household rule would you change and why to what you would do as president to favorite things.
That's fantastic!! I'm totally going to try that this week! Thanks for sharing!!
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