Dear Wonderful Moms,
I hope this finds you in a place of calm anticipation of the
upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We missed each of our absent moms (YOU),
and it is my hope this meeting (from last Thursday) recap will provide you with
the terrific substance, information and inspiration provided by Judy and our
speaker, Meghan Goade.
Judy’s Devotional:
Matthew 5:37
“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,” and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Carrying one of the last meeting’s topic of discussion (Discipline) further, Judy wanted to expand upon the command from God that “Your Word is Your Word” as it pertains to your parenting. Your child WILL respect you if you KEEP your word, and let your “Yes be Yes, and No, No.” As children ourselves, we may remember having one parent that was “easier” than the other. And even in our marriages, one of the two spouses may be more lenient when it comes to serving up discipline. As MOTHERS, we are with our children the most time, and it is up to US to stand by our word. It is not fun, and not the most popular but the key to garnering our children’s respect is to be CONSISTENT. Take care and THINK before you speak; try to think about YOUR ANSWER FIRST and its consequences. You can change your answer if after you have given it some thought and realize there may be a better way, but you should NEVER give into BAD or WHINING behavior. STAND BY YOUR WORD.
Meghan Goade…
is the Girls’ Minister at Green Acres Church and her core audience/group she ministers to are girls in the 6th through 12th grades. At this point you may be thinking, “wow, that is a tough group”, or you may be brought back to a distinct memory or broad experience from that time. Well, I think we would all agree that she has probably heard and seen it all with respect to how kids are growing up these days. Meghan has taken her experiences in her ministry and developed a talk about the “Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Children.”
On a personal side note, Meghan has been married for four years, and is on a journey with her husband to have children. You see, Meghan DESPERATELY WANTS to sit with us at our tables, she WANTS to be A Mother of a Preschooler! Currently her journey is forging a path towards adoption, but she looks at each of us with great hope and anticipation that she will join us in our special bond. She also suggested that we think of our day to day exhaustion as a BLESSING and CELEBRATION, as what could be more wonderful than to have given everything we have emotionally and physically to the personal gifts that God has given to us? Let us REJOICE in our effort and work, as it is in glory to God, and to our precious treasures.
Before Meghan began to address these important conversation
topics, she wanted to frame the discussion with a powerful point of reference
and view that we all MUST understand…TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Felt board vs.
dry erase board; typewriter vs. computer; walkman belting out the Paula
Abdul cassette tape vs. IPOD with downloaded digital music! Our children are
much more sophisticated at this age than we were. So it is up to US to
STEP UP to show our children the way in which we want them to grow in THEIR
WORLD, in THEIR POINT OF VIEW.
How can we talk to our kids? And how can we raise Godly
children? Here are the Five Important Conversations for you to have with
your child (Girl/Boy ):
1. GIRL-
“You are more than the sum of your parts”…You are better than that. Beauty and strength is more than what culture tells
you what it is.
BOY- “Don’t let culture define your manhood”…it is your dad that should define the man
you want to become, and who your dad is trying to be like, Christ.
2. GIRL-
“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up”
Enjoy your childhood (and parents,
enjoy them at this age). Don’t use an IPAD to read books, enjoy the real books, turn pages, etc. Do what God has called you to do… be
a mom!
BOY- “What you don’t learn to
conquer will be your master.” If they can’t find balance in their
life, there may be trouble later and that may be what defines them;
i.e. step away from the video games before it becomes an obsession, do
not hit (girls), teach them how to behave now, and then it will not be a
problem later. Remember, today is a new day, start now.
Sometimes you will have to NOT look
at milestones because they do not apply today, or what is going on now in your
child’s life. Puberty is hitting earlier NOW. Timelines vary by
child.
3. GIRL-
“Sex is good and worth the wait.” God has created a sacred and special
bond between a man and woman and you are a treasure to be SOUGHT.
BOY- “Not everyone is doing
it.” You are the champion and you must stand up for what you want and
pursue. Teach your boys the difference between fact and
fiction.
Suggest having moms talk to their
sons about puberty, from the female perspective. Perhaps framing the
discussion with a feminine point of view, and then having their dads talk more
about the mechanics. Also, consider having fathers discuss puberty with
their daughters along the same lines of framing the discussion about how they
should be treated, pursued, respected so their point of reference is a high
standard.
4. GIRL-
“It is ok to dream about marriage and motherhood.” TV shows/movies
have glamorized the single adult female life, but our girls need to know that
marriage and motherhood are wonderfully fulfilling aspirations.
BOY- “Boyhood is only for a
season.” Boys at some point have to become MEN, and they need to
start making choices for themselves. It is up to the parents to celebrate
the next step in their development; i.e. first hunting trip.
5. GIRL-
“Girls Gone Wild are a dime a dozen.” “Bad” is the new “good” in our
culture. This is fleeting, and at some point, you will need something
more substantive. We want our daughters to lead a virtuous life through
God’s word. They need to be taught they are the ultimate beauty and THE
STANDARD.
BOY- “Godly men are in short
supply.” We need more young men to stand up for God’s word, there
are not many of you. Godly, Christian habits grows ups closer to God and
Jesus.
Please don’t forget, our next meeting is Thursday, December
6th at 10 a.m. Julie Brown is back with us to talk about
“Finding Friends in a Facebook World.” How relevant is this in our
changing world? I hope to see you all there!
I hope you all have a wonderful and Happy
Thanksgiving. You are all a blessing!
Debra Bochow
Discussion Group Coordinator
