A few words on parenting...and Spirit

When I was a new parent with my first child I did what many new parents do. I read parenting books until my head was spinnining and I felt a little bit more confused than when I started out. Parenting philosophies are so widely varied that you could easily be left feeling a little dizzy trying to find a good balance for your family. Three children later, I'm am convinced that the best advise any parent could ever embrace is probably what most would consider the least practical. No, it's not about spanking or chore charts. It's not about schooling or routines. It has nothing to do with discipline or time-outs for your children. It has everything to do with discipline and time-out for you! I've read a lot of books with great ideas for raising good and wise children who love God. I could probably give a little helpful advise of my own from personal experience, though I am by no means a greatly seasoned parent. My oldest is only seven and we are still in the baby years with number four. In spite of my youth (okay, past thirty is still youth!), I am sure that I have found the best parenting advise you will ever come across....if you are willing to dive in. There once was a time that I felt, as a busy mother of young children, that I simply did not have the time or energy to devote to this critical practice. Sometimes I felt so sapped physically and emotionally from the everyday mother-world that I simply had no passion left for this highest of all disciplines. But still, in my heart, I knew the answer was to cultivate a deep spiritual life, to root myself in prayer. Sounds too simple, doesn't it? I'm not saying that all those books out there with practical parenting tips are useless. I've found some great advise in some of the books I've read. What I am saying is that the most important thing for us and our children is that we are immersed in God's presence, that we are growing in wisdom and grace as we seek to know Him.