The final book I referenced in part 2 of this mothering series is “COME YE CHILDREN” by C. H. Spurgeon. The quoted paragraph below (I promised just one) shaped our lives.
“Youth is susceptible to evil doctrine. Whether we teach young Christians truth or not, the devil will be sure to teach them error. They will hear of it somehow, even if they are watched by the most careful guardians. The only way to keep chaff out of the child’s little measure is to fill it brimful with good wheat.”
There you have it. Filling our children’s little measure brimful with good wheat.
Steve and I took this to heart. There was no parenting technique that was 100% successful. If the only thing I could do to help my child for life was to fill her little measure brimful with good wheat, well then, that is what I aimed to do.
I realized that I couldn’t necessarily control the results but I certainly could stir in the right ingredients. What ingredients would be considered ‘good wheat’?
God’s word.
Isaiah 55:11
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper [in the thing] for which I sent it.”
Psalm 119:8
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”
Psalm 1:2
“But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.”
Steve and I believed God’s word was good wheat.
To us the biggest contributors of chaff were the TV, movies, music, and the books we read. We would ask ourselves before watching, listening or reading, will this time investment draw us closer to Jesus? Will it make us more like Him? Will it give us a hunger and thirst for the things of righteousness?
Steve and I believed that we faced a choice. We could feed the flesh or we could feed the Spirit. Whichever one we chose to feed, would get stronger.
From that moment of realization on, we began having family devotions every evening. We memorized scripture as a family. We read through the Bible as a family. We prayed together. We studied hymns and sang them together. We read about missionaries, prayed for them, financially supported them, and if they were in town, had them over.
Good wheat. May it always outweigh the chaff.
Jodi
2 comments:
I love all of these posts! So sweet and encouraging. I love visiting the blog!
I agree wholeheartedly! I definitely want to fill little Ellie's measure up with good wheat not the chaff. What a good way to help us evaluate our own decisions as parents as well! Thank you for the thought-provoking post, Mom. What am I feeding in my own life? the Spirit or the flesh? which will be the stronger because of it?
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