Daily Bible Reading | The Challenges of Raising Children

Raised in a big family on a small farm.

As the 2nd oldest and oldest boy in a family of twelve kids, I did my fair share of babysitting, cooking, cleaning, and changing diapers. By the time I was out of my parents' house, I'd probably changed more diapers than most people will in their lifetime. I'd changed disposable diapers, old-school cloth diapers (The ones you had to fold a certain way and pin up with safety pins), and newfangled diapers. I'd made goat cheese, goat soap, BBQ rabbit & squirrel, and lintel casserole (I do not recommend). I'd shoveled horse poop, buried horses with nothing except a shovel and a mattock, built fences, fixed cars, built tables, beds, & bookshelves. etc. etc.

Children are God and life's biggest blessing.

I still was not ready for the challenges of raising children. Children are the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. My daughters bring so much joy into my life on a daily basis. Sawyer will come up to me several times a day (Normally when she wants something) and say "I like you" "I like you much, daddy". They will all yell and scream when I come in the door and hang all over me. It is an amazing experience as is watching them grow and learn new things. I wouldn't trade being a father for anything.

The challenges of raising children.

But... the challenges of raising children are intense. I never gave my parents enough credit. Each and every kiddo is different. They all respond differently to praise and punishments. Sometimes it feels like it doesn't matter what you do. They are not going to learn the lessons you're trying to teach them.

We have been struggling with our nine year old (Brooklynn) for the last three or four years on the same issue. She does and says things without thinking. I've had countless conversation with her about thinking before she speaks and thinking before she acts. Take a breath, use your brain, then act or speak, but boy howdy.... I think my words might have more effect on a brick wall, convincing inflation rates to go down, or convincing an unfertilized egg to hatch into a chicken. Every time she lies, directly disobeys, or does something just completely boneheaded (Beat the dog with a plastic dusting tool)... I ask her "Why did you do that?" and every time without fail her answer is "Idunno" with a little shoulder shrug.

I don't accept "I don't know" or "Idunno" as an answer. I make her sit there and think about what she did and why she did it until she can tell me. If she lied, it normally comes down to she did it to try and get out of being in trouble, and for most everything else her reasoning is "I just didn't think" (Which if we're being honest is probably a cop out most of the time, but it is more accurate than "Idunno"). I've had deep conversations with her about the importance of thinking before she acts and before she speaks. We have tried all sorts of different punishments and rewards, but we are still fighting the same battle. For all the other parents out there, have you found anything that works? If you have, please share it with us in the comments.

Sawyer (3-year-old) is in the "why" and "I don't want to" phase of toddlerhood. I think this phase of childhood development is when their hearing stops working roughly 90% of the time. She has stopped eating most of her meals at this point because "She doesn't want to". It doesn't even matter what we make most of the time.

Raising kids is a challenge and probably anyone that tells you they've got it all figured out is completely full of it or they're entirely delusional. We don't have it figured out, but we are determined to raise our children to be competent, contributing members of society. All of our children will have chores. They will all know how to cook, clean, do yard work, change tires and oil, raise animals, garden, work with others, etc. I know it is much easier to toss the kiddos in front of a tablet or screen, but I believe that time should be really limited.

Exodus

We are reading through Exodus now, and Brooklynn has really taken to enjoying reading to us during our nightly bible time. It challenges her and strains her reading and vocabulary, but she is doing a great job and improves every time she reads. We're very proud of her love for reading and passion to do well in school.

Sometimes we get home late from the days' activities and don't get around to doing our nightly bible time. We still try to make it a priority, but life gets in the way sometimes and maybe that is a bad excuse.

Exodus tells us the story of how God chose Moses and guides him through the deliverance of the Jewish people from the land of Egypt. Moses tries to come up with reasons and excuses not to be God's messenger. He did not want to believe he was a godly enough man or a competent enough man to be used by God, but God used him anyway.

Prayer Challenge

Alysha and I have not been perfect about praying together every night. We've missed a couple days. One night, I fell asleep on the couch about 3 mins into our "Next level Chef" episode. How are y'all doing with praying together as a couple every day/night?

Enjoy your weekend!

Mitchell