The Heart of the Matter

Does mom need a little bit of encouragement today? Me too!!

Ordinary: Refereeing the kids while they fight over a toy

Extraordinary: Thinking beyond “who had it first?” to the heart of the matter

 

The book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp, is the best parenting/training  book I’ve seen so far, and I needed a good book…here’s why:

Mostly my kids are really REALLY good (yes I know I’m blessed), but just like anyone else, when they are tired or hungry or bored…wow they can get into a heap of trouble. Clarification: My first born, IPK, is the pleaser, and an angel. She wants to save the world of heartbreak and share Jesus and fix everyone’s problems. She is really fun and silly, too, but she just has a good, pure heart. My second born, Adi Boo, is the wild one. She likes frilly skirts and jumping off things. She questions ideas. If I say it, she questions it. She is bold and courageous, with what SHE wants to do. She is learning to obey, and doing better in the past few months, but I feel a strong responsibility to guide her heart in the right direction. (I was “that kid” too, and I have strong leadership qualities, so I know that’s where she is headed too).

I like what Jim Rohn says: “Kids can do remarkable things if kids have remarkable things to do, but if kids don’t have remarkable things to do, there’s no telling what they’ll do”. (point being- we must be proactive in our guidance)

Anyways, back to shepherding hearts, a good description of the point of this book is:

The heart is the wellspring of life. Therefore, parenting is concerned with shepherding the heart. You must learn to work from the behavior you see, back to the heart, exposing heart issues for your children.

So, I’m reading this book for both of us over the next 12 weeks (it’s a Bible study curriculum at church), and my goal is to post what I’m learning and share tips of how to shepherd the hearts of our little ones. I may not post on this every week, but when I do post I’ll get us caught up.

Ready? Check back next Thursday for chapter 1! (or follow me so you get an automatic update!)

Happy for our progress,

Tink