Parenting with less Stress {Instructions from God's word}

 I think the biggest thing for me in being able to enjoy parenting and not be stressed about it is knowing that God knows all about my kids. He made them, He loves them and He knows the best way for me to care for them and raise them up. James 1:5 says: "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." I have certainly asked for wisdom a lot and I am positive I will be continually needing to ask for more wisdom!

  Since I have complete faith that God knows best for me, my family and my children, the obvious answer to getting advice on raising kids is to go to God's word. There is quite a bit to say on that subject and I thought I would simply share some of those verse with you today. I think a lot of times when we feel stressed it is because we are struggling with handling some problem on our own (I know that happens with me!), so when we are willing to just tell God, "I believe you know best and I will do my best to follow Your word" a ton of the pressure is off of us, I don't have the stress of figuring out what to do, I can just do what God says.

  Obviously God doesn't cover every single little issue in the bible, and we do still have to make some decisions, but the big, basic issues are there and we can use all of that as a guideline and that helps ever so much! And of course we need to always pray!

So here are some of the verses that God has given us in His word:

Ephesians 6:1-4
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20 and 21
"Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart."

(I think that we mother's do well to pay attention to the two sections above addressed to Fathers as well)

Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Titus 2:4 & 5
"...that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored."

Proverbs 13:24
"He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."

Proverbs 19:18
"Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death."

Hebrews 12:9 & 11
"Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For the disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Those are a few of the verses that I have found helpful as we raise our children. Having guidelines that I can trust (rather than just a book written by man that may or may not have the right ideas) certainly works for me and makes parenting far less stressful!