God's Best Plan

I find myself using the phrase, "God's best plan" more and more these days. As our children grow older and experience more activities outside our home they come to me with new thoughts and/or observations. The majority of these observations are of people or families that have chosen to go against God's word and the guidelines He has given us. The conversation usually begins something like this:

Child: Mom, does this mean that (place name here) is doing (place action here)?

 Me: Yes, dear

Child: But, isn't that wrong?

This is where the conversations usually take an interesting turn. Wrong. There are a lot of things that are wrong. Not brushing your teeth before bed, is wrong. Skipping the homework problems that are too hard, is wrong. But most of these situations go beyond an easy right or wrong answer. They are sins committed by sinners....but we all have those. Here is how the conversation continued today:

Me: Here's the thing, God has His best plan all set for you. He has placed some boundaries for you in His Word to help keep you safe and help you live a life that is filled with His blessings. But, we all make mistakes, don't we? Some people might not believe in God or maybe they just thought they knew better and wanted to try it their own way.

Child: So, should we stop being their friends? Or, maybe we should ask them not to come to our church anymore?

Me: Well, that get's complicated. We want everyone to know about Jesus and how much He loves them. If they don't come to church anymore, they might not ever realize how much Jesus loves them. If we stop being their friends, they might stop coming to church because we have offended them. It is hard when people don't follow God's best plan. 

After thinking more about the conversation we had today I think I will add a few more sentences if we continue this in the morning or a different day. I would like to say: I think it might be best if we share our friendship and our love with them and then maybe God will help them to find His best plan for them again. Let's pray for them and for the Holy Spirit to help them see God's love. Let's also remember that we all do things that are wrong and need help remember to follow God's best plan for us.

My prayers tonight will include a petition for all of us and that we all may be looking to walk in the light of God's best plan for us.

 

Struggles

Let's be honest...I struggle.

I have clearly felt God pushing me to start this blog and write a book for a long time now. I have clearly been resisting and playing the, "I'm too busy" card. So, when our small group started reading a book entitled Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, the last thing I thought I would be doing is starting this blog. But, the book was truly the last thing God used to push me to begin.

And so it began...I got things set up, I did a little research and I published my first post. It is starting, a blog I hope will encourage parents everywhere to raise children that bring Glory to God and grow the Kingdom of Christ. Do you know what happens next? .........Well, I'll tell you what happens next. The enemy moves into my home and starts having a camp out. No, I am serious.

The past two days have almost been unbearable. My daughter who is prone to tattle, seems to be tattling every five minutes. My son who is prone to loose his self-control, seems to have no self-control to even loose. The babe who brings me great joy when he says "ma ma ma ma," seems to be teething because he is clinging and crying non-stop. Our home which has been accident free for a long time, experiences two accidents in one day (one from the dog). The list goes on and on.

This afternoon, I had enough! I was seconds away from the moment when the top of my head comes off and steam shoots out and "mean" mommy takes over.....when God graciously distracted me. I "saw" everything that was happening and I just started to laugh. I had allowed this new adventure to interfere with what is truly important in my day.

When I stepped back, I remembered that God has blessed me with five amazing children and He has created them all with different strengths and weaknesses. They are each unique in their gifts and in their interests. When I choose to run my home on "auto-pilot," I get children that use these strengths and weaknesses to express themselves the best they can. It truly wasn't my children who made my last two days almost unbearable. It was me.

My hope is that I remember this lesson and don't have to learn it all over again next week. But, right now I am thankful for a God who forgives, children that love and encourage me when I fall down, a husband that supports me fully and a home where the enemy is no longer camping out.

  

And so it begins....

We spend nine months or more preparing for the birth of our children. The home is filled with anticipation. It is all such an exciting time filled with new steps and adventures. Joy!

The days, weeks, months and years pass and all of a sudden our new bundle of joy is a small child. A child with a will of their own, a voice they love to proclaim and the ability to defy you. Frustration. What happened? Why did we have children anyway?

If you are like me, you have read a variety of books, articles and blogs on how to discipline our children. This is not another one of those. Although we may touch on discipline now and then, that is not my intended focus. My desire is for us to encourage one another as we go through the ups and downs of parenting. 

And so it begins......

Today in the life of the Kapelke family a lesson is brewing. Our four year old son has decided that he wants to take the dog for a walk in the house. The dog on the other hand is not at all interested. So first the dog goes running through the living room, then the boy with a leash dragging behind him...all the time yelling, "come back Lanie, come back!" Every time he gets close enough to the dog to attach the leash, she manages to squirm her way out of his grasp. The faster the boy goes, the faster the dog goes. However, some how the boy wins and there is now a leash on the dog. Challenge number two, getting the dog to go the direction the boy wants. He pulls and tugs, but to no avail. I suggest that he walk where the dog wants to walk, but he resists my assistance. The adventure continues....

What lessons do you think we can teach from this situation? I would love to hear your ideas.