Proverbs Living

Many times when our lives are filled with busyness, I find myself with little time to sit quietly and read the scriptures. I know how vital reading the Word is to my daily life, so on those busy days I try to read a Proverb or two. A long time ago, I had a leader in my life show me that there is a Proverb written for each day of the month. So, since today is the 26th, I would read chapter 26 of Proverbs. It seems that no matter how many times I read Proverbs, there is always some new gem of wisdom that I find. Especially when raising so many little blessings.

The other day I was reading Proverbs 15. I was amazed at how many wonderful verses there were to help our children grow in the love and wisdom of Christ. It seemed to me that almost the whole chapter was devoted to how we want to discipline our children and how we want them to respond to our discipline. I read scriptures written hundreds or even thousands of years ago, and they fit the exact circumstance that we need in our home today......what an awesome God we serve.

Let's look at 15:1 for a moment: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Wow, isn't that true. When we give or receive a harsh word the simple discussion we were having turns into a heated debate. Most likely an unnecessary heated debate. How different would our exchange have been if one or both of us could have maintained a soft answer? This is also seen is verse 18.

Now jump to 15:5, 15:10 and 15:32.  When we read these, we have verses that may help our children to understand the importance of listening to their parent's input. Many young people, especially teens feel the need to do the complete opposite of what their parent told them. These verses could help them see the foolishness in that. All teens need to work on becoming more independent and making their own choices, but that can be done while respectfully considering what their father or mother has said. Doing the complete opposite is a bit extreme. Helping teens to see they can make their own choice while still obeying their parents is a very important step in growing up.

Verses 2, 7 and 28 talk about holding our tongues and thinking before we speak. I know that is something we discuss all the time in our home. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it is wise for you to say it. Imagine how different our homes and lives would be if people chose to hold their tongues more often. I desire for our children to be like verse 7 and to spread knowledge not folly. An acronym I am sure you have heard of is THINK. Is what you are saying: T- true; H- helpful; I- important; N- necessary; and K- kind? I try to have our children say yes to at least 4 of the letters before they start spewing crazy details. Please, don't misunderstand me, this doesn't apply to every little thing the children are going to tell me; I love hearing about their day or an idea they have, but this is helpful when they are explaining an argument or are about to tattle or when they are just being mean to one of their siblings.

As you can see, reading a Proverb a day can be a great resource when raising your family. Let me encourage you to revisit the Proverbs if it has been awhile since you have read them. You never know what gem you will find to help you and your children live this blessed life you have been given.