God is working

Through the Bible studies I’m doing, books I’m reading, and some Internet sites, God is working to reshape my focus. I’m discovering just how much of my life has been “self” focused, without really even realizing it. And God is working on making me aware of that so that through his help, I can shift my focus. It’s been an intensive, somewhat uncomfortable discovery to realize that some of the things I’ve held nearest and dearest will need to change. My beliefs about ambition, perseverance, the thought that “You can do anything you set your mind to if you just try hard enough”………..some refocusing is definitely necessary. I realize that now. And now comes the part of setting aside the way I would normally approach a change like this and trying to turn it over to God and see what His will is for my life.

Spring Surprises

We bought and moved into our new house in December, so the yard was looking pretty bare and dead. But the folks who lived here loved to garden, so spring is bringing some neat surprises.

I realized the other day that little bursts of green were poking through, and that I had no idea what kind of flowers were planted there. Crocuses? Daffodils? Irises?

Life is the same way sometimes…….when we’re in a “winter” spell, all we know is that the potential is buried deep below. But we don’t know yet what form it will take, even when it first begins to surface. And the full flowering is still a long way off. But with the right conditions, that potential WILL sprout and grow. Isn’t God wonderful? We can find these reflections on ourselves all throughout His creations.

Swondering

From Women At Home

How do you usually react to criticism of your parenting choices?… whether direct criticism aimed at you directly… or criticism of a philosophy that you use in your own parenting?…

This is a tough area for me…..criticism in general. I’m very much a words person, so reading or hearing criticism affects me more than it might others. I tend to read up on one philosophy, get really excited about it, run across a link to a criticism of it, read it, then wonder how I could have considered it in the first place. But I’m getting better. Really. I’m learning how to prayerfully take what I can from different philosophies and use those as needed.

Sleep comes to mind. I read Babywise, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, No Cry Sleep Solution…….and a slew of others that I can’t remember, from hyper-scheduled to full attachment parenting. If it dealt with sleep, I read it. Did I follow any of their methods fully? NO. I did end up taking bits and pieces from them all. From one, I gained an awareness of how to read E’s sleepy cues. From another, ideas for how to nurse before sleep without nursing to sleep. And from another, reassurance that a bit of crying isn’t the end of the world if it helps her get the sleep she needs.

I have to remember that this is MY child. And every one is just a little different. And the things I do with E in all likelihood won’t work the same way with the next one.

So if you disagree with my choices? I appreciate hearing alternate views. Maybe I’ll take something away from it that fits well. Yes, it will sting a little if you criticize how I’m parenting. But I’m really working to have a clear mind that with God’s help, I can know best how to parent my child. And when I choose wrongly? That’s between me, God, my husband and my child…..not anyone else.