May 16, 2015
The Verse for Parents
Zephaniah 3:17
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
This is my favorite Bible verse for parenting. It’s a beautiful picture how God parents me, and when we figured that out, these words certainly changed how we parents our kids.
Parents dwell with their kids. (For the Lord your God is living among you.) Parents do things for their children that their children can’t do for themselves. (He is a mighty savior.) Parents are proud of their children. (He will delight in you with gladness.) And here’s the best one, the one that makes all the difference in the world...
He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing...
That’s what was missing from my parenting resources. Of course I live with my kids and provide for them and am very proud of them. But when they are upset and troubled, what words are better to offer them? Shake it off. Buck up. Get over it. Suck it up. OR How can I help you? You seem upset. Come here, let me hold you and quiet you with my love. I must say from personal experience that I have seen incredible and dramatic results from quieting my children with my love over rebuking them with parenting cliches. It doesn’t matter if correction is going to be carried out too; I just calm them with my love. I even use these very words: "Ben, let me quiet you with my love." God calms me with his love, so I should calm them with mine.
Offering calm, soothing words with hugs and simply stating what seems to be how they’re feeling also fulfills Proverbs 15:1. A gentle answer turns away wrath. (Their wrath and mine.) It’s also a very kind way to communicate. And we all know what the Bible says about kindness. Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (Romans 2:4) Kindness does have way better results than anger, that's for sure!
He will rejoice over you with singing... another beautiful imagery of parenting. Lullabies, singing the Birthday Song, turning up the radio really loud in the car and singing like crazy are ways parents convey love for their children beyond verbal expression. And I get goose bumps knowing that God does this for me!
Dear God,
Thank you that your parenting is awesome and also provides incredible insight as well as being a beautiful illustration for how we should parent the four wonderful kids you’ve blessed us with. I love you so much. I thank you for this passage of scripture and for the incredible results it has provided for our family, and I pray to you in Jesus’ name, amen.
The Verse for Parents
Zephaniah 3:17
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
This is my favorite Bible verse for parenting. It’s a beautiful picture how God parents me, and when we figured that out, these words certainly changed how we parents our kids.
Parents dwell with their kids. (For the Lord your God is living among you.) Parents do things for their children that their children can’t do for themselves. (He is a mighty savior.) Parents are proud of their children. (He will delight in you with gladness.) And here’s the best one, the one that makes all the difference in the world...
He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing...
That’s what was missing from my parenting resources. Of course I live with my kids and provide for them and am very proud of them. But when they are upset and troubled, what words are better to offer them? Shake it off. Buck up. Get over it. Suck it up. OR How can I help you? You seem upset. Come here, let me hold you and quiet you with my love. I must say from personal experience that I have seen incredible and dramatic results from quieting my children with my love over rebuking them with parenting cliches. It doesn’t matter if correction is going to be carried out too; I just calm them with my love. I even use these very words: "Ben, let me quiet you with my love." God calms me with his love, so I should calm them with mine.
Offering calm, soothing words with hugs and simply stating what seems to be how they’re feeling also fulfills Proverbs 15:1. A gentle answer turns away wrath. (Their wrath and mine.) It’s also a very kind way to communicate. And we all know what the Bible says about kindness. Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? (Romans 2:4) Kindness does have way better results than anger, that's for sure!
He will rejoice over you with singing... another beautiful imagery of parenting. Lullabies, singing the Birthday Song, turning up the radio really loud in the car and singing like crazy are ways parents convey love for their children beyond verbal expression. And I get goose bumps knowing that God does this for me!
Dear God,
Thank you that your parenting is awesome and also provides incredible insight as well as being a beautiful illustration for how we should parent the four wonderful kids you’ve blessed us with. I love you so much. I thank you for this passage of scripture and for the incredible results it has provided for our family, and I pray to you in Jesus’ name, amen.
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