guest post - Theresa

Theresa is an amazing woman of God and homeschooling mama.
She has a very inspiring blog and truly seeks to share Christ through her words.
She's been a great encourager to me and I'm so glad to have "met" her!
Make sure to check out Theresa's blog and tell her I said hello!!!
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Jamie has become a great blogging friend. I love reading her blog and looking at her beautiful photos. I am honored to guest post on her blog while she is either waiting for the arrival of her sweet little one, or enjoying the first days with her sweet little one. I wanted to share some encouragement from God’s Word as she now becomes a mother of three.

“Behold children are a heritage from The Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.” Psalm 127:3

Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to “exhort one another daily”.

Peter says in 2 Peter 1:12 “I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.”

We know that “His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3

What then does the Bible say about the raising of children?
* We are to train our children.

Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Ephesians 6:4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” The New Geneva Study Bible commentary gives these definitions:

Training-the shaping of the will through discipline
Admonition-the shaping of the mind through teaching

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

If we obey God’s command to train our children, according to God’s word, God promises a blessing to parents.

Proverbs 10:1a “A wise son makes a glad father.”

Proverbs 23: 24-25 “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. Let your father and mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.”

Proverbs 29:17 “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes he will give delight to your soul.”

Proverbs 31:28 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.”

These verses promise great joy and happiness to parents who raise a wise child. In contrast, the natural consequences of cursing for ignorance or disobedience to truth are found in the following scriptures:

Proverbs 10: 1b “But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.”
Proverbs 17:21 “He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.”

Proverbs 29:15b “But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

How then can we seek to train our children with confidence?
1- By making our relationship with the Lord our highest priority. As we seek to do this we are modeling true Christianity to our children. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

2- By trusting in God’s word rather than worldly influences. We are accountable to God because He has entrusted us with His creation of children. In Ted Tripp’s book “Shepherding a Child’s Heart”, he reminds us that “As a parent you must exercise authority. You must require obedience of your children because they are called by God to obey and honor you.” Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”


J. Robert Fugate writes in “What the Bible says about Child Training”, “A child learns obedience to parents as a preparation for his obeying God. Parents are the symbol and representative of God’s authority to their children. A child who is required to obey his parents will come to respect their authority and will thus be prepared to submit to other authorities including God’s word.”

Jamie, may God bless you as this third child is added to your family. Let us all remember the great privilege it is to be a mother and to raise up the next generation for Christ. And let us be encouraged by the words of Paul in 2Thessalonians 3:13 “But as for you brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.”

~Theresa
Being Refined as Silver