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Men
The Woman in Your Life: Children
- “Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You’ll realize this as soon as they’re born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.” — Ray Romano, actor and comedian
- “The beauty of motherhood is not in the freshly pressed shirts and smiling photos we show the world. The beauty of motherhood is in the folds and creases of our lives, the grimaces and tantrums, the moments when we have to grit our teeth to get through, when we pound on windows and yell and scream and demand better of each other and ourselves.” — Robyn Passante, blogger
- "Encourage and support your kids because children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.”
- “I feel very blessed to have two wonderful, healthy children who keep me completely grounded, sane and throw up on my shoes just before I go to an awards show just so I know to keep it real.” — Reese Witherspoon, actress
- “Pregnancy and motherhood are the most beautiful and significantly life-altering events that I have ever experienced.” — Elisabeth Hasselbeck, TV personality
- “Having a baby dragged me, kicking and screaming, from the world of self-absorption.” — Paul Reiser, comedian
- “Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.” — Matthew Jacobson, blogger
- “Motherhood has completely changed me. It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had. I think that it puts you in your place because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in and if you can’t stand up to those principles when you’re raising a child, forget it.” — Diane Keaton, actress
- “Motherhood was the great equalizer for me; I started to identify with everybody… as a mother, you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.” — Annie Lennox, singer
- “My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” — Wilma Rudolph, Olympian
- “There are so many quiet times you spend as a mother that aren’t glorified but are a foundation for your kids. No matter what, there was always a thick safety net under this trapeze.” — Tina Fey, actress and comedian
- “Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten, writer
- “Having kids — the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings — is the biggest job anyone can embark on. As with any risk, you have to take a leap of faith and ask lots of wonderful people for their help and guidance. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to parent.” ― Maria Shriver, journalist
- “I don’t remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” ― Anne Lamott, author of Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year
- “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future,” Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
- “I looked on childrearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully interesting and challenging as any honourable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.” — Rose Kennedy, socialite and philanthropist
Psalm 139:13-16
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Psalm 127:3-5:
13 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. 5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Mark 10:13-16
13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
Men, God did not make you be weak, timid, or uninvolved with your family. You are, in fact, made to be the Head of the Household:
Your Wife (1 Cor 11:3; Eph 5:23; 1 Pet3:7; 1 Tim 3:4-5)
Your Children (Ephesians 6:4; Prov 22:6; Col 3:21)
Grab & Go . . . !
Allow her to freely express her concerns and fears regarding your children. Listen without interrupting, and don't interpret this as testimony to your failure as a provider of security. God gave men two ears and one mouth--use them in proportion. She MUST be able to do this safely.
Be a partner with her in parenting, which includes school & grades, social behavior, events, sports, teams and structure (to include homework and bedtimes). Do this enthusiastically lest your family interprets your involvement as disingenuous, leading to resentment(s).
Allow your children to make mistakes without reacting emotionally. Acknowledge the mistake, discuss a better alternative, ensure your support, and love on them. Maybe even go get an ice cream when the lesson has been learned and reinforced positively.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
-Charles R. Swindoll
