Train up a child...

"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it"
Proverbs 22:6

As I was putting Rebekah to bed last night after our Good News Club kids left. I was listening to this verse on her little radio. She has these Scripture songs that she listens to when she naps or when I put her down for the night. The first verse in the CD is the one above.

I have been singing this verse a lot lately because the song is pretty catchy and sweet :) As I was breastfeeding her and rocking her to bed (something I love to do), the Lord truly helped me to see clearly what it means to train up Rebekah as I was thinking about the crazy evening we just had with all the kids at the house :)

Rebekah does well for the most part, but sometimes it's close to her bed time and she acts like it :) She played well for a while and then she just wanted to play with the toys that the other three year old was playing with. We were busy teaching the kids while taking care of Rebekah, getting the kids attention and trying to keep some good conversations going...a lot of stuff to do at once :) So, sometimes when all this is going on I tend to ignore what she is doing. Matty is better at this, which is a good thing! This is why I think the Lord reminded me about this training stuff last night. I was choosing not to train her because it was one less thing to worry about.

As I was sitting and thinking about this verse the Lord showed me the importance of training my little girl not only because "it's the right thing to do", although this is good, but because I am training her for her future! As I train her now, this is the person that she will become 5, 10 or 20 years from now. I am building her character and so this is why it is important for me to take the time to train her up so that when she grows old she will become the young lady and woman that God created her to be. I don't want her to grow up to be selfish and prideful and to always think of herself. I want her to be selfless, humble and to put others first.

It is not easy sometimes to be consistent, but it is crucial when you are training your children for the future. I read a quote a couple days ago that says, "Life is a battleground and homelife and schooling should be a training ground." Another one that I think of often is, "I don't want to make you happy, I want to make you good." something like that... :)

I love how the Lord gently leads us as we raise Rebekah. I love how He shows us our faults so that we can be better and honor him through our lives. Praise His sweet name!