Saturday, January 21, 2012

Joyful Parenting Review ~ Day 5

5. Today I will pray to speak only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.

Strong words, grace words are so important to us because we truly believe that the power of life and death is in the tongue. We can speak both blessing and cursing over and into the lives of our children. We as parents must choose to speak blessing and grace. Our children will thrive in an atmosphere of grace.

Speaking only strong words is not just a practice but a habit we are developing with several measures and action steps to insure our success.

1. Whenever we feel that we will say something toxic or weakening to our children or, as husband and wife, to each other, we simply stop. We say nothing. There is no shame in silence. There is no pain or toxicity in silence.

2. At least once a day, we bless our children. Spoken blessing is powerful! I highly recommend the book Imparting the Blessing by Ligon.

3. We praise our children at every opportunity. Sometimes praise for the smallest accomplishment or progress is the springboard to great achievement.

4. We pray for each of our children daily, out loud, by name. Not only do they know that we love them enough to mention them to our Father but, their faith increases as they see our prayers for them answered. They even begin to ask for prayer in specific areas.

5. When we mess up, we apologize and ask for forgiveness. It is humbling to ask our children for forgiveness.

6. As husband and wife, we hold each other accountable for the words spoken in our home. We also hold the children accountable for the way they speak to each other. Everyone has the right to say, your words are hurting me. This can be delicate territory as sometimes, the truth hurts but, it can be spoken in love.

May our children breath in the clean air of grace and flourish under the blessing!


About a year ago I read Ann Voskamp's blog for the first time. I fell in love with her writing style and her heart that shines through her words. After consuming every part of her blog in just a couple of days, I happened upon her Parenting Manifesto of Joy. I read it several times and then printed it. I posted a copy in my office near my computer so I could read it every morning before I wake my children. The above review is based on one point of that Manifesto.

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