Discipline Archives - The Mom Initiative

Ways to Help Your Children Remember God

In my new book, releasing today, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I discuss the vital importance of raising up the next generation to not only know God, but insure they have a relationship with Jesus. That means parents must follow biblical guidelines in raising their children. The results will be immediate. parents must follow biblical guidelines in raising their children. The results will be immediate. Click To Tweet Ways to Implement Deuteronomy 6:6-9 in Your Home In the Generation to Generation section of Forsaken God?, I discuss Deuteronomy 6:6-9, where Moses instructed the Israelites …

Why Discipline Is Like Raising Sunflowers

Of all the hats we wear as moms, my least favorite is referee. Some days it seems I have no chance to enjoy my children because all my energy is spent on mediating their squabbles. This was especially true when they were smaller. Here’s a typical scene: “Moooooom! She pinched me!” My older daughter, five years old at the time, accused her little sister of unprompted abuse. “She! Took! My! Bear!” My two-year-old sputtered her defense. “Did you take your sister’s bear?” “No. I had it first!” Sure, that old trick. I knelt to eye-level with my toddler. “Did you …

Are You Sinking in the Sticky Mud of Porn?

“It started by watching a newscast on 50 Shades of Grey…then I bought the book…now my mind is a mess and my marriage is a wreck,” whispered a sweet young mom in tears as her eyes pleaded with me for help. It started by watching a newscast on 50 Shades of Grey… Click To Tweet We hear about porn prevailing over men and ruining their lives and marriages. But what about women who are sinking in the sticky mud of porn? Where do women start…the ones in tears who regularly approach me after I speak…looking for help? Porn is no-longer …

How to Make Your House a Joyful Home

‘Wives should feel that home is their place and their kingdom, the happiness of which depends mostly upon them.*” Ouch. You mean the happiness of my family depends mostly upon me??? As much as I would love this responsibility to fall on someone else’s shoulders, the fact is I am the one with the responsibility of constructing a joyful home. So how do we intentionally design our “place and kingdom”? Fashion a home which glorifies God and as a natural result love, joy and rest fill each room? This will not come naturally. By nature we are …

Five Tips for Moms of Flower Girls and Ring Bearers

Many people get a chuckle out of the flower girls and ring bearers at weddings. I have been to many weddings where the ring bearer would start saying something silly or the flower girls would dump out all their petals right at the end of the aisle. They always look darling in their nice outfits and they are a sweet reminder of how Jesus loves us. But, if you’ve ever been the mother of a flower girl or ring bearer, you know how rewarding and difficult it is to have your children in a wedding. My brother recently got married …

Discipline and Grace Finding the Balance

“They are so well behaved,” the perky saleswoman nodded at my three children. They are? I just told them to settle down three times. One nearly knocked over a shoe display and… “Thank you,” I smiled and attempted to cool my boiling blood. Where is the balance between first time obedience and grace? How do I decide what to discipline and what to talk about? As moms we are to, “Train a child up a child in the way he should go…” Proverbs 22:6 How do we train children without breaking their souls? How do we speak with kindness, but …

Just Try to Push Me Away by Lynn Cowell

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.“ Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) When our children were little, our discipline had a pattern. When they disobeyed, we disciplined them correct the behavior. Then when the punishment was over, we would take them in our arms, reassure them we loved them and life would get back to normal. But what happens as they get older? Sometimes even stronger or bigger than us? We stop. We still discipline. But those moments of loving kindness after the discipline …

Treating the doctor’s office dilemma

Every mom knows the dilemma of being in a quiet waiting room with a not-so-quiet child. While other patients nervously occupy themselves with the latest travel magazines, hoping they’ll be called soon, moms do the doctor’s office dance, trying to get their little ones to act like grown-ups. Waiting rooms host people anxiously anticipating procedures ranging from dental fillings to chemo treatments, immunizations to ultra sounds. What do you do with kiddos when you’re in the doctors’ zone? Don’t despair. This trauma is treatable. There are more ways to entertain a child while you wait than just plugging them …

Temper ‘n’ Tantrums

Temper ‘n’ Tantrums… the TNT of the toddler and (sometime beyond)world. What is a mom to do when her little one drops a big emotional bomb? First things first… 1. Don’t catch it! It is so hard not to participate in a tantrum. Kids want to draw parents into their drama. It’s a way of controlling the adult. The adult may get angry, plead, cajole, give in….whatever….just to make the screaming meme stop. Just remember, your response has the power to impact the tantrums to come. (And there will be more.)Next… 2. Stay Cool. It’s tough remain in control when …

Survival guide for taking kids to restaurants

Kids are not born knowing how to behave in public. In fact, “public” manners vary greatly depending on the culture you’re in and the setting within the culture. When I posted a recent observation on Facebook about a mom wrangling two boys at a coffee shop, it stirred up a flurry of comments. Strong feelings came out from non-kid-toting adults who feel impacted by children in public places like restaurants, church, and stores. Equally strong feelings came out from moms with fresh memories of the challenges of getting out with children. I sensed both groups asking, “Don’t they get it?” …

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