Heart of the matter

Recently in our house behavior has been.....well a tough spot. I'm sure any home where toddlers live this is the case as well. Navigating this is one of the hardest things we've had to face as parents. Its not just about finding your way as a parent but also finding out what works for that particular child. I have zero answers here so better call someone else :) We have made roughly a million mistakes so far in this department. I'm learning right along with the boys. One time while talking to my best friend about this she made the comment that " the fact that we are concerned with how we are handling it and if its effective" is really the biggest thing. It doesn't justify when I loose my cool or when I am not consistent but it does help me take a step back and pray about how to handle things. The endless articles , personal testimonies , observations are exhausting and honestly who cares. Don't spank ..wait no spank...no it'll teach them to hit.....time outs work...no time outs are pointless...don't raise your voice ...be a gentle parent...gentle parenting is pointless....!! The list is endless and just this morning when I was reflecting on it all I thought about how this is so much more about me and my heart then it is about theirs. I've noticed in the last week or so how I have been showing them less grace. I've been quicker to snap, quicker to correct the behavior not the issue behind it and less in tune. Now this doesn't justify a 3 year old that is hitting or screaming but it does put it perspective for me that how I handle it needs to be more about their hearts and less about stopping said tantrum. I'm reading a book right now called " Shepherding a Child's Heart" and when I sat down today to read it today this verse was part of the chapter. Luke 6:45"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart , and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."Well hello conviction , nice to see you this morning. Thankful for things like this to help me slow down and take a look at my own heart. If mine is all out of whack it won't do much good trying to guide theirs :) When I went to make notes on my chapter this morning I opened up my notebook to this .....

A little encouragement from my big buddy. Today we are going to pick strawberries , make something yummy with them and just spend the day being together. Happy Monday