I'm trying to think of how this practice would bring harm.....

..... to any other members of the household. Why? Because who wants to do it? Seems like it might result in death to self, huh?

"I realized that my commute home in the evening was functioning as little more than a review of my day. As far as I was concerned, by the time I got in that car, my responsibilities were pretty much over until the next morning. I saw my home as a refuge, a place where the emphasis, for me, was on being served rather than on leading and serving with Christlike love.

In God's mercy, he showed me the selfish motivation I was bringing home each evening. I saw that my commute could be best utilized as a time of transition, so that I might be prepared to finish the day by loving and serving my family well.

So I made a practice of pulling the car over a few blocks from home so I could take a couple of minutes to make an effective transition in my soul. There on the side of the road, I meditated on Ephesians 5 as well as on some other passages. I confessed to God my sinful tendency to be selfish and sought to prepare my heart to serve my wife and children when I arrived home. In this way I learned to see my home as the context where I have my greatest privilege and opportunity to serve. This practice had a transforming effect, allowing me to walk through the front door with the mind and heart of a loving servant-leader. By God's grace, I found it an excellent help in building a loving marriage, enjoying my family, and minimizing regret." --CJ Mahaney

Parenting by Grace

Gospel Parenting

Today is the first of several posting of excerpts from a good article on parenting, written by Dave Desforge.

Heart to Heart Parenting
I. As a parent/steward I am called to imitate God’s example.A. The biblical picture of God as a perfect parent is rich and multi-dimensional.He reveals Himself as much more than simply a disciplinarian. He is protective (Psa. 68:5), compassionate (Psa. 103:13,14; Isa. 49:15), comforting (Isa. 66:13; 2 Cor. 1:3), loving (Hos. 11:1), a caregiver (1 Peter 5:7), and a gift-giver (Jer. 3:19; Mt. 6:4; 7:11; Lk. 11:13; Jas. 1:17).He is depicted as one who knows His children intimately (eg., Psa. 139), as one who liberally forgives (Mt.26:28; Jn. 3:16,17; Eph. 1:7), and as one who is responsive to human needs (eg., Gen. 9:8-17; and the rescue of Israel from Egypt).

Are there any ways in which my role as a parent is becoming narrow and truncated? Am I allowing necessity and expediency, the tyranny of the urgent, to shape my parenting? As I face the hectic, overbooked, overcrowded, overcommitted nature of modern life, am I becoming more and more of a reactive parent, who steps in far more often as the corrector, than the balanced, multi-dimensional sort of father God models?