We all have areas where we feel, “I’ve got this down.” But, are there any areas that you’re saying, “I don’t have a clue?” Let’s talk about them here. You can send questions to scourtneylawson8@gmail.com. Parenting is more of an art than a science. Every child is different and while there are some universal “laws” of parenting, you have to approach each child as an individual. Like snowflakes, no two kids are alike. What worked with Erik, would have crushed Heather’s spirit. Every child is a mystery that you have to solve in order to be an effective and loving parent. This requires hours of prayer and a lot of time taking long looks in the mirror. The acorn never falls far from the tree. So, what areas make you smile and which ones make you want to tear your hair out?
What Is It That Stumps You As a Parent?
Author: scourtneylawson
S. Courtney Lawson Writer and speaker Sandy Lawson recently hit two Amazon.com best-seller lists with the new business book, "Transform," co-authored with best-selling author and speaker Brian Tracy. Sandy Lawson serves as a Care Pastor at Element Church, in Wentzville Missouri, one of the fastest growing churches America. Sandy recently joined noted business development expert, best-selling author and speaker, Brian Tracy, along with a select group of the world's leading experts, to co-author the book titled, Transform: The World's Leading Entrepreneurs and Professionals Get to the Heart and Soul of Transforming your Life, Business & Health. The book was released on September 18, 2014 by CelebrityPress™ - a leading business book publisher. On the day of release, Transform reached best-seller status in two Amazon.com categories - reaching as high as #6 in the "Direct Marketing" category. The book also reached best-seller status in the "Marketing and Small Business" category. Sandy contributed a chapter titled, "The Relationship Transformation...Taking Relationships From Terminal to Transformed." Sandy Lawson has over 30 years of experience partnering with her husband, Kip, in family ministry and outreach. She's had the privilege of serving on staff at three mega churches prior to Element Church. In addition, she and her husband also had the honor of building the bus ministry of the Oneighty Youth Group at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 400 riders weekly to nearly 1,500 riders each week. Her biggest joy is coaching people in their personal relationships and helping them reach their God-given potential. She and her husband have helped hundreds of couples turn failing marriages into happily-ever-afters, as well as assisting parents in their quest to create healthy thriving families. In their career, Sandy and her husband have been a major influence in the lives of thousands of children, teens, and adults around the world. Sandy is the mother of three, and the grandmother of eight wonderful grandkids. She and her husband have been married over 46 years. She is the author of a parenting book, "Parenting Through the Mirror" which explores the concept that great parenting must begin with personal transformation. She is also the author and illustrator of a children's geology book, "Iggy and the Volcano" that teaches kids the cycle of igneous rocks. Sandy is a freelance writer, speaker, blogger and was a major contributor to an internationally distributed children's curriculum. After such a successful release, Sandy Lawson will once again be recognized by The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™, an organization that honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists. View All Posts
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When someone hurts your child it’s hard to figure out which directions to take with your child. Sometimes Mama bear comes out. Sometimes we can pray for the other person. Sometimes it is a lesson that needed to be learned. It’s hard to decipher which way to go sometimes. Our instinct tells us just to love them and make it better immediately. That’s not always the rit answer. Sometimes the pain we have from their pain is overwhelming and controls our actions.
So true, it is so much easier to be hurt yourself than watch it happen to your child. What we did with are kids when they got hurt, was ake them to the Word and use it as a learning opportunity to teach them how to apply the Word in their lives. It gave them an opportunity to apply the Word in action. For example, if someone said something hateful: first we’d take them to forgiveness Scriptures and explain what happens in our hearts when we allow unforgiveness and bitterness to take root. We would also use it as an opportunity to show them how Jesus handled similar situations in His life. We’d discuss any actions that Scripturally they need to take. It would be their choice whether to take the action or not (they almost always did). Then we would pray for the person. It’s hard to hate those you pray for. Sometimes they would go the second mile and do something nice for the person who hurt them. Each hurt is an opportunity to practice Christianity in action, because in life there will always be hurts. It is a critical life skill.
How do you inspire them to desire to do their best? We have one that really doesn’t seem to care about failing nor the consequences that follow as a result of those failures…..
What’s his dream? Help him define his dream and then list the steps that need to be taken to reach the dream. He may know in his heart that some of this stuff is just clutter. My youngest son, knew what he didn’t need to know and just chose not to learn it. It was frustrating, but in the end, guess what? He was right! On the other hand, if he’s just drifting he may need the structure of defining what he is passionate about, this may give him the motivation he needs to go after it. The trick is to lead without pushing. Help without manipulating, and wait without nagging. If he has no passion, pray he gets one.