Stuck inside..trying to suffer well;-)

So we spent the day today inside the cabin (aka cabin fever!). The Northern part of Ohio was hit with a very persistent snow, it just kept snowing and snowing....in fact I think it is still snowing. I spent the day picking up around the house and spending time with Kurt and Noah. Noah is just amazing how much he learns in one day. He was in the bath tub tonight and he has been doing back floats with me and blowing bubbles, but tonight I was trying to get him to kick while on his back and he was doing it! lol! It is so cute. Also with his language development, he is saying "A-ppoe" for Apple and "Nanaa" for Nala (our dog). I guess I am just surprise how far they come in one year. It is neat to think about but it is also a scary thought because everyone tells you that you blink and they are grown. It get me thinking about long-term parenting.

The best piece of advise that I have ever gotten was "begin with the end in mind". Basically what do I want the to be doing down the road and start down that path toward that goal.
We are learning about parenting in one of my biblestudy groups and the last lesson was on three things that all children need to learn.
1) Teach them to suffer well.
2) Teach them to work "unto the Lord"
3) Teach them to manage their lives wisely.

The first one has been a particular intrest to me latley. The reason is because I dont think that I suffer well in some aspects myself. In the culture that we live in is a quick fix, comfort, "even if you dont have the money buy it anyway", kind of culture. And so I think that most people dont know how to cope when something isnt controllable. But the point is that life is hard and can be very unjust. If your children are not prepared for lifes curveballs they will have more of a struggle than the child who knows how to depend on God and that suffering is normal. I have recently picked up a copy of "Jesus Freaks: Martyrs, Stories of those who stood for Jesus". It is a collection of stories from around the world about Christian who were willing to die simply because they would not deny their faith. It is truly compelling. The stories stand out to me because if forces you to ask yourself if I was faced with the question to deny Christ or die, what would you do? Which also brings up the question is their anything in your life that you would die for?

Second point is about how, whatever work we do we need to do it as if we were working for God...because we are. Your work can be a form of praise. Paradiam shift I know, haha. Many of us feel that work is just the daily grind. I have often thought this! But It needs to be veiwed as fulfilling our purpose and calling. This is why each one of us is different and unqiue so that we can contribute something of value.

Third point is a hard one. It is hard because it is hard to manage life, even for adults! This point is taling about being good stewards with out time, money, talents,etc. The things that God had blessed us with we need to manage and choose how to use them wisley.

I really enojy being a parent, but it is also hard work. I want to be responsible with the blessing of children. And, I love to pass on anything that would help another parent. This ended up being a really looong post.
Off to bed because I am losing an hour tonight!