{"id":311,"date":"2012-04-16T11:48:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T11:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=311"},"modified":"2012-04-16T11:48:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T11:48:00","slug":"parenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=311","title":{"rendered":"Parenting!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of years ago, while writing a Bible study, it was my task to write the lesson on parenting. I struggled with it until I realized that I needed to look at parenting from God’s view. How does God parent us?\u00a0 I found peace from that point on. Here are some of the things I learned.<\/span><\/p>\n


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What would your definition of parenting include? If you\u2019re like me, it might include joy, heartache, laughter, disappointment, amazement, emotional, fear, and the list could go on.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I once read this definition of parenting. \u201cRaising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken.\u201d (Anonymous) Now that is discouraging!<\/span><\/div>\n
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So what can we learn from God as a parent?<\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Love<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1 John 3:1 tells us that we are called children of God and that God has lavished His love upon us. This love is abundant, generous, and extravagant.<\/span><\/div>\n
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In Ephesians 2:4-5, we see what God did for us because of His great love. \u201cBecause of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions\u2014it is by grace you have been saved.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Zephaniah 3:17 is such a glorious passage. \u201cThe Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.\u201d <\/i>God delights in you!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Knowing and believing that God loves you unconditionally is a freeing experience. Do you believe it?<\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Forgive<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Read through these passages of Scripture to see how God forgive us.<\/span><\/div>\n
Ephesians 4:32 \u201cBe kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.\u201d<\/i> <\/span><\/div>\n
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Isaiah 43:25 \u201cI, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Psalm 103:12 \u201cAs far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Daniel 9:9 \u201cThe Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Psalm 51:1 \u201cHave mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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God\u2019s forgiveness is so amazing and at times unfathomable! But these verses show us, when we\u2019re forgiven, it\u2019s done. It\u2019s forgotten.<\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Discipline<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Hebrews 12:4-11 teaches us about God\u2019s discipline. Clearly, we struggle with sin and we should not \u201cmake light of the Lord\u2019s discipline\u201d<\/i> or \u201close heart when he rebukes us.\u201d <\/i>\u201cBecause, the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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The reason? For our good. So that we might share in His holiness and produce a harvest of righteousness and peace.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Discipline is hard to accept and dish out, but clearly God disciplines out of love so that we might be filled with His characteristics.<\/span><\/div>\n
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For further study on this topic, check out Deuteronomy 8:1-5 and 1 Corinthians 11:32.<\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Instruct<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Read through these passages to see how God instructs us.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Isaiah 28:26 \u201cHis God instructs him and teaches him the right way.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Titus 2:11-12 \u201cFor the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say, \u2018no\u2019 to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Psalm 32:8 \u201cI will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Deuteronomy 4:9 \u201cOnly be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and their children after them.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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God\u2019s instruction manual has answers for all of our problems. The more we read it, the more understanding we\u2019ll have. <\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Give<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Matthew 7:7-11 is a familiar passage. Jesus shows just how good the Father is at giving. \u201cAsk and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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If we read Philippians 4:9, we see that our heavenly Father is very rich! He will meet all of our needs.<\/span><\/div>\n
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According to James 1:17, God\u2019s gifts are good and perfect.<\/span><\/div>\n
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And God loved us so much, that He gave us \u201cHis only Son.\u201d Now that is a generous Giver.<\/span><\/div>\n
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We are lavished with gifts from our Father. Take a moment to write down some of the gifts God has given you. Thank Him for those gifts.<\/span><\/div>\n
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How to Protect<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
In 2 Timothy 4:17-18, Paul shares how God protected him. God stood by his side, gave him strength, delivered him, rescued him, brought him to safety, delivered him from evil attacks, and would one day bring him safely to the heavenly kingdom.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Psalm 121:3-8 assures me that God will not let my foot slip. Even when my footing is unsure. The word \u201cwatches\u201d is mentioned five times in these few verses. God is there to protect me in ways I never even thought of. Now that\u2019s protection!<\/span><\/div>\n
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We all need protection. Perhaps that is why super heroes are so popular. Someone who will protect us against the evils of this world. Someone who is willing to stand between you and danger. God is that someone. God\u2019s protection is greater than any you\u2019ve ever known.<\/span><\/div>\n
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These are just a few ideas I\u2019ve had on God as my parent. I pray that there is something among these thoughts that will help you with your day. I thank God that He is my Father and that He is the perfect parent.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
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Donna<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of years ago, while writing a Bible study, it was my task to write the lesson on parenting. I struggled with it until I realized that I needed to look at parenting from God’s view. How does God parent us?\u00a0 I found peace from that point on. Here are some of the things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-following-god","category-seeking-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}