Positive Moms

Allison and I went to MOPS this morning. There is a meeting every other week and this was our second time there. We both had a good time. The moms are watching a video series " The Power of a Positive Mom". It's all very practical and helpful. Today we talked about how our children are reading the book of example all the time. We are the book! Everything we do or say is observed by our children, good and bad! Hello! I guess we all know that but to be reminded and made to think about that opens a whole different train of thought. We discussed some of the positive and negative traits we carried into our parenting from our own parents. And then some the positives and negatives we see in our children which they get from us. Hmmm...Kind of an eye opener to think about this stuff. What are my children observing each and every day? Am I passing down more positive traits than negative? Do I want to know the answer to those questions, I'm not sure I do.

As moms we need to know our positive traits. It's easy to list the things we don't like about ourselves or our parenting abilities but naming the positives, for me at least, is definately more of a challenge. If we know our strengths we can focus on them and maybe they will become more dominant in our lives than the weaknesses.

We also mentioned the apostle Paul and his "thorn in the flesh". Why didn't God remove this weakness from Paul even though Paul asked Him to three different times? If we feel compitent in our own strength then perhaps we will forget the One from whom our strength comes. That's why God allows weaknesses in our lives. He wants us to rely on Him for the strength we need. I know I forget this concept just about daily!

Leading by positive example is one of the biggest challenges of parenting. I know I will be more conscious of things I do and say, hopefully not just today but from now on, and not in my own strength of course.


The view of the Sunset from our bedroom window is one of my favorite parts of our life in The Berkshires!