MUM-e-Mail

- a newsletter to enthuse, educate, and entertain
mothers of pre-schoolers and their supporters

September 2005

 

Mothering Maxim – What Every Child Needs

Each day we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.
- Charles R. Swindoll in The Strong Family

"The point is not to do remarkable things,
but to do ordinary things with the conviction of their immense importance."
- Teilhard de Chardin

 

Mum Moment – Child’s Needs? My Needs?

Sometimes you are talking on the phone, and you can't give your child the attention she requests. Sometimes you have to be away from home, and you don't have the opportunity to comfort him when he scrapes his knee. Sometimes your frustration with other problems or your fatigue distracts you from listening well.

Sometimes your agendas differ: you want your child to dress a certain way for a certain event, and she wants to choose her own outfit. You need your child to look nice for your friends; your child needs to express her independence.

We've all been there. We know about those conflicts of needs.

 

From A Mother’s Heart -

Lord, 

When they scribble on the walls, please help me to see a rainbow!

And when I've said something a hundred times,

       please give me the patience to say it a hundred times more!

And on those particularly annoying days when I tell them to act their age,

       please help me to remember that they are!

And while we're on the subject of age, Lord, when I begin to lose my temper,

       please help me to remember to act mine!

And through it all, Lord, the finger prints and runny noses, messy rooms and unrolled toilet paper, destroyed videotapes and broken knick-knacks, please help me to remember this:

Someday, these will be the days I will long to have back again.

- as quoted in “What Every Child Needs” by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall, MOPS Zondervan

 

 

Mum's Mail*

Response from ‘Self-Control’ MUM-e-Mail, August 2005: Wow, that is hugely helpful to me!! Thanks for your wisdom from the road!! I am on that road too with eating and have been praying for the next step - goal now to put into practice.

… Helped to lose 40 kg last year by a dietician, healthy eating and exercise. But still searching for deeper cause and healing - a good book I read was by Kara Davis, based on the Fruit of the Spirit. In her self-control chapter, she quotes Proverbs 25:28: "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control"… Self-control requires that we place restraints and limitations upon ourselves. The benefits of the protection are worth it. A goal she has is to "become consistent resisters of temptation". Of course, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 is a favourite.

Thanks again for your wisdom. Its always good to hear of others travels.   – Jo W, Christchurch, NZ [used with permission]

Look out for details of MOPS NZ TIPS contest – posting soon. Here, or on www.MOPSNZ.bravehost.com.

 

Just do your best with your children – and with yourself…

And find those relaxed fun (sun?) spots today,

 

Shalom,

Johanna Whittaker

mumemail@... - *letters*, feedback, questions, mother’s tips*, ideas welcome

on behalf of MOPS (NZ) Inc. www.MOPSNZ.bravehost.com
© 2005 by MOPS New Zealand Inc and MOPS International.