The Story on Morning Glory

I did not write this, it was taken from here, but it's one of the most encouraging/convicting things I've read about parenting lately.  Things I can put into practice right now!  Some things that I read about are hard to do with a toddler...making sure to ask about their day, invest in their time at school, or seek out the conflict in their heart when dealing with misbehavior...that's not really where we are right not.  But this, this will be printed out and hung on my wall from now until forever.  And it isn't just limited to thinking about the way I treat Jack, it is the way I should live to treat all people!


10 Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting

1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.

 2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.


3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.


4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!


5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.


6. Today, I will pray to be consistently consistent. I will create safe rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are CELEBRATING the gift of now!


7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.


8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals — because children’s hearts feed on touch. I’ll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible — the taller they are, the more so.


9. Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen.


10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!