Discipline and My Strong-Willed Son

     The first part of our homeschool day is always to read the Bible together.  Afterwards, My kids would write their reflection on the chapter that we studied.  I was reminded of this verse after I read what Aethan wrote.  “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." Job 5:17 

     He wrote:
"This is me when I'm an adult. I am happy cause I was disciplined. Like how God's people discipline their children, I should also discipline my future children, too.  When I have my own children, I should discipline them and tell them what God's law and word are."

     I  was blessed to know that this is how Aethan views discipline now.  Afterall, he is a strong-willed child. There was a time when he questioned our every command and would willfully disobey.  It was also difficult for him to say "sorry" when he commits something wrong. He would test our limits over and over again. I cannot count how many spanks he received while growing up.

     Prov 13:24 says  "He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently."   God loves our children more than I can ever love them.  We discipline our kids in obedience to God's command because we know that He knows what is best for my kids, We spank them as needed even if it is difficult.   But we do not spank in anger but in love and as we learned in our church, we should do so only for 2 reasons - disrespect and disobedience.  Now, I praise God that spanking sessions have become a rarity in our household....the kids, especially, my strong-willed son, have grown more mature and more obedient, all by God's grace.

     Michael, my eldest, said before that my words hurt him more than my spanks so now I guard my tongue more.  My husband and I are very careful not to exasperate them (Colossians 3:21). There was a time I thought I did.  There were times when I thought I have broken  their spirit.  I have asked their forgiveness a lot times but in my mind, I was afraid that my words have scarred them for life.  I lifted my fears to God and prayed that my careless words won't have an impact on them as they grow up. I always pray that my kids will remember how much their dad and mom loves them that is why the one-on-one session that follows each "spanking episode" is longer because we want them to understand fully the purpose in what we did and assure them of our love and that we have their best interest in mind.  We end this time by hugging, kissing and most of the time, wrestling and tickling - because that is where we generate the most laughter. :-)  That is why Aethan's reflection meant so much to me.  It's an affirmation from the Lord that we are on the right track.

     Thank you, Jesus! All glory to You.

     "For those of us who have decided to follow Christ as our only hope for gaining truth, purpose, direction, and eternal security, there is no obligation that has greater significance than PARENTING. -George Barna

     The Layout was made using Leaving a Legacy Design's Halloween Glam kit. Yup, it's a Halloween kit but since we don't celebrate Halloween, I decided to make a non-themed layout for it. (Just shows how versatile the kit is, right?)  It's newly released today and it's 30% off!

Grab it HERE: 

This is the other layout I made with the kit.

Our family at Sambokojin - 09.16.13

     And here's a freebie for you! I hope you would like the torn papers that coordinates with the Halloween Glam kit.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Joint Dgroup Meeting

     Alvin and I always look forward to our joint dgroup meeting every month. This is a time for us to meet with our D12 and their DGroup members.  It's also a way for us to train the couples in our group to lead and facilitate.  This month we had our Lord's supper and prayer time in Villa Samonte, Lumban, Laguna.

     We shared with the group Dr. Gary Smalley's 'Fear Dance'.   In his book , The DNA of Relationships, he said that the problem in nearly every conflict is that something touched each person's core fear causing each party to react and get stuck in a destructive 'fear dance'.  Through a quiz in the book,  we were able to recognize recurring patterns in the way we think,feel and react to conflicts which hurt our relationships.  We hope to continue the study of Dr. Smalley's book in our succeeding dgroup meetings.

     Alvin also conducted Baptism. (His first, praise God!) I was teary eyed when I was listening to some of the testimonies.  It was a joy to see our brothers and sisters (including Alvin's mom - Praise God again!) publicly declare their faith in Christ!  More than all this, I thank the Lord for the opportunity to share His love to 3 women who we met as we hiked up the mountain. It was a divine appointment from the Lord.  Our souls are rejoicing as Nanay Gigi, Nanay Norie and Nanay Nene accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts.

Bro. Noel publicly declaring his faith to Jesus

Photo Ops for the newly baptized

Timeline of activities - October 5-6, 2013

       " When we learn to pour into one another’s lives, we learn to give life and lend strength so that the journey will not be lonely one. Instead it will be fruitful because of the synergy created and the strong bonds forged." (Ann/Edmund chan)

     I thank God for the privilege to serve Him through our Dgroup.  I praise God because He has given us a spiritual family - to laugh with, to cry with, to grow with.   It is our prayer that each and everyone in our D group will  grow more mature and live a life of committed to Christ.

     "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and established in your faith, just as you were instructed...." Col. 2:6-7


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The layout above was made using Leaving a Legacy's Design's NUTS ABOUT FALL kit which you can find HERE. 

Here are 2 more layouts I made from the kit

with our homeschool coop

with their Uncle Johlo...additional credits: shabby princess border

and here's a freebie I made from the kit:

DOWNLOAD HERE

Other Dgroup Photos:

photo from Sis. Irinne

Thank you for the surprise birthday celeb!

Yummy Lunch c/o Arlene's Dgroup in Laguna

Sharing the Gospel

Bonding moments

Rambutan picking - we were allowed to eat as much Rambutan as we want. 

:-)

Mountain trekking

Our dinner (eating time again!)

Sale and a Freebie

     One way I organize our homeschool photos is to scrap them and one way to increase your stash is to be on the lookout for sales and freebies. Leaving a Legacy Designs is running a  sale just for this week.

 
     Click here to check out all of the wonderful products in the store… the whole thing is 50% off from October 1 to 7 for the grand  opening sale! You’re sure to find something that you will just love!

     Here's a freebie I made that coordinates with Kimberly's Happy Fall Y'All kit.

 

Download Here