Parents, Be Encouraged

I don't know about you, but sometimes being a parent can be overwhelming to me.  From the minute I found out I was pregnant with our first child I started worrying about her getting lost, hurt or sick.  Now that she is almost 17 not much has changed!  Add in driving, college, working and a few more kids and you have a set up for anxiety!  

Today I opened my Bible and read this:

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11

I have experienced the Lord's leading so many times in my parenting career.  I've had God reveal an issue, need or attitude that needed to be addressed, and it always has been gentle.  Many times it has been so gentle in fact that I find myself questioning it and even thinking I was going crazy.  For instance, one time I was leaving the grocery store and I heard in my spirit "Your child took a pack of gum!" 

 I thought, "Now why in the world would I think such a thing?  I just bought all 3 children with me their own packs of gum". I continued to the car and heard it again, "Your child took a pack of gum!"  I stopped at the trunk and let everyone get in their seats and asked the child in question to help me load the groceries.  I noticed a rectangular shape in their pocket.  I asked them to give me whatever was in their pocket.  The child instantly started crying. I couldn't believe it!  I had never had a child take anything before and I never suspected it, either!  Thankfully God chose not to let this darling, now remorseful child get away with it.  I explained that and told them God loved them so much He wasn't about to let them stray from the path set before them.  I took the child into the store and made them return the gum to the store manager in front of everyone and apologize.  

I was so embarrassed, but on the way home I thought how thankful I was that God gave me this opportunity to teach that stealing is wrong at such a tender age.  I was grateful it was only a pack of gum and fully expect this child to never ever steal again.

I could give example after example of times God has gently lead me as a parent.  Sometimes it has been a big issue, sometimes it was small, but everytime I thank Him for the Supernatural help!  I couldn't do this parenting thing without Him.

Facebook: the honeymoon is over!

I used to love Facebook.  It was exciting to open up my page each day and check in on my little corner of the world.  I found friends I'd lost contact with over the years, get to see pictures of loved ones, and watch my long distance friends and family's children grow.  It's not so fun anymore.  Day after day my news feed fills up with pictures of runaways or abducted children, political rants filled with hate and shock tactics, news articles and images of evil from around the globe and oh so much more.  Facebook has shifted, in my opinion, from social networking to personal soapbox.  

I've had to distance myself from my Facebook.  I found the negativity that haunted me way after I turned it off was affecting me more than it should.  

Awareness is not the same as anxiety.  

Today as I was scrolling quickly through my newsfeed hoping to catch a few updates on my niece and nephews I scaned a news post on 'anal hazing in school'.....really?  Just as my heart started getting heavy and my mind racing I clearly heard Jesus say, "Take heart for I have overcome the world!"  

Joyce Meyer's status today said, "the world is full of bad news, but the Gospel is full of good news!"  Amen to that!  So if you're like me and find that your social media can leave you feeling fearful, anxious or depressed...take a break from Facebook and open up the Good Book!  Be encouraged, Jesus has overcome the world!!!!!!