Words of wisdom from Tammy Hodges

Yesterday was an awesome day in small group! It is so good to see everyone each week and to see Tarayn, Laura Gail and Aimee growing and glowing!

We had such a special time with Tammy Hodges yesterday.  All of you had so many good questions for her on marriage and parenting.  Tammy shared many of her secrets for success in marriage and parenting but so much of her success has to be attributed to her precious relationship with the Lord.   Tammy's strong faith in the Lord has always been her anchor.

All of you had some really good questions for Tammy and she shared several points that are key in their family.   Family starts with marriage and the main priority of the family is for it to be marriage-centered and not child-centered.  While this may sound selfish at the outset, it is truly the best way to give your children the security they so desperately need. It also prevents them from believing they are entitled to everything as adults. Tammy encouraged us to make a date night with your husband a priority .  When your children are young, you really need that time to reconnect to your spouse at the end of the week and your husband needs to know that you respect him and appreciate him.

Tammy shared that she and Chris have done a combination of homeschool, private Christian school and public school.  I know that a lot of you want your answers now and you want to know what the future holds, but as Tammy said, you have to rely on God to lead the way for each child individually.  And, it may change from year to year because the children and their needs change. God will guide you and you must seek Him and keep your spiritual ears open for His direction concerning each step of the way.

We talked a lot about discipline.  This is another area where you need to seek God . What works for your oldest may not work for your youngest or your middle child.   We all agreed that whatever method of discipline you use, you must be consistent and the discipline must sting them .  It cannot be pain-free.  We all learn the most effectively from painful experiences.  Our goal becomes to avoid the actions that brought on the pain!

The truth of the matter of parenting is that God loves our children more than we do and when we, as parents, fall short and make mistakes, God's amazing, endless grace will take over and make all the crooked paths straight.  God knows your hearts ladies and He knows that you want to raise your children to be Kingdom movers and shakers and He is personally committed to seeing that happen.  The very best parenting book on the market is the one you already have...The Bible!  All the guidance you will ever need for life is found on those pages.

I pray that you will experience miracles all week long and enjoy precious times in God's presence this Easter week.

JoAnne