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INTRODUCTION
When you wake up in the morning, do you expect the goodness of God in your life? Do you set the tone of the day for success, favor and blessing?
It doesn't matter what happened yesterday, last week, last month or last year; today is a new day.
Today, you have the power to make a change in your life. Things may be bad, maybe even bad all around you. People may be negative, complaining and discouraged, but don't let that rub off on you.
Instead, choose to bless the Lord at all times. Let His praise continually be in your mouth. Remember, the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn shining brighter and brighter until the full day.
Stay determined to set the tone for each new day by speaking words of faith over your future. As you do, you'll enlarge your vision and make room for God to do amazing things in every area of your life.
LEADERSHIP
Now to finish up the story of the Moldy sandwich! Below...the Sandwich!! ugh....
Parents this is a great lesson to talk over with you kids to teach them about being dependable..
OK, back to the moldy sandwich and how it relates to dependability. To be dependable is to be trustworthy and reliable. It is how your actions shape others perception of you so, it is to say, What you do is how you are known.
We depend on a lot daily, not just people but things. For the adults, some of us depend on our morning cup of coffee, or our car to get us here and there. For kids, we depend on the TV to to work when we watch it, or the playground equipment to stay together when we climb on it. We even depend on out own bodies to work, out heart to pump and out lungs to breath. These are things we don’t usually think about because they just work, everyday, without having to get involved very much.
Your still asking yourself, what about this moldy sandwich. Hold on, I am getting there.
In life we also depend on people. Police, Firemen, Pastors and Parents. All of these people we have learned to trust. Sure there are some bad apples but between a perfect stranger and one of these people we would choose one of the above in a crisis.
They have proven themselves reliable in a moment of need. Now to the sandwich.
When I started looking for a way to illustrate being dependable I found this picture of a moldy sandwich. I thought to myself, “Thats gross, I would never eat that” and that is how an undependable person is thought about. Not that they are gross, but, “Hey, I would never call on that undependable person” That sandwich probably had some delicious ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo, maybe even bacon. But due to the condition of the sandwich we can’t see past the mold. The sandwich is still there, but now it is known as a moldy sandwich. Even if we had a magic wand that could make the sandwich edible, would you want to eat it??, knowing it was all old and moldy, I wouldn’t, and being undependable is sort of like that.
Lucky for us, we are not moldy sandwiches. We are people, and we can change. Jesus provided us a magic wand that can make us new, both in Spirit and in mind. We can change the way people perceive us by changing the way we think. That can be done by taking time and reading the Bible. In changing our thoughts we change our actions, and when our actions change the course of our lives are changed. In the end we can help change the lives of those around us. You can depend on it.
MEMORY VERSE
I thought this verse would go perfect with a moldy sandwich, what a great verse to memorize!
"Don’t just do the the minimum that will get you by. Do your best!.." Col 3:22
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father in heaven, I choose to bless You at all times. I choose to set the tone to receive Your favor, grace and mercy. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me at all times. I choose to constantly speak Your praises! In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Blessings,
5+2, making a difference in the community around us, one step at a time!
5plus2kidsclub@gmail.com
http://www.5plus2club.com/
INTRODUCTION
"Stick-to-it-iveness" is the quality that keeps a person from quitting, even when obstacles come along and the natural instinct is to give up. For a child, it means practicing the piano, even if it's the same melody over and over again. It means getting up early and doing the paper route every morning, when it would be a lot easier to sleep in. Of course, no parent wants her child to be quitter, yet perseverance is not something that just comes naturally. How can we help our children stick it out in tough times?
Set reasonable goals
SIT DOWN with your child and agree upon a realistic length of time for him to participate in an activity. Know what is an appropriate time commitment for your child's age level. "The younger the child, the shorter the attention span, the less clear the sense of what time is about and what a time commitment is, so be sure to take that into consideration. If you tell your 8-year-old she can have a puppy if she feeds it and takes it for walks every day, she's not going to fully grasp that every day means for the dog's life, which may be 10 years or longer. The same 8-year-old, however, should be able to understand the time commitment in signing up for a ballet class lasting six months.
Don't expect your child to do more than he's capable of doing. Accept the fact that your 5-year-old may not make the bed as well as your 12-year-old. "Kids need to feel that what they've done is okay, but a lot of times parents have an adult standard for what they want the child to accomplish, and that is very frustrating for the child, because the child can't do it.
Break tasks down
SOME PROJECTS seem so overwhelming that your child may not know where to begin. My son, Caleb, sometimes lets his room get so messy it looks as though a hurricane has passed through. The bed is unmade. Toy boxes are dumped over. Books are scattered. Clothes are piled in the floor. If I ask Caleb to clean up his room, he gives me this look like I'm asking the impossible.
A good way to get your child to stay with a difficult project is to break it down into smaller, individual tasks. So rather than tell Caleb to clean his room, I ask him to make his bed. That doesn't seem too bad to him; he does it; and once the bed's made, Caleb feels good because he's accomplished something. Next I ask him to pick up the books, and so on. A big project gets done, but rather than complain about the enormity of the project, Caleb feels good because he's making a lot of accomplishments.
Challenge yourself
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you learned a new skill? Do you have a lot of projects that you started but never finished? One of the best ways to teach your children perseverance is by challenging yourself with a pursuit. I have a mom friend who makes a point of working out on her exercise bike after the kids are home from school. Another friend does a home-study course while her children work beside her doing their own school assignments. Kids enjoy seeing their parents learn new skills, yet a lot adults don't do that. For the most part whatever we mastered when we were 22 is what we do the rest of our lives. Set the example for your children. Enroll in a class at your local college. Finish that project you put aside. Get those tennis rackets out of storage. Your children will be impressed by your determination.
Draw out Fears
IN ANY DIFFICULT endeavor, most children come to a point sooner or later when they get discouraged and want to quit. The best thing you can do in such cases is to draw out your child's fears. A lot of times children worry about something unrealistic, and as a parent, you can put their fears to rest. Often what you hear your child say in terms of why he doesn't want to continue with something, you may have already heard related to something else. Your child may be nervous about taking swimming lessons, but similar fears were probably expressed about learning to ride a bike. You can tell him, remember how scared you were riding your bike for the first time? How did it turn out? Your child can then see the outcome and be encouraged. Remind your child that he's done hard things before and succeeded. Let him know it's normal to feel scared or discouraged now and then. The important thing is to not let our fears and disappointments get the best of us.
Be Your Child's Cheerleader
LET YOUR CHILD KNOW you sincerely believe in their abilities and convey an expectancy of success. Tell them you appreciate their effort and are impressed by their determination. When you're enthusiastic, it's contagious, and you give your child the strength and motivation to succeed.
Be careful not to overdo praise. If you tell your child, "That's the most beautiful picture I've ever seen," every time she brings artwork home from school, your praise won't mean much. Pick out something specific about what your child did that was noteworthy: "You did a good job drawing the trees in your picture." "I like the way you did the clouds in your painting." Save your "That's terrific!" for accomplishments that really are terrific.
Know Your Child's Interests
When my friends daughter, Megan, was 6, she showed some interest in their family piano, so her parents enrolled her in lessons. Megan stuck it out for a year and the whole time her parents kept pushing and pushing, but she never seemed enthused. Finally they realized it was they who wanted her to learn the piano, not Megan. The following year, Megan started with gymnastics lessons and has kept with it for five years, never missing a class and is having a ball.
There will be enough in life your children will need to persevere in, whether they enjoy them or not--homework, chores, or perhaps an exercise program. To prepare them for that, parents should remind children that "perseverance is also part of doing something you like to do, so that it's not always something being forced on them; it's something they willingly discipline themselves for." Give your children the chance to explore a variety of interests, and respect their wishes if their interests don't always coincide with yours.
Stay attuned to the types of activities your children want to pursue, and let them know that you're behind them all the way. After all, their interests can be indications of God-given abilities, and you want to motivate them to make good use of what God has given them!
LEADERSHIP
Adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose, expecially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
When We Persevere, We:
- Do our best with what we have.
- Keep trying; we don't quit or give up easily
- Never make excuses for obstacles that get in the way of getting something done. Instead we look for ways to remove or work around the obstacles.
There is a poem that is on the Web titled "The Race". This poem exemplifies perseverance. The last few lines of the poem read:
For all of life is like a race, with ups and downs and all
and all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
"Quit!" "Give Up, you're beaten!" They still shout towards my face.
But another voice within me says, "GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!"
Spend some time with your child explaining the importance of "staying the course" and doing the best you can. Read "The Race" together. You will be glad you did.
PRAYER
I thought this verse just goes so well with our theme of perserverence this month, what a great verse to memorize!
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7, AMP)
What doors are you knocking on today? Are you looking for a door of opportunity to be opened? A door of escape? A door of shelter from the storms of life?
God loves persistence. He honors diligence. When you diligently do the will of God, obeying His Word and following His commands, it's like knocking on the door of His promises. He is faithful, and He will open that door! Maybe you're already doing all you know to do today—don't give up! Perseverance will carry you to the promise. Perseverance keeps on asking and keeps on knocking. Perseverance looks away from discouragement and distractions and keeps looking toward God. It has a voice that says things like, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper! I know God is for me! I am more than a conqueror through Jesus!"
Today, stay faithful to follow God's Word, and remember, every step of obedience is another knock on the door of His promises! He will hear you, and He will answer. He will open up doors that no man can shut and lead you into the life of victory He has prepared for you!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. Thank You for opening doors of opportunity before me and for leading me and guiding me. I trust that You are ordering my steps as I diligently follow Your commands. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Blessings,
5+2, making a difference in the community around us, one step at a time!
http://www.5plus2club.com/
