I need to Change

I wish it weren’t true, but I can be a lecturer. I can nitpick. I can see all the things that need to be “fixed” in my kids. I can worry about the bad decisions they “could” make. I can take the smallest misdeed and magnify it. But what wants a mom like that? Does anyone do anything but wither under a watchful eye?In every situation I have the choice to beat down the weaknesses I see in our kids or I can faithfully call out their God given strengths.I want to be a mom who constantly sees and calls out the good things in my kids. I want to see in them what they might not yet see in themselves. I want to model looking for and calling out the good in others.Even in moments of discipline, I want to remind them of who they are, who God made them to be and that their misbehavior is never indicative of who they truly are.I recently had an amazing talk with Maddox about this. I apologized for lecturing too much and listening too little. I told him all the incredible qualities I saw in him. It was one of the sweetest conversations we have ever had.Everyday I am speaking identity over our children, whether I intend to or not. What am I saying?Am I calling my boys “wild, crazy, and-can-you-just-calm-down?” Or am I calling them to be “bold, brave, made to be a superhero for Jesus to rescue those in need?”Will I call my baby girl “emotional and overly sensitive” or will I call her “tender-hearted and compassionate?”I can speak identity over our kids based on how they are behaving right now, or I can speak identity over our kids by who God made them to be. One will make them wither, one will make them rise up. 

May we as Mothers be the faithful ones to see and believe and declare.