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Daily prayer is key!
Song of Solomom 2:4
Proverbs 15:17
Romans 13:10
Ephesians 3:19
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The Loveletter Staff
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Founder / Editor in Chief
Laconia Dunn
Senior Editor
Sammie Love
Webmaster
Katinya Lilly
Contributing Writer
Roz Harris
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INSPIRED
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SPEAKING
ENGAGEMENTS REQUESTS
If
you'd like to book the founder of
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IN
THIS ISSUE:
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From the Heart
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Holy and Healthy
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How To...Here's How...
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Editor's Notes
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Guestbook
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Perfecting your parenting (Part I)
One topic that is rarely discussed today is effective parenting. It is one of the most needed issues in the world that we now live in.
Our age has brought about new methodologies, viewpoints, and child rearing ideas. As a result, we've seen some outrageous behaviors exhibited by children today.
There are very few conferences, seminars, or sermons on parenting; however, it is a topic that truly warrants a lot of attention. It's almost like we need to be taught to parent as much as we need to be taught how to be married, get along well with people, or perform a task effectively.
Children in this day and age are quite different from when we grew up. Because of this, we must deal with them differently. This means, some of the tactics that were used when you grew up, may not be effective for your child. You say, "Well, that's the way my mother taught me." While that may be true, again, the times have changed, and your parent's methodology could very well be outdated, hence, ineffective.
Question: What do we need?
Answer: Balance
How? A few tips:
Make sure that you're considering where your child is in life, i.e., age, grade, level of maturity.
Below are some tips for parenting kids today that might jump-start our households into better homes:
- Love them! (1 Kings 3:26, Titus 2:4)
- Balance discipline w/love (Prov. 23:23, 29:19, Jer. 31:18, 46:28)
- Spend quality time w/them (dinner, movie, mall, etc) (1 Tim 5:10)
- Listen to them!
- Be honest with them
- Make them feel accepted
- Deal with them based on their individuality (not on their siblings)
- Consider their feelings
- Allow them to speak and/or express what they feel
- Make talking to them a habit
- Show them affection (kiss, hug, hold hand, lean on)
- Ask questions about what's going on
- Know their friends and their friends' parents
- Stay current in their lives/act interested
- Monitor the way that you respond to them (does your word really have to be the last word) (does the situation demand that it is)
- MAKE DISCIPLINE A MUST! (Prov 23:13-14, 29:15, 17)
Hebrews 12:11 "no discipline is enjoyable while it is happening, it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those trained this way"
- Monitor what they watch on TV, hear on the radio or from family and friends
- Balance friendship w/authority (be more of a mother and less of a friend)
As parents, whether we want to or not, we must get involved in the process. This means there are things that we must do to successfully relate to our children. Taking a back seat will not work. Even if it worked for your parents, it may not work for you.
Active parenting results in effective parenting. Try it. It will change your relationship and ultimately your life!
Until the next time,
Laconia Dunn-Master Servant
Click here to learn more about the founder.
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The Battle of the Bulge in our Children
What can parents do to prevent their children from becoming overweight and/or obese?
According to a recent article from the Mayo Clinic, parents can do several things to help their family stay healthy; however, it will take vision on the part of the parents to accomplish this goal. The number one rule in change is:
Setting a good example for your children. Don't order french fries if you don't want your kids eating french fries. Start having a side salad with each dinner or grab an apple as you leave the house. Your child will be more willing to eat fruits and vegetables after seeing you do the same. Young people are easily influenced and the biggest influence in their lives is you and how you’re living your life. You are a leader in your home and your children are watching you.Next, promote a healthy lifestyle by identifying lifestyle habits that contribute to overeating and inactivity in your family. Then you can make subtle lifestyle changes to help your kids eat healthier and be more active.
Examples of lifestyle changes:
- Cooking with less fat — for example, baking foods instead of frying them.
- Buying smaller sizes of fattening foods and storing them out-of-sight in the kitchen
- Adding vegetables to pasta sauces, salads, …every meal
- Stop skipping breakfast or having junky, empty ones
Children often get too many calories because they're served portions that are too large. Check the portion size and cut back. Using smaller plates is another good idea ensuring the proper portions are being served.
Eat snacks in response to hunger rather than as entertainment. Don't use food to keep your children busy. This may encourage them to eat when they're not hungry.
Be active. Activity is an essential part of promoting normal weight in children. One of the best ways to encourage your children to be more active is to make physical activity a regular family affair.
The media and academics alike use terms such as Baby Boomers and Generation X to refer to different demographic and cultural generations. In recent months, the media has adapted such monikers as Super-sized children and Generation XL to refer to children and youth affected with weight problems. Because of this, today's children may be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancies could actually be shorter than those of their parents if current obesity trends persist (The New York Times, October 12, 2003).
Let's renovate this reality. Learning more, making small changes, and incorporating a few new habits, will dramatically improve your life and the life of your children. What is your vision for health and wellness? Do you believe that what's important to you is possible to achieve? If so, take action now to change it.
In His service,
Roz, the coach
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How To...
- How do I read the Bible?
- How do I find a good church?
- How do I live my life like a Christian?
Here's How...
- a) Remember; try not to read the Bible in bed. The bed is a place for sleeping and/or resting. Too much comfort produces sleep or fatigue. b) Read in a quiet, but not too relaxed setting. c) Sit at a table, desk, or in a chair that allows for simple comfort ability, but also provides a study atmosphere. d) Start with one scripture or one book at a time. Read or meditate in that scripture/book for at least a week, highlighting words or scripture that speak to you. A good book to start for either first time Bible readers or people that struggle with reading the Bible is the book of Romans. Romans provides the format for most, if not all, basic life principles. e) Don’t try to read the Bible while listening to the radio or watching TV. Some people can do it, but most cannot!
- First pray about where God will have you attend. Then, visit churches of choice. Select a church based on your beliefs, and the preaching or teaching that fits where you are in life and where you are in the word. Try to abstain from going to a church because it’s the biggest church or most popular preacher in town, or there are lots of good-looking women or men in the congregation, etc. These elements are enough to draw you, but may not be enough to keep you.
- Practice! (Romans 7:15) If there is an earnest desire to live the life that is pleasing to Christ, you must practice. To merely say, "I am Christian," means nothing if people can’t witness it by your lifestyle! Being a good person doesn't mean you're a Christian any more than it means your pass into heaven. Read the word, study it, and watch others that emulate Christ in word and deed, then, apply these principles to your own life!
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Been thinkin' bout…..
How do you learn to trust again after your heart has been broken into a million pieces? How do you open yourself up for ridicule and resentment after you have been left holding the bag of love yet one more time? How do you allow a total stranger to enter into your course of life, give them total trust of your heart, and allow them to get close to you after you have experienced disappointment time after time? That business partner that said they were down for you and would help with the business, financially and physically, just left you high and dry at the first sign of trouble.
The idea you had to launch a clothing line had the investors pull out at the last minute and left you with a bunch of cloth and thread. That friend that was your cheerleader during you high moments can’t be found when you are down on your luck and have nowhere to turn.
Just thinking of all this and wondering...how do you trust again after a major hurt? How do you re-emerge from a major setback looking like nothing happened? How can you sing when your world, as you know it, is crumbling underneath you? How do you walk head first into the rain with the only umbrella being in your mind? How...God!
He is the only one that can reassure you that no matter what you are going through, it's already all right. He is the only one who can guarantee you won't fail. He's the only one who knows the ending before the beginning. He wrote them both and chose to show you the end before the beginning and promised you would make it through. So what do we do? TRUST!
Trust Him to know that He has it under control. Trust Him to know that if He brought you to it He'll bring you through it. Trust Him to be awoke working for you while you are sleeping. So, how do you trust again after what you consider a major catastrophe? You simply do...you just TRUST AND BELIEVE…that is all He asks. The next time you decide to throw in the towel because the tunnel light closed, remember that God is your light and your salvation
Was Just thinking...
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