Skip to main content

Little Eyes Watching


It never fails; I'm eating some chocolate truffle, candy, ice cream, chips, something no-so-healthy, and one of my kids asks for it. I feel the guilt before I look down at happy, expectant eyes. So I give them a piece of it. Most often, they already had their fill of junk, and my ill-judged timing affects their bedtime. Should get a lock on my closet to indulge the truffle in peace? But wait. What if it was a carrot that I was muching in secret? Now I'm convicted. And it's not because of truffles, but a deeper principle. My kids watch my every move- what I do, eat, watch, read- everything. They want it too. If I watch sinful movies, read evil stories, and indulge in the world's entertainment, my kids want it too. And what's worse... I'm more tempted to let them have what I'm having, because I've justified it in my own life.

"Do not love the world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you." 1 John 2:15

The best thing I can do for my children is follow Jesus wholeheartedly. What I watch, listen to, or read must go through the test of God's word before I indulge.

My prayer: Lord, help me to follow you without compromise. Help me to turn away from watching, listening to, or reading anything that is not pleasing to You. Amen.

Ponder this: Are your kids following you down the straight path? Ask the Lord to show you any areas you are compromising and confess it to Him, for He will give you grace.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Unmasking The Gospel

L ike it or hate it, masks and other protective measures are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. I’ve felt a “stuck in the middle'' attitude towards them with deeply opinionated friends on both sides. Through this I’ve found that there’s thoughtful information and well-meaning believers on both sides of the Covid response. When we take an “us versus them” mentality on such superficial issues, we are divided and inadvertently mask the Gospel-- dear reader, this shouldn’t happen! When we focus on all of the litany of rules and regulations, we're ignoring a burgeoning truth pulsing under the Covid crisis. The gospel doesn't have to be masked! There's no sign saying "No Gospel allowed" (yet!). When Paul was in prison he wrote a letter speaking of rejoicing because even though he was in chains, the gospel was not chained, the word of God was not chained. Now, the entire world fraught with a disease-- or fraught with the response to this disease-...

In My Body, Not Of It

I became my body. Nothing like a postpartum struggle to upend mental stability. After having my son in 2021, I went through the deep waters of anxiety and depression. My crises point came when I became my body. My mind was consumed with trying to fight insomnia, not wanting to eat, and problems with hypertension caused by deep anxiety. I focused on how to feel better and all my time was devoted to what medication/ vitamin/ exercise would cure me. Mind, body, spirit-- in terms of wellness is all connected. Sure. But after this trial I caution you about the trend that's taking a materialistic extreme. It's a subtle shift among believers to suggest that since the spirit is in the body it's of  the body. Truth is if Christ's spirit indwells you, if the Father and the Son have made their home with you, then your spirit is from above. I am in the world, but I am not of the world. In the same way, I am in my body but not of it. (This is only true for the believer, an unbeliev...

Beware Of The Eternal Now

Nothing lasts forever, right? Well, nothing earthbound anyway. Of course God is forever. And so is the human soul. But circumstances, life experiences-- good and bad-- are all momentary. We read that   "the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). But sometimes we feel like we're in a forever moment. No matter how much life moves around us, a specific circumstance may feel like it will never change. These forever moments can be good or bad. I remember getting married the feelings of joy and contentment that immediately followed that I felt wouldn't change. Or when I graduated college, or after having my first child. These moments of joy I wanted to last forever. But hardships come and with them bad forever moments. Like arguments, difficult pregnancies, unemployment, and lost friendships. The longer I live the more I find my forever moments are difficult. I love the line in Laura Story's song ...