Pro 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
Children will disagree but fighting and strife must be put away from our homes! In our home, we teach the children how to communicate in a way that they do not disrupt the peace of the home. In fact, just yesterday, I was telling the children to stop their fighting when they replied, “We’re not fighting mom. We’re just discussing!” I answered them, “If it sounds like fighting to my ears, it’s disrupting the peace of the home. And disrupting the peace of the home is not allowed.” Now, mind you my children have grown up hearing this concept so without another word they took their “discussion” to a whisper and quickly resolved the matter between themselves. Ladies, the key to keeping fighting away is by teaching your children to value the peace in the home! This of course starts with us, and our personal example. How do I respond to my husband, friends or neighbors? Does my speech disrupt the peace in the home? Another way to guard the peace in the home is to guard your time away from the home. Don’t be so busy doing things that you can’t be growing and learning and keeping the peace in your homes.
Everyone gets frustrated and has differences from time to time however; strife should never be an accepted behavior in the home. Teach your children how to handle conflict. Remind them that when they “discuss” an issue, their goal should always lead to restoration in the relationship not just proving to the other person that they are right! Setting up a house rule that the peace of the home must be guarded at all times is also helpful! Doing these three things can make an incredible difference in each of our homes.
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood
P.S. I should note that the “peace” I am speaking of in this post is not a silence from children but rather a enjoyable, peaceful characteristic of the home for everyone!
OOOO I love this! I have recently been working on this with the children. I read to them Matthew 18:15 and how to resolve conflict. When they are fighting I have been walking them through repeating after me how to talk. Say gently "I don't like it when you do that". Rather than screaming "STOOOOOOP". Or did you go to your brother first before coming to me? Etc. This is a process but peace in the home is our goal too - thank you for your wise words.
ReplyDeleteMuch Love,
Courtney
What remarkable timeliness for this post. I could not agree more. As I posted last night I did not have the blessing of being raised in a Godly home or with parents that taught conflict resolution. Being deprived of that instruction has wreaked havoc in my life. I pray that your readers take your counsel to heart and put it into action.
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister!!! My son is struggling in the process of being re-trained on how to treat ME because of the many years I was in a domestic violence marriage. He was very young but they still pick it up! We are working hard on teaching him new skills but the best lessons he's learning are "caught" from watching my new husband Will and I deal with life and resolve our differences and just interact in normal conversation. We would covet your prayers on this journey! Thanks!
ReplyDeletePraise God! His Word is alive and for our instrucion so that we might live life and live it abundantly! Mary Joy, I am honored to pray for you!! It is so hard to retrain children. Be encouraged. Each moment that you spend showing him the "right" way will evntually bring healing with God's grace! Thank you for sharing! Sharon, thank you for sharing. I will take a "walk" over to your blog now. I love meeting other Sisters that are sharing their lives with others. The transformation process is beautiful! Courtney, you are such a wise mommy!!! Keep up the great work! You will be blessed!
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