Dear Ladies,

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I've just finish cutting Eric's and Jacob's(boy #2) hair. This is a small way we can save money and I was blessed to have my mom(who was a stylist a long time ago) teach me. Later today we are heading to a polo game. My daughter will enjoy watching the horses.

The job of parenting comes with a variety of joys and troubles. One problem we as parents often face is our own sinful nature. Here is an example from my life.

The kid and I were on our way home from So. Carolina. I decided to take the route that took me through Blacksburg. We were traveling the day after the shootings at Virginia Tech and when we got to that area(which was about half way) there were no available hotel rooms. So we stopped for dinner and I decided to drive the rest of the way home. When I called Eric he said to stop if I got too tired. Well as you can guess, that's what happened. We found a hotel and headed to our room. In the room I lost it with my daughter and yelled at her. My oldest son said "she didn't do anything wrong, you're just tired" I accepted the wisdom of my son and apologized to my daughter.

There are two lessons in this story:

Number 1 - sometimes our children can speak truth to us and we need to accept it in humility.

Number 2 - sometimes we have to apologize to our children. If we sin against one of our children we need to be quick to acknowledge what we have done or said. This shows our children that we are sinners, just like them. That we need forgiveness, just like them. That we need to say we're sorry when we've done something wrong, just like them. Your child will forgive you. Your position of authority will not be diminished in the eyes of your child.

Apologizing to a child is a great opportunity for you to share the forgiving power of Jesus and to teach your child how to apologize. As you've heard so often, children learn by example. Teach them how to ask forgiveness for their sins, by apologizing for your sins when you mess up as a parent.

Ladies, I love hearing your feedback, it encourages me greatly. Please let me know any topics you would like me to share about or questions you have about parenting, marriage, etc. I will pray and do my best to answer.
Don't forget to check www.amomlikeyou.blogspot.com for past letters and easy recipes.

For encouragement in your walk with the Lord, check out Shanda's new blog. www.ateachableheart.blogspot.com.

Blessings to all,
Melissa