I don't fail much. That may sound like bragging, but really it's just an outcome to the embarrassing fact that I don't try things if I think I will not be good at them. I am basically a coward. The last year or so I have felt like such a failure, and the irony is that I thought I'd be a really great Mommy. After all, it's what I've wanted to do ALL my life, I've thought about it for decades, and I thought I knew what to do and how to do it.
The first year, maybe even year and a half, of Ryan's life, I thought I was doing great (I certainly was in heavenly bliss enjoying myself). Then God humbled me. He is always faithful to do that for me. Abigail is a HUGE blessing in our lives, but getting her with so little warning, having two so close in age (14 months apart), and two so different in personality just seemed to throw all my "great" parenting out the window.
After about two years of trying to find the right "formula," reading endless parenting books (there's a lot of nonsense out there), and spending much time in prayer, I have come full circle. My current philosophy is the same as it was in the beginning: be very consistent, spend lots of time with the kids, pray and pray, and NO YELLING! This is working as well as it did before, only now I depend on the Lord so much more.
Recently I ran across a website that I really like. It is pretty similar to my own "parenting philosophy," but it has just a few subtle differences that have made quite a change in my children's behavior and attitudes. The site is called Raising Godly Tomatoes, or it used to be known as Loving Parenting With Only Occasional Trips to the Woodshed.
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." Proverbs 29:15
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