Provoking Our Children to Wrath

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We've made it to Chapter 4 of Pitchin' A Fit! by Israel and Brook Wayne. We'd love for you to join us in the Family Discipleship Facebook group. Read the details of how to jump in here.

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Thermometer or Thermostat?

I'm sure you've heard the saying:

If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

It's sad, but true.

You've probably also heard sayings about how you can be a thermometer or a thermostat.

Either way, think about the result: Mom's attitude affects the whole family.

I've seen this in my family. If I'm angry, there's a good chance that my kids are going to have attitudes and be angry. If I'm happy and in a good mood, my kids are more likely to be cheerful.

But, what's driving my attitude? Am I reacting to what's going on around me? Or am I changing my attitude in order to change the emotional temperature of my family? I can reflect the temperature of my family like a thermometer or I can adjust the temperature like a thermostat. I have to constantly choose.

Change the Temperature

I admit, sometimes, my boys drive me crazy. They are messy and they are loud, but, what really drives me crazy is my sins and attitudes that I see in them. This is especially true of my oldest: every time he opens his mouth, I hear myself and it's like nails on a chalkboard.

When we see behaviors in our kids that we don't like, there's a good chance there's sin and attitudes in ourselves that we need to look at before trying to correct the child's behavior. If my son is yelling at me, I need to look at myself and see if I've been yelling. I need to first model the things I want my boys to be and do.

My boys see how I respond to stresses and frustrations. And these are the patterns my boys will start to follow.