The 30 Imperatives of Parenting from Parenting on Purpose

For October I'll be sharing something from my new favorite podcast: Parenting Today, on my Facebook page They did a 30-part series on the Imperatives of Parenting and I really enjoyed it and wanted to share it with you.

This podcast is 15 minutes a day and has opened my eyes into being more intentional as a parent. You can find more info about it online at Parenting On Purpose or Sheridan House Family Ministries.

The first "Imperative of Parenting" is the motivational why:

The first thing that we need to do as we look at the 30 things that we must train our children in before they go out the door, is check our motivations as parents. Where do our priorities truly lie? If our priority is our job or solely providing for our family, then we will spend all of our time, energy and ultimately ourselves on that. When we get home our spouse and children will get the “leftovers”. We need to make the choice, daily sometimes, what our priority is. Our priorities need to be first and foremost our relationship with God, next our marriage, and thirdly our children. Of course we need to provide for our family but that cannot ensnare all of our time and energies.

As you drive home or get up in the morning, pray and make the choice of what your priority is. That way you go into your time with your family intentionally. There is no way to train your children in these thirty areas if we are not intentional and treat training as a priority. Choose, through your relationship with God, to make your relationship with your spouse and children your first priority!

If you'd like to follow along all month long, please head to my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving 

Summer Sanity Savers: 10 great ideas for you to implement this summer

What are some of the ways you keep yourself sane during the summer when your kids are home all day? I absolutely love the ideas on this list. 

You can read more about this list at: http://www.jillsavage.org/summer-sanity-savers/

Hospitality vs. The "Perfection Infection"

What do you see here? Deep down, I see a couch with hidden Kirby hairs and one that desperately needs to be shampooed.

In years past, I would have let my "perfection infection" drive me nuts and would have deep cleaned not only the couch but the whole house before hosting Addison's birthday party. And if I couldn't get it all done before people came over, I would have been upset. Not to mention very difficult to deal with as I was doing all of the cleaning.
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This year I took a different approach and did what I could, asked Corey for help (which he gave and I'm so grateful for), and the rest I just let go and focused on enjoying the people that came to the house and enjoying the celebration.
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While reading one of my books "No More Perfect Moms" the author brings up this question: Is our resistance to hospitality and allowing our fears to control us an act of selfishness? Do we care more about how we feel then how our hospitality may make the other person feel? I can guarantee that no one at the party mentioned the fact that my couch would look nicer if it was shampooed; and if anyone thought it at least they didn't say it, so thanks for that!
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I am learning that perfection is an unrealistic standard, and maybe just an organized reality and a welcoming heart and spirit is more important than a house that looks like it came out of a magazine. Hospitality is our opportunity to be Jesus to those around us and it is an extension of our hearts. ❤
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Offering hospitality puts the emphasis on others and strives to meet their physical and spiritual needs. I love a part from my book said: your hospitality should make people feel REFRESHED, NOT IMPRESSED when they leave your home.
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Do you struggle with extending hospitality to others? I hope that sharing this with you can empower you to replace fear with courage, insecurity with confidence, and judgment with grace. And invite people over to be part of your reality- no unrealistic expectations or perfection required.