I am annoyed at this because my blog used to be an exercise in documenting my daily walk with God and to be brutally honest, my walk lately hasn't been daily. My prayer life is not what it should be, I haven't been reading my Bible as I should and I just haven't been thinking about God as I should. I am embarrassed to say these things but I need to be honest.
These are horrible habits to fall into and a nasty reminder of my life and what is what like without God. I haven't been turning to God as soon as I need Him lately and that is wrong. I need Him more than ever and every single minute, hour and day of my life.
I am sure that I can look at this as an attack from Satan. He sees my weak spots and homes in on them. However, I have to accept some of the blame also. I can't use the devil as an excuse for my laziness and falter into bad habits.
On another topic, does anyone have any advice on dealing with 5 year old boys? Mine has become an angry (not all of the time), cheeky, disrespectful, tantrum throwing monster. He is excelling at school and behaves very well there but at home he is making my life very difficult. I am beginning to despair and am unsure how to deal with this. It is almost like he doesn't like being at home just now and I have no idea why.
We have withdrawn privileges as punishment, smacked his bottom, dad has disciplined and nothing seems to change his behaviour.
I just don't know what else to try! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated or just similar experiences.
I am setting a goal of posting at least once a week at the moment as I am sure I can manage that and motivate myself to do so. Anything more will be a bonus for me!
A wonderfully honest post. Good to see you back again.
ReplyDeleteAs for 5 year olds... I have a 'nearly 5 year old' who went through a similar thing about 6 months ago.. like all things it seems to be a phase that passes... a new testing of the boundaries.
Pray!
Thank you for being so honest. Don't feel bad I think we all go through a time where we drift from God and what we are supposed to be doing. I know I have. I am praying for you and I faith things will turn around soon! I don't have any advice for your son but I will also pray about that too! Take care. Love ya
ReplyDeleteI agree with Casey. We all go through seasons of drifting -- at least a little. We get distracted with life, but the Holy Spirit is always there ... wooing us, calling our hearts. Isn't the Lord wonderful?
ReplyDeleteNow, about the son. I have a 4 1/2 year old little girl. I am just starting to notice a touch of "attitude" surfacing that I haven't seen before. Perhaps it is another developmental stage around 5. The testing of new boundaries.
I pray God will give you wisdom and give you little one PEACE and the ability to control his actions in Jesus' Name.
Love,
Beth
Collette,
ReplyDeleteI raised 3 boys and one of the most affective tools I used with a smart mouth (talking back or bad attitude) was to discipline in a unique way. You know me...never normal..lol!! Each time they would say or do something disrespectful I would look at them and NOT mention what they did, but simply say: "Clean the toilets...all of them." After about 3 times of cleaning the toilets the sassing was over at my house. My boys thought that was a gross job and did not want any part of it. They quickly figured out disrespect was unacceptable behavior.
Hope you are feeling better, soon and back to blogging and visiting more. I miss you.
Hugs, andrea
Collette,
ReplyDeleteWe've all walked that road you find yourself on and trust me you are not alone, just normal and like us. That's why we love you being you. Take some time off, reorganize, do some devotions with the kids and see if when you all draw closer to God if things don't start to shift for the better.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Hi Collette, I'm sorry you've been struggling...we seem to be in the same place. I will pray for you.
ReplyDeleteAs for your little boy, I've got a 9 year old boy and a 5 year old boy and it is normal. If the struggle that you are going through is spilling out into the everyday, he may just be feeling a little insecure. It is amazing what my kids can pick up just from my mood. I do believe bad behavior needs to be addressed, however, it may be that a little extra attention could go a long way. Maybe an extra game here and there or a little extra snuggle time at bed time. And when he's being good, let him know you noticed. Everyone likes to be told they are doing a good job. He will come out of it. Sounds like he's just testing you a little.
Let him have his tantrum, walk away from hi just saying you will talk to him when he's done. If it gets to the extreme point, step in and calmly show him how to calm down. I had to take an approach with my child similar to my dog training. Catch it when you see the warning signs so you can diffuse it. Mine didn't know he was feeling stressed until we all saw him acting out. I eventually learned that for mine, he required more "quiet time" to recharge. We removed the time out aspect. I would also just sit, me and him, with some TV or a book or something mundane. Maybe color... just to bring him back to low-key when he came home from school. Earlier to bed helped a lot also.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, each child is different but you'll sort it out, i'm sure.
Your path to Him has already been shown to you again, you started following it when you posted this. He's shown you the light back to peace and harmony and you will get back there. For me, I've learned that sometimes, it's okay for me to change up my routine in how I communicate with Him or proceed with my devotions. As long as I was true in my heart and intent, I was being the best child I could. Looking back is only good if it helps you find your footing moving forward. I belive you have done that.