Strawberry Plantin' Time

Oh goodness! I have the most beautiful little daughter in the world. She is so precious.

She was climbing the stairs at a park recently.

This morning, she wanted to eat her breakfast before I or her Papa were ready to sit down and pray. The food was already set before her, and her hands kept finding their way to her plate-- and then, "No. Don't touch it." Tears. :-(

She stopped reaching for the food after about the third time and started reaching for... our hands! We always pray before we eat, holding hands with one another. She was ready to pray, so she could eat! We trained her when she was 9 months old that she could not eat or touch her food until after we prayed. Now that she is 13 months old, she knows the routine well. You know the saying, "Train up a child in the way he/she should go....?" Well, that's actually scripture. One we hold to dearly.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV), "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

My darling child enjoys being outside.

Scripture has a lot to say about teaching and training our children. One of my favorites is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (KJV),

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."

Abigail is very interested in strawberry plants.

As the woman of the home, the caretaker of my child while my husband is working hard to provide for us, the daily teaching and training of our child is primarily in my hands. I love one version of Proverbs 31:26 that says "in [the virtuous woman's] mouth is kindly teaching."

I have several strawberry plants that I recently set outside to begin growing. When I first showed the plants to Abigail, she promptly pulled one out by its roots. Oops! Not what I expecting her to do. I replanted the strawberry plant, and then I took Abigail's hands and had her touch the plant gently. "Gentle," I said. "We are gentle when we touch plants." Each day we went outside, I'd have her come to the strawberry plants with me and show her the leaves, or the stem, or a new budding flower and remind her, "We are gentle with our plants." She loves to look at them now and has learned to be gentle.

She's helping me water-- only, she's missing the plants and pouring on the steps instead!

Our Lord is the Master Teacher; He is so kind in His loving correction and guidance.

Psalm 25:4-10 (KJV) says, "Shew me thy ways, O Lord: teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord therefore he will teach sinners in thew ay. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies."

My daughter is very teachable. I want to have a teachable spirit, too. What about you?

Be encouraged in His teachings,

~Raquel

Written: April 20, 2016