Using Praise to Build Up Your Home

Today I would like to share with you some wisdom gleaned from here.

At the tea, Mrs. Duggar was asked if she had any advice to give to parents, the advice she gave was:

"Be sure to praise your children and praise them alot because whoever praises them will win their hearts."

And when asked;

"What do you do with the lazy child?"

Her answer again was to praise them, of course she meant in honesty when they were doing good things (not to be confused with flattery which might puff up pride in a child).

This is valuable wisdom since the flesh is prone to do the opposite. I see a remarkable change in my children when I praise them for the things that they have done right. It is so easy to overlook the ten good things they did in the day and see only the multitude of mistakes and criticize. Children are children and are still learning and we as parents need to be patient and practice long suffering with them.. Grace and mercy needs to be factored in abundantly--we cannot run our home like a drill sergeant spewing forth commands and be merciless to the weak. Our children are still learning when and how to obey and we cannot expect perfection. 

Think about ourselves----how many times in a day do you sin against God? Even in small ways sin is sin and therefore: disobedience. God is graceful and patient towards us--we must apply this to our children as well. 

The Bible reminds us that:

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise bring healing. Proverbs 12:18

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Proverbs 25:11

So today, mothers, I challenge you to put into place-
The Praise Project!
I have heard it  said that for every negative thing you say to a person it takes ten positive things to make up the difference. Vow from this day on to purposefully praise your children and to hold your tongue when you are tempted to lash out, yell or complain.  Give it a whirl and see how it transforms your home. Praise empowers souls to holy heights. It arms them with confidence and can point them towards honorable nobleness, while the opposite--tearing them down, utterly incapacitates.

If you are prone to criticizing and grumbling towards your children make a promise to change today
--it is not too late. 






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