I have a daughter who spends the majority of her time with her mother and at times it has been very difficult to bond and relate to her since her life is so very different from that of my own and my boys. My daughter spends the majority of her time at home watching television, secular movies made for young girls and playing with her Barby dolls. Because of this, her 3 brothers including the 2 that live with me were having a difficult time relating to her to the point that she began to feel unloved and rejected. One day while wanting to watch a Barby movie, the boys all protested and rained insult after insult upon the fact that Barby was horrifically dumb. As the tears began to flow from my daughter's eyes, the Lord challenged me right there and then to become a missionary unto my daughter....that's right, a missionary to my daughter.
You see, when Christian missionaries seriously prepare to reach a lost tribe, culture or people, they go through great lengths to study their customs and beliefs. They do not walk into people's lives and begin telling them they're wrong, dumb or incorrect. Instead, missionaries meet people where they're at as Christ did. In other words, God let me know that I was about to go where I'd never gone before...I was about to become Barby's # 1 fan - for my daughter's sake ;) And I was going to drag my boys along with me.
When I obeyed the Lord in this way, amazing things began to happen. All of us boys learned that there were actually Biblical principals in every Barby movie. Some of the story lines were even kind of interesting. What was really amazing though, is that when we all validated my daughter and her interests, she wasn't so alone anymore, and Barby wasn't as important as she'd thought. My daughter began to experience what she'd longed for in the Barby movies; what it felt like to be a real life Princes through the eyes of her brothers and her Dad.
Validating a little life can be a Big BIG Thing :)
I wrote this for the thread I started below but decided to post it here as well...
as single parents, this is the task we need to take, out of love for them ... they're kids and they won't understand a thing unless we try to reach out to them in such a way for them to let them know we're there no matter what ...
i am a single mom of two lil boys, i try my best to teach them great/good values, just imagine me teaching them boys stuff, i wrestle with them, i gotta like or watch cartoons with them, answer them questions that a father is supposed to answer for them, all these i gotta do out of love for them, and as you put it, be a missionary to our child ...
and for clarification, i don't brainwash my kids so they could hate their father, all they know is we live apart and their father is looking for a job always ...
as single parents, this is the task we need to take, out of love for them ... they're kids and they won't understand a thing unless we try to reach out to them in such a way for them to let them know we're there no matter what ...
i am a single mom of two lil boys, i try my best to teach them great/good values, just imagine me teaching them boys stuff, i wrestle with them, i gotta like or watch cartoons with them, answer them questions that a father is supposed to answer for them, all these i gotta do out of love for them, and as you put it, be a missionary to our child ...
and for clarification, i don't brainwash my kids so they could hate their father, all they know is we live apart and their father is looking for a job always ...
as single parents, this is the task we need to take, out of love for them ... they're kids and they won't understand a thing unless we try to reach out to them in such a way for them to let them know we're there no matter what ...
i am a single mom of two lil boys, i try my best to teach them great/good values, just imagine me teaching them boys stuff, i wrestle with them, i gotta like or watch cartoons with them, answer them questions that a father is supposed to answer for them, all these i gotta do out of love for them, and as you put it, be a missionary to our child ...
and for clarification, i don't brainwash my kids so they could hate their father, all they know is we live apart and their father is looking for a job always ...
as single parents, this is the task we need to take, out of love for them ... they're kids and they won't understand a thing unless we try to reach out to them in such a way for them to let them know we're there no matter what ...
i am a single mom of two lil boys, i try my best to teach them great/good values, just imagine me teaching them boys stuff, i wrestle with them, i gotta like or watch cartoons with them, answer them questions that a father is supposed to answer for them, all these i gotta do out of love for them, and as you put it, be a missionary to our child ...
and for clarification, i don't brainwash my kids so they could hate their father, all they know is we live apart and their father is looking for a job always ...
Simply amaaazing! I love it!! I can feel the joy your daughter must have felt that day. What a wonderful lesson that was for you and your boys, as well as your daughter. In Kentucky we say a lot of "Awww bless their heart"s!!" Lol...that's what I feel for your daughter. I'm so happy for you all. I hope your daughter is doing well, and you and your boys also.
This is so true our first mission field as Christian parents is our children. My son who is 2, he is my ministry. I heard of parents(2 parent families) wanting to serve somewhere else but neglect their own home. I believeit was with God's help you handled that situation well. To God be the glory.:applause:
