A few weeks ago, I started reading my new favorite parenting book: Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes… in you and your kids! The book is based on the Biblical concept of honor. As I read, I get more and more excited about honor could transform our already pretty-doggone-good family. It’s not just for the kids, though! As the title suggests, it’s something we as parents must demonstrate ourselves!
Last week we started doing family devotions based on this book. To start our study, we talked about the differences between respect and honor. We talked about how honor goes a step beyond respect, and shows a person how much you value him/her. When we honor someone, it’s like giving a gift.
To demonstrate this point, I gave Lindsey a pretty little gift to unwrap. She opened it to find a plastic baggie full of dirt. {Rude, I know, but that was the point.} We talked about how dishonoring someone is like giving them a bag of dirt. When we say rude things or our our tone of voice isn’t nice, etc., we are dishonoring the other person. Lindsey handled it well and just said I owe her a frappucino. 🙂
Romans 12:10 says, “Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.” I like that! We decided that outdoing one another in showing honor would be just about the BEST kind of competition to have. For now, we won’t try to point out times that we dishonor one another, but we are all going to look for opportunities to point out when another family member is showing honor. I hope that as we do this, we will all become more aware of what honor looks like, and we will all start looking for chances to show honor to each other.
We’ll see how it goes. 😉
And as we continue studying this, I’ll blog more about our family’s journey towards honor.
Wife, mama, homeschooler, dog-wrangler. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and strength coach. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.
That’s the second time today I’ve read that verse — first in my morning devotion and now here. Maybe God is trying to tell me something.
This is on my to-read list! I need to get started on it. It sounds wonderful.
Thank you for the recommendation. I am adding it to my must-read list!
Hi Jamie, I love it! I’m going to put it on my to-read list. Thanks for sharing!
I think this is very inspiring! Thank you!!!
This book sounds wonderful! I’ll be sure to check it out. I just stopped by from Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers…nice to “meet” you.
Love this! May have to pick this one up!
This is an absolutely wonderful book! We discovered it at the Georgia HS convention a couple of years ago. The authors were there speaking. I highly recommend their seminars. By the way, if you go to their website you can sign up for a parenting tips email that they send out every few days. You will find portions of their book in the emails containing good thoughts for the day. They also let you know when they are in your area for a seminar. I believe you live in Georgia as I do. I think they are coming to the… Read more »
What a great post–and now I have a new book I “need”!
This is one of my favorite parenting book. It’s been sitting on my nightstand for a second read. I better get at it.
Loved this book !!