Scott and I are preparing a message we will share here in Mexico on parenting.  It is sometimes so easy for us homeschooling parents to get the first part of Ephesians 6:1-4, we love to let our children know they must obey us, and they must.  The rest of that verse is the other side of our responsibility.  "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

When we expect them to obey we also need to be sure we aren't provoking them to wrath.  Some of the examples here among the poor in Mexico are pretty obvious, parents who give their children candy in lieu of a meal, children who are sat down in front of the t.v. all day so mom can chat on the phone and tiny kids who are left on their own while mom and dad go to work. 

However I am guilty as well when I leave my busy boys to their own devices while I work on a project and then get angry when I find the ten outfits they wore that day on their bedroom floor.  How can we hold our children responsible for something we have never taught them or enforced, and how can we expect them to obey and yet never build a relationship with them.  As we prepare for a new year of school let us think about how our Heavenly Father draws us, through love and why we obey Him, because of His love.

Jennifer Pepito-Devotional Editor