I was thinking the other day about what makes a quality good or bad.  Have you ever noticed how, depending on your values or how it is handled, a quality is deemed good or bad?  Now of course there are some qualities that just can't be looked at this way...decietfullness is one and aggression is another.  Bullying is another quality that just isn't going to be looked at as "okay".  Of course the same can be said about good qualities...such as kindness, trust and honesty.  All of these are good qualities.  Some people can be hurt when they are trusting or kind to others, but that is not necessarily their fault.  Often the hurt comes from someone taking advantage of these qualities.  But these qualities tend to be black or white.

However, I find that some qualities walk a fine line between good and bad.  When I look at my children I see some of these qualities.  For example, dd6 can be outgoing and strong-willed(sometimes we call it stubborn)to name a few.  At face value we may say these are all good qualities, but once in awhile they can go to the other side.  Dd6's outgoing personality allows her to make friends easily...unlike her sister that is quite shy.  Dd6 can go to a park and in about five minutes she's made friends with someone and will have a playmate for the rest of our time there.  But she has also been known to go up to complete strangers in the adult version and make me quite stressed out.  This can be quite dangerous and so I have had to give her limits to what is exceptable.   Another problem sometimes with being outgoing is that she can overwhelm others that are more shy(like her sister).  She doesn't always know when to ease off. 

Let's look at being strong-willed.  This can be good when you are standing by your convictions or are determined to do something.  It takes a strong will at times to get these things done.  However, when she uses this strong-will(or what I deem as stubborness at times) to resist a direction of mine...it is no longer appealing.  Often her strong will keeps her from being obedient and this makes all unhappy.

So the question is, how do we make sure that the good areas of these qualities are applied rather than the bad?  This is a big part in raising up Godly children and keeping your home and homeschool from being a war zone.  I struggle with how to let my children be themselves witout allowing them to get away with horrible behavior.  I don't want to crush them, yet I do want to direct them in a proper way.  Of course, this is where we must remember to go to the Word and look at the direction God gives us.  He tells us what is the right behavior, but we must remember to teach this to our children.  My children are continually in my prayers...I ask for guidance on how to raise them to be Godly children, for their obedience and respect and I especially ask that the Lord gives me and hubby wisdom and patience.  This is an area that will need work for some time.

As we remember to train up our children in education, let us not forget to train them up in their attitudes and give them proper values so that they will choose wisely as they grow.

These are just some thoughts I've had lately...I hope they bless you.