Father, I hear you.

A few weeks ago, my mother said, "She is so good to her babies. Where do you think she's learned to do that?" I looked at her baffled. She gave me a smile and said, "You Silly!" I looked down at YaYa and it hit me hard how much all I do influences her. EVERYTHING!?! Gulp. I think I'm a pretty good person but I was mortified thinking of all my terrible habits. I would hate for her to begin them. So far, I am lucky that she has only chosen to regurgitate my better qualities, actions, sweeter words or tone of voice. I try to teach her right from wrong but then I turn around and raise my voice in frustration at her, the dogs or to my husband. This is something I KNOW I NEED TO WORK ON AND DO DAILY. I pray regularly for God's help with my temper and the speed at which I become frustrated. My dear husband, didn't give me the nic name "Frizzy" almost 9 years ago because of my hair. My frustration level is one of my many daily personal battles. Which brings me to... Today I was driving to a play group and on the way YaYa began saying, "Go mommy! Race the cars! Go Go GO!" Um...we were sitting at a stop light. So... I decided to try to explain to my 2 year old (it's official today) she's not the only one who has to follow rules. Mommy, daddy and other adults have rules to follow too. We have to stop on a red light and go on a green light and we don't race in cars unless we're on a race track or we'll put ourselves and others in danger. We have to follow God's rules too that's why we pray and read scripture. How much do you think she absorbed of that conversation? Better yet...how much of it did I absorb(?) until... her nap. I sat down and read Chatting at the Sky's entry from Thursday, July 3rd and the comments she's received. As I read her comments/commenters I came across Enjoyer of the Journey and read the following: Romans 2:17-29 *Hypocrisy is unacceptable!* “…if you teach others why don’t you teach yourself?” ( 2:21 ) You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it ( 2:24 ). [Even if you are circumcised]…if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised¹ Gentile ( 2:25 ). No, a true Jew is one who’s heart is right with God. A true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather it is a change of heart produced by Gods spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people ( 2:29 ). ¹circumcise: To cut off the prepuce of foreskin of, in the case of males, and the internal labia of, in the case of females; to purify spiritually. Her Understanding: The mentality of “do as I say, not as I do” isn’t welcomed by God. Stating that we are Christians and judging others for their indiscretions, isn’t welcomed by God. Just because we go through the actions of being a Christian (church, prayer, circumcision) doesn’t mean our hearts are content in delighting in Christ. This is the expectation: refrain from hypocrisy. I venture to believe that God would rather us “talk the talk and walk the walk”. Both definitions of circumcision have been used in this scripture. The act of circumcising a child, just because it is done, doesn’t qualify entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven if obedience of God’s law has not been done. 2:29, I believe, represents the latter of the definitions above, meaning ‘to purify spiritually’. Broken down, the passage states, “A true spiritual purification (circumcision) is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather it is a change of heart produced by God’s spirit.” Last, I found myself returning to 6 By His Design's post on Accountability from Saturday, June 28th. Hmmmm....How interesting that all these blogs are about practicing what we preach and following God's law. Is it a coincidence that I chose to explain that mommies, daddies and everyone has laws to follow the same day I read and reflected on the above blogs? I think not. I hear you God and you have my full attention. I am once again humbled by your gentle reminders/teachings. I pray you will continue to guide me, to help me find and use your gentle ways of "practicing what I preach" to my daughter and myself.