Intro:
I believe that as parents we are shaping the next generation and raising kids is a privilege and a reward from the Lord. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. I had the wonderful opportunity to do a workshop on parenting soon after we adopted our son Carson who was 2 ½ years old. It was called Practical Parenting – Mission Possible. I hope the thoughts from that workshop will empower you to be a better parent. Here is your dailyeword.
Just like most things, being a good parent involves natural things as well as spiritual things. We’ll talk about the natural side of parenting first. These principles are from the best book of all, the Bible, and 3 others great books by really exceptional Christian authors. Here are these 4 natural things that are a great resource when it comes to parenting God’s way. They are areas of understanding that have made parenting much easier.
1) Understanding motivational gifts (from Rom 12: 6-9),
2) Understanding personality type – lion, beaver, otter and golden retriever (from a book by Gary Smalley and John Trent),
3) Understanding Love Languages (from a book by Gary Chapman), and
4) Understanding birth order (from a book by Kevin Leman).
These natural tools have helped my husband and I tremendously in understanding our kids temperaments, characteristics and individual mannerisms. As Christian parents, that’s what we strive for….producing kids to change the world. Understanding personality types is a key to understanding your child– There are many personality type tests, but the one I like the best is the one with the lion, the beaver, the otter, and the golden retriever, developed by Gary Smalley and John Trent. The Lion is often a first born, who is the strong leader type. They get things done, have vision for the future, and can tend to be pushy if they get out of balance. The beaver is the worker bee, who see a need and gets it done. The otter is the life of the party. They are the social ones, who love having lots of people around them. The golden retriever is the loyal faithful friend, who is always there when you need them. Who would think that 4 personality types would pretty much sum up everyone you know. I think knowing this can make you a better parent.