Discipline

Proverbs 3:12
12 because the lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

Here is YouVersion's additional commentary:
DISCIPLINE AND LOVE

As hard as it is to deliver a consequence to a child for a bad choice, the alternative can often be even worse. When I am tempted to forego discipline, I have to ask myself, "What is the most loving thing I can do for my child?" In almost every case, the answer is to give the child the consequence he has earned, so he can learn the lesson God has designed for him.

A good consequence, delivered with empathy, demonstrates love and respect for your child's freedom to choose and his ability to learn from the consequence of a bad decision. The author of Hebrews says it well: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).

 Here is Samantha's additional commentary:
 It's unbelievable to fathom that we are even talking about how we want to discipline Madison. It seems only a short time ago she was cradled in our arms and we were looking at each scared to death that any mistake would break her. She ate, slept, and cried! Wow, how time has flown by and it has brought so many joys to our home. I had a friend tell me about month 2 that having a child would become my norm but to give it time. Struggling through the identity crisis that I believe every parent encounters, I know now just what she meant. Last weekend our friends Luther and Ronda kept Madison over night, but it was not joy that overwhelmed me during that alone time, it was sadness. It felt like something crucial was missing from out life (and it was). It's moments like that where I know that nothing else in this world matters but raising her to love and fear the living God that we serve. It was in that moment that I realized the calling that God had placed before me (and the importance too).

That being said, we are at the age/stage where we are beginning to dialogue about how we want to handle her behavior when it becomes an issue. Do we spank? How does the other feel about spanking? What about timeouts? Are they effective? How are we going to handle behavioral issues out in public? Whose going to do the discipline? These are the questions that we are bombarded with only a daily basis. While I will not share the intimate details of those conversations and the conclusions that we have come up with (which may change over time), I will say that it is extremely terrifying. We have been giving a gift...one that this manualess, cranky, and very impressionable. These years and the many to come are very sacred to us and we don't take that responsibility lightly. Although I realize that we do not understand, yet, the extent of the challenges that lie ahead, I am confident that through prayer and much advice from our mentors we will find a way to handle whatever comes.

So stayed tuned as we read through YouVersion's parental reading plan.