Moms, here are five simple words for you to take with you every day:
- Manage
- Nurture
- Train
- Correct
- Promise
The beginning letters of these five categories are MNTCP. You probably know how making an acrostic can help you remember certain important facts. This is one that will help you remember these categories and will also remind you of one more very important aspect of your parenting—prayer. The acrostic can also stand for Moms Need To Constantly Pray.
- Does this circumstance simply call for management?
- Now that the situation has calmed down, do I have an opportunity to nurture his soul with the gospel?
- Is this the time to train him in how to apply what Jesus has already modeled for him?
- Do I need to correct her attitudes or actions so that they are more in line with the good news?
- Should I remind him of God’s promises, either of blessing for obedience or of punishment for unbelief?
- Finally, is this just a time for me to pray and ask the Lord to show me how the gospel applies to my own heart? Do I need clarity to understand why my child is struggling or resisting right now? Do I need clarity into my heart’s responses so that I am not sucked down into her unbelief, anger, and despair? What is it that bothers me about his attitude? Why?
– Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson