God gives us children because children produce adults. No other human relationship will give you as much opportunity for personal growth as that of raising a child. Being a parent helps to insure that we grow toward greater maturity, it teachs us unconditional love, humility, patience, and trust, in order that we might be more child like and more Christ like, honest, humble, patience, kind, selfless, obedient, and most of all full of honor and love for our Heavenly Father.

God's richest blessings to you in your parenting,

Pat

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~

"Behold, I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep

but we shall all be changed."

Corinthians 15:51

In context, this passage is about the second coming of Christ,

but these words could also be used to describe parents.

Parents don't get the sleep they use to get before children;

but all parents shall be changed forever.

Hopefully, in a wonderful way!

Quote by Herbert Ratner, M.D. "Love is the cement of society and the prime function of the family is to raise children who know how to receive love -- who know how to give love, who develop the kind of self-respect and love for themselves they must have if they are going to love anybody else. We have to do everything possible to give the newborn infant a sense of worth. The function of the family is to turn the newborn individual into an adult who is emotionally secure and capable of loving because love is what keeps us together."

A Young Mother's Story

Becoming a mother the very first time

Is as difficult as can be

I needed support from someone

To tell me how to be

Deep inside me “mothering”

Wanted to rise to the top,

But insensitive comments of others

Sometimes made me stop.

I wanted to still his crying

And rock my newborn baby,

But whisperers said I was spoiling.

And, I wondered, “Am I, maybe?”

I wanted to hold him closely

And sing to him when he cried at night.

Some told me he should “cry it out”,

But my heart told me that was not right.

Feeling my baby at my breast

Was an emotion that defied description!

And holding him and loving him

Was my deep-down inner conviction.

But many of you warned me,

“Don't tie yourself down like that,

Leave a bottle and the baby.”

And, you'd give my hand a pat.

Outside my mouth is smiling,

But inside my heart is sad.

Do you think that loving a baby

Is simply a passing fad?

So without your help or assistance

I went on and met his needs.

I rocked him, loved him, and held him.

And when he was a toddler

You thought I should seek my profession.

And enroll the child in nursery school,

But this is my confession:

I'd rather stay at home with him

And watch him grow each day,

And cut out cookies and read to him,

And simply watch him play.

What's a profession really worth

When here I can each day

Teach this heart the Word of God

And help him learn to pray?

Together this special child and I

Thrilled to those stories of old…

Abraham, Joseph, Daniel,

And all the prophets bold

We learned about the Savior,

And about His perfect love.

And how we all can live with Him

In that beautiful home above.

Yes, I have found fulfillment,

And within me inner peace.

But I worry about my friends,

And the comments that do not cease.

Where were my sisters in the Lord

Who are commanded from above

To teach the younger women

Their husbands and children to love?

Why didn't someone tell me

How thrilled my heart would be

To see this tiny soul God gave

Develop spiritually?

Where were you when I needed you

When others were tempting me so,

To think of my own self first

And let the baby's needs go?

My deepest heartfelt prayer is that

Within the grace of God

I may be a help to others

As along this road they trod.

Help me to remember

The pressures they will see

And tell them their “mothering instincts”

Are as true as they can be.

Young women, love your babies

Every single day you live,

And meet their needs and cuddle them

And GIVE…and GIVE…and GIVE

Your LOVE…

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~

Little Eyes Upon You

There are little eyes upon you and they're watching night and day.

There are little ears that quickly take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager to do anything you do;

And a little boy who's dreaming of the day he'll be like you.

You're the little fellow's idol, you're the wisest of the wise.

In his little mind about you no suspicions ever rise.

He believes in you devoutly, holds all you say and do;

He will say and do, in your way when he's grown up just like you.

There's a wide-eyed little fellow who believes you're always right;

And his eyes are always opened, and he watches day and night.

You are setting an example every day in all you do;

For the little boy who's waiting to grow up to be like you.

Author Unknown

First Things First - a Christian Perspective (by Mary DeMent)

My son toddles out of his bedroom in the morning, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. If he doesn't see me right away, he asks his father, "Where's Mommy?" My husband may say, "Come here, buddy. Give me a hug." But he continues, "I need Mommy. Where is she?" He then sets off in search of his Mommy. For no one else will do first thing in the morning. His desire is for me alone.

I realize that he will eventually outgrow his need to see me and be held by me before he starts his day. So I'm holding these moments, these days, close to my heart.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). God wants us to be wise and grow in Him. At the same time, though, I believe He would like us to remain like children when it comes to our longing for Him and for His presence.

I love knowing that my son yearns to be near me first thing in the morning. There is a great sense of joy in understanding that someone loves you that much. So just imagine how God must feel when his children long to meet with Him before they do anything else.

Do we search for Him first thing? I wish I could say I do. But sometimes I fear I'm like the older, more "mature" child who needs to get ready for school, brush her teeth, eat breakfast, rush out the door, and maybe, just maybe, has time to give Mom a peck on the cheek before she starts the day.

We could all take a lesson or two from my son and the rest of those little children Jesus referred to. We need to take the words of Jesus seriously. But unfortunately, I think this is one of those scriptures we just breeze by, thinking, this doesn't really pertain to us.

Look again at the powerful statement He makes! He begins, "I tell you the truth." Since He IS the truth, we ought to pay close attention to His next statement. He continues: "Unless you CHANGE and BECOME as little CHILDREN." What will happen? Read His conclusion carefully, "You will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." We will never enter eternity with Him. Now that should get out attention! Isn't that the goal of every Christian, eternity with Christ, our Lord and Savior?

You know what? I'm never far away when my son calls for me. In fact, I hear him when he first wakes up. I wait for his voice to call out my name. I may not always drop everything and run to him, but when he finds me, I take him up in my arms and hold him tight. Sometimes he says, "I couldn't find you." And I answer, Well, here I am!" He follows, "Yeah, I found you now!" We both smile and hold on tight.

	My hero is… By Kenneth Rudnicki (age 14 - 2005) If someone would ask me who my hero is, I wouldn't even think of a normal hero, something like a firefighter, policeman, or an athlete, I would thinking of my relatives that care about me more than I care about them. So, the only thing I would have to say is that my hero is not just one person, but all the people in my family that support and care for me. This is because without their guidance I would not have gotten as far in school or in life as I have now. There would be a gap in my life that couldn't be filled by anyone. I would have probably ended up on the street and it would have been extremely hard for me to get into a decent school, let alone the magnet school that I am in now. My family also are my mentors who taught me about changing a car's oil, how to use a dishwasher, how to put up a tent or how to separate the laundry so the colors wouldn't blend. But that's not the point, without these basic skills I would have to hire a mechanic to change the oil in my car or change a tire or a maid to clean the house and do the laundry. This would cost more money, and in turn, make me work harder in life just to get enough food for myself, not to mention another person. Without my family, I might have to live off what I can find or beg for until I am sixteen, because of child labor laws. And if I couldn't stay out of sight of others, I could get sent to a foster home until a family of strangers comes along and picks me and even then they could never love me as much as my parents. All of that would also depend on whether or not I live through my early childhood. With such a small chance to live, I would most likely have died as a young child and never even started to school. My family is also here to shelter me for the first, short eighteen years of my life until I am old enough to move out on my own. They are my guides through life and will help me through it even after I move out. This could take place by them just sending a bit of money or a card to remind me that they are safe and in good health. With that I would know not to worry about them. When they get old, I will then return the favor of taking care of them for as long as they need assistance. After they are gone, I will still remember all the things we did and all the things they taught me, and when I have children of my own I want to try to be at least half the parent that they were to me. This way, my children can remember all the things that I did for them and take care of me when I am too old to take care of myself. So if you are ever asked about your hero or idol, think about it a little bit more before you say something like Bruce Lee or Brittany Spears and you just might find that your family is so much more important than someone that you have never met or that you don't really know. Stop and just think of the people who care about you their entire life whether you care about them or not. That is why the members of my family are my heroes. The above was written as an English assignment. The assignment was to write about an unrecognized hero. Kenneth Rudnicki is Pat's grandson. His mother was a full time, attachment parent till he was four when due to the lost of Kenneth's father, she returned to school. At that time, his grandparents stepped up to help her co-parent him. His mother became a firemedic. She married a firemedic when Kenneth was nine and he adopted Kenneth. His parents and grandparents work together to parent him. He is presently a junior at Hagerty High School taking honors and AP classes and works at Ki Martial Arts Academy in their afternoon school program and as a co-instructor to their Little Dragons and Basic Karate classes.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~

Mentions of Breastfeeding Found in the Bible

And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Genesis 21:7-8

Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go ahead." So the girl went and called the child's mother. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me and I shall give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. Exodus 2:7-9

From the God of thy father, who will help thee; and from the Almighty, who will bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, with blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. Genesis 49:25-26

Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which Thou didst swear to their fathers'?" Numbers11:12

And Na’omi took the child, and laid him in her lap, and she became his nurse. Ruth 4:16

But Hannah did not go up; for she said unto her husband, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, "Do what seemeth good in thy eyes; tarry until though has weaned him; only may the Lord fulfill his word." So the woman remained behind, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. Samuel 1:22-23

"And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold , he was not my son, whom I had borne." 1 King 3:21

Why did I not die at virth, come forth from the womb and expire: Why did the knees receive me, and why the breasts, that I should suck? Job 3:11-12

And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. Isaiah 11:8

To who would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? Isaish 28:9

Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their young. Isaiah 40:11-12

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated with no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation. You will also suck the milk of nations, And will suck the breast of kings; The you will know that I, The Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, The Mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah 60:15-16

"Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her. Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom." For thus says the Lord, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you shall be nursed, you shall be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalm." Isaiah 66:10-13

Now when she had weaned Lo-ruchamah, she conceived, and bore a son. Hosea 1:8

Give them, O Lord, what thou wilt give! give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts. Hosea 9:14

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Psalm 8:2

Yet Thou art He that didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb. Psalm 22:9-10

Surely I have pacified and stilled my soul, like the suckling on its mother’s breast; like a suckling is in me my soul. Psalm 131:2-3

Oh that you were like a brother to me who nursed at my mother’s breasts! The Song of Solomon 8:1

Even jackals offer the breast, they nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the infant cleaves to the roof of its mouth because of thirst; the little ones ask for bread, but no one breaks it for them. Lamentations 4:3

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Joel 2:16

And said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou has prepared praise for thyself." Matthew 21:16 (Pslams 8:2)

"But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days!" Matthew 24:19, Mark 13:17 & Luke 21:23

And it came about while He said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed." Luke 11:27

"For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.' Luke 23:29

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. 1 Thessalonians 2:7

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ~

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