Strong Enough for a Man, but Made for a Woman
Parental duty
"If you have children, you
have a work to do, in union
with the mother, in the formation of their characters." {FE 65.3}
"The first consideration of the parents should be to work for the salvation of their children. When the father and mother as priest and teacher of the family take their position fully on the side of Christ, a good influence will be exerted in the home." {CG 549.1}
"We need to make the education of our children a business, for their salvation depends largely upon the education given them in childhood." {CG 27.1}
"The first consideration of the parents should be to work for the salvation of their children. When the father and mother as priest and teacher of the family take their position fully on the side of Christ, a good influence will be exerted in the home." {CG 549.1}
"We need to make the education of our children a business, for their salvation depends largely upon the education given them in childhood." {CG 27.1}
It should be clear from these that, as parents, our first duty is the character development of our children. If we neglect this, our children will suffer, not just in this life, but in the next.
"The education and
training of their children to be
Christians is the highest service that parents can render to God. . . .
By a
neglect of this trust we prove ourselves unfaithful stewards." {AH
268.2}
"The training of children constitutes an important part of God's plan for demonstrating the power of Christianity." {CG 21.4}
"The training of children constitutes an important part of God's plan for demonstrating the power of Christianity." {CG 21.4}
Here we see that child training is a direct manifestation of our love to God and our love to man. Not only that, it is to be an important evidence of God's power.
"She should never rest
satisfied until she sees in her
children a gradual elevation of character, until they have a higher
object in
life than merely to seek their own pleasure." {AH 265.5}
Although the mother is singled out in this quote, both parents should be interested in their children's character. And here, EGW gives a glimpse of the type of character development required.
"Parents should not
lightly regard the work of training
their children, nor neglect it upon any account. They should employ
much time
in careful study of the laws which regulate our being. They should make
it
their first object to become intelligent in regard to the proper manner
of
dealing with their children, that they may secure to them sound minds
in sound
bodies." {CG 21.5}
The parent's task is great. Much effort and perseverance and work is required.
"The work of all parents
is to train their children in
the way of the Lord. This is not a matter that can be trifled with, or
set
aside, without incurring the displeasure of God." {CG 67.2}
To train their children properly is the mandate of parents from God. They owe it to God, to mankind, to themselves, and to their children. Let's continue our study with this in mind.
Teamwork
"Only by working in unison
can the father and mother
accomplish the work which God has committed to their hands." {AH 216.1}
"The father and the mother should work together in full sympathy with each other. They should make themselves companions to their children." {AH 190.2}
"The work of co-operation should begin with the father and mother themselves, in the home life. In the training of their children they have a joint responsibility, and it should be their constant endeavor to act together." {CG 319.1}
"The father and the mother should work together in full sympathy with each other. They should make themselves companions to their children." {AH 190.2}
"The work of co-operation should begin with the father and mother themselves, in the home life. In the training of their children they have a joint responsibility, and it should be their constant endeavor to act together." {CG 319.1}
Parenting is a two-person job. Father and mother working together is the only way to do it right.
"Fathers and mothers are
responsible for the health,
the constitution, the development of the character of their children.
No one
else should be left to see to this work. In becoming the parents of
children,
it devolves upon you to co-operate with the Lord in educating them in
sound
principles." {AH 187.2}
"The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger lips, the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruction to their children." {CG 18.5}
"The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger lips, the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruction to their children." {CG 18.5}
Parents are given a duty that only they can do. Others cannot replace them
"The sphere of the mother
may be humble; but her
influence, united with the father's, is as abiding as eternity. Next to
God, the
mother's power for good is the strongest known on earth." {AH 240.1}
The father and the mother working together can produce a "product" for eternity. But notice that the mother has the primary responsibility, and glory.
Mother's duty
"The mother is God's agent
to Christianize her
family." {AH 235.2}
The mother's duty encompasses the Christianity of the whole family. Failure here will result in eternal ruin for the parents and the children.
"The mother's work is
given her of God, to bring up her
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." {AH 233.4}
"The work of the mother is sacred and important. . . . Her time, in a special sense, belongs to her children." {FE 139.2}
"Amid all the activities of life the mother's most sacred duty is to her children." {AH 234.3}
"Mothers, the destiny of your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in Satan's ranks, and make them his agents to ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus many souls may be saved through your instrumentality." {AH 267.6}
"In the children committed to her care, every mother has a sacred charge from the heavenly Father; and it is her privilege, through the grace of Christ, to mold their characters after the divine pattern, to shed an influence over their lives that will draw them toward God and heaven." {FE 149.1}
"The work of the mother is sacred and important. . . . Her time, in a special sense, belongs to her children." {FE 139.2}
"Amid all the activities of life the mother's most sacred duty is to her children." {AH 234.3}
"Mothers, the destiny of your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in Satan's ranks, and make them his agents to ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus many souls may be saved through your instrumentality." {AH 267.6}
"In the children committed to her care, every mother has a sacred charge from the heavenly Father; and it is her privilege, through the grace of Christ, to mold their characters after the divine pattern, to shed an influence over their lives that will draw them toward God and heaven." {FE 149.1}
The mother's primary responsibility is to her children. They depend on her to provide the kind of training that will fit them for this life and the next.
"No other work can equal
hers in importance. . . . It
is hers, with the help of God, to develop in a human soul the likeness
of the
divine." {AH 237.2}
"This work of molding, refining, and polishing is the mother's." {AH 234.1}
"This work of molding, refining, and polishing is the mother's." {AH 234.1}
This should make crystal clear the importance of the mother's work.
"There are opportunities
of inestimable worth,
interests infinitely precious, committed to every mother. The humble
round of
duties which women have come to regard as a wearisome task should be
looked
upon as a grand and noble work." {AH 234.2}
"If married men go into the work, leaving their wives to care for the children at home, the wife and mother is doing fully as great and important a work as the husband and father. Although one is in the missionary field, the other is a home missionary, whose cares and anxieties and burdens frequently far exceed those of the husband and father. Her work is a solemn and important one. . . . The husband in the open missionary field may receive the honors of men, while the home toiler may receive no earthly credit for her labor. But if she works for the best interest of her family, seeking to fashion their characters after the divine Model, the recording angel writes her name as one of the greatest missionaries in the world. God does not see things as man's finite vision views them." {AH 235.1}
"The sphere of the mother may be humble; but her influence, united with the father's, is as abiding as eternity. Next to God, the mother's power for good is the strongest known on earth." {AH 240.1}
"The minister has his line of work, and the mother has hers. She is to bring her children to Jesus for His blessing. . . . The Lord has need of mothers who in every line of the home life will improve their God-given talents and fit their children for the family of heaven." {AH 236.1}
"If married men go into the work, leaving their wives to care for the children at home, the wife and mother is doing fully as great and important a work as the husband and father. Although one is in the missionary field, the other is a home missionary, whose cares and anxieties and burdens frequently far exceed those of the husband and father. Her work is a solemn and important one. . . . The husband in the open missionary field may receive the honors of men, while the home toiler may receive no earthly credit for her labor. But if she works for the best interest of her family, seeking to fashion their characters after the divine Model, the recording angel writes her name as one of the greatest missionaries in the world. God does not see things as man's finite vision views them." {AH 235.1}
"The sphere of the mother may be humble; but her influence, united with the father's, is as abiding as eternity. Next to God, the mother's power for good is the strongest known on earth." {AH 240.1}
"The minister has his line of work, and the mother has hers. She is to bring her children to Jesus for His blessing. . . . The Lord has need of mothers who in every line of the home life will improve their God-given talents and fit their children for the family of heaven." {AH 236.1}
Only to God can we compare the responsibility and the privilege that is the mother's.
Mother's work not degrading
"The Lord is served as
much, yea, more, by faithful
home work than by the one who teaches the word." {AH 236.2}
This makes clear the difference in importance between the mother who faithfully performs her duties at home and the minister who faithfully performs his duties in the pulpit.
"The mother's work often
seems to her an unimportant
service. . . . Her name may not have been heard in the world, but it is
written
in the Lamb's book of life." {AH 244.1}
"The true wife and mother . . . will perform her duties with dignity and cheerfulness, not considering it degrading to do with her own hands whatever it is necessary to do in a well-ordered household." {AH 244.2}
"The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. The mother is queen of her household. She has in her power the molding of her children's characters, that they may be fitted for the higher, immortal life. An angel could not ask for a higher mission; for in doing this work she is doing service for God. Let her only realize the high character of her task, and it will inspire her with courage. Let her realize the worth of her work and put on the whole armor of God, that she may resist the temptation to conform to the world's standard. Her work is for time and for eternity." {AH 231.3}
"The father frequently comes in with a self-satisfied air and proudly recounts what he has accomplished through the day. His remarks show that now he must be waited upon by the mother, for she has not done much except take care of the children, cook the meals, and keep the house in order. She has not acted the merchant, bought nor sold; she has not acted the farmer, in tilling the soil; she has not acted the mechanic--therefore she has done nothing to make her weary. He criticizes and censures and dictates as though he was the lord of creation. And this is all the more trying to the wife and mother, because she has become very weary at her post of duty during the day, and yet she cannot see what she has done and is really disheartened." {AH 232.4}
"Could the veil be withdrawn and father and mother see as God sees the work of the day, and see how His infinite eye compares the work of the one with that of the other, they would be astonished at the heavenly revelation. The father would view his labors in a more modest light, while the mother would have new courage and energy to pursue her labor with wisdom, perseverance, and patience. Now she knows its value. While the father has been dealing with the things which must perish and pass away, the mother has been dealing with developing minds and character, working not only for time but for eternity." {AH 233.1}
"The true wife and mother . . . will perform her duties with dignity and cheerfulness, not considering it degrading to do with her own hands whatever it is necessary to do in a well-ordered household." {AH 244.2}
"The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. The mother is queen of her household. She has in her power the molding of her children's characters, that they may be fitted for the higher, immortal life. An angel could not ask for a higher mission; for in doing this work she is doing service for God. Let her only realize the high character of her task, and it will inspire her with courage. Let her realize the worth of her work and put on the whole armor of God, that she may resist the temptation to conform to the world's standard. Her work is for time and for eternity." {AH 231.3}
"The father frequently comes in with a self-satisfied air and proudly recounts what he has accomplished through the day. His remarks show that now he must be waited upon by the mother, for she has not done much except take care of the children, cook the meals, and keep the house in order. She has not acted the merchant, bought nor sold; she has not acted the farmer, in tilling the soil; she has not acted the mechanic--therefore she has done nothing to make her weary. He criticizes and censures and dictates as though he was the lord of creation. And this is all the more trying to the wife and mother, because she has become very weary at her post of duty during the day, and yet she cannot see what she has done and is really disheartened." {AH 232.4}
"Could the veil be withdrawn and father and mother see as God sees the work of the day, and see how His infinite eye compares the work of the one with that of the other, they would be astonished at the heavenly revelation. The father would view his labors in a more modest light, while the mother would have new courage and energy to pursue her labor with wisdom, perseverance, and patience. Now she knows its value. While the father has been dealing with the things which must perish and pass away, the mother has been dealing with developing minds and character, working not only for time but for eternity." {AH 233.1}
May it never be said, or even thought, "I am just a housewife." To be the true and faithful wife in a Christian home is one of the greatest honors given to mortals.
Mother as teacher
"Deny them [children]
anything rather than the
education that they should receive in their earliest years." {CG 17.3}
The training of the early years is the most important.
"The child's first teacher
is the mother. During the
period of greatest susceptibility and most rapid development his
education is
to a great degree in her hands. To her first is given opportunity to
mold the
character for good or for evil." {CG 63.1}
In this early period of education, the mother is given the privilege of being the primary teacher.
"For the first eight or
ten years of a child's life the
field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher,
nature the
best lesson book." {CG 300.1}
"The mother should be the teacher, and home the school where every child receives his first lessons; and these lessons should include habits of industry." {CG 301.1}
"The mother should be the teacher, and home the school where every child receives his first lessons; and these lessons should include habits of industry." {CG 301.1}
Other missions fields
"Parents should allow
nothing to come between them and
the obligation they owe to their children." {AH 264.1}
It should be clear that the children come first. Anything that interferes must be put aside.
"Those who feel that they
have an imperative call to
labor for the improvement of society, while their own children grow up
undisciplined, should inquire if they have not mistaken their duty.
Their own
household is the first missionary field in which parents are required
to labor.
Those who leave the home garden to grow up to thorns and briers, while
they
manifest great interest in the cultivation of their neighbor's plot of
ground,
are disregarding the word of God." {FE 65.3}
For parents, the first missionary field is the home. Any other missionary field that interferes must be put aside.
"The minister's duties lie
around him, nigh and afar
off; but his first duty is to his children. He should not become so
engrossed
with his outside duties as to neglect the instruction which his
children
need." {AH 353.3}
"Nothing can excuse the minister for neglecting the inner circle for the larger circle outside. The spiritual welfare of his family comes first. In the day of final reckoning God will inquire what he did to win to Christ those whom he took the responsibility of bringing into the world. Great good done for others cannot cancel the debt that he owes to God to care for his own children." {AH 353.4}
"Nothing can excuse the minister for neglecting the inner circle for the larger circle outside. The spiritual welfare of his family comes first. In the day of final reckoning God will inquire what he did to win to Christ those whom he took the responsibility of bringing into the world. Great good done for others cannot cancel the debt that he owes to God to care for his own children." {AH 353.4}
Regardless of how many flocks there are out there, our first responsibility is to our flock at home.
"What an important work!
And yet we hear mothers
sighing for missionary work! If they could only go to some foreign
country,
they would feel that they were doing something worth while. But to take
up the
daily duties of the home life and carry them forward seems to them like
an
exhausting and thankless task." {AH 244.3}
"Mothers who sigh for a missionary field have one at hand in their own home circle. . . . Are not the souls of her own children of as much value as the souls of the heathen?" {AH 245.1}
"Mothers who sigh for a missionary field have one at hand in their own home circle. . . . Are not the souls of her own children of as much value as the souls of the heathen?" {AH 245.1}
Our children are as valuable as the heathen. In fact, as parents, they are more valuable to us. Therefore, our work for them should be proportionate of their value to us.
"There are some who think
that unless they are directly
connected with active religious work, they are not doing the will of
God; but
this is a mistake. Everyone has a work to do for the Master; it is a
wonderful
work to make home pleasant and all that it ought to be. . . . Men and
women can
just as surely serve God by giving earnest heed to the things which
they have
heard, by educating their children to live and fear to offend God, as
can the
minister in the pulpit." {AH 245.2}
Child training is at least as much a work for God as is pastoring a church.
"These women who are doing
with ready willingness what
their hands find to do, with cheerfulness of spirit aiding their
husbands to
bear their burdens and training their children for God, are
missionaries in the
highest sense." {AH 245.3}
Home missionaries are "missionaries in the highest sense."
"If you ignore your duty
as a wife and mother and hold
out your hands for the Lord to put another class of work in them, be
sure that
He will not contradict Himself; He points you to the duty you have to
do at
home. If you have the idea that some work greater and holier than this
has been
entrusted to you, you are under a deception. By faithfulness in your
own home,
working for the souls of those who are nearest to you, you may be
gaining a
fitness to work for Christ in a wider field. But be sure that those who
are
neglectful of their duty in the home circle are not prepared to work
for other
souls." {AH 245.4}
"The Lord has not called you to neglect your home and your husband and children. He never works in this way; and He never will. . . . Never for a moment suppose that God has given you a work that will necessitate a separation from your precious little flock." {AH 246.1}
"The Lord has not called you to neglect your home and your husband and children. He never works in this way; and He never will. . . . Never for a moment suppose that God has given you a work that will necessitate a separation from your precious little flock." {AH 246.1}
God will NEVER call anyone to take care of a flock to the neglect of the home flock. Satan is the one who does that.
"During the first years of
their lives is the time in
which to work and watch and pray and encourage every good inclination.
This
work must go on without interruption. You may be urged to attend
mothers'
meetings and sewing circles, that you may do missionary work; but
unless there
is a faithful, understanding instructor to be left with your children,
it is
your duty to answer that the Lord has committed to you another work
which you
can in no wise neglect." {AH 246.2}
"The mother should not accept burdens in the church work which compel her to neglect her children. The best work in which a mother can engage is to see that no stitches are dropped in the training of her children." {AH 246.3}
"The mother should not accept burdens in the church work which compel her to neglect her children. The best work in which a mother can engage is to see that no stitches are dropped in the training of her children." {AH 246.3}
Child training is so important that other calls to service MUST be turned down if it means neglecting the children. "The Lord has committed to you another work which you can in no wise neglect."
"Some mothers long to
engage in missionary labor, while
they neglect the simplest duties lying directly in their path." {AH
247.2}
"The parents, whose aim should have been to bind these young hearts to themselves and guide them aright, squander their God-given opportunities, are blind to the most important duties of their lives, and vainly aspire to work in the broad missionary field." {AH 247.3}
"In no other way can a mother help the church more than by devoting her time to those who are dependent upon her for instruction and training." {AH 247.1}
"The parents, whose aim should have been to bind these young hearts to themselves and guide them aright, squander their God-given opportunities, are blind to the most important duties of their lives, and vainly aspire to work in the broad missionary field." {AH 247.3}
"In no other way can a mother help the church more than by devoting her time to those who are dependent upon her for instruction and training." {AH 247.1}
The best help a mother can give to the church is to train her children in the Lord.
Separation
"Parents should allow
nothing to come between them and
the obligation they owe to their children." {AH 264.1}
"The mother should not accept burdens in the church work which compel her to neglect her children." {AH 246.3}
"The mother should not accept burdens in the church work which compel her to neglect her children." {AH 246.3}
Nothing should come between parents and children.
"The tenderest earthly tie
is that between the mother
and her child. The child is more readily impressed by the life and
example of
the mother than by that of the father, for a stronger and more tender
bond of
union unites them." {AH 240.5}
The mother, especially, should not be separated from her children.
"During the first years of
their lives is the time in
which to work and watch and pray and encourage every good inclination.
This
work must go on without interruption." {AH 246.2}
"The mother must engrave upon the tablet of the heart lessons as enduring as eternity; and she will surely meet the displeasure of the Lord if she neglects this sacred work or allows anything to interfere with it. . . . The Christian mother has her God-appointed work, which she will not neglect if she is closely connected with God and imbued with His Spirit." {AH 234.1}
"The mother must engrave upon the tablet of the heart lessons as enduring as eternity; and she will surely meet the displeasure of the Lord if she neglects this sacred work or allows anything to interfere with it. . . . The Christian mother has her God-appointed work, which she will not neglect if she is closely connected with God and imbued with His Spirit." {AH 234.1}
The mother's first duty is to her husband and children, and nothing should be allowed to separate her from them.
Country living
"Out of the cities, is my
message at this time. Be
assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the
large
cities." {LDE 95.2}
"Our cities are increasing in wickedness, and it is becoming more and more evident that those who remain in them unnecessarily do so at the peril of their soul's salvation." {LDE 119.1}
"Our cities are increasing in wickedness, and it is becoming more and more evident that those who remain in them unnecessarily do so at the peril of their soul's salvation." {LDE 119.1}
We risk losing our salvation if we insist on living in the city.
"If we place ourselves
under objectionable influences,
can we expect God to work a miracle to undo the results of our wrong
course?--No, indeed. Get out of the cities as soon as possible, and
purchase a
little piece of land, where you can have a garden, where your children
can
watch the flowers growing, and learn from them lessons of simplicity
and
purity." {2SM 356.5}
We cannot expect God to get us out of trouble that we put ourselves into. "Get out of the cities as soon as possible."
"His people are not to
crowd into the cities. He wants
them to take their families out of the cities, that they may better
prepare for
eternal life." {2SM 356.3}
Living in the country will help prepare for eternal life. Living in the city will help prepare to DIE IN THE LAKE OF FIRE.
"The Lord calls for His
people to locate away from the
cities, for in such an hour as ye think not, fire and brimstone will be
rained
from heaven upon these cities." {LDE 95.3}
"Whenever possible, it is the duty of parents to make homes in the country for their children." {AH 141.1}
"For years we have been instructed that our brethren and sisters, and especially families with children, should plan to leave the cities as the way opens before them to do so. Many will have to labor earnestly to help open the way." {2SM 360.3}
"Whenever possible, it is the duty of parents to make homes in the country for their children." {AH 141.1}
"For years we have been instructed that our brethren and sisters, and especially families with children, should plan to leave the cities as the way opens before them to do so. Many will have to labor earnestly to help open the way." {2SM 360.3}
Families with children should leave the cities.
"There is not one family
in a hundred who will be
improved physically, mentally, or spiritually by residing in the city.
Faith,
hope, love, happiness, can far better be gained in retired places,
where there
are fields and hills and trees. Take your children away from the sights
and
sounds of the city, away from the rattle and din of streetcars and
teams, and
their minds will become more healthy. It will be found easier to bring
home to
their hearts the truth of the word of God." {AH 137.2}
"Not one family in a hundred who will be improved" by living in the city. That's LESS THAN 1%!
"The cities are filled
with temptation. We should plan
our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible
from this
contamination." {Ev 77.3}
"The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, 'Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God's people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.'" {Ev 77.4}
"As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them." {Ev 77.5}
"The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, 'Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God's people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.'" {Ev 77.4}
"As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them." {Ev 77.5}
We must work the cities, but not live in them.
"Lot could have preserved
his family from many evils
had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot
and his
family did in Sodom could have been done by them, even if they had
lived in a
place some distance away from the city. Enoch walked with God, and yet
he did
not live in the midst of any city polluted with every kind of violence
and
wickedness, as did Lot in Sodom." {Ev 78.1}
We can do in the country what we need to do in the city, but without the risk.
"Parents flock with their
families to the cities
because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the
country.
. . . From evil associates they acquire habits of vice and
dissipation."
{LDE 97.3}
In exchange for ease and comfort, city-dwellers risk their children's salvation. Is it worth it?
"It is time for our people
to take their families from
the cities into more retired localities, else many of the youth, and
many also
of those older in years, will be ensnared and taken by the enemy." {LDE
98.3}
Even those "older in years" are not safe from the city's influence.
"Parents can secure small
homes in the country, with
land for cultivation, where they can have orchards and where they can
raise
vegetables and small fruits to take the place of flesh meat, which is
so
corrupting to the life blood coursing through the veins. On such places
the
children will not be surrounded with the corrupting influences of city
life.
God will help His people to find such homes outside the cities." {2SM
360.2}
God will help His people find the place they need, but it may not be exactly what they had in mind.
Country living and education
"If possible, the home
should be out of the city, where
the children can have ground to cultivate. Let them each have a piece
of ground
of their own; and as you teach them how to make a garden, how to
prepare the
soil for seed, and the importance of keeping all the weeds pulled out,
teach
them also how important it is to keep unsightly, injurious practices
out of the
life. Teach them to keep down wrong habits as they keep down the weeds
in their
gardens. It will take time to teach these lessons, but it will pay,
greatly
pay." {CT 124.4}
"The cultivation of the soil is good work for children and youth. It brings them into direct contact with nature and nature's God. And that they may have this advantage, there should be, as far as possible, in connection with our schools, large flower gardens and extensive lands for cultivation." {CG 34.2}
"The cultivation of the soil is good work for children and youth. It brings them into direct contact with nature and nature's God. And that they may have this advantage, there should be, as far as possible, in connection with our schools, large flower gardens and extensive lands for cultivation." {CG 34.2}
The home should be in the country where there is ground to be cultivated BY THE CHILDREN. The lessons learned by parents and children will be for eternity.
"For the first eight or
ten years of a child's life the
field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher,
nature the
best lesson book. . . . He should be surrounded with the conditions
most
favorable to both physical and mental growth." {CG 300.1}
"Mothers, let the little ones play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works. Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be added and firmly fixed in their memory." {CG 34.1}
"An education amid such surroundings is in accordance with the directions which God has given for the instruction of youth." {CG 34.3}
"Mothers, let the little ones play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works. Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be added and firmly fixed in their memory." {CG 34.1}
"An education amid such surroundings is in accordance with the directions which God has given for the instruction of youth." {CG 34.3}
Social needs
"While the mistress of the
household may perform her
outward duties with exactitude, she may be continually crying out
against the
slavery to which she is doomed, and exaggerate her responsibilities and
restrictions by comparing her lot with what she styles the higher life
of
woman. . . . While she is fruitlessly yearning for a different life,
she is
nourishing a sinful discontent and making her home very unpleasant for
her
husband and children." {AH 249.2}
"The mother seldom appreciates her own work and frequently sets so low an estimate upon her labor that she regards it as domestic drudgery." {AH 232.3}
"The Christian mother's sphere of usefulness should not be narrowed by her domestic life. The salutary influence which she exerts in the home circle she may and will make felt in more widespread usefulness in her neighborhood and in the church of God. Home is not a prison to the devoted wife and mother." {AH 236.3}
"The mother seldom appreciates her own work and frequently sets so low an estimate upon her labor that she regards it as domestic drudgery." {AH 232.3}
"The Christian mother's sphere of usefulness should not be narrowed by her domestic life. The salutary influence which she exerts in the home circle she may and will make felt in more widespread usefulness in her neighborhood and in the church of God. Home is not a prison to the devoted wife and mother." {AH 236.3}
If performed faithfully, the mother's sphere of influence is extended far beyond the walls of the home.
"The tenderest earthly tie
is that between the mother
and her child. The child is more readily impressed by the life and
example of
the mother than by that of the father, for a stronger and more tender
bond of
union unites them." {AH 240.5}
Conclusion
"God requires of us
nothing that we cannot in His
strength perform, nothing that is not for our own good and the good of
our
children." {AH 265.3}
All of God's biddings are enablings.
"The mother should not be
governed by the world's opinion,
nor labor to reach its standard. She should decide for herself what is
the
great end and aim of life and then bend all her efforts to attain that
end." {AH 267.6}
Determine what your goals and priorities are, and determine to make all the necessary efforts to accomplish your goals.
"To parents who have begun
their training wrong, I
would say, Do not despair. You need to be soundly converted to God. You
need
the true spirit of obedience to the Word of God. You must make decided
reforms
in your own customs and practices, conforming your life to the saving
principles of the law of God. When you do this, you will have the
righteousness
of Christ which pervades that law, because you love God and recognize
His law
as a transcript of His character. True faith in the merits of Christ is
not
fancy. It is of the highest importance that you bring the attributes of
Christ
into your own life and character, and educate and train your children
with
persevering effort to be obedient to the commandments of God. A 'Thus
saith the
Lord' should guide you in all your plans of education." {CG 69.2}
"Let there be a deep and thorough repentance before God. Commence the year . . . by earnestly seeking God for grace, for spiritual discernment to discover the defects in the work of the past. Repent before God for your neglected work as home missionaries." {CG 69.3}
"Let there be a deep and thorough repentance before God. Commence the year . . . by earnestly seeking God for grace, for spiritual discernment to discover the defects in the work of the past. Repent before God for your neglected work as home missionaries." {CG 69.3}
The path to righteousness starts with the parents. If there has been error, there must be decided reforms. As the parents are converted, they will provide their children a good example to follow.
"Parents may well inquire,
'Who is
sufficient for these things?' God alone is their sufficiency, and if
they leave Him out of the question, seeking not His aid and counsel,
hopeless indeed is their task. But by prayer, by study of the Bible,
and by earnest zeal on their part, they may succeed nobly in this
important duty, and be repaid a hundredfold for all their time and
care. . . . The source of wisdom is open, from which they may draw all
necessary knowledge in this direction." {CG 64.3}
"At times the heart may be ready to faint; but a living sense of the dangers threatening the present and future happiness of their loved ones should lead Christian parents to seek more earnestly for help from the source of strength and wisdom. It should make them more circumspect, more decided, more calm yet firm, while they watch for these souls, as they that must give account." {CG 64.4}
"At times the heart may be ready to faint; but a living sense of the dangers threatening the present and future happiness of their loved ones should lead Christian parents to seek more earnestly for help from the source of strength and wisdom. It should make them more circumspect, more decided, more calm yet firm, while they watch for these souls, as they that must give account." {CG 64.4}
Only by God's grace can we properly train our children. We must steadily gaze on Him if we are to succeed.
"In love, faith, and
prayer let parents
work for their households, until with joy they can come to God saying,
'Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me.'" {AH 269.1}