"All your children will be taught of the Lord" "The Promise is to us and to our children..."

Rebellion in the eyes has never alarmed me more than yesterday, with my Joshua. He, actually glared at me. I had never seen that glare of anger from him, toward me. He’s bitten and hit, etc., but his eyes never said “I hate you” like they did yesterday. My own children, I have seen this look millions of times. I have the opportunity to right the conflict and get to the bottom of it, but this was “my Joshy”.

I swaddled him at three months and we talked about the little things, everyday. Where was this glare coming from. My heart felt the grandmotherly call to pray for the soul of that little stranger and indeed I do.

Sometimes you throw your doctrinal knowledge of depravity out with the pedobaptismic incantations that you attempt to throw on your children and leave off the instructions of repentance and faith which is the tool of God to whittle godliness into the fallow soul of Adam’s wretched race. We have the tools. We just refuse to use them. We trust in the arm of flesh and are alarmed at their smack of pain in our face that pains us far more than a bite in our thigh. It is not the water of their baptism or christening. It is not the oil of a prayer or two. It is the incessant instruction of determined people that God uses to infuse His character and godliness on the depraved soul and body. Help us, O Lord to show this real care to our children, in a lost and dying world! Help, Lord! as many, as many...amen