MOTIVATION

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:10-11.

It's so easy for children to lose sight of the WHY behind the rules and limits we put upon them. They just see them as restrictions or punishments. They forget that it's our way of loving and protecting them. Without a reminder of the love, they quickly become de-motivated and disinterested in obeying what we have to say...

The above Scripture talks about not only love, but JOY that will remain in us fully when we remember that God, our heavenly Father, does all things out of love. If God felt the need to remind us, His people, that He gives us limits out of love, then I think we need to give our kids that reminder too. Very often, my frustration comes through to my kids when I am disciplining them rather than love & a calm explanation...

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8 (one of my absolute FAVE Scriptures!)

I want the love to be reciprocated. Parenting out of love will motivate our kids to show love. It will motivate a desire to be obedient, rather than being "dragged along for the ride" in their childhood. I believe it will motivate a pattern of self-discipline as they grow. Love & patience can do WONDERS!

We need this reminder as much as kids do...sometimes adults especially need this because we feel we do not need limits. Or, when we do try to apply some self-discipline, we feel de-motivated because we too forget the WHY. We then have no desire to be challenged and we spiral out-of-control. We should not put a wall up against God's Word, we should put a wall up to keep out temptation. We STILL need limits. We STILL need a Protector. WE NEED GOD! We also need to keep these Scriptures in mind. God loves us. He is still our Father, no matter how old we are. His love & joy will sustain you in your limits as well as your leaps of faith.

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." Philippians 4:12.

Life has so many ups & downs, just like the waves of the sea! If Jesus calms external storms, He can surely calm internal ones too. We need to love Him...because He loves us! We need to keep the motivation in our good times and ESPECIALLY in our bad times. LOVE IS THE GREATEST MOTIVATION THERE IS.