The Smell of Parenting

Interesting title, right? I recently signed up to receive free emails from the authors of Premeditated Parenting. I found them through a link on my friend Carmen's blog, and I was impressed with some of the articles I read. Josh and I love the premise behind being intentional in our parenting style.

I got the following article this week, and I'm passing it along here b/c I figure that since these are free articles and posted right on their website, they won't mind if I give a bit of free publicity. :-) If you're a parent, I hope it encourages you today to pour your energy and very life into the things that will help your child become a passionate servant of Jesus!

The Smell of Parenting

Proverbs 14:4 (ESV) - Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

A novice farmer shows off his clean barn to his neighbor. The ground is spotless, and the manger, or feed trough, looks as clean as new. After shooting the breeze a while the experienced farmer invites his friend to come and see what a barn should look like. The young farmer is a little hurt because he can’t imagine a nicer setup than he has.

They walk over to the neighbor’s farm, all the while discussing the incredible amount of work each of the older farmer’s four oxen can perform. At the barn, hay is strewn everywhere, and the feed trough is covered with dried ox slobber.

“What is that horrible stench?” asks the young man.

“That, my friend, is the smell of money.”

The goal of a farmer is not to have the nicest barn, cleanest trough, or freshest fragrances. His goal is to grow crops and raise animals. To focus on his goal, he lets a few things slide along the way. From sunup to sundown he works hard. He is not lazy or negligent, but he simply has no time to clean troughs and rake out barns. Instead of scooping up every piece of manure, he simply wears rubber boots. (emphasis mine)

A wise parent will take a similar approach. If every meal must be a culinary delight, every toy in its perfect spot, every shelf dusted, and every floor vacuumed, there will be no time left for parenting. With children comes a certain level of messiness. This is to be managed, but also expected. The goal is to raise the children, not eliminate the messiness. As the farmer embraces the mess of the ox the parent should embrace the clutter of childhood. Far more critical things are happening in our homes than keeping our houses spotless. Much good is being produced in a Christian home.

Amen! Now, where did Kaden hide my rubber boots?! :-)

Baby Meets Google

Older "boomer" types (and beyond) often comment to me that they can't believe all the baby gear that we have nowadays. Usually, they speak wistfully of these items, wishing they could have had some of our modern conveniences when their babies were young. I'm talking Bumbo chairs, pack-n-plays, removable infant car seats, Baby Bjorns, ...you know, all the gadgets and whatchamacallits. So then I was thinking, What one parenting tool could I not live without?

In .02 seconds, my mind returned this result: the Internet!

It's true. Take my Snugli, take my Bumbo, take my light-up, sing-out toys (yes, please do take those!)...but please, please don't take the Internet away -- and especially Google! I love having so much information at my fingertips, and when you're constantly treading into new phases of toddlerdom and babyhood, it's nice to know that you can find out what's normal and even find support from other parents who have been there.

Now of course, I use the Internet for non-parenting stuff like email and such, but I honestly do use it a lot as a mom. Take for example some of my recent Google searches:

• infant, fever


• robeez crib shoes


• 2-year-old, napping [This is a blog in itself, Dear Reader.]


• average formula feeding, 9-month-old


• Nuby sippy cup replacement spouts


• digital scrapbooking [Laney is baby book-less...poor thing!]


• family bowling, middle tennessee

So that made me wonder, if AOL can flub up and release personal search information, what might my Google searches say about me if they were ever to reach the light of day? I think I would be easy to track down based on my frequent use of Google. So what would your Google searches say about you?

P.S. As a side note, I worked for about a year with the author of this article. It was weird to see his name pop up in...you guessed it, Google. :-)