It is 4 in the afternoon. All 3 babes are sleeping soundly in their beds, the house is clean, the laundry done (mostly), I do not have to cook dinner tonight (thank you small group picnic), and I am left wondering what in the world to do. This is a rare moment at the Kemp house. During the kids naptime I've been reading Shepherding a Child's Heart.....amazing. I am totally inspired to be the best mom that I can. And feel so much purpose behind what I do all day every day. But I am overwhelmed as well. In the book Tedd Tripp makes the point basically that we are not training for good behavior (which is nice) but rather to shape our children's hearts and to point them towards Christ. This is a pretty simple concept and is certainly not new news to most of us, but such a great reminder when focus gets blurred as most things do when you have 3 little ones. :) I've been really working with my boys on the way that they treat one another. Of course I do not want them to fight, or steal the others toy, but ultimately I want them to have genuine concern for the other. I want Luke to prefer Ben's happiness to his own and vice versa. If I physically hurt someone and made them cry my heart would hurt. I have seen my boys actually take joy in making the other cry (not all the time, they actually are mostly little love bug sweetie pies). How do you teach compassion and direct a heart to love like Christ? This is actually the question that pointed me to this book. It is great.....I'd recommend it. Their hearts are such great battlefields and such the center of life. And ours are too. I am overwhelmed by the darkness within me. This book has really made me look at myself too. I long for my babies to have pure, God loving, God fearing, God worshiping hearts and am almost being blinded by the dirtiness of my own heart. Their are such pivotal truths that I want for my children to grasp that I'm not quite sure that I do myself. Are you with me? Thank you, Father, for your grace. I am so needy. The Lord is so using my training of my kids to shape my spiritual self and to refine my heart.