DeeDee Scarberry > Recent Status Updates

I have always taught my children that they are responsible to keep a light burning in their souls—whatever it takes. Creating beauty and joyful moments in the midst of a fallen, sad world is what gives light to others and nurtures that same light in our own souls.

pleasure results from gaining knowledge about the object of our pleasure, not, as we might assume, from merely experiencing it over and over. Specifically, our pleasure increases in something when we learn its history, origin, and deeper nature..If he’s right, finding greater pleasure in God won’t result from pursuing more experiences of him, but from knowing him better.

The mind must lead the heart:
But I was missing the important truth that the heart cannot love what the mind does not know. This is the message of Romans 12:2–3—not that the mind alone affects transformation, but that the path to transformation runs from the mind to the heart, and not the other way around.

Interestingly, the same verse that commands us to love God with all our hearts also commands us to love him with all our minds. Our minds are the seat of our intellects. Attaching our intellect to our faith doesn’t come naturally to most of us. We live in a time when faith and reason are spoken of as polar opposites..For some of us, the strength of our faith is gauged by how close we feel to God at any moment

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40).

We are like Moses. The Bible is our burning bush—a faithful declaration of the presence and holiness of God. We ask it to tell us about ourselves, and all the while it is telling us about “I am.” …But our insecurities, fears, and doubts can never be banished by the knowledge of who we are. They can only be banished by the knowledge of “I am.”

Disciple = learner
We’re called to learn and it requires effort

Do I view hard primarily as bad? If so, where am I getting this view from? What is something hard in motherhood right now that the Lord is also using for good, and how?

Lord help us shift our mindsets from negativity to joy in You. By your strength.

World’s response: we are victims of the way our kids treat us. Someone more patient would do this better. The longer the phase is, the worse it is.

Christian response: through Christ we always have the choice to overcome. Confident that God equips us with what we need, when we need it. Know that quick fixes rarely produce good character.

Dads are already predisposed to do hard things. They just need encouragement to channel that to doing the hard “small” things of parenthood.

Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV) 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

What if every difficulty is actually mercy from the Lord, to draw me to my knees before my Savior? To see its potential to transform my view of God and His goodness.

Creating a verbal home begins with following Christ’s example of personal ministry by first, choosing to serve your children. The words you give in your personal interactions with them will be effective for Christ only if they come from the heart of a parent who is a servant like Christ. One who, with humility of mind, regards others, even their children, as more important than themselves.

The more treasure you can put into the well of your spirit, the more your children can draw out when they come to you for living water. Let your heart overflow with good words.

Kids can learn facts from screens or curriculum, but what sticks to them is when words are spoken from the heart. That can only come from their parents, speaking truth and life into their homes and children in love.

Christianity is hearing-based and word-based. In the beginning was the Word…

Are you inventing things to avoid the important?

In Chapter 1 of The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss illustrates the difference in priorities between the Deferrers (D) and the New Rich (NR):
• The Deferrers (D) focus on working for themselves, retiring early, buying things they want, being the boss, making a ton of money, and having more.

4 hour work week concept:

We fill our time with meaningless tasks.

80/20 principle applies to work week

If you have weeks or months to complete a project, it will stretch out and take you that long to finish it.

*** Limit tasks to the most important to limit amount of time working.

AND the inverse applies!

*** Limit time working to limit tasks to the most important!!

Am I being active or productive?

Persistence is a single-mindedness no matter the
obstacle. A trait that can be harmful in toxic circumstances or when your stated goal is unattainable.

Perseverance, On the other hand, is a steady determination to choose to grow and learn from obstacles or difficult situations, some of which can last a lifetime.

Resilience isn't
about sheer strength,
And it’s not about
stubborn persistence either
Resilience is faithful perseverance.

How do we cultivate a life that is meaningful when culture tempts us with the opposite?
Why would we place ourselves in the face of adversity when our devices try to lull us to sleep?

Aldous Huxley: "People will come to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.”

When you've fought to love something,even
a particular place, it's that love that pushes you to persevere and endure in the hardest of times. When you do, you find that the reward is joy, contentment, and gratitude. Not only for then, but also for now. Once you discover a grit that leads to growth or a passion that helps you persist, it's quite difficult to return to a life of
ease.

1. Not be hurtful to others
2. Respect the no of others without punishing them
3. Respect limits in general
4. Relish other’s separateness
5. Feel sad instead of mad when others boundaries prevent them from getting what they want

An important point here is that we believe in 100 percent teaching that is, teaching until a child can earn an A in the subject matter. If Im going to give a grade for something, my child is going to learn the material until they earn an A. This explains our 4.0 averages…Our school philosophy is to teach educational material until we know the children have mastered the subject matter for the future.

What kind of person do you want your child to become, character you want them to have?

Parents are guardians: to little freedom, and the child remains a child. Too much freedom and they can be put in danger.

Punishment is looking backwards, discipline is looking forward and training for the future.

-Kids need to know they’re unconditionally loved, regardless if they meet your expectations or make mistakes.

-All kids need physical touch, and especially those who have it as their primary love language. Some boys go through phases of not seeming to want it (but still needing it), and girls need it even more from their dads particularly as preteens.

But I have to ask: Are we really wrestling "spiritual forces of evil"? Or has life gotten so cozy that the enemy wouldn' even bother to engage us? Do we blend into the world so much that the devil doesn't even realize we're a threat to his plans?