For “Scripture Sunday”, (late again as it is Tuesday!)
Bullying: What Can You Do to Help Your Child?
“The more proactive parents can be in educating their children about bullying, the more confident and better-equipped children will be at handling these situations in a positive manner throughout their lives.
School shootings and other violence continue to make students, parents and school staff concerned about school safety. Newscasts often report students saying a school shooter was bullied. Whether or not bullying is a contributing factor in these terrible situations, parents want to know what they can do to help their children if they are being bullied.
To begin, we must understand the definition of bullying. Bullying is hurtful, purposeful behavior that happens over and over again. Bullying can take many forms, such as physical harm, exclusion, ridicule, teasing, threatening and name-calling.
Sometimes these actions happen in regular peer relationships, but it becomes bullying when it happens consistently over time. This can cause a child to refuse to attend school, to have nightmares or to become withdrawn.
There are things you and your children can do if they are being bullied or if they see someone being bullied.
What you and your children can do if they are being bullied:
In any trial, God must be the starting point. Review biblical stories about problems and how God helped His people triumph over wickedness, such as:
- Joseph and his brothers.
- David and Goliath.
- Israel being delivered from Egypt.
Teach your child to “be strong and of good courage” by proactively praying about the situation and believing that God will intervene (Joshua 1:5-7). Help your child learn how to rely on God for help to
Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/parenting/bullying-what-can-you-do-to-help-your-child/
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Could Our Kids Become Bullies?
“How can we help our children avoid the temptations that can lead to treating others unkindly or even bullying others?
School systems are cracking down on bullying as much as they can with awareness programs and zero tolerance measures. Yet, realistically, there are too many kids and too few staff members to really prevent bullying.
As Christians, what can we do to help teach our children the importance of not excluding people or bullying?
The problem
Think for a moment of all the pain and misery caused by bullying. Since many suffer quietly, the terrible effects are often overlooked until someone is pushed to the breaking point of a mental breakdown, suicide or violence. But many more lives and psyches are damaged by this terrible scourge.
Are we, our friends or our children in any way contributing to this?
What are our words and example telling our children about how to treat others? Our example can play a role in promoting or preventing bullying. Here are some things to consider:
- Do I joke about someone who is socially awkward? Do I try to avoid inviting him or her to events?
- Do I insult someone consistently in my own group of people I am comfortable with?
- Do I try to make others look stupid in front of a group of people?
- What is my child doing at school? Who does my child hang out with at school, and how does he or she talk about the other kids? Does my child sit with the overweight kid who gets several insults a day, or does my child join in with the insults?
Christ’s example
Jesus Christ hated bullying, and if we are trying to model our lives after Christ’s life, we also should hate the ideas of bullying and excluding people from social circles. In Mark 2:16-17, we see an example of Jesus Christ defending the “outcasts” and scolding the “in crowd.”
“And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’”
Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/parenting/could-our-kids-become-bullies/
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Toxic Friendships?
“Everyone wants and needs friends. But not all friendships are created equal—some are true and some are toxic. What if our friends are really hurting us?
Friendship is important to everyone. We seek friends very early in childhood; and if we are lucky, some of those early friendships may stay with us for life!
King Solomon wrote, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).
Unfortunately, not all friendships are created equal. Some friendships produce a very positive impact on us, while others do not. It is the difference between one that is a true friend and one that is not.
What makes a true friend, and how do you know when you have one or are one? Is it possible to have a friendship that is actually hurting you?
A toxic friendship can cause a lot of damage, emotionally, mentally, even physically. Here’s how you can tell the difference.
No boundaries
Are you someone who struggles to say “no” to others? If so, you are a likely target for a toxic relationship. There are always people waiting to take advantage of others. They will push you to do things that you are uncomfortable with, even things you know are wrong. They want to talk about things you don’t want to talk about, encourage you to spend money you don’t have—especially for them!”
Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/relationships/friendship/toxic-friendships/
Learn more about building good friendships by reading the other articles in this section, “Friendship: Keys to Finding and Keeping Good Friends.”
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Update.
It’s been a busy week as usual. The walls are painted a pale yellow, (I don’t know why it isn’t pale yellow in the picture), and the windows and doors are now trimmed with wood. All the window sills are in.
The vent-a-hood has been painted brushed nickel to match the brushed nickel light in the kitchen. That is a white celing… what is it with my camera!
And the sanding continues on the big 6-foot tall shelf unit that is going on the back wall in between the two windows. These shelves are 16” deep and I hope to put my bedroom TV on one of them.
We have made those window sills extra deep and made them into shelves, too. This is to “catify” the place as I still have two foster cats. Gertrude, who doesn’t like to come out of my bathroom, and little Puddin’ who just likes to be where I am. These window sills are 12” deep on each side of the middle shelf unit and when we add more shelves under the window sills we might put some cabinet doors on them.
Jay was released from jail, and went to church with me for the Saturday Sabbath. I had made a Beef, Cabbage and other veggies casserole, and we had lots of other dishes, and everything was good.
The Bible readings were Num. 19:1-22:1, Judges 11:1-33 and Heb. 9:11-28 and the Teaching was about The Creation. As usual I was helping the pastor’s wife in the kitchen, and didn’t hear it all and was unable to take notes.
Summer is here and we were glad that we had put up the sunshades in the van for such a hot day.
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