Here I am

I spent a lot of time with my very devout grandmother when I was young. She was one of those people that never missed church because she wanted to be there. It wasn't about how she looked or who she talked to. She played the piano every Sunday and never missed her commitment unless the roads were so bad from a snowstorm that she couldn't get there, then we had church at home. She took care of her friends that were older and she made me my Sunday dresses. She gave me a choice as to where I slept the night, after watching Love Boat, of course, and I either snuggled in bed with her or out on the living room couch in the next room. Never was I banished to the guest bedroom at the back of her mobile home.
Grandma never yelled. She never needed to. She was naturally an incredibly kind person and it percolated from her being onto all of us. I naturally wanted to please her and learn from her, and just be with her. Grandma never threatened spankings or harsh punishments. She didn't need to. I have been trying to emulate what she did with me with my own children for years, and after coming back to Christ, I thought the search for parenting materials that were in line with the gentle Christian upbringing I had would be easily found. It still amazes me on how little is out there. I find glimmers here and there of what true discipleship with children should look like and I was delighted to find this blog post by Sally Clarkson recently (thank you, Sally!):

http://itakejoy.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/the-value-of-self-government-and-will-training/