Whenever the kids act up I know they are taking after their mother. Of course she thinks they are acting like their father. There are some peculiar things about our kids which we often attribute to one side of the family or the other. I know which side crazy is from. Children’s actions can be hereditary or can be learned by observing mom and dad.

    No one has to teach children to be selfish because it is in their human nature(mine). They actually have to be taught to share. They often learn to speak their very first word (no) because they’ve heard it a million times! Some parents think it’s cute to teach their little ones swear words until they become teenagers and use those words back at them.

    One thing that we all must learn is how to be merciful. It’s not as easy as it sounds. The deeper the hurt, betrayal, or offense we’ve received the harder it is to be merciful. Mercy is a funny thing because we totally get it when we are the ones who so desperately want and need it. When we are on the receiving end we think they should, they must, they have no other choice but to give us mercy. That somehow we deserve it.

    The first step to receiving mercy is realizing that we don’t deserve it. That we are totally guilty and that what we do deserve is punishment and judgment. When someone extends mercy to us and forgives us of our folly we are relieved as if a huge weight has been lifted because it has.

    To give mercy we must remember how someone else gave it to us so undeservedly and turn around and extend it to others. When we do we are acting like our Heavenly Father. People will see the family resemblance and, yes, they may even call us crazy for doing it. That’s ok because crazy love runs in the family.
 

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