The Wisdom of Susannah Wesley
My friend Phisch posted this on her blog.Susannah Wesley's Rules on Training Children
(1) Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
(2) Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.
(3) Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks politely.
(4) To prevent lying, punish no fault that is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.
(5) Commend and reward good behavior.
(6) Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.
Phisch's comments:
I think I need to post these all over our house. She knew a little something about being a good mom. She had 19 children in 21 years (9 died before age 2). She homeschooled all of them for 6 hours a day, writing her own curiculum for bible study. She spent an hour each week with each child to learn about who they are and to guide them in their faith. A lot of work! But Susannah was faithful to the charge God gave her: to train up her children in the way of the Lord. The results are obvious because we still see the effects right. Her son Charles wrote over 9,000 hymns, many still in use today. Her more famous son, John, was the founder of the 18th century Methodist church movement.
Don’t you think the first thing she heard when she went home to be with the Lord was “WELL DONE, good and faithful servant”? That’s what I want to hear, too, but what have I done for Him with what He’s charged me?
More on Susannah Wesley here.
posted by Linda @ 1:58 PM
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