To state the obvious, it has been a long while since I have published a post on here. That’s not for lack of trying. We have just had a remarkably busy year, and writing has taken a back-seat. I have many mangled drafts that may never see the public light of day. Time will tell…

But recently, I have been thinking and praying through some ideas, seeking direction on how to jump back in to the habit of writing. I felt like I needed some sort of a path, where the general direction of my steps was laid out for me. God led me to the “one anothers” of scripture. I was listening to a podcast from the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, called “Truth in Love.” This specific episode was discussing a new book written by Stuart Scott all about the “one anothers.”

The “one anothers” of scripture are a series of many passages which speak to how we, as Christians, should treat and live with one another. They are commands for interpersonal relationships, essentially directed to believers. Yet, I think it is appropriate to apply many of them to interpersonal relationships in general, as an extension of Jesus’ command to, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

As I was listening to Scott read through his list of “one anothers,” I was struck by how often I fail to apply these in parenting my children. While my children may or may not yet be truly saved believers in Christ, I see the value and necessity of loving my children as myself by applying many of these one another commands in how I relate to them. It was a convicting reminder, for sure.

So, I thought: what better way to process through this myself and counsel my own soul than to write my way through it? I knew it would be a helpful way for me to order my thoughts around how we can apply the “one another” commands in parenting, and even especially for those of us parenting adopted children.

Well that is my plan. This post is already getting a bit long, so I will stop here and begin my discussion of the “one anothers” in a future post. Let’s pray for one another (see what I did there?) as we think about these things, and continue the good work of parenting that the Lord has set before us.