Anger

The Bible - teaching about anger teaches that it is an honest and basic emotion, but that it can and MUST be managed! Anger is something that I have to try to work through all of the time, as most mothers do! I find that I can be quick to irritate in certain areas of my life, and have to be so careful not to let my frustration take the wheel! Since having children, I have had to try even harder to be EXTRA careful, to try to practice control over my anger.

Moms - you have to hold your tongue! (We all slip, yes! I know I do!) But here are some things to work towards:

*No cursing
*No screaming
*No throwing household objects!!!

The usual Christian attitude toward begin angry is that we tend to deny it, justify it, smother it, confess is as sin, or stuff it down until we nearly explode! But what is the Bible teaching about being angry? What do we need to learn for ourselves before teaching our children?
------"Be angry, yet do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). This statement implies several things: all of us feel angry at times, but we have a choice in how it is expressed.

Consider the story of Cain and Abel in Gen. 4:2-8. In verse 7 God tells Abel that he must learn to master his anger. How can we teach our children to master and control their anger?
To begin with, I don't wait until the child is already angry to talk to him about controlling it. I have found that if I talk to children while they are angry, my words just go in one ear and out the other! Their thoughts are filled with vengeful, irritated and frustrated emotions, and they just do not take in the information that you are wanting them to receive!

I have used the following to teach children about anger:

-Reading the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible
-Making angry face cookies (see end of blog for materials used)
-Teaching the "Breathing Technique" - taking big, slow deep breathes before using Angry Words
-Praying for God's help to control anger

*******A story from SpecialMomentsWithGod.org ******************

Hatred and Anger are buddies
Controlling our anger is a must
It takes a lot of effort
But Anger we cannot trust

The Bible is our answer
In Proverbs it does say
Do not stay with angry friends
Cause they can change your way

________________________________Angry Face Cookies _____________________________________

Ing:
Pre-baked sugar cookies
Raisins, Choc. chips, thin red licorice

Directions: Give each child a cookie, and a few items to decorate it with. Show children how to make angry faces on the cookies, using decorating ingredients. When each child is done making their angry face, talk about how they can turn anger into a good thing. (Turn your piece of licorice to make a smile out of the frown.)